Daughters of the Utah Pioneers
r By Judy Elsner
On Saturday, Oct. 14th, the International Society of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers held their annual convention and election of officers in Layton at the Davis Conference Center.
Patricia Maxey, President of the local Springville/Mapleton DUP Company, and six of her board members attended the meeting. Maurine P. Smith is the International President. The 2017 “Days of 47 Royalty” performed a musical selection. T. C. Christensen was the keynote speaker. The cover of the front of the program was a portrait of a father and his daughter praying for their crops by artist, Glenda Gleave. She found a story in the collection of stories about her family at the Salt Lake DUP Museum inspiring her to paint the portrait and donate it to the museum.
The Springville Pioneer Museum sponsored by the DUP has had some fun activities this last month. On October 6, a 4th grade class from Sage Creek Elementary School came for a field trip. The students viewed pioneer artifacts and made their own butter for homemade bread. They also played a Pioneer Bingo Game.
Sandy Allison has been teaching a class in the downstairs part of the museum on the use of the looms. The participants are making “Mug Rugs. A new class may start in February. If you are interested in learning more about this project you may call the museum at 801-491-2076. The museum is located at 175 So. Main in Springville. It is open on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Visit the website at www.springvillepioneermuseum.org. The museum does close from November 18 until March 2, 2018. It is open during off hours by private appointment. Please contact Susan Bartholomew, Museum Director, at 801-489-7811 or by email bartzoo@msn.com. There is no charge for the museum.
As Daughters of the Future-Keepers of the Past, the Outreach Committee of the organization has developed some ideas for families in preserving their past.rShare the love and excitement of researching your ancestors: get your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren involved. Introduce them to Family Search and other sites that will help you find out about your ancestors. Play family history games on the site. Another great site is the International DUP site. It is www.dupinternational.org. You can enter an ancestor’s name and see if there are histories or pictures in the museum in Salt Lake. Then take a field trip to a pioneer museum or family history center.
Another idea, do a record analysis: take a block of time in which you identify items you have in your possession that you would include in your personal records collection. Just like museums have “collections”, each one of us has a collection of physical items that represent our lives. This may include journals, documents like birth certificates, photographs, etc. Make a plan to gather those items through small consistent goals. Determine where you will store your collection. Once you have made a plan, call at least one family member and let them know where the records will be stored so that someone besides you is aware of them.
In the spring look for the Springville Pioneer Film Festival and plan to tell about your Springville ancestors on film.
In November, start a gratitude journal; as you gather with family for the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays, have everyone write down things they are thankful for and save it for future gatherings, to add to and read often with each other. Find stories of your relatives that you could read together and pay attention to the many ways they showed gratitude, even when faced with very difficult challenges and circumstances.
Happy Thanksgiving!! We are thankful for the support of the communities in honoring our pioneers.
