New York Pioneers

Pioneer Day was last month on July 24th. It is significant because it commemorates the day the early LDS members led by the Prophet Brigham Young, entered the Salt Lake valley seeking to escape religious persecution in the eastern United States. LDS members on the east coast don't really do much to commemorate the day, at least not nearly as much as the folks out in Utah. It's a national holiday there. Other than reading about it, watching a broadcast and maybe baking something special, that's really it.

Well, the members here in this little neck of the woods, decided to do something about it. There was a weekend long celebration at the Plainview Stake Center in Long Island. Many of the members who oversaw the building of the Church here were present to share their memories and stories of their ancestors. We had a picnic, activities, and wonderful displays. It all culminated with a special fireside that Sunday evening.

New York, after all, was the first stop for the pioneers traveling from overseas. It was suggested by the Church leadership during that time that some of the New York Church members stay behind to help these early pioneers replenish their supplies for their long journey.

Then, of course, over a decade later, there was the Church's participation in the World's Fair from 1964-1965 in Flushing Meadows Park in Queens. The Church had originally purchased a smaller plot. Another participant could not raise enough funds for a larger plot near the front entrance of the park, so the Church snatched it up immediately. They built a huge edifice replicating the three eastern spires of the Salt Lake City Temple and had a large pond in the front with floating begonias that were donated and imported every few days from California. Some thirty-six panels of the Mormon Pavilion construction were later used in the construction of the Plainview chapel in Long Island.

My mother and a few other family members immigrated to this country from Colombia just in time to catch the tail end of the World's Fair. They had their photo taken right in front of the Mormon Pavilion. They walked through admiring the various dioramas, murals, and the huge Christus statue. They also sat down to watch the film "Man's Search for Happiness" while asking themselves, as many did, if it could all be true. They might have even shaken hands with one Elder Walter John Bailey, an Australian missionary who later would return in the early to mid 90's as the Mission President. After filling out a referral form, a couple of missionaries called on my mother a couple of years later. And the rest as they say was history. My mother, one of my aunts and my grandmother were baptized.

Closer to home, the Valiant Girls that I teach every Sunday, dressed up like pioneers and read about the pioneers of Winter Quarters on our Wednesday activity day. That Sunday, the whole Primary made butter during a special sharing time about the pioneers. The teacher poured heavy whipping cream with a little bit of salt into a couple of small mason jars and the class took turns in shaking the jars for about twenty minutes until they had made butter. The teacher then buttered rolls and handed them out at the end of the class.

Fun Pioneer Day experiences! Let it not be said that the east coast LDS members don't commemorate Pioneer Day, because we do, in our own special way.

Walter John Bailey, former Mormon Pavilion missionary (1964-1965),

NY NY South Mission President (1994-1997),

and current Temple President of the Sydney Australia Temple (2008-)

with President and Sister Nelson, current NY NY South Mission President

Daddy and Liam doing the three-legged race

Liam doing the hula. Just two of the many activities Liam and daddy participated in.

An old photo of the Mormon Pavilion at the World's Fair in Flushing Meadows Park, 1964-1965

From the Mayor and Governor's offices

Three out of five Valiant Girls dressed up in Pioneer garb. Totally their idea.
(Photo credit: Liam! Not bad, huh!)