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Show ' J(!lST ST OFF zQ The 24th of July is like most other holidays we seem to lose sight of exactly what it is that we're supposed to be celebrating. Sure, the 24th means parades, fairs, rodeos and, to somea day off. And at some point it probably does cross our minds that it is the state of Utah's birthday. I know that's usually all the thought I give to the day. The pioneers who settled this state didn't just amble out west and plop down where Utah happens to be. We tend to forget that the trek west, in itself, was a battle won through much hardship. They weren't traveling in smooth riding automobiles. They couldn't flip on the air conditioner when it got hot; they couldn't kick up the heat in the dead of winter. After a long, hard day on the trail they couldn't curl up in the easy chair in front of the TV. They had to unpack the wagons, tend to the livestock, worry about attacks. There were no "Monday Night Football", no "Wednesday Night At the Movies", not even any silly sitcoms to sit down and relax with. There was no supermarket to "run down and pick up a 4oaf of bread" at; no five and dime to get the piddley items, like needles and thread, bath soap, reading material from. If the cow went dry, they were plain out of luck, and milk! When the kids got sick there was no clinic to run to. When they got cranky and bored there was no swimming pool, no movies, no video arcade, no roller skating rink to ease the boredom. And, kids are kids, so towards the end "The Place" was "just around the next bend", or "just over that next rise". . This 24th, as you gaze at the entries in the fair, "yah-hoo" at the rodeo, or wave as the parade passes, remember the trip West was no joyride. It was the pioneers' organization, determination, dedication and ironclad will that won this state. To them we owe our appreciation. |