Comments on: Without Mormon pioneers, we wouldn’t have U2’s The Joshua Tree

By: Sara R

Sara R — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:14:55 +0000

Another excellent book that gives some history of the St. George and Mesquite/Bunkerville area is Quicksand and Cactus, a memoir of Juanita Brooks’ life. It’s like Little House on the Prairie, but set in Bunkerville, Nevada around the turn of the century. It gives a good sense of what life was like back then in that place. Every time I drive from Mesquite to Glendale on I-15 I think of her father traveling that distance on horseback three times per week.

Juanita Brooks also wrote a children’s novel about Jacob Hamblin. He traveled a lot in Utah and Arizona and dealt with the Indians. It’s out of print and ridiculously expensive to buy, but it’s available in libraries and it’s an easy read.

By: Th.

Th. — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 05:32:10 +0000

Um, “The Streets Have No Names” thing? Not true. Sorry.

By: Bret

Bret — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 22:15:27 +0000

Susan,

It’s all those corrupt Mormon politicians in the California state legislature>:p

By: Susan M

Susan M — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 22:05:00 +0000

That’s probably true, Bret, but the places I’ve been haven’t seemed to be church-sponsored historical sites, but rather state ones.

By: Bret

Bret — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 21:59:34 +0000

Also, the Mormons seem to be really good about putting up markers and statues EVERYWHERE that has ANYTHING to do with Mormon history.

The same is true in Southern Alberta, by the way, but not to the same extent.

Kaimi,
Brilliant comment! Made me laugh out loud.

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 21:42:11 +0000

Every time I drive through Nevada I would think of U2. I ask my children the question: “Who’s the best band in the world?” They all reply: “U2!!” Yes, they are wise.

I just didn’t know why they were called Joshua Trees. Thank you for the post!

By: Kim Siever

Kim Siever — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 04:22:05 +0000

I loved passing all the Joshua trees during the six months I served in Mesquite, NV. I thought they looked so cool. It was many months later when I realized they were the same trees as the one on the U2 album. Had I known that, I would taken pictures of them.

By: cj douglass

cj douglass — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 01:05:14 +0000

And I thought church dances were the only connection between U2 and the Mormons. Just one more reason to love this band.

By: Rusty

Rusty — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 00:38:57 +0000

Great pics Susan.

By: mellifera

mellifera — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 23:40:12 +0000

A really good book to read on the Mormon settling of the West is Great Basin Kingdom by Leonard Arrington.

It also includes a lot on the various interactions between Deseret and the US at the time, which are very very interesting. It’s funny to see that on the Bloggernacle we talk a lot about “inoculation” in terms of not hiding the Church’s historical warts from the members, but wow! Nothing prepared me to find out what the *US* did to the *Saints.* And I’m not talkin’ the Utah War, which didn’t turn out to be a very big deal. If the US still operates the same way it did back then (a bunch of guys who’d like to expand their markets getting the government to dismantle a nation and hand them the contracts, and telling the electorate it’s in the name of democracy… oh dear) it really makes you realize what the rest of the world is so set off about.

Not that I absolutely know that’s what’s going on right now… it’s just a little creepy is all. : )