Our LDS Family Heritage

The Sacred Grove, Continued: February 14 2009

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The Sacred Grove, Continued

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The Sacred Grove

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Vicinity of Peter Whitmer Farm

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Meeting House and Visitor Center at Whitmer Farm

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Whitmer Cabin

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Peter Whitmer Farm and Visitor's Center

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On to the Palmyra Region

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Near the Susquehanna River near Harmony PA

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Near the Susquehanna River near Harmony PA

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We Go to Harmony PA

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New England Color

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Second Day: We Travel to Gorham NH

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More at the New England Maple Museum in Pittsford VT

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The New England Maple Museum in Pittsford VT bills itself as the "most complete collection of sugaring artifacts in existence." Their website, which is linked here, tells us that "on a good day, the sap will run about two drops per heartbeat and will fill a 16-quart bucket in eight hours." After visiting the Maple Museum, you will never again wonder why pure maple syrup is so expensive. One of the best parts of the visit is sampling various kinds of maple syrups and candies. You can order from their website linked above. I asked the lady in the museum-store about all the Halloween decorations, and she told me her husband does all of the decorations, having more fun doing Halloween decorations than even Christmas.

We Stop at the New England Maple Museum

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More Photos at Joseph Smith Birthplace Site in Sharon VT

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I was pleased to find that my colleague from BYU who had an office across the hall from me was the director of the Joseph Smith Birthplace site where he is serving a volunteer mission for the LDS Church. The monument itself is notable for being a 38 ft. shaft of solid polished marble, one foot for each year of Joseph Smith's life.

An earlier visit in 1966, 42 years ago. Seems like it was yesterday. Dwight and four kids, miniscule photo.

The Joseph Smith Birthplace Monument at Sharon VT

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We Stop for a Sack Lunch at Camp Joseph near the Joseph Smith Birthplace in Sharon VT

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Camp Joseph is a youth camp operated by the LDS Church, located near the Joseph Smith Birthplace in Sharon VT. A couple from our LDS congregation in St. George served a volunteer mission here a couple of years ago directing the camp.

More Scenes at Sabbaday Falls NH

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Double click to read the signs

The Trail to Sabbaday Falls

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New England Fall Foliage

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At Jackson NH

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We stop at the Jackson Covered Bridge in Jackson NH

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We Visit a Lighthouse Near Kennebunkport ME

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Scenes and Flowers at Kennebunkport ME

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Be sure to click to enlarge all photos!

We go to Kennebunkport in Maine

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No reason to get lost in Kennebunkport, just follow the signs at town center.

The Bush compound. A terrible photo, but I needed to prove we were there.

Alisson's Restaurant, which has the best clam chowder and wild blueberry pie in the world.

Seaside New England Homes From Our Tour

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Hold on, we'll get to the LDS historical sites soon. Meanwhile, part of the purpose of our tour was to gain an appreciation for the beauty of New England and the role of New England in LDS Church history and in our own personal family histories. Here are a few New England dream homes near the ocean.

A Message to International Visitors to this Blog

2008-11-02T12:53:00.000-08:00

I extend a special welcome to all new viewers to this blog, but I send a special welcome to new visitors from all over the world. Actually, I am mystified, although pleased, at the number of foreign guests on this blog. I am wondering what you are seeking, what you expect, when you came to Our LDS Family Heritage blog. I would be pleased to hear from any of you who would write comments to this blog and help me solve this mystery! Meanwhile, stay with my tour. To start at the beginning of the tour, scroll down through all of the old postings until you come to the beginning. It will take me several months to get through the rest of my photos for this tour. Then I will have to invent something else to take its place. Thank you all for your interest.

Hampton Beach NH

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Our tour bus home for eight days. Our day started when our tour guide announced that she had checked on where the best fall foliage colors were. Upon discovering that the best color was north of our intended direct route west through New Hampshire, we headed north for Maine.

More Scenes at the Boston MA LDS Temple

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Main entrance to the Boston temple

We end Day 1 of the Tour with a Visit to the Boston MA LDS Temple Grounds

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The Boston LDS Temple is the first LDS temple built in New England. It is located in Belmont along the Concord Turnpike. It was dedicated October 1, 2000.

Velna and Dwight Blood near the main entrance

We Leave Concord Bridge

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Optical illusion from reflection in the river near Concord Bridge

More Scenes at Concord Bridge

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Concord Bridge

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The road to Concord Bridge. As John Ferling writes in his previously cited work A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic, On that April day, "By about 11:00 a.m., roughly 500 armed Americans gathered at Concord. . . .[Colonel Barrett] forestalled his men . . . until about 11:00, when distant smoke from the center of Concord was seen curling above the bare trees. . . .He ordered his men to load their weapons and marched them toward the North Bridge." The Americans found 115 British infantry on the opposite side of the bridge. As the Americans advanced, a shot rang out. Then other shots. Men began to fall. And thus, Concord Bridge became another symbol and icon of the American quest for independence.

Views from Concord Bridge

Scenes from Lexington Green

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Old oak tree on Lexington Green

Colonial man on Lexington Green who has been waiting since 1775 for someone to have their picture taken with him.

Church spire near Lexington Green and fall colors

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On the spring day of April 19, 1775, a patch of grass at the town center of Lexington, Lexington Common, became one of the great icons of the Americans struggle for independence following their rebellion against the Stamp Act. My comments to follow are based on John Ferling's wonderfully written book A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).

In an effort to quell the upstart American rebellion, British General Thomas Gage targeted Concord, where a cache of arms was located. The Americans got wind of this action, so a force of 900 men set out from Boston for Concord. Slow to get across the Charles River, Paul Revere and other riders set out to warn Lexington and Concord.

When six companies of 238 red-clad regulars reached Lexington, "They discovered a single company of sixty local militia . . . drawn up on the Common . . . who appeared to the regulars to be a ragtag collection of troublemakers." (p. 132) After British Captain John Parker commanded "Lay down your arms, you damned rebels!", most of the militia stepped aside, not obeying the order to lay down their arms. Then someone fired a shot. After an estimated thirty or forty seconds, ". . . eight colonists lay dead and nine others wounded, almost one-third of those who had fallen out that bright morning . . ." Gage then set forth for Concord, the events of Lexington firmly etched in the history of the American Revolution.

Lexington Green

The American flag flies twenty four hours a day on Lexington Green, one of two places legally allowed to do so, the other being Arlington National Cemetery

A Colonial house on the edge of Lexington Green where a wounded militia man crawled to the doorstep and died in his wife's arms, so our guide told us.

Boston Freedom Trail Tour Continued

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Copp's Burying Ground, established in 1659 where many prominent early Bostonians are buried. More than 10,000 graves are contained in the site today.

Another view of the Old North Church steeple.

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Our guide said the only distinction of this home is that it is the narrowest house in Boston

The organ (in the back) in the Old North Church

The pulpit of the Old North Church

Boston Tour Continued

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Statue of Paul Revere in the mall behind the Old North Church

Spire of the Old North Church

Interior of the Old North Church

Our Tour Begins in Boston

2008-10-23T07:59:00.000-07:00

My wife and I returned last week from an eight-day tour of New England, focusing on LDS Church history sites. We had seen most of these sites decades ago, but I underestimated the cumulative impact of beginning at the very start, in Sharon VT, and then continuing through each successive history site until we reached Kirtland OH. We left the Illinois and Iowa sites for another day. The tour was competently organized and led by Webb Tours of Salt Lake City.

Our tour began in Boston, the cradle of liberty. We spent a brief time walking along a portion of the so-called "Boston Freedom Trail" which begins at Boston Common and extends to Bunker Hill. I had a difficult time taking photos here because of the size of our tour group, but here are a few, to give you the flavor of the site if you have never been there.

The birthplace of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

Street scene along the Freedom Trail. Note the strip of red brick on the sidewalk on the right, which enables people to follow the entire Trail.

The Paul Revere home. Paul Revere was immortalized by Longfellow's famous poem. According to the history books, Revere did not finish his famous ride to warn the patriots that the British were coming because he was detained by a British patrol. One rider, however, did complete the ride and issued the warning.

Downtown Boston skyline