There is perhaps no more lonely and frightening experience than having both your parents die as your family is heading west by covered wagon. But that is what happened to John Sager when he was only 13. The year was 1844 and he and his five brothers and sisters had set off from Missouri to find a new and better life in Oregon. After listening to a stirring speech about the richness and beauty of Oregon, John’s father sold the family farm and joined a wagon train bound for Oregon. The family, which included five children and a newborn baby, began their journey in late May. In July, both parents fell ill and eventually died. As the eldest child, John was forced to take on the primary responsibilities.

This program relates John’s incredible odyssey as he eventually leaves the wagon train (which decides to go to California) and heads off on his own with his brothers and sisters to realize his dead father’s dream of settling in Oregon. Along the way, they run into Kit Carson and have many other adventures, finally arriving in Oregon where a couple adopts John and his siblings.

LESSONS: This program will vividly capture that most American of American sagas– the move west, the reasons for it and the huge sacrifices made by the pioneers who were drawn by the American Dream.

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