CITRUS HEIGHTS, CALIF.
California Pioneer Heritage Foundation President S. Dennis Holland presented 39 members of the Sierra Nevada Mormon Pioneer Re-enactors Group with the foundation's new Distinguished Service Medal at a recent fireside kicking off preparations for this summer's Citrus Heights California Stake youth trek in the Donner Lake area.
The foundation is a non-profit corporation that was formed to help finance brochures, videos, presentations and elementary school teaching packets. The organization also maintains monuments throughout the State of California that educate the public about the prominent role played by Mormon pioneers in early California history.
The living history group was organized eight years ago and functions under the direction of the Church's Sacramento Public Affairs Council. The group's members have the unique opportunity to educate the public about the Church in a non-threatening way.
"The foundation board of directors felt these re-enactors deserved some sort of recognition for all the time and money they have spent in performing at 50 to 60 separate venues each year," Brother Holland said. "They have served in this capacity for the last eight years, so we developed a custom medal just for this purpose."
Bob "Bubba" Blair portrays Henry Bigler, and gives a first-person explanation at the Mormon cabin in the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma. As Henry Bigler, he explains how he and five other discharged Mormon Battalion members were part of the gold discovery that started the 1849 Gold Rush.
Brother Blair said, "The most popular part of our presentation is when we hold our 'Church Meeting at the Mines,' which is a short campfire meeting where we sing hymns and give talks about simple LDS gospel truths. We are cautious not to involve too much doctrine; instead, we bear a heartfelt testimony of how our faith kept us going throughout the trip west. The public loves it and they insist we repeat it several times a day."
Jerry Gardner portrays several historical figures including Thomas Rhoads, who brought the gold wagon train to Salt Lake City in September 1849 to start the Salt Lake Mint; Sam Brannan, leader of the ship Brooklyn, which brought the first colonists to Yerba Buena (San Francisco) in July 1846; Apostle Orson Hyde, who helped settle Genoa (Mormon Station) in the Carson City, Nev., area; and John Barrowman of the Mormon Battalion.
Brother Gardner noted, "It's really amazing how little our own members know about our history in California. We also have people visiting here from all over the world who can't seem to get enough of the gold rush story."
Mark Perkins, who plays Orrin Porter Rockwell, stated, "We really enjoy educating the public about the Church history in a positive way. We can't proselyte, but when they ask about the Church doctrine, we tell them how to contact the missionaries in their area to find out more. We just wish we had more people helping us in our presentations because we have many more requests than we have people to cover them."
