This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. Growing up, I remember spending Pioneer Day with of the Haycocks up at my Nana and Papa's house. As a boy, I was excited to see my cousins and I was always excited for the food that inevitably accompanied such a meeting. I remember it being a day that my Papa Haycock in particular just loved. As I've gotten older, I've come to understand why my Papa Haycock loved that day so much. He loved it because of what it represented and the people that we honored upon that day.
One of the wonderful things that the Church has done in Church History is to compile the Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel Database which provides lists of people in the various pioneer companies, as well as transcripts of diaries, letters, and autobiographies that give us information about those various pioneer companies. Family Search has taken advantage of this very cool database, and created an application that links our family trees with the people listed in the database. This application allows us to learn which of our ancestors were a part of pioneer trek, and provides information about what companies they travelled in, who they travelled with, and what diaries, letters, etc. mentioned those ancestors.
Anyhow, if you are looking for something fun to do this week, try these websites out and see what you can learn about your ancestors. Sorry for the short entry.
Brett
While I still get the day off from work because of SLCC, Pioneer Day just isn't the same if you're not actually living in Utah. I miss the celebrations, but thank goodness I can still connect with the people and remember and honor those who have gone before me.
ReplyDeleteHope it's a splendid day of celebration and remembrance for all of y'all up there in Utah. :)