Wheeler Farm provides fun day for families

It was a return to bygone days with modern activities mixed in during the Family Fun Day at Wheeler Historic Farm on July 13.

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.

"We're trying to draw a link between individuals and families that came and inhabited the state of Utah in the mid-19th century, what their life was like and what they did for fun, what they did for work and how they lived," he said. "We selected Wheeler Historic Farm because it's a place inside the city and valley to connect later generations with former generations."

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."

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E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com