What Is A Relief Society Bug ?. . . .

The first picture shows the LDS Chapel as it was in the very early days after the settlement

of Panaca. The tree in front is a Thorny Locust.

The second picture is of the LDS Chapel some years later.

The third picture is of the Chapel as it looked when I was growing up with several Thorny Locust trees in front. Most likely the very ones we played under while observing the Relief Society Bugs.

The chapel still looked very much like this when mine and my siblings children were young.

After reading the story I posted titled, "Memories - That's Panaca", Rhonda asked, "What is a Relief Society Bug?'

The little church building in Panaca was on the main street which runs through town. It was located down the street from the Ronnow Store and almost directly across from the old Wadsworth Store. It was a hub for many of the town's social affairs. In addition to the Sunday Sacrament and Sunday School meetings, and the auxillary meetings of Primary, Mutual Improvement Association (young men and young women), and Relief Society that were held during the week, many other activities drew people there for fun, companionship, and celebrations.

In the very early days, there were just two rooms. Later an addition was added to better accommodate these events. There were wedding receptions and dances. Square dances were very popular. My grandfather, Nephi John, called these dances for many years. Dad learned to play the music as his father called them. He played the piano, and also a harmonica and jew's harp. He said he even "twanged" a fiddle. After doing this for many years, he learned to be an expert caller himself and carried on his father's tradition.

Box Socials were held often. For a Box Social, a girl would decorate a box or a basket and then fill it with a delicious dinner for two. The young men would bid on them one at a time. When the winning bid was placed, the young man who won, would claim it. The young woman who's basket it was, would step forward. They would then go to the place he had chosen to eat their dinner. It was all supposed to be done in secret, with the young man bidding on the basket that took his eye. Of course, there were ways for them to find out which basket belonged to the girl they fancied. Often, this information came from the girl herself. My sisters and I never lacked for bidders and it was always very competitive among the boys who were "as hungry as an unslopped hog", as my brother David used to say. I liked to think it was because we were very fair lassies, easy on the eye, but I suspect that a large part of it was that our mother had a reputation for being the best cook in the county. Her pies, cakes, and other pastries were legend and her fried chicken was, indeed, "finger lickin' good!"

On the 24th of July, the day started with dynamite being set off above town at 6:00 AM. It was the town's wake up call to begin a day of fun festivities. Breakfast would be served outside, a Pioneer Day Program held, races and games for the children, a Pioneer Parade, and throughout the day there would be horseshoes and softball for the men and Quilting Bees for the women. The day always ended with a barbeque dinner.

The 24th of July is Panaca's Homecoming and soon became a day for High School and Family Reunions. Few things have changed. There has been a difference in the prizes the children receive for winning a race. It used to be that the winner received pennies or nickels for wining, but inflation has shot it up to dimes and quarters.

I remember that this little church building was shaded by several large Spiny Locust trees. These trees grow to be very large, with trunks two to four feet in diameter and reaching an average height of 75 feet. Some may even grow as tall as 140 feet.

When I was a little girl, Relief Society was held every Thursday morning. While our mothers were inside for the meeting and activities associated with it, my sister Delores, myself, and many of our little girlfriends, would play outside. Our mothers would make us a sack lunch. Our favorite place to play and eat our lunch, was in the shade of the Locust trees. They were fascinating trees. Their trunks and branches had thorns, but I don't remember the thorns dropping to the ground. What I do remember, is the long pods that dropped from the tree. It was fun to pop them open and take the seeds out. In the spring, the trees had clusters of lovely white blossoms high up among the branches. My favorite memory, an amazing phenomenon, was the hundreds and hundreds of little bugs that were there from late spring into summer. They were tiny with a hard, black, shiny back, and wings that folded tight against their body. These wings had spots colored from a pale orange to a dark red. They were busy little bugs. scurrying back and forth over the ground among the pods and up the tree trunks. We didn't know what they were, only that they were busily and diligently going about their business, never stopping. So, we named them Relief Society Bugs. We would take our cheap magnifying glasses so we could study them up close. It was fascinating.

Something to ponder: Rhonda's question whetted my interest in finding out what this little bug really was. I looked up the Thorny Locust tree on the web this morning and studied the insects that make it their host. From what I read and the pictures I looked at, I think it is the Leaf Miner Beetle. I am glad I didn't know that when I was a little girl. To me, they were and always will be, "The Relief Society Bug"!