Visit to the Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters for my Birthday

 I chose to go to the Pioneer Trail Center.  It is always a fun place to go and they tell the story of the pioneers really well; Nauvoo to Salt Lake City.  The part I like best is dressing everyone in pioneer clothes and getting a picture with the handcart.

With grandchildren

Our entire group

I learned that the pioneer graves are mostly unmarked, but the headstones at the cemetery are from the local community after the Mormons had left.  The large statue marks the area for the Mormon deaths.  More than three hundred pioneers and as many as 600 are buried here.

Special Witness - Elder Rasband

Being the great-great grandson of pioneers in the Martin handcart Company, I was very touched by this testimony.  He talks of his heritage of faith and endurance, of family who had a testimony of the Lord jesus Christ.  This legacy has helped forge his own testimony.

Visit to "This is the Place" Pioneer Park

Joseph Smith and Brigham Young

My trip to Pioneer State Park was rushed, and it was mega hot, so I didn't go into the village but stayed in the store and the memorials outside.

Mormon Batallion

Mormon Batallion

This flag was above the store in the Visitor's Center

Handcarts

Memorial

This may commemorate the words of Francis Webster from the Martin Handcart Company

Memorial, explorers

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Pony Express

Pony Express cabin

Mormon Batallion

Mormon Batallion, letting go

The Ship Brooklyn

Manteca Stake Handcart Trip: Reenacting

In July, I was able to participate in the Manteca Stake Handcart trek as a re-enactor.  We presented several different scenes.  I also was able to tell handcart stories.  It was fun.  The first day I portrayed the mean uncle, who didn't want to let his nephew go with the Mormons, and disbanded him from the family in the end.

myself with beard 

 Then the Banks portrayed the couple in which the wife left her shoes behind.

Sister Poole

The second day we portrayed a brother passing away.  Bishop Eklund played and I sang "Come, Come Ye Saints."  It was effective.
As the carts came into a clearing the last day, Sister Poole was playing "Come, Come Ye Saints" on her flute.  This too was very effective.  She then portrayed her relative, while we talked of the rescue. Elder Martin told the Saints to prepare for the worse and Sister Jackson told of her vision of her husband telling her they were to be rescued.  Then our two horse riders came over the ridge and into camp and told everyone that more provisions were just a ways further.

The rescue

Re-enacting was fun, and it was a good time.

looking for the rescue riders

Virginia Reel: Manteca Stake Handcart Trek 2015

The Virginia Reel is not my favorite dance, because the lead couple is very busy, but everyone else mostly just stands an watches until their turn comes.  Of course everyone gets to be the lead couple if you dance long enough.  In this dance everyone showed lots of enthusiasm and energy with clapping and doing the twirl when it was your turn.  This is Friday night, after a hearty supper and good spirits.  This followed eight miles of hiking with handcarts.

Oh Susana: Manteca Stake Handcart Trek 2015

I sat under a tree and watched as the young people took part in square dancing.  I really like
Oh Susana" and there was lots of enthusiasm.  As you watch my film, most of the groups caught on pretty well, but one group everyone seemed to have two left legs as after the hand swinging thingy it never worked out quite right.  The guys and girls were always running to get back together.  Maybe that is part of the fun.

Handcart Trek Announced for Manteca Stake

At the missionary fireside last night, a handcart trek was announced for Manteca Stake for July of 2015.  I am very excited.  I have never been involved in a handcart trek; and of course I don't know if I will be actually involved in this one.  This is a youth trek, 14-18 with about 150 adult volunteers involved.  SO I hope to be one of the 150.

I like to think of this as Isaac, as he helped bury many pioneers

My head is very full of handcart stories.  This is from studying my ancestors.  Isaac Wardle and Mary Ashton, as well as Mary's family were in the Martin Handcart Company.  Mary's younger sister passed away while the ship Horizon was anchored at Boston harbor.  She is buried in an unknown grave in Boston.  Mary's mother passed away close to Winter's Quarters in Nebraska.  The newborn baby only lived a couple of weeks, and was buried close to the Babbitt grave site.  The Babbitt company had been attacked by Indians.  Her father left the company, and joined the infantry at Fort Laramie.  He would complete his five year duty with the army, was released from Benicia, and returned to England, to later immigrate to America.  Finally, her older sister, froze her feet at the last crossing of the Platte River.  She passed away shortly after.  Mary, and her sister Sarah survived the  trek, and were taken in by families in Salt Lake.  Mary would become Isaac's second wife.
Isaac's parents and younger brother immigrated with the Robinson Company in 1860.
Of course there a thousand more stories associated with the handcarts companies. 

This is a depiction of Mary and Sarah by Julie Rogers

Sunday School: The Rescue: We are All Rescuers, and All in Need of Rescue

Sunday school to day was on the rescue of the Martin Handcart Company.  Even though I have studied this event extensively, writing my Great-great grandfather's history, I still felt inadequate to the call.  There is too much to tell, and not enough time to tell it.  I also wanted to let people talk about their own experiences with being rescued and rescuing.   Please, if you would like to read more Mormon handcart stories, read the posts from Isaac's history.  http://billywardlegen.blogspot.com/
There are many posts here that talk about the handcarts, especially chapters five through ten of Isaac's history. Also reviews of the Martin Handcart records at the Church History Library and other books I have read.
The gospel is true.  I am so grateful for rescuers in my life-- home teacher who visited when my parent's marriage fell apart, people who supported us when Billy Boy died, people who have helped through other trials. 
And of course to Jesus who is the rescuer of all, and without whose atonement there would be no meaning to life.  I am grateful that he has paid the price of my needs, my indescretions, my imperfections.  That through his atonement I am whole, and can be at peace.

Mormon Movie Review; KBYU; In Performance: 1856 Long Walk Home (to mmboe)

I watched this on BYUTV. Everyone else in the family was turned off by the operatic tenure of this presentation.  It is a combined telling of the Martin and Willey Handcart Companies.  It uses poetry, song (piano accompaniment) and poetic recitation to tell the story.  It includes some classic stories from the tragedy.  These include the words of Elizabeth Jackson Horrocks with regards to the death of her husband, and spending the night in the freezing cold under the stars with her children on her lap.  Also the words of Frances Webster, "We became acquainted with God in our extremities."

It also gives a fairly good idea of the conditions on the ships in the journey across the ocean.

However it does have some problems with telling two stories at the same time, and as a result it makes some factual errors.  It has the Martin Saints going up Rocky Ridge and crossing the Sweetwater for the sixth time going to Martin's Cove.  It was their first crossing, and they did not pull the handcarts up Rock Ridge.  It also has Ephraim coming into camp before Martin's Cove, while he met the company after the Cove.

The genre was operatic, and not period, which would have been preferable.  The version of Brigham Young calling or the Saints was enjoyable, and the cords haunting.

This work, I could only mildly recommend. 

Music Review: Pioneer Day Celebration 2006 (to mmboe)

I have been watching the Pioneer Day Celebration of 2006, sesquicentennial of the handcart pioneers.  This concert features the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra.  It also features the Brett Family Singers.  I taped it on VCR when it was presented on BYUtv.  The choir sang four folk songs arranged by Mack Wahlberg.  The Brett Family Singers sang songs from musicals and other popular songs: "The Impossible Dream," "Where Is Love," "You Build Me Up" and "Let There Be Peace."  "The Impossible Dream" is one of my favorite, but I didn't care for their arrangements with an echo quality throughout.  However the other songs were well done.  "You Build Me Up" was dedicated to President Hinckley.
There was a violin solo as part of the choir song "Lead Thou Me On."  It was very moving.  The choir also sang to excerpts from the film "Sweetwater Rescue."  This portion concluded with the song "Dear Zion," which was commonly sung by the pioneers.  President Hinckley spoke briefly.  "We should never forget the pioneers and their sacrifice."  The performance then concluded with " Come, Come Ye Saints."  Very moving.  My only regret is I could not find it on the LDS Website or You Tube to share.