Comments on: Guest Post: 20th Century Covered Wagon Pioneers

By: JakeF

JakeF — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:59:16 +0000

It’s really interesting to think about the changes that took place during a single lifetime. These Lyons children who traveled months at a time over what we now think of as relatively short distances were later able to board flights to Mexico for something as simple as a tropical vacation in places at much farther distances. Makes me realize that my generation only just barely avoided these physically challenging lives that my recent relatives had to endure.

By: Maurine

Maurine — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:36:46 +0000

This is an absolutely fascinating post. Like others have mentioned, the photos really added to the story.

By: kevinf

kevinf — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:13:13 +0000

Mina, I’ll need to scan it tomorrow and get it into a jpg format. It’s a photocopy of an old, torn photograph, but what’s left of it is not too bad. Give me a day or two.

By: Mina

Mina — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:08:11 +0000

Ohh kevinf! I’d LOVE to see that photo of the Wild West Show ad on the wagon canvas. The presentation of “the West” via such shows and other public entertainments like Cycloramas, slide show/lectures and stereo photography is connected to a couple of things I’m currently working on. Would you be willing to send me a copy via email?

(For personal interest only. Naturally, I would get your permission if I wanted to use it in any way.)

Here’s my email: MinaAbril [at]gmail [dot]com

(I’m fine with giving my addy out here. If it’s not cool with you, Ardis, please delete and pass my info on to kevinf if possible.)

[It's fine with me, Mina -- I edited it a little to disguise it from the spambots, though. -- AEP]

By: Clark

Clark — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:41:21 +0000

“Times were always hard” farming in St. Anthony. Ha ha. All of my ancestors from Eastern Idaho(including my mother)could relate to that understatement.

By: Researcher

Researcher — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:26:54 +0000

One more anecdote from Arizona: Many years ago I attended Pioneer Day celebrations in St. Johns. At the church services on Sunday, an elderly woman told about her family’s experience as covered wagon pioneers in Eastern Arizona about the same time period as this story.

Very interesting post, Kevin, and man, you guys are setting the bar high for guest posts!

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:07:54 +0000

if Ardis is amenable

Ardis is soooooo amenable.

By: Mark B.

Mark B. — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:32:01 +0000

If I knew how to edit comments, I’d fix that ghastly error in that last paragraph.

You’d think I learned grammar from Facebook.

By: Mark B.

Mark B. — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:14:26 +0000

First in St. Johns, and then on to Eagar–which is where the drought nearly drove them under.

The best line about the failures of the dam building was someone’s statement that “it looks as if we’re just not worth a dam.”

And I know where Silver Creek is–anyone with Snowflake ties should, shouldn’t ~~they~~ one? Although why they thought that muddy water looked like silver is beyond me.

By: kevinf

kevinf — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:14:00 +0000

Mark,

I don’t know the exact route. We have a couple of accounts, one told by Thomas Lyons the year before he died, and one written by one of his three daughters born in Canada. Neither of them is very detailed about the exact route, and no place names are used until they get to Spokane and on into Idaho, so it’s hard to tell.

Where in eastern Arizona were your great-grandparents? The stories about trying to build a dam on the Little Colorado and Silver Creek for irrigation are fascinating. And without water, farming was tough in Arizona. John D. Lee talks about spending most of his waking hours while hiding in Moencopi (Tuba City) in the 1870′s hauling water by hand from the small springs to just grow a subsistence crop.