It Began as a Safety Meeting....

                    .....and Transformed into a Clinic

     One of the great treasures in Nauvoo FM is Lon Simpson.  Lon joined the church three years ago and has been a fixture in the cabinetry shop since then.  His roots go back to college when he studied 1800's woodworking prior to joining the military and after retiring  taught woodworking in school while running a business that required craftsmanship and skill.  His responsibilities in Nauvoo  include the day to day operations of the cabinet shop and the maintenance and supervision of the adjacent carpentry shop.  It is almost impossible to ask him a question about where something is or how to do a particular task without him rounding it up and doing it for you.  His wife is a extraordinary cook  who is continually baking.  He manages his weight by giving most of the goodies to the missionaries.

     Lon is very proud and skilled with his vast array of hand tools and he can do masterful things with them.  Additionally there is a vast array of current up to date equipment in the cabinetry portion of the shop.  He is so proud of it that he often refers to it as the "Celestial Shop".  I guess that makes the carpentry shop, with it's older and outdated tools, the "Terrestrial World" and those who work in the field the "Telestial Kingdom".   We as carpenters are certainly able to work in the Terrestrial world but never are allowed such a pleasure in the Celestial Shop.  Lon will, however, always be glad to do what ever we ask that needs to be done.

    The opening minutes of the safety meeting were spent on the importance of a sharp tools versus a dull one and then the ride began.  We started with lengthy explanations of the many types of sharpening stones, where they came from, and why and how to use them.  He has more stones than I have tools (LOL).  Then it was on to the types of steel used in tools with the emphasis on not even bothering with a chisel made today....only the ones manufactured in the 1800's are suitable.  After sharpening a chisel for demonstration purposes and shaving one of he elders heads (not really...but it could have done it since it was so sharp) he moved on to block planes. The things he could do with that tool are amazing....a little extravagant for normal every day work, but amazing.  A lifetime of study and practice have given the man some amazing skills.

     It was a ten minute safety meeting....and an hour and a half clinic on sharpening....that most will probably never use.

A Hammer and Hoe...

                                     ....And Away We Go!!!

     We started the week with high hopes of getting the barn addition concrete poured and a start on the framing.  That ended with two days of rain.  So we started the next project.....a kitchen remodel in the Economou house (strange name, I know).  A quick review revealed the obvious for a Nauvoo project....it was going to expand to the laundry room and down bath.  So with gusto and zeal we grabbed our tools of destruction and tore into it.  A day and a half later and a dump truck load of debris we had gutted the kitchen called for a plumber and electrician to review the exposed pipes and wires and we were back at the barn.  As for the cute title....we use the hoe to pull the lathe and plaster from the walls and ceiling....it's hard and dirty work but someone's got to do it.

     We returned to the barn.....hopes high that we get some concrete poured.  It soon became one of those weeks when one thing after another happened.  We needed some help from the equipment operators to drill some holes.  We needed the skidster to drill 12" holes for our foundation piers but it was in the shop.  Thinking it would be done we did some other small tasks.  Thursday came and it wasn't done so we grabbed a tractor....attachment for the drill needed work....off to the welding shop.

Things were looking when we got it back and then, after we had installed the auger and were ready to go it was discovered that it was a reverse drill and the tractor couldn't turn it to dig...only to push dirt back down.  Thank heavens for Elder Hall.  He had had enough....grabbed a shovel and started digging.  He has always told me I was the hardest working guy in Nauvoo (not true...but you know how egos work) and not to be out done...I dug in with him.  It took most of the morning but we got the holes done and by Friday afternoon we were ready to pour.....I can hardly wait for Monday!!

     Elder Van Horn, the brains, equipment skills,  and probably most of the brawn, of this entire project will be saying his farewell to Nauvoo on September 4.  It's going to be an interesting week... I just hope I survive it.

    Nice Thing About Being Old.....

 .....You Can Visit the Same Place Twice...
          .....There's Always Something New!!

     The Beecher's had survived the hard work they had put forth during the pageant and wanted to get with us on some of our adventures away from Nauvoo.  While Kalona looked inviting...(after all they have that wonderful carmel pecan pull apart) we opted for a different plan to revisit Bentonsport.  Sister Lindeburg wanted to make it a "full" day trip since all were were free from obligations in the evening.  So we took the long way to Bentonsport through Eldon, Iowa and enjoyed visiting the American Gothic House made famous by artist Grant Wood.  Regrettably it was music on the porch day and so the pictures on the porch got "photobombed".
     Then it was decided to stop by Bonaparte for lunch at Bonapartes Retreat...finally we reached Bentonsport.  Our first visit there had us thoroughly enthralled with the pottery and church and we missed visiting the Indian Artifact Museum.  It is indeed a treasure to be seen.  For some forty three years Tony Sanders has been scouring the nearby creeks in search of Indian arrowheads and anything else ancient he could find.  The area is rich in them but it takes a lot of patience and hard work.
     He then built a building and spent what was left of his leisure time building displays to mount his treasures on.  Using twenty different species of native wood he painstakingly created patterns and artistry to display them as well as covering the interior walls with intricate wood patterns.  It is amazing to see and listen to him talk about his efforts and creative skills.  It is a must see in Bentonsport and is a special sight.

Odds......At the End

    

     So here it was time and there we were.....just like so many others.... staring at the cloudy sky...figuring that it was going to be a bust. Our anticipation of seeing 96.7% of the famed "once in a lifetime" eclipse were waning by the moment.  And then, for an hour or so the clouds broke up enough for us to see what had been anticipated.  Wow!! it looked just like we thought through our specially purchased level 16 protection sun shades (actually they were borrowed from someone nearby who was willing to share the moment.  While it wasn't a Nauvoo Miracle it was interesting and I can say that we were there....gawking away until the clouds closed in again.  We did see the majority of it, however.

     

It started like any other project.  Grab some wood to make forms for the barn.  It ended in the Emergency Room at Memorial Hospital in Carthage.  I was loading 2x4's into the truck when I felt a sharp pain as a sliver drove into my thumb.  I looked at the thumb and found a little sliver protruding out.  I must be turning into a whimp I thought.  It felt a lot worse than that little sliver looked.  Then I noticed a little blood about 1 1/2" back on the thumb.  It didn't take long to figure out that that even though I couldn't see it...The sliver was there....  I could feel it!!  Soon the swelling caused the revealed part to disappear.  Off to the clinic I went...knowing it could be easily extracted with a little professional care.  The Nauvoo Clinic is our go-to place but the PA who is stationed there had to leave so they sent me to the Carthage ER.  This shouldn't be too hard the Doc explained.....I don't think we'll need to numb it.  Being the macho guy I am I agreed.  I figured it would be pretty simple.  Fifteen minutes later after screaming and yelling like a baby he asked if I might want it numbed as it was a little more difficult that he imagined.  Revealing my true identity I hastily agreed.  It was another twenty minutes before he extracted the culprit.  One stich later I was patiently waiting for the next half hour to pass for the paper work to be processed so I could get back to work....but by then the day was pretty much over.

    While the P-Day trip may have been to Bonaparte and Bentonsport.....not to mention The Dutchman's.... we arranged it to pass through Eldon, Iowa,  a famous American site in search of our relatives.  It was a bonanza for all of us as we soon discovered our forefathers had been indeed friends.  We uncovered some early photographs....the resemblance is amazing.....don't you think?
The band played us a welcome and photobombed in the background from the porch...go figure!  I sure hope someone doesn't think this is our new missionary outfits and post it.....after all....I have a pitchfork and I am sure I can use it!

Missionary Gothic

Beecher, Gibson, Lindeburg

American Gothic

Gibson Style