Local Youth Walk 24 Miles Like Church Pioneers
Dale Cheatham
About 90 youth from the Burleson Texas Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pulled handcarts 24 miles over two and half days to get a taste of what church pioneers experienced in the mid-19th century.
The youth, ages 13 to 18, were primarily dressed in pioneer clothes, enduring temperatures that dipped to 36 degrees. They ate food prepared in cast iron ovens over hot coals and slept in tents.
About 3,000 church pioneers participated in the migration from Iowa and Nebraska to the Salt Lake area using handcarts to transport their belongings from 1856 to 1860.
“The Trek adventure is one that allowed both young and old to appreciate and come away with a small realization of what the early pioneers endured and experienced as they walked across the plains migrating to Utah’s Great Basin area,” said Burleson Stake President Kris Dearden. “It is important to remember and never forget our ancestors; their memories and triumphs, their struggles and trials.”
This was the first “Pioneer Trek” for most of the youth. Some of them are direct descendants of the pioneers. Similar treks are expected to take place every four years.
“It was amazing to see everyone come together as families and friends and go through what our ancestors did,” said Maddie Evans, 16, from the Mansfield 2nd Ward. “I loved how supportive and positive everyone was even though it was very cold. It was a great faith strengthening experience.”
“The hardest part of trek was probably sleeping.” said 14-year old Claire Beardsley from the Centennial Ward. “You might think that would be the best part, but it was so cold it was almost impossible to sleep.”
Audrey Staheli, 14, from Mansfield 2nd Ward said it was a learning experience. “Going into it we didn’t have much confidence in our abilities, but we proved we could do hard things if we work at it. We learned about working together. Two people would pull the handcarts and two would push from behind, it was really hard and we couldn’t have done it if we didn’t work together.”
The trek took place March 14 to 16 at Lyndon B. Johnson National Grasslands located near Decatur about an hour northwest of Fort Worth. Thirty adults from the church accompanied the youth on the trek and another 25 provided support from the base camp. The youth were organized into 9 “families” with a “ma” and “pa” and each family responsible for pulling a handcart.
Handcarts are like small, uncovered wagons that are pulled or pushed by people instead of oxen. Most of the roughly 70,000 church migrants traveled by wagons. Due to limited funds about 5 percent of the migrants traveled by handcart. A few hundred handcart company members lost their lives as they traveled to Utah.
The youth gained a better appreciation for what church pioneers endured.
Anthony Sullivan, a 15-year old from Cleburne said, “We were out there for a couple days and, for many of us, our legs were so sore that we felt we couldn’t walk another step. The pioneers did this for months. They were sore every day. Plus, it was cold, and they were hungry.”
“Trek allowed me to get a glimpse into the trials the pioneers had to face,” said Aimee Crowley, 16, from Mansfield 2nd Ward. “It allowed me to appreciate them more. I love and appreciate my ancestors that crossed the plains pulling handcarts. My faith has grown immensely because of trek.”
This event was sponsored by the Burleson Texas Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Photographs were provided by Leslie Boyer and Rachael Bond.
