This weeks blog carnival is focused on pioneers- July 24th being the day that is set apart to celebrate and remember those that came before us and paved the way. Living in Utah, I am very fortunate to have a lot of different monuments and places dedicated to the mormon pioneers. My sisters, Becky and Rachel, came in from Washington this week to stay with me while my mom and roger went to Puerto Vallerta. I took them to the "This is the Place" monument. i have never been there before, and was very surprised by how informative and beautiful it is. most of the stories i had read before and new about- but what got me, was that my sister's didn't know anything about the Willey and Martin hand cart companies, nor did they know who the Donner-Reed parties were, without a little prompting. Not that they need to know those gory stories, but i think it is important to learn from them. The Martin and Willey companies had about 200 deaths- when the other average death for a hand cart company was 7. and well, the donner-reed parties- who ate each other when they got very desperate. the martin and willey companies didn't listen to the counsel they were given and many died. My point is that pioneers are part of history. in utah the 24th is a state holiday. we have all kinds of plans for tomorrow. i've been told that in seattle and california they hardly acknowledge the day- at least those of the LDS church, who should give it some thought. i am very grateful for those that paved the way. I had people on both sides of my family who crossed the planes, and their stories amaze me. I'm living in a house right now with out air conditioning and think it is terrible. I then think about the pioneers and don't know how they did it. I just keep telling myself, "There is a reason I wasn't born back then." i guess the trials that i have been given are different, but they are hard. and i have to think, maybe they would feel the same way about what i have been through.
This weeks blog carnival is focused on pioneers- July 24th being the day that is set apart to celebrate and remember those that came before us and paved the way. Living in Utah, I am very fortunate to have a lot of different monuments and places dedicated to the mormon pioneers. My sisters, Becky and Rachel, came in from Washington this week to stay with me while my mom and roger went to Puerto Vallerta. I took them to the "This is the Place" monument. i have never been there before, and was very surprised by how informative and beautiful it is. most of the stories i had read before and new about- but what got me, was that my sister's didn't know anything about the Willey and Martin hand cart companies, nor did they know who the Donner-Reed parties were, without a little prompting. Not that they need to know those gory stories, but i think it is important to learn from them. The Martin and Willey companies had about 200 deaths- when the other average death for a hand cart company was 7. and well, the donner-reed parties- who ate each other when they got very desperate. the martin and willey companies didn't listen to the counsel they were given and many died. My point is that pioneers are part of history. in utah the 24th is a state holiday. we have all kinds of plans for tomorrow. i've been told that in seattle and california they hardly acknowledge the day- at least those of the LDS church, who should give it some thought. i am very grateful for those that paved the way. I had people on both sides of my family who crossed the planes, and their stories amaze me. I'm living in a house right now with out air conditioning and think it is terrible. I then think about the pioneers and don't know how they did it. I just keep telling myself, "There is a reason I wasn't born back then." i guess the trials that i have been given are different, but they are hard. and i have to think, maybe they would feel the same way about what i have been through.
1 comment:
Hey Suzie,
great post. glad you guys had so much fun at the rodeo and stuff. Tom totally wanted to go to the Spanish Fork Rodeo while we were there in Utah, but i was a party pooper (besides the spending moratorium anyway).
Jared sure is looking cute!
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