[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 125 (Tuesday, July 22, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H3534-H3535]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    JULY 24TH, UTAH'S STATE HOLIDAY

  (Mr. Kennedy of Utah was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mr. KENNEDY of Utah. Mr. Speaker, on February 25, 1846, beleaguered 
residents of Nauvoo, Illinois, began leaving their homes and farms 
behind, crossing the frozen Mississippi River by ferry and wagon to 
escape persecution. Only the sickest and poorest remained behind, and 
even they were finally forced out by mob action. All crossed Iowa to 
Nebraska, just north of Omaha, their winter quarters on the Missouri 
River.
  Why do I bring up these sad memories from long ago?
  Utah still celebrates the day when they finally arrived at a place of 
safety, the valley of the Great Salt Lake, on July 24, 1847. July 24 is 
a State holiday for Utahns. Those hardy, resilient pioneers, carrying 
with them the sick and desperately poor from burning Nauvoo, found 
temporary refuge among the kind members of the Omaha Tribe.
  They made an agreement with the Omaha through their Chief, Big Elk, 
who welcomed the pioneers, understanding the trouble they had recently

[[Page H3535]]

escaped. The pioneers would stay in residence, building houses, 
planting gardens and fields, and then move on after 2 years to ensure 
all of their number had enough time and resources to make the trip 
West. Afterwards, the improvements would belong to the Omaha.
  This vanguard party of 148 pioneers, who had been on the road for 111 
days, followed Brigham Young down Emigration Canyon into the Salt Lake 
Valley.
  They immediately began organizing a community, diverting water for 
irrigation, plowing fields, and planning their first city, Salt Lake 
City, our State's capital. Salt Lake was founded that very day. Denver 
wasn't founded until 1858 and so was Carson City. Phoenix was founded 
in 1867, Boise in 1863, and Helena in 1864. Of all Western States' 
capital cities, only New Mexico's, Albuquerque, is older than Salt 
Lake.
  From that small beginning of 148 souls, a city and metro-area 
population of over 1.2 million and a State population of over 3.5 
million have grown. From that small beginning, a mighty State has grown 
with an annual GDP of over $234 billion. Utah has three research 
universities, four regional universities, and other great institutions 
of higher education. Utahns value education, and we are good at it.
  The Salt Lake City metro area has professional sports teams competing 
at the highest level, with basketball, the Utah Jazz; soccer, Real Salt 
Lake; and hockey, the Utah Mammoth. They have already hosted the Winter 
Olympic Games and are set to host another in 2034.
  If you travel across the State, Mr. Speaker, you will find 
communities with baseball fields, football fields, soccer fields, 
pickleball courts, tennis courts, swimming pools, ski resorts, and golf 
courses. Utahns value sports, and we are good at them.
  Utah is an international center for technology, including space tech. 
Just south of Salt Lake City is a business park called Silicon Slopes. 
About 100 miles north of Salt Lake City is the Space Dynamics 
Laboratory. Utahns value technology and research, and we are good at 
them.
  Utahns may leave Utah, but they take Utah with them wherever they go. 
The football coach who takes the job in the Big Ten, the medical school 
graduate who interns at Brigham and Women's, the ROTC grad who learns 
to fly in Enid, Oklahoma, and the mother of five who gets that 
promotion and follows her work to Seattle, all of them take a piece of 
Utah with them.

                              {time}  1040

  On July 24, you may just see every one of them pulling kids in a 
wagon in a neighborhood parade or hear them singing a pioneer song or 
making the trek downtown to the shelter to drop off bedding and 
clothing. Each in his own way honors July 24, and I ask you today to 
honor those long-dead pioneers as well as those whose hearts hold Utah 
close.
  This place west of the Great Divide and east of Salt Flats, north of 
the Grand Canyon and south of the lava flows and potato fields of Idaho 
is my home. I wasn't born in Utah. In fact, my father wasn't even born 
in this country. I am a pioneer like my brother and sister Utahns. Just 
like those 148 brave and desperate souls, I have made this place my 
home.
  I, like Brigham Young and those other 3.5 million souls, came to this 
place, saw that it was good and said: ``This is the right place. Drive 
on.''

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