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| Our part of GiGi's Gang |
In Utah, July is the month we celebrate the men and women or pioneers who came to the Great Basin and established permanent settlements from Idaho to Arizona and Wyoming to California. As they had done previously, they provided for those who came after them, planting crops, establishing way-stations, and building bridges with those they met.
But what is a pioneer? Thomas S Monson stated in 2016 that, "The definition of a pioneer is 'one who goes before to prepare or open up the way for others to follow.' ... The path of a pioneer is not easy..."
I have many ancestors who braved the unknown and traveled across oceans and plains by ship, by train, by wagon and/or by handcart. But they all had one purpose. They were looking for a place where they could practice the religious beliefs to which they ascribed in peace with their families. In addition to this legacy of faith, through their stories I have examples of perseverance through discouragement; maintaining perspective in adversity; and always finding joy in the journey of life.
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| Margaret Ann Phillips Hancock |
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| Ann Oliver Rice |
I am inspired by my great-great grandmother, Ann Oliver Rice, who though blind walked to Salt Lake City from Missouri by being led by the hand. She was only 14 years old at the time. Her blindness did not stop her from other things as well. She became known for her knitting, knitting socks, sweaters and mittens for her family and friends, including slippers for every woman of her church congregation. Another great-great grandmother, Margaret Ann Phillips Hancock, as a teenage girl helped her mother and siblings pull a handcart from Iowa to Salt Lake. Shortly before her 94th birthday, her family arranged for her to take a helicopter flight around Ogden. After being asked how she enjoyed it, she commented that it was smoother than pulling a handcart.
"Stepping-stones for generations
Were their deeds of ev’ry day.
Building new and firm foundations,
...Service ever was their watchcry;
Love became their guiding star;
... Blessed, honored Pioneer!"*
Our family just spent a week in Florida with Rick's brothers, sister and their families. While not as massive an undertaking as a trek across the plains, it did take a lot of coordination and juggling to get 26 people ranging in age from five months to a bit older in the same place at the same time for nine days. It was an amazing time with days at amusement parks, a space museum, swimming, and lots of delicious and unique food. But most important were the memories made and the family connections forged.
When she first proposed this trip, my mother-in-law, known as GiGi by my children since she is so great, shared that she wanted to do something where she could have all her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren in one place together. While she knew she could give them an inheritance of money, money is fleeting. Her real legacy to her children was a gift of remembering who they are, that they are loved deeply and that they are a part of and connected to something bigger. The two big items on her list were family pictures and at least one big family dinner. For a family scattered across the country, to have a week of uninterrupted time together was a real gift. The challenge left to my husband, his siblings, their spouses and me is to continue to build on the foundation that GiGi has begun, to strengthen those bonds and find more ways to connect and bring the generations together.
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| GiGi with all her Grands and Great-Grands |
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