While we enjoyed a family trip in
the Midwest last month, visiting Church history sites, the folks in Utah
celebrated Pioneer Day around July 24th.
(More fireworks than ever, I’m sure.)
Kay and I hope our family, wherever they were, gained greater
appreciation for the sacrifices made by the early members of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
As
Brigham Young’s vanguard company of 148 pioneers approached the Great Salt Lake
Valley in 1847, a group moved ahead to scout a route and prepare a wagon road through
Emigration Canyon. On July 21st,
two leaders caught sight of the valley and the Great Salt Lake.
A month earlier, on Monday June 21st, another contingent of 130 persons had begun the trek west from Winter Quarters. Charles Coulson Rich was in charge of his own company and the militia for that entire camp.
A month earlier, on Monday June 21st, another contingent of 130 persons had begun the trek west from Winter Quarters. Charles Coulson Rich was in charge of his own company and the militia for that entire camp.
[A work in progress, to include excerpt from Charles C Rich by Leonard J. Arrington, ©1974, Brigham Young University Press.]
