Utah This is the Place! 4 th grade program March 23 rd, 2016 2:15 pm Jade: On January 4, 1896 Utah was admitted to the Union as the 45 th state. As students of Trailside Elementary School, we would like to celebrate as our state will have its 120th birthday this year by presenting, Utah, this is the Place! Tanner : In 2003 a group of 4th grade students like us petitioned the state legislator to have the official state song of Utah changed from Utah, We Love Thee an old hymn style song, to the song from the well known 4th grade program Utah, This is the Place. Here is our state song. SONG: UTAH... THIS IS THE PLACE Paia: When the pioneers arrived in Utah on July 24 th, 1847 there were five main tribes of Indians living here. They were the Utes, Paiutes, Goshutes, Shoshones, and Navajos. Remy: Each tribe had a different language and culture. Some live in teepees and wicki ups, others in caves and hogan. There were tribes who stayed in one place and farmed, while others followed herds of animals and moved from place to place. Vanessa: Today there are about 2,000 Native Americans who live in Utah. Two thirds of these people live on reservations and the rest live in towns and cities throughout the state. They are a proud people and have done much to make Utah a better state in which to live. Hudson P: This song is in the Native American style and is about the life cycle of corn. It show the love of the Native American people for the land SONG: CORN SONG Nate: The first white people to explore Utah were a group of Spanish explorers who were trying to find a shortcut between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Monterey, California. They were led by two Catholic Priests: Father Escalante and Father Dominguez. They left Santa Fe in July 1776 and during their expedition, explored parts of Utah. Milly: They came through Spanish Fork Canyon and camped for three days with the Ute Indians by Utah Lake which was then called Lake Timpanogos. In Father Escalante s diary he mentions that this valley was the most beautiful place in all New Spain.
Jade: In October, an early snowstorm caught their expedition and they decided to return to Santa Fe. Although they never reached California, they made maps of their travels through Utah, which were valuable resources to others who explored this region. SONG: FIRST WHITEMEN IN UTAH Paia: The next group of people to explore Utah were fur Traders and Trappers, known as mountain men. They came to Utah looking for valuable beaver skins to supply the demand for tall beaver hats, which had become popular in Europe and the eastern United States. Ireland: Among the trappers who came to Utah were Jim Bridger, Jeddediah Smith, Peter Skene Ogden and Etienne Provost. Although many of these men couldn t read or write very well, they were good at telling stories about the vast lands surrounding the Great Salt Lake. SONG: ROCKY MOUNTAIN Astrid: In Canada, there were many fur trappers as well. Men named the voyageurs were hired to transport the furs across the great lakes by canoe to be traded in the United States. To pass the time on the long journey the men would sing songs. These songs also helped to keep their rowing strokes together. Riley: In their journeys these men would have passed les raftsmen. At some point a song was written about them. Les raftsmen were so named for the large rafts they used to transported lumber from Outaouais to Quebec City down the St. Lawrence River. This white pine wood was then shipped to Great Britain to be crafted into ships. Teagan: This song tells about the life of the raftsmen. Leaving in the winter the men row to north east forests to cut down lumber. Usually only eating pork and beans the work was hard. When the ice thawed the men would launch their large rafts to float the lumber they had collected. They were paid and the end of the season and were happy to return home to their loved ones. SONG: THE RAFTSMEN 1. ABIGAIL and RILEY: Là ousqu y sont, tous les raftsmen? CLASS: Là ousqu y sont, tous les raftsmen? ABIGAIL and RILEY : Dans les chanquiers i sont montés. : Bing sur le ring! Bang sur le rang! Laisez paser les raftsmen! Bing sur la ring! Bing, bang!
2. JUAN and NINA Z and PORTIA: Et par Bytown y sont passés, CLASS: Et par Bytown y sont passés, JUAN and NINA Z and PORTIA : Avec leurs provisions achetées. 3. JADE and CARTER: In bark canoes they make their way, RESPONSE: In bark canoes they make their way, JADE and CARTER : They reach the camp and shout Hurray! 4. GARRETT and HAYDEN: Des porc an beans ils ont mange, CLASS: Des porc an beans ils ont mangé, GARRETT and HAYDEN : Pour les estomacs restaurer. 5. LIAM V and ANNA P: Their axes sharp with no delay, RESPONSE: Their axes sharp with no delay, LIAM V and ANNA P : They swing and strike the tall trees away. 6. NINA B. and STEVIE and BRADY: Que l Outaouais fut étonné, CLASS: Que l Outaouais fut étonné, NINA B. and STEVIE and BRADY : Tant faisait d bruit leur hache trempé. 7. PEYTON and DEIDRE : Quand le chanquier fut terminé, CLASS: Quand le chanquier fut terminé, PEYTON and DEIDRE : Chacun chez eux sont retourné. 8. LUCY R and MARI: T o greet them come their ladies gay, RESPONSE: To greet them come their ladies gay, LUCY R and MARI : Who help them spend their hard earned pay.
Lauren: As the stories of the mountain men circulated back to settlements in the East, others became interested and were motivated to follow their trails westward. With little possessions and no modern day technology the people would sing and dance in the evenings to keep their spirits high. Grant: By 1846, at least six wagon trains had made trails through Utah and yet none of those early travelers wanted to stop and settle in this barren desert, covered with sagebrush. They had heard that the fertile valleys of California were only another 500 miles away. SONG: OLD BRASS WAGON Garrett: This barren desert, covered with sagebrush was just the kind of country the Mormons were looking for a place no one else wanted, a place far away from others where they could worship as they please without fear of persecution. Angry mobs, who disagreed with the Mormons, had already driven them from their homes in Ohio, the Missouri and finally Illinois. Olivia: Led by Brigham Young a group of 143 men, 3 women, 2 children, 72 wagons, 93 horses, 52 mules, 66 oxen, 19 cows, 17 dogs, and a few chickens arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24 th, 1847. These courageous men and women blazed the trail for others across a desolate frontier. We are grateful to our Utah Pioneers. SONG: THE HANDCART SONG Ireland: The pioneers came to Utah because it was far away from other settlements. They wanted to be left alone. However, this did not last for long. Utah became less isolated as the means of communication and transportation improved. The invention of the telegraph and the steam engine brought many changes. Paia: In 1862, the United States Congress voted to build a railroad that would go across the country. Railroad tracks were already built from New York to the Mississippi River. In order to reach the Pacific Ocean, the tracks would have to be built across Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California. Hudson P: Two companies were hired to build the railroad: the Union Pacific from the east and the Central Pacific from the west. Because each company was paid for every mile of track they laid, it became a race to see which one could lay the most. Remy: It was on the 10 th of May in 1869 that the two companies finally met at Promontory Point, Utah. The transcontinental railroad joined the East and West as one. With this Wedding of the Rails, a new age had begun.
SONG: UTAH S IRON HORSE Emily: The railroad brought many changes to the territory of Utah and marked the end of the pioneer period. Large amounts of goods could now be brought into Utah in a matter of days instead of months. Also, agriculture, mining, and manufactured goods produced in Utah could be hailed out and sold in other places. Amelie: Because the people were industrious, Utah became the agricultural and manufacturing center of the West. The region was called Deseret, which means honey bee and stands for the hard work and industry. Ireland: In 1850, the United States organized the region as a territory and named Utah in honor of the Ute Indians living here. Later, Utah was admitted to the Union as the 45 th state on January 4 th, 1896. Milly: Utah has an area of 84,990 square miles and is divided into 29 counties. Some of these counties were given Indian names and some were named after explorers and trappers. Others were named after minerals, trees, lakes, rivers, and animals. SONG: THE 29 COUNTIES OF UTAH Grant: Utah has gone through a lot of changes since the pioneers first entered the Salt Lake Valley. Looking back at Utah s history We ve come a long way! Lauren: Millions of tourists visit Utah each year because its mountains, lakes, rivers, and parks are excellent for boating, fishing, hunting, skiing, and seeing. Vanessa: Utah is rich in natural resources. However, its greatest resource is its people who are industrious and well educated. Amelie: In closing, we d like to thank you for being with us to celebrate Utah s 120 years as a state. We are grateful for the legacy our forefathers have left us and look forward to the future as Utah leads the way into the next century. SONG: UTAH. THIS IS THE PLACE!