Getting in the swing...

We're starting to get comfortable with our role here as missionaries.  It's definitely a work in progress, but at least we sort of know what we're doing now.   These sites are all incredible and inspiring (not to mention beautiful).  The other senior couples and the young sister missionaries are fantastic and the people who come to visit are wonderful.  We are really enjoying this! 

This is our mission president and his wife.  They are both great people.  And yes they are really that tall (Ann and I are not standing in a hole...).  My guess is President Francis is 6' 10" -  I know I'd hate to try to box him out for a rebound!

President and Sister Francis

On our first real P-Day in Palmyra we drove over to Mendon, which is about 18 miles from here.  Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball (Brigham’s cousin) lived there and were baptized there.  John Young’s (Brigham’s father) home is still standing, although now cut in two.  The state wanted to put a road right where the house was, so they moved half of it to the other side of the road!   The church owns both halves and missionaries live there.  Brigham and Heber C. also had homes in the area, but they are gone.  Samuel Smith, the first missionary of the Church, stopped at the Tomlinson Inn, which is a quarter of a mile or so from John Young’s home(s) and sold Phineas Young (Brigham’s brother) a copy of the Book of Mormon, which eventually played a role in converting him, Brigham and Heber C.  The inn is still there, but is now a private residence.

John Young Home (1st half)

John Young Home (2nd half)

Tomlinson Inn

 We found a Five Guys for lunch and then did some shopping on the way home.  Well, okay – a lot of shopping…  It’s now drizzling and cold, so we spent the evening inside studying.  It supposed to start warming up tomorrow, which will be nice.     

Spring in the Sacred Grove

 It takes 50 seconds to drive from our apartment to the temple.  Yeah – we could walk, but 
we haven't yet...  It is wonderful to be so close.  

Palmyra Temple

Our P-day this week was a beautiful day, so we drove down to Watkins Glen at the south end of Seneca Lake (about 50 miles from here).  There is a large state park there with a beautiful narrow canyon full of water falls.  It also has a famous road racing track and a NASCAR track that we didn't check out this trip. 

 Unfortunately, nothing was green there yet, so all of my pictures of the Glen are basically brown (see below).  Luckily, film is cheap.  We’ll go back.   

Watkin's Glen

 We drove a little farther down to the town of Corning (as in Corning Ware) in the afternoon and went to the Glass Museum there.  It’s a fascinating place and well worth the trip.  We got to watch glass blowing and other demonstrations with glass, how they make ceramic casserole dishes by heating regular glass in certain ways.  They have and extensive collection of things made out of glass, dating from 1400 BC which was very cool.  It was a gorgeous drive on back roads to Palmyra, through fairly mountainous terrain (using the term “mountainous” in the eastern sense…). 

Spring just all of a sudden happens around here.  One day it's snowing and cold and the next day it's warm and the trees are coming out.  Apparently it sticks once it happens (as opposed to Colorado when you get teased for a month or two and then it's summer).   In three days we went from no leaves to most of the trees budding out.  The Tulip trees were the first to bloom and they're beautiful. However, they immediately start dropping their blossoms, so you have to look fast.  I had hoped to get some more photos, but they were gone before we could get back.  The flowering crabs and fruit trees are just starting to bloom now.   People around here are very glad that spring has arrived.  Most people we've talked to said it was the worst winter they can remember.  They had 8 straight days of 35 below zero (temperature, not including wind chill) and mountains of snow.  Temps are in the 80’s this week (it was 91 one day), which is unseasonably warm.  Humidity is running around 80%, so it’s a pretty sweaty place...  

Tulip Tree by the Episcopal Church in Palmyra 

 Here are the pictures I promised of the home on Martin Harris' farm.  It was built around 1850 by English stone masons who had helped to construct the Erie Canal (which runs through Palmyra).  After their work on the canal was finished in 1825, they built these homes.

Lake Stone Home on Martin Harris Farm - ca 1850

The population of the village of Palmyra is about 3500, so it’s pretty small.  The “town” of Palmyra, however, has about 7,000.  Huh?   Let me explain for you westerners:  

Around these parts there are “townships, “villages” and “cities.”  I don’t know what differentiates a city from a village, but somebody around here probably does.  But the township thing can throw us foreigners...  For instance, you will see is a sign that says:  “Town of Palmyra,” but there won’t be a house in sight; only trees and fields.  Then 5 or 10 miles later you see a sign reading: “Village of Palmyra” – that’s when you see the houses.   A “village” is a community in a “township,” so on the boundaries of the township they have signs which read: "town."  I would have said "Township" on the sign, but they didn't ask me.  For instance, in the Doctrine and Covenants the Whitmer Farm is referred to as being “at Fayette,” or "in Fayette."  But don't be fooled, it's not in the community of Fayette, it's only in the township.   A few days ago, we thought we were in the community of Fayette when we saw a sign in the middle of a town saying “Town of Fayette.” In the west when you see such a sign, that's where you are.  Not so in the east...  In actuality, we were in the “village” of Waterloo, which happens to straddle two townships, one of which is Fayette.  The sign was announcing our departure from one township (Waterloo maybe?) and our arrival in another (Fayette).  The village of Fayette is 8 miles away from that sign.  The Whitmer farm, although much closer to Waterloo than Fayette, is in the Fayette township and so “in Fayette” is correct. 

One of the confusing things for me in church history was the references to the Smith’s home being both at “Manchester,” and “Palmyra.”   The villages of Palmyra and Manchester are about 7 miles apart, so that didn't make sense to me.  Once again, the township deal explains it. 

Pay attention here, there will be a test:  In 1816 the Smith’s move from Vermont to the village of Palmyra.  Two years later, they negotiate to purchase a 100 acre plot of land about two miles south of the village.  However, that piece of land is actually in the Manchester township, not the Palmyra township.  So the farm is “at Manchester,” even though it’s closer to the village of Palmyra.  To complicate matters, they actually build their first home (the “Log Home”) on an adjacent 80 acre plot just to the north of the 100 acres.  Since the Manchester/Palmyra township line runs between the two pieces of land, the log home is “at Palmyra” not “Manchester.”  The Smith’s plan was to first build the log home and live there until they could build a bigger home on the 100 acres.  Hyrum would then live in the log home on the 80 acres with his own family.  The Smiths moved into the log home in 1818.  They were living there when Joseph had the First Vision and when Moroni first appeared to him.  In 1825 they moved to the new frame home on the 100 acre farm in Manchester township.  Joseph and Emma were living there with Joseph’s parents when he first got the plates.  In 1829 the family moved back into the log home in Palmyra township, (they were living there when the Book of Mormon was published).   So they lived in Palmyra first, then Manchester, then back to Palmyra, even though their homes were 200 yards apart.  Clear as mud?

Some photos from the Smith Farm.  You can see actual leaves on the trees now, which weren't there a week ago.

Threshing Barn

Cooper Shop and Frame Home

Log Home - The township line runs along the fence seen behind the home

The Palmyra/Manchester Township line is just to the right of the log home

Sacred Grove with leaves

We’re trying to take a walk every morning, usually through the Sacred Grove, which is very peaceful.  Birds are starting to return from their winter haunts, so we see more of them and hear them singing.  They’re a lot more vocal than most western birds.  There is a pair of Cardinals who live near our apartment. They are beautiful crimson birds and have a very distinctive call.  There are also two small herds of deer who live in the neighborhood (one each on the south and north end of the farm).  They’re eastern white tail and are a lot smaller than the mule deer who frequent our yard in Colorado.   

We drove around Palmyra one early evening to take some pictures of the wonderful old houses (mansions) that are here.  They're pretty amazing.  Here are a few: