July 24Th, Utah's State Holiday
Floor Speech
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Mr. KENNEDY of Utah. Mr. Speaker, on February 25, 1846, beleaguered residents of Nauvoo, Illinois, began leaving their homes and farms behind, crossing the frozen Mississippi River by ferry and wagon to escape persecution. Only the sickest and poorest remained behind, and even they were finally forced out by mob action. All crossed Iowa to Nebraska, just north of Omaha, their winter quarters on the Missouri River.
Why do I bring up these sad memories from long ago?
Utah still celebrates the day when they finally arrived at a place of safety, the valley of the Great Salt Lake, on July 24, 1847. July 24 is a State holiday for Utahns. Those hardy, resilient pioneers, carrying with them the sick and desperately poor from burning Nauvoo, found temporary refuge among the kind members of the Omaha Tribe.
They made an agreement with the Omaha through their Chief, Big Elk, who welcomed the pioneers, understanding the trouble they had recently escaped. The pioneers would stay in residence, building houses, planting gardens and fields, and then move on after 2 years to ensure all of their number had enough time and resources to make the trip West. Afterwards, the improvements would belong to the Omaha.
This vanguard party of 148 pioneers, who had been on the road for 111 days, followed Brigham Young down Emigration Canyon into the Salt Lake Valley.
They immediately began organizing a community, diverting water for irrigation, plowing fields, and planning their first city, Salt Lake City, our State's capital. Salt Lake was founded that very day. Denver wasn't founded until 1858 and so was Carson City. Phoenix was founded in 1867, Boise in 1863, and Helena in 1864. Of all Western States' capital cities, only New Mexico's, Albuquerque, is older than Salt Lake.
From that small beginning of 148 souls, a city and metro-area population of over 1.2 million and a State population of over 3.5 million have grown. From that small beginning, a mighty State has grown with an annual GDP of over $234 billion. Utah has three research universities, four regional universities, and other great institutions of higher education. Utahns value education, and we are good at it.
The Salt Lake City metro area has professional sports teams competing at the highest level, with basketball, the Utah Jazz; soccer, Real Salt Lake; and hockey, the Utah Mammoth. They have already hosted the Winter Olympic Games and are set to host another in 2034.
If you travel across the State, Mr. Speaker, you will find communities with baseball fields, football fields, soccer fields, pickleball courts, tennis courts, swimming pools, ski resorts, and golf courses. Utahns value sports, and we are good at them.
Utah is an international center for technology, including space tech. Just south of Salt Lake City is a business park called Silicon Slopes. About 100 miles north of Salt Lake City is the Space Dynamics Laboratory. Utahns value technology and research, and we are good at them.
Utahns may leave Utah, but they take Utah with them wherever they go. The football coach who takes the job in the Big Ten, the medical school graduate who interns at Brigham and Women's, the ROTC grad who learns to fly in Enid, Oklahoma, and the mother of five who gets that promotion and follows her work to Seattle, all of them take a piece of Utah with them.
On July 24, you may just see every one of them pulling kids in a wagon in a neighborhood parade or hear them singing a pioneer song or making the trek downtown to the shelter to drop off bedding and clothing. Each in his own way honors July 24, and I ask you today to honor those long-dead pioneers as well as those whose hearts hold Utah close.
This place west of the Great Divide and east of Salt Flats, north of the Grand Canyon and south of the lava flows and potato fields of Idaho is my home. I wasn't born in Utah. In fact, my father wasn't even born in this country. I am a pioneer like my brother and sister Utahns. Just like those 148 brave and desperate souls, I have made this place my home.
I, like Brigham Young and those other 3.5 million souls, came to this place, saw that it was good and said: ``This is the right place. Drive on.''
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