PIONEERING YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW
Official Newsletter of the
National Society of the Sons of Utah Pioneers
December 2009, Volume 5, Number 12
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
I wish to thank those who are currently serving and have served as chapter board members this past year. You are to be complimented for your efforts.
SUP provides opportunities to serve in useful, productive and worthwhile activities! When a chapter is functioning well, many members are involved in promoting and preserving pioneer heritage. Yes, you can do these things without being a member of SUP; however consider a few of the benefits. Think of the SUP as a vehicle to promote pioneer heritage in your community and in your family. For example, you can contribute time, talent and donations to erect monuments to early pioneering efforts, something which may be somewhat difficult on your own.
You can honor your pioneer ancestry by preparing biographies and submitting them to the SUP Library or place them online for others to use. Your pioneer ancestor may have thousands of descendants. These descendants could profit by you sharing a biography or journal entries of your ancestor.
Educational encampments/conferences and symposiums are held each year. These have proven to be educational, exciting and worthy of note. Local treks/tours, usually of a historical nature, are arranged by chapters. Some chapter members have visited museums, attended plays, toured old buildings, and visited monuments to learn the background of pioneering events. Also, monthly or bimonthly (every other month) chapter dinners are held which feature interesting speakers who address pioneer heritage and/or contemporary issues.
The SUP has a fine publication in the Pioneer magazine. This is quarterly publication can and should be shared with others. Once again, we encourage each of you to give gift subscriptions to members of your family or interested friends. The Trail Marker is a valuable resource for chapters to share ideas and speakers.
As expected, the Sons of Utah Pioneers appeals to a very narrow audience. I’ve found that most enjoy hearing and reading about pioneers, but not too many are interested in extending themselves to do something to promote their own pioneer heritage. Let us come together and share each others chapter accomplishments in the Trail Marker or on websites so we can inspire others to be concerned about their pioneer ancestors. Each of you has different interests, talents and abilities which could be shared. What can you do this coming year to let family members know that you’re not only a member of SUP, but a member who is anxiously engaged in a worthy cause to promote your pioneer heritage? Let’s share the pioneer spirit.
Thanks again for all you have done to make 2009 a great year in Sons of Utah Pioneers.
Roger C. Flick
2009 National President
rogerflick@comcast.net
NATIONALNEWS
Send national news to: boothmaycock@comcast.net
SPECIAL CHRISTMAS PRESENTATION
Our very talented member, Clive Romney, advises us of a special Christmas Production that will be offered in Liberty Park each evening between December 15 - 19 and 21 - 23 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. This unique presentation involves music and narrative at eight different locations. The entire presentation will take the viewer thirty to forty minutes including walking time through the approximate 3000 foot course. This will be a great family activity, strollers included. For more details, see the attached flyer.
ELIZA R. SNOW SYMPOSIUM
On Friday, November 20th, 2009, a symposium was held at the SUP Headquarters building celebrating the newly published volume, Eliza R. Snow: The Complete Poetry, (1333 pages). The editors, Jill Mulvay Derr and Karen Lynn Davidson (below) provided commentaries on four windows of time into the life of Eliza R. Snow: 1) Eliza and the jilted suitor, 2) Eliza’s conversion, 3) the grand trip abroad, and 4) Eliza and Lorenzo Snow.
Eliza’s lyrics to popular hymns were sung by the audience. Crawford Gates. Crawford (right) led
the group in singing “National Song”, to the tune of “Now Let Us Rejoice”, “Song for the Camp of Israel”, to the tune of “The Indian Hunter”. Keith Irwin on banjo, singing with Clive Romney, sang an energetic song, “Celebration Song for the Fourth of July” to the tune of “Old Dan Tucker”, written by Eliza. Piano accompanist was Alicia Kaelin Derr.
The Complete Poetry (left) includes 507 poems on many different subjects, such as hymns, temples, funerals, home and family, faith, and nature. Several poems were read which were followed by commentary. Approximately 100 attended and enjoyed a great evening of poetry, history and song (below).
The symposium was hosted by the Mormon Women’s History Initiative Team affiliated with the Women’s Research Institute at BYU. It was co-sponsored by BYU Studies, the Association or Mormon Letters, Harvard Alumni Association of Utah, Sons of Utah Pioneers, and International Society Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS
It is not too early to consider the New Year’s resolutions. As a matter of fact, the two that the National Officers heartedly recommend can be fulfilled before the New Year.
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Every member bring in one new member. There is no penalty for more than one.
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Every member give one new gift subscription to the Pioneer Magazine. They make an excellent and inexpensive Christmas gift, $15 for one year, $25 for two years. Let’s give our every effort to fulfill these two very important resolutions. This would surely help balance our budget.
CHAPTER NEWS
By Louis Pickett: louwill@utahbroadband.com
BOX ELDER (Brigham City, Utah) The National President Elect: Dil Strasser made an unexpected visit to the chapter board meeting. He made a presentation about the aims and goals of the “National” for 2010. The primary goal for the year is to expand the organization by opening new chapters and increasing membership. It was agreed by the board that this was a worthy objective and that they would make a new effort to organize a chapter in Tremonton.
Elwin Merritt and Duane Phippen are in the process of determining GPS positioning coordinates on each of the designated monuments and historical sites located in Box Elder County.
BRIGHAM YOUNG (Provo, Utah) The chapter owned and sponsored Pioneer Village had a very successful and busy summer and is now closed to the public for the season. Those involved with the village have very ambitious plans that include disassembling, moving and reconstructing a barn, constructing a working store and building some “loafing shed” –two or three sided sheds typical of what the pioneers had for their cattle and horses. The committee discovered and purchased a 100 year old two room cabin in Roosevelt. They dismantled the cabin and moved the timbers to the village. Now the work of assembling it needs to be accomplished.
CENTERVILLE (Centerville, Utah) The featured speaker at the November chapter meeting was Jim Matthews who has been a frequent traveler to the Holy Land (twenty five trips) and has been a guide to the area. He has spent enough time there that he has learned some of the language and has established good contacts. A combination of his personal familiarization of the area and his experience as a teacher in the CES system for 38 years made him particularly qualified to treat his subject of “The Holy Land, the Jerusalem Center and the Birth of the Savior”. He told of challenges the church has, along with all Christian churches in the Holy Land. His message was both interesting and timely.
COTTON MISSION (St. George, Utah) J.L. Crawford, the oldest living National Park Ranger, was the guest speaker at the November dinner meeting. Mr. Crawford was born on a homestead where Zion National Park’s headquarters now stands. He was a member of the C.C.C. that built roads in Zion’s park and later became a ranger there. In honor of Zion’s Centennial year he told the history of the park and his memories growing up there. He was featured on the PBS Ken Burns film series: “America’s Best Idea: The National Parks”. He is the author of the book “Towers of Stone: Zion National Park.”
HOLLADAY (Holladay, Utah) The guest speaker for November was Keith Hamilton who told his conversion story and interesting facts about his life. He was born in Virginia and attended elementary and junior high school there. By the time he was 14 years old both of his parents had died and he was then raised by an aunt in North Carolina. His great grandfather was a slave and a Southern Baptist Minister. Keith joined the church in 1980 while attending college. He started college on an engineering scholarship but, after joining the LDS church and having an interest in social causes, he changed his major to criminal justice. He was the first black to attend the BYU Law School and the first one to graduate from there. He served eight years in the US Navy and currently serves as a JAG officer in the US Air Force reserve as a Lt. Col. He was a very interesting speaker and was enjoyed by all in attendance.
The chapter participated in a trek on November 20th to the new Church History Building and was impressed by that facility and enjoyed the tour given there. The trek ended with dinner in the Garden Terrace at the Joseph Smith Building.
HURRICANE VALLEY (Hurricane, Utah) Special recognition and honors were given two members of the chapter at the November meeting. Chapter president, Garth Isom, called Dell Stout and Verdell Hinton to the front of the group and presented them each with a medallion and a plaque (right) from the national office. Dell and Verdell are two of the founders of the chapter. They were introduced by a mutual relative, Steve Stout and given time to tell their story. Verdell joined the SUP in Sacramento, California and was the original founding member of the H.V. Chapter. Dell told of his life in Hurricane and credited many who played a part in his life. It was a good experience to honor these men who have contributed so much.
JORDAN RIVER TEMPLE (Southwest Salt Lake Valley) A very interesting presentation was made to the combined Jordan River Temple and the Temple Quarry chapters on November 5th by Helmut Franz (right). He was born and
raised in Germany and gave a report of his experiences and his study of the conditions in Germany leading up to WW II. It took only 14 years for that nation to spiral down from a condition of utopia to Nazism. He listed and described the steps that the German society went through under Hitler and he cautioned that our nation is moving down this same spiral. He listed and described the steps: Utopia, Republic, Democracy, Beginning Socialism (government centered), Socialism (socialism is evolutionary), Communism (Communism is revolutionary), Fascism / Nazism.
MAPLE MOUNTAIN (Mapleton, Utah) At the October dinner meeting Frank Nielsen gave a five minute ancestral biography about hardships and heritages centered around a sack of beans which his great grandmother was issued as a wagon train left Utah to settle in Arizona. “Bears I have known” was the subject for guest speaker, Hal Black. (right) As a professor at
BYU he became a researcher on bear habitat and hibernation customs. He reported some of his interesting findings at the meeting. To add interest to his report he showed videos of some of the bears and their cubs in winter caves and how they brought them out of the caves to examine and then returned them to where they were found. Several members of the chapter have gone with Hal on his bear research trips and he offered to take anyone else who would want to go with him on his next bear hunt in March.
MILLS (Southeast Salt Lake City) Michael Ballam entertained and edified the chapter in November. His list of accomplishments seems to have no end. He is a native of Logan, Utah and has returned there to live. He has performed in major concert halls in much of the world. He has served or is now serving on numerous boards of directors of professional arts organizations. He works to encourage children in the magic and wonder of Mozart and Beethoven music. His subject for the evening was “The History of Musical Theater” and as he told of such composers as Rogers and Hammerstein he sang songs from their shows. All attendees went away pleased to have been there and to have been richly entertained.
MT. NEBO (Payson, Utah) At the September meeting of the chapter Mr. Paul Barker of Elk Ridge demonstrated pioneer methods of fire-building. He used flint-and-steel, bow-and-drill, and an amazing method that wasn’t used until the early 1900’s called a “fire piston”.
Dr. Alexander L. Baugh (right) of the BYU religion department was the speaker at the October meeting. His interesting subject was on the Missouri period of pioneer history. His power point presentation focused on little-known facts about Far West
SALT LAKE CITY (Salt Lake City, Utah) In October chapter members enjoyed a report from Stephen H. Smoot and his father (also named Stephen Smoot) giving a description of the efforts taken to prevent Reed Smoot from being seated in the U.S. Senate. They presented some well known incidents including a Pennsylvania Senator’s comment: “I would rather have a senator seated next to me who was a polyg who didn’t polyg than a monog who didn’t monog.” It was emphasized that the efforts to prevent Smoot’s seating wasn’t about plural marriage but the objectionable belief in continuous revelation.
SALT LAKE PIONEER (Salt Lake City, Utah) Mark Benson, chapter member and past president was the speaker at the November meeting. He is the son of President Ezra Taft Benson and has served in many church callings including president of the Salt Lake Ensign Stake. He is currently serving in that stake as the patriarch. Mark gave a warm and inspirational message befitting the season.
SETTLEMENT CANYON (Tooele, Utah) A year-end “Thank you” was expressed by the leaders of the chapter for all the volunteer service that has been performed by chapter members. A great deal of work this year went into the placement of the monument at the corner of Vine and 1st West. Maintaining the Pioneer Cemetery has required workers every Tuesday during the summer. Those who care for the museum have been dedicated to having it open and operating throughout the summer. Those who volunteered as docents were appreciated and had good experiences meeting and talking with the patrons. All in all it has been a great year because of the effort of so many chapter members.
SQUAW PEAK (Orem, Utah) Randy Bott, a BYU professor, was the speaker for the November chapter meeting. He has taught in the CES program for 20 years and has been at the BYU for the past 15 years. He has received numerous awards and recognitions as a teacher and has authored seven books and booklets plus articles. Among his many church callings he served as mission president in the New England area. His remarks centered on his experiences in that calling and as a teacher at the “Y”. He told of many successes working with the students and the missionaries. It was a spiritual message enjoyed by those attending the meeting.
TAYLORSVILLE – BENNION (Taylorsville, Utah) The chapter was pleased to have a few actors and actresses who portrayed some of the early pioneers of Taylorsville at the last Taylorsville Tales production. This production was presented in cooperation with the Taylorsville Arts Council and Taylorsville Historic Preservation Committee. The performers came in period costumes and told the story of the life of the person they represented. Individuals portrayed by those who performed at the meeting were the cemetery sexton, Abe Barker (a life-long citizen of Taylorsville) and Nathan and Ruth Hale. It was a very enjoyable evening
TEMPLE FORK (Logan, Utah) The guest speaker for the November chapter dinner meeting was John Stewart, a lover of the book: The White Indian Boy. The book is a history of Elisha Nicholas Wilson, called Nick. He was born in Nauvoo and came west with his family who settled in Grantsville. There were many Indians in the area and Nick associated with many of them. As a child Nick and an Indian boy of his age herded sheep together on the range and became good friends. He was persuaded to go and live with the Indians, taking the place of a boy who had died. It was learned that Chief Pocatello, who was an enemy of the Mormons, intended to kidnap the boy so Chief Washakie sent Nick home for his safety. Later Nick became one of the first pony express riders from Salt Lake City to California. He was shot in the head by a Goshute arrow and left for dead but he was found and recovered from the wound. He had many other interesting experiences. Most of his family died in a flu epidemic leaving only a son named Charlie. John Stewart met Charlie when he was 80 years old and was involved in getting the history of Nick published.
"ECHOS OF CHRISTMAS: A Musical Reflection on the Saviors Birth"
December 15-19 and 21-23, 2009
6:30 - 9:30 p.m. weather permitting
Salt Lake City's Liberty Park
For complete information on this program see the PDF version of the December 2009 TrailMarker
2009 Medallions
Golden Spike
Also 2008 Headquarters
For an order form, please download the PDF version of the November TrailMarker
Don't forget to order the Pioneer Magazine for you or a friend! CLICK HERE to order.
The "TrailMarker" is the official newsletter of the
National Society of the Sons of Utah Pioneers
Please send or email your pictures and stories to:
National Society of the Sons of Utah Pioneers
3301 East 2920 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84109
Phone: 801-484-4441
Fax: 801-484-2067
Email: sup@networld.com