16-October-2022-Sunday:
I did not take a picture today. Write it down!
We had the early shift this morning and opened the site up at 10 am instead of waiting for 11 am and were rewarded with two sets of visitors during that earlier hour. It felt like we needed to do that and it is always good when things work out the way you feel prompted to move.
The first couple were a friend (nearly blind) and her companion. I was amazed at the attention to detail from her. She definitely was making up for her handicap by utilizing her other talents and faculties. After 11 am, it was just busy again. The Buswells came in at 12 and we stayed busy through the end of our shift. I wish it would never slow down, but I do not want to build up a false hope.
As we were leaving a couple came up and I introduced them to President Ewer. The wife lit up and said were you our son's mission president? That was so fun to witness. The son apparently had health issues. The world remains small. It was very emotional for the Ewers to know he was doing well.
I will never cease to be amazed at the nonmembers who stop at the site. Some for a short visit, but all so respectful and kind. Sundays are also a great day for young families.
I had a couple from Topsfield Mass. today. Topsfield is the ancestral home of the Smiths and five generations of the Smiths were born there as I reported last week in the blog. I should not be surprised, but I was grateful that we have members from Topsfield.
17-October-2022-Monday
Enjoyed devotional this morning with President Ewer emphasizing teaching principles not just providing history. We were told that a new bed was coming for us so we rushed home and moved beds to make room. Then we were told the missionaries were in a hurry and left it at another apartment. May be able to get it tomorrow. Not sure about getting it up the stairs.
On the way to work we turned up White Brook Road. White Brook passes through the site, so wanted to see how close we could actually get to the site. Not as close as I hoped, but may going hiking in that area someday to see how to get from the site to the road, once the leaves fall so I do not get lost in the woods.
Went in a little early to give the Buswells time with kids. They had a slower morning, but it picked up for us in the afternoon. Nothing like last Monday, but not bad. Unfortunately the end of peak season of both leaves and people seem to be drawing near.
I took through a group from Pocatello. I recognized the husband from the temple. When Dede came in she immediately recognized the sister. Fun to have people we know show up at the site, even if we do not know them well. I was able to talk with several nonmembers. Most of the visits were short, but it is so much fun to share church history with people who do not know church history and to watch their faces as we speak of visitations of Gods and Angels and visions and scriptures. No wonder Joseph declared "no man knows my history" when I am teaching his history I am always in wonder of everything that happened to him in a short 38.5 years.
Had two families comes through together (2 and four children 6 to 14) and I actually got both of them. It was such fun to put them in front of the restoration board and events shown and to ask them to tell their parents their favorite Joseph Smith story and why they like it. Then to have the parents do the same. Do not get to do this in the same way with adults, so for that reason I love families.
With the last family a sister named Kathryn from Bountiful joined the group. She was amazing and as with many single sisters was attracted to Dede who seems to collect sisters. In fact, as she left, she said "you have collected another sister!" What an absolute joy to talk with and both sides opened up and enjoyed the experience. After Dede took her down to the foundations in our car so we did not get the cart out, she stayed a little later and told us how much she enjoyed the spirit, while Dede and I went home on "cloud-nine." (Dede later found out she is on the Relief Society Board.). It is so easy to make friends, share testimony and good experiences when the Spirit of the Lord is so close at hand as it is in this holy site. I wonder how often we will get to be with people we come to love here on earth when we get to the other side of the veil. I suspect, it is not a coincidence that we are brought together on the earth.
One picture of the lane today.
18-October-2022-Tuesday
We had the early shift and were kept busy the entire shift. It was fun as at times, Dede and I both had groups of 12 or 13. We again had people whom we could allow to spend more time asking questions and just listening or telling us about their lives. Thus we see the advantage of having slower days. I am sure on busy days we get people who just need to feel the spirit, but are just rushed through our presentation without a chance to interact. Yes more people get a shot at the Spirit, but the individualism is not there. On the other hand, obviously the Spirit can speak to everyone in their own way.
After our shift we borrowed a site pickup and three Elders helped us move the bed from their apartment to ours. It was not obvious how to set it up as it is a sleep number bed, but after an hour of struggle and actually going to YouTube, it is mostly there. I.e. both sides are filled with air and the bed is comfortable on both sides, but it is not clear to me how to control each side. Oh well, it is an improvement over the last bed which was very broken down.
Dede had arranged to meet with Sister Johnson (who lives right next to the site) and we purchased a few items from her. She had wanted to set up a store across the street from the visitor's center. I think they failed to contact the township early enough and so in revenge, the township commission put up too many roadblocks for them to be successful. Thus she is just trying to get rid of her inventory from her house. It would have been nice to be able to send people there. Dede bought some nice things about the site.
We finally got home to eat at 4:30 (I was famished) and were back out by 5:00 going to Tunbridge. We wanted to see the general store, which is thought to be the site where Joseph and Lucy met, although the current store is 15 years newer than that event, it is possible, but not certain that there was a store there and that it belonged either to Stephen Mack or his business partner. Across the street is a covered bridge over a sizable river. The river is dammed just above the bridge (this is not unusual) and the race-ways for the water to power factories are visible next to the river. These buildings set where Stephen Mack had his mills and various businesses, so we took pictures. The store has been redone so many times, I did not take a picture of it, but the bridge and buildings were more interesting. We then took the back roads back to Sharon using our new Vermont Atlas. Dede was a little stressed, but as always did a great job of navigating. I surprised her by turning up a a road and saying, if we take the correct roads, this will take us to Faye Brook Road which comes out about 1/3 of a mile above our apartment. On the way, we passed a pond that was reflecting so wonderfully, that I will bore you with more pictures. The first photo is of the covered bridge with the falls showing beneath and the bridge with the mills that were once powered by the river. In the second picture, the red building is one mill and then slightly behind the bridge (upstream and across the road) is another building. There is one more building hiding behind the bridge at this angle,
Next you get my reflection. pictures.
19-October-2022-Wednesday- P-Day
Awoke to a cold and foggy morning. We had decided to go North on I-89 above Burlington and perhaps go to the covered bridge museum but for sure to go to the islands in Lake Chaplain. There are five islands which are connected by bridges and we thought that would be wonderful to view before the colors disappeared. Nearly to Burlington we stopped to talk at the information desk and found out we could still take a boat ride on Lake Chaplain (season ends Sunday) and so we made reservations for the noon boat ride. This was a 90 minute ride in a climate controlled ship, although we spent the last 40 minutes outside enjoying the views. They provided a narrative on the surroundings as well as history and I thought it was well done and informative. Naturally a few pictures are in order.
We ate on board, so we were ready to go on our next adventure. We stopped at the Alburgh Dunes State Park. This is the largest beach on the lake. Because of the length of the lake, these south facing shores were being hit hard by the waves. We were the only people around, (go figure with the wind) so we parked next to the beach and took a couple of (you guessed it) pictures.
Lake Chaplain is about 120 miles long and connects through canals and rivers to the Atlantic Ocean to the north and New York City to the south. Although the canals came later, Lakes George (in New York) and lake Chaplain which is in New York and Vermont gave early transportation opportunities to the area and helped New York State get settled more quickly than Vermont and other more western colonies. They also became strategic points in the French and Indian Wars and the War for Independence(Revolutionary War) as whoever controlled the lakes controlled commerce as well as the ability to move supplies. With canals connected to the lakes, a great deal of Vermont lumber built European cities as lumber was shipped through Canada to Europe. It is no small wonder that between farming and lumber for European and East Coast USA cities that 75 percent of the forests of Vermont were cut down.
Today the commerce goes by train and truck and lakes are mostly pristine and the playgrounds for the rich (permanent homes along the lakes) as well as the common folks due to the many state parks along the lakes. As we were driving up, we stopped for road construction. They have been working four years on a draw bridge for the road between two islands and it will be finished next month. The bridge is not for commerce, rather to allow the rich to sail their boats (many sail boats) up to their summer homes. The flag man who came over to talk to someone from Idaho while we waited shared this important information with us, while exclaiming his delight in having work for four years.
Next we went to two former lime stone quarries (Fisk and Goodsell) on the third Island. The limestone from these quarries was shipped to New York City by ship for the Brooklyn Bridge and the Rockefeller Center. Theodore Roosevelt was at a nearby farm (Fisk farm) when he received word McKinley had been shot. The quarries are now nature perserves. We had been told we might see fossils, but did not know what to expect. We pulled up and a car from Canada pulled up and began visiting with us. Turns out they have been involved with sites around the Lake as docents and knew what we needed to look for. They showed us a few fossils and then sent us to the Goodsell quarry where we would find more. The limestone that is millions of year old was originally part of Africa and ended up in Vermont. The fossils were of sea creatures that lived long before dinosaurs, in fact per our guides, even before earth had its present atmosphere. I know you cannot wait for pictures of sea animals fossils.
The light spot is a colony plant like soft coral. Stromotoporoid
gastropod
Cepholopoid
This morning, we drove up to the "Kiss the Cow Farm Store". We had passed it on the way to Silver Lake a week earlier and Dede wanted to take a peek at what they had. It is an organic store, but also a co-op and they want you to buy a year long subscription, so they have your money and then you buy against the subscription. If you do, you get cheaper prices. Since their prices were sky high, that would not be hard. I will admit the carrots and ice cream we purchased were both good.
I finally returned to working on the videos and actually made some progress. I first went looking on the WEB for more material and then fixed one scene which had way too many pictures of Joseph and Lucy from the site. (I have more scenes like this and am not sure what I will do next, but we will see. I must trust that the Lord will continue to bless me.)
We had the second shift and were steady all day. At 4 pm our last bus of the season rolled in and the Buswells came in to help. This bus was different. First there were 66 people involved and so there were also two vans with the bus and it was all one large family. Thus many children with the parents and grandparents. They started in Kirtland and came East. Dede was phenomenal with the kids and I think Sister Buswell also had a great time. I took them to the monument for a group picture and orientation and then Dede and I shared the restoration room. With both groups we had some kids come up and share a favorite thing from the wall (of events in Joseph's life.) This was fun as they had just been to all these places and I think the parents and grandparents appreciated it.
When we got done, a grandma had all the children roll down the hill in races. It was fun and allowed the kids to get rid of some energy. It is however, sad to think that was the last tour bus and things will slow down after this. At the very end, three of the mothers also rolled down the hill.
21-October-2022-Friday
We had the first shift. When we arrived they were pulling out the mums. That certainly goes faster than planting as they use a pitch fork to remove them as they did not have a chance to root themselves into the ground. We had our first hard frost at the apartment today, but it is colder up the hill. Thus along with the mums just aging and coming to an end of their blossom cycle and the frost, it is time, but also a sad time for me when the flowers are done. Also the monument area looks so empty now. We helped with the last of the mums as well as planting spring bulbs on the the lower beds before our first guests arrived.
It is truly a slower time of year. We had three groups for a total of 10 visitors. The second shift did better, which is not unusual to have a slow shift and then a heavier shift. Note also that there were days in the summer with less than 10 total, so it is not time to complain. We had a nice family whose daughter had recently completed her mission in the Manchester NH mission which covers our area. As well as three sisters from the south who came to the area to attend the King Arthur baking school for a few days. I had to have Dede explain to me why someone would want to do that. It may still be beyond my male orientated brain to comprehend.
After our shift, it was so beautiful that we decided to take a hike. I found a trail called AT near Woodstock. I thought it might be an AT(V) trail, but it stands for Appalachian Trail. We had hiked a short .2 mile section of the AT at Thundering Brook, but this time had a longer mostly uphill hike. It was pretty, but I cannot imagine walking day after day along a trail, getting up each morning, stiff and soar and stinky and doing another day for 140 to 200 days. We were late enough in the season that we saw no hikers just a bow hunter scouting the area. We came across an area planted in Milkweed for the Monarch butterfly migration. We have seen a number of monarch butterflies and had milkweed in one of the flower beds. Not sure if I could convince Bob to plant some on the site to attract more Monarchs. Actually as we drove up the next day to the site, I could see there is an abundance of milkweed all around the site.
In the evening we went to the Ewers home for our monthly edification. Dede and I led the discussion from an article written by one of my favorites Steven C Harper about Joseph's first vision. I pontificated too long, but this was followed by a wonderful discussion led by Dede.
22-October-2022 - Saturday
Another beautiful day, but we had chores that needed to be done and we wanted to watch Lyndee and Hailey swim via Zoom as we have not seen them swim for a while, thus no pictures from travel. I removed the two air conditioners one up and one downstairs, put the screens back in place and vacuumed up my mess. Meanwhile Dede washed clothes, and cleaned a great deal.
I took a 30 minute walk up Faye Creek Road. Met a man who lives up there and who at one time had a grandmother whose land on McIntosh Pond is right next to the Joseph Smith Birthplace. He was so friendly and it was fun to talk with him.
We enjoyed watching Lyndee swim via a YouTube of the meet. Because our shift began, we would be forced to wait until after our shift to watch Hailey. Both took time off of their PR's in the events that they swam today. I asked Dede to Venmo Danielle money to take them out for treats on gram and papa.
We worked the later shift today. The morning shift was slightly busy, but we had a great afternoon shift as far as the number of visitors is concerned. Interestingly no nonmembers, but several Spanish speaking members where we had a chance to give a sentence at a time of the tour which was then translated. I find these fascinating. When Dede did hers, a couple joined them who both spoke Spanish and so she received extra help. I need to work on my faith, so that I get similar help. Having said that, I had time when I had my Spanish speakers while we were swamped during Dede's tour and so the help was appreciated. I gave many tours at the monument as people were wandering up and I could not get back into the visitors' center. Sometimes these work as good or better than tours that include the visitors center.
The last couple was so interesting. They were from Kirkland, and when I said "do you know my friend Carl", they immediately knew I was speaking about Lynne's uncle. Always fun to find connections. He was a lawyer and was telling me about work the church had him do in searching the claim on the Kirkland Temple currently held by the Community of Christ. Since I cannot independently collaborate his claims, I will only say that it was an interesting discussion and it made me wonder what the Lord has in mind for this historic and important edifice. I would be surprised if I live long enough to see any changes in the current situation.
For those readers of our weekly blog, thank you for slogging through our blog. Dede and I truly love our mission. I can only wonder why we should be so blessed to be here serving at this place where the Spirit is so abundant. Personally I can only praise God, that for my second mission, he gave me the companion of my choice and one who is willing to put up with me for the entire 23 months. Where so much is given, I must wonder if when I get to heaven, I will not, like so many others, first see a "pile of debt" owed to God for all the tender mercies He bestows; and then with awe and wonder, see my Savior come in and put the debt in His backpack and beckon me to enter into His loving arms. That will be a wonderful day. (Notice I did not even begin to discuss the pile of sins that He will also willingly carry away in the same backpack.). I am so very grateful for this Savior who loves me so very much that He would bless me and my beloved wife so abundantly both now and in the eternities.
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