On the 7th Day of Christmas Past, a special ancestral story from Ginger Weibell (MHA Tour Member): Question: How did the pioneers settling St. George celebrate Christmas? To be entered into today’s daily giveaway & FREE tour drawing- Read the story below; “Comment” & “Share” your answer on Facebook or our blog. Click Here for contest rules. A FAMILY HISTORY CHRISTMAS STORY of the St. George, Utah, Pioneers by Ginger Ashby Weibell Nathaniel Ashby and Susan Hammond Ashby, my ancestors, were converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Erastus Snow in 1841. Together with Elder Snow, the Ashbys purchased adjoining lots in Nauvoo, Illinois, and built a duplex with the Ashby half of the duplex on the Ashby property and the Snow half on the Snow property. This home still stands in Nauvoo today. Thus, the Ashbys and the Snows were well acquainted. In 1861, Erastus was called by the prophet, Brigham Young, to colonize the St. George, Utah, area. Elizabeth, and her then three children, accompanied him. The following newspaper article by Mary Phoenix from The Spectrum is an account of that first Christmas spent in St. George: Christmas 1861: A tough one for Mormon pioneers That first Christmas in 1861 was a story of intense poverty for the settlers in St. George. Brigham Young had selected a few stalwart and tested followers and sent them to the southern territory “where the red stone hills met the black basalt low mountains” to establish a community. Their journey to Utah’s Dixie from Salt Lake City took six weeks since they were traveling over unmapped territory and carved roads as they went. The majority of the group had arrived by Dec. 6. Building materials were scarce, forcing most to live out of wagon boxes with tumbleweed lean-tos. Their first concern was planting crops since food supplies were depleting quickly. Erastus Snow, the colonizing apostle for the Mormon settlers, sensed that his people needed some recreation, some reason to celebrate, to revive their spirits from the strain of their backbreaking toil. Christmas was fast approaching and Snow wondered how they might celebrate. There was no food for a feast. Every scrap was needed to sustain life. But he figured they could hold a program. During their trek to Southern Utah they had sung every song and know every reading by heart after six weeks on the dusty trail. Still, he believed Christmas would bring new feelings. He decided to ask some of the men to preach a sermon, even though some of the young people would probably groan. He figured a big tent could be pitched to offer some protection from the night’s chill, although the weather was very mild and the long salt grass would provide a thick mat appropriate for dancing. Life was difficult in their desperate conditions, and the announcement of a Christmas gala met with great...
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Answer 6th Day Christmas Past: Fathers deepen Christmas through their selflessness and witty humor. Congrats to 6th Day drawing winner, LYNNE TOLMAN, who won an Olive wood carving “Family Prayer,” Olive wood laser-cut Nativity scene, Nauvoo Temple laser-engraved crystal cube with rotating light-up base, pack of 10 5×7 Nauvoo watercolor note cards, Remember Nauvoo mug -$265 value! Please contact MHA office 801-272-5601 or info@mormonheritage.com by Dec 30, 2022 to arrange for how to receive your prize. Story still available on yesterday’s...
Read More6th Day Christmas Past Story
On the 6th Day of Christmas Past, two special stories from MHA Tour Members – Betty Bringhurst & Diane Saunders: Question: How did Fathers deepen Christmas in these stories or in your own life? To be entered into today’s daily giveaway & FREE tour drawing- Read the story below; “Comment” & “Share” your answer on Facebook or our blog. Click Here for contest rules. Dad’s Loving Example by Betty Bringhurst, MHA Tour Member When I was young, my family had little extra money. But my dad worked hard and we always had enough. He was a forest ranger and he had an old green Chevy pickup that he drove to work each day. Working for the Forest Service gave him access to lots of fallen trees which supplied our stove with wood and heated our house in the winter. Every Christmas, my dad brought home and chopped what seemed like a ton of wood which he loaded into the back of the old pickup till it was overflowing. Then he went to the store and bought several bags of oranges. We spent a few hours delivering wood and oranges to many people in need. He didn’t have an assignment or a calling to do this. He just wanted to make sure that those people felt warm and loved. My dad passed away many years ago, but every Christmas I remember his hard work and his selfless service to those in need. I try to follow his example and find someone in need that I can serve and love. I can almost see him smiling in heaven, knowing that his legacy is still blessing others. Dad’s Story, Snowflake AZ 1935 – Santa & Montgomery Ward This Christmas story comes from the history of Chadwick F. Avery, my father. (Submitted by: Diane Saunders, MHA Tour Member) “The Christmas I remember best has to be the last one we spent in Snowflake, AZ back in 1935. I was eleven years old then and becoming a little more aware of things about me. As Christmas approached, Mother and Dad appeared worried, and by Christmas Eve I could tell they were upset. As the oldest child, Mother took me aside and asked what I would do if Santa didn’t come. I’m afraid I didn’t give her a very positive answer. “Christmas morning, when we went into the parlor, we soon discovered that something was wrong. Mother had made an article of clothing for each of us, but there were no other presents. Our stockings had been filled with candy and nuts though, and a note from Santa was attached to explain that somehow our gifts had been lost along the way. He was very sorry, but they would be delivered as soon as they could be found. “We all took it pretty well, as I recall, and soon went about our usual activities. I remember being...
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Answer 5th Day Christmas Past: Thank you everyone for sharing your yummy Christmas delicacies from this story and from your own traditions. Congrats to 5th Day drawing winner, MARY LOU LITTLE, who won an Olive wood carving of Christ, Olive wood carving of the Holy Family “flight to Egypt,” 2 books by Karl Ricks Anderson: Joseph Smith’s Kirtland and The Savior in Kirtland, pack of 10 5×7 Nauvoo watercolor note cards, and Remember Nauvoo mug -$305 value! Please contact MHA office 801-272-5601 or info@mormonheritage.com by Dec 30, 2022 to arrange for how to receive your prize. Story still available on yesterday’s...
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On the 5th Day of Christmas Past, Sheila Stephens (MHA Office Manager) shares a treasured Christmas memory followed by a pioneer account: Question: What Christmas food delicacies are a special part of celebrating in these stories or for your family? To be entered into today’s daily giveaway & FREE tour drawing- Read the story below; “Comment” & “Share” your answer on Facebook or our blog. Click Here for contest rules. Mother’s Christmas Cake Submitted by Sheila Stephens, MHA Office Manager The year I was nine, my dad was a grad student working on a MS in mathematics at the University of Michigan. This would be the first year that we spent Christmas all on our own. Christmas was my mom’s favorite holiday so she was determined that it was going to be great. In spite of the fact that she really didn’t like cooking, she decided that we were going to have the beautiful Christmas cake she found in a magazine. The cake called for four layers, 4, 6, 8 and 10 inches. We didn’t have cake pans in four sizes, so she baked the layers in her skillet and sauce pans. This made for a LOT of cake, and since the pans were curved where the bottom and the sides met, our layers had round shoulders. The top layer of the cake was supposed to be cut into a star shape, so Dad got out his compass and protractor (math guy, right?) and made the pattern for the star. When it was all assembled, it was a really big cake, and not quite as beautiful as the picture. The round shoulders made the cake look slumped and we weren’t great decorators, but there it was, in all it’s glory. Spice cake (for the frankincense and myrrh), four layers to represent the 4000 years between Adam and Christ. The top layer was a star, for obvious reasons and the whole thing was frosted white for purity. Around the largest layer were 20 red candles, one for each century since Christ’s birth (it’s been a few years, of course), very carefully spaced out to be even by Dad, because you know, math. The red of the candles symbolized the blood of the atonement. The cake was sprinkled in gold dragees, for the gold of the Magi. The dragees looked like ball bearings, and were just about as tough to chew as real ball bearings would have been. On the top of the star layer was an angel. We didn’t have much money to buy a tree, so the tree we got was three or four feet tall and we wrapped one of the end tables from the couch in a sheet and put the tree on top. We didn’t have any decorations for the tree either, so we bought a pound or so of salt water taffy and tied the taffy to the branches with red yarn. ...
Read More4th Day Winner & Answer
Answer 4th Day Christmas Past: Unconditional love and giving time one by one as Christ would is what “transcended everything else” (rise above/go beyond the limits). Congrats to 4th Day drawing winner, JULIE DOOLEY, who won a hand-stitched book bag and hand-stitched clutch/wallet – made by Bedouin women in Bethany (near Jerusalem), Olive wood carved Nativity scene, 4-piece laser-cut 3-D Olive wood tree ornaments, pack of 10 5×7 Nauvoo watercolor note cards, and Remember Nauvoo mug -$320 value! Please contact MHA office 801-272-5601 or info@mormonheritage.com by Dec 30, 2022 to arrange for how to receive your prize. Story still available on yesterday’s...
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