WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — A West Valley City man still remembers the feeling of riding his bike through the neighborhood as a kid.
“I bought this Schwinn varsity 10-speed, and I rode that thing all around here,” Brian Schiele said, recalling the summer of 1981. “I would pretend that I was in the Tour de France.”
As he pedaled through familiar streets, Schiele said he imagined himself climbing the Alps or descending the Pyrenees. Those rides, he said, became some of his favorite childhood memories in West Valley City.
Now, more than 40 years later, Schiele is sharing those memories out loud.
He is one of several residents taking part in “Generations of West Valley: A Story Circle,” a community showcase where people tell personal stories about their lives in West Valley City.
Schiele, 55, has lived in West Valley City for more than 50 years. He was born in Guam to parents who served in the military and later followed a similar path, serving in the Utah National Guard. Much of his life, he said, has been spent caring for fellow soldiers. Today, he serves on the West Valley City Veterans Committee.
“I feel like telling your story is very therapeutic,” he said.
Other participants, like Liz Weight, have been working for weeks to shape their stories through guided workshops leading up to the event.
Weight has lived in West Valley City for nearly two decades and has worked as a teacher for more than 30 years.
“My story is about moving to West Valley City and choosing a place to live where a baby grand piano would fit,” she explained inside her home.
Through the writing workshops, participants explored how their individual experiences connect to the broader community.
“West Valley shapes us, and we shape West Valley,” Weight explained.
For Schiele, the process has brought back memories he had not thought about in years.
“As you get older, you bury some of your memories for one reason or another — even the good ones,” he said. “It’s brought back feeling like a kid again.”
The “Generations of West Valley: A Story Circle” showcase will be held on Tuesday, May 26, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center. The event is free and open to the public.
“All of us are a part of the West Valley picture and the West Valley story,” Weight said.
