Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

BYU Wind Symphony experiences history in Illinois
By Lacey J. Manning
The Daily Universe (BYU)
07/18/2006

(U-WIRE) PROVO, Utah — As the musicians in BYU's Wind Symphony drove through Carthage, Ill., they did not see anything out of the ordinary in the small country town.

However, a murmur arose among them as their vans pulled into the parking lot of an inconspicuous red brick building known historically as Carthage jail — the location of Joseph Smith's martyrdom.

The students soon learned from tour guides the relatively small building served a dual purpose back in the mid 1800s: It provided a home for the jail master and two cells for the jail.

The jail, a small detail in a little town, stands as a monument to Joseph Smith's testimony sealed with his own blood.

"I really enjoyed the opportunity to really understand more the sacrifices they [the pioneers] made," said Tawna Summerhays, a tuba player for the Wind Symphony.

Although the band members went on a musical tour to Nauvoo in June, the group experienced more than the typical nightly concerts they performed for the two weeks they were there. Their trip served as a reminder of historical events.

The band members didn't just see historical monuments, though; they participated in a little bit of history themselves as they re-enacted a part of the pioneers' 1,300-mile trek from Nauvoo to Utah.

Although the students pulled handcarts just as the pioneers did more than a century ago, the distance they traveled, one mile, provided just a small glimpse of what the pioneers endured for months.

The students' trek helped fulfill the symphony's mission for the tour: To have a spiritual experience while sharing the gospel through music and example.

"Because I was there for a spiritual purpose, I experienced things historically or spiritually that can't be replaced by another visit," said Darcy Whetten, a bassoonist for the Wind Symphony.

Students walked through history in the homes of former church leaders, including John Taylor's former Nauvoo house. The house still holds the toy of Taylor's young son, a small wooden horse, which holds the story of a father's love for his son.

When the saints were forced out of Nauvoo, the toy was left behind amid the confusion. After realizing the oversight, Taylor snuck back into Nauvoo during the night and retrieved his son's prized possession. The horse on display today in the Taylor home is the original horse the prophet salvaged.

"Seeing the sacrifice [of the saints] made my testimony grow," said Jacob Tingen, a trombone player on tour with the symphony.

Other non-religious historical experiences included a day visit to Hannibal, Mo., hometown of renowned author Mark Twain.

While there, symphony members traveled into the caves on which Twain based the spooky caverns in his book, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," where the character Tom gets lost and sees the murderer Injun Joe.

Black soot graffiti covers the first 30 feet of limestone in the cave. In the past, it was legal for visitors to put candles close to the cavern walls, using the smoke to write their names.

Among the names found in the cave is that of Jesse James, an American bandit in the later part of the 1800s. Rumor has it he hid in the caves after robbing a bank one night, Whetten said.

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