As the month of July slowly comes to an end, one more annual holiday has had its moment to shine. This holiday, unlike its forefather, July 4th, is a state holiday known as Pioneer Day. On July 24, 1847, Brigham Young, and many other pioneers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, arrived in the Salt Lake Valley after their long and treacherous journey across the nation. It was on that day that they stopped their journey as Brigham Young declared, “This is the place.” The holiday is significant to many Utahans for their history with the LDS church, for others it is another reason to light fireworks and have a spin-off celebration of the 4th of July.
The town of Marysvale, while it has had its struggles the last few weeks, did not let the fire or the flooding stop them from celebrating. The parade started up on the hill next to the LDS church building and made its way down and across main street. Marysvale always has its streets filled with an audience on the 24th. Those viewers consist of town members, county members and travelers staying in the town. Candy, smiles and laughter were spread during the hour-long parade.
Following the parade were games and races at the town’s park located to the east of the main street. While children ran amok, adults were getting ready for the “Biggest Little Rodeo in the World” or the Marysvale 24th rodeo. At 1:00 p.m., the rodeo started off with bronc riding. The stands were filled with people from all over getting a taste of the rodeo thrill.
While the town’s rodeo was filled with normal rodeo events, Marysvale didn’t forget to include some fun for the littles. Intermediate entertainment consisted of kids ranging in age groups running across the arena to grab a chicken or two. Then later, the kids were set free to catch a piglet. Adults aged 35 and up also took the arena to get themselves a piglet.
Shortly before the rodeo came to a complete close, one of the most interesting yet favorite events was happening at the park. In the old outdoor dance hall, bucket loads of fish were being released and caught by children. Every year the old open hall gets filled with water, then filled with fish. Kids then go inside and go fishing! While not every child walks away with a fish caught with their bare hands, overall, it’s a good fishing day.
This year because of fire precautions, no fireworks were let off into the sky in Marysvale. However, fireworks don’t always symbolize the end of a good day. It’s the smiles, rosy cheeks, giggles and hugs that signify that the day was a success.
– by Ari Hurdsman
Feature image caption: Paxton, Kayla, Jalee and Nash Gleave show off their catches of fish from Marysvale’s 24th of July fish rodeo. Courtesy of Riyo Winckel.
Read more about local celebrations in Bicknell’s ‘Homey’ 24th of July Celebration Is Here to Stay.
Ari Hurdsman – Junction
Ari Hurdsman is a junior journalist at the Byway. She just recently moved to Ephraim, Utah, where she is a freshman at Snow College. She enjoys writing about Piute sports, and she’s really good at it! In her free time, she enjoys singing, dancing, reading and hanging out with friends and family.