During the month of July we celebrate Pioneer Day. This day commemorates the arrival of the pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley. Many of us in North Ogden have ancestors who were pioneers during that period of time. There are many stories of the hardships suffered during this westward movement.Conditions were brutal at times with weather, disease,and the various forms of transportation that was available. Many lives were lost and buried along the trail represented by all ages. This was a 1300 mile trip in to uncharted America West.We should be grateful and humbled by the action of these great pioneers. They abandoned the familiar and strode bravely into the unknown; confident that in doing so would enable for them a better future. They gave up possessions and relationships that no longer nurtured them, ideologies they had outgrown. As descendants of these pioneers, we can partially settle the account by being true to the cause for which our ancestors suffered so much to be part of.I was privileged to have a grandfather who crossed the plains in a covered wagon at the age of 12. He, one brother, and their mother left Denmark and sailed to America. They were on the ocean for two months and two days. He witnessed 16 immigrants that were buried at sea. They arrived in New York and went by ferry and rail to Omaha, Nebraska. These ancestors purchased a wagon and three head of oxen and began their journey to Utah. Two or three families rode in each wagon and they would take turns walking to lighten the load when the oxen became tired. They would travel 15 to 20 miles per day depending on the terrain.While walking, my grandfather would wear his shoes when the conditions were rocky and take them off when the soil was soft to make them last longer.Upon arriving in Salt Lake City, they stayed one day and then traveled on to Brigham City the next day. A year later they moved to Hyrum, Utah and that is where he married and raised his family. The two -room log home still stands today as a reminder of my pioneer heritage of which I am proud and grateful for.Let us never erase from our memories those who sacrificed so much that we may have better lives. We should be especially grateful for those who settled in and established our great city of North Ogden.