Family Discovery Day

The Mesquite NV Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held the Family Discovery Day at Heritage Park in Mesquite on Saturday, March 19 to celebrate the heritage of Virgin Valley and learn about food, games, crafts of our ancestors and the history of the settlers in Virgin Valley. The event started at 9:30 with a bugle call to the flag ceremony by David Leavitt follow by the flag ceremony, pledge and prayer. The Family History Center volunteers were kept busy helping people create a family tree by finding birth and marriage records of their ancestors and also how to record and save their life stories. Many thanks to David and Nancy Leavitt, chairmen, and Kraig and Aron Hafen, assistants, for all their effort in planning and organizing the event. Thank you to each of the 9 wards and three 3 branches that shared the inside and outside activities. Many thanks to four generations of Woods who cooked the Dutch Oven chicken, potatoes and cobbler: Val, John, Layton and even baby Barrett chapped his approval.

A cookbook was given to each family with favorite family foods or recipes of ancestors. The book was compiled by the stake relief society, over the last several months, sent to the printer and ring bound and will be a treasure to evoke memories of family gatherings. Samples of bread, jelly, fudge and several kinds of cookies made from the recipes were given out for taste testing.

The young single adult branch had a booth about emergency preparedness, the youth had a photo booth and pioneer costumes so you could dress up and get your picture taken. Mesquite 7th ward had a booth for APPs for doing family connections, history and recording stories. The three missionaries were sharing Book of Mormons.

Pictures of the first homes in the Virgin Valley were on display with yarn connecting them to a large map of Mesquite Flats on the wall. On the other walls were pictures of the early settlers on their farms or with their horses or animals. Cemetery records and maps of Bunkerville and Mesquite Cemetery were on the walls with pioneer ancestors’ names and yarn connecting their names to the grave sites.

Heirloom quilts made by some of the early settlers in the valley were on display along with the stories of the ancestors who created them. The stories told of the grandmothers who worked all day cooking and washing and yet made time in the evening by dim light to make quilts using the scraps of fabric and create beautiful treasures to be passed down to generations. Some of the quilt patterns were the Texas Star, Little Dutch Girl and Jacob’s Crazy Quilt patten of random pieces put together in squares. Renie Layton, dressed in a long pioneer dress, displayed a quilt made by her grandmother made of silk ties laid in a circular pattern. She also told how her grandmother learned to made 12 loaves of bread a week for the large family. Renie displayed an unusual set of 4 bread pans fastened together for baking that might have been used by her grandmother.

Horseback rides were provided by the Hafen family and children experienced the fun of pulling handcarts up and over a “hill.” A petting area gave the kids a chance to pet some rabbits, handle some baby goats, and get in a pen with some small pigs thanks to the Abbott family. The children were able to hold some day-old baby chicks and watch them peck their feed. Several kinds of chickens from white leghorns to star bright hens and roosters filled the air with their sounds. Turkeys spread their feathers and put on a show for the kids. The kids tried out stick pull to see who could pull their partner up off the ground first. Other kids tried out a pioneer pastime of pushing an iron ring to the end of the area and back. The kids also got to try spinning wooden tops or spinning wooden buttons on a string.

The kids got buckboard rides around the parking lot or they could practice milking a “cow” or try their hand at making butter by shaking a jar of heavy cream. Everyone got a taste of the homemade butter on their corn and roll at lunch. Children got to plant some squash seeds in a 4 pack to take home and start their own garden with Darrell Garlick teaching them about what soil to use for planting. A favorite place for the kids was the cotton candy area with Jo Jo making 2 flavors of the treat in her special spinning machine for the kids to enjoy.

Activities inside included making little wooden wagons, rag dolls and balls made from rags. Bob Lystrup was kept busy writing people’s names in beautiful calligraphy on parchment paper for them to take home. Those in attendance got to watch the Leavitt family boil molasses to make taffy and then got to sample it sweet treat. Pickled eggs, sour dough bread with pomegranate jelly was shared by the Hardings, and freshly made scones with butter and honey, were also served. The Rebmans brought jerky for everyone to taste. The Zarate family demonstrated how to make tortillas and gave them to people to enjoy fresh homemade ones. Food from Peru shared by Lorene and Camilla Murray and included Turron, a cookie with sprinkles, Champude pinao – jelly with pineapple, apple and cinnamon and Alfayores, a heart shaped cookie with creme de leche filling. If you were thirsty, you were treated to homemade root beer.

The Old Time Fiddlers with banjos, guitars, violin, and bass, entertained the crowd outside with old time folk songs and some newer ones too. They are made up of musicians from Idaho, Grantsville, Dameron Valley and Mesquite. Primary age children sang about pulling handcarts and being a pioneer. In the afternoon, the Nelson Family Band entertained the audience with country music accompanied by fiddle and guitars. Derek Hafen had everyone laughing as he told some cowboy poetry. The old church bell in the park rang with the announcement of a lunch of Dutch oven potatoes, chicken, corn on the cob and peach and cherry cobbler with ice cream.The famous Woods family with their crew started early to have the western fare ready for the large crowd of over 600 people that were served; all raved about the great taste of authentic Dutch oven cooking.