Tomorrow is Pioneer Day in this part of the world. It's the day set aside for us to celebrate our pioneer heritage. We'll maybe go to a parade, maybe have a picnic, maybe watch fireworks, and maybe at some point during the day think "Man, the pioneers were awesome and tough."It's a day that I'll admit--I usually don't spend too much time actually thinking about the pioneers. But tomorrow I think I want to do something different with my family. Something to pay more attention to Pioneer Day. Something that makes us think about the sacrifices the pioneers made so we could enjoy the lives we do. I haven't decided what yet, but hopefully it'll be something to make our family appreciate the pioneers a little more.
I'm thinking along the lines of just having times set throughout the day when we drop everything we're doing and spend 1-2 minutes telling a story of one of our pioneer ancestors. With costumes. And inspirational music in the background. And maybe an explosion or two thrown in for dramatic emphasis. Okay, okay--no explosions--but still costumes and music.
I want my kids to know more about their pioneer ancestors. I want them to know about Benjamin, who was one of the 17 men shot and killed at Haun's Mill and about his wife, Joannah, who refused to go back to her rich parents after he died, but stayed to raise her children with the church.
About Mary, who came across the plains with her younger sister when they were 14 and 16, doing work at houses along the way to earn food for herself and her sister.
About Sarah Jane whose husband was away defending the fort one night and she scared off a man trying to steal their underwear by pretending a candle was a gun.
About John who came across from Wales in a leaky boat that was given to them, hoping that the Mormons would drown. He helped the others work hard to keep the boat from sinking for the seven weeks it took to get to America. After reaching the land, moments after getting everyone and everything off, the boat sank in the harbor.
About Drusilla and James who crossed the plains while James was paralyzed from being shot in the back by a mob. Their oldest son had joined the Mormon Battalion, leaving the responsibility of getting the family across the plains to Drusilla and her girls.
About the stories that are hardly told anymore about the people who deserve to be remembered.
Yup. The pioneers were awesome and tough.
2 comments:
Thanks for the stories. I know what you can do to celebrate Pioneer Day. . . make covered wagons out of graham crackers and frosting. :) Nothing is more of a tribute than that! Josh and I actually did that last year (maybe that's what I'll blog about today) and used those striped Keebler cookies for the wheels and tried to use marshmallows for the covering on the wagon--turns out a piece of paper works better. We had a lot of fun and were thinking of doing it again this year.
That sounds like a fun idea. I need to tell my kids some of those stories today. It is weird being somewhere where there are no parades or celebrations today.
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