PINE VALLEY – Pleasant temperatures and the forest scenery of Pine Valley provided a beautiful environment for Pine Valley Heritage Day Saturday – a day set aside to show gratitude toward those who lived the meaningful history of the small but thriving community that nestles into the base of the Pine Valley Mountains between the cities of St. George and Enterprise in Southern Utah.
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Videocast by Samantha Tommer, St. George News
The Dixie National Forest, Dixie/Arizona Strip Interpretive Association and the community of Pine Valley partnered to bring the celebration back to Pine Valley for the fourth time.
Demonstrations of pioneer lifestyle lined the grass of the Pine Valley Heritage Center Saturday morning to showcase how the early settlers made life comfortable.
“My favorite part of this is being able to see these crafts from a different century,” Ken Sizemore, executive director for the Dixie/Arizona Strip Interpretive Association, said. “They are crafts you don’t see much of anymore.”
Many of the artisans demonstrating spinning, weaving, quilting and tatting said they were concerned their crafts are a dying art form.
“It is important to think of our heritage,” Linda Anderson, spinning and weaving demonstrator, said. “In those days, these were very important arts. There’s a real art of not actually just going to the store, but seeing how this can be made into things we use everyday.”
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., live music was provided and stories about the foundation of Pine Valley were shared.
Two Jackets, from Enterprise, gave a unique presentation called ‘Spirit of the Mountain’ that showed how mountain men lived on Pine Valley Mountain.
“The creator is not going to give us anymore mountains. The mountain men had to learn how to survive in the wilderness. Things have changed. Now, we have to learn how the wilderness can survive us,” Two Jackets said.
Life without modern conveniences accessible today is hard to comprehend, but learning about how mountain men survived the harsh winter conditions and how settlers lived before electricity and factories were conceived, puts what is available to everyone today in perspective.
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Linda Anderson has been demonstrated spinning and weaving for the past few years at Pine Valley Heritage Day, Pine Valley, Utah, August 2, 2014 | Photo by Samantha Tommer, St. George News
One of the highlights of Pine Valley Heritage Day was when everyone was given a washboard or metal utensil to perform in front of the crowd. Early settlers would use anything make music and provide entertainment, Pine Valley, Utah, August 2, 2014 | Photo by Samantha Tommer, St. George News
Lynn Jensen set up a tatting demonstration at Pine Valley Heritage Day. Tatting is an art form that was developed over 200 years ago, Pine Valley, Utah, August 2, 2014 | Photo by Samantha Tommer, St. George News
Jenny Larson from St. George set up a quilt demonstration for Pine Valley Heritage Day, Pine Valley, Utah, August 2, 2014 | Photo by Samantha Tommer, St. George News
One of the highlights of Pine Valley Heritage Day was when everyone was given a washboard or metal utensil to perform in front of the crowd. Early settlers would use anything make music and provide entertainment, Pine Valley, Utah, August 2, 2014 | Photo by Samantha Tommer, St. George News
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I am sorry to read that the people of Pine Valley are not aware that spinning, weaving, quilting and tatting are all alive and doing quite well. A quick search of Google, Pinterest, and Ravelry will link them to a worldwide community in any of the techniques. It is exciting to see the 20-something’s using these “pioneer” techniques to create some beautiful works of art with contemporary fibers.