News and updates for the 2006 Celebration.
The Kearney Hub event coverage.
1) It’s About Connections
2) Pioneer Spirit
Photos of the event.
Here
The Kearney Hub ran two articles more articles this weekend on the handcart celebration.
1) Organizers tout handcart event’s once-in-a-lifetime aspect
2) Rememberding the Handcart Pioneers
A matching grant from the National Park Service has been obtained to make a dedicated Mormon Trail area
at the Archway near where the first sighting of buffalo took place by the 1847 Wagon train under Brigham Young.
Work removing sand, replacing it with dirt, placing in a sprinkler system and laying sod has begun. It is
anticipated that work on the cement area (shaped with a wagon wheel in the center) will start this next week.
We encourage those who are able to help with monetary donations for this project see the information
under "donations" on the home page under either the Handcart Festival Fund or Heritage Fund.
The 150th Handcart event received a three page article and was on the front cover in the magazine,
Rural Nebraskan, distributed throughout central rural Nebraska last week.
Handcart pioneers from Holdrege, Axtell and Kearney pulled a handcart (courtesy of Fort Kearny State Park)
at the Governor of Nebraska's centennial quarter release at the University of Nebraska at Kearney on April 7th,
they were both on TV and the front page of the Kearney Hub newspaper. The governor and all senior politicians from
both parties are or have been invited to attend our event.
The Friday night candlelight tour event will have a limited number of 400 tickets available. Individuals will
be able to pick them up Friday morning with their assigned time for admission to the event. However, special speakers and musical
numbers will be available for everyon for our evening entertainment.
Jacob Hall's Eagle Scout project of placing a wagon on site for the buffalo sign dedication is moving along.
Jenny Phillips, an international professional singer from Utah and her choir will
be presenting a musical production "Journey to Zion" about the handcart
pioneers on Saturday evening at 7:00 PM.
You can see her web page at jennyphillips.com
The Pioneer Heritage Camp, a group of Mormon Pioneer living history
reenactors from Utah, who participated
on the 1997 wagon train trek through Kearey will participate in our living history
camp representing handcart pioneers. They have a variety of pioneer skills that they
will demonstrate for the public and they expect to have approximately twelve tents and
25 reenactors.
Six handcarts arrived in Broken Bow, NE last week and will be assembled over the
next few weeks for the event.
The Lincoln Stake choir and the Grand Island City Singers Choir will both be
peforming on Saturday. This will mark the 40th anniversary of the Grand
Island City Singers Choir, which also performed when the 1997 wagon train
was in Grand Island.
The Church News published a 3 page article about the upcoming event on Feb. 25th complete with
colored photos of exhibits within the Archway and a story on Ronnie O'Brien, who will be
performing at the event.
In the past two weeks our web page secion of "Who's Coming" has been updated to reflect
some of our out of state attractions. New entertainment includes:
An original handcart (one of only three known in existence) is being brought by Tony Clapier
from Idaho
Two oxen and a 100 year old functional wagon are being brough by Dixon Ford from Utah. The oxen
weigh over 3,000 pounds each and were in the Utah Winter Olympics Opening
Ceremony
The director for the Winter Quarters Mormon Pioneers Vistor Center in Florence (north
Omaha area) Nebraska is coming with staff and computers to show visitors how
to access pioneer journals on the web and their ancestors.
The Kearney Hub ran two articles this weekend on the handcart celebration.
1) Struggle of Mormon trek across West honored during handcart celebration
2) Poor Mormons placed hopes for a better future on their handcarts
Over 40 handcarts have been committed to the event. Six new ones are being made
in Broken Bow, NE specially for the event.
Confirmed authors and guest speakers at the event now include:
Paul Willie, the direct descendent of Capt. James Willie
William Hartley Ph.D. from Brigham Young University, Utah and author
William Hill, from New York, author of many books on the Mormon Trail
Greg Franzwa, author of books on the Oregon Trail and Lincoln Highway
Paul Willie, a direct descendent of captain James Willie from the 1856 handcart company will be
here to lead the handcart trek on Sat. morning. He is from Utah and will also be speaking
at the event.
If any of you have your own handcarts, special musical talents, or are living history
reenactors and would like to be more involved in helping with the upcoming celebration,
please email me
We plan on having a
small ribbon that you may wear for the day to identify you as having an ancestor on the
original trek. This is a great opportunity to get acquainted with folks whose ancestors
all knew each other.
There are a number of campground spaces available at Fort Kearny State Park Recreational Area,
you can register for on line at at
http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us
Ft Kearny (about 8 miles from the Archway by road) has a wonderful camping area. They have
75 electrical campsites and some 40 non-electrical. Cost is $3 per vehicle into the area per
day, $14 per night for electrical campsite (or $10 for a non-electrical site). There are two
other state parks with camping, Windmill (about 10
miles east from the Arch off of I-80, but a little more noisy) it has 69 electrical
campsites. The other
is at Johnson Lake about 40 miles west of Kearney located south of Lexington.
After going to the above web site, look in the left hand column and click on "Online camping and lodging reservations.
Read the contract description, then move and click on Fort Kearny SRA to make early reservations.
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