My great-grandfather Ulrich Stauffer and his family were baptized as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Switzerland. When they were shunned by their friends, they decided to come to Utah. They left Liverpool, England on May 11, 1860, aboard the S.S. William Tapscott bound for America.

I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been to leave their tiny village of Eggiwill in the beautiful Emmental Valley of Switzerland! When they arrived in Salt Lake City, they were sent 50 miles north to the small farming community of Willard, Utah to settle. Ulrich had a farm that stretched from the base of the mountains, all the way to the Great Salt Lake. It was said he grew the best apples in the valley.

After my Grandpa Manilla Maine Stauffer passed away, my Grandma Emily Vincent Stauffer enjoyed going for rides, and we spent many days driving north to Maddox to eat lunch and have a piece of pie.

On one of these rides, she showed me where Grandpa was born and raised. The old house and barn were still standing at the time. Soon after Grandma passed away, we went to visit the old farm and try to talk to the people who lived there. We discovered the property had been divided, and the man that owned the land where the house stood was evidently not very nice. But the cute little couple who were renting another old Stauffer home on the property told us quite a bit about the history. When we left, they told us they would be moving soon, but wanted us to come back and get some of the “Stauffer Peonies” that grew next to the old shed.

They told us, Ulrich brought them with him when he came from Switzerland in 1860, and the peonies had been growing there ever since. I actually found that hard to believe, but thought it would be fun to take some starts to grow in our yard anyway. I figured even if they really hadn’t come from Switzerland, they had at least grown on the Stauffer farm in Willard, and that would be a fun story to tell.

I love things that have meaning and purpose, especially when they have a personal story to go along with them. I came home and went to our local nursery to learn more about peonies. The man at J & J Nursery in Layton, Utah was so helpful and knowledgeable. He told me we would have to wait a couple more months until the plants were done flowering, and the greenery had started to turn yellow. He told us to cut the greenery down to about 4”-6” from the dirt level. Then to dig quite a bit around and below the plant to remove it. He told us to place each plant in its own large plastic garbage bag to transport them back home. He also told us that peonies do best when planted in full sun, and not to plant them too deep or they would not flower. We called the young couple a couple months later, and they told us the plants were yellow and ready to move. We took a truck and brought back quite a few starts. Before we left, they told us these peonies were supposedly a variety that were not native to the U.S. There were three different varieties.

One was white with dark pink flecks inside the petals, and the flowers were huge. This plant was also the tallest and largest of the three.

The second was a light pink, and there weren’t many of these.

The third was a solid dark pink, the shortest and smallest of the three plants.

We brought them back and planted them in a garden bed we had already prepared, and hoped for the best. The following spring they began to grow, and we had a few small blooms.

I talked to the man at J & J Nursery again, and he told me it would take a couple years after we had moved them before they would flourish, but not to give up.

The following year, the plants did just as we hoped they would! At the end of that year, they were big enough that we were able to split them and give some to my sister.

My parents moved shortly after that and we planted the rest at their house as well as some at our oldest daughter’s home, because we were building a new home and would be moving soon. We moved into our new home in 2007. The peonies had done well at my parent’s home, and we were able to bring quite a few starts to our new home. Sadly, we didn’t get any of the light pink ones. But the large white ones and the smaller dark pink ones have done fantastic in our yard. Since that time, we have shared many starts with friends and family, always including the history of these strong, courageous, LIGHT filled flowers as well.

The story doesn’t end here. The first week after we began attending our new ward for church on Sunday, I felt an immediate connection with our Bishop the moment he stood up to speak. I could tell he had a European accent, but wasn’t sure where he was from exactly. For some reason he reminded me of my Grandpa Stauffer. We soon learned he was born and raised in Interlaken, Switzerland and still has a home there. We talked and soon learned that Eggiwill was a short drive from Interlaken, and later discovered that one of his relatives had married one of mine! Ron and I became fast friends with the Balmer’s and still are to this day. A few years later Ron won a trip for two to Germany. He had been there many times for work, but my only trip to Europe had been to adopt our daughter Errin from Romania in 1991. When the Balmer’s found out we would be in Germany, they planned a trip to Switzerland and invited us to join them in Interlaken for another week after our Germany trip.

My trip to Romania had left me with a lot of anxiety, and the thought of traveling that far again on an airplane was not easy for me. But I wanted to see this part of the world more than ever, so I packed my courage and got on that plane. The week we spent in Germany was like a dream come true.

We saw many incredible places, and ate three full meals a day that were so beautifully arranged I often took pictures of them!!! Then it came time for us to board the train in Hannover, and make our way to Interlaken. I was so homesick after being gone for a week, that I really just wanted to come home. I told Ron how homesick I was, and he just looked at me in disbelief. I felt bad, but would try to put on a happy face and enjoy the rest of the trip. I had no idea what was in store for me, and I’m so grateful I stayed!!! It was an incredible train ride as we rode through the flat fertile fields of Northern Germany, and then watched the mountain Alps begin to appear as we got further south. As we approached Basal, Switzerland on the border of Germany and Switzerland, I can’t describe the emotions I felt inside. Soon we were going through small valleys with the biggest mountains I’ve ever seen on both sides of us, and crossing rivers that were the clearest turquoise blue water I’ve ever seen. The beauty was so overwhelming, it brought unexpected tears to my eyes as I imagined my pioneer ancestors who once lived here. They gave up living in this place of extreme beauty to come to a desolate valley in the desert far from all the things they knew and loved. All to have the freedom to worship as they believed. I thought Germany was beautiful, but Switzerland was like a fairytale!!! If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed God had made such a place of impressive majestic beauty! It felt like home, and I felt my ancestors watching over me as I experienced their original homeland for the first time.

We went in May, and it was raining . . . A LOT!!! The Balmer’s wanted us to see the farm in good weather, and so we did other things for a couple days to see if the weather got better. Each day, it seemed to just rain more. So we drove to Eggiwill on a cold and rainy day. We would have had a difficult time finding the old farm house if we hadn’t been with someone who spoke the language. But we found it, on the side of a beautiful mountain hillside overlooking the Emme River that runs through the Emmental Valley. This is the same region where the original Swiss cheese with the holes in it originated from, and is still produced today. It just so happens to be my favorite kind of cheese.

We parked the car and waited while Jared went and asked the people who lived in the farmhouse below if we could walk up the hill to the old farmhouse that is no longer inhabited. We got their permission and began the hike up the hill. The rain picked up, and my pants were wet up to my knees, but I didn’t care. The beauty that surrounded me was like nothing I had ever seen before. As I walked toward the front door, I noticed a small garden area to the right. In that garden, I saw the SAME peonies that now grow in my own yard!!! The story was true!!! They were identical. The peonies had indeed come from Switzerland!!! It has now been 162 years since my Stauffer relatives left their home in that heavenly place. I imagined them digging the peonies much like we did, however, that journey was much further and more difficult that transporting them the 50 miles we did. Those peonies somehow got from Switzerland to England, came across the ocean on a ship, and then across the plains to Utah.

Peonies are full of meaning. They are generally symbolic of love, honor, happiness, wealth, romance, and beauty. The peony is traditionally given on special occasions as an expression of goodwill, best wishes, and joy.

All of these things also bring LIGHT into our lives!!! And each year as I anticipate the blooming of these special sacred flowers, I feel LIGHT in my soul as I remember those who gave so much for me to enjoy the freedom and blessings I have been given.

I love to go out and cut a big bouquet of peonies to bring inside and place in my kitchen window. The scent they give off is happy and filled with new life and LIGHT – even if they do make me sneeze!

Sometimes, I put bouquets together for friends as well. After the flowers are done blooming, the greenery stays beautiful until the fall. So with each month starting in spring through the end of summer their beauty can be enjoyed. When they begin to turn yellow, we trim them down to 4”- 6” from the dirt. If the plant is large enough, we split it, and share them with others after we have trimmed them back.

I love knowing the legacy of our Swiss Pioneer Peonies lives on in so many yards of family and friends that we dearly love. There are so many things for us to enjoy in this journey of life. Be sure to look for them, and the LIGHT they bring. These are gifts from a loving Heavenly Father to let us know He is aware of us, and the trials and struggles we go through. But even in the rain, we can find the LIGHT – sometimes in the form of Swiss Peonies!

Love Ya, Les ☺

Family