Handcart Exhibit Opens at Museum of Church History and Art A new exhibit at the Museum of Church History and Art honoring the Willie and Martin handcart companies opened to the public on Saturday, September 30, 2006 and will run through Tuesday, January 2, 2007. Willie & Martin Remembered: A Tribute to the Mormon Handcart Pioneers features paintings and sculpture depicting the ill-fated Willie and Martin handcart companies that were caught in snowstorms on the plains of Wyoming while traveling to Utah in 1856. “Nearly every label in the exhibit contains a quote from one of the pioneers or their rescuers,” said museum curator Robert Davis. “I could not think of a more powerful way to tell this story than through the words of those who experienced it. The quotes and the works of art create a sense of compassion and reverence for these faithful people who endured horrific tragedies and who mustered incredible faith in God.” The exhibit follows the pioneers’ difficult journey to Utah, from boarding ships in England to crossing the snowy plains of Iowa and Nebraska. The end of the exhibit depicts a renewed sense of hope as valiant rescuers bring the beleaguered handcart pioneers to safety in Salt Lake City. The year 2006 marks the 150th anniversary of the handcart pioneers’ arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, and the new exhibit commemorates that anniversary. Regarding the trials those pioneers faced, President Gordon B. Hinckley said in the Sunday afternoon session of October general conference: “Their faith is our inheritance. Their faith is a reminder to us of the price they paid for the comforts we enjoy today.” Several of the artists whose works appear in this exhibit are direct descendants of Willie and Martin company pioneers and their rescuers. Stephen Mark Bartholomew’s painting shows his great-great-grandmother and her sister as teenagers gathering wood in the snow. Through his research, he learned that these girls pulled one of two family handcarts all the way across the plains until their rescue near Devil’s Gate. Artist Glen Hawkins painted his ancestor Ann Jewell Rowley, a widow, pulling a handcart through the snow with the help of her seven children, who traveled with her in the Willie company. Willie & Martin Remembered: A Tribute to the Mormon Handcart Pioneers can be seen at the Museum of Church History and Art weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday, Sunday, and most holidays from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The museum is located at 45 North West Temple Street in downtown Salt Lake City. Admission is free. The exhibit is being prepared for future exhibition online. Watch this site for the exhibit's online announcement or visit the museum Web site.