From Deseret News archives:
Wheeler Farm provides fun day for families
The day involved something for the entire family from a carnival and crafts for children to the Dutch Oven Championship, which appealed to the older population of attendees. Entertainment, including bands, dancing, singing and fiddling, was offered throughout the day. New this year was a climbing wall.
In addition to modern entertainment, the event also included pioneer activities such as a blacksmith demonstration, handcart pull and various pioneer games.
Family Fun Day is one of 21 free events offered to the public as part of the Days of '47 celebration. David Gallman, Family Fun Day committee chairman, estimated that 5,000 people attended the event.
More than 100 volunteers helped put the event on, and with contributions from corporate sponsors, all activities were free, Gallman said.
The event is designed to help families appreciate what life might have been like for the early inhabitants of the Salt Lake Valley.
Because the pioneers were farmers, visiting a place like Wheeler Farm adds to the pioneer experience. Children who have grown up in the city can get a glimpse of what it was like for the pioneers to build a city and turn the desert into farms.
"The early people to the valley saw a desert that was uninhabitable and unfarmable in a sense. It wasn't very fertile ground to farm," Gallman said. "They were able to do it despite the terrain or climate."
Gallman feels the event can help Utah residents reconnect with their heritage.
"I think the rising generations tend to forget what it was like before," he said. "For people who live in the valley now it's an opportunity to reconnect with an event that will hopefully remind them of what makes the pioneers so great."
E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com
Comments
- Stitt's free throws lift Clemson 8:10 p.m.
- Spurs drop slumping 76ers 8:05 p.m.
- Brooks, Landry power Rockets 7:55 p.m.
- Woods gives his side of the story 7:53 p.m.
- Senators want charges for crashers 7:38 p.m.
- Texas A&M gets unexpected lift 7:36 p.m.
- Wallace leads Pistons past Hawks 7:28 p.m.
- Suns beat Raptors 113-94 7:26 p.m.
- Boy Scouts seek new recruits 7:18 p.m.
- Celtics top Heat 92-85 7:15 p.m.
- Hall mouths off about hate of Utah
- BYU is champion of the state
- Cougars beat Utes in overtime
- Credit Coug defense for win
- Field goals, penalties doomed Utes
- Cougar defense rose to occasion
- Marriage definitions vary widely
- Banged up Jazz get best of Blazers
- Jones' joy for life remembered
- Fantasy is reality for BYU professor
- Hall mouths off about hate of Utah
802 - Cougars beat Utes in overtime
468 - Thunder rolls by Jazz
136 - BYU is champion of the state
132 - Man trapped in Nutty Putty cave dies
117 - Cave to be sealed with body inside
116 - Editorial: Poor welcome for Palin
113 - Rivalry Week is highly profane
90 - Hall's legacy measured today
79 - Y. focused on 10-win season
74
I wanted to tell them not to go. I dropped subtle hints. "My money is on...
When I was a kid, I worshipped my grandpa. He was undoubtedly my hero....
Wrong, nobody outside of this board cares about what Hall said. BYU is an...
"Hall just said what Utah fans think and want to say about BYU. The only...
To Mathew, turn off your computer and get some exersize, go for a walk and...
If Jordan Bluth is in this year's production, then it is a must-see...
...will always have a great memory. What will you have?
Utah had double the penalties as BYU, and most of those personal fouls. I...
the BYU athletic program is a shining beacon to the world. I've been told...
Let's just all let the water roll off our backs and then move on to...
When I decided to attend university to read Theology and Religious Studies,...
There definetly is a chapel in center city philadelphia. I was there when it...



You can be the first to comment on this story.