Week 50--August 2-8, 2020

These beautiful angels practice the Prayer Dance. They almost have it perfected. 

Front: Sister Wilson, Sister Anderson, Sister Kinikini, Sister Brock, and Sister Martin.
Middle: Sister Galbraith, Sister Burdge, Sister Greenwood, and Sister Bates.

Back: Sister Randall and Sister Kinne. 

On Saturday we visited the Negro Baseball League Museum and the American Jazz Museum. The map shows all the cities that a Negro Baseball team. 

One of the the things that hasn't changed about baseball over the years is the size of the ball and the way they are made. 

This display case shows the equipment used by the catcher.  Notice the shin guards that were first made from barrel slats.

 Shin guards later. 

The catcher's mitt looks more like a hot pad than a mitt, And the fielder's glove looks more like one you'd use for work.

Bus for the a negro baseball team. 

In 1952 the Indianapolis Clowns signed a promising rookie nicknamed "Pork Chop". He was given his nickname because he ate only pork chops and French fires on the road. "Pork Chop" went on to become one of the most celebrated black baseball players in the game, Henry "Hank" Aaron. 

Negro Baseball teams hired women players. The best known were Connie Morgan, Toni Stone, and Mamie Johnson.

Night baseball was started by the Negro Baseball League. It made it possible for more fans to come to the games. The lights made it more difficult for the players to see the ball, but the fans loved it.

Geddy Lee collection of baseballs autographed by Negro League veterans. 

Tom and Garnalee at the Negro Baseball League Museum. 

About the only thing we knew about the history of negro baseball was that Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier when he became the first major league baseball player.  Of course we know Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Barry Bonds, but there were hundreds of great players.  The hardships they endured for the love of the game was inspiring.

After the baseball museum we walked across the building to the American Jazz Museum. The museum was equipped with listening stations, interactives, and custom mixing boards making the jazz accessible and engaging. 

Kansas City was home to many legendary jazz musicians who became world renowned for their blues-base jazz style. The distinct sound was perfected in the 18th and Vine District, the place where Charlie (Bird) Parker, Count Basie, Big Joe Turner, and hundreds of other jazz masters made music that defined the Kansas City style. Many considered Kansas City the number one jazz city of the world.

18th and Vine Historic District. This area was the home to many African Americans before and during the segregation era. 

                                                                                                                                                                            

 One beautiful saxophone.

Included in the museum was an entire wing commemorating Charlie Parker and what would have been his 100th birthday.

At the front of the wing is a saxophone given to the museum and signed by former President Bill Clinton.

We were both humbled by our incredible lack of knowledge about Jazz music and its history.  We know a little more now.  It was a fun tour.

While Utah and Idaho are burning up with temps of 100+, our days have been gorgeous and temperatures are in the 80s.  It's a lot more humid in Missouri than out west, but not intolerable.

Tuesday of this week we (the senior couples and all 11 of the historic sites junior missionaries) did a service project for Billion Graves at the Washington Cemetery here in Independence.  This time we took scissors to more neatly trim the overgrown grass.  We photoed and then documented 34 grave stones.  We probably added 300 new records to the archive today.

Wednesday is dinner and a movie night here in the mission.  The seniors stay in Theater 1, and the juniors go to Theater 2.  (We've been asked to separate for our protection.)  Last week we saw The Fighting Preacher and this week was A Rare Possession (the Vicenzo de Francesco story).  Its always fun to visit, enjoy a good meal, and watch a good movie.

Thursday we had scheduled a tour with a woman and her son from Honduras, so I gave the tour in Spanish.  (We can only discuss the history of the site outside.)  After a twenty minute spiel about how this area was dedicated by the Prophet Joseph Smith and was Zion, the woman asked, "Who is Joseph Smith?"  Oops! Well, in 1820 a 14 year old boy . . . .  We gave her a Spanish copy of the Book of Mormon and encouraged her to continue to visit with the missionaries in her new home in Georgia.

Another fun thing we missionaries get to do is to have a Zoom discussion about one of the many historic sites.  This week's tour was Sharon Vermont, the birthplace of Joseph Smith.  We've also had virtual tours like the one from San Diego with the Mormon Battalion.  The young sisters do a great job, and we don't have to travel to get a great tour.

Friday we gave our "Book Club" presentation to the junior sisters.  This week was Saints, Chapters 20 & 21.  Tom did 20, Garnalee did 21.  After the two chapters, Garnalee had made a crossword puzzle using key words from the chapters to review.  It was lots of fun and it was the last one we'll do.

We've started memorizing The Proclamation on The Restoration of the Fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Garnalee is much better at it than Tom.  We've only just begun and will do one paragraph per week.  This mission has been a wonderful experience and we're loving it!

Week 49--July 26-Aug 1, 2020


We have had these walking stick insects on the door to our apartment building for a few days. They are very different from the ones we see in Idaho. The eyes are about 1/3 of the way back from the right end.  Interestingly, they look very much like a native weed that grows here.

On Tuesday we had the opportunity to visit the burial site for the members of the Camp of Israel that died from the cholera outbreak that attacked its ranks (June 1834) right after it was disbanded. The Camp of Israel was organized by Joseph Smith to go to Missouri  and help the Saints regain their land that they had been driven from by the mobs in Independence. The Camp of Israel was also to remain with the Saints for a year to keep them safe from their enemies.

This house is on the property where the burial site it located.  Of the 15 individuals that were reportedly buried there, only three have been removed and buried elsewhere.

We mowed the grass. Now time to start on the repairs of the house.  Maybe not!

This beautiful tree was in the front yard of the house.

 On the other side of this mound is where the burial site is located.  The burial site is on private ground owned by a member of the Church and not accessible to the public at this time.  Three skeletons were found and were removed because the bank had been eroded away by a storm and the skeletons were exposed. the three bodies were buried at Mound Grove Cemetery in Independence. A monument was also erected there with the names of all those died from the cholera attack.

The burial site for those from the Camp of Israel who died from cholera. The bodies were wrapped in blankets by Heber Kimball, Brigham Young, and others and buried. More than a dozen Saints died.

 The sisters and Elder and Sister Brown listen as Elder and Sister Larsen tell about the Camp of Israel.

The thorns on a thorny locust tree are poisonous.  Locals call it a "Devil Tree."  The property owner has been removing them one by one.  He had a horse brush up against one and it died in spite of a veterinarian's attempts to save it.  He said there are only a couple of trees left on his 18 acres.

 We have been doing virtual tours from the various Historic Sites. On Thursday we did the Priesthood Restoration Site (Harmony, Pennsylvania) and the Sacred Grove (Palmyra, New York). This house is the house that Emma Hale Smith grew up located at the Priesthood Restoration Site. It is called a 5-4 and a door. It has five upper windows, four lower windows, and a door. It was a a common style of the day.













The swimming pool at the cemetery. We had a lot of rain on Wednesday and Thursday. We had to find a different path at the cemetery.

 Sister Kinikini is teaching the sisters the Prayer Dance. She is of Tongan ancestry.

Pictured: Sister Anderson, Sister Randall, and Sister Kinne.

Pictured: Front: Sister Bates.
Back: Sister Brock, Sister Martin, Sister Greenwood, Sister Galbraith, Sister Burdge, and Sister Wilson.

The sisters were watching "Out of Liberty" on Friday afterward, so Garnalee had the opportunity to give a tour at Liberty Jail.  Our tours are outdoors with pictures of the jail and other items  on the iPad.

We planted these Elephant Ear Hostas on May 11 at the Independence Visitors' Center. On August 1, they are five feet tall! (and still growing). We call this our "Garden of Eden" picture.

These times prompt ingenuity, so for our Sacrament meeting we had to improvise.  Two of the sisters' apartments had plans to have Sacrament with their districts.  But the other two didn't, so Garnalee initiated a Zoom call.  We stayed in our apartment while Tom blessed and broke the bread.  The sisters watched and listened from their apartment below us.  Tom carried the saucer with bread down to the door of the apartment and they passed it among themselves. Next, the water was offered in the same way.  Young missionaries and old ones aren't to mix for the old ones' protection, so this was a perfect solution.
Tom has been doing tours of the VC and Jail using Zoom in Spanish.  This week, the seminary class was in Puebla, Mexico.  Hopefully, after this pandemic has passed, they'll still be able to offer virtual tours to YM or YW groups all over the country.
Today, Sunday, August 2, 2020, the high temperature was 82 degrees.  It was 73 degrees at 8 PM.  It's perfect weather!

Week 48--July 19-25, 2020

On Monday afternoon we went to Smithville Lake for a fun Family Home Evening and outing.  It had rained most of the night, and there was heavy rain Monday morning. But the storm moved on and it turned out to be a beautiful day.

 The geese waddle toward the water.

Sister Josephson braved the water. She said it felt good.

Browns planned a water balloon toss for us. He said he "cheated" by giving the senior couples thicker balloon. However, that didn't make any difference as the same set of sisters won both rounds of the toss. All we can say is that our aim and dexterity isn't as good as the young sisters.

On Tuesday we went to Mt. Washington Cemetery to do service by photographing graves and uploading the pictures to Billion Graves. The sisters enjoyed it and requested the opportunity to do it again in a few weeks.

Tom is cleaning a grave that Garnalee will photograph.

Sister Martin and Sister Burdge clean the headstone while Sister Wilson and Sister Greenwood take the photos. We were only able to work for an hour before the rains came again.

 On Saturday we went to the 1859 Jail, Marshall's Home, & Museum. The jail sits behind a federal-style brick home where the jailer and his family lived. This is the oldest surviving building on historic Independence Square that survived the Civil War when battles raged on the square.
The home was a 2-story building with the kitchen, parlor, and jailer's office on the lower level and three bedrooms upstairs. One bedroom was the master bedroom for the parents and children under the age of three. A second bedroom for the older children. A third bedroom was for guests. One of the jailers that lived in the house had 12 children.


Garnalee is standing in the parlor of the home. Behind her is the entrance to the jailer's office.

Notorious figures incarcerated at this site include William Quantrill who is famous for burning Lawrence, Kansas, during the Civil War; and Frank James who was treated like a guest for six months awaiting trial after his brother, Jesse James, was killed in 1882.  The jail housed men, women, and children. Earl Sapp was eleven years old when he was arrested in 1896 for jumping onto a train. He was held at the jail for four days before he was released. The jail was used as Union headquarters during the Battle for Independence.



Garnalee standing in one of the cells.  The hewn stone walls were two feet thick and seemed impregnable.



The cell where Frank James was held for 112 days while he was awaiting trial. He received special treatment during his sentence. Newspapers reported that people came by the jail to give gifts and food. Frank James was able to sit with his friends and family. The cell was furnished unlike the other cells. He was provided with a desk and chair, a rocking chair, and a picture of William Shakespeare hung on the wall because he was a great fan of Shakespeare.










Tom has been able to give several virtual and/or outside tours in Spanish.  A couple from Mexico came to the jail to visit.  After the history lesson, we were able to show them pictures of the jail on our iPad.  One of the virtual tours, with a seminary teacher in Buenos Aires, Argentina, had 43 people watching the Zoom call.  She had served her mission here in Independence 10 years ago, and became very emotional as she saw the images that were so familiar.  Technology is wonderful.

Our Pioneer Day, July 24th Celebration was no different from any other Friday Morning Training Meeting (FMTM).  The Browns were presenters.  Sister Brown asked us to role-play a scene from one of the Saints chapters assigned for today.  I was Bishop Edward Partridge being tarred and feathered by Sister Brock.  Garnalee was part of the mob that tore down William W. Phelps' print shop.

On Saturday, July 25, we had a virtual tour of Winter Quarters in Omaha, Nebraska.  Sister McGriff, and Sister Hunt gave a 40 minute guided tour of the visitors' center there.  We had no idea it was such a large center.  Through the large windows we could see the Winter Quarters Temple just the next block over.  We had planned to stop there on our way home, and will definitely try to work it in.

Week 47--July 12-18, 2020

Our outing this week was to the Shoal Creek Living History Museum which we went to last fall. The sisters dressed in period clothes for the outing. It was a fun morning with them.

Pictued: Sister Brock, Sister Kinikini, Sister Martin, Sister Kinne, Sister Burdge, Sister Anderson, Sister Randall, Sister Bates, Sister Greenwood, Sister Galbraith, and Sister Wilson.

 President and Sister Cannon

Tom and Garnalee pause at the flower garden of the mansion. The mansion was the last building reconstructed at the Living History Museum (1982). When they disassembled the building every brick was numbered. When they reassembled the building in its present location it took two years. The cost of such an effort depleted the funds, so it is unlikely that additional buildings will be added.
We make think putting together a jigsaw puzzle is hard but that was really hard. There are 21 buildings on the site.  We were only allowed to enter into the schoolhouse.  COVID has put a damper on lots of activities.

The Hibiscus in the garden at the mansion have huge blossoms.

 Tom and Garnalee pause for a break.

As you enter the area, you will pass a small herd of buffalo.  Sister Wilson asked us, "What did the father buffalo say to his boy as he left for college?     Bi-son!

Waiting for the Inn to open for our night's accommodations,.

We have been walking earlier in the morning before the cemetery opens so we have had to find new places to walk. One morning we walked behind the Bingham-Waggoner Mansion where the wagon trains traveled for the various trails heading west. The swales are the remains of the many wagons that traveled the road. Difficult to see in this photo, but the ruts left by the hundreds of wagons heading southwest out of Independence are clearly discernible even after 150 years.

Tom finished his cross stitch souvenirs for the sisters. They say "Missouri Area Historic Sites" with two sister missionaries.

 The 11 sisters were so excited to receive their souvenirs. (Because of their masks you can't see their big smiles.) Tom posed with the sisters after he handed them out.

Pictured: Sister Randall, Sister Kinikini, Sister Anderson, Sister Brock, Tom, Sister Greenwooe, Sister Bates, Sister Burdge, Sister Martin, Sister Galbraith, Sister Wislon, and Sister Kinne.






Part of the Friday morning training was for the sisters to share what they had learned about daily early life for first-generation Latter-day Saints. They covered the topics of Family Economy, Personal Health, Leisure, Travel, and Communication. It was a perfect lesson since they had the period clothes from Tuesday.

Pictured: Sister Wilson, Sister Martin, Sister Bates, Sister Galbraith, Sister Brock, Sister Anderson, Sister Kinikini, Sister Burdge, Sister Greenwood, Sister Randall, and Sister Kinne.

 This beauty was on the door at Liberty Jail for quite a while on Friday. We said even the moths want to come for a tour of the Jail but they aren't admitted either.

We were heart attacked on Saturday evening by the sisters in our building. They also brought us yummy cake pops and warm Chocolate Chip marshmallow bars. We love these sisters so much.

This sign appeared just recently on 23rd, and we pass it each time we go to Hy-Vee or Walmart. It says, :"Bring Your Book of Mormon to School and Work Day September 22nd." We were surprised when we saw it the first time. However, as we thought about the 19 different expressions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that are in Independence we shouldn't have been surprised.












We have members in one of the Wards in our Stake who was exposed to COVID, so all Church meetings are suspended until at least August 2nd.

We were in charge of the FHE on Monday night for all the senior couples.  We played Missionary Feud, an offshoot of Family Feud that Garnalee found online.  It was a lot of fun for everyone who attended.  The evening was also to honor Sister Cummings, the mission secretary, who will be going home next week.
Friday morning is FMTM (astutely abbreviated "Friday Morning Training Meeting")  It was our turn to present.  We reviewed Saints chapters 13-15.  It went very well and we were pleased with our presentation. It's been another good week!