Youth give service at Salt Lake pioneer site
E-mail story
It's easy. Send a link to the story you were just reading to a friend. Just fill out the form on this page and we'll send it along.
Your name and e-mail address are transmitted to the recipient. Otherwise, it is considered private information; see Privacy policy.
Young men and women and their leaders from the Park City Utah Stake crossed over the mountains on Sept. 11 to the Salt Lake Valley to perform a service project in one of the most historic neighborhoods in Salt Lake City. Here, in the neighborhood known as Liberty Wells, the advance party of the vanguard pioneer group camped their first night after entering the valley on July 22, 1847.
Today, on this site is the meetinghouse of the Waterloo and McKay wards. Eighteen members of the two wards worked alongside 150 youth and 30 adults from the Park City stake to perform a range of yard work at 22 homes. This was the third year of the service project. The youth came with rakes, clippers and shovels to cut back years of overgrowth, dig new flower beds, and paint a house. Brigham Young had a farm here and Wilford Woodruff built his homes and farm across street from the current meetinghouse at 1600 S. 500 East. With little means of capital investment, neighbors in recent years have relied on each other to make home and yard improvements. Many residents are older adults. Those moving to the area tend to be single adults or families with young children purchasing their first homes.
About half of the Liberty Wells residents are members of the Church. "The neighborhood was impressed that so many young people came to work for homeowners they didn't know, even those who weren't members of the Church," said James Fisher of the Waterloo Ward.
Amy Williams, Park City Utah Stake Young Women president, said the youth "love seeing the immediate, tangible difference they make. They especially enjoy visiting with the residents."
