One of the
neatest things about Nauvoo is being able to see what life was like in the mid 1800's for the Saints... Here are a few of the
highlights:Browning's Gunshop:
"Browning influenced nearly all categories of firearms design. He invented or made significant improvements to single-shot rifles, lever action rifles, and slide action firearms. His most significant contributions were in the area of autoloading firearms. He developed the autoloading pistol by inventing the slide design found on nearly every modern automatic handgun.
...Browning belonged to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served a two-year mission in Georgia beginning on March 28, 1887. His father Jonathan Browning, who was among the thousands of pioneers in the mass exodus from Nauvoo to Utah."
-Wikipedia
The Print Shop:
It was amazing to see all the work involved in printing the weekly newspaper
The Expositor and the monthly or bi-monthly paper
The Times and Seasons. What really impressed me about this place was learning about how threatened the mobs were by the press in Nauvoo. When they came and raided the thriving town, the first thing they did was burn the 'furniture' (the wood blocks used to space and set the letters that comprised the paper, without which, the press could not print anything.) Truely a testament of
the importance of the written word. It kindoa makes you wonder: If the mormons were just kooks in the first place, why were they so
threatend by the saints' ability to communicate?
Riser Boot Shop:
At Nauvoo's peak, there were
thirteen shoeshops. Thats my kind of town! ...and all of them managed to stay quite busy! Did you know there were no "right shoes" and "left shoes"? There were only sizes- that way if one wore out, you only had to replace one shoe. Also, they
rotated the shoes- one day shoe one on the right foot, shoe two on the left. The next day, shoe two on the right foot, shoe one on the left foot. They did this to slow down the wearing out process... Pretty
ingeneous, huh?! The whole time we were learning about the Saints, I was constantly
amazed at their ingenuity and
knack for innovation. They definately had
provident living down!
The Blacksmith's Shop:
Home of the "Prarie Diamonds", Webb Brother's Blacksmith Shop is where
horse and oxen shoes were made, along with a lot of other
important tools of the day. This is also where
wagons were made and constructed. Did you know that the wagons the Saints used to cross the plains to Utah were only
3' X 11'? They could cary about 2,000 pounds, 1,000 of which was supposed to be food. The other 1,000 pounds was divided abong sewing, tools, a few personal effects, plows, etc. It was here that the missionary who was explaining the process of making wagon wheels said,
"We are a lot like wagon wheels- we have a lot going on, but if we remain anchored in the Savior, we will be able to keep it all together."
What he was talking about was this:
If you'll notice, the spokes are all
interlocked with the middle part. The middle part is
Christ- if we can keep all our spokes (errands, problems, friends, families, church callings, work, etc.) connected to Christ and our
personal testimony of Jesus Christ, our savior, we will be able to be a part of something larger an, we'll be able to keep it all together. I thought that was a really
wonderful annalogy :)
The Ox and Wagon Ride:
So, I found out here, that
oxen are just cows. They aren't a specific breed of cows, they're just cows. There are certain requirements a cow has to meet to be considered an ox- they are as follows:
*An adult male, castrated*
*Four years old (they grow 'till they're six)*
*Oxen must be broken into walking in a pair with a yoke *
*They must know the oxen commands*
How interesting! An ox anywhere in the world knows the same commands... Love it!
The Brickyard:
Never have I realized the time and effort that goes into making a single brick. I have a whole new appreciation for all those old "run down" brick buildings that I used to cringe at the sight of. A brick is made of one part sand and three parts clay. First, a brick is molded, after that they are placed on the side to keep the moisture from settling. They are turned from side to side every day until the brick air dries to a lovely salmon color. This is called "hacking" the brick- You may know someone who "just couldn't hack it" at something they did, well this is where that term comes from... cool! The good people of Nauvoo give out these souvenier bricks to each family... They said they make 40,000 at the begining of this summer. That's a lot of hacking!
I am so thankful for the early saints and all the faith they had in The Lord. I am thankful for their diligence and hard work- I am especially thankful for the trials they endured for their faith, because hearing their stories has strengthened my testimony. These people were and truely are amazing...
Lance learned how to tie a quilt. I think he felt challenged by the four-year-old who was tying like an old pro. I love how domestic he is :)
This is one of my favorite pictures. Thanks to Bethany for taking it! We were in a sack race with a bunch of little kids, and somehow we were the ones who fell down before reaching the finish line. If our faces say anything about it... you can tell it was quite an exertion!
Ahh, the famous stick-pull. Bethany won this one-- but I swear there is an advantage to being on the outside!
Walking on stilts was a lot of fun... I love this picture!
It was really difficult to get a hang of- luckily this adolescent had a crush on Bethany, and was all too happy to teach her the tricks of stilt-walking!
See, here he is again (the next day) showing her how to waltz. Again, all too happy to help her out :)
Lance and I, dancing! It was so much fun to learn some of the classic pioneer dances. Maybe if I lived back then, I wouldn't have two left feet and no rhythm...
We made these wood-twisties that provided a mental challenge for the rest of the way home. The next day in church, I counted fifteen kids around me who had theirs out- just twisting away!
They required a lot of concentration...
Bethany and I have always said we were going to be neighbors... So in the little Nauvoo cut-out town, we picked our houses out. Hers is a lovely white wood house while mine is a pink brick house with room for "lots and lots of babies". And of course, they both have darling white picket fences :)
"
Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Trevor and Auntie Chels had 
