Handcart traveler arrives back home

For those Newton residents who may have seen Kent Steinke come through town with his Mormon handcart last month, the Daily News has received word that he has made it safely to his destination in Omaha, Neb.

Steinke came through Newton May 13, following the trail of his Mormon ancestors of 1856, camping out along the way. The genealogy buff decided he wanted to experience the Mormons’ travels through Iowa firsthand. He arrived in Omaha, his destination, on May 31.

“The last day of the trip I walked about 25 miles from Macedonia to Council Bluffs — arrived in the Bluffs well after dark on the night of Saturday, May 30,” Steinke wrote in an e-mail. “That was one of the most meaningful parts of the entire journey... When you reach near the end of the trail, there is this old winding road that runs up the back side (of the bluffs) — probably the longest climb of this whole trip. It is a visible barrier between (the rest of) Iowa and the Missouri river bottoms.

“As I was climbing up, all of a sudden it hit me, that when I reached the top of the ridge in front of me, I would be standing in the exact spot where my ancestors first laid eyes on Nebraska.”

Steinke said he spent the night in quiet thought, then walked toward the Mormon Bridge into Omaha the next morning.

“A large crowd of family members, old Sunday School teachers, and excited Mormon Church members came out to the highway to meet me, and to help push the cart the last distance into town — just the way they used to do for the pioneers coming into the Salt River Valley. I have never felt so happy, so surrounded by fellowship and friends as I felt that moment,” Steinke said.

That afternoon, the family drove to the homestead where his grandparents had settled.

“As I stood on a Nebraska hillside, considering the story of these many years, I could feel as though I had truly arrived at home,” he said.

John Jennings can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 425 or via e-mail at jjennings@newtondailynews.com.