Pioneer Day brings the past to the present
Today marks Pioneer Day, the day that honors Mormon pioneers settling in the Salt Lake Valley and many of our area towns came later.
The North Bingham County Park in Shelley looked like a blast from the past. People dressed in costumes for Pioneer Day and gave a taste of what life was like back when pioneers settled here.
“They were excellent workers,” said Joan Winston, a member of the Board of Ideas that put the event together. “They were willing to learn new skills even though they came from all kinds of walks of life. They had to learn new skills. And that’s something we’d like to encourage the young people today, is to be willing to learn new skills. And the last one of course is to rely on God. A lot of them, that’s the only way they survived the trek west.”
Visitors could wash clothes, dance, pan for gold and learn how to make quilts like pioneers did.
“It’s their chance to get hands on, try a few new things, taste some really fun things, talk to people as if they are interviewing time travelers if they want to,” said Liz Clark, a member of the Board of Ideas. “And just have a really good time connecting as a family and finding their own unique connection to the past.”
Clark says the day is about understanding what those in the past went through to give us a sense of purpose and appreciate what we have today.
“We can learn a lot from how antique people, the original cast if you will, how they handled those trials with encouragement, with hope, with a lot of positivity, and a lot of faith from people with all kinds of different faiths. We’re here to celebrate all of it,” she said.
If you missed the Shelley Pioneer Day celebration, you can still visit all of the pioneer items. They are located at the North Bingham County Park in Shelley.
