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PAYSON — It was 1984 when the small town of Payson was introduced to the world by way of a movie about a teenage boy who convinced an uptight town that it was OK to dance.
At the time, a 5-year-old boy named T.J. Tranchell lived in that town and watched as the magic of Hollywood took Payson and immortalized it — freezing it in time forever in the movie "Footloose."
Nearly 40 years later, Tranchell is writing a book tentatively titled "Holding Out For A Hero: Forty Years After Footloose," to commemorate the making of that film. In the book, he plans on recounting both his experiences and those of the locals who lived in Payson at the time the movie was filmed. In order to complete the book, he is asking for the public's help telling the story of "Footloose."
Tranchell, who is a fiction writer, has long written about the town of Payson — but from a more, shall we say, horrific point of view. In his book series "Blackhawk," he has used what he calls "fictional Payson" as his backdrop. Moving into the nonfiction genre will be a little different for him, but he said that seeing his hometown for what it truly is is what makes this project so special.
"I grew up in Payson in the '80s and '90s and lived there off and on throughout my childhood and teenage years," Tranchell said. "Payson has always been home, one way or another, for good or ill, and 'Footloose' has always been a part of it. 'Footloose' captured what Payson was like when I was a kid."
Tranchell reminisced about seeing fields for miles and miles from his grandparent's yard on West Mountain. He spoke about the Huish Theater that his grandpa ran, and the car wash that was on the corner of Utah Avenue right near the theater.
Tranchell's memories alone could paint a picture of what it was like to grow up in the then-small Utah County town, but he said that gathering stories from the locals is what will make the book complete.
One member of the community Tranchell has connected with is a man who was a student at Lehi High School while the movie was filmed. That man told Tranchell that he remembers interacting with Kevin Bacon, who played the lead role of Ren.
"Kevin Bacon shared in an interview several years ago, about the time when he went to Lehi High School undercover as a student before filming the movie and said how he was actually bullied by students there," Tranchell said. "I was able to connect with a man who said that he bullied Kevin, and he told about the impact it had on his life."
Tranchell shared a little bit more about his experience interviewing that man, but wanted to save the "little nugget" for the book.
More than just 'Footloose'
While Tranchell's book centers around the 40th anniversary of the film, he said that another key theme will be highlighting how Payson and the surrounding areas have changed since the movie was released.
"I remember for years driving along I-15, you could always see the Lehi Roller Mills. It was the only thing out there — that and the high school," he said. "Now it's restaurants, businesses and Thanksgiving Point. There are also things like Hillman Field that are being replaced with restaurants."
There's one more thing that will soon be missing from the iconic town in a few short years: The high school.
Payson High School, which played a key role in the movie, is being demolished in phases to make way for the new high school that will be built in 2025. Tranchell said that even though there have been so many changes that have come to his hometown, change isn't a bad thing.
"It's a really good time to recognize growth and change," Tranchell said. "Some of that growth is good, and some of it is not. There's still enough great things that are old that still happen. There's still the band concerts at Memorial Park."
"A lot of people want Payson to get back to what it was, but you can't do that. You can't go backward," he continued. "You have to make the best of what it is now."
Recently Tranchell, who now lives in Kennewick, Washington, made a trip back to Payson to do some research for his book, which he hopes to complete this coming February. He said that while Payson has changed, it still has that small-town feel and he hopes to connect with many more members of the community as he puts the final touches on his book.
"I want to remind people that as distant as we are from our neighbors now, we can still get that back," Tranchell said. "This book may be my story, but it really is everyone's story. We're really lucky to have this movie to look back and say, 'That's what it looked like when I was a kid.'"
Tranchell is asking that anyone who has stories to share about what it was like to live in Payson and the surrounding areas while "Footloose" was being filmed contact him at tj.tranchell@gmail.com.
