Thoughts about inventories

At a ward party a month or so ago, a lady said to us, “Don’t you just love inventories?” And we agreed that we do. Although my knowledge of probate records is limited to my observation of those in Addison County, Vermont, I know that an inventory is a vital part of some of those records. An inventory is just that: a listing of all the worldly goods of the deceased.

Sister Grey is a professor of history at Norwich University in nearby Northfield. She’s a published author of articles about her specialty: Lutherans after the Reformation. Yes my first thought was also who would want to know about that? However, at the university’s expense, she travels to Germany a couple of times a year to study records in Archives so she has a love for the kind of work we’re doing. She often studies long inventories and other records. We enjoyed our conversation with her about old records.

Inventories are sometimes the bane of our existence because they’re very often many pieces of paper glued together. Since our instructions include not changing anything in the boxes, we have to manuver them into place under the camera. An especially long one requires both of us to image. This beauty is 6’ 9” long and listed the worldly belongings of one man--everything from the number of forks in the kitchen to his false teeth. Beside each item is an estimated value. As you can imagine, this wasn’t easy to image. We glance through the inventories from time to time.
Sister Grey’s comments and my own reading of the inventories makes me think about what possessions I’m going to leave on this earth. Having now been away from home for 5 months, I’ve decided there are many things in my home that I’m going to get rid of when I return! An observation Garth often makes to people when he describes what we’re doing is: “Not a one took anything from that inventory with them when they left.”

I hope my inventory includes not material possessions but the possessions most valuable to me—my family, my friends and my testimony. Working with records of those who have passed from this earth makes me think long and hard about the legacy that I want to leave for my children and grandchildren.

A Day in Vermont

Saturday was a fun day for us. Our day began at an every-other-Saturday tradition at a restaurant called Soup n’ Greens where there’s lots of noise and camaraderie and good, cheap food. They do not, however, serve hashbrowns with breakfast—home fries which are just glorified French fries.
Then on to Waterbury to the flea market. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as big as last time we went. It was obvious that there’d been a downpour just before we’d arrived. We keep wondering why people collect so much junk just to turn around and sell it. Your whole childhood is before you at Waterbury. I was looking for some things for my Christmas (don’t worry kids) and I saw every Tupperware piece I or my mother ever had as well as Avon. I also saw a few of the dishes that used to come in soap boxes.

Our next stop was Waitsfield where the flea/farmer’s market is. I either had a shot of the lady’s derriere or one with the sign for the port-a-lets. Sorry about that. This is a colorful and noisy spot. We bought some nice fresh, vegetables at a price. We bought some fresh salads with marigolds and edible flowers which Garth refused to eat!

In the late afternoon we went to a ward cornfest. I should have taken a picture of the corn cooking. They simply put the unhusked corn on the special cooker and it roasts in the husk. Delicious. This is the premier event of the summer and was well-attended. DH played whiffle ball. Lucy isn't sure where she's supposed to run. The event was held at the home of Brother and Sister Grey who own an 1840s homestead. I enjoyed the beautiful location.

These picturesque outbuildings were built at various times. The barn in 1840 and the buildings in 1920. Such buildings are very typical of Vermont.

Although rather plain looking, this is a beautiful home which was built in the 1840s. Our friends, the Luces, were married in the parlor in 1980. The Greys are restoring it to its original splendor. The small building you see on the left is a doudi house for the in-laws.

I love the English style gardens which take advantage of the natural flora.
We enjoyed visiting with the good people of the Montpelier Ward who’ve welcomed us. We spent nearly an hour visiting with the bishop who began the cornfest 37 years ago. His were stories of miracles, conversions, and lives in the history of the Montpelier Ward. This is Vermont.

High on a Mountain Top

This weekend we chose Mt. Mansfield, the highest mountain in Vermont, for an excursion. As you can see from the picture, Janeen and Greg and family were visiting. To put this in perspective, Mt. Mansfield is about 4, 322 feet—Mt. Rainier is 14, 000. Dad and I didn’t climb clear to the summit but the kids did—Millie and Chris in their flip flops! We were going to ride the gondola to the top but this place was reached by traveling 4 ½ miles up a windy, mountain road.
The view was spectacular! This is northern Vermont with Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks in the far distance. Look at the beautiful, huge, fluffy clouds we’ve been enjoying lately.

This is the rest of Vermont and New Hampshire.

We found this little chapel on the way down the mountain.

The kids (big and small) enjoyed the Alpine Slide at a big resort. You rode to the top in the ski lift.

On the way home, we drove through Smuggler’s Notch a rather windy road through the mountain which was used by smugglers transporting goods between Canada and the US.
The Green Mountain State is a beautiful example of the “beauties of the earth”. Our work is going well and we are happy to be where we are. We have witnessed miracles in our lives and in our family’s lives. This is Vermont.

Silent Cal

We toured yet another historical site on Saturday—Plymouth Notch, the birthplace of Calvin Coolidge. Sorry this picture looks hazy, but I took it through glass which covered the door. This is the room where Coolidge was sworn in by his father who was a notary public after President Warren G. Harding died of a heart attack.

This small town remains pretty much unchanged since 1923 when Coolidge was President. It was Plymouth Pioneer Days at the site. There were quite a few people there so we weren’t able to get to the cemetery. The two pictures below were in the small home where Coolidge was born. The one is the actual room and the other is in the kitchen. Can you guess what the object is which is attached to the table?

This has been a wonderful, inspiring weekend. We attended a baptism which is always a special occasion. Kristina had been searching for some time for answers to life’s difficult questions. She talked to a fellow student who also attends the New England Culinary Institute and he and the missionaries were able to answer her questions. We also experienced the tender mercy of a loving Heavenly Father who blessed our family in a miraculous way with our beloved Jennie. We are so blessed and, to end the weekend with beauty, we saw this outside our window.