Blog #72 – Part 1 (of 2)
By Kevin V. Hunt
Sometimes life gets a bit crazy. And we have so much fun in the moment that we don’t have or take the take the time to record them. That is kind of what happened to me. The summer months in Nauvoo were so busy with so many good things, that it was a challenge to keep up with them. I had to choose among many good things – good, better, and best. They all seemed best so it was hard to choose.
Among the great moments, I participated with the mission presidency and young sister missionaries in many “Church History Immersion Trips”. In the role of Mission Historians, Sister Hunt and I were privileged to make many trips to various Church history sites in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska.
Above: Young sister missionaries in Bonaparte, Iowa on church history immersion tour.
And as a side note: Sister Hunt was very busy with each of the trips. She chose to create cinnamon rolls, a variety of cookies and goodies in general for each of these trips. And it was not just one big collection of delictables. She created a customized box (of all of the above) for each of the four or five vans that went on each trip full of missionaries – and driven by a member of the Mission Presidency. She created each box with much love … and they became legendary. And she just kept doing and making the special goodies with so much love. She was also the photographer for all of the trips. Great job, Sister Hunt!
And after the trips, we created several books about the beautiful and inspiring historic sites.
I was also engrossed in the compilation of the mission history covering many months.
Life was kind of busy for Sister Hunt and me.
We all know that there are only 24 hours in each day and in those hours – even with high prioritization, it is impossible to do every good thing. So I have just kept my eyes on the many possibilities – and with the goal to do all that I have desired – but to take them I stride as time and resources came together.
Now I get to take the time to move on to some other projects. And one of these is to blog some of those summer good times, miracles, and connections. They are just too good not to record – for me and for others.
I have previously blogged some key summer events. One article was about our Hiatus for the Bryson/Annie wedding.
Another was the blog about the Immersion trips with the Young Sister Missionaries,
And then there was an article about our connecting with our friend, Cecelia Hitch – whom Elder and Sister Belcher helped to bring into the church. But, here is more …
RECONNECTING WITH A SPECIAL FRIENDS
Our son Keith is kind of unique. I think he has only really dated two different ladies and it is interesting that both of them are named Kayla. So, the family designated them as Kayla I, and Kayla II. He ultimately married Kayla II but our family has always still loved Kayla 1. So we were pleased when Kayla I wrote to us and told us that she and her family were going to come to Nauvoo. We were thrilled as we anticipated their visit in early June.
June 2nd was the day that Kayla I and family – consisting of her man, Stan the MAN and their four beautiful daughters arrived from Yokon, Oklahoma.
Stan and Kayla came into our place and we gave them a tour – including the original downstairs limestone fireplace and steps. We visited for quite a while and enjoyed the visit. Lou and I were both very impressed with this Stan. He seems like a really great guy. He is a returned missionary, active in the church, and seemingly successful.
We gave them suggestions on what to see here in Nauvoo and they went off to do some of them.
We told Kayla that we could take them on a couple of “after hours” tours if they desired us to. They called and suggested that we meet at the Lucy Mack Smith home. We went over there and first took them on a tour of the brickyard and showed them the processes there. We then took them to the Lucy Mack Smith home and they seemed to like it. Stan was very tired, however. He had come off of a 24-hour work shift as a fireman and then drove clear to here from Oklahoma. We then took them to tour the Joseph Smith Homestead and Mansion House.
We went with them to the stage to see the “Sunset on the Mississippi” program. We liked the show better this time. (The first time we saw this year’s production was just as the new summer cast was getting started. Now with a few performances under their belts, they became really great. The group was more practiced and confident in their performance. The Avant family all loved the show.
LONG TIME FRIENDS SEEM TO POP UP EVERYWHERE
We were serving one day in the Family Living Center. As one looks toward the entry door, it is a scene full of light from the outside. And in this light, it is hard to tell who people are as they come in. They have the advantage – in that they can see us. As a new group came, we kind of squinted to see them but they saw and knew us right away. We welcomed Andy and Anita Hansen of Mesa. They are the parents of sons Jared and Jacob. We have known them well over the years. We met them as we both participated in the Mesa Easter Pageant (“Jesus the Christ” Pageant).
After the greeting niceties, Lou and Anita did “Relatives around me” and were surprised that they are 4th cousins – through the Abiah Carter line.
Lou had a unique experience. She was just ready to give a brick tour (demonstration talk) when a guy came up to her and called her “Bucket Head”. With this unusual greeting, she knew that it had to be someone who knew her very well on her mission to Australia. (That was a term that she and the missionaries coined – for whatever reason.) Anyway, this guy turned out to be Paul Peterson, who served with Lou in the same Australia district.
Lou only got time to take his photo and talk for a few seconds since her tour group was waiting.
A TRIP TO A UNIQUE ARTIST’S STUDIO AND SURROUNDING PARADISE
We met a Brother Michael Bedard at a community event meant to introduce missionaries and others to resources and opportunities in the town. At this gathering, we met Brother Bedard and learned that he has an art studio located a few miles south of town. He said that he welcomes people to his studio. We decided to take him up on his offer. As District Leaders, we arranged to take our full district to his art studio. We gathered at the parking lot of the Visitors’ Center and pooled rides. We rode with Elder and Sister Parker. The Ballards rode with the Harfords. The Burrs had been to medical appointments and met us at the road turn-off as we turned onto the gravel road. Three of our couples were unable to attend.
We were met at the studio by Michael and his wife. She told us about the main floor of the place and Michael showed us his studio downstairs. He was very spiritual in his presentations as he told us the background of many of his church history paintings. He then invited us to go outside to push and pull a handcart.
Most of us took a turn at both pushing and pulling. We went up through his beautiful property. This was such a fun activity.
STARTING OFF THE DAY WITH THE NAUVOO BRASS BAND
June 12th was a typical day in Nauvoo. It began at the Cultural Hall and the Nauvoo Brass Band made their morning band parade south to the big tree that is across from the Taylor complex where we were. We went over for the performance.
I there enjoyed visiting with Elder Patterson – one of the performing missionaries. He went on a previous mission to Jamaica and has been home from that for only about six months. I enjoyed the visit with him. He and another missionary had come a few days before as I was serving at the Pioneer Pastimes Pavilion. I got them organized to do leg wrestling – just as they were called away to their next commitment. I really did not see Elder Patterson much, but it just seemed that we had known each other as brothers forever.
SHARING MEMORIES WITH POST OFFICE GUESTS
Also that day, as Sister Hunt and I were serving in the Post Office. We had a group that included two people who were from Georgia. I told them that I serfvede on my young mission in southern Georgia. They asked me if Seth Redford was my mission president. I told them that he was int he Georgia Atlanta mission. I then told them of how wewere to send about 45 issioaries (2 zones – from Biringham and Huntsville, Alabama) who to be transferred over to the aqtlanta Mission from ourm mission.
Above: Florida Tallahassee Mission “MOPS” (Mission Office President’s Staff) back l to r: Elders Jespersen, Todd, Kevin Hunt, and Patch. Front L to R: Elder Stallings, President Spencer H. Osborn, Elder Higgins
Our mission President Spencer Osborn loved nice suits – no matter what the color. Redford was adamant that Elder coming to his ission wear only dark blue suits, ties, and socks. I was then in the mission office with President Osborn (and other office staff) when Presidents Osborn and Redford talked on the phone. President Redford said, “President Osborn, do not send me any missionaries who do nothave dark blue suits.” President oSBORN SAID, “SETH, why are you so hung u on blue? Is that the color of your eyes”
Our guests – named Peck, got a real kick out of this story. l Both of their fathers had served in stake presidencies with Redrord and they had exactly the same opinion of him as I had. At least the guy was consistent! They laughed and the brother said, “I can’t believe that we are hearing about Redford here in Nauvoo!”
I HELPED A FAMILY FIND A NAUVOO FAMILY
Later that same morning, a guy naed Jon Searcy (from Post Falls – located ear Coeur d’Alene, Idaho – near where I attended the 1973 National Scout Jamboree). I helped the family do the “My Nauvoo Relative App”.
Their son Spencer, about age 16 learned that the family descends from Isaac Hill – one of the brickmakers in Nauvoo. They had never heard of Isaac hill, Spencer’s 6th great grandfather, but I was able to share about him. (And there was no other missionary who could have told about Isaas Hill. Another miracle …!) I told them of the “I Hill” brick that I have and then invited the family to come to our place at 6:00 PM to see it. The family included his wife and three children. A great family! (Isaac put his unique I HILL imprint on every 100th brick that he created.)
The Searcy family came to our Dunn home They all loved the I Hill brick. We then took them over to the brickyard (after getting permission from the facility scheduling missionaries (per new instructions). We showed them the brick-making process and Lou gave them one of the new bricks.
As Sister Hunt went to an art class, I took the Searcy family over to see the 1790 Boston Carriage that belonged to Lucy Mack Smith. They all loved this. I guess Spencer loves cars. Anyway, they were all quite pleased with the “extra mile” things that I showed to them. They were a fun family.
NAUVOO BRICKS GOING ON AN EXTENDED MISSION
Lou’s brother, Brad, called and requested 22 of the new bricks for some event that he has going in his San Diego Mission where he and his wife are now serving. The legacy continues. I went to the brickyard and got 26 bricks. I wrote them off on the check-out form.
Back at home, Lou packed up the bricks for mailing to Brad. She tried to package them such that they will not break in transit.
A REUNION WITH OUR MTC GROUP
The thirteen couples of our MTC group has tried to have a quarterly gathering of the group. And by the calendar, that meant a June gathering – which we had on July 2nd. Elder and Sister White were not there initially but came in time for a photo. We met at the BBQ area behind the place where Elder and Sister Rieske live. I was in total awe of the new porch and steps that were built recently by Elder Preston. Wow! It was really amazing and beautiful.
The gathering was billed as a “BYOM” meat affair. That means, “bring your own meat”. We were compliant and we grilled our own burgers. Everyone brought side dishes. Lou took a fruit salad. All of the salads were excellent.
It was fun to visit with everyone. We could not believe then that we all were to have only three months left on our mission. We took a full group photo on the steps and porch and this turned out pretty cool.
A VISIT FROM OUR DAUGHTER MARINDA AND FAMILY
Senior missionaries serving in Nauvoo greatly look forward to visits from their family members. We were no exception. It was so fun to have Marinda and her man and their seven children come to visit us. We planned a full schedule of fun things to do with them as they arrived in early July.
One activity that we did with them was a walk down the Exodus trail – known today as the “Trail of Hope”. This is located on Parley Street and it is the road that the ill-prepared Saints walked as they made their way in the freezing February weather toward the icy Mississippi River and westward.
On the evening of our Hope adventure, we were first greeted by several members of the Nauvoo Brass Band. Their beautiful music set the stage for what would follow. We then proceeded down the trail. We enjoyed the Nauvoo Performing Missionaries as they presented little vignettes – some spoken, and some combined with song.
Little Rosalie and Grant both held my hand. Mike pushed Eliot and Maylee in a large wagon that they brought with them. My cousin, Brad Hunt, caught up to us and at the end, introduced us to another “cousin” who actually lives here in Nauvoo.
The next morning we were anxious to get the family down to the Cultural Hall so that they could join the band for the daily march. Then at the “singing tree”, our Call was invited by the Elder Wilson (or was it Ferrin) to be the flag bearer as the band led us in “The Star Spangled Banner”. She loved this opportunity and was so cute as she stood there smiling.
After the ceremony, some of the “kids” (young adults but kids for a 70-year old Grandpa) of the Nauvoo Band came and talked to our kids and showed them how to play their instruments. The youth pumped the air on clarinets, trumpets, etc., but let our kids play the keys. Such a fun activity for young children.
ANOTHER VISIT TO THE HORSES AND TEAMSTERS
“Cousin” Elder Brad Hunt suggested that we go again to the horse barn to see the big horses come up from the long pasture – located some distance away. We went up there and parked by the stream. Grant could not find his shoes – thinking that they must be in the family van. I felt bad for him as he walked on rough terrain without them.
The horses looked grand as they came up through the pasture. We then went for a repeat of yesterday. There were about 75 people there for the event. Several missionaries were there with their parents (for a young sister missionary), or children with grandchildren. It was a fun time. We watched as the teamsters put one horse up on a tall rack. I guess the horse had an infection its foot and it got treated by Elder King, the veterinarian.
Elders McBride and Bristol were heading with their team and wagon to the Wagon Depot – located over by the Family Living Center. They invited us to ride with them. Lou walked back to the car and then met us over at the Depot. The rest of us rode the wagon and it was a great ride in the early morning. The kids all loved the Temple as we passed below it.
We made it to the Depot and enjoyed horsing around with the Teamsters and the 4-legged missionaries a bit. We then drove the kids up and around the Temple. Grant said in awe, “This is the first time that I got to get this close to the Nauvoo Temple.”
TAKING THE FAMILY ON NAUVOO TOURS
About noon we went out and about. We first took the family to the Belcher Brickyard. They found this interesting. We walked down to the Pendleton School. Elder and Sister Summers were there and they did a good job with the teaching. We then walked down to the Riser Boot Shop. Some young sisters presented this tour and they did a great job.
We left about 6:30 PM. We all went to the Sunset by the Mississippi stage. We got to hear the band play. The kids enjoyed being called forward to join a little march through the audience. We then stayed for about 20 minutes of the Sunset performance. The kids were really into the songs, dances, and energy of the Nauvoo Performing Missionaries. We were sorry that we had to drag them away from the show.
We left so that the kids could participate in the “Country Fair”. This is such a fun event with all of the pioneer games and activities. The kids all did six or eight events and did not even scratch the surface of what was available there. They all had a really fun time.
The Pageant began at 8:30 PM. Our group had been kind of all over the scene but they managed to find me at the seats that I had reserved for the group. Toward the end of the show, Lou and I went forward to the pageant stage. We went to participate in the finale of the British Pageant. We got to see a good portion of the show and it was wonderful. We did our thing and went to the stage – as a part of about 100 missionaries – young and old. We “stood resolute” (erect and quiet) and sang three songs with the rest of the British cast. Marinda later noted how she got teary-eyed as she watched her parents standing there as missionary witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ. We were pleased to be a part of that elite group of soldiers.
After the program, Phil, Mather, his wife, and daughters found us. They lived in our town of Maricopa for many years but a year ago they moved to Tennessee. We had known that they were to be in town today but didn’t know where we would connect. It was fun to visit with them and they were very happy that they connected with us. We have seen these folks for years at the school as we attended awards ceremonies for their children and our grandchildren.
Later that night, we visited with our kids until midnight. I recorded: “What a day! We wore out everyone but in the end, Marinda thanked us for being “good tour guides”. Score!
MARINDA AND FAMILY HAD OTHER NAUVOO CONNECTIONS
Marinda had a Snow College roommate, Tiffany who lives in Illinois. Knowing that Marinda was going to be in Nauvoo, she and her four children made the effort to come down to connect with Marinda and family. They got together as Sister Hunt and I served at the Visitors’ Center. That is where the two families found us. They had been to a few places together. They went to the Cultural Hall, the 70’s Hall, and Pioneer Pastimes.
It was funny … Marinda later said that it was really weird to go visit homes without us with them. Without us, they were just regular “guests” and did not get the attention that they got when with us. Without us, no one knew them. She missed the attention, I guess. So funny! Sorry about the demotion, Marinda!
CONNECTIONS AND SERVICE IN THE VISITORS’ CENTER
The two families came and watched the movie in the Visitors’ Center. We took a lunch break about 2:00 PM and went with Mike and Marinda. They left their kids with Tiffany in the west theater to see the Nauvoo Performing missionaries.
We first went to the stage and Mike and I (and Grant) saved fifteen seats for the later pageant. We went to the home of William Weeks. Every time that I have gone down these stairs, I have thought of Mike and him going down that steep and very tight space. I sent him down and he literally could not spread his full breadth in the space. We got some funny photos of the scene.
Lou had an interesting interaction with a couple. They wanted to go to the Temple but forgot their dress clothes to enter the Temple. She made a quick trip to our missionary DI. She got the guy some pants and a white shirt. She got two dresses for the lady and the lady found one of the two that she liked – and which fit her. Lou decided that she liked the other dress. This was a maroon dress and Lou wore it later in the day. She looked very nice in this dress.
I helped a couple on their people records. We learned that her Whiting family lived in the village of Yelrome (Morley backwards) – present day Tioga – along with our Hancock family members. I took her over to a couch and on my computer showed them photos of the place, the plaque that we witnessed (at its setting) in 1997. She found all of this very interesting. We always find these special connections to be fun and interesting. Interesting how our God pulls such connections together!
The night before at the Country Fair, I met another man who told me that he remembered me from my tour in the Mansion House last year. I had found out that he was/is a Hancock cousin and then gave him new information (new to him) about our common Hancock family. He comes through Mosiah Hancock and we come through his sister, Clarissa. He remembered our conversation from back then. Wow!
Right at 5:00 PM, Lou greeted an “older” couple. They were very anxious to see the movie. Lou felt inspired to let them in to see the movie even though we were supposed to be closing. They had come from a long distance to come to Nauvoo. As she seated them, she learned that they are not members of the Church. The guy said that he had seen the movie years ago and he wanted his wife to see it. He was delighted that he recognized it as the same movie. Lou had a lot of good conversation with them. I suggested to the man that he could get on the “Churchofjesuschrist.org” website to request that missionaries come to visit with them. He seemed agreeable to this. They had no clue that we have all of these restored homes here. He acted as if he wanted to come back again to see them.
We then all went direct to the Country Fair. The kids had a grand time last night there and wanted to do it again. Once again, they all had fun doing the various activities. We also went to the photo booth. We all dressed in costumes and had a group photo taken of us pushing and pulling the handcart. The handcart is not historically correct for Nauvoo. It came much later – but it makes for a great photo op.
The background of the photo is a city scene and the handcart is up front. We put many kids in the cart and the rest of us stood around it. This was a fun activity.
We all (with Marinda and Mike and Tiffany and kids) went to the Nauvoo Pageant. The Nauvoo pageant is staged on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The British pageant is on Wednesday and Friday nights – for three weeks.
This show was also fabulous. I loved it. We sat with the family for most of the show. Lou held Rosalie for a while.
A SPECIAL JULY 10TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION FOR AN ELECT LADY
Sister Hunt and I served on this date at the Joseph Smith Homestead and Mansion House. We served with Elder and Sister Turner (who were in charge, along with Sister Sandy Hunt (wife of “Cousin Jake”), and several young sister missionaries.
At 10:00 Am, we went to the Smith Family Cemetery. We joined a birthday party held there for Emma Smith, wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith. The annual event was conducted by Sister Kimberly Smith – a 2nd granddaughter of Joseph and Emma Smith.
About 40 people heard that there were to be doughnuts and showed up for them. Sister Pierce led us in singing “Happy Birthday”. We were pleased to get a doughnut roll that Sister Smith and others made. (In the Mansion House, we tell our guests how Emma often (without time or resources for other options) made “fried dough with honey”. How fun that Emma made scones! (A Hunt family favorite!)
We did not stay long. It was our turn to give a tour and we got a call by Elder Turner to get back to the Homestead.
Above: Men of the Nauvoo Brass Band
On our way back, we met a long line of Nauvoo Brass Band members (the guys) coming at us in their red outfits. They made a very classy scene there together. I had them stop in their line so that I could take their photo. The ladies (most of the group) then came and I got their photo as well.
We took our first tour about 10:30 AM. This was a group of 16. One family were descendants of Levi Ward Hancock. This was super fun. Levi is a brother to my 3rd great grandmother, Clarissa Hancock Alger. It was enjoyable telling them about the desk (now in the Mansion House) that Levi made for the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Late in the afternoon, we were privileged to take Marinda and family on tours of the Smith homes. They all seemed to enjoy our tour. Later when Marinda was asking the kids what their favorite thing today was, Grant said, “Going to Joseph Smith’s Home”. We were glad that they were on our tour. This is the only tour that we have been able to present to them.
After the dinner, we went to experience the rest of the “Sunset by the Mississippi” program by the Nauvoo Performing Missionaries. We had left the show early the other night and the kids were anxious to return. The performing youth certainly stage a fun program.
After the show we took Marinda to the part of the old stage (1997) that is still visible. It was fun to remember together when we were in the pageant as a family. We re-staged a photo of the family coming over the bridge to enter the stage for our opening scene of the show.
Marinda remembered some of the show – even though she was only about five or six years old when she was in the former “City of Joseph” production. This was a fun activity.
HORSING AROUND WITH MARINDA AND FAMILY
I was surprised on July 11th that Marinda and family all wanted to go see the horse operation again. It took us a while to get there. We arrived about 8:00 am. The horses had already gone into the corral. We watched them in the barn. The kids also got to visit with two Santas – Elders White and Reed. Both have played the role many times.
After the horse activity we took the kids to the sewing room. Marinda wanted her girls to experience the place. Sister Gail Beauregard was fabulous with the kids. She showed them all through the place and also some costume combinations. The kids were thrilled with her kindness and willingness to spend time with them.
The kids decided that they wanted to make thank you notes for Sister Beauregard (who has never had children). The cards that they made were cute. We then went to her home and the kids delivered them to her. She seemed very pleased and gave each of the children hugs. (Sister Beauregard was thrilled and we later found the colored paged on the bulletin board of the Sewing Center.
CRAZY MARINDA PRAYED FOR A STORM AND HER PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED
Mike is into big pieces of machinery. He noted a giant turbine (mechanical part) that used to be a part of the Keokuk dam (from 1913 when the dam was constructed – to 2021). This was about 15 feet in diameter and it weighs 190,000 pounds (80 tons). We all went down river to check this out. It was quite interesting. We took photos and as Mike and most of the children climbed up into the turbine (and got rusty pants in the process).
I can’t imagine why, but Marinda actually had the hope of seeing a tornado while in Nauvoo. It wasn’t a tornado – but it was close to it. It appeared that Marinda might get her wish:
This was the prediction of the afternoon:
We had a tremendous rain storm on the way home from the turbine trip. It was really coming down in torrents.
Above: The storm view from our windshield
I had to slow way down and still had almost zero visibility. Lou was in rare form doing her panic mode. The rain was so heavy that the British pageant got cancelled for the night. We never received official notification but I am sure that there was no way that it could be staged with the rain. We also got a lot of lightening. Mike was really into this. He and some of the children also went out and played in the rain.
AN UNEXPECTED GUEST VISITS US AT THE POST OFFICE.
It was Saturday, August 12th and Wow! What a day!
We bid adieu this morning to Marinda and Mike and the family. It was their day to head home. We have really enjoyed our time with them. We had a lot of good times together. It is amazing how many places that we were able to experience together. We had a lot of tun. They did a drive-by at the John Taylor home where we were serving and we got another dozen hugs from Marinda. We got a few photos of the kids in the van. And then they were off. They had a long drive ahead of them. We thought that the trip would take them 3 days (but crazy Mike drove about 25 straight hours … but that would not be us!).
The band parade came down the street from the Cultural Hall – heading south to where we were serving at the John Taylor home. I love this band activity. It makes for a very picturesque scene as they pass through on Main Street. As noted, they then stop at the “singing tree” for “daily announcements” and music razz-ma-tazz.
We went outside to welcome the band. And while we were out there, we got a bit of a surprise. We were approached by two guys on bikes. They came as we were standing outside. There are a lot of bikers through Nauvoo everywhere – so it was normal to see bikers. And as we do in Nauvoo, we approached them to be friendly and welcoming. One guy had a USA t-shirt and the other a BYU T-shirt. They both had bike helmets that hid their true identity. I did not have any inkling of who they might be. They just looked like “normal Nauvoo bikers”.
The visitor in the USA shirt put out his hand and said, “Who are you?” We introduced ourselves. I then asked, “And what is your name?” I was very surprised when he said, “Ronald Rasband” – as in the apostle Elder Rasband. Wow! I said, “It is because of you that we are serving here!” He said, “You are the fourth person here who has told me that.” I told him that I had served in Nauvoo previously as a young missionary and Sister Hunt mentioned that her folks had started the brickyard 45 years ago and that her dad designed the Nauvoo brick.
One of our fellow missionaries commented on Elder Rasband’s Facebook post:
The above references the talk that Elder Rasband shared in the October 2023 General Conference talk about senior missionaries. Sister Hunt and I were inspired by that talk – and we put our missionary papers in the next week. What a blessing to know that it was the Lord who wanted us – and many other couples to serve.
We asked Elder Rasband if we could get a photo with him. He agreed but said that “It cannot be published on “social media”… this is just for your family.” True to our promise, we did not post his photo – even on this blog. A promis is a promise … especially to an Apostle. After we got our photo with him he noticed 4 young sister missionaries not too far away. He asked who they were and where they were from.
Then he said, “Let’s get a picture … I know you want one!” (and of course, they did want one). We took the photo for them. One sister pointed to Lou and me and told Elder Rasband, “The Hunts are our mission historians”. He thought that this was interesting but didn’t verbalize that.
A fun and interesting association with one of the Lord’s Apostles here in Nauvoo … another Nauvoo Miracle.
We later enjoyed a photo of Elder and Sister Rasband with their own family who were in the Nauvoo Pageant cast. A classy looking group!
Above: Elder Ronald and Sister Rasband with their family who performed in the Nauvoo Pageant. (Photo from his Facebook page)
MORE GREAT CONNECTIONS AT THE JOHN TAYLOR HOME
On this day, we had a group of seven people in two groups. It was interesting that the two groups learned through the tour association that half of the group descend from John Taylor directly – and the other half come through the Cannon side of the family. (John’s wife was Leonora Cannon). We all enjoyed the scenario. The Cannon guy was very helpful. He helped me to understand the family dynamics. I thought that Leonora was/is a sister of George Q. Cannon – but she is actually his Aunt. I was glad that this Brother set me straight.
The July 12th excitement continued as we served through the day. We had a large group of 14 people. We talked about Ebenezer Robinson as one of the publishers of the Times and Seasons publication. One couple realized that Ebenezer was his relative. I told them that he was a brother of my relative, Joseph Lee Robinson and wife, Maria Wood. We then realized that we both come through his daughter Anna Maria Robinson who married Ezra Thompson Clark. This was a great conversation. The folks were Jeff and Kristen King – currently from near Springfield, Missouri. I really enjoyed these folks.
I went to the pageant stage. I put out twine to reserve nine seats – in anticipation of James Head and family joining us.
WELCOMING MORE DUNN FAMILY RELATIVES
The Dunn family seems to be prolific: Yesterday, Sister Bonnie Reed said that they have some friends from Arizona who are descendants of Simeon A. Dunn (whose home we live in). She said that the folks were interested in coming to our place. We saw her as we made our exit from the Taylor home and she pointed to a departing car. She said, “There they are right now … they are heading to your placed to take a photo.”
We rushed home to try to beat them there. They arrived just after we did. I helped them take photos with the front Dunn home. This was a group of 11 family members.
The grandmother was a lady named Billlie Jean Pew. She is somehow related to Ralph Pew with whom I went to high school. She found this so great. She took a photo of us to send to Ralph.
We brought these people into our home. We were unsure of what we might find in our home – since we left for the day before the Roller clan departed and we didn’t know what the place might look like. We need not have worried. The Rollers left the place spotlessly clean and it was wonderful. We gave the folks our usual Dunn family tour and the people were so excited about everything that we showed to them. They were very grateful for our tour of their ancestor home. We had them all sign the Dunn book – right after I had entered my own name as a newly discovered Dunn relative.
The people happened to mention that they wanted to go where they make bricks (thinking of the old place). I brought them all back into the house and they sat on the couch and the floor and listened intently with interest. Lou told them all about the Belcher brick story. They loved all that she told them. She gave them two of the new Temple bricks. (She has maintained her own secret stash for such an occasion.)
THE EXCITEMENT STILL DID NOT END
We had a large group of 14 people. We hosted a guy and his wife. His name is Devin Bean. Dave Bean – who is married to my cousin, Natalie Atkin, is his uncle. This was interesting for both of us.
We were pleased to welcome the Tuckers (Roy and Gail) – who know our missionary granddaughter Abby who is serving in Texas on her mission. These folks were cool. We enjoyed the time with them. I guess they have not been married for too long. We learned that the man is a Baptist but he supported his wife in a visit to Nauvoo. She came here for the Temple endowment of her grandson – who plays in the Nauvoo Brass Band. Lou told this lady her family brick story and she was in absolute amazement. Lou gave her one of the new Temple bricks.
We had a couple come in and she is from The Philippines. She said that everything she is experiencing in Nauvoo has come alive because of her seminary classes when a youth. I was amazed. I guess I didn’t know that they had seminary there – but why would they not? She loved the tour.
ANOTHER FAMILY CONNECTION
The day continued with still more excitement. Lou’s grandnephew, James Head, son of her niece Melody and Rex Head – came to visit with his wife and five children.
We sat and visited with them at our home after their arrival. It was fun to connect with them. They are on a cross-country tour of church sites. And of course, James wanted to know all about his great-grandfather’s Nauvoo brick. He was delighted to hear “the rest of the story” as Lou detailed the “original” and the “new” Temple brick. Lou gave him a brick and also a “first run brick” (fired March 9th) for him to give to his mother. This made him happy.
We took all of the family over to the pageant Country Fair. Upon arrival, Lou took the wife – Sasha – and the two girls with her. She showed them many fun “girl games” to go to. I went with James and the three boys – Joseph, Kenny and Louie (?). We went to the stilts, log sawing, tug-o-war, and many more. They all loved these activities. We also went to the dress-up photo station. It was fun to see the enthusiasm for this activity. We got one photo of just their family, one with us in it, and one with just Lou and me.
Above: Rex Head and family photo
We got the family into the pageant parade and they marched into the pageant area. They had fun in the march.
As noted, I had reserved seats for the nine of us. We went along to the pageant with them. I love this pageant. It really is great. The guests loved the show.
After the show, I showed James that I had taken a plethora of photos of him and his boys as they did the events. He did not even know that I had been taking the photos. He was surprised and pleased. He figured out how to do a “cloud transfer” from my phone to his.
Wow! Could all of that have happened in just a single day? I guess it did! My journal tells all of the stories. Talk about good times, miracles, and connections!
GRANDPARENT PARTICIPATION IN GREAT FAMILY EVENTS VIA TECHNOLOGY
On Sunday, July 13th, the good times and miracles continued.as we got to witness a great event via computer technology. (You gotta love it!) About 1:45 PM (our time) we got onto a Zoom conference call. We got to witness as our son-in-law ordained our grandson to the office of Elder after conferring the Melchizedek Priesthood upon him. JD got very emotional in the prayer – perhaps remembering his participation with his father as Robert Stoddard (the grandfather patriarch) gave Jett his patriarchal blessing. We are pleased with Jett’s preparation and progress.
Late that evening we made a trek to the town of Moline, Illinois – located about a hundred miles north of Nauvoo. We were thrilled to welcome another daughter, Larissa and her two young boys as they flew into the “Quad Cities Airport”. (Her man had just started a new job and couldn’t get the time off for the trip.)
FUN TIMES WITH A DAUGHTER AND SONS
Monday, July 14th, we got an early start with Larissa and her boys. We hit the ground running and didn’t stop running until late in the evening. We went first to see the horses at 7:45 AM. The boys loved this. The horses put on quite a show. One horse “bolted” and took off – not wanting to be put in the stock or whatever it is called.
Andy was quite intrigued with Richard, the barn cat.
The Teamsters invited us to ride the wagon down to the wagon depot. Lou rode with them this time. I met them in our car near the wagon depot.
We went home for “breakfast”. They boys heard that we had corn on the cob and they really wanted to eat this for breakfast. Grandma Lou obliged them.
We went over to the Cultural Hall. We joined the band parade and marched with them down Main Street.
This is always a very fun activity. We listened to the announcements of the day. At the end, as the band played, “An Old-fashioned Day in Nauvoo”, I pulled Larissa up and we did the swing dance (is that what it was)? Boy was she shocked with the dance moves of her old dad.
We went to the Scovil bakery and heard Sister Tammy Hunt give the presentation and the kids got to have the famous ginger cookies.. Sister Tammy Hunt was a bit long-winded. At one point, little Oliver said, “Why is this taking so long?” (Kids are so honest!)
Sister Hunt told the boys about the “bustle oven” (that is like an oval oven that kind of sticks out in the back of the house. Sister Hunt asked the boys if they knew what kind of oven this was. Andy emphatically said that it is a “pizza oven”. He had seen a pizza oven at the home of his Uncle Rusty. So funny!
Andy informed Sister Hunt that his younger brother has a 4-year old brain. And in the next breath, he told her that he himself “has a 100-year old brain”. Good to know. That explains a lot.
CONNECTIONS AT JOSEPH’S RED BRICK STORE
July 15th found Sister Hunt and I serving that day at Joseph’s Red Brick Store. We served with Elder and Sister John Hale. This guy is such a very funny guy. Also there were young sister missionaries.
Sister Hunt and I were at the top of the list for tours so we hosted a family of 8 soon after 9 Am. This was a McApney (or something like that) family from Vernal, Utah. I kind of connected with their 16-year old son, Thomas. I had him stand and recite “The Standard of Truth” with gusto! He did really well. After the tour, I showed this Thomas and others of his family how to do “My Nauvoo Relative” and they were pleased to find out how to do this. The internet was not working well and we had trouble connecting. Thomas came back a while later just to tell me that the program started working and he was able to begin to find their people.
We were sitting outside when a family came up to where we were. He recognized me and told me that his name is Chris Glidewell. Wow! I was his Blazer Scout leader (when he was age 11) before he moved to another ward. He seemed very pleased to see me. We broke into a “half hug”. I told him that he was a great Scout. He said that he later earned his Eagle Scout award. I was sorry that I did not get a photo of Chris and me.
A later group of 18 people included 18 people. One guy had the name of Ripplinger. I asked him if he has known a Karl Ripplinger. He said that Karl and Alena were his great grandparents. I told him that I was their newspaper carrier when age 11 to 15. These folks used to farm in Idaho but came to Mesa (on my paper route) for the winters. This guy was totally surprised that I knew his GREAT grandpa. I also mentioned Terry Ripplinger, my assistant camp director one summer at Camp Bartlett. This turned out to be his own uncle. Another mind-blower for both of us. So funny!
Later that night we took Larissa and boys to the Nauvoo Pageant. Andy was very interested in Joseph Smith (from our tours with him at the Smith homes). And so at the pageant, he was intent on watching the Jospeh Smith character. After the show we took the boys up to stage front and introduced them to Joseph Smith. The actor was very kind and gave them some individual attention and time. Such a great guy!
RE-ENACTING PAST HISTORY AND GOOD TIMES
We later took Larissa and boys to the Women’s Garden of statues. We took a fun photo of Larissa and her boys. In 1997 our family was in the Nauvoo “City of Joseph” pageant. She posed in a scene with her mother, with her (as just a toddler) and older sister, Marinda. She restaged the scene with the roles reversed.
PORTUGEUSE BIRTHDAY WISHES FOR OUR SON
Lou and I served a few days later at the Sarah Granger Kimball home. It was fun to be there. It had been quite a while since we were there. I enjoy this tour. We got a photo of us in Sarah’s front yard – with the Temple behind us.
We really enjoyed Bruno Augusto and his wife and son and daughter. They were from Brazil and they spoke Portugeus. The parents both spoke pretty good English. We had a good time with them. When they came in, we talked to them about our son, Rusty. We told them that his birthday was that day. We called Rusty and the Brazilians sang “Happy Birthday” (or the Brazilian traditional of the song) to him in their Portugeus language. He was surprised and pleased.
We hosted a very special group later that day. This group was really great. It was 54 seminary teachers who all arrived at once on their tour bus. We could not handle that many people in the home at once so we gathered them in the shade of a large tree outside and taught them there.
We really enjoyed this experience and I think that the teachers did too. After we talked and gave the Sarah and Hiram history, we sent them inside in a long line to pass through the place. This seemed to work well.
Soon after we got home, we were visited by a Brother and Sister Peterson. They served a mission a year ago in New York City. The lady was a Dunn descendent. She was very anxious to see the family home. Andy noticed them literally just outside of our front door – taking a photo. We have not seen people at our door before. They were brave. They loved the place – as all of the relatives do. And of course they signed the family book.
CONNECTIONS CONTINUED JULY 18TH AT JOSEPH’S RED BRICK STORE
Lou and I served at Joseph’s Red Brick Store. I always enjoyed serving there. Miracles seemed to always happen there.
We were connected with several people whom we have known or whom our family has known. We med a Paul Heywood and wife of Lehi, Arizona.
They are in a ward with my brother Ray and they also knew my deceased sister, Laurie. Paul is a brother to Ross Heywood who is my age. Paul said that his brother has stage 4 prostate cancer. Not good.
It was a day for special visitors. We visited with Delwyn Allred and wife.
Delwyn is the stepfather of our son-in-law, Spencer Allred. They live in Colorado. It was fun to visit with them briefly.
ELDER BELCHER (THE MODERN VERSION) GAVE A BRICK REPORT
On July 21ST – a Monday P-day in San Diego, we received a note from Sister Hunt’s brother.
“We had our Senior Missionary Zone Conference on Saturday. Sooooo glad that’s over. We along with our Senior District Leaders, the Broughs, had to plan it. It turned out Great. I asked myself to introduce the theme, or maybe Kerry asked me to do that? Anyway, the theme was, The Majesty of This Moment! What were some of the majesty of this moment that has happened to you while you have been on your mission? This was the question that I asked. We got some great responses. Then I held up a Nauvoo Brick and asked how many of you have one of these? Almost all raised their hands. Do you know the story of how the Nauvoo Brick got started? No one knew. So I went through the Majesty of the Moments when a Senior Missionary Couple named Everette and Verna were called to serve as a site couple at the Lucy Mack Smith Home. At the end of the Old Nauvoo Brick story I said, “Why do I tell you this story? 1-Everette and Verna were my dad and mom. 2-Here is the rest of the story. Most of you know the story. If not you can go to the link below and read the book authored by my brother in law Kevin Hunt.
“I was able to tell the story of the new brick and how it points to the temple. I ended the presentation with the “Temples Will Dot The Earth” video. To top it off My sister Lou sent me enough New Nauvoo Temple Bricks to hand one out to each couple.” He reported to us later that the missionaries were then in stunned amazement.
I later wrote Elder Brad for a photo of the experience. He reported back, “Sorry, no photos. They all rushed the box so fast I got knocked down and my phone went flying.” (So much for that moment in history!)
A JOINT GAME NIGHT WITH YOUNG SISTER MISSIONARIES AND THE OLD FOLKS
On July 23RD, my journal note read:
“Lou made some cookies (last night) for us to take to a gathering tonight. This evening we went to the Visitors’ Center. A zone of young sister missionaries invited our Hyrum zone to participate with them in a game night. They needed a laptop computer for their Jeopardy game so I volunteered mine. They were able to get it set up with the theater system – and this worked well.
The Sisters had put together a great Jeopardy game – patterned after the TV game show. We chose categories and point amounts. And in each of these areas, there were questions that the two teams were to answer. Lou thought that I would know all of the answers, but I really only knew two or three of them. It was a fun game. We had a good time together. We then enjoyed cookies that the seniors had brought.”
And I note that Sister Hunt often created cookies to share with her Nauvoo friends. She made many batches of various kinds for the young sisters missionaries in each van on our immersion trips with them. She had quite a reputatiion for them! Thannks, Sister Hunt.
CELEBRATING PIONEERS WITH SOME UNEXPECTED GUESTS
July 24th … a day to celebrate the pioneers and their lives and legacy. We thought that we should dress up in Pioneer costumes for the day … Hey, I like that idea! (Actually, we get to dress and play “pioneer” every day!)
As we were ready to leave this morning, we had a surprise outside of our door. We found garbage strewn all over the yard. This stuff all came from our garbage can. The can was sealed (we thought) by the closed lid with the strap tight. It was obvious that an animal (likely a raccoon) had somehow got into the can and pulled everything out. I did not have time then to clean up the mess. I cleaned up as we got home this afternoon. It was a gross mess. Lou had cleaned out the fridge a few days ago and so there was a variety of old garbage that attracted the creature.
NAUVOO PERFORMING MISSIONARIES AT THE HOME OF ARCHITECT WEEKS
We spent Pioneer Day serving at the Temple City homes (a combined tour of the Weeks, Hunter, and Gheen homes). We played host to some special vignettes staged by the Nauvoo Performing Missionaries at the William Weeks home. They did a little mini-show about William and his wife, Caroline, and their neighbor, Eliza R. Snow.
Young Elder Spencer played the role of William Weeks and did a great job. The protocol called for a senior missionary to greet the folks who came to the show and then to make a hand motion to signify the time for Elder Spencer to come out. He came out and I shook hands with him and he and the other folks presented their show. They sang several songs that were fabulous with their excellent singing voices. I loved their music. Elder Spencer sang, “High on the Mountain Top” and the ladies (Caroline Weeks and Eliza) sang “O My Father”. They sang “The Morning Breaks”.
Then at the end of their little production, I went out and introduced the Temple City tours available to the folks. The plan was for me to take them inside and then send them on to the Hunter and Gheen homes.
In our Temple City tour we continued to talk about architect Weeks and his work with Joseph Smith in the creation of the Temple design.
Later, as the performers were down in the basement, the missionaries told me that they loved me working with them. They said that I was the best senior missionary that they have worked with. This made me feel good.
A FUN BLAST FROM MY SCOUTING PAST
I met a guy in the Temple City guest group. Somehow I learned that he is from Mesa/Gilbert and he said that his grandfather is Leon Jones. I also learned that his mother is Marie Miller – whom I knew years ago when she and I became Blazer Scout leaders about the same time in our Mesa North Stake. We also concluded that we were both on the 1973 Scout Jamboree trek – when our troop and his (and one other from Lehi) traveled together. He said that his mother Marie is age 90. I always thought that Marie was one of the classiest” ladies I have known.
Above: Danny Turley’s 1973 National Jamboree Troop
Above: Kevin Hunt (top center) with his 1973 Scout Jamboree Troop 155.
On our way to the Scout Jamboree, we stopped overnight in Richfield, Utah. We took this photo of the three Mesa troops together. So, Danny and I are probably both in the bottom right photo.
And speaking of the Jamboree, I can’t resist posting my all-time photo taken along the way. This was my Troop 155 checking out the Glen Canyon Dam (quite the dam shot!)
The Daniel Turley whom I had met earlier (the Miller son) came to our place. We shared Jamboree photos between computers. We had good conversation. We called his mother (age 92 or 93) and talked to her for a while. This was fun. I learned that he knew my brother Kyle in high school and they were friends. We called Kyle and they had a fun conversation. This Danny was very excited about all of these little “coincidences”.
Above: Danny Turley and Kevin Hunt
Danny later wrote to me: “Greetings! It was definitely a treat for me too. What a blessing to find you and Sister Hunt at the William Weeks home. It was such a great experience to hear the thrill in my mother’s voice as you told her how much she meant to you. Thanks for the memories of the Jamboree.”
The next morning I recorded that “Last night at midnight we had terrific lightning. It was really clapping down for quite a while. The bolts seemed to be surrounding our place.”
A ”CHANCE MEETING” OF MY FIRST COUSIN
It was Friday night – and Lou was to have a hula practice the next night. (Typically we have reserved Saturday nights as a Nauvoo date night.) Thus, we wanted to go out to eat on this night. Lou didn’t want to go too far – since we needed to be on the stage later and it was raining a bit. We decided to stay “local” to eat. We decided to drive up Mulholland Street (the main drag in Nauvoo) to check out a couple of new places. Randomly, we picked a place that had a sign saying that it is a Brazilian eatery. We decided to go try the food at this place. It is in the same place where the “River Sidon” café was located a few months ago, and where we went once for breakfast.
Upon entry into the place, a guy on the other side of the room called my name and came running over toward me. I found him to be my first cousin, Kib Hunt.
Above: Cousins Kib and Kevin Hunt with wives. (Can you tell we are related? My mother always quipped, “If you see one Hunt, you’ve seen them all!)
Kib is the son of my Uncle Richard and Aunt Joy (my dad’s middle brother). He lives in South Carolina but came to Nauvoo to rendezvous with two of his former BYU roommates (one of which is a Nauvoo senior missionary and wives. We had a good conversation together. It was great fun to see him. And another “Nauvoo Miracle”.
MEETING THE BORGHOLTHAUS IN-LAWS
On July 31st we went to the British Pageant. Once again we “stood resolute” in the show finale.. We joined many missionaries on both sides of the stage.
After the show, we were “found” by Steve and Holly Borgholthaus. Steve is the brother to Jay (who is the father of our Stuart). Larissa had told us that they were coming here … and she went overboard in telling them where we would be at all moments.
The family did indeed find us once again – this time at the Joseph and Emma Smith Mansion House as we were serving there. Good job, Larissa. Thanks for bringing us together. Always nice to meet the In-laws!
And on this date, the Nauvoo Pageant “Core Cast” staged a little vignette near the Joseph and Emma Mansion House. We were able to catch a photo of Joseph and Emma there at their own home.
MISTAKEN IDENTITY IN THE RISER BOOT SHOP
We were given the blessing and opportunity of serving one day in the Riser Boot Shop. I enjoy this place.
Above: Sister Hunt – the Boot Maker (“Wanna a boot?)
We were really caught off guard by a group of 9 young kids. They looked and acted like an LDS stake youth group. I targeted a young man who looked very much like an LDS prospective missionary. I asked him if he was coming for “missionary shoes”. He gave me a weird look. We found out that these kids are non-members but are a Christian youth group from Missouri. They were to be in Nauvoo for four more days and they were planning to see much while here – including the pageant. The kids were highly impressive.
One girl looked me in the eye and confronted me. She caught me by surprise. She said, “share your testimony with me”. Wow. I looked her in the eye and testified of Christ, modern prophets, and that the true church has been restored on the earth.
We hosted another large group about 4 PM. One family was named Laws. The other half of the group was a guy named Brother Matthews – here with his wife and four of their grandchildren who all completed a reading of The Book of Mormon. The trip was given in recognition of their accomplishment. (They didn’t say how many grandchildren missed the trip by non-reading.) This family was super cool. We loved them. Lou went outside and gave each of the children one of the new Temple bricks. She enjoys giving these out selectively to special people – and these folks met her standard. As we finished with the Matthews family, we had a family of 8 waiting outside – even though the time was then about 5:15 (and we close the sites at 5:00).
On our way home, we happened to spot the Matthews family (him being very visible in his very bright blue shirt). Lou had wanted to give them one of our business cards – and specifically the link to her father and the brick story. The guy was happy with the info.
And somehow Lou invited the folks over to see our Dunn home. They did come – walking. We gave them the usual Dunn family tour and brought them in. They loved everything. I also showed them the 1846 Nauvoo photo taken from the bathroom window of our place. The guy sent this to himself. I also taught them how to use “My Nauvoo Relative”. He had no Nauvoo relatives. I have seldom found this to be the case with folks I have done the app with. Sister Matthews learned that she has about 60 Nauvoo relatives and this made her very happy. Brother Matthews said that this new “revelation” would keep his wife very busy for quite a while.
MEETING FORMER NEIGHBORS IN THE VISITORS’ CENTER
JULY 28TH – MONDAY
On July 29th, a Monday, we served at the Visitors’ Center. We were there with two sets of sister missionaries. Our first group was one of 7 people and they descend, as do I, from Zerah Pulsipher.
We had another group of 7 and in this group, I met a brother Jason Branch. I asked him where he is from and he said, “Phoenix”. I asked him who his father is and he said, “Kerrel”. I had to think about that one for a minute. Hmmm … Kerrel. I said, “So, is that Kerry?” He replied that Kerry is his father. I really surprised the guy when I told him that our Hunt family was back-fence neighbors to his grandparents, Arland and Leila (and his great grandparents, Ether and Julia (and 2nd wife, Pearl) Ferrin – who also lived on 2nd Street (Mesa) near the grandparents when I was a teen. Wow! We had a good visit. We also learned that his son is presently in the Denver North Mission – where our Katelyn is serving on her mission. We each took photos of the two of us and we each sent them to our missionaries. Katelyn responded, “That is so great. Thanks for sending that to me.”
HOSTING A GENERAL AUTHORITY SISTER
We had very intense thunder and lightning on a morning before our tours. The thunder was clapping around us. I was glad that the sites were not closed.
Lou and I served at the Stoddard Tin Shop. It was good to be there. It had been quite a while since we last served there.
In one of our tours (18 people) the group included Sister Kristin Yee, the 2nd Counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency.
I recognized her and she acknowledged that she is that lady. It was great to have her with us. She brought several of her family members. I introduced the angel Moroni (made by Nauvoo tinners) who topped the Nauvoo Temple. Sister Yee noted that he represented the many angels who came as a part of the Restoration. That was cool insight.
We were in a bit of a challenge to end the tour in order to get home. We wanted to get home by 5:00 PM to jump on a Zoom phone call. We just barely made it.
JOINING ANOTHER GREAT ZOOM CALL FOR A MILITARY PROMOTION CEREMONY
On July 30th, we joined a Zoom call with many family members. JD and Kaylea (visiting in Las Vegas) arranged the call.
The occasion was the “promotion” of our son-in-law, Paul Merrill (formerly a Major in the Air Force) to the new rank of Lieutenant Colonel. This proved to be a grand celebration with much of military pomp and ceremony. We were sad that the sound was not better. We had a hard time discerning what was being said. We did get to catch some of it.
A “citation” was read about Paul’s military accomplishments. Paul himself got to express his thoughts. The Colonel let Jenae say a few words as the military wife. Paul and Jenae gave gifts to their children. Paul’s parents, Joe and Bonnie Merrill were in attendance. Our Keith flew up to Las Vegas for just the day and was able to attend the ceremony (in his Army uniform). Several other family members were a part of the call.
We were happy that we were able to participate via the Zoom call and technology.
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OKAY, TIME FOR A BREAK … Go for lunch … do some jumping jacks …
come back when you are ready to hit it again!
This blog article has expanded beyond the capability of the platform and of necessity, the summer adventures will continue in Part 2. So stay tuned. Check it out for MORE GOOD TIMES, MIRACLES, AND CONNECTIONS in our Nauvoo summer.
On the Nauvoo Trail 