On March 3rd we celebrated Mark's birthday! It fell on a Saturday this year so we were excited to be able to spend the whole day together as a family. First thing that morning, the girls woke him up with breakfast in bed and a homemade candy bar card that they made. It turned out really cute and Mark thought it was a wonderful gift. Of course, the first thing that they asked him was if they could each have some of the candy bars.
We decided to drive to Baker City to see the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. It has been years since we went there so it was something Emma and Samantha were looking forward to doing.
The Interpretive Center follows the history of the Oregon Trail and sits on the actual trail. There are lots of displays about the pioneers and how they traveled, which routes they took, and the many hardships they faced.
The girls thought that this handcard was pretty impressive.......
....as well as the giant, stuffed buffalo! We had a really nice time and before leaving town we grabbed some milkshakes for the ride home.
One of the things that Mark is very proud of is that he has an ancestor who was in the Willie Handcart Company that crossed the plains in 1856. Her name was Martha Webb Campkin. She was a widow with five young children and they all made it to the Salt Lake Valley which was a miracle considering the dire circumstances they were in. Flash forward to 2009 when we have a senior couple from our ward who served their mission at Six Crossing. During their service they came across a book that a good sister from Utah had written. She compiled the history of all of the Saints who were in the Handcart Companies. Unfortunately, there wasn't a record of Martha or her second husband, Thomas Young. We gave that information to Brother and Sister Brown who forwarded it to the book's author. There are several editions of the book published and each time there is more history added. Flash forward to 2012 - I was able to get in touch with the author and we had a wonderful discussion over the phone and she sent me her most recent edition of the book which now has Martha and Thomas included! The book is entitled "Tell My Story, Too" and it is a precious resource to learn about the lives of these devoted Saints.
During our discussion, Sister Alphin told me that she had learned during her research that two sisters, Emily and Julia Hill, had traveled with Martha and assisted her with the children along the trail. They became dear friends. Emily eventually wrote the words to the hymn, "As Sisters In Zion" and one of her descendents wrote a book about the lives of Emily and Julia. This story intrigued me and I thought about maybe getting the book. Well, two days later, I received my weekly email from Deseret Book listing their specials on books. It just so happened that their special for the week was this particular book! I knew it was meant to be and I quickly purchased a copy to give to Mark. The book is wonderful and talks in great depth about Martha and her family. Both books are now family treasures!!!!
Hopefully Mark enjoyed his birthday gifts and felt how much we love and appreciate him. Happy Birthday!!!!
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