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Show r ; Bicentennial Wagon Train, Pennsylvania Pilgrimage planned PAROWAN - Utah State Western Riding Clubs Association directors Norm Evans and Roy Whitlock have presented Bicentennial Scrolls to Mayor Kendall Gurr and the Parowan City Council to be signed by these city officials of-ficials and interested townspeople to reaffirm our dedication to the precepts of our founding fathers. The scrolls read as follows: THE BICENTENNIAL WAGON TRAIN I PILGRIMAGE TO PENNSYLVANIA PLEDGE J OF REDEDICATION I To commemorate this nation's Bicentennial we hereby dedicate ourselves anew to the precepts of our founding fathers. We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Scrolls will be given to Mayors in all Southern Utah Communities by the riding club officials and will be carried on horseback when signed to join the wagon train to Pennsylvania. Penn-sylvania. They will then be sealed for 100 years before being opened again to testify to the faith we have in our country and its future. 1 Programs will revolve around the Bicentennial Wagon 1 train Pilgrimage, a reenactment of the migration that J settled the West-only the pilgrimage will reenact the settlement in reverse. From West to East. This program essentially calls for each state in the Union to drive a wagon back along the pioneer trail that founded their area. The states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho will run their wagons along the Oregon Trail; Utah will follow the Mormon Pioneer trail; New Mexico, Kansas and others will follow the Santa Fe Trail. All the trails will eventually unite and by July 4, 1976, all 50 wagons will march into Valley Forge, Penn., to culminate the reenactment. Briefly, the Bicentennial Wagon Train Pilgrimage is a replay of history in reverse. A train of covered wagons, one wagon for each state, will cross the country, west to east, adhering as closely as possible to historic trails and wagon routes. Volunteers from local riding clubs will serve the wagon trains as mounted escorts and outriders. These "Pony Express" riders will branch out from the State Wagons to reach communities not on the main trails. The outriders will bring back scrolls from each community signed by the v citizens reaffirming their belief in the principles upon which this nation was founded. The State wagon will tour Utah until it joins the national wagon train in August, 1975. It will stop in cities, towns and hamlets to receive the signed scrolls the rededication of faith in America. While enroute, each of the state wagons will inspire historic ceremonies. Schedule permitting, it '.. I could join parades, visit state parks, shrines, fairs and civic events. Eventually, the Utah Wagon will join Bicentennial Wagons from other states in a massive pilgrimage to our Nation's birthplace where the signed scrolls will be enshrined. The Bicentennial Wagon Train Pilgrimage is a program that reaches out to all the people of the Nation. One that involves everyone in a dramatic display of democracy in action. It is an event which will be remembered as a peoples' celebration of the Nation's 200th Anniversary. The Bicentennial Wagon Train Pilgrimage will be one ; continuous event. Every day on the road and every night , camping in local park sites and in National Parks, the wagoneers will host the people of America. Local wagon and carriage groups, riding clubs, youth organizations and others will be invited to join the Wagon Train during its approach to and departure from the outskirts of the community. Spectators will be welcome to view the ritual of encamping, watering, feeding and grooming the teams of horses. Those who wish can share a meal with the wagoneers. I The signed scrolls will be accepted by the wagon master with appropriate ceremony. The entertainment around the campfire will be reciprocal. School bands will be invited to perform. Local glee clubs will be there. Weather and scheduling permitting, the Wagoneers will put on a stirring musical performance composed sepcially for the Wagon Train Pilgrimage. The evening will conclude with campfire sing-alongs and a country hoe-down. The Bicentennial Wagon Train will terminate on July 4, 1976 at Valley Forge Park in Pennsylvania. It will encamp there for two months during the height of the Bicentennial Celebration. Millions of people are expected to visit the J park during the period. They will be invited to join the I wagoneers for the daily and evening activities. I |