1961 and Freedom

In 1961 I learned an important lesson about the metamorphosis called freedom. I learned that metamorphosis is a natural process for freedom. I learned that a successful metamorphosis takes time, work, kindness, patience and knowledge. I learned that it is a gift from God.

In 1961 I was eight years old. I lived in Mapleton, Utah. Mapleton is a beautiful little farming community at the base of the mountain called Sierra Bonita in central Utah. Sierra Bonita means Mountain Beautiful in Spanish. This mountain is quite symmetrical. It rises from the valley floor on the north from an elevation of about 4000 feet to an elevation more than 10,000 feet above sea level and then it falls back to the valley floor on the south. The mountain is filled with scrub oaks, pines, maples and aspens. Particularly in the fall, the autumn colors of these trees make this mountain a scenic beauty. When the Spanish Catholic missionary explorer Escalante visited this place in 1776, legend says that he saw that this mountain was so perfectly formed that he called it Sierra Bonita.

The 1960’s were a season of change. A metamorphosis towards freedom was taking place. Freedoms were won and lost. Various styles of government and leadership were being established. Great technological advances took place. Political revolutions, assassinations, racism, the Cold War, teenage rebellion, Woodstock, and technological changes occurred in the interest of individual rights and freedoms.

In 1961 Mapleton had about 1500 citizens. It was a farming community with many farm animals, orchards, hay fields, gardens and a variety of vegetable crops. There were both paved and dirt roads. It was a city with its own government. The citizens were active in making this place a nice place to live. Welby Warren was the Mayor. Clustered in the center of town was a beautiful white Church, a large brown City Building with its own basketball court, swimming pool and dance floor, a beautiful new little league baseball diamond, a small store, Gividen’s auto repair shop, a large two-story School and the volunteer fire station. For an eight year old, life was good. After the chores of feeding chickens, weeding the family garden, washing dishes and spending some time in school, there was plenty of time to explore the town and the nearby mountain canyons.

In September of 1961, school had just started and I had just been baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS). I remember being excited for the new school year, for being a member of Christ's Church, and for living in such a beautiful place.

In 1961 I was in third grade. Mrs. Shumway was my third grade teacher. She was young and enthusiastic. This was her first year teaching full-time in Mapleton. She had recently graduated from college and she was inspiring in her efforts to teach us. This enthusiasm encouraged me to try a little harder and to do a little better. I will always be grateful for her efforts.

There were 29 students in my class. The old two-story grade school building that we met in had been built in 1899. A new addition to the school had been added in 1953. Our class was on the main floor of the old section. Mrs. Shumway was a great teacher because she encouraged us to learn both by study and by experience. My experience with the miracle of freedom, which I call a metamorphosis, took place in her class.

Metamorphosis is a principle of change. Mrs. Shumway organized an experiment to teach us about nature and about change.

Have you ever watched a caterpillar go through metamorphosis and become a monarch butterfly? It is fascinating to watch.

Monarch butterflies are one of the most beautiful creatures of nature. Having something so beautiful come from something so odd looking as a caterpillar has always interested me. It is one of the miracles of nature. Mrs. Shumway decided to have our class conduct an experiment about butterflies. She instructed each of us to get a clear glass mason jar and to put a monarch butterfly caterpillar in it. She told us to look on milkweeds throughout our town for these caterpillars. She instructed us further to put part of a milk weed plant in the jar with the caterpillar and to punch holes in the lid of the Mason jar. The caterpillar would feast on the milk weed plant until it was time for it to spin a cocoon. With the holes in the lid the caterpillar would also have air, which was necessary for it to live. Eventually it would change into a beautiful butterfly.

Mapleton had a lot of milkweeds in 1961 and it was easy to find the sleek brownish-orange, white and yellow striped caterpillars. All 29 of us in the class found these caterpillars, put them in mason jars and brought them to school to watch. Over the next couple of weeks the caterpillars all spun cocoons either underneath some of the milkweed leafs or on the lid of the Mason jar. The cocoons were all a bright green color and we anxiously anticipated the day that they would hatch into butterflies.

Every school day we would rush to school anxious to see if anything different had occurred with our cocoons.

One day, about two weeks after the caterpillars had spun their cocoons, one of the cocoons began to turn black. As a class, we were quite concerned. We were worried that something might be wrong. What should we do? Was there something that we could do to help this butterfly out? It looked really bad. We decided to wait another day and see what happened.

The next day the cocoon was even blacker. We were worried. Our teacher, Mrs. Shumway, didn’t know what to do either. Was something wrong with this butterfly? Did we do something wrong? Was there something that we could do to help this butterfly out? We decided to operate. We wanted to help. We felt that we had to do something now. With a razor blade and needles we carefully operated on this cocoon, cutting open the cocoon, trying to help this butterfly out of the cocoon.

We got the butterfly out, but it died. We were devastated. It was disappointing for all of us, especially for the student who had brought this caterpillar to class. As an eight-year-old every moment of every day is exciting and important. To lose this butterfly was very sad.

The next day, another cocoon started turning black. Oh no! What should we do? Should we operate or wait and see what happens next? We waited another day. The next day things looked blacker. We decided to operate again. We again cut in to the cocoon trying to save the monarch butterfly. We got it out, but it too died. As a class, we were devastated, again, to have lost these two butterflies.

Mrs. Shumway said that she would call the biology department at Brigham Young University (BYU) and ask them what we should do. Another one of the cocoons was turning black and this time it was mine. As an eight-year-old, this kind of concern and stress was intense. I didn’t want to lose my butterfly too. I had nurtured it along to this point and I was anxious for a successful metamorphosis to occur.

The next day my cocoon was getting really black. We had not heard back from BYU yet. We wrestled with the decision of whether to operate again or not. We decided to operate one more time on my cocoon. It went better this time. We were able to save the butterfly, but it was never able to fly. We probably touched the wings and disturbed the powdery substances there. Other cocoons were starting to turn black and we were all quite concerned. BYU did get back to us that day and we learned that the cocoons turning black was a natural part of the process before the butterflies hatched from their cocoons. The black color came from light not being able to penetrate the beautiful colors of the wings of the new butterfly. They told us that we needed to let the butterflies naturally fight their own way out of their cocoons. Nature was already set up for them to help themselves out of their own cocoons. If we helped them too soon and touched their wings, they would not be able to fly. They had to do this on their own.

This natural process, the metamorphosis or change that leads to freedom, is a gift from God.

Life often seems to be this way. Quite often, to gain strength and knowledge, we each need to fight our own way to freedom, within nature’s laws. Parents, coaches and teachers help us learn the rules and the laws of nature. They help us gain knowledge. They help us gain freedom. Just like the butterfly, for us to survive, though, we each need to stretch and work to get out of our own cocoons. We are beautiful when we do so. Monarch butterflies are gorgeous. Not that they did anything themselves other than follow nature’s gift from God.

Also, when we have to fight for things, they seem to be of greater worth and we prize them more.

Like the butterflies, we have a world full of food, although we have to work for it. We also have a world of air and light. These are gifts from God. They are just here. There is plenty for all if we follow natural laws to help each other. If we do our best and if we avoid pride, greed and fear, then we have what we need to become beautiful.

As a result of the butterflies successfully fighting for their own freedom, they had the health, strength and confidence that they needed to survive and live beautifully.

I learned from this experience that it is often harder for the one watching and waiting, being patient and kind, while letting a metamorphosis properly occur. Sometimes, when we operate too soon, bad things happen. Knowledge, inspiration and light are the keys in knowing when to operate.

In our lives, food, air and light are given generously. This provides the environment to allow a metamorphosis to take place.

All of the remaining butterflies in our class survived and were able to fly when we let them naturally fight their own ways out of their cocoons. What a miracle. When we let nature take its course and when the butterflies were allowed to fight their own way to freedom from the confinement of their cocoons, they were able to fly and we were able to enjoy their incredible beauty.

The greatest miracles that I witness, the greatest joys that I experience, and the most beautiful things around me are the triumphs over weaknesses. The metamorphosis or change that occurs when we work to overcome entropy, weakness and resistance is miraculous. We celebrate work, effort and doing one’s best. No wonder that we celebrate the Olympians. It is so fun to watch the beauty of their performances. This is a beauty, which can only result from a lot of work and knowledge.

The experiment with butterflies in my 3rd grade class, and the effort that Mrs. Shumway put forth to allow us such a wonderful experience, will always be a treasure for me on my journey through life. It helped me understand a little bit better the principle and the gift that we call freedom.