By Kevin V. Hunt
Greetings to all of you! For many years, I have blogged on this site about my 60 years of adventures in the Boy Scouts of America. I have had grand times through those Scouting adventures with great people and super fun activities. Now, I am announcing a new blogging focus on this site. I welcome you and hope that you will join me weekly.
I announce that I will have a new title: Elder Kevin Hunt … and my wife will be Sister Lou Hunt. We have accepted the call of a prophet to serve as Historic Site Missionaries in the Illinois Historic Sites Mission – which includes Nauvoo, Illinois. We will wear pioneer clothes as we welcome visitors to Nauvoo. We will serve for 18 months. We report for training at the Missionary Training Center (the “MTC”) in Provo, Utah on April 1st (no joke!)
Most folks likely will not have heard of the obscure village of Nauvoo. It is located on the Mississippi River where Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri come together. The town was founded in 1839 by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Under the direction of the Prophet, Joseph Smith, members of the church gathered to the new land from all over the United States and Europe. Together these “Saints” built a beautiful city. Nauvoo, in fact, is a Hebrew name which means, “City Beautiful”.
The Saints built a city that reached a population of more than 12,000 people and it was, in fact, then larger than Chicago. Our own family has a rich heritage in Nauvoo. Combined between our ancestral lines, we have 20 or more families who settled, lived, and grew in faith in Nauvoo. We look forward to honoring their lives, heritage and sacrifices for us.
The Saints built homes and shops of all kinds. In its day, Nauvoo had seven brick making establishments. Isaac Hill was one of the most famous of these brickmakers. He inscribed his famed “I Hill” on every 100th brick. (And I have four of his I Hill bricks!) Many of the original homes of early pioneers were made of brick, and others were of wood and limestone. Many of the brick homes have survived the nearly 180 years. A multitude of others have been “restored” through historic re-construction. While in Nauvoo, we will be privileged to live in the former Simeon A. Dunn brick home. This was the first 2-story home in Nauvoo and was built in 1841.
Nearly 30 of the pioneer homes and shops have been restored and are open for public tours. In our role as historic guides, we will give tours of many of the 30 or so homes and shops. Sister Hunt and I will be in our pioneer costumes as we greet visitors. Many of the tours are also available virtually on-line at nauvoohistoricsites.org. It will be a privilege and honor to testify of the Prophet, Joseph Smith, and his role in the Restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ upon the earth.
My wife’s parents, Elder E.H. and Sister Verna Belcher served missions for two and a half years (about 1980) in Nauvoo. And while there, Elder Belcher built the “modern” brickyard and began making and firing bricks made from mud dug out of the Mississippi River. His bricks are still made, given to visitors, and have now become world famous! His bricks can be found everywhere. It will be an honor to continue their Nauvoo heritage. I promise more details on Elder Belcher’s Nauvoo bricks in a future blog.
Nauvoo has long held a special place in our hearts. Many years ago, I served my youth mission in Alabam, Flawda, and Jawja. And I was called by the Church to serve the last six months as a guide in Nauvoo. Those were grand times.
Twice, my wife and I took our nine children and trekked to Nauvoo (one summer by train) to participate in the cast of the “City of Joseph” pageant in Nauvoo. Our daughter had the privilege to attend a semester at the BYU-Nauvoo campus (before it was torn down to restore the view of the restored Nauvoo Temple. We were there in Nauvoo just last summer (2023) with another daughter and her family who are living in Illinois. We were able to stay there for four days. We were able to experience both the Nauvoo and also the British Pageants (that alternate nights from mid-July to early August each summer). We loved walking the streets and experiencing the spirit of the early Church leaders and our own ancestors. (And all of these experiences will make for material for future blogs on this site.) Returning to Nauvoo will be like “coming home” for me and Sister Hunt. What a magnificent place, this Nauvoo!
I could go on and on about Nauvoo, but I will not attempt to cover everything in this first introductory blog. But, stay tuned! I will make an effort (time permitting) to post a new blog here every week. So, check in regularly and learn of our latest adventures in “The City of Joseph – City Beautiful.”
And it begins … we will begin our adventure – in our own vehicle – as we drive to the Provo MTC later this week. We will be in the MTC for about 10 days before heading on to Nauvoo. Should be a grand adventure. We are excited for the opportunity to serve.
Now I can say I am the “Nauvoo Missionary Scout” … A new trail to experience! Come along for the ride!
Kevin Hunt
On the Nauvoo Trail 