Labor Day

Labor Day 2020 began with a morning walk down past the Community of Christ sites and back up Parley Street.  

The sun was just rising over the Seventies Hall as we made our way up Parley.

A barge greeted us as well.  The lilypads are beginning to wither and die.

We went on a road trip with Tom and Ricki Gibbons to Zelph's mound.  It is an ancient burial mound.

Many years ago the University in Chicago and the Smithsonian dug a swath through the middle of the mound to see what they could find.  It was only a few feet wide then.  Now it is much wider due to erosion.

This place was identified by the prophet Joseph Smith on Zion's Camp march.  The brethren asked what this place was and he inquired of the Lord.  The answer was that it was the burial place of an ancient white Lamanite prophet named Zelph.  They identified his remains by a femur that had once been broken and healed.  The prophet took his bones and buried them in an undisclosed place in Missouri so they wouldn't be disturbed again.  With the digging done by the Smithsonian, he would've been disturbed.  A farmer who owns the land next to this place says he has found many, many skeletal bones over the years as he has plowed his field.  Bones that he know to be human, including skulls. He takes the skulls and brings them back to this place as a way of showing respect for the dead.

After all of that, we returned to Hannibal for a branch picnic.  This year each family brought their own food.  Meg Voelkel is the girl with the long braids and her mom, Jenny is in the green shirt.  Jenny is a hugger.  She hugged me when she introduces herself to me.  

Tom and Ricki will be moving to Vegas later this week.  They have been our dear, dear friends from the first day we began meeting with the Hannibal branch.  They will be missed terribly!

Brother and Sister Massey are on the left.  He is a counselor in the branch presidency.  I have never seen anyone get so nervous at the pulpit conducting a meeting as he.  He makes Aaron High look like a master.  Next to his is Shetish Shethi. He is from India.  Such a wonderful, kind man.  He was a counselor when we first got here.  On the right is Fred Cruz and his wife.  He is the branch president.  We love him!

Here's Bev Wolfgram.  She is the primary president.  The first day we attended Hannibal she asked me to help out in Primary.  They didn't need me but I was glad to offer my services.  I did play the flute for a couple of songs.