All of our returning missionaries are now here, including the Eastmans, the Jones, and the Bunnages at Sixth Crossing, and the Judds, the Stulls, the Ormsbys, the Youngs, the Williams, and the Ames at Martin's Cove.
Elder Ames brought us a beautiful little "Tree House" that looks like it could be the home of one of the Hobbits. He carved it himself over the winter, and it is a masterpiece!
We took down most of the signs along the trail and replaced them with big boulders to mark the way so that it would look more like it did in 1856. After all, there was no sign saying "Women's Pull" when the pioneers were here. Each trek will have a missionary couple walking with them as their Trek Hosts, and they will know where the events are to take place as well as where the pioneer stories should be told.
The scary-eyed mannekin at Fort Seminoe really bothered a lot of our missionaries including me, so I took him apart, hauled his torso up to our apartment and then did a little plastic surgery on his eyes so they did not look so big and "bug-eyed" and shiny. Believe it or not he looks a lot better now, although he could use a new hairdo!
We had our first school group of the season, and three of our brand new missionaries were trained as they followed Sister Stull, Sister Williams, and Sister Ames. It was so fun to have young people back here, and they were a very well behaved group.
I finished the embroidery and the names on all the Mess Kit bags for the missionaries - all 56 couples!
The Second Year Missionary Sisters helped to cut and assemble all the Pioneer Books for this year. Note how Sister Ames and Sister Williams are really "using their heads!"
At Sixth Crossing the sisters spent one afternoon taking a walk out to Flagg Ranch. It was so nice and warm they they didn't even need coats! Over the winter the new visitors' center there became a home to many crows who perched high up on the top logs and left their "mark." E Hutchinson found a company who came out to install a system of vertical wires to deter those birds from ever landing there again.
One afternoon we had a delightful visit from Adelaide Sun Reinholz, a granddaughter of Tom Sun. She grew up here on the Sun Ranch and told us many stories about her childhood experiences here.
She brought us something very special to display in the Peoples of the Sweetwater Museum: the little cross given to her mother Ellen Sun, wife of Tom Sun, Jr., that was given to her by her parents when she graduated from college at St. Mary's College at Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.
We will put it right next to her mother's picture in the display case.
Today it snowed - actually it was a blizzard - and it was really good
for all of our new missionaries to see what the weather would have been like for the Willie and the Martin Handcart Companies. We held Sacrament Meeting this morning, but Elder Moench knew that there could be problems on the roads for the missionaries from Sixth Crossing on their way home, so he excused them to leave right after Sacrament Meeting.
If you look carefully you can barely see Devil's Gate
to the right of the archway through the blowing snow.
In spite of the snow we still had our "Break the Fast" meal at the Pavilion. We've always said that since 1856 no one has starved here,
and today was no exception.
It is fun to see all the new missionaries gathered together at the end of the Sabbath day, talking about what works and what is frozen in their mobile homes, and trying to figure out how to fix it all.
Well . . . the sun has set on the 2013-2014 winter season for those missionaries who stayed here all winter.
We have hung up our Mess Kits in the Gathering Room for the last time.
It is THE END, but . . .
. . . also THE BEGINNING of another wonderful year
at Mormon Handcart Historic Sites!
