15 January-2023-Sunday
How quickly we begin a new week. The drive to Rutland was uneventful. The sun was shining and the roads were clear both ways. I did not make too many mistakes on the organ. Dede led singing in primary for the last time. I taught Sunday school class and had an enjoyable experience. Life is so good!
We did not have any visitors at the site, but as we were leaving it appears the Buswells would have a visitor. As we pulled out Dede said she was not ready to go home (it was about 4 pm) so we took the back roads to Strafford. Backroads mean dirt roads that had some interesting ruts. But it was cold enough there was not any great problems. We continued over to Thetford and then on to Norwich before heading back home again on back roads. It was a beautiful drive. Dede is now cooking pork chops and gravy for dinner. What a great deal. I drive for an hour and she cooks a wonderful meal. The return on this investment, is like 1000 to 1.
16-January-2023-Monday
Cold and blustery day. More what I expected from Vermont. We had our Monday devotional. We spent much of the time discussing our Christmas lights and the involvement with the Stake on Saturday and Sunday nights. We then discussed calendars. Ewers will go home for 16 days for doctors appointments and to visit family followed up by a week of meetings with other Historic Department People. The Wilcox's are going home for a funeral and will be gone about 10 days. The local S. Royalton Ward is having a ward dinner so we cancelled our Friday night devotional to attend that. At least when it is slow we can find things to do.
We went to Queeche to wash the car which was white with salt. The temperature was 26F and it started raining and so by the time we got back home the car was dirty from the misty rain we experienced. There is no rest for the wicked (me). We ate and then went up to the site. Lo and behold we had 5 visitors come in. They were from Boston, but the one owns property nearby and thus they were in the area. They assumed the site would not be open, so they were surprised that we could give them a tour. It was short, but we hit the main points. We then started taking down lights and rolling them. Had a single sister come in. She says she quit attending church 11 year ago, but wanted to get pictures for nieces and nephews. I talked with her a little and then turned her over to Dede. Dede is so wonderful with women and making people feel loved. I went back out in the blustery cold and took down more lights. We then went over to the Ewer's to work on the schedule and help them move a few things. While they are gone, they will paint the closet and clean the carpets and the Ewer's want everything moved that is possible. They are hard workers. After 5 pm we went back and finished rolling the lights so we got out at 5:45. We had the bestest left-overs for dinner. Can I say, "I AM SO BLESSED!" if you think not, sorry, because I am.
17-January-2023-Tuesday
What a beautiful day. It dawned sunny and clear and by 11 am, I was taking down lights at the site without a coat due to the lack of wind and the sun reflecting from the snow. We did not have any visitors, but we were able to remove a large number of lights. I think the two trees we have worked on this week have 120 to 175 strings of lights in them.
After our shift, we went to a local hardware store and I bought a 100 ft measuring tape to use when I start measuring and plotting the walls and foundations below the site. I probably should have gone below today, but instead we went up North and saw more covered bridges. This is an area we have not been to in the past and we went through wonderful villages and saw 6 bridges. The bridges were interesting and are unique for the area. It is not the truss that is unique, which was mostly a queen-post design, but in the fact they are open on the sides and the length of the overhang over the road entrance and exit.
I feel very blessed. We visited one bridge and I tried to walk up a ramp to get on one bridge and did not notice that water was dripping from the roof onto the wood platform I tried to use. I suddenly found myself flat on my back after which I fell off the ramp onto my belly in the snow. My watch was sounding an alarm because I set it to signal if I fell to set an alarm. It took me a few minutes to regain my composure and breath before I was able to stand. But no serious damage, although it intensified the sore muscles I have developed while taking down lights.
A few pictures of bridges are warranted. I will show the bridge and then the inside of the bridge so you can see the trusses
Finally it was late, but as we went through Danville, I saw the following and had to stop and take pictures. A dowser is someone who uses a rod to find water or metal or lost objects. Typically the dowser has a rod (usually a green branch) which will physically dip toward the object that is being sought under the ground. Oliver Cowdery was a dowser which is obvious from the JS Papers. So Joseph had a seer stone and Oliver a divining rod. This was not uncommon for the time. Note, there are well drillers in Idaho who will not dig a well unless a dowser has come in before to verify the site.
18-February-2023-Wednesday-PDAY
We were out early to explore a new area of Vermont. Similar to yesterday, but with the entire day before us, so we traveled further out. We started by dropping off cards at Randolph to be delivered by Meals on Wheels through the Senior Center and then took back roads to the first covered bridge. I will once again group the bridge pictures toward the end.
Dede saw a store which was called Mad River Fiber. She wanted to stop so we went inside to find that the lady ran a small wool to yarn spinning shop. Obviously more than just spinning, they needed to clean, card etc. and then finally spin the yarn. She went through all the steps with Dede and it was fun. She explained that she works with locals who raise and breed sheep to get the colors of yarn they desire. (Colors are dark such as grey or brown and not bright yellow or pink.) A hobby for the small farmers and a place to get their yarn made. Dede bought a kit so pay her for her time.
We also had the factory tour of Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory. Interesting to see how they make the ice cream. I also find their business model interesting. Rather than make the best tasting ice cream. (For a Vermont ice cream, I think their ice cream is very pedestrian), they have instead made it the hip or trendy ice cream by tying themselves to social issues of the time. Regardless, the business scheme works and they produce a lot of ice cream which is sold at a premium price around the world. A small pint size costs about $6 and I can buy 2 quarts of better tasting stuff for $4. But I am cheap and will buy the cheaper stuff especially if I think the quality is better. The first pictures is the grave yard of products discontinued by Ben's Jerry's. The second pictures is Dede and I enjoying one of the top 10 flavors.
We also stopped at Cabot Cheese. They focus on Cheddar Cheese. The do not have a mild or medium, but start at sharp and go to toe curling sharp. I am much too much of a wimp for that. We did find a Raclette cheese made by someone else and bought one of those as well as two chocolates from the Champlain Chocolate store next to it. The Chocolate store thought highly of their products which again seemed rather pedestrian.
I will include pictures of the bridges, but will start with the last bridge we visited both today and late last night. When we visited last night it was dark and the pictures were done with the car headlights. When we got there today, we found that the local historians had done a great job of identifying the town that existed at this bridge. A large fire in 1885 burned down the major industry (a wool factory which produced 700 yards of wood each day) along with other local businesses and the town no longer has people. But there are foundations which are identified. It is very similar to the JS birthplace where we work, without the Spirit. We want to go back in the summer when we can hike around. I will show the bridge and foundations as well as signage of this remarkable area called GreenBank Hollow in Danville Town. It is very similar to visiting a mining ghost town in the west however the building are gone but the foundations remain behind. The woolen mill was a five story building which employed 45 workers not counting the farmers who sheep supplied the wool that was spun there. And yes it is interesting that we went to a wool spinning operation to begin the day on accident, not knowing about this last visit. When the woolen mill burned down, the nearby covered bridge burned down also. Luckily the saw and grist mills just down stream were spared.
Foundations
Signs about the town
The covered bridge
Sign telling about the the forgotten (after the fire) town.
We went up to Stowe. They have signs up about their winter festival, but lack winter (snow). I cannot imagine the financial loss this year is bringing. The good news, it was easy to pass through without traffic. and there were no issues getting into the tour at B&J's.
It was just good to be with Dede that last two days. I am such a fortunate man.
Pictures of other bridges we saw today. Again the outside followed by the inside. The red bridge was the most interesting. (First two pictures shown) It is a King Post, overlayed by a Queen Post with still rods inserted to strengthen everything. We have seen a large number of the bridges in the past two weeks. We may need to find something else to discover. However, this has caused us to see all sections of Vermont and make a list of places we want to return too see other things noticed, which will be pretty in different seasons.
Lot's of time in the car and too much junk food eaten. I need to get on the bike so I can reach my 10k step goal before I can retire. I am still hurting from the fall yesterday. It is not specific pain from the fall, it just seems that every muscle ache I have has been enhanced by the fall. I am however okay and will not be slowed by the fall.
19-January-2023-Thursday
Yes dear readers it is your lucky day. I do not have pictures to share. Dede mowed my hair this morning and then I went to the site to make measurements below. I started measuring (I bought a 100 foot tape) the rock walls along the Old Sharon to Tunbridge road along the East Side of White Brook contrary to what our graphic shows. The first rocks show up about 200 ft south of the the rock wall we show people when we go below. There are places where the wall is very visible and other places where one sees merely scattered rocks. I measured to the places they ran the pipes from the VC to the drain field. I will go beyond later, as I have marked this area for measurement also. I will be able to mark where the walls can be seen well and where they disappear. I had tried to use a range finder, but did not feel I was getting accurate measurements with all the underbrush and small trees. The tape measure is clunky, especially with only one person to run it, but it works.
After measuring this section, I went back to the Solomon Mack foundations. Using the same starting point, I measured over to a wall that was the front yard fence. This runs back toward the house. It was too snowy to measure the house itself. But I could go and measure the out buildings behind the house. These are interesting. I want to graph them on graph paper and eventually move them to the computer so I can show the dimensions and at the same time offer photographs so the next generation of missionaries will know where they are and hopefully some day we can get a professional assessment of what we have. Way more fun than a missionary should have.
We had the 1:30 shift and I walked into the parking lot at 1:25 to change my clothes and begin our shift. Unfortunately no visitors. The FM missionaries worked all morning removing lights, but they left a blue tree for me and I still have one other I will finish tomorrow morning, but then we will be finished. I will miss having work to do, but my arms and hands will rejoice in not bearing the strain of the unusual stress it puts on them. Sadly we damage lights pulling them from the trees. We could rent a lift to take down, but why spend the $7k for a lift? The site will replace the 5-10% breakage instead.
20-January-2023-Friday
We awoke to the most beautiful snow today. There was absolutely no wind and so the snow stuck to there trees and power lines. It was warm so the snow was heavy and sticky. As a result we spent the day, shoveling, raking snow off the visitor's center and President's home and then I walked over to Jody's to clear her ramp. We nearly got stuck last time we drove there and since she did not plow to her house, I was glad I walked over from the church today.
We are invited to eat at the S. Royalton ward dinner tonight. We thought it might get cancelled due to the snow, but apparently it is still on. Will be interesting to see how many show up. The snow plows have been very busy all day and RT 14 is fairly clear, but Dairy Hill Road was slick when we came home from our shift, so one worries about people who live in more isolated places. I assume the Vermonters know how to traveling snow and when to stay home.
Beyond this it was a quiet day. We have one last tree with lights, but it is on a steep hill and the new slick snow did not produce in me a great desire to try to remove the lights today so I kept busy shoveling and raking roofs. I raked the roof at the apartment as shown below, because the snow comes down at night and when it lands it immediately turns to ice and is hard to remove. At the site, it is a safety issues especially over the entrances.
21-January-2023-Saturday
Another week has come to a close. It was another beautiful day as we have had neither sun nor wind to remove the snow from the trees around us. However the roads have been cleared so getting around was made simple. I started working on attempting to draw the foundations and their relationships to the Mack Home and the existing rock wall. This will take a few drafts.
When we arrived at the site, Sister Buswell was talking to a couple whom she turned over to us when they came inside. They moved from Maryland to Vermont in the past few years and were out exploring. They were interested in Joseph Smith and the church and told us they have good friends in Maryland who are members of the church and thus their interest. It is amazing how many people stop at the Joseph Smith Birthplace Site because they have friends who were members of the church.
We took time to walk around the site to get in our steps. It is too snowy to do much walking near the apartment. One does not want to go on the narrow roads when they are slick. Dede is preparing to teach the littles in primary this week. We also plan to drive south from Rutland to Bennington tomorrow and view covered bridges and other things in that area. Bennington is in the South West Corner of Vermont and not easy to get to from Sharon. However it is due south of Rutland where we have church and since we do not have a shift tomorrow, we will take advantage of being on the western edge of the state.
Tonight we have the link to listen to our stake conference. We are looking forward to this opportunity. The conference was great, but it ran from 9 to 11 pm for us and I was exhausted. Regardless, I was glad to listen to President Campbell as he always inspires me.
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