Memorial Day and Beyond

We had the opportunity to attend the ribbon cutting and dedication of the Escalante Heritage Center and the annual Escalante Heritage Festival. We drove over on Friday evening, May 27th, and spent the night at Ruby's Grand America. On our way we stopped into the cemetery at Panguitch, UT, so that Bubby could look at the headstone of Frederick Judd, a relative ours.





Here are a couple of photos of the headstone, which also had inscriptions for his wife (not my blood relative) and some children.

The ribbon cutting and dedication was a great event. The Lt. Governor, Greg Bell, was a speaker along with local dignitaries. This event represents the culmination of a lot of years work for a small group of individuals, most notably Jerry Roundy.



That is Jerry between the man and woman, and of the course the man is none other than Gerald Lund, whose "Undaunted", has raised a tremendous amount of interest in the Hole in the Rock story. In the cowboy hat, on the right side of the photo is Sevier County commissioner Gordon Topham, a BCNHA buddy of ours.



This striking image is part of the artwork that can be found at the memorial in Escalante. It was painted by Lynn Griffen, and is called "The Last Wagon". It shows a husband driving a wagon through the Hole, his wife and stock tied to the back of the wagon to provide some breaking, and his children, seated on the rocks, waiting dutifully for Mom and Dad to return. A great image. I understand a print has been given to Elder Holland.

A few days into June, Bubb and I had the opportunity, once again, to participate in the BCNHA Field Seminar. This year, we focused on the Salt Lake area, and we had a great group. We visited Kennicott Copper, Antelope Island State Park, and Red Butte Gardens.



While at the Gardens, we were joined by Sarah and the Kids. Here is Maggatha, looking mighty fine in her jeans jacket. She was particularly sassy.



Jake was grumpy for some reason, as you can see in this photo. We had a nice visit at the Gardens, and it was great for us to see Sarah and the kids.



I can't pass up the opportunity to teach a little and share an interesting experience that was an unplanned part of our field seminar this year. We went to Temple Square in SLC as a filler at the end of one of the days. In the southeast corner of the Square, just outside the confining walls, their is a monument with an explanation. According to that monument, very shortly after arriving in the Salt Lake valley, the Saints set about a land survey, so they could establish property locations and begin to cultivate and build. This location represents the "base and meridian", or fundamental reference point, from which that survey was set up. If one reviews USGS maps currently in use, the phrase "Salt Lake City Base and Meridian" is always found on those maps. This location, first established by the pioneers for practical reasons, is what is being honored at this monument.



I tried to impress upon our participants the significance of this site and these events by showing them how to properly honor this monument.



One of the most interesting aspects of this story is that several years later, the Federal government conducted their own land survey, using far more sophisticated methods, and found that the actual location of the Salt Lake base and meridian is about 100 feet to the northwest of the current monument (within the walls of Temple Square). Of course I took a photo of that, too.

It is remarkable that the original survey, which is still the one in use, came so close to the accurate location. Another nod to pioneer ingenuity.

Buboppy