Celebrating our Heritage

In Utah, the 24th of July is a holiday, unique to any other state. People take the day off work for picnics and BBQ's, a huge parade marches through downtown, runners, who have prepared for months, race down East Canyon in an annual marathon and fireworks can be seen bursting over the city as soon as the sun goes down. The reason for the holiday? It is the historical day on which the Mormon Pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. Each summer as we return home to Utah, we look forward to this celebration. 

This year, to add depth to the festivities, we learned about the Kirsten American Girl character and the time period during which she lived. She was a pioneer from Scandanavia, who crossed the plains in a covered wagon in 1854. We had grand plans for this "unit", like a tour of the Beehive House, preparing a pioneer meal and visiting the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers Museum. We found ourselves limited on time, so we were content with an abridged agenda. 

Our first outing was a visit to Temple Square. We walked around the grounds and stopped at various bronze statues of Pioneers and their hardships. I retold the stories of the handcart companies and the seagulls that ate all the locusts that were destroying the fields. We watched a short movie of a Pioneer girl who, when caught in a rock slide with her brother, had faith and was protected. We then wandered through the visitor centers, soaking in the happiness that this place always seems to bring.

We spent a morning reading Kirsten's World, a non-fiction book about life on the prairie. As I turned the pages, the kids made an "I spy" list of things that they thought they would spot while we visited This is the Place Heritage Park, a living museum of a recreated pioneer village on the benches of Salt Lake City. We assigned a point value to each item, depending upon how difficult it may be to find.   

Later in the morning, with our lists in hand, we arrived at the village. Immediately we were immersed in pioneer life. Families dressed in bonnets and calico dresses, cowboy boots and trousers with suspenders, milled about their jobs. I underestimated the excitement that the kids would have for our I spy game. They pointed out covered wagons, log cabins, chickens, a school bell, bonnets, a wash board, a feather mattress and a chamber pot. The best part of our adventure was that we were able to participate in chores and crafts, experiencing life as a Pioneer for a day. 

 

We stamped leather in the tannery. . . 

churned butter in the Heber C. Kimball house. . . 

 

scrubbed, dried and ironed the laundry. . . 

visited the barber for a close shave. . . 

and rode horses (How exciting this was for Sophia who loves horses! She has been talking about Lucky ever since!)

We cared for the sheep, goats and cows. . . 

created sand art pictures in an Indian woman's log cabin. . . 

ate lunch at the Huntsman Hotel (I'm not sure Sophia liked her food) . . . 

 bought penny candy at the ZCMI mercantile. . .

 and eventually wore ourselves out!

Recently I was talking to one of Emilie's friends about a book that she was reading that had pioneer characters. I mentioned that in Utah we had visited many different pioneer sites and museums. She was very curious about the interesting history of Utah and historical sites there. I was reminded how lucky we are to have come from an area that is so rich in American history, and how fun it is that it is not the same American history that is so common here in Boston.