Nauvoo Nativities

Sorry I haven't written for so long.  It seems that when they say that it slows down here in the winter time, they only mean that not as many people come to visit.  We've actually been a LOT busier - I think someone just doesn't want us to get bored so they keep adding things for us to do.

                                                           I LOVE NATIVITIES! 

They are my very favorite part of Christmas decorating and we just happen to be living in nativity heaven.  They are everywhere.  There is a beautiful one at the Nauvoo Visitor's Center.

 

And outside the temple.

 

 





And some around town.

 



 

Some of the sites have them.

 

 

 

 

We even had a LIVE nativity.

 

 

But best of all, there was a display of 160 nativities from all over the world that people in the community provided.  I've never seen so many all in one place before.  There were big ones, little ones, simple ones, fancy ones & silly ones but they all show love for the Savior.  I wanted pictures of all of them but we were short on time and Elder Knudsen thought I got more than enough pictures.  I'll see how many I can show you.  It takes forever to upload (or download - or whatever you do to get pictures).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 







 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK - I guess that's enough.  Aren't you glad I didn't make you sit through all 160 of them?  I wanted to give you an idea about how different they all were.  But I do have to show you a couple more.  The nativity at the site where we are assistant site leaders, The Family Living Center, has a nativity made out of rope. 

 

 

When I first saw it I asked Elder Knudsen if he could make me one.  What a question - OF COURSE HE COULD!!!  In fact - it took him a lot less time to make them than it took me to dress them.  It's my favorite of them all.  What do you think? 

 

 



 



 We wish you all the Merriest Christmas ever and remember that Christmas begins with Christ.  He is the reason for all the good in this world.  We are grateful that He guides and directs our life and hope that you will allow Him to do the same for you. 

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS



 







 

 

 























 



 

 

 







Post Office & Merryweather Dry Goods Store

Much of what we know of the life and teachings of Christ that we find in the New Testament comes from letters.  Much of what we know about the early history of the church also comes from letters and journals.  Mail was also very important to the people who lived in Nauvoo.  Many of them were far from home and loved ones.   (So are we, by the way, and would love to get some mail.)

The Post Office was usually combined with another business - as here- with the Merryweather Dry Goods Store.  Sometimes it was in a home.  One of the first in Nauvoo was in Sidney Rigdon's kitchen.  The Post Office was pretty much where ever the sorting boxes were.

The boxes were not assigned to certain people or even families - the Postmaster just used them and his own system for sorting the mail.  That thing on top is a rawhide case for carrying the mail and protecting it from the weather.

But the mail system was not very dependable.  If someone had a really important letter to send, they might send it two or three times to make sure it got there.  It was also quite expensive - 6 cents to go up to 30 miles.  That would only get a letter from Nauvoo to Carthage.  It could cost 25 - 30 cents to go more than 400 miles and that was 1/4 to 1/3 of an average daily wage. 

Since they didn't know for sure if a letter would get to it's destination, they would send it COD.  If a person actually got a letter, he would pay the postage.  This caused a lot of problems for Joseph Smith, however.  He received a LOT of mail - from friends and foes.  He finally had to put an article in the newspaper saying that he would not take any mail out of the post office if the postage was not already paid.  He knew his friends would understand & he wouldn't have to deal with the hate mail from his enemies.

Another way they would cut down the postage rate was by not having envelopes.  That would count as another 6 cent page.  They would only write on one side of the paper and then fold it up, seal it with sealing wax and address the outside.

Since they only wrote on one side of the paper, they would fill the page and then turn the page and write across what they had already written.  It's really hard to read but it's a little easier if you put a plain sheet of paper under each line and move it down as you read.

 

You don't have to leave the Post Office to go to the store.  Just walk to the other side of the room.

 

 

Merryweather Dry Goods Store

 

Frederick Merryweather came to Nauvoo in 1844 so many of the businesses in town were already established.  He saw a need to provide everyday ordinary items that people needed to help them be self sufficient and take care of their families at reasonable prices.

 

He provided local pottery,

 

 

tools, nails, farm equipment, etc.

 

 

There are some interesting things in his store that you may not have seen before.  Can you guess what this is?  Sorry about the glare from the case.

 

 

 

It's a ceramic canteen.  The hole allowed it to be hung over a saddle horn.  They knew even back then that you have to drink more than just water in this heat to replenish nutrients so they made their own "Gatorade".  They called it "Haymaker's Switzel".  Here's the recipe.  Yum!!!

 

 

Sounds a bit like sweet and sour sauce to me.

 

Another interesting item is their version of a chalk line marker.  It's made of wood and has a well that they would fill with berry juice and run a string through it.  Then they would snap the string to make a "berry line".

 

 

Kids love to have their picture taken with this water carrier.  We let them put it on (it's VERY uncomfortable) while we tell them that the people in Nauvoo had "running water".  You know - Mom would say "run down to the well and get me some water".

 

 

We really love living in the 1840's (with modern conveniences of course) and I'm even starting to like these big dresses and aprons.  They really cover up a lot and I'm not sure what I will do with all my "stuff" without these handy pockets when I get home.  



 



 

 













 



Print Shop

When John Taylor purchased his home, he also purchased the properties on both sides.  The one on the left was a store but since he was the editor of the newspaper, he thought it would be a good place to move the print shop. 

It had been in the basement of a building down the street, but it was so small, cold, and damp that people were getting sick.  In fact, Don Carlos Smith had come down with pneumonia and died while working there.  That property now belongs to the Community of Christ Church and has not been restored but you can see how small it was.

 

Originally, the print shop was on the second floor.  It must have taken a lot of work to get those big heavy printing presses up there, but there is a door up there on the back side.

 

 

Two newspapers were printed here in Nauvoo.

 

 

 The "Nauvoo Neighbor"  was a weekly paper, similar to our little hometown newspaper, and had announcements of meetings, practical advice, poems, stories, and national and world news.

 

The "Times and Seasons" was the official church publication, similar to the "Ensign" of today.  It included counsel from Church leaders, letters from missionaries, literary works, and accounts of revelations received by the Prophet.

 

The print shop also did custom jobs like printing handbills and flyers.

 

Doing a tour of the print shop is really fun because you get to do a demonstration of how the printing process worked. 

 

They would only work on one paragraph at a time, and make a "proof" so they could read it and make any corrections that needed to be made, then move on to the next paragraph.  We relate this to repenting of our little mistakes every day - before they turn into big ones. 

 

 

 

There are a lot of terms that we use all the time but I had no idea they came from the printing business.  For example:  Upper case letters were stored in an "upper case" - lower case letters were stored in a "lower case". 

 

 



 



 

A "ding bat" is a pretty little thing that takes up space.

 

 

"Furniture" (little blocks of wood - not tables and chairs) and "spacers" are used to hold the type in the "chase" (cut to the chase) and the "quoin key" tightens it all up (quoin a phrase).

 



 

Everything has to be secured in the "chase" upside down and backwards.

 

 

When it's ready, you carry it to the press and "lay it to rest" on the "coffin".

 

 

 Use a "dauber" to dab ink onto the type.

 

 

 

Put a damp sheet of newsprint paper over it and fold the "frisket" down over the "tympan".  Roll it all under the "platen" and pull the lever to lower the "platen".  The paper is pressed against the inked type to make an impression. 

 

 

 

Then, raise the "platen", roll it back, lift the "frisket" and take the sheet of paper off, hang it up to dry for 24 hours or so, and then start all over with the reverse side. 

 

 

And don't forget to mind your "p's & q's" or they'll end up looking like "d's & b's".