Reports of two sirable infestatiorns of so called “Mormon crickets” in Utah in recent months call to mind the storied but destructive lB48 cricket invasion which happened just before the Mormon pioneers had completed their first yur in Salt Lake Valley, The story lnad a providential ending, sometimes called the “nniracle of the seagulls,” and continu to be told and retold after all these years. Famine was threatened for beleaguered ‘pioneer settlers when the giant crickets advanced through the fields in early stunmer. destroying the grain despite the frenzied efforts of the people. The happy ending came witl-n’the miraculous intervention of seagulls from the isles of the Great Salt Lake to devour the cricket hordes and save part of the crop. The colonizers. a thousand miles from the nearest cities to the east. were dependent on those crops A not only for their own needs but for many hundreds of fellow pioneers who were pushing wutward on the Mormon Trail. Even witln the partial crop saved from the crickets, foodstuffs had to be rationed severely in the winter of 1848-49. This week Utah celebrates its own holiday ‘ Pioneer Day on July Z4 – which commemorates arrival of the first settlers in 1847. Along with the fetivitia, it is well for us to reflect on the contributions of the pioneers, accomplished nn the lace of prlvation and hardship. The suggestion, of course, should apply to other states. in turn. Utah happens to be in the limelight this week hut every state has its own unique history and its anniversaries. l’ve always considered the “miracle of the seagulls” a beautiful story. Many who hear or read it are touched by the sacrifice and struggle of the pioneers and the faith they exhibited. Of the battle against the crickets, histo rian H.H. Bancroft wrote: “Men, women and children tumed out en masse to combat the pest, driving them into ditches of water or upon piles of reeds which they would set afire, striving in every way until strength was exhausted to beat back the devouring host. But in vain they foiled; in vain they prayed.” Another history. by Levi Edgar Young when he was head of the department of western history at University of Utah. went on with the story: “A terrible fear swept through the hearts of the people. The black pest would not leave. instead it increased day by day . , ,Meetings were held and a day of prayer and fasting appointed. . When myriads of white gulls came winging in. sounding their plaintive cry and settling down upon the fields, the pioneers at first feared another foe had come to finish destroying the grain. But fears tumed to joy when the gulls began to gorge themselves on the crickets. Young reported that days later “the winged deliverers, having destroyed the plague. quietly flew back to their island homes,” ls it any wonde t.lnat the seagull is the state bird in Utah, protected by state laws’? That Hollywood producers chose thrcricket-seagull story for a climactic scene in the movie, “Brigham Young?” That an impressive “seagull monument” on Temple Square in Sa t lake City memorializes the bird? The work of sculptor Mahonri M. Young. grandson of Brigham Young, the monument was erected inn 19f3. it continues a popular attraction for Utahrns and out-of state tourists alike,