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Two of the last living sons of Utah pioneers will be guests of honor in tomorrow's parade. Their fathers crossed the plains before the transcontinental railroad was completed.
Albert Edward Blair crossed the plains in 1868, one year before the transcontinental railway linked East and West. He was two years old. His parents were Latter-day Saint converts from England.
The family came into the Salt Lake Valley by wagon train from Fort Laramie, where the tracks stopped, walking and riding 500 miles. Albert grew up as a hard-working young man, adding his talents to the Lewiston, Utah band.
His son Ken Blair is the youngest in a large family. His parents married after his father's first wife died. His dad was 67 when Ken was born. He told us, "My father passed away when I was just a little kid, I was just four years old. He had a heart attack. Actually I was sitting on his lap."
Ken walked the pioneer trail in 1997 in honor of his father and grandparents. "While you're walking, you can feel the spirit of the pioneers, and you're walking in the footsteps of your ancestors," he said.
Also In 1868, George Swallow, then 17, crossed the plains in a wagon train from Nebraska. He built a successful ranch in Nevada then moved to Salt Lake, where his first wife died. Shortly after that, he met a woman who owned a cafe. His son, Frank, told us, "After about two years, they decided to get married, he's 67, she's 42. I'm born a year later."
The legacy of these pioneers continues through their families. During the KSL Days of '47 Parade, Ken and Frank will be thinking of their dads. "It was important in my dad's life, to be able to do those things, and as a result of that, I've been blessed," Frank said.
The men will be riding on the Sons of Utah Pioneers' Conestoga wagons in tomorrow's parade. They are entry number 5.
E-mail: cmikita@ksl.com
