About
Mountain Valley Chapter Officers & UPHA
The National Society of the Sons of Utah Pioneers (or SUP) was organized for the purpose of keeping alive the history and memory of those who came to the Salt Lake Valley to help settle the West. Many of which where seeking security from those who would destroy them and their beliefs.
OUR MISSION:
- Preserve the memory and heritage of the early pioneers.
- Honor Present-day pioneers worldwide.
- Teach these same qualities to the youth who will be tomorrow’s pioneers.
We invite you to join the SUP. Membership in the SUP is open to all men of every age who have an interest in the early Utah Pioneers. You will join with others who wish to honor these early builders of the West, to perpetuate their memory and to preserve in our own posterity their noble ideals. It is not necessary to have Pioneer ancestry.
Our chapter, “The Mountain Valley” is governed by a president along with other officers and board members. The National Organization is presided over by a three-man executive council and a National Board of Area Vice Presidents. National Program Directors oversee major activity areas.
As a chapter we generally meet the fourth Thursday of each month with families and guests at the Senior Center in the Wastach County Library. Plan on fellow-shipping with friends, and enjoying a program filled with music and speakers that help us remember our pioneer legacy.
During the summer we enjoy taking “Treks” to see important pioneer sites and participate with other chapters in erecting monuments that honor special places or events in pioneer history.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN:
The Eyes Westward Monument
In 1900, Senator Reed Smoot made the first attempts to initiate the concept of The Sons of Utah Pioneers. Parley P. Jenson tried again in 1910. Neither attempt was successful, but these efforts kept the idea alive. In 1928, the forerunner to the George Albert Smith Chapter, called “The Sons,” was organized in Provo, Utah. The Sons of Utah Pioneers was officially organized on March 29, 1933, as a state and local organization. The Constitution and Bylaws of the organization were published in 1934, and Lawrence T. Epperson of Salt Lake City, Utah, became the first president.
In 1935, under the direction of Nephi L. Morris, the idea of retracing the original pioneer trek from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Salt Lake City, Utah, during the 1947 Centennial observance was proposed. This early planning ultimately resulted in the spectacular cross-country re-enactment trek, spearheaded by then-national president Wendell Ashton.
During the many years that have followed, each group of local and national officers has contributed their energies and talents to build this organization to its present status. The Sons of Utah Pioneers is now recognized as a venerable and respected contributor to the preservation of Pioneer history. Organized chapters are now found throughout the United States.