news-record.com

CASWELL COUNTY — “Pull! Pull! We’re almost to the top of the hill.”

Summer vacation had to wait for nearly 150 teens from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Triad and Danville, Va. The teens spent Wednesday through Saturday re-enacting a journey their ancestors made in the mid-1800s.

The young women wore bonnets and long skirts, and the young men wore pants and long-sleeved shirts while maneuvering handcarts over more than 13 miles of rough terrain on the property of the Cherokee Scout Reservation near Yanceyville.

“I was thinking I was glad I wasn’t a real pioneer,” said Darcy Martin, 17, of Madison. 

Martin was one of many participants who had an ancestor who traveled across the plains in search of religious freedom.
Between 1856 and 1860, according to Utah history, 3,000 members of the church walked 1,300 miles from Iowa City, Iowa, to Salt Lake City, Utah. They had little money and took with them only a few things in hand-drawn carts.

Families joined together to pull the handcarts 15 to 20 miles a day in harsh conditions. Many people didn’t survive the months-long trip across the plains and the Rocky Mountains.

The local youths had just three days to get an understanding of their ancestors’ pain and struggles.

While pushing and pulling the handcart over rocks and roots, Martin said, she realized how hard it was for her ancestors — and that she didn’t have reason to complain about the modern conveniences she has.

Ned Jarvis and his wife, Lori, of Greensboro volunteered to be a “ma and pa” duo for families of eight to 10 children during the re-enactment.

Jarvis knows he followed in his ancestors’ footsteps. One of his great-great grandfathers, William Jarvis, was part of a group in 1859.

William Jarvis left England with his wife and daughter after converting to the Mormons and joined other church members in walking the final distance to Salt Lake. His wife and 14-year-old daughter died on the trail. 

Lori Jarvis had to leave the re-enactment because of the heat on the first day, giving Ned Jarvis an idea of what it was like to leave behind a wife and continue on the trek.

Rick and Cynthia John of Danville, Va., said they wanted their sons to participate in the re-enactment so they would understand what it’s like to struggle.

“Falling out when you have a handcart wasn’t an option,” Rick John said. “You only fell out when you were getting buried.”
Serving as parents during the trip let the Johns see how the experience affected their children and others.

“The kids love it,” Rick John said. “It’s hard work, but they enjoy it.”

On the trail, the teens saw simulations of events such as conflicts with Native Americans and the deaths of infants and siblings. And when a real-life participant twisted her knee, another family loaded her into their cart and carried her a couple of miles to get medical help.

After each day’s hike, the teens took part in some of the same activities as their ancestors: tug-of-war, stick pull, musket shooting and dancing. 

Megan Ross, 17, of Stokesdale said she enjoyed the historical aspect of the re-enactment.

“It’s cool to get the pioneer experience,” she said. “It’s so much of our church history. It’s neat to see it for myself.”