The Anticipation is Mounting.......

                      .....The New Troops Are Arriving!!!

     The first weeks we were in the mission we kept hearing comments from the mission presidency and fellow missionaries that we were understaffed, overworked, and we would just have to make the best of it.  Then we began to hear how we need to re-train, re-tool, and prepare for next year.  We were the "newbies" here so most of it meant very little.  Slowly things began to take a new feel and many of the previous years "challenges" (most call them problems) were worked out, corrected, and new ideas implemented.  Since we are serving FM here most of these things are foreign to us as we only serve occasionally in the sites.  As I have watched these changes take place I now know more fully what the previous year had been like.  The mission presidents are called to serve in Nauvoo for two years and their call begins in January.  It goes without saying that each president has his own skill set and style and learning to use it as directed by the brethren in Salt Lake can sometimes be difficult process....Throw in herding the cats (senior missionaries) and sometimes change can take a while and cause some a little pain.  Such, I think, has been the case here....but then that's just my opinion.

     Being one of the "cats" that occasionally need to be herded I have learned to love President and Sister Hall.  They have a difficult job sometimes and they are doing it well.  So with that being said we have been training with the idea we are going to train the new missionaries that arrive.

     "Well, Folks"....as the Editor says in Rendezvous..."Welcome to Nauvoo".  And with that, beginning in the middle of March, the new troops began arriving.  We have now added 80 senior missionaries, teamsters, and FM  to our numbers. Add to that 16 young single sister missionaries who are called here to serve during the summer (they go outbound during the winter), 45 Young Performing Missionaries (YPM), and 15 band members......and you have now more than doubled the size of the mission.  We showed up at Sacrament Meeting our usual 10 minutes early to find our selves relegated to the last row of chairs in the cultural hall as the chapel and overflow were completely occupied.  Can't say we weren't warned.  We look forward to the summer.....it's going to be a great one!!

     We have been so blessed in our cast to have four single sisters added to our ranks.  Sister Gibson and I think the world of them......they are so full of happiness and energy.  I like them because they think I am funny....imagine that....  Sister Shumway, Sister Wright, Sister Eppic, and Sister McNeil...

WELCOME TO NAUVOO......AND SARAH GRANGER!!

The Morning After........

                                            ......I Had No Idea

          It had been a trying week at FM.  The pageant trailer is sitting there with nothing being done on it......WHY?  Because the siding that needs to be put up first wasn't here (and our fearless supply manager can't even get a date of when it will be here) Add to that any work that could be done on the inside is in limbo waiting for decisions on what and how to finish it.  So I puttered around doing any little thing I could find.  It rained heavily the first two days of the week so that left me looking around for inside work.  I did the punch list for the Schenck house part of the time.    I did go up to the
Engle house and help them fill in the floor to the basement that was exposed when the spiral staircase was removed.

     So when Thursday rolled around I was given the assignment to help Elders Bass and Jardine.  It was a beautiful day, they had done all the little jobs they were assigned to as handymen and now they were left with doing what they could no longer put off. 

     The pavers in the Women's Garden next to the Visitors Center were a mess.  The original plan was to replace them all this fall.  When that changed to the Fall of 2018 then it was decided to only do the ones that were damaged.  We are talking chips, cracks, and freeze damage....no hazard...just damage.

Somehow I ended up with the hammer chisel and I spent the day chipping away at them.  Since they are usually surrounded by good brick it required the skill and expertise of a counterfitter.  I was beat by the end of the day. 

   I have never known the pain and agony of a hangover so I had little, if any, sympathy for those who complained about their condition....after all....it was self inflicted.  All I can say is that when I awoke

to complete and utter body pain I was certain I had finally contracted what is know as the "Nauvoo Crud".  I could barely get up and move to my favorite recliner.  I spent the day there before I could get medical help at the clinic at 3:00.  Good news.....no "crud".....bad news severe allergies.  I have never had any allergies until I came to Nauvoo......"Welcome to Nauvoo".  All of the aches and pains, with the exception of the allergy induced sore throat, were from being pounded apart by the hammer chisel.  I can hardly wait to get back to doing it next week....LOL

     I was back to my old self (be that what it is) by Saturday.  We had planned on going to Springfield to see the Lincoln Museum the others made plans to go to the Tulip Festival in Pella...which didn't appeal to me because of the crowds.  So....choosing the quieter road I though it would be a good day for us to travel over to Keosaqua, IA where my Grandfather Stallings had traveled to during the exodus from Nauvoo.  He stayed there for three years in order to help other Pioneers as they traveled west as well as prepare himself and his family for the plains crossing that would be three years later.  I reasoned it would be interesting to see the town and get a little of it's history.  What I didn't plan on was the great experiences we would have in Bonaparte and Bentonsport as we made the trip to Keosaqua.  In the end we got there at 4:00 and it was really too late to get any information since the visitors bureau had already closed.....so that will be an adventure for another day.  And now the rest of the story.....

        The Des Moines River......

                                  ...not Deep...Just Wide

     The very first thing we ran into as we drove into town were six Nauvoo Temple Missionaries.  Stuck out like a sore thumb.....they did.....but then don't we all.  They gave us a quick lowdown on things to start seeing and we essentially followed their trail.  It was here that the first party of pioneers crossed as spring approached.  I did find humor in the "Brigham Young and his "band" of Mormons crossed"  sign.  It conjured up all sorts of images from the Nauvoo Brass Band playing on a wagon in the middle of the river as they crossed to a bunch of rag tag gypsies singing and dancing....

I did feel better once I found the Mormon Trail sign....at least there was some sort of acknowledgement to who the "band" was.

     We eventually hit upon Bonaparte Pottery were we luckily caught up the Temple Missionaries who were just beginning a tour from the owner.  She told a story of how she and her husband move to Bonaparte in 1993 and they had bought this old building that was once pottery business in 1846 but had be bought by a lumber yard in the late 1800's.  Before they could even start there was a flood in 1993 that  flooded the building.  As they waters receded they began to find some evidence of the old pottery business.  Her husband thought it was nonsense but she continued to pursue her meticulous cleaning.....he would say "throw them over the bank" and she would put it off.  Eventually, several historical institutions wanted to excavate...."No Way" he said.  A short time later he took a week business trip...she called them all up.....told them had a week to dig.  What they unearthed in that week was amazing and he finally caught the vision of what they had uncovered and the work continued.

    Everything from original molds to finished pieces that the lumber yard had thrown own and they had been covered.  The picture in the middle is just the tip of the iceberg.  And the construction of the building was really unique and we could actually walk into all areas and see how it was built.  There is a large open area in the basement where the horses and cows turned the clay into put to be used in the pottery. 

     Now where do you eat in Bonaparte?  Bonaparte's Retreat!  It was really a quaint place with an old antique time clock and fun stuff to look at.

History......

                                               ......That's not Even A Museum!   

Bentonsport is noted as the last stop for steamers going up the Des Moines River in the 1840's.  You can actually see the remains of the old Lock #5.  We came across the Mason House and the signs seem to tell a story without an explanation.  The insert to the left tells of floods and their dates marking the high water mark...also of note is where a boat crashed into the building.  Considering the building is 100 yards away from the river we can assume this was done during a flood.  We couldn't get inside to find the ghost(s).  You'll have to do that on your own.

Glazing?......

                                .....it's Not only for Donuts!

     Of course the first thing that attracts are attention.....same six Temple Missionaries and they are coming from a small business called Iron and Lace.  You've got to get to the back...their doing a pottery demonstration.  So we did.  "Sorry" they say..."we just finished".   "But if you want we will let you glaze your own piece.  We only do this once or twice a year".  Well they didn't have to ask me twice....we were in a hurray so we'd do it another time.  And then it dawned on me.....Keosakwa  has a better chance of being there next week than me trying to come back another time.  "We're In" and with that we became pottery glazers.

       We each dipped our hand picked matching pieces in mismatching glazes.....Then we place them in the fiery kiln while they were heated to red hot in thirty minutes.  As you can see I got to take them and place them in wood shavings where they cooled until I got to and wash them and scrub off some of the residue to make them look beautiful.  As you can see they are magnificent pieces.....worthy of a collector.  My next big worry is how to distribute them in the will as their will undoubtedly be a huge fight among the heirs (LOL,LOL,LOL,LOL)

      We obviously made some new friends along the way as they carefully guided us through process.

One watcher was so impressed she gave me a standing ovation!!
     As we were saying our good-byes a resident  dropped off a three foot gear from the old lock and gave it to them to preserve.  It was pretty impressive.