Phil Barker Rendezvous Photos

Ann in Welcome Scene

When my sister Melanie and her husband Phil were here visiting, they attended a Rendezvous show where I performed as the Editor and Ann as the Relief Society President. Ann also had some other parts and scenes in which she was on stag. Melanie recently relayed the pictures to us that Phil had sent her  via email.

Fred following "Welcome" when he tells
 about the Nauvoo newspapers

Since it is difficult, in fact impossible, to take pictures of yourself while performing and your cast members are not able to take pictures because of their involvement, we thought that we would post Phil's pictures so that you could see us in some of our Rendezvous roles.

Ann in "Streets" scene

Fred & Ann at the beginning of the
"Relief Society" scene

Ann as Relief Society President

Ann and Fred in "Little Town" scene at end

Everyone has multiple parts and roles. There are two cast members for each major part and we rotate in playing those roles. We have three different casts. Each cast performs twice each week. The casts are named after one of the early residents of Nauvoo. Our cast's name is Sarah Grainger. The other two names are Lucy Mack and Emma Hale.

We have been doing the different roles long enough now that it has become somewhat fun and enjoyable.

Other Cabinet Shop Projects

Dry run to mount the statue

There were two other projects in which I had some involvement that were somewhat different One was helping Dave mount and deliver a four foot statue of Joseph Smith for the Welcome Center which is located across the street from the temple. It is where people and families who have traveled some distance to be married and/or sealed in the temple. In the Welcome Center there are facilities for showering and changing clothes, learning about what goes on in the temple and a place to relax, unwind and prepare to enter the temple.

Mounted Statue of Joseph Smith Jr.

Anyway, Dave was asked to build a base for the bronze statue. Because it was round and not a very big diameter, it was very difficult and took him a considerable amount of time. Looking at the picture one can't tell how difficult it was to do.  

Temple doors showing space in between

The second project was fixing the front doors of the temple. This had to be done while the temple was closed for two weeks in November. It was a very cold two days when we did the project.

Fred shown routing rabbet in door

Here in Nauvoo the humidity and temperatures have a real impact on woods, making them swell and shrink. When the restoration of the various sites, buildings and even the building of the temple, it was determined that the same construction materials would be used that were used by the saints when they built Nauvoo.

Fred shown re-installing door with Austin

Anyway, there was a quarter inch gap that developed between both front double doors, even with a weather strip in between them. It was very noticeable from the inside looking out. We had to remove all four of the fifteen foot doors, one at a time. We routed a rabbet on the edge of both doors and added a strip of African Mahogany to one door which over lapped the adjoining door. We did one pair of doors on one day and the second pair of doors the following day.

Completed fix before being painted

There was four of us working on the project. We were happy to have it completed and get back to inside the shop.

I've had the opportunity of helping to install dressing room lockers in the temple. Dave  made them in our shop. We do various projects in our shop for the temple. 

Installing Browning Window

Elder Monney helping me install the Browning window

It was a chilly day when I installed the second of the five upstairs windows we made for the Browning Gun Shop Home. The first one I installed was on the east side out of the way of guests and visitors. It was installed last summer.

The window project was one of the early projects with which I was involved. I mentioned the project in an earlier entry. Dave had made the windows. I cut the glass, glazed them into the window frames and painted the window frames. However, with the number of tourists this summer, it was decided to wait until the Summer and Fall rush of visitors ended because we had to work over the walk way tourists used to exit the site. The next hurdle was to 
be able to schedule the Ginnie (lift) when other 
projects requiring the lift were not of a higher priority.

We had to reach over the fence and walk way
to reach the second story window

Since there was work on both the outside as well as the inside, I needed someone to assist me. Dave was out of town so Elder Monney was asked to assist me. He owned a heavy equipment company in Texas. So, he operated the lift.

We did get the window installed. Now there are three left on the upstairs street side of the building left to install. We will have to wait for some warmer weather to install them.

A Christmas Walk in Old Nauvoo

Ann with swags she helped to make

Last week was one of getting ready for the kick off of Christmas time in Nauvoo. Ann along with three other sisters had a special assignment at Facilities Management all week. They were tying red bows, attaching pine cones and bows to swags, making garlands and other greenery to decorate doors and fences around the sites as well as put on some of the sites.

On Friday evening, we held our annual "Christmas Walk Through Old Nauvoo." It started at the Visitors Center with a brief program at 6:00 p.m. We try to involve people of the local area, many of whom are non-members. So, the program started with a few numbers by the Warsaw High School jazz band. That was followed by some songs performed by the Hamilton High School choir which was composed of three boys and about eight girls. The high schools around here aren't very large. We then had some numbers by a string quartet made up of sister missionaries.

Some of the attendees at the tree lighting ceremony

Following the program, all the missionaries assembled on the balcony above and around the 20 foot mission Christmas tree. We all sang a song about lighting a Christmas tree after which a lady representing the mayor turned on a switch that lit the Christmas tree.

Ann in Post Office telling the story of
"O Little Town of Bethlehem"

We had a really good turn out from around the area. Because it was so cold with a windchill temperature of -10 degrees, we weren't sure if many people would come.

Elder Russell in Post Office

After the tree lighting, all the missionaries hurried of to their assigned sites which were to be used during the Christmas Walk until 9:00 p.m. when we were to close down. Three of the horse drawn carriages were ready to transport visitors and guests from the Visitors Center to the designated sites on the historic Main Street. In each of four sites, a story of the history of one of the Christmas Carols was told and then that carol was played on a musical instrument by a missionary. Those were repeated through out the evening. At the Cultural Hall, we had the live Nativity story which was also repeated. Then at the Family Living Center, we had set up tables loaded with lots of refreshments which included veggie trays, all kinds of breads and cookies as well as wassail and hot chocolate.

The Nativity performed in the Cultural Hall,
Elder & Sister Swapp

Ann spent the first half hour in the Post Office telling the story of how the Christmas Carol "O Little Town of Bethlehem" was created then Elder Russell would then play the carol on his Native American flute. We also had rotating assignments for participating in caroling groups to entertain the visitors and guests around a fire barrel at each story telling site while they waited for the next story time to begin.

Fire barrel (55 gal drum) to keep
guests and visitors warm

The horse drawn carriages would go up and down Main Street to transport the guests and visitors from one site to another. We also had luminaries (paper sacks with cut out designs and a candle inside) along the sidewalk leading from the Cultural Hall to the Tin Shop.

Luminaries on sidewalk and lights in garlands
on fence between Cultural Hall and Tin Shop

Missionary Jazz Band

After the sites closed, all of the missionaries gathered at the Family Living Center. There we ate treats that were left over from the night's activities. We were also entertained by three elders who made up a jazz band. One was on an electronic keyboard, one on a saxophone, and one on a clarinet. They also played some of the old favorites. Some of the missionaries including single sisters enjoyed dancing. 

It turned out to be a very nice event. We had our doubts because of the cold but that didn't seem to bother people too much.

Another Ward Cousin Arrives

Ann with cousin Debra Jones

Another couple recently arrived in the mission. They are Elder and Sister Jones from Burley, Idaho. Sister Jones was visiting the various sites to get acquainted with them. She stopped in at the Brigham Young home where Ann was assigned that day. Ann mentioned that her mother was from Almo, Idaho. As they talked, Ann discovered that Sister Jones' grandfather was Orval Ward, a brother of Ann's grandfather Asael Ward. Sister Jones knows Ann's uncle Bud, aunt Beryl and aunt Melba and her children. In fact, she lived in her aunt Melba's ward. I'm sure that they will be getting better acquainted.

Sister Jones' husband is a retired building contractor.

Other Examples of Cabinet Shop Projects

Sled showing the front bearing plate

There were three projects which were given to me that were interesting and with some challenges since parts of them I had not done before. They were the building of two rope making sleds (one being a backup), making spokes for a handcart and building new window frames with wooden bars.

One day one of the missionaries brought a drawing into our shop. It was of a rope making sled to be used in the Family Living Center. He said that they needed to replace the one that was currently being used because one of the bearings was getting loose. It has two bearings one of which is mounted on a thin steel plate and the other just sits in a drilled hole on the sled.

Sled with twine twisting wheel attached

The current sled has been in use for several years and everyone was worried that it could fail which would be a disaster since there are so many visitors who go the the Family Living Center. Dave asked me if I would take on the project.

Finished sled in Family Living Center

The sled is beefed up to be a lot stronger than the old one and both bearings are mounted on steel plates. I also mounted oak strips on the bottom to serve as skids which could be replaced so that the frame would not wear out sliding on the floor. I also applied three coats of linseed oil.

When I finished the project, everyone was pleased. The facilities management people came to us and said that they wanted a second sled made as a back up. So, I ended up making a second one also.

Hammering shaped ends into steel hub

Making replacement spokes for one of the handcarts was an interesting project. The wheels were originally made by an Amish wheelwright. 

Tapered ends with tapered tenons

Finished wheel mounted on handcart.

I made the new spokes out of oak. They had to be turned on a lathe with a tenon on the one end to fit into a drilled out hole in the fellow (outside wooden part of the wheel) and then shaped on the hub end to match up with the existing spokes including a tapered tenon which had fit into the grooves on the cast hub that fit onto the axle. Everything had to be just the right length and shape so that it would fit tightly.


This was a challenging but fun project that didn't take too long to do.

Assembly of window frames

The third project took more time and included doing some new things which I hadn't done before. The project was to replace two basement windows in the Print Shop. The bottom of the window frames were pretty much rotted out which included the bottom of the wooded bars. The bottom of the windows themselves were even seeing some rotting.

Completed window frames

Dave made new windows out of African Mahogany while I made the frames with the wooden bars for the window out of pressure treated pine.

The bars had tapered bottoms to match a tapered angle on the bottom of the frame so that water would run off. The bars also had to have a tenon on both ends to fit into the frame. The frames had to have a series of mortises along the top and bottom of the frame into which the bars needed to be fitted.

Completed and painted window and frame

Once the windows were made and painted as well as the frames, I had to install them. This was interesting because the old window frames were in cased  in concrete. Since the bottoms were rotted, it wasn't as difficult as it could have been.

The new windows and frames were fitted tightly in place using shims . Using mortar mix with just enough water to make it like wet sand, I tamped it into the space around the window frame until it was a solid surface.

Installing window and frame

This installation was completed in November when we had colder temperatures. It also required a lot of time on my knees which was some what hard on an older body.

Another Grandchild Arrives

Widline, our new granddaughter

We now have had a second grandchild arrive since we entered the mission. However, this one came under different circumstances. Our oldest son Darrin and his wife Melanie and their family adopted a lovely daughter from Haiti. They have been working on the adoption since before the big hurricane struck Haiti a few years ago. It has been a long and slow process and has involved several trips to Haiti.

Darrin & Family (except Jed) with new daughter
and sister Widline in Haiti orphanage

Darrin's family at Haiti orphanage

The weekend before Thanksgiving the whole family except for their son Jed flew to Haiti to pick up their new daughter, and sister.  Our new granddaughter's name is Widline, pronounced as "Widleen." She is 14 years old now she was ten years old when they started the adoption process. Widline becomes our 36th grandchild (19 girls and 17 boys).

Widline was left at the orphanage when she was five years old. She has no brothers or sisters. Both of her parents are deceased.

We are excited and happy to have Widline join our family and hope that she will be able to quickly adjust to her new culture. We look forward to meeting her when we get home.