AMERICA

Some of my granddaughters have American Girl Dolls.  

So I was very interested after visiting Wells College last week to read an article about Pleasant T. Rowland, the founder of The American Girl Dolls.  She graduated from Wells College in 1962. 

'AURORA, N.Y. — After a five-year makeover at the hands of the founder of the American Girl doll collection, this village of white clapboard and faded brick on Cayuga Lake practically glows, with freshly painted homes, refurbished inns and markets selling dried organic cranberries and cheese made from sheep’s milk.

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James Estrin/The New York Times

Pleasant T. Rowland, founder of the American Girl dolls.

The New York Times

Aurora is a village of 750 in the Finger Lakes region.

It was an act of philanthropy by the woman who began the popular line of historic dolls and books, Pleasant T. Rowland. Ms. Rowland, an alumna of Wells College here, gave $40 million to her alma mater to revitalize Aurora’s diminutive downtown and to help reverse the college’s declining enrollment. The money did just that, but not without earning Ms. Rowland enemies: a group of residents who resented her for making the historic village, in their eyes, too fancy and artificial, about as authentic as a dollhouse. "  

This town is so beautiful and has brought so much joy to the residents of New York.  I find it so sad there is such a contriversity over such growth and development.

Because of so much contention with all the beautiful renovations that Ms. Rowland did in the town...she donated it all to her alma mater and they now receive the income from her renovations.

Elder Bushman and I have driven through many places along all the lake front properties in the finger lake region.  We love driving through the town of Aurora.  There is always so much going on and people walking to church etc. on Sunday Mornings.  I will keep my eye on this town of Aurora, New York.  There is a natural light that should be displayed here....Aurora was the Roman Goddess of Dawn in the Arctic regions.  The Arctic Glaciers formed Cayuga Lake.  It will be fun to see if Ms. Rowland can add lazer lights to the streets and sidewalks....the new computer age can and will bring not only beauty to Aurora but technology to a American Dream...Lets watch this Doll creator closely as she brings New York and Aurora on the map scene...a place to not only drive through but stay awhile.  Hurrah for our weekly travels and "OH the places we've seen!" 

THE BEAN FAMILY

Monday night's home evening was at President Brighton's.  President Broadbent continued his lecture of Palmyra and how the sites and the temple came to be.   "In fact, soon after Willard and Rebecca arrived, neighbors hung a sign on the door to their home promising a $5000 reward to anyone who could get rid of them.  While Rebecca used her voice and disposition to try and win the hearts of the people, Willard used his boxing skills."  It was the best night ever as he spoke of Willard & Rebecca Bean and their 24 year Palmyra mission.  

Sister Adair, an Oklahoma City Temple friend, gave this book to us before we left on our mission.  It was written by Rand H. Packer a son of Palmyra Bean Parker.  She was the daughter of Willard & Rebecca.    Her daughter Pamela and Son-in-law Emery Smith are serving with us in this temple mission.  President Broadbent had them tell part of the story of Pam's grandparents life here.   Elder Smith told of the boxing side of Willards life and he wore a shirt that had the picture of Willard in his prime boxing years.   

He did a good pose of Willard.  Elder Bean was able to soften the hearts of so many bitter people here in Palmyra as he stood his ground.  He eventually opened a boxing school for the neighborhood children and taught his trade.  Most importantly, the sacrifices of the Willard's and their faithfulness opened the way for thousands of Saints to visit Palmyra in later years and partake of the Spirit of the Lord that is here.

Sister Pamela Smith told of her mother, Palmyra's, memories of living in Palmyra.  When her mother was 85 years old, Pamela and her sister brought her to the dedication of the Palmyra Temple.  That was a humbling adventure for both the daughters and their mother.  Pam also shared her grandmothers testimony with us all.  She had a tape recording of her grandmothers voice in the 1960's telling of her experiences and mission...it was very touching to listen to Rebecca Bean.   Rebecca tells of a visit from The Savior: "He responded, I promise you, if you will go about your work everyday as you have done it this day, you will be equal to it. Now remember these missionaries represent me on this earth and all

that you give unto them you give unto me." 

If you get a chance, read this great biography of The Beans!

President Broadbent continued the lecture on the purchase of the Hill Cumorah etc.  I love this photo because it shows his enthusiasm for this subject matter.  Thank you President Broadbent for bring this history alive to all of us.  We love serving in the Palmyra New York Temple and in this area of New York!

We felt so bad to learn of Robin Williams death.  I enjoyed him being the voice of Genie in the lamp...ha...since I too am a Genie!  I hope he is granted three wishes in his new realm and that the sorrow he was burdened with in this life will bring him hope, as covered through the atonement of Jesus Christ, here and in the hereafter.  May I, Genie, recommend to each of you to be a little kinder to those around us.  Treat your family members with kindness and give them the hugs they deserve and yearn for.  Remember your own "genes" and know you are essential and unique...never, never give up on yourself, please.  Again, this life is a test...hung...reversed can sound as genie...or "gnuh"...which  we have witnessed can also destroy.  Such a terrible loss.  "Watch Your Words!" (Mosiah 4:30)

We went on another adventure Friday.  We received an invite from Dale & Danice Tanner to come and go on a Trolley Tour of their area.  They live in Horseheads New York.  It is just north of Elmira, New York where Mark Twain and his family are buried. Horseheads is a village in Chemung County, New York. The name is derived from the number of bleached skulls of pack horses left behind by the Sullivan Expedition. Sullivan mercifully disposed of his pack horses worn out by faithful service in the campaign against the six nations of the Iroquois Indians.  The first settlers in Horseheads found the bleached skulls of all the horses and named the town after them....nice history for a beautiful community.

This is a picture of the famous people who have resided in Elmira, New York....do you recognize any of them?

 
We went on the trolley tour with the Tanners.  It was fun to see all the sites in Elmira.

 This is where Mark Twain resided when he wrote several of his books.

 Susan Crane, Twain's wifes sister, built this study for him beside her home where the Twain's spent their summers.  It is inside this building where he wrote "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and the Advntures of Huckleberry Finn.

Mark Twain wore a straw hat in the summer.  This pool at Brand Park built in 1926 had its design based on the upturned straw brimmed hat!

This is the Twain headstone in the Woodlawn Cemetery 

This is a picture looking out at the Woodlawn Cemetery

We then went back to Horseheads where the Tanner's took us to their daughters grave.  She, her husband and little girl were all killed in a plane crash along with her husbands parents.  This is a sad story.  They had this beautiful headstone made with the Salt Lake Temple engraved upon it.  It was a very tender moment for them to share this sorrow with us.

This is a picture of Danice and Dale Tanner in front of their Horseheads, New York home.  They have an absolutely lovely home and a beautiful flower garden in the front of the home.  Danice made a lunch for us before we headed back to Palmyra.  She really outdid herself...she is an awesome cook...now we know where our former Bishop Tanner got his love of cooking.  He is a Chef in OKC, OK.  Anyway, we had a lovely, lovely day, an awesome meal and a great visit with a wonderful couple.  Thank you Brother and Sister Tanner for your hospitality and friendship.  We hurried back to Palmyra and served the evening shift in the temple.  I slept all the way back to the Inn.  Elder Bushman was able to enjoy the scenery on our drive and the great home cooked meal the Tanners fed us made me warm, toasty and comfortable on our drive home!

When we returned back to the Inn...our winter coats, our anniversary gift to each other, had arrived.

Ha!  Hopefully the cold won't bother us this New York Winter...we are prepared, we have "Bean" coats !

And finally we are excited for our grandson Cannon.  His birthday is this Tuesday and he will turn 7 next week.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CANNON!

"SHINE ON" CANNON....now the day is here!  Blessings to all on this beautiful August week.

46 YEARS OF MARRIAGE

There is a crab apple tree just outside the door of the Cortland Ward building...several of the children have been eating the tart apples.

On our way inside I saw a woodpecker pounding away at the tree.  I got very close as I took this picture.

Brother Melvin Parker came to the temple this week and received his endowments.  Elder Bushman and I were ecstatic that a Cortland Ward member came to the temple with his former wife and best friend.

MONDAY MORNING : Aug, 4, 2014 we drove back down to Watkins Glen State Park south of Seneca Lake.  We did not stop there as the summer crowd was visiting.  We went on to find some other waterfalls nearby.  We went to Shequaga Falls Park on Genesee St., Montour Falls, NY.  We almost missed it.  It is in a neighborhood with a home on each side of it.

Quite a beautiful... way to inhance your back yard, indeed!

 Here you can gaze at Elder & Sister Bushman in front of the sparkling agua's!

Then since we were so close to Horseheads, NY we thought we would drive through that town to see where our former Bishop Tanner's parents live.  We saw they had a jewelry store owned by someone with my maiden name!  We then stopped at an ice cream store and had a cone.

Next we drove on back up to Seneca Lake and found Hector Falls.  It was right off the highway and there was no place to park, so we just pulled off to the side of the road while cars wizzed by and I had to just hope Elder Bushman didn't get hit as he took pictures.

  We drove along the Lake looking for a  park, but just kept hitting dead ends in private neighborhoods.  We finally found a public parking area where we could enjoy the lakes beauty for awhile.  There were several young families swimming in the lake and some motor boats with waterskiiers and big intertubes full of youth trailing by.  We just sat and enjoyed the shade and the beauty of Seneca Lake.

Then we drove on to the LDS Church owned Seneca Girls Camp.  We were having our Home Evening with all the missionaries there. 

 A  missionary couple, Elder & Sister Miller, serving now in Niagara Falls, Canada area,  drove all the way down here,  & provided a milk can supper for us.  Talk about a dedicated, kind couple.  They also served in the Palmyra Temple for two months and for 5 months at the Seneca Girls Camp before serving in Canada.

The President of our mission, Arthur Frances, is sitting behind us with his wife & family of hungry sons.  The son standing just returned from serving a mission in Idaho where he went to Driggs, Tetonia and Island Park!  He knew the Breckenridges and the Wades...but he was too involved in his supper to talk much!  Anyway, I felt a warmth of home through his smile.

 See the hungry missionaries!

 As we finished eating a torrential downpour drove us all into the shelter.  Then the heaven's rewarded us with a huge beautiful rainbow!

The rainbow stretched from one side of the campground to the other.

I felt that we received a little anniversary gift from "the other side".   Elder Bushman and I will begin our 47th year of married life on Saturday, 9 August 2014.  Happy Anniversary to us!

Tuesday morning we served in the 6:00 AM  temple session so had to be there by 5:30 AM, but we went to sleep on Monday...full and happy.   A special thank you to Elder and Sister Miller for their memorable milk can feast. 

On the 8th of August we drove to Phelps and met Christy and Bob Glave at the Hot Dog Stand.  We ate fish and chips and salt potatoes and ice cream.   It was an awesome day and we ate out on a picnic bench and talked for a couple of hours.  (Burp!)  We came back to the Inn and slept for two hours before serving our evening shift at the temple.

We also saw this grocery store  & cafe we must check out sometime soon.

Well, we did it, we survived to enjoy our 46th year of marriage.  We begin our 47th year today, Saturday, August 9, 2014!  "Happy Trails to You", "Whoopi-Ty-Aye-Yay".  We have been blessed with a great pioneer heritage and will be so thankful for our chance to meet all those, again,  who have helped us along this "trail" we have been traveling these 46 years.

To celebrate we got to go to lunch with my nephew's family Joshua & Mikenzie Wade & little Corbin & Audra.  They were kind enough to give us a quick visit as they wind down a job in Ohio and go on to his last year of schooling in Indiana.  Thank you Joshua and Mikenzie for the awesome visit.

It was a great drive to and from Cortland on Sunday.  We had dinner with all the missionaries who live at the Inn when we returned so it made for a pleasant day. We had really good meetings at church today.  It is always so good to partake of The Sacrament and renew our Covenants.   Here are some of the sites as we returned from Cortland.  We drove through Wells College in Aurora New York.  It is a beautiful campus just off Cayuga Lake

Waterloo NY has this very "pink" tractor advertising this business:

All the corn fields look golden with all the tassels and the corn is so high now...and delicious I might add.  We have found several roadway markets! "There's surely somewhere a lowly place;  In earth's harvest fields so wide;  Where I may labor through life's short day For Jesus, the Crucified".

Well, we graduated from High School in "64" and we have been married for "46" years.  Do you think that 10 is our lucky number?  We shall see!  Meanwhile we will be driving and driving and enjoying the scenery along the glacerial formed lakes of this State of New York.  Oh...we also enjoyed the August Supermoon of 2014....have you seen it?  

"By the light of the Silvery Moon"
46 and counting the Supermoon Silvery Moon!
ADIEU, BRETHERN, TO YOU AND OUR POSTERITY TOO.

IN A GOOD CAUSE...

NY PALMYRA (SPECIAL EDITION) EFY students are living in the Inn with us this week.  There are 160 youth and their leaders from BYU attending the temple and roaming the Palmyra neighborhood.  It has also been raining all week which makes it hard for them to tour the area.

"In the mid-1970s, Ron Hills and other BYU employees developed a program to “create an Education Week for teenagers where youth could interact with other young people from various places in the country, rather than just with those from their own ward or stake.” That program was called Especially For Youth (EFY)."  

Some of our own children participated in EFY years ago.  We remember the enthusiasm they had for the friends they met and the counselors they learned from.   It has been fun to be around all these youth.  The laundry has increased in the temple this week with all their baptisms they have participated in, but even that has been a pleasure to deal with as we watch these youth do service for the benefit of others.  The heavens must be pleased with their efforts.  It has been raining most the week, tears of joy!  We recognized a young man from the Cortland Ward here.  He said he is enjoying being at EFY.  This is the lobby in the motel on Saturday...as all are saying their farewells to friends and counselors.  Parent's are picking up local children and a couple of the missionaries took youth to the airport from their hometowns.  Tonight the Inn will be quiet again.

"Why are there so many songs about rainbows/and what's on the other side?"

Remember President Brighton's beautiful garden?  Well, some of the missionaries have been helping President keep critters out, but alas, a family of Raccoon's have learned many ways to invade this garden.  He said, "I heard a couple of them arguing over the ears of corn last night.  They stripped it clean of any ears."  All that effort and poor President has been invaded...too sad...and to think he has been hoeing very noxious weeds for months and helping this garden to grow so well.  We are still praying he receives some reward for his diligent efforts in this garden.  There has been plenty of sunshine and rain for a good crop.  President said, "If you see any raccoon's on the road please don't swerve!"  Ha.

Sister Dawson, whom I serve in the temple office with on Thursday evenings brought me some Plouts to sample.  Her husband has planted several trees in their orchard here in Macedon, New York.

He bought a bunch in California for his family to taste and she shared with me.  I've been eating them in my morning yogart...yum!  They were created by Floyd Zaiger. "As the Zaigers have continued to cross and backcross their increasingly complex hybrids, they've released dozens of pluots, each with a slightly different lineage. While it's surely true that one variety's family tree shakes out around 75 percent plum to 25 percent apricot (or even 60 percent and 40 percent), it's not correct to say that all pluots are three-quarters plum and one-quarter apricot (or three-fifths and two-fifths). Best just to say that pluots are mostly plum and leave it at that. To this, I like to add my own silent postscript. A pluot is like Mary Magdalene: It's chronically misunderstood". Chip Brantley is the author of The Perfect Fruit, a book about pluots.

Their nick name is Dinosaur Eggs!

Thank's for introducing us to Plouts, Sister Dawson, we had another Genealogy lesson from the fruit industry. I feel like I am back in my Botany Class at BYU! Perhaps the seed of the Plout can cure cancer. That would be nice.

My fun for the week happened Thursday morning in the temple, July 31, 2014.  I was working in the office when a President of the Green Branch of the Owego New York Stake phoned with some information.  A family in his branch is being sealed tomorrow with their children.  The forth child was baptized on Saturday and the President was just making sure this information had made it to the temple.  Anyway, after giving the information to the temple presidency I decided to follow up and make sure it was all ready for tomorrow.  Pres. Cahoon gave me a note and told me to phone the President back to check on some things.  I couldn't read Pres. Cahoons handwriting, so did some sleuth work and found the number.  I also found the President's first name was Kermit!  He is the Branch President of The Green Branch...ha!  I must be overworked because I found this so funny and have been smiling all morning.  

 "O we go"!  

On Friday we went for a drive and found Morgan's Market where we purchased corn, raspberries and some peach salsa...Then we drove up to Lake Ontario again and had lunch at the park there.  We are sitting at a picnic table and it is a beautiful day...our selfie.

 A speed boat is passing by.

 There were tons of chairs set up for a wedding this afternoon, so Art took a picture of me with the starfish!

 Then I took a picture of him skipping rocks on the coast line.  We visited with a lady who was born and raised in Ontario that had her sister and grandson on a picnic with her.  Such a beautiful lake and park.

We drove to Little Sodus Bay on Lake Ontario on Saturday.  This little bay is in Fair Haven, New York.

We finally found a place to swim at Fair Haven Beach State Park on Lake Ontario.  Of course we just paid $8.00 to drive through and enjoy looking at the fun everyone was having.  This whole drive today was so beautiful and the weather was perfect...love New York!

This weekend is my 50th class reunion at Idaho Fall's High School.  It certainly doesn't seem like 50 years have passed.  Elder Bushman and I graduated the same year.  His reunion was in June.

My friend Paula sent me pictures of our friends and the events.  We all look 50 years older..Ha! 

After our meetings in Cortland we drove to the Carman's to visit.  They live in Marathon, New York.  Just north of their farm are Amish farms.  We drove that road to go back to Palmyra.  We saw several of their beautiful farms and about 20 of their buggies at one farm and passed several heading home.  

Several have purchased antique farm equipment from Brother Carman as he retires from farming.  He said they are wonderful neighbors.  

It's been a great week.  As I look out the "Inn" window there is a "Brigadoon" mist in the field across the street.  It was caused by the afternoon heavy rains which we drove home in from Cortland.  I have not witnessed any rainbow's here yet, but will continue watching the sky's for them.  May each of you have rainbow's after the storms in this life as promised in Ephesians:1:13-14.  Blessing's to you and each of you! 

August 3, 2014