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Treks give Mormon teens a taste of pioneer past, but some practices steer away from historyMy husband pointed this article out to me last night (shocking, I thought he only reads the Deseret News) and we had a pretty good chuckle out of some of the things that well-intentioned leaders have dreamed up to ‘spice up’ pioneer treks even further. Burying a flour sack ‘baby’ by the side of the road? Building an effigy of the temple and then burning it? Angry mobs shooting blanks into the air? You can’t make this stuff up, folks, because somebody already has.
I admit that I found this paragraph a little confusing:
Quote:“Symbolizing the absence of the young men by calling them to serve in the Mormon Battalion is historically inaccurate and is therefore inappropriate,” says the church’s Handcart Trek Reenactments: Guideline for Leaders.
I thought that the church guidelines were saying, don’t have a women’s pull, because it’s historically inaccurate. I followed the link and it turns out that the sentence excerpted is from a section detailing how to hold a women’s pull.
:problem: They aren’t saying not to have a women’s pull at all; in fact, they would seem to encourage that practice. All they are saying is not to attribute the historically inaccurate practice of a women’s pull to a historically inaccurate statement about the men’s absence due to the Mormon Battalion. (Instead, the logic given for a women’s pull, despite no such thing ever happening during the handcart era, is that some women pulled handcarts without a man, because their husband had died or whatever. This seems like an even flimsier reason than chalking it up to the MB. Sure, some women pulled handcarts without husbands. But some men pulled handcarts without women, too. Since a greater number of men crossed the plains than women, when do we hold the ‘men’s pull’ when the women stand silently to the side watching their friends and brothers suffer?)The article also pointed out that far, far more people have participated in handcart reenacting than ever participated in the actual handcart companies (and there were more than two handcart companies – conversely, two wagon companies were stranded by the same storms that doomed the Martin and Willie). That is just mind-boggling to me. I graduated high school in 1997, which was kind of when the trend began, but it took a while for it to catch on in multiple stakes (and multiple countries. I’m sorry but the idea of a handcart trek in New Zealand is just weird.) and so I was never forced to participate in one. Thank goodness. I just hope that the madness is soon to be at an end. (Remember some of the weird youth activities that were going around in the 80s and 90s? The ‘you have all died in a plane crash’? The ‘carnival of life’ – ooh, I’m still bitter about that one. Those activities have mercifully fallen out of favor; hopefully the handcart-trek obsession someday does the same.)
I read that article, too, Joni. I’m not a fan of treks, and in fact think they’re silly. I too hope they go the way of the roadshows (remember those?) Our stake did the Mormon Battalion thing one year, all the boys were “drafted” and taken away for a few hours (an afternoon, I think) leaving the girls to do all the work themselves. I’ve also heard of the burying the baby thing but that was not our stake.
In Utah treks are big business – selling “period” clothes, handcarts, etc.
DarkJedi wrote:I too hope they go the way of the roadshows (remember those?)
Ha! I forgot roadshows. I actually liked those. They were a fun way to interact with people you don’t usually interact with, and unlike the ‘Carnival of Life’ nonsense, they don’t involve your bishop telling you that you’re going to the Telestial Kingdom.😮 Quote:In Utah treks are big business – selling “period” clothes, handcarts, etc.
That’s probably why we are going to be stuck with them for the foreseeable future.Joni wrote:DarkJedi wrote:I too hope they go the way of the roadshows (remember those?)
Ha! I forgot roadshows. I actually liked those. They were a fun way to interact with people you don’t usually interact with, and unlike the ‘Carnival of Life’ nonsense, they don’t involve your bishop telling you that you’re going to the Telestial Kingdom.😮 Quote:In Utah treks are big business – selling “period” clothes, handcarts, etc.
That’s probably why we are going to be stuck with them for the foreseeable future.
I kind of liked the roadshows and I am not a theater nerd at all. I never had any of those other “big deal” events. Maybe that is why I don’t have a strong testimony now😮 The first (and only) trek I did I was not happy about the $$ needed to clothe myself, 2 sons, and a daughter. Those dang leather hats are not used anywhere else.
On a related note. I was visiting another ward that was sending off a missionary. The speaker before the missionary to be talked a bit about the handcarts, but quickly turned it into talking about how the 1,500 people in Quincy took on >5,000 Mormons when they were kicked out of Missouri and how that parallels the plight of the refugees now. He also seemed to make a quick point in passing that not everyone that was part of the willie and martin companies of handcarts stayed with the church and that some even left the church. I found it encouraging.
LookingHard wrote:The speaker before the missionary to be talked a bit about the handcarts, but quickly turned it into talking about how the 1,500 people in Quincy took on >5,000 Mormons when they were kicked out of Missouri and how that parallels the plight of the refugees now. He also seemed to make a quick point in passing that not everyone that was part of the willie and martin companies of handcarts stayed with the church and that some even left the church. I found it encouraging.
I’m glad I was not there, because I would have stood up and applauded; something that is frowned upon in our Church. What a great and true statement. I’ve thought of the refugees of Missouri and the middle east quite a bit lately, and this is the quote I keep coming back to.Quote:We were set down on the banks of the Mississippi River, opposite Quincy, and were again houseless and homeless, wandering in the cold and bleak winter weather, with scanty food and clothing. We pitched our tents and waited for an opportunity to cross the river. There were several families of Saints there when we arrived, and they were continually coming, so the bank of the river was dotted with tents, now the only home of the again exiled Saints. The wagons bringing families were unloaded and taken back for more of the Saints. When we crossed the river it was partly on the ice and partly in the ferry boat. The shore on the Quincy side of the river was lined with the inhabitants of that place, to witness the crossing over of the Mormon outcasts even the exiled Saints in midwinter. Perhaps many thought they were a strange people, or some kind of animals; not human beings like themselves, subject to sorrow and pain, cold and hunger and distress. –Emily Partridge
For some reason, my ward put me in charge of representing us at the trek committee meetings last summer. Committee wasn’t quite the right term, though. There was a couple in charge from the stake, and they pretty much called all the shots. On the upside, there was a kibosh on all the extreme things like burying baby dolls and fake mob attacks. On the downside, the woman in charge went on an utterly ridiculous modesty-rant about the imperative for the girls to wear ankle-length pants under their dresses. She was bonkers, IMO, and I am confident I wasn’t the only one in the room who thought so. I blogged about it here: http://www.wheatandtares.org/16279/mormons-so-cray/ hawkgrrrl wrote:For some reason, my ward put me in charge of representing us at the trek committee meetings last summer. Committee wasn’t quite the right term, though. There was a couple in charge from the stake, and they pretty much called all the shots. On the upside, there was a kibosh on all the extreme things like burying baby dolls and fake mob attacks. On the downside, the woman in charge went on an utterly ridiculous modesty-rant about the imperative for the girls to wear ankle-length pants under their dresses. She was bonkers, IMO, and I am confident I wasn’t the only one in the room who thought so. I blogged about it here:
http://www.wheatandtares.org/16279/mormons-so-cray/ I was thinking of your W&T post the whole time I was reading the SLTrib article. It really is a shame that the most extreme view often carries the day.
I would have been tempted to point out that wearing bloomers in the 1850s was
actually a sign of feminism
[img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/03/62/44/0362442f6c838f80b1d977a30cf47ca2.jpg [/img] And they didn’t wear panties underneath, either.
😮 I would never, ever, ever participate in a handcart trek, but if I ever did, I would do it in historically accurate clothing.
😆 All said and done, I don’t think treks are a good idea. I respect the effort that goes into them, but since the women’s pull came up in this article, I have to finally say it: I think it’s creepy. I am not a ridiculously trip-wired feminist who looks for every offense, and I get that a lot of trek organizers just think, “Hey, it’s trek tradition, just something we do….” But bottom line, it’s about defining the women as different and putting them on display.Should edit to add: this is just the way it played out in our stake. The stated goal is to honor the women, or whatever, but it’s just kind of understood as moment for the boys to feel manly looking on and the girls to feel womanly (and strong?). It ends up being more sexualized than I would have aimed for, but I wonder if that isn’t actually the intent.
And then: cue all the hand-wringing about “how the girls are dressed!”
Kind of
donewith trek. Quote:I would never, ever, ever participate in a handcart trek, but if I ever did, I would do it in historically accurate clothing.
😆 My daughter is a historic reenactor. She left an hour ago wearing the very style of bloomers on your photo. She is part of the costuming committee for our local historic landmark and cringes every time she see’s trek garb. Like you, if she ever did attend, which she won’t, she has vowed to do it in period correct clothing and only doing period correct activities.
If we stop doing trek would it become one of those things where 30 years from now people will be pointing out how much fun church used to be back in the day… when we did things like trek? FWIW, I think the trek is a fine concept and I have no issue with it. I applaud those who dedicate their time and talents to make it happen and respect all those who enjoy it. I do agree that they should shed the dramatizations of strange events like the women’s pull, burying fake babies, etc.
But I will say that I’m not a fan of the celebration of the W&M Handcart Tragedy. I hope that future generations don’t have reenactments of 9/11, for example. W&MHCC was the pioneer equivalent. It should be studied and recognized, but a disaster like that should not be seen as a spiritual event. Most handcart companies arrived in SLC in safety. Most pioneers were not in handcart companies.
On Own Now wrote:But I will say that I’m not a fan of the celebration of the W&M Handcart Tragedy. I hope that future generations don’t have reenactments of 9/11, for example. W&MHCC was the pioneer equivalent.
It should be studied and recognized, but a disaster like that should not be seen as a spiritual event. Most handcart companies arrived in SLC in safety. Most pioneers were not in handcart companies.Agreed. From my study of pioneers (which is by no means comprehensive), it appears that generally the Mormons were better prepared and other than Willie & Martin (who were warned multiple times by multiple people not to go then) suffered about the same hardships as other groups such as the Oregon pioneers. Some argue that Mormon hardship was actually a bit less perhaps because they were better prepared. I have wondered why the idea of Mormons suffering less hardship is not emphasized more because it could also be said that less hardship could be a sign that they were blessed. I also generally take the opportunity to point out that only about 10-15% of pioneers (with that percentage being generous) came by handcart and even the handcart companies were accompanied by wagons.
DJ wroet Quote:I have wondered why the idea of Mormons suffering less hardship is not emphasized more because it could also be said that less hardship could be a sign that they were blessed.
How do you expect us to be defensive if we were blessed? Tragedy and victiming give us strength. If it works for the nightly news, it definitely works for us.
DarkJedi wrote:I read that article, too, Joni. I’m not a fan of treks, and in fact think they’re silly. I too hope they go the way of the roadshows (remember those?)
Our stake did the Mormon Battalion thing one year, all the boys were “drafted” and taken away for a few hours (an afternoon, I think) leaving the girls to do all the work themselves. I’ve also heard of the burying the baby thing but that was not our stake.
In Utah treks are big business – selling “period” clothes, handcarts, etc.
I went on a Trek last month with three of my kids. I didn’t get into the spiritual part of it and I didn’t care about any of the Pioneer stories that were told. I thought some things were silly.But it was awesome! I loved being with many great people all day long and sharing a common cause. We had a lot of fun dancing, playing old games, and singing by the fire with a guitar.
I did’t spend a lot of money on clothes. We got some stuff from Deseret Industries and made a skirt from an old sheet.
Also, the women’s pull was actually pretty neat.
mom3 wrote:DJ wroet
Quote:I have wondered why the idea of Mormons suffering less hardship is not emphasized more because it could also be said that less hardship could be a sign that they were blessed.
How do you expect us to be defensive if we were blessed? Tragedy and victiming give us strength. If it works for the nightly news, it definitely works for us.
I’m so glad both of you brought this up, DJ and mom… In fact, the mormon migration was HUGELY successful and a wonder of organization. The Church had an annual “Emigration Agent” in charge for that season. There were the Down and Back parties. The handcarts were a tremendous innovation that ended poorly because of bad judgment on the part of those specific participants. There was the perpetual emigration fund. To me, Mormons have never been victims and this was the Magnum Opus of their resolve. They didn’t cower, neither did they stand and fight, but instead they sacrificed all that they had to give and set out in a communal effort; enduring the hardships together, to build something wonderful.With that in mind, we should celebrate, rather than mourn them.
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