History Lesson: George Washington and Mount Vernon

On Saturday, we took a hour long trip away from Leesburg to Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. It was a nice day trip and we took some notes about what impressed us below.

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We started off with a tour of the mansion and learned that when he first inherited the estate the place was a small 4 room house. During his time at Mount Vernon he added 17 rooms.

Our tour guide told us that during those days, symmetry was a popular element and considered fashionable. When they re-modeled the original home, they added another story; two wings, and two adjoining buildings (servants quarters and the kitchen). They added several windows to the new existing rooms and wings. The top two windows on the left have no function other than to keep the house looking symmetrical and are boarded up with nothing behind them. Another interesting note: Washington never got to live in the White House (he died a year before it was finished). During the renovation of the White House in 1950, President Truman had the foundation bricks sent to George Washington's home to re-construct his greenhouse to its original state. Very fitting since he worked so hard for the founding of this nation and never got to be in the White House.

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 Inside of the house,  paintings are hung in the same place on the opposite side of the room and there is identical furniture on opposite sides--bringing balance and pleasure to the eye. The landscaping was also done by George Washington in a similar fashion with two giant poplar trees and bushes on opposite sides of the bowling green.

After our mansion tour, we walked around the servants buildings and then on to the tomb site. They ask you to walk slowly and remain silent at the burial site. Every day at noon they hold a ceremony to honor the General and Martha. They asked a Marine who was visiting to display the  wreath at their shared tomb. We recited the pledge of allegiance, and then listened to an employee as she read a prayer that George Washington wrote about our nation. It was so moving and we felt the spirit strongly as we heard the words of our first President say... "to do Justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that Charity, humility and pacific temper of mind, which were the Characteristicks of the Devine Author of our blessed Religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation.”

Next we went to the wharf and watched the geese and a steamboat.We learned that during the war of 1812 the British burned the white house but spared George Washington's home out of respect for the general. His home is located 15 miles down the Potomac River from Washington D.C.

After our grounds exploration, we went back to the car for lunch and then it was off to the museum. We learned how scientists, historians, forensic teams, and artists all used clues from his clothing, dentures, a bust ( that was made from a live mask taken and baked here at Mt Vernon) and  portraits to re-create his face during three different parts of his life (ages 19, 45, 57) so the public could see what he probably looked like.

The above section is almost exclusively written by Heather. I wanted to make a few additional comments.

When President George Washington died in 1799 Martha was asked if they could move him to the capital building. She agreed saying that whenever the nation called the General answered. After sometime they finished the capital building, but Martha passed away. The rest of the family felt like they should leave him where he was buried in accordance with President Washington's will. Heather and I felt like Mount Vernon was  a great place to wake up on resurrection morning. We also felt a great respect for President Washington.

He seems to be a man like Alma in the Book of Mormon who didn't want to be king. He was also very dedicated to God and country.

President Washington took great pride in learning. In his library upon his death there was 1200 books that covered 900 topics. He was a self taught man. He was a farmer who wanted to apply the latest techniques. He used the latest equipment, had a compost/dung open shed, and used crop rotation techniques.

Washington was very innovative in his farming techniques and used his crops for many things. You get the impression that he only wanted to grow something if it had multiple uses. We saw a replica of a 16 sided barn that he used for a grain collection system on the bottom floor. He would lead his horses/mules up an earth ramp to the second floor and start them at a trot. This was how he would thresh his grain. He found that 1 1/2 inch spaces in the boards gave him the best collection. He would sell the flour he ground all over including places like the West Indies.

When the fish would run in the Potomac everyone would drop everything to harvest fish. They would process between 1-1.5 million fish each year.

In his will he released his slaves upon the death of his wife, Martha. She actually released them before she died.

During the Civil war visitors to Mount Vernon had to lay down their weapons and cover their uniforms. It was a place of neutrality where they paid respects to Washington. It was also during this time period that steps were taken to preserve and restore Mount Vernon. A group of women saw that no one was doing anything to save the home of one of America's greatest heroes so they decided to take action. They said “If the men of America have seen fit to allow the home of its most respected hero to go to ruin, why can't the women of America band together to save it?” They raised 200,000 dollars to purchase the estate from the Washington family members that were still around. 

We also saw Washington's dentures here is a video of how they were made.

We had a great time. Hope you enjoyed learning more about General Washington. 

The Lord works in mysterious ways

I enjoyed reading a book entitled Hattie Big Sky for several reasons.  One, it is based in Montana and since ten of my growing up years were there, I can relate to the big skies.  Another reason is, it is about a 16 year old girl who inherits a 320 acre claim from her uncle (actually written by a women who was doing family history), which reminds me of my little farmhouse.  And her aunt Ivy often says to her, "The Lord works in mysterious ways" which I can relate to my life right now.  One of my favorite parts is when Hattie gets into the small shack she is to call home and feels as though she might lose the courage she has, she being so young and taking on the overwhelming task of living on and earning the claim left for her.  It is in the dead of winter when she reaches her shack and her uncle was not such a good housekeeper.  Dirty piles everywhere and even mice in the house.  Then she cries out in prayer, "Dear God, what should I do?" Then she hears a voice in her mind, "Pick yourself up, Hattie, and get a fire lit before you freeze what's left of your brains."  She is stunned into action and starts simple, by building that fire.  Hattie's determination would be similar, I imagine to how Millie in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers acted when she came to a wreck of a house and six more men to cook for besides the one she had just married.  She probably feels ready to sink into despair. Yet, I love the determined look on her face as she makes up her mind to get to work.
We've been at work in the search for a home.  It is quite a different journey than I thought it would be.
We first started off looking at realtor.com and zillow.  I think since we had flipped a house, we thought if we bought something older, we could just fix it up.  We quickly learned that houses around here are scare.  A House that is that is built from the ground up.  Lots of people live in a modular or mobile.  This probably has to do with the fact that we are at least two hours from professional building companies.  And the builders we have are in constant demand or are already working.  Land is also expensive, so by the time you buy, you can't afford to build.  Or if you get a cheap piece of land, that probably means that there is not electricity close.  And at $15 to $40 a foot, it can add up fast.
Another rarity around here is trees.  We looked at one home, that I kind of got stuck on for a bit.  It was 5 acres with cows grazing around (why do cows increase property value) and a quiet out of the way area.  It was a white stucco home built in the 70s.  Glen and I inspected it with a close eye and found a couple of red flags right off.  The stucco had water damage, a poor patch job, and was buckling on one side which might be a foundation issue.  The sunroom which had been framed in had mold near the bottom where water was coming in.  There was also mold in the garage.  I thought we could maybe get the price down and do some repairs on the place, so I called a stucco guy and met him at the house.  The back yard was now fenced off with wire so you couldn't get to look at the extent of damage in the stucco, the mold on the lower potion of the sunroom was covered with some slap-on adhesive trim that you see in public restrooms, and the mold in the garage was covered with a blanket.  The listing realtor met us out there that day.  And as we talked about other land or properties he had for sale, he said he had some lots that he was just waiting to get power to.  He had purchased a large lot of land and was selling it in smaller pieces at a premium price.  After this experience with Preston Porter and Porter reality and other stories we had heard, we decided we were out.  Some realtors are crooked.  Next we looked a buying land and then building a home. We have two realtors in our ward Gary and his son Ryan Morgan.  Gary and his other son, Jared, also in our ward, had some farm land for sale.  Fifty-five acres with a share of water.  We had been working with Ryan a bit and we asked him about this land.  It was listed a little high we thought so we weren't sure we were going to do any further investigation on it.  We asked Ryan if he thought they would take a lower offer and was it even worth our time to investigate.   He said since Gary and Jared now know who we are, and we aren't just strangers, that they would probably consider our offer.  So we did some research.  We figured our the cost of power and easements from the land owners on getting the power from their land to ours. We learned that since this land was off a state road that you could no longer add a driveway from that road, you had to use an existing one.  So we asked permission of the owners around for an easement on their driveway, etc.  After much research and trips to the county assessors, land use office, and department of transportation, we decided we could put in an offer.  We did so and we were countered with a lower price without the water share.  Well, without the water, the land value goes down even further than what they were asking.  In the meantime, we had heard other reports of how Gary often tries to get high prices for the things he sales.  He has a reputation of wheeling and dealing.  And we heard this from 4-5 sources.  We decided we couldn't win going the realtor route.  We decided to take on the task on our own.
So we knocked doors. We looked on the county assessors website to see who owned large plots of land.  We found their addresses and went to their homes. And here's who we met-
Dan Russell- Surveyor, geologist, small lots for sale, ten to twenty acres at a super high price.  Trying to trade with a buyer for land  to build him a house by the Rio Grande river.  Won't sell any more land close to him until he moves. Plants all sorts of things, artichokes, celery, chokecherries, a peach tree, raspberries, açaí berries, and several others.  Would go mushroom hunting, dry the mushrooms and sell them.  Built himself an underground cellar for food storage.  Had a huge pit on his land that he sold for getting soil out of.  Supposedly some of the local schools are built on that soil.
Ruben and Emilia Herrera-Spanish-speaking family. Very kind.  Their grandkids live with them while their daughter is doing nursing school.  Have 120 acres for sale.  It is difficult to get electricity there. Keeping 40 acres that is easier to get electricity to in a trust for their kids.  
Melanie Woodward-owns 35 acres with great trees, horse round pen, heated shop and a water share.  Only problem is she has a modular instead of a house.  He husband died in August of 2018 of pancreatic cancer.  He was a member.  She's Catholic.  She's moving in town to have less upkeep and a fresh start.
Stanley and Annabelle Woodman- She's 92 and he's 90.  In our ward.  He's a builder and she's a teacher.  Good people.  Honest as the day is long.  They remind me of Grandma and Grandpa Erickson a little.  Stanley adores his wife.  "Smart as a whip," he says about her.  And "I know better than to fight with her, because I'd lose. I'm not stupid." Have 80 acres for sale.  In an estate though.  Won't pay them to avoid taxes but will pay the estate after they die.  Not sure how that will all work out. Need to talk to the estate lawyer.
All the people we have met and talked to have been kind of us and willing to talk to us.  They are even kind enough to let us in since it is so cold out.
Glen came here in June and I didn't get here until September since I stayed behind to work on the house.  His experience has been lots of outdoor activities, hunting, fishing, and getting to the mountains in less than an hour.  Most people at the hospital have been pleasant to work with.  I came when the weather was starting to change. I am doing homeschool so my socializing was limited.  The people also felt really cold to me.  No one really introduced themselves at church and my experiences with trying to belong in my calling have felt difficult.  (Another story)  But what better way to get a to get to know the community, the lay out of the land, how people came to be here and feel a love for them than to knock doors.
The Lord working in his mysterious ways.