Friday, March 30, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
A Time of Service in New York
Saturday was a fairly nice day here in New York. It was a little rainy and cool, but not too bad. My wife and I decided to go for a walk here in the country and took along our new trash pick-up grabbers. We took a bag with us and walked down the road towards the other end of the John Young farm. We were amazed at all of the garbage that we found along the way. We returned home with a bag full, and felt good about our service in cleaning up the roadside.
I then went to the local Boy Scout Breakfast at the fire station. They were holding a fund raiser for summer camp. Other Scouts from the troop were visiting homes in the village to collect food and clothing items that had been left out by residents. So, they were involved in various types of service.
At noon I drove to the Hill Cumorah to help with an Eagle Scout project for Jared Cordon, from our Pittsford Ward here. He had a lot of help, with most of the Teacher and Priest age young men, leaders and two young ladies there to help stain the wood on the "Cast Pavilion". A week ago Jared had directed some of the boys in cleaning dirt and moss from the decking. This day all hands were directed to use paint brushes and rollers to cover the back wall, decking and railing with the brown stain. All had a good time and the rain was minimal.
On Monday night we drove to Palmyra to the Grandin Press, or Book of Mormon Publication Site to help greet hundreds of people. We dressed up in pioneer costumes for the occasion. We brought some things from Utah and other things Kae bought here. It was fun greeting people and visiting. The Site Couple Missionaries were all in costume and had scripted parts that they presented at various locations in the building, showing the processes used in printing the Book of Mormon. Some of the missionaries sang and played music. Many of them had brought non-members with them. Tom,the father of Jenna (who was baptized last week), came. He is very interested in learning more about the church and coming to an understanding of why his daughter is so happy in her new found faith.
So it was a great time of service for many here. We are sure that many of you were also busy serving others wherever you are. That is one of the reasons why we are a happy people and why we are blessed so much. The gospel is true and we are so blessed to be able to serve our fellow man. We recall the words of King Benjamin in Mosiah 2:17 "...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." May the Lord bless you in all your endeavors and your acts of service.
I then went to the local Boy Scout Breakfast at the fire station. They were holding a fund raiser for summer camp. Other Scouts from the troop were visiting homes in the village to collect food and clothing items that had been left out by residents. So, they were involved in various types of service.
At noon I drove to the Hill Cumorah to help with an Eagle Scout project for Jared Cordon, from our Pittsford Ward here. He had a lot of help, with most of the Teacher and Priest age young men, leaders and two young ladies there to help stain the wood on the "Cast Pavilion". A week ago Jared had directed some of the boys in cleaning dirt and moss from the decking. This day all hands were directed to use paint brushes and rollers to cover the back wall, decking and railing with the brown stain. All had a good time and the rain was minimal.
On Monday night we drove to Palmyra to the Grandin Press, or Book of Mormon Publication Site to help greet hundreds of people. We dressed up in pioneer costumes for the occasion. We brought some things from Utah and other things Kae bought here. It was fun greeting people and visiting. The Site Couple Missionaries were all in costume and had scripted parts that they presented at various locations in the building, showing the processes used in printing the Book of Mormon. Some of the missionaries sang and played music. Many of them had brought non-members with them. Tom,the father of Jenna (who was baptized last week), came. He is very interested in learning more about the church and coming to an understanding of why his daughter is so happy in her new found faith.
So it was a great time of service for many here. We are sure that many of you were also busy serving others wherever you are. That is one of the reasons why we are a happy people and why we are blessed so much. The gospel is true and we are so blessed to be able to serve our fellow man. We recall the words of King Benjamin in Mosiah 2:17 "...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." May the Lord bless you in all your endeavors and your acts of service.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Maple Syrup Making in New York
We had the great opportunity today to visit a "sugarhouse", where maple syrup is made at a family's home. We knew that there was a lot of maple syrup made, but did not realize that New York is ranked #2 in the quality of the syrup, has about 20% of the US maple syrup production. This weekend over 50 producers in western New York are holding open houses to show the public what the process is like. We were intrigued, since we knew that back in 1825 the Joseph Smith, Sr. family produced some of the best maple syrup in western New York. So, we knew that there was a long history to making the product. This week is "Maple Weekend" here in the area, you can check out the website by going to: www.mapleweekend.com
We learned that the harvest season is in February and March, this year it started on Feb. 5th (because of the mild winter and the early warm temperatures). They have to wait until the temps rise above freezing. Trees are selected and taps are drilled into the trees. One tap for trees that are at least 12 inches in diameter, and two taps for trees that are 18 inches or more. A hole is drilled that is 1/2 inch diameter and 3 inches deep. They are drilled at about 5 feet from the ground and at a 10 degree angle. A "spile" is pounded into the hole, sealing off the hole from bacterial problems. It is a plastic spigot to which a tube is attached and that tube feeds into a larger tube that runs between trees. The plastic pipe has been used since the 1950's. Gravity causes the sap to flow down the tube to a collection tank. Sometimes a vacuum pump is used to help collect the sap and make it run through the pipes better, they have been in use since the 1960's. The tank is then transported to the sugarhouse, where the processing begins. The old method was to hang buckets on the tree, just below the hole and let the sap drip.
The sweet process of turning the sap into syrup happens in a sugarhouse, which contains a lot of equipment such as a storage tank, evaporator, reverse osmosis unit, heating sources, vapor compression unit and filters. At the Schoff Sugarshack they use wood in a stove to provide the heat. It takes one cord (128 cubic feet) of wood to produce 25 gallons on syrup. Water is removed from the sap by heating and evaporation so that the sugar concentration goes from 2% to 66%. A reverse osmosis apparatus is used to facilitate that. Sap flows into a sap pan and is heated further. It then flows into a syrup pan for finishing. A hydrometer is used to measure the sugar concentration. Then it is filtered through a cloth and heated one last time to 180% to remove any bacteria. It is then graded according to the amount of light that passes through it. It is then ready to be poured into bottles. Of course we purchased a bottle, it was $11 (a gallon bottle is $63). Last year an estimated 9.2 million taps produced 2.79 million gallons of syrup.
We look forward to the local Boy Scout Maple breakfast next Saturday, where we can meet local people and eat the local syrup on our pancakes. So, are you ready to go buy some New York made maple syrup?
We learned that the harvest season is in February and March, this year it started on Feb. 5th (because of the mild winter and the early warm temperatures). They have to wait until the temps rise above freezing. Trees are selected and taps are drilled into the trees. One tap for trees that are at least 12 inches in diameter, and two taps for trees that are 18 inches or more. A hole is drilled that is 1/2 inch diameter and 3 inches deep. They are drilled at about 5 feet from the ground and at a 10 degree angle. A "spile" is pounded into the hole, sealing off the hole from bacterial problems. It is a plastic spigot to which a tube is attached and that tube feeds into a larger tube that runs between trees. The plastic pipe has been used since the 1950's. Gravity causes the sap to flow down the tube to a collection tank. Sometimes a vacuum pump is used to help collect the sap and make it run through the pipes better, they have been in use since the 1960's. The tank is then transported to the sugarhouse, where the processing begins. The old method was to hang buckets on the tree, just below the hole and let the sap drip.
The sweet process of turning the sap into syrup happens in a sugarhouse, which contains a lot of equipment such as a storage tank, evaporator, reverse osmosis unit, heating sources, vapor compression unit and filters. At the Schoff Sugarshack they use wood in a stove to provide the heat. It takes one cord (128 cubic feet) of wood to produce 25 gallons on syrup. Water is removed from the sap by heating and evaporation so that the sugar concentration goes from 2% to 66%. A reverse osmosis apparatus is used to facilitate that. Sap flows into a sap pan and is heated further. It then flows into a syrup pan for finishing. A hydrometer is used to measure the sugar concentration. Then it is filtered through a cloth and heated one last time to 180% to remove any bacteria. It is then graded according to the amount of light that passes through it. It is then ready to be poured into bottles. Of course we purchased a bottle, it was $11 (a gallon bottle is $63). Last year an estimated 9.2 million taps produced 2.79 million gallons of syrup.
We look forward to the local Boy Scout Maple breakfast next Saturday, where we can meet local people and eat the local syrup on our pancakes. So, are you ready to go buy some New York made maple syrup?
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Mendon New York Saints
Greetings once again from New York. The time is going by really fast here. It is hard to believe that we have just 10 months left here. We are always very busy and have been using part of our preparation days to attend baptisms and other meeting in nearby Wards. We have mentioned that it is so amazing to live here in the "cradle of the restoration". We have made it a project to compile a small book that tells some of the history of Mendon, but more particularly about the John Young home that we live in. The book will stay in this home and will include a guest sign-in page. We already have a head start, because the last owner of this farm still lives nearby. She is Eileen Hutchinson Havens. Eileen and her husband Bob live just a quarter of a mile away. She grew up in this home and also lived here after getting married and raised her family here. Her mother, Marion kept a guest book for visitors to the John Young home. We were able to make a copy of it and it will comprise part of the new book. Some of the names in the book are: Spencer W. Kimball, Marion D. Hanks, Richard L. Evans, and maybe a hundred others. The first recorded guests were in 1920 and the original list ends in 1983. There were many church tour groups whose director signed the book for the group. There were many missionaries that also signed. We will try to have future guests add their names to it.
John and his first wife Abigail Howe Young had 11 children, Brigham was the 9th child. She passed away some time before John moved to Mendon with his new wife, Hannah. John and Hannah, built this home in about 1827. It is thought that Brigham probably helped him, since he was a master carpenter. The home was built in a "L" shape and was located on the west end of the 100 acre farm. Brigham moved to Mendon in 1829 and built a mill over the stream at the eastern end of John's farm. He built a small living quarters above the mill. Water powered the saw in the mill which helped Brigham cut lumber from which he made furniture and other things.
Sometime before 1880 the new owners of the John Young home decided to split off part of the home and move it across the street. The removed part was placed on a new foundation and became a separate home. The east part of the original home that remained was closed off. Then in about 1880 a two story addition was built onto the west end. That made it once again the bigger of the two homes. We are privileged to live in the original part of the house. There is still an old red barn on the property. A separate two car garage was added sometime later. Another old barn that was next to the red barn was disassembled and rebuilt on the Joseph Smith farm, because it was found to be of the same style as the original that was once there. The Hutchinson family owned this farm and lived in the homes for six generations. In the late 1970's some LDS members from California purchased the property, but permitted Mrs. Hutchinson to live in the home until 1983, when she died. Mrs. Eileen Hutchinson Havens, the daughter, told us that the two California men either gave or sold the property to the Church in about that year.
At the site of Brigham's mill, on the eastern end of the farm, there was a mill pond which was situated just upstream from the mill. In 1832 Brigham Young, his wife Miriam, Heber C. Kimball, John P. Greene, Israel Barlow and over 35 others were baptized in that pond during that year. John Young had visited the home town of some of the first missionaries who came to Mendon from the Columbia Pennsylvania Branch of the church, along with his sons Phineas and Joseph, and were baptized there on April 5th, 1832. Brigham was baptized in Mendon on the 15th of April 1832.
We will end this chapter now, but look for more information on the history of Mendon in the following weeks. May the Lord bless and keep you and your families and help you to better understand and appreciate the heritage that was left for us to enjoy.
John and his first wife Abigail Howe Young had 11 children, Brigham was the 9th child. She passed away some time before John moved to Mendon with his new wife, Hannah. John and Hannah, built this home in about 1827. It is thought that Brigham probably helped him, since he was a master carpenter. The home was built in a "L" shape and was located on the west end of the 100 acre farm. Brigham moved to Mendon in 1829 and built a mill over the stream at the eastern end of John's farm. He built a small living quarters above the mill. Water powered the saw in the mill which helped Brigham cut lumber from which he made furniture and other things.
Sometime before 1880 the new owners of the John Young home decided to split off part of the home and move it across the street. The removed part was placed on a new foundation and became a separate home. The east part of the original home that remained was closed off. Then in about 1880 a two story addition was built onto the west end. That made it once again the bigger of the two homes. We are privileged to live in the original part of the house. There is still an old red barn on the property. A separate two car garage was added sometime later. Another old barn that was next to the red barn was disassembled and rebuilt on the Joseph Smith farm, because it was found to be of the same style as the original that was once there. The Hutchinson family owned this farm and lived in the homes for six generations. In the late 1970's some LDS members from California purchased the property, but permitted Mrs. Hutchinson to live in the home until 1983, when she died. Mrs. Eileen Hutchinson Havens, the daughter, told us that the two California men either gave or sold the property to the Church in about that year.
At the site of Brigham's mill, on the eastern end of the farm, there was a mill pond which was situated just upstream from the mill. In 1832 Brigham Young, his wife Miriam, Heber C. Kimball, John P. Greene, Israel Barlow and over 35 others were baptized in that pond during that year. John Young had visited the home town of some of the first missionaries who came to Mendon from the Columbia Pennsylvania Branch of the church, along with his sons Phineas and Joseph, and were baptized there on April 5th, 1832. Brigham was baptized in Mendon on the 15th of April 1832.
We will end this chapter now, but look for more information on the history of Mendon in the following weeks. May the Lord bless and keep you and your families and help you to better understand and appreciate the heritage that was left for us to enjoy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)