Week 40 Hegsted Mission

 23-April-2023-Sunday

This was a rainy Sunday.  When we awoke there was a large puddle of water in front of the car and it has rained most of the day with over an inch of rain so far.  No flash flooding just a steady rain all day.  Made the drive to and from Rutland interesting, but not difficult.

Dede and I both spoke in church.  I took too long.  Obviously I do not comprehend meekness (my topic) or would not have gone over time.  Regardless, I thought I did well.  Dede was spectacular.  I so enjoyed her talk.  I played the organ again today, not sure when that will end.  I was however released as Sunday School Teacher to the youth.  Although I will miss this calling, I am so glad for the person they have called.  He has sons in the class and I think it will be good for him and them.  I just hope some of the youth will remember to be kind.  These youth are no different than other youth in the church, just have not developed  their social skills.  (I am still working on the same.)

I would be amiss, not to pause here and praise God for the help He gave me (and probably Dede) on my talk.  I had put down some quotes I wanted to use from two Bednar talks and some scriptures.  But I did not feel like the talk flowed as I reviewed it Saturday.  I may not be meek, but I was humble when I asked God for help Sunday morning and as I stood and spoke, the words came to me to connect the quotes in a coherent manner.  God so loves to bless me with tender mercies.  

With all the rain, we again wondered if we would have people at the site.  When we got to the site, there were two cars there with people running around with umbrellas.  There was a family of 7 from Massachusetts in one car and their parents from California in the other.  The family of 7 had been to the site before.  They had a cute 7-year daughter who told, me yes, it took 22 horses to pull the wagon and then something else about the tour.  So Dede and I let them answer lots of questions.  They then watched a movie while the grandparents had the tour, but finally it was time for them to leave and so there were sad goodbyes and the family went back to Mass. and the grandparents were headed to Burlington VT, to fly out.

Dede had invited two young single sisters from the branch to come to the site.  Being with them was delightful.  They overlapped with the family mentioned above tour, but we worked it out.  While Dede talked with them, I had an Episcopal Preacher come up to the monument.  I visited with him for a few minutes, he was so kind.  I wish he would come back.  I have many questions for him.  Then a family of four came in.  He was a member (probably not active) and so I gave them a whirlwind tour.  Dede was still on the story of bringing up the monument with the Branch sisters, so I teased her that I had given two complete tours while she told one story.  Obviously, I did not learn much about meekness despite studying the subject all week long.

Finally Elder Wilcox came in to show me some maps and surveys he had found at the FM site.  He is a great help for me.  He knows the site well from all his work and I so appreciate his help.

24-April-2023-Monday

Another rainy day, but not as much or consistent of rain as yesterday.  We started the day with our devotional. Elder Wilcox quoted Alma teaching his son that he needed to keep the record bright and explained that to him (Wilcox) that meant recording spiritual things that happen into our journals, not just activities, so that our record of our service is kept bright.  I liked this thought.  I probably liked it more since I am keeping this blog.

We took our car in for service.  After our mudding experience experience last week, we had funny squeaks as we drove.  In fact until we washed it, it was horrible and the wheels were so out of balance that it shimmied as we drove.  They cleaned out stuff and found that a u-joint in the steering was failing.  This will be covered by warranty.  We set up an another appointment to get the 30000 mile check done (yes we are putting miles on this car at an unprecedented rate.  We are at 27,000 miles in less than one year.). We were so blessed.  Since there was an issue with the u-joint, they did not charge us for the work done as it was counted as finding the u-joint failure.  We do need new tires and an alignment.  That is not surprising with all the potholes and rough roads we have encountered.  Still I feel very blessed that it was not worse.  I sat there for about 2 hours, so I was able to work on my review again.  The review will never end I fear, but it is progressing slowly.  I have written a rough draft and now I am putting in pictures and maps.  This will continue for some time and then I can begin to finalize the writing.  I think I am at 65 pages now.

I came home, grabbed a bite to eat and we made it on time to relieve the Buswells.  They had had 11 people this morning.  It was slow for us until 3:30, but we ended the day with 10 people, so all in all a great day.  We had all nonmembers except one fellow who came because he does church tours.  He has never been to our site and is doing a 10 day tour of all the church sites.  It was fun to talk to him and let him know what we would do for a tour as well as give him a tour.  He had such thoughtful questions.  We were so blessed that even though we had rain, the people still came to the site.  God is kind and I love the slower time of the year for the chance to really connect with people.

25-April-2023-Tuesday

A little bit of rain today, but not bad and some sunshine.  Again we had the full day shift.  Buswells will do that tomorrow.  Today is also the memorial for Ewer's grandson.  We can only hope that the spirit was very strong and brought comfort and some closure for the grieving family.  I would suppose it will be a few days before Ewers can make decisions about their future and when  they might return to the mission.

We had 6 people today.  The first couple, the Childs, were returning home to Utah after an MLS mission in Nova Scotia.  They were absolutely incredible.  We probably took too much of their time as they want to hit Palmyra and end up in Kirkland tonight.  But they had not been to our site so they did not want to miss anything.  We also had several nonmembers.  One couple have recently moved to Russel road, which is the road I take to get to the old Smith Homestead in the gore.  They were kind and wanted to hike Patriarch Hill.  A member came in who has been at the site many times, but Dede was able to show and tell him things he did not know.  We also raked sticks and branches near the flagpole with the Bergers who had been raking for several hours.  It looks much better.  The lawn mowers will pick up the small remaining sticks when they make the first mowing which should be next week.  I was surprised at how much the grass is growing around the monument.  Wonderful what rain and warm weather can do.

At 4:30, I took off walking.  I wanted to see if I could find the "Indian mound" just off the church property.  We have heard about this man made structure several times and a quick look on the internet shows many such mounds in New England.  There are many theories beyond native Americans which include Vikings, Celts, and probably UFO people.  All good fun.  The entrance was small and since I was dressed like a missionary, I did not crawl inside, but got a few pictures which I will share.  In a video, which I cannot share in the blog, one can see the stone work inside.  After our shift, we went into Lebanon and purchased a selfie stick, which should allow me to get better pictures in the future.  Now that I know where it is, it will just take a few minutes to get there without wandering around searching for it.  This is true of so many things at the site.  I am becoming very familiar with many places of interest.

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26-April-2023-Wednesday-PDAY

Somedays, it just feels like a PDAY is needed and that was so true today.  We got up early this morning and went to the temple in Boston to do an endowment and sealing session.  I must admit, that although the room was very cool, it was hard to stay awake during the first room.  The Sealing Session was better.  I love our sealer.  He is 82 years old and so sharp.  It is hard to think of someone speaking faster than he does.  This helps keep me alert.  We started the session with a single sister who first acted as her mother to have her mom and fa-

ther sealed together.  She then was sealed to them as a daughter.  I do not know how she kept from crying, as I was very close to tears.  Dede stated it best, she is no longer an orphan but sealed eternally to her family.  I am sure she is the only member in the family.  There was only one person with her and I am not sure he is close as he is there on many Wednesdays in the temple and probably just knows her from the ward.   All I know is that God truly loves this lady.

They changed the steeple on the temple during the 3 week shutdown.  It is much lighter almost a metallic color rather than the black color on the previous steeple.  If we had not known, I might not have noticed, but since we saw it being built, we were looking to see the change.

We visited Old Manse.  This building was owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson's grandparents.  From the window of the home, one sees the North Bridge where the War of Independence started.  RW Emerson, would later coin the phrase, "the shot heard around the world."  RW Emerson had been a preacher and when his wife died he returned to the home of his grandparents and wrote a book titled "Nature" which started transcendentalism.  He did this from the bedroom which overlooks the bridge.  This started his fame.  

Nathaniel Hawthorne rented the home a for a short period and he built the desk shown in the picture.  In this room he wrote the book Mosses from Old Manse, which spawned his career.  He had thought if Emerson could write a book there, it would work for him.  We also saw an old stuffed owl in the home.  Hawthorne called the Owl, Longfellow, whom he knew from college.  (His wife hated the owl and would hide it when he was away.). Concorde is known for authors, but Emerson is the only native of Concord.  The home actually passed on to the original Emerson's second husband's family, and stayed in the family from 1770 until 1930ish when it was turned over to a group who has conserved it.  There was much more history in the house and it was a fun visit.

We then went to Costco to get pills and stock up.  We have not been there for over a month.  On the way home as we passed through Manchester, NH, Dede eagerly showed me the very high Merrimack river which was overflowing its dam and flooding islands and trees in the river.  I pulled over and we were able to get some fun shots.  The dam was built to allow canals to be built that would allow boats to miss the falls that were naturally there.  The water was also harnessed to power a number of mills in the area.  Similar to Lowell, the mills have been renovated and now house industry and the U. of N.H.  This was neat to see.  We walked around a little reading a few signs that gave us some history.  Not as well documented as Lowell, but interesting.

All-in-all it was a great day, spent with my wonderful companion who is always so concerned about my well being.  Today she seemed especially nervous that I might fall asleep so she poked and tickled my ribs on an all to frequent basis to make sure that I stayed awake.  Luckily that did not cause me to wreck.  😄

Pictures of the falls and of a water gate outside of the power company.

27-April-2023-Thursday

Started the day by sleeping in.  Driving to and from Boston and playing so hard makes one tired.  I then worked on my review.  I am starting to fill in portions and correct the first draft, while moving pictures around and creating better pictures and maps.  It all takes time.

When we got to site, it was sunny but cool.  Buswells did not have any visitors and we went until 3:30 without visitors.  Suddenly we had three groups of 7, 2 and 2.  All were members of the church.  The group of 7 was a family from Essex Junction with their grandparents from Utah.  The family had been to the site before, but must have come when it was busy because they were impressed with the detail Dede gave them.  I took one of the groups of two.  They had a dog so spent as much time outside as possible before they locked the dog in the car.  These were two sister members, just friends.  I think they were very touched by the spirit.  I was grateful.  When I finished with them, I took the family of 7 down to the foundations.  They were explorers and would have spent all day down there if Dede did not have a 5:30 appointment.  I then took the other couple down.  Dede had had them for most of the tour, so they were all well fed, spiritually.  At the restoration board, Dede had the 5 children pick their favorite story and tell her why.  I think grandma was so relieve to see her grandchildren could still have testimonies even in Vermont.  The mom was incredible, so I would have no reason to doubt it.  But all-in-all great fun.  

I am sorry, but I just love this magnolia tree.

After shift, I took Dede home to talk to Calvin about her medicare insurance.  I changed and went back to the site.  I wanted to walk the northern boundary of the Solomon Mack farm.  I had found the corner before with a long rock wall 265 ft long going down to White Brook.  I could not see the wall extend beyond the brook, but when I walked over to the other side (actually close to the road) I found the base of the rock wall and followed it for 399 feet before it ended.  Adding in 10 feet for White Brook, the northern boundary is defined well for 675 feet.  I explored another 164 feet, when I got distracted by a trail I wanted to explore.  In total I still have another 1050 feet to explore.  Nothing shows on the map, but I can hope.  

The distracting trail takes one up Patriarch Hill, but also to a rock wall that at one time defined the southern boundary of the property and from which one can find springs and a reservoir house which were an attempt to provide water to the site.  The 5 springs which I found are encased in ceramic.  There is a small house like structure which I believe was used as a reservoir.  I probably find way too much joy in finding these things and measuring them for the review I am making.  Good to get out and exercise also.

28-April-2023-Friday

Similar to yesterday, for the Buswells, we had a morning without any visitors.  We were able to walk and look at beautiful things at the site and just enjoy one another's company.  After our shift, Dede took me down to the bottom of the site so I could continue exploring.  Going cross country can be difficult especially when one is climbing a steep hill.  That is where I found myself today as I tried to walk the remainder of the northern boundary of Mack's farm.  Although I could walk it using compass directions, I did not find any further evidences of rock walls or fences.  This should not be surprising as since 1905, the church has owned property beyond the line and so would not have fenced the property line and what I found yesterday was truly old, i.e. before 1905.  

I did go back to the rock wall that I visited yesterday so that I could measure it and walk the boundary lines along both ends of this wall.  At one point this wall marked the southern boundary of the LDS property, but with the last addition, this rock wall and line is inside the church property.  The effort was not wasted as I was able to use the wall and the marked former corner of the property to define the springs that were in this area and which were probably purchased by Junius in 1905 to supply water.  Although updates have been made.  I also climbed to the top of Patriarch Hill to get a picture.  

By the time I got done, I was gassed, however Dede came and picked me up and I showed her what I found yesterday and then we walked the Old Sharon Road above the Daniel Mack foundations.  During twig season, White Brook was visible and the cascades were wonderful to behold.  I will place pictures below of what I and then Dede and I saw today.

Spring at the site is wonderful.  Two shots of the cascades on White Brook, off the church's property.

Picture of monument from atop Patriarch Hill.  Dede conquering a mighty water fall that happens to be right on the boundary of the Mack Farm.  A spring purchased by Julius Well to provide water to the site.

29-April-2023-Saturday

Just another day in the JSB mission.  We awoke and went down to the foundations area.  We measured the Solomon Mack home and barns as well as the pump.  This took some time.  After a short stop, we walked the Old Sharon Road to the edge of the church property.  I have been all the way out, but Dede had never gone to the property edge.  Now she has walked the entire road that is on church property.  It is so beautiful down there.  We left at noon and it began raining 45 minutes later.  We were blessed.

Such an interesting day at the site.  The Buswells had been busy all morning with 11 people.  We waited some time before a couple came and went straight to the monument.  I chased them down and we had a delightful time.  They were in the area visiting the "Indian mounds" which I mentioned earlier this week.  They are historical type people and wanted to learn a little about Joseph and the monument.  We gave them mostly a historical tour as they had no interest in religion.  They then told us about activities they are doing.  I could show them where the mound was located on the Map.  He was off several hundred yards in where he thought it would be located.  Hope this helped.  They sent Dede some information and thanked us, so I think we did some good.  They seemed to be searching for meaning in a world without a God.  So hard.

We next had a family from Lehi, UT.  There were 4 children, 3 of which were returned missionaries.  They had an appointment at Ben and Jerry's, so we talked fast, but gave them a good tour and got them out 65 minutes before their appointment and with a 52 minute trip, they should be fine.  They were so fun at the restoration board, with their insights as missionaries and such a great family.  Mom was in tears as she contemplated her kids.

At about 4 pm, we had a couple show up with missionary tags.  Not unusual.  I looked at the sister and thought I knew her and asked if I should, but she gave me no hints.  When they came in they said they were the mission leaders for the Montreal Mission.  Dede looked at her and said, "I know who your are."  Earlier this week we had had the Childs, a senior missionary couple just released from their mission (serving in Nova Scotia) come to our site.  They were so kind, and the wife who looked so familiar was Sister Harkness who was a counselor in the General Primary Presidency.  It turns out he was all-star tennis player at BYU, who turned pro.  All I know is that with the Spirit we felt from them, it would definitely have been a joy to serve in their mission.  They took pictures of us and sent them to us.

We spent way too long with them and they will get home late.  But he said the kindest thing.  "We have made new friends, nothing happens by accident."  What a blessing.  They said to stop by next time we are in Montreal and we have his personal phone number.

As we were starting our car to leave a car pulled up and we spent another half hour teaching two young men about Joseph Smith.  They were so friendly and shared things about Vermont with us after we shared about Joseph.  Again they were interested in history, but not in religion.  Still, they have had one of the 10 introductions to the church that people seem to need before taking the discussions.  Dede's French Chicken for dinner was well done because it was after 7 when we got home, but still good.  Over all:  It was just a great day to be servants of the Lord.