A PIECE OF HISTORY
The more we researched, the more we became passionate about telling the story of the Donner Party. Because it wasn’t about some distant historical event in our nation’s past. It was about the very real people who lived through it. We became inspired by them and by their courage. Even as we focused the story of our script and eliminated individual incidents and rearranged historical fact to suit the structure of a two-act musical, we were determined to treat those real people with the respect they hadn’t always received in past tellings of their story.
So it was a great reward for me, during the run of the World Premiere of The Donner Party (now titled Meet Your Mountain) in Sacramento last spring, when I would see the House Manager approaching, ushering someone over to meet me. One lady I met told me she was a descendant of Patty Reed, and she wanted me to know she was grateful for the way we told the story of her ancestors. Another woman was a descendant of Nancy Graves, and another was Tamsen Donner’s descendant. As we talked, I thought how these people were a tangible, physical connection to the Donner story – a living, breathing piece of history.
But let me tell you about another piece of history.
For those of you who don’t know the details, think of it this way. Imagine you have walked 1,900 miles across an uncharted territory, in search of a new home for your family. Now you are, finally, only 150 miles from your destination – your new Eden is waiting on the other side of the final mountain range. But you can’t get there. An early blizzard has blocked the Sierra summit, and more blizzards will soon be upon you. You are now trapped in the icy mountains for the winter.
Your first concern is shelter. You’ve seen a couple of cabins near a frozen lake. Hastily, the Reeds and the Graves move into one of the abandoned cabins. Mr. Keseberg builds a lean-to against the other cabin where the Breen family has taken shelter. The Murphys and three other families build three sides of a cabin, using a huge granite boulder as the fourth wall. The Donners build a few tents.
Once sheltered, your greatest concern is food, and how you deal with this issue will write your names in the history books forever. You and your families will suffer horribly through the long winter, and in the spring of 1847, only half of your company will still be alive to cross the final mountain pass into California.
In the years after your ordeal, a man named C.F. McGlashan will write your story. In 1893, as part of his research, McGlashan will assist with excavating the last remnants of the Murphy Cabin. Years after that, a dentist living in Nevada City will champion an effort to erect a monumental statue in tribute to your expedition, and to hundreds of other pioneers. As part of raising funds for the statue, Dr. Chapman will sell small glass vials, provided to him by McGlashan, with each vial containing some small fragments of the foundation log from the Murphy Cabin. They will assemble 5000 glass vials filled with the fragments, and sell each vial for $1. Imagine that! The citizens of 1910 had the chance to own a small piece of history for only a dollar.
At the turn of the following century, a songwriting team will be inspired by your journey, by the choices you made along the way, and by the tenacity with which you faced your ordeal in the mountains. Rockwell & Rose will write a musical based on the history of the Donner Party, and your story will sing, your spirit will soar! And in the spring of 2017 – 170 years after you were rescued from your mountain cabins -- some of your descendants will see the show on the stage of the Sacramento Theatre Company.
At one such performance, the House Manager introduced me to Debbie and Jim. Debbie is the granddaughter of Dr. Chapman – the dentist who raised the funds to erect the magnificent Pioneer Monument! She couldn’t wait to tell me her own direct connection to the Donner lore. We exchanged contact information, and I treasured my conversation with them.
After the World Premiere had finished its run, I returned to my home in Florida, where I found a small padded envelope in the mailbox. It was from Debbie, Dr. Chapman’s granddaughter. And inside the envelope, along with a note of thanks for bringing the Donner story to life, was a gift of her appreciation: a tiny glass vial filled with small wood fragments.
A piece of history … a tangible, physical connection to this story which has long been connected to my heart and soul. Here, something I can hold in my hand: a fragment of the Murphy Cabin! From a tragic event in 1847, a piece of history has found its way to me in 2017.
... What about you? Do you have any special mementos of an historical event? Or do you have any special treasures from musical theater productions you've worked on? Let me know in the comments below!
