South Pass

Looking West from South Pass. Pacific Butte on the left.

"Top of the World," some say even if it is not a peak and hardly a pass in the traditional sense of crossing mountains. One does have a sense of a spherical earth dropping down in nearly every direction (Wind River Range on the north excluded).

My grandson and I had a wonderful trip exploring portions of the Overland Trail in Wyoming in commemoration of the day after Pioneer Day and my wife's birthday, as she is out of town. The OT refers to four recognized trails that crossed here although Native Peoples have crossed here for millennia. The trails are: Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer, and the Pony Express. We could also add in the Astorians in 1812, Mountain Men, the Whitman-Spaulding Missionaries of 1836, some commercial stage lines, the overland telegraph, and many visitors, but only us two last Tuesday.

As one of our purposes was family history, I will illustrate a few sites with reference to the Ellsworth Handcart Company of 1856 with my direct-line ancestor, Elinor Jenkins Vaughan, her daughter Jane Vaughan Lewis, Jane's husband John Lewis, and their son, John Samuel Lewis. They crossed South Pass on September 13, the 96th day out from Iowa City. They camped three miles down this road at Pacific Springs which can't be seen but is at the base of Pacific Butte on the left, just before the small ridge, just left of center. My Grandson and I walked down and back to get a feel for the trail. It was a good walk and a better talk.

At one point, I explained that while pioneer children may have sung as they walked and walked, they were probably not always happy. I told him that he was big enough that he would likely have helped with the family handcart, but the younger children above toddler age would get up, have a breakfast of biscuits and tea (long before Pres. Grant started enforcing the Word of Wisdom) and head out on the road in a group led by adults while the others packed up the camp. Eventually, the handcarts would pass the children. Then, the two or three wagons with the company would pass as the oxen were slower than people with handcarts. Hopefully, the new camp would be ready when the children came in. We imagined that mothers might have gone back up the trail to meet their children if they weren't needed for cooking or setting up their camp. I also explained that the children were sometimes guided by the adults with long sticks, like a gaggle of geese. And they were poked or prodded (or worse) if they lagged.

The Last Wagon

Nobody died. Nobody ate anybody. But we did have an adventure on the Donner-Reed Party's route along the Hastings Cutoff.

The Last Wagon by Lynn Fausset

We went with some great public servants from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). When I saw the notice of this trip on BLM's Facebook page, I immediately thought of my old friend from all the way back to grade school who is now teaching Law Enforcement at Great Basin College, Elko, Nevada. And he has a four-wheel drive.

In the old days, we did our exploring on bikes and in the woods. Sometimes our moms would meet at the grocery store and each would say, "I thought they were at your house!" while we were miles away from either. We found a lot of cool places but the golden hoard of some lost mine or buried treasure always eluded us. We did learn that the reward is in the adventure itself. That is the life lesson. So we took on another adventure yesterday on National Trails Day. 

The best part was to spend some good time together in one of those friendships that picks up after 40 years without skipping a beat. His wife came along and the night before our adventure, she and my wife found a connection in quilting and got along great. My buddy and I talked a lot about the old days but more so about who we are now and the mutual respect we have for each other. Friendship.

Dreams Found and Lost

The joke yesterday was that I was getting my wife a new roof for mothers' day. She'll still get her regular flowers--in the garden. The Saturday before is time for the family tradition of buying and placing bedding plants in front of the house as we are solidly in May and almost past the freeze threat in the shadow of the everlasting hills. With global warming and all, we're pretty safe. However, there are no longer any children at home to help me plant annuals which is just fine as gardening is one of my new passions (note the lilac hedge above, lower right, coming in just fine!).

Waking up too early this morning due to other stresses, the thought came to me that the number-one, cliché responsibility of a good provider is "to put a roof over your head." As we're getting quality shingles with a "life-time" of 30-50 years, they will last me out and I have fulfilled my obligation here.

Sol Hurok is credited with:

"The sky's the limit if you have a roof over your head." 

We are getting a slate-colored asphalt shingle "a cool gray with a beautiful green undertone--exactly like real slate." Green is my wife's favorite color and slate matches with our Welsh homestead. (Our house, like nearly every home in Britain, has a name, "Tŷ Fychan" or "Vaughan House.")

For All Flesh

Norman Rockwell's, The Right to Know

On this election eve, there was a typically provocative tweet from a certain Ms. Coulter that if only those whose four Grandparents were born in the United States were allowed to vote, the vote would be a landslide for Donald Trump. My father would not be able to vote under this rule as his Grandfather was born in Britain.

I responded on Facebook and Twitter, and I repeat here.

This is what needs to change tomorrow. A multi-cultural majority nation will take the place of a White, Anglo-Saxon, Christian dominated nation. The Constitutional principles were intended for the universe of mankind. We can do this. Go, Latino Citizens! And ALL of us! WE the PEOPLE!

Yes, we elected a President eight years ago of mixed-race. Part of his ancestry went back to the European immigrants to this country. His father was from Kenya. The President was born in the State of Hawaii. His wife and daughters are the descendants of Slaves brought to this country by force.

Jacks Valley, Nevada: Yesterday, Today, and Forever

Cross-posted from John and Elinor Vaughan Descendants:

On a typical less-than-busy evening at the North Bountiful Family History Library, I was working on my own family interests and came across a great picture of Jacks Valley, Nevada, from 1939:

Jack's Valley Pony Express Station
With the gracious permission of Sherratt Library Special Collections, Southern Utah University, Cedar City Utah, which owns the rights.

The photo caused one of those little mental shocks as should be obvious from this photo I took a couple of years ago at almost exactly the same spot:

North end of Jacks Valley, Nevada, looking Northeast from Jacks Valley Rd.. 20 October 2014
In the background against the hills is the Ascuaga Ranch, originally established by the Winters Family.

Yeah, pretty weird, right?

Preserve the Public Lands!

My hat is off to Field & Stream web edition, and hopefully, the print edition as well for the excellent article on the latest movement to turn over America's public lands to the states and eventually private interests.

Ken Ivory and the Malheur occupiers get special mention as part of the problem, not the solutions. And there's this great quote from the late Western Historian (and Utahn), Bernard DeVoto, who also got it:

“the ultimate objective is to liquidate all public ownership of grazing and forest land in the United States…the plan is to get rid of public lands altogether, turning them over to the states, which can be coerced as the federal government cannot be, and eventually into private ownership.”

Meanwhile, Back at the Occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge . . . .

The Mythic American Cowboy

Without license as I stole another idea from Monty Python:

Overheard around the campfire at Malheur:

"What has the federal government ever done for us?"

"yeah!"

 "Nothin'!"

"Only cause problems!"

"Threatened to take our guns and our cattle away!"

Culture War Is Over If You Want It

With thanks to John Lennon and Elder Dallin H. Oaks, two unlikely yoked oxen if ever there were, I am so very pleased to have my declaration of Peace in the culture wars validated. It was written in 2009 but reflects many years of thought on the subject.

Elder Oaks gave a surprising endorsement of basic constitutional principles of the separation of Church and State although I still prefer a solid wall rather than his curtain. But I get the point that influences for good should filter from one side to the other. His speech was released by the LDS Newsroom, the official informational source for newsworthy items all approved at the highest levels of LDS Church leadership, under the heading:

NEWS RELEASE — 20 OCTOBER 2015
Mormon Apostle Calls for Balance and Accommodation, Not Culture Wars

I encourage you to read the article and watch or read his entire speech attached.

San Jacinto, California. My New Hope for America.

All six of my kids are great and my four kids-in-law too. We love them all. Still, there are those moments when the joy and pride for a particular one flows over. It came for A-3 the other night.

He recently graduated from the University of Utah in Music - and he has a job! Some weeks ago he went to a job-fair at Utah State University and was heavily and persuasively recruited by a group from San Jacinto Unified School District. And it's a High School Band Director's job!

We came down as a buddy-movie, road-trip pair so he could sign personnel papers and find an apartment. I think he invited me so there would be someone to finance the adventure. . . . yeah. That must have been it.

San Jacinto Valley revealed itself over the bouldered-hills from Beaumont, in glowing evening green - a surprise in drought-drama California. We got to the high school at that early evening time when the fading brightness rises on a prayer. It got darker as we drove around learning that the valley is the opposite of Salt Lake City. West of State Street is really nice. East, well, a bit sketchy as my boy said. The plan is when he brings his wife here is to keep west and wait a month or so until she is encouraged to wander east.

Brigham Young and a Letter on Apostasy

Some may be wondering with John Lewis lying dead on the floor of a gold-rush saloon. And we are not fully convinced yet, but are pursuing some pretty good leads that Jane (1827) remarried Abednego Johns in Jacks Valley, Nevada and joined the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And there is some indication that Elinor Jenkins Vaughan Hulet may have been with her, died between 1860-62, and was buried there. But the RLDS baptisms did not occur until at least 1865, after the Civil War.

1862 US Survey of Jacks Valley, Nevada. Courtesy of the Bureau of Land Managment, US Dept. of the Interior.
Abednego John's patent was for the S 1/2 of the NE 1/4 of Sec. 22, and the S 1/2 of the NW 1/4 of Sec. 23.
The surveyor, while getting all the land features pretty well (doncha just love these old surveys?) marked A. Johns's house as "A. Johnson."

There were a lot worse things than the RLDS Church (now "The Community of Christ). They had the Book of Mormon, a good part of the Doctrine & Covenants, the Holy Bible and a commitment to the Prophet Joseph Smith (w/o plural marriage). If you had landed in Utah in the midst of the Mormon Reformation, a very bad winter, and the upcoming Utah War, Springville was about the second worse place to be. I don't blame anyone for leaving. It's not my responsibility to judge. And it's not like we've not ever had anyone else in the family choose less activity in the church.

Nevada and the Jolly Welshmen

Maybe Brigham knew the folk song. The Five Welshmen knew it even if it might have been self-deprecating to reference the humorous exploits of the bumbling Sons of Gomer. And the original number is three for the "Jolly Welshmen." So it's interesting that two of our five appear to have stayed in Utah and three seem to have gone to bumble their exploits in the Sierras.

The tune of "The Five Jolly Welshmen" is unknown to me and I don't seem to find it on "YouTube." There is another tune I can't get out of my head that I will now curse you with. I was always fascinated by the opening theme of the TV show "Bonanza" with the map of the Ponderosa Ranch straddling the California/Nevada line bursting into flames for some reason.

It was the Old West at its finest or at least for a boy who had been on family vacation to Virginia City, Reno, and Lake Tahoe. And I have always loved maps. Here's a version of the fictional Ponderosa map that is at least somewhat properly oriented:

Brigham Young writes to the Five Jolly Welshmen

Yes! My good buddy at Keepapitchinin.org sent me a copy of Bro. Brigham's letter back to John Lewis and his jolly friends! It's in the public research files (I hadn't found it in the indices yet) so she didn't need to sneak it out of confidential files or anything.

But Springville! Why did it have to be Springville! At least Brigham didn't put "at present" in air quotes.

So far we've determined that the Jolly Welshman did not stay together. At least two of them, Henry Moore and John James, went to the Carson Valley. It also appears that our John Lewis may have gone but kept on going over the Sierra for the gold fields. And, there is a possibility that Jane was still alive and may have remarried in Jacks Valley (south of Carson). More research is needed to firm up these hints.

Disneyland Diversity and Familiarity

Disneyland is still a lot of fun - especially when your son works for the studio and has guest passes. It is expensive otherwise. Still, you get the value of the expense because it is, well, Disneyland! It would be my wish that every kid or kid-at-heart could go even if only for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The reality is, Disneyland is a middle-class family place.

I think that is the reason why the demographics have changed over the years. The middle class has expanded in the U.S and around the world giving more people economic access to places like Disneyland. IMO, Disneyland is one of those middle-class touch stones that aspirants target to have an American experience.

On my two lucky visits in the 1970s, Disneyland seemed pretty white. Here's some evidence for that in this 1970 vid:

Uncle John in Union Blue?

He doesn't show up anywhere else and this seems to fit:

Third line down. It could very well be the John Lewis (1822) who was married to Jane Vaughan (1827) and came with Elinor and the handcarts. He showed up for rebaptism in Springville, March 1857 and then disappears from Utah records. It looks like he may have gone to California for work in the gold fields up over the Sierra passes.

The United Order & Disney's California Adventure

In a strange juxtaposition the two ideas were discussed by Anonymous D and me today. Disney Parks are sort of like the United Order in that you give all your money and you get back all you need and more - and it's fun! Of course, I get in for free as I keep going on about how well-pleased I am with my son working for the Disney Co. Anonymous-D's point is that he doesn't enjoy the rides much. It's spending time with his family in a fun place that makes it so worthwhile for him. That's getting a little closer to the Order.

Disney does cost, but it certainly fits within the "wholesome recreational activities" mentioned in the Family Proclamation. My wish would be for every family to save and have the opportunity to go at least for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There are lots of opportunities for discount tickets out there if you search the web. And while my two visits in my youth seemed to be mostly among white, middle-class, WASPy types, these more recent visits seemed to be largely populated by a wide variety of families of different ethnicity and nationalities of various socio-economic backgrounds. And that's good!

Mystery of the Creation Revealed! (after 40 years)

A-5 (the fifth of our six children whose names all begin with 'A') LA Temple

My Boy A-5 and I went to the Los Angeles Temple today to take some of our Welsh family names through for the endowment. The Temple rooms are huge! I have seen pictures of the murals in this Temple before, but no picture does it justice. I was able to solve a 40-year old mystery of the universe. I was stunned to enter the Creation Room and see the inside cover of my old Seminary Bible!

My Boy Works for the Big Mouse

My daughter-in-law, wife, son A-2, granddaughter, & son A-6 at the Magic Kingdom

There are a lot of criticisms one could make of the Walt Disney Co. from the ruthlessness of its lawyers in protecting trademark to the personality quirks of ol' Walt himself. The best parodies are to be found on the Simpsons, or maybe the Rocky & Bullwinkle Fractured Fairy Tales version of the man with the dream of making money off of Sleeping Beauty. And sure, it's just entertainment - sometimes expensive. But no one can doubt the influence Walt and his successors-in-interest have had globally at least trying to make people happy. And most of the time, it works.

California Radicals

Janis Joplin of Port Arthur, Texas (1943-1970)

Spending a wonderful week in the LA Area with my son, daughter-in-law and my little granddaughter, we of course went to Disneyland as my son works for the Big Mouse at corporate (he is a statistician and sadly does not play a character at the Park. More about that later.) I've been thinking about my first trip to California in 1970. Memories grind to dust or take on odd contortions in the mind. Sometimes there is a piece of a record to latch on.

Peace



Los Angeles, California Temple, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Peace and Temples. It's been a theme of mine noting the connection in scripture. Being in the LA area visiting with my first granddaughter (oh, yeah - and my son and daughter-in-law), I thought this picture of the LA Temple reflects the peace I feel with Temples.

Mormon Plastic Grapes: Inspired by Mary Tyler Moore

Our Family Inheritance - The Turquoise Grapes

Yes, I just solved another Mormon Culture mystery. For anyone who was in an active LDS home in 1960s, you would have seen the plastic resin grapes prominently displayed. My mom had deep purple ones in the Seattle suburbs. I don't know where those ended up. Fortunately, my wife and I were able to appropriate her mother's oddly-colored turquoise (?) grapes. My mother-in-law lived in Albuquerque which might help explain the color, but my wife recently explained that her grandmother in Salt Lake made every daughter and daughter-in-law a set of grapes to match the decor of their respective homes. So, my mother-in-law got turquoise. Most fun of all, I hear that my wife's grandmother's were pink. (My wife thinks her Aunt Virginia has them!)