Tribute to the Pioneers
Once again we are in the good old Summertime. And this is a special Summer. Thanks to our brilliant scientists we have a vaccine that is beating back the terrible Coronavirus A virus that not only took the lives of so many, but kept us away from each other.
We were afraid – afraid even to shake hands, much less to give each other a hug. But this summer, we have hope again. We have celebrations. I was able to participate in a special one: A Bicentennial Celebration of the town of Granger, Ohio.
Granger is where the first settlers came 200 years ago. What could it have been like long, long ago? Well, let me call on your imagination.
Imagine that you and your family are going to move, hundreds and hundreds of miles across the country. You are moving to a place where no one has lived before. Imagine that when you get there, you will have to build your own home. And on the journey you can only take a few things, enough to fill a shoe box.
You can only bring enough clothes for two changes. That’s all. Oh, and there are no restaurants along the way. No McDonald’s… no Wendy’s… no Starbucks! You will have to take along your own food – enough to last for months. You will need nutrition, because you will be walking all the way.
This was the life of the Pioneer. Thousands of families packed all of their belongings onto carts or wagons and traveled mile after mile after mile.
And why? Because they wanted land of their own, homes of their own, they wanted to live and raise their children on their own terms, in freedom.
You can easily imagine, life for the pioneer was not easy. Once they found a place to live they had to cut down trees in the forest to build their homes. They had to put up fences and prepare the ground to grow their crops. They had to cut wood to heat their homes in winter and to cook their food. They had to track down and kill wildlife to put food on the table. They had to find ways to simply survive!
The Pioneers worked hard from dawn to dusk, in the sunlight and in the rain, in the snow of winter. They did it, and because many others did, the country grew and moved West. And, because they did it, we have a country like no other.
May we always be grateful to these brave and courageous people. We stand on their shoulders as we celebrate our country.
And that fact reminds me of an old song written by Irving Berlin. A song that keeps us close to the pioneers and to each other. “God bless America, land that I love. Stand beside her and guide her with a light from above. From the mountains, to the prairies, to the ocean white with foam. God Bless America, our home…sweet home.”
May God bless you, my dear readers, and all those you love and hold dear. And, may God continue to bless America, our home sweet home. Happy Summer!