Pioneer Day has come and gone and I have been remarkably silent about my theory that many Sanpeters have pioneer ancestor worship as part of their religion. But now, by writing that very sentence — I have broken my silence. But, it’s OK. I’m softening up.

I’m not going to go through a long list of things that I have to suffer through in today’s world that the pioneers didn’t have to worry about. The list really is long.

Just a couple of “for instances.” How many times have you read about pioneers having to endure the hardship of paper cuts? I know — like never. That’s only on my mind because I got a paper cut just the other day, ouch!

And of course, the pioneers were totally free from the burdens of bad cellphone service, electricity outages and flight cancellations and delays. Like I say, the list could go on and on.

Alas, I have discovered that learning more about my pioneer ancestors has been a good thing. It’s a bit like getting acquainted with living people.

Once one learns more about “the story” of a living person, the more one understands them. Understanding someone creates empathy. And empathy, quite possibly, can help start a friendship.

Ergo, since I’m attempting to treat deceased people like living people, in a “getting to know you sort of way,” I’m making friends with some of my ancestors. Does that make sense? (At the moment, it does to me.)

One time, a few years back, when I commented on pioneers, I did have a few comments come to me which indicated that I was “offending people again.” One e-mail came from a long-time friend. In addition to perhaps offending pioneer fans, he reminded me of when I offended “non-skinny bowlers.” That was in a piece early on in the history of this column. It was also mentioned by someone that I had raised the hackles of some people over a column which dealt with church testimony meetings.

The outcry to the bowling piece I remember. I admit now that I was insensitive and guilty. I deserved the “tarring and feathering.” (It may have been the phrase “two Hampshire hogs jumping in a gunny sack” that struck the nerve of a reader.) I don’t remember the testimony meeting column.

As far as the pioneer thing goes, my bark is worse than my bite. I try to show that even though I sometimes tire of hearing about them; I really do have some feeling for our ancestors and their trials and tribulations.

If I really had something against the pioneers, I wouldn’t have gone down to Cove Fort a few years ago for “Cove Fort Days.” Cove Fort was a pioneer’ish way station between Southern and Northern Utah. It’s right where the I-70 and I-15 freeways merge down past Richfield.

And no, I didn’t go just for the free hot dog and decaffeinated Coca Cola. (I went for the free multiple hot dogs and all-you-could-drink Gatorade.)

I remember that when I asked if I could have another hot dog, one of the servers looked at me very seriously and said, “If you’ve already had one hot dog (pause), you have to have at least two more.”

Here’s some great news for all of us pioneer fans. It’s time for Cove Fort Days 2025. It’s being held this week, Friday and Saturday, Aug. 1 and 2. Admission is free everyday, year-round at the fort.

I don’t know what the food and drink options are this year. If I can get there this year, I’ll be curious to see if I can get a regular Diet Coke or Pepsi. (The fort is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Caffeinated sodas flow freely at BYU now, so we’ll see if the “pioneers” at the fort are serving it.)

I was very impressed with the celebration they had at Cove Fort when I was there. There were experts there doing “replica trades” for the public to interact with and see. There was a blacksmith, a potter, a beekeeper, a tailor, and a harpist/harpmaker, among others.

There were knappers there from a knapping association in Utah County which has about 60 members. I told them that if they took the “k” away from the front of that “knapping” word that perhaps I’d qualify for the association — at least once a week on Sunday afternoons. (I don’t imagine that they’ve ever heard that joke before.) (I am a master of the obvious.)

If you don’t know, knapping is the art of shaping stones by striking and chipping. Most often, for these folks, it’s making arrowheads, spearheads and knives from stone. When I was there, they were using obsidian (volcanic glass) which they had gotten from a nearby mountain the night before.

It looked like fun. Knapping is another thing to put on my long list of potential hobbies. I might even move it to a higher priority position on my list, perhaps in between learning to play the bagpipes and collecting historic salt and pepper shakers.

There were tours of the fort. There were horses and mules and ponies pulling wagons and carts for people to take rides. A band played old time music.

All 64 LDS missionaries assigned to the fort were there dressed in pioneer costumes. Another interesting aspect was that even though the fort is owned and operated by the LDS Church; you wouldn’t have known it during Cove Fort Days. It was all focused on the pioneer way of life.

The visit almost made me want to be a pioneer. Then when I went to the restroom and made use of modern plumbing, I recovered my senses. I’m glad I live in modern times. — Merrill