Okay, I lied about pictures. When we showed up to church this morning, I took the following pictures outside of the church and two looking out the windows of the church.
On Saturday, two boys who have been riding their bikes almost daily around the site and being a little obnoxious (maybe a lot), asked me if they could attend church and when it would start. I assured them they were welcome. When Dede and I arrived, they were sitting in church. I asked the missionaries to sit with them. They left after the Sacrament, but I was glad they came. Who knows, maybe someday they will be touched and join the church. They are less than popular with the other missionaries because of their distractions. Having been raised outside of the church, I am guessing they are behaving like the rest of their peers and only need to be instructed in correct principles.
Today was an incredible day. Our first tour bus was with us in church and so were there shortly after 10 am, along with 3 or 4 other cars before the bus arrived. We would have three total busses and more visitors beyond the busses than we have ever seen. We could not keep track, but it was well over 300 (the other thoughts over 400) visitors in one day. Luckily for most of the day we had all three couples working the site and people were so kind. With that many people, there were a number of acquaintances for all of us to meet and enjoy. Obviously our favorite was Lynne and her Aunt and Uncle.
It is hard to describe how tired we were at the end of the day. Providentially, Dede had made a chowder soup that filled the crock pot. She offered to provide soup for all involved in our busy day and so hopefully all the wonderful sisters felt a little reprieve due to my angel wife.
10-October-2022-Monday:
President Ewer led our devotional with scriptures regarding glory, light, truth, work, immortality, eternal life etc. and taught us how to parse (break out the words into patterns) of the scriptures looking for what words mean in the exact scripture and how they can be read intertextually to get further insight. I thoroughly enjoyed his instruction.
This morning, I extracted the 5 videos from iMovie onto the laptop in .MP4 format. For better or worse, I started out trying to do a video for each scene which I will eventually put together into a single video although I began to combine scenes on Danielle's suggestion. However, I expect to have more editing to do, so in the last few days, I have done a voice over of the text and finished the timing on the five videos. I then transferred the 5 videos to the site PC using a memory stick to present to President and Sister Ewer. (Oh, how I hope they are not disappointed in my work, but that we can use it as a starting point to have a great video for the site to do virtual tours.). President was taking a nap as he is still ill, so I left it with Sister Ewer after showing her how to start the videos. (I also provide written instructions and background on what still needs to be changed.) Because of my many doubts, I have dreaded this moment. What if they hate it. However as I watched the last video yesterday, the Lord blessed me with the thought that I did my best, even if it is not the ideal I had envisioned. Yes I think it can be improved, but we need to get something out there to approve internally and then send to the historical department for approval so we can begin giving virtual tours. Now that I have turned it in, I must admit, I feel a sense of loss as I do not know what I will do next. Oh well, so far God has provided activities to stretch me and then support me, so perhaps He will continue to do so.
The frist shift was again hit heavily with 80 people while we had a slower afternoon with about 50. The weather was much nicer as we did not have rain. Two people stood out. Dede introduced me to a man named Jeffrey Walker who has been an editor on the Joseph Smith Papers, specifically on legal matters. Now he has been called to write an authorized biography of the prophet Joseph Smith, which he says he will not complete within the four years of his call. He was fascinating to visit with, but alas I had other visitors. He is also board chairman of the Ensign Peak group and put together the program for the dedication of the Smith Family monument in Topsfield MA, which we hope to visit Wednesday. He gave us a pamphlet they prepared for the dedication at Topsfield.
Dede made a wonderful friend. A couple came through and Dede and she chatted for at least 30 minutes after the tour ended. I stand all amazed at her ability to make instant friends. I had a family come to me who had just a few minutes to hear about the site. I gave them a short tour outside. They then went inside and Dede captivated the kids with her stories and a chance to look at the restoration board and talk about their favorite events depicted there. May I say, they spent much more time with Dede the story teller than with me the boring old dude.
However, I had a fun 15 minute tour with a mother and 7 year old son who are locals from Randolph. He loves history and I gave him a 15 minute tour that he seemed to enjoy and the mom seemed pleased, so perhaps I have some redeeming grace with children.
Yes dear reader you are correct, I had to take more reflection pictures at McPherson's Pond this morning.
11-October-2022-Tuesday:
We worked the early shift. The crowds have not diminished, they are however, back to normal summer levels instead of leaf-peeping levels. Sister Ewer told us that Buswells and we are handling the crowds very well. Probably because we arrived in the busier months and so we know no better and think it should always be like this. The kindness of the people who come and who want to spend time at the monument is so gratifying. We again had a fair number of Idahoans. In fact two of our Idahoans started laughing when they met because they were from the same ward. The church makes the world a small place. We were not able to get out on time as right at 2 we were rushed with visitors. Life is so good when we are busy.
With our shift over we decided to drive to Thundering Creek Falls. This is a mixture of falls and cascades, but in total, they make up the largest water drop in Vermont. The trail head is a bridge that goes over a marsh for .2 miles before raising up the hill. That part of the trail is part of the Appalachian trail, so now Dede and I can proudly say we have walked the Appalachian Trail. You do not need to ask us for autographs, for our 0.2 mile jaunt is probably the levelest piece of the entire trail. From the waterfall viewpoint, Dede and I bushwhacked up the creek to find more cascades and trails. Near the top is a small dam with a port into a pipe that leads to a building below. Probably produces power now, but at one time it would have housed a mill just like so many other falls in Vermont.
You can see the pipe in this photo.
We were near Rutland, so we then went into the see Rutland Center Falls and from there we went to see Sutherland Falls, also fairly nearby. People were fishing. One told me he had caught 5 brown trout that day. Seemed too early in the day for browns, but perhaps they have different habits on the East Coast.
Rutland Center Falls
Sutherland Falls
P-day has arrived and we left at 7 am to hit the 10 am session at the Boston Temple which is finally open again after 3-4 weeks. Despite two bad traffic jams, we arrived on time and enjoyed the session. I feel so bad for the workers here. They do a great job, but they just need more men workers. We had a fuller session, but only three male veil workers were available so it was slow. Then when I went down to dress, the 12-noon session attendees were waiting for a male ordinance worker to give the new name. It is just plain hard.
I watched the movie closer than normal. The temple movie is so much like the video I have created for the site, in that they use pictures rather than video clips; thus I wanted to see exactly how they handle them. There were things I wish I could do with my technology, but.... I have heard nothing back from the Ewers, but it is interesting. I fretted about turning it in, but once I gave it to Sister Ewer, it was like a load was lifted from my shoulders. I expect that edits will be needed, but I gave it a good shot and now need to know what to improve. Rather like taking a final in college. Once you turn in the final, you are finished and the pressure is gone.
From the temple we went to eat and then shopped at Costco. Now the good part. We went to Topsfield Massachusetts the home of five generations of Smiths.
This is a monument in the Pine Cemetery in Topsfield honoring the 5 generations of Smiths. Behind it is the monument put up by George Albert Smith earlier. The larger monument, similar in shape to the Birthplace monument was installed in 2020, but dedicated in May of 2022. It give a history of the Smith's in Topfield and is very nicely done.
After seeing this monument, we went to the center of Town to see the church where Joseph Sr and Asael were members. It had a nice sign at the back honoring the Smiths. The inside was so New England. The stain glass was great. See pictures following. Across the street in the common area was a stone talking about the witches hung in Topsfield similar to Salem. It is hard to read due to shadows.
We left the center of town after visiting the home of the Deacon of the church and went to the Smith Family Homestead. Note, the homestead home is long gone replaced by a beautiful home, but it was fun to think of the Smiths in Topsfield Mass. What a great day. So appreciated President Ewer taking the time to print maps to all of these places. So grateful the church was open so we could go inside. So grateful to have a car to take us to these places.
13-October-2022-Thursday
Slept in until 8 because we got to bed so late. I began working on last week's blog which Dede corrected so we could get it sent out. I hope people are enjoying my feeble effort to document how great it is to fill a senior mission with the companion you have chosen to spend eternity with.
Wanting to get out before rain was scheduled at 2pm we left at 10 am to hike Kent's Ridge outside of South Royalton. This is an unmarked trail, at least at the beginning. We started from the town center, crossed the railroad tracks and then cut through a lawn to follow a dirt road which eventually took us under the interstate to the trail. As you can see, we took our tiny flock (of turkeys) along with us.
The trail was beautiful but it began raining early in the trip. Once we reached the top, we were in the rain clouds and thus the beautiful view we were promised of Dairy Hill, where the monument is located, was totally hidden. It was a fairly steep hike, but we will need to repeat it on a clear day.
I took a few pictures of South Royalton. Somewhat more shabby than Europe, but it is easy for me to close my eyes and open them again and believe I am in Europe. The common square, the buildings etc. It is definitely different than Idaho and Utah.
We worked the second shift and were blessed with many visitors. We had many from Utah, but also Arizona and two from Pocatello, Idaho. One couple from our stake. So fun to see people you know. A number came right at 5 pm believing the site was closing they were delighted we would be open until 6.
As we were shutting down President Ewer came over to discuss the Book of Mormon Central film crew who come in tomorrow. This is one of several New England church sites they want to visit, so we do not expect them to stay long. I hope to get a commitment to share video they take and if possible to get access to more historical pictures for our video. I have also contacted a Mr. J. Walker (see above) who was an editor for the Joseph Smith Papers and who came in last week. We could use more material and I hope he might be a resource also.
Dede asked about the video. President said I have a good start and so we discussed where to get more material as we use some material too much. I pointed out I had received instructions not to use material not from the sight, although I have already violated that. I believe he would like to use anything we can legally use. It was good to rest from the videos, but I am ready to see what I can do to improve the videos. I just need to find time to work on the videos again.
14-October-2022-Friday
We were blessed to have the morning shift. We started with a family of 12 with small children. They were so good as Dede told them the stories from the site. We also had five Book of Mormon Central people along with David McDowell a local CES area leader at the site. They were taking pictures for a series they want to have ready for the the Church History and D&C year of study. Obviously they are looking into the future. They were led by Casey Griffith who I have learned to enjoy for his writings and podcasts and also had Benjamin Griffin who is Tyler Griffin's son. I have their contact information and they have agreed to share video and pictures with me. If this happens, it could enhance the video greatly.
We were busy the entire shift. We had a large number of Idahoans today. Even some from Pocatello, which is always fun. Dede took through a group which included two from Switzerland, so she came and took my group, so I could take a few minutes and visit with them, since I served a mission in Switzerland. They have been to the USA several times, but not to the New England area. They were very surprised at how unfriendly the people of Boston were towards them. So unAmerican according to them. I have not noticed this, but rarely gone to Boston.
It had rained so hard during the night. The White River was as full as Dede and I have seen it. Also many leaves were knocked from the trees. It amazes me how long a hard drenching rain can last in this area. It stayed wet until about 11 am.
After our shift, we went down to the foundations to take fall videos. Even though we are past peak season of leaves, the area is still so beautiful.
Road down to the foundations
This stone bridge which crosses White Brook is one of our favorite places below the site. The bridge was in place at the time of Joseph Smith. Although I would guess it has been replaced several times after heavy rains, the stones have been used since his time and one can see the ruts of the wagon wheels in the stones.
Not sure these videos will ever actually load.
Came home after our shift and I took a nap before catching up on several days worth of blogs which I had missed due to being busy. Began reading about why the Smiths actually came to Vermont. I will include that in a blog next week. I also worked on a paper to introduce what we want to visit about for our devotional next Friday evening. We finished the day with our monthly meal with the other missionaries. We had the McNights with us. They have been putting up Christmas lights, but leave Saturday. But we missed the Bergers (she is not well) and the Buswells who have family in town.
15-October-2022-Saturday
Awoke to a cool but sunny-clear day and Dede made the brilliant suggestion to go to Glenn Falls and hike there. I had thought to work on videos, but it was easily persuaded otherwise. The falls are up I-91, but Google took us through a back route which is always better, especially if it is faster as this was. When we got to Stratford, the traffic was backed up as the tiny village was having a huge funeral service right in the center of town.
The trip over was beautiful and the falls were great. With the heavy rains two days ago, the creek was running heavy and was much better than the pictures we saw as a preview on Google Maps, also, the further one walked up the creek, the more falls we found. I will share pictures. We were also by Lake Morey which was also gorgeous and I think was the site of a bass fishing tournament, judging by the boats that were out fishing around the lake. We were able to drive the entire perimeter of the lake.
We had a bite to eat and came back to the site to work. Another busy day, but interestingly enough we are again seeing nonmembers. The locals who make up over half of the nonmembers seemed to have been hiding. Today we had five groups of nonmembers or people with a mixture of both members and nonmembers. My favorite was a group here as part of a family reunion celebrating his daughters retirement from Dartmouth Medical School. They have visited temple square and the San Diego visitors center. They said they were nearly members, but did not jump at the offer to baptize them in the pond on the property. :-). They really enjoyed the story of Joseph's leg surgery since it involves a surgeon from Dartmouth Medical School. They sat for 20 minutes reviewing the restoration board and asking questions about church history. We had a delightful couple from England. They wanted to stay only 15 minutes before Dede beguiled them with her presentation so they stayed the normal 40 minutes. I also got to teach them from the restoration board, but since I had 6 members in the tour group, it was more limited. However a different Spirit when so many are there silently bearing testimony along with me as the speaker.
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