Camp Nauvoo

Service Project - Camp Nauvoo - October 6, 2012

The timing of this Service Project was unique.  We had one day, when all of the missionaries were available - that was Saturday morning before Conference.  Camp Nauvoo is owned and run by the Community of Christ (RLDS).  One woman tries to maintain it and it needed a lot of work.  We came at 7 am and divided into crews - actually, we formed crews with Crew Chiefs the week before so that we wouldn't waste any time.  One group cleared a path to a beautiful old oak tree.  The Community of Christ church want to make a chapel out of the setting.  Another crew went into the cedar groves and picked up fallen branches and put them into piles.  One of our ranchers, Brother Rees, drove the tractor with the trailer to gather the piles and haul them to the burn pile.  Another crew got week whackers which we borrowed from the FM group to whack around the cabins, tree bases etc.  Another group pruned trees so that the grass could be mowed with a riding mower and not get the driver in the face.  Another group hung curtains in the cabin windows (the sewing crew prepared them ahead of time).  Another group tightened the bolts on all the wood benches and made repairs where needed.  Finally, the Holbrooks brought doughnuts and milk.  We were finished in an hour and a half and very pleased with the results.  Wayne and I were in charge of this project and we had never done anything like this before. 

Fort Madison

Saturday the 8th of September - after our morning shift, we went with the Douglas' and the Robbs to see old Fort Madison.  They were having re-enactments because it was rodeo week in Ft. Madison.  The Fort was built in 1808 to protect the upper Mississippi River.  It was a safe trading post for indians to exchange furs and lead for manufactured goods, like fish hooks, knives, animal traps and blankets.

These are our friends:  Bruce and Sue Douglas, us and Maria and Ron Robb.

 

The fife and drum corp were all boys.  We supposed that in 1810, that was the norm.

This was the whiskey ration line.  Every man held out his cup and the officer filled it half full of whiskey.  The men were required to drink it all up while still standing in line (so that they would not hoard it).  One fellow didn't want whiskey, but they made him take it and stood over him while he drank it.  He made a terrible face.  The indian did not get any although he begged. 

 

 

Labor Day / Birthday Party

On Labor Day, after our temple shift, we held a big pot-luck dinner on the green area between some apartment buildings.  We have a lot of green areas.  We all brought food, a chair, a drink, and our own plates and utensils.  It's the best kind of dinner to have with a group like this.  The food was wonderful and there was plenty of it.

This is Brother Marshall.  We usually see him in a white suit.  He has a wonderful singing voice and he sang for us.  He gave us a little lesson in classical music and then he sang, "Climb Every Mountain."  We were delighted.

Here we are enjoying the party.

This is President and Sister Condie

 

and then dessert!



Carriage Ride

This is Burt Wasson.  He and his wife, Chris were here last year as temple missionaries.  They came back to the historic mission because the mission needed teamsters and Burt is a teamster.  Our friends,  Jill and Kyle Franklin, arranged a carriage ride for all of us.  We had to go in two shifts and we went after hours, but Burt was willing to take us.  He gave a wonderful narrative of the history of the outlying areas of Nauvoo.  We enjoyed it very much.

It turns out, it was President Condie's birthday.  Jill had a big cake made and we all sang Happy Birthday.  Then President Condie used a paper plate to fan the flames out.  I thought that was a pretty good idea and will remember it.  He entertained us with funny stories about the general authorities he has worked with.

In the middle is Jill.  When we asked how we were to pay for our dinner, she said, "It has already been taken care of."  She and Kyle treated us to a wonderful party.

Dinner

One of the most fun things we are doing in Nauvoo is going out to dinner with friends.  This is Charlie and Duane Ekins.  They are a wonderful couple from Delta, Utah.  Duane loves beef and he loves the rib-eye steak he can get at Napoli's Italian restaurant in Burlington, Iowa.  We have gone to Napoli's several times ourselves.  It looks like a real dive, but the steaks are wonderful and they aren't expensive.  The Ekins are going home this week.  We went to Napoli's two weeks ago because Duane thought it would be his last chance to get a good steak.  There were six couples, including President and Sister Condie.  When we finished dinner, the owner picked up the check.  We were floored.  Duane told a story about President Condie.  The four of them went to Napoli's and as they entered the restaurant, there was a very large man - tattoos, beard, bandana, a real rough-looking character waiting for his dinner.  President Condie, who is about 5'10", wearing a white shirt and tie, stopped at the big man's table, knelt down on one knee and put his arm up, challenging him to arm wrestle.  The minute the man took Condie's hand, Condie smashed his hand to the table.  It happened so fast, the big guy didn't have a chance.

Leila in Sunset - July

The first two pictures are of the Polka number.  The sisters were paired with energetic young performing missionaries.  Their challenge was to keep up with them.  The second two pictures were of a comedy number where the sisters are a temperance group, singing about the horrors of alcohol.

Eric and Emma Anderson Visit - July

The first picture was taken in Carthage.  The second in the Women's Sculpture Garden behind the Visitor's Center, here in Nauvoo.  The third is the Outdoor Stage where we watched Sunset by the Mississippi.

John Deere Pavillion

This is the John Deere Pavillion and Lagomarcino's Restaurant.  We visited the Pavillion where we saw historical farm vehicles, film loops of farm and construction equipment doing their jobs, and a delightful hostess who answered our questions.  We were most impressed with a tree harvester that had six legs instead of wheels or tracks.  It looked like something out of Star Wars.  It works.  It goes into the forest, cuts down a tree, grabs hold of it and takes it to a truck.  They only have one because it is too expensive to build.  We asked where there was a good place to have lunch and our hostess suggested two restaurants nearby then she suggested an "unusual" restaurant that was only two blocks away.  We loved it.  It is very small.  It started out to be a candy store.  They make their own candy and ice cream.  There are tiny tables and it was very noisy, but the food was wonderful.  If you are ever in Moline, go to Lagomarcino's.

John Deere

I learned that the law requires all construction equipment to be painted yellow.  There were hosts and hostesses in all of the locations, who were retired John Deere employees.  Above is a picture of memorabilia collected over the last 100 years.  It is some "shadow box".  It was pretty and interesting to look at.  When we went to the John Deere Store, we learned that John Deere is almost a religion.  Farmers love John Deere.  During the depression, many farmers lost all of their money.  John Deere never repossessed a single piece of equipment.  They said, "We need the food you produce and you need what money you can earn.  Pay us what you can, when you can."  That was the beginning of an extreme loyalty. 

John Deere World Headquarters - July 2012

We drove to Moline, Illinois (the Quad Cities) to visit the John Deere Pavillion, John Deere Store and the World Headquarters.  Wayne loved it.  I enjoyed watching Wayne.  They had models of everything they build at the World Headquarters.  We were allowed to climb up and see (if we could get them from the kids).  Wayne is standing next to a tire.  The tractor is enormous.  They had combines and tree harvesters and everything in between.

Pageant

This is a picture Wayne took last year of the pageant cast.  There are hundreds of people.  We are watching rehearsals and stage preparation and chairs being put out.  The pageant opens next week and you can feel the excitement.

Fireworks

We traveled to Canton, Missouri to see Dave's Fireworks Warehouse, the largest fireworks distributer in the world.  We believed it!!  We did not buy any fireworks because they are illegal in California, but we did stroll up and down the aisles, marveling at the variety of things available.  People were filling shopping carts with fireworks for their 4th of July celebrations.  This last picture is of a box of stuff that cost $200.  It would probably take you a week to set it all off. 

Talent Show

We had a dinner and talent show two weeks ago.  There were skits, singing, comedy and a lot of fun.  The highlight of the evening was this skit.  The tarp represented a swimming poot.  The guys did synchronized swimming with their arms, pretending to dive to the side.  I was laughing so hard, I only got this one picture.

Our tour bus took us out into the countryside.  The driver was Mennonite (could drive)  He showed us Amish homes and farms and explained the difference between the Amish and the Mennonites.  Their religious beliefs are about the same and they are both trying to keep from getting caught up in worldly things, but the Mennonites are not as strict about electricity, telephones and vehicles.  The Amish do not have telephones in their homes, but found a need for them.  The phone company set up little phone booths at certain road junctions.  They look like little out houses.  The bus stopped at a bakery where I couldn't resist buying two loaves of bread, one white and the othere cinnamon raisen.  Wayne had to have a bumbleberry pie.  We didn't know what bumbleberries were and had to invite three other couples over to help eat it.  It was delicious.  The berries looked like cherries but had the texture of raspberries.  While at the bakery, there was a buggy in the yard.  Wayne and Kyle had to have a look.  It has a lot of modern equipment, like a car battery carefully hidden underneath.  The Amish use batteries.  We stopped at a store way out in the country several weeks ago.  I purchased an apron and the lady rang it up on a cash register.  I asked her how she did it and she smiled and said it was battery run.  She didn't take credit cards, though - that would involve the internet -
          The second stop on the tour was a woodworking shop.  We were able to browse the showroom and then were taken to the back to see the shop.  These artists were not Amish.  Their stuff was beautiful and the workers were all family members. 
          The third stop was an Amish general store.  I saw a vegetable slicer that I used to have when I was first married.  It was nostalgic, but I prefer my salad shooter.  Does the same thing easier. 
          When we got back to Kalona, we formed a caravan and were led out into the country to an Amish home where we were fed a delicious dinner.  The cook was Sylvia Ropp, a Mennonite woman.  The food was fantastic.  We had roast beef, mashed potatoes, noodles, rolls, vegetables, tapioca salad, coleslaw and pie for dessert.  I bought a cook book from her.
          It was a really fun day.  We got to see and do things that we would not have been able to see and do on our own.  We enjoyed the company of the friends we were with.

The men are standing in front of the bakery.  At ten, they went to the hardware store and the furniture building place.  We went to the quilt shop.  The quilt shop was amazing.  Much fabric, patterns, kits, also finished pieces.  I drooled, but did not buy anything.  I'm thinking about having to bring everything home!!!

Kalona, Iowa - June 2012

Our Friday P-day group went to Kalona, Iowa for a day's activity.  Kalona advertises itself as the Quilt Capital of Iowa.  When they redid the downtown streets and sidewalks, they put quilt patterns every so often.  It was fun to see them.  Above is half of our group.  There were 10 couples.  We were able to take a formal tour on a tour bus. We had to split in half because the bus wouldn't hold all of us.  We went in the second tour.  We arrived at 9 am and stores opened at 10, so we found a bakery and bought cinnamon rolls.  Then we found the general store, which was open.  It looked sort of like Dollar City.  It was fun to browse. 

Third Stop - Kansas City

In Kansas City, we visited my brother, Bill and his family.  It was a wonderful reunion.  We don't see him often enough.  Bill and Karen have a lovely home in Grain Valley.  We met his son, Ken and wife, Jennifer at the Kansas City Temple Open House.  They enjoyed seeing the inside.  It is beautiful inside and out.  The temple is about 1/2 mile from Ken's home and they watched it being built.  They were surprised that there was no large room.  They expected it to look like a church or cathedral.  There are small rooms, each necessary for ordinance work.  We had lunch at Ken and Jen's afterward and were able to answer questions.