By MARGA SCHMIE
President Gordon B. Hinckley offered the dedicatory prayer and was one of four speakers at the re-dedication ceremony of This Is The Place State Park Saturday before a crowd of almost 10,000.
This Is The Place State Park was designated as the Utah Statehood Centennial Commission's 'Living Legacy Project.'
The Centennial Commission wanted to create a legacy to preserve Utah's heritage for future generations and provide educational opportunities about the state's history.
'It's good to look at the past and learn it's lessons,' President Hinckley said from the base of the newly restored monument. 'This park's newly created community is a reminder for generations to follow. May they never forget as we never forgot.'
The culmination of an estimated 42,000 volunteer hours, $8 million in donations and the work of the Centennial Commission and Utah State Parks and Recreation made this 'living legacy' possible.
Included in the park is the Old Deseret Village, a life-like town that includes 28 newly restored or recreated buildings. Tour guides and park employees dressed in period costumes, depicting pioneer life in Utah from 1847 to 1869, operate the village.
Stephen Studdert, chair of the Utah Statehood Centennial Commission, and Gov. Michael Leavitt, publicly thanked those Utahns who contributed in some way to the project. Studdert, who proposed the projects to the commission, said 'There is no true historic park like this west of the Mississippi River.'
The rededication ceremony featured choirs and performances from various cultures and faiths, reenacting the original 1896 dedication.