Pioneering faith
Whether the church has found the right Martin's Cove at all -- some researchers favor a place half a mile west -- is an open question. Some critics say that with that kind of uncertainty, celebrating this cove over all others is historically untenable.
Some historians say the Mormons should be commended. Handcart pioneers were driven by different motivations than were gold seekers or cattlemen or Oregon-bound farmers, they say, and telling the story of Martin's Cove as a religious fable is perhaps truer to the actual event.
"Their inner worlds were different," said Patricia N. Limerick, a history professor and chairwoman of the Center of the American West at the University of Colorado at Boulder. "I think in our efforts to strictly avoid an advocacy of religion, we silence a whole point of view in human life."
Ron Strand, a neighbor, is also pleased with how things are turning out, and with the earthly jolt to the economy that 60,000 annual visitors can provide. He is building an eight-unit motel behind Alcova's general store, which he runs with his wife, Yolanda. Since the visitors center does not sell souvenirs, the Strands have been happy to oblige, offering everything from earrings in the shape of handcart wheels to pioneer bonnets.
"I've lived all my life here and I'd never heard of Martin's Cove until the Mormons came," Strand said. "But I'm happy to have them."
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