Living History School Days

     The California Living History Service Missionaries are returning to the schools after a hiatus due to Covid 19.  Only in the schools, we drop the missionary designation as we do at State Parks and the like.  We are Living History Specialists.  Although called and set apart as service missionaries for The Church of  Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we are not proselyting missionaries and are not part of the missionary department, but Public Affairs.  Our mission is to build bridges of friendship in the community, encourage interest in history, and by extension perhaps genealogy, help increase appreciation for the goodnes of our livew, and promote family values.   For intance, when our rope makers teach the children about ropes, they point out that a single stand is not very strong, but when twisted together, working together, several strands make a strong rope, just as family members or community working together strengthen each other.

    Thursday, we did a program at El Dorado Adventist School.  Doing a religious school is particularly nice.  It is only at such a school that we can have a private group prayer.  Otherwise, we only  pray alone privately before going to the school.  Also the children were well behaved and  comfortable talking to adults.  

     A school program begins with the all the children together and "Load Your Wagon" .  The leaders talk with the kids about the hard decisions about what to take and what to leave as they prepare to go on their journey to Oregon or California.  The children help put things on the "wagon bed" and sometimes have to re-evaluate.  They think about what is in their bedroom at home and what they would be able to keep.  Not much!

    After the wagon is loaded, the children are split into groups and go around to stations.  Thursday we had Bear Flag, cloth dolls, toys, laundry, and rope making.  I helped with cloth dolls.  I was surprised at how interested and excited the kids - both boys and girls - were in making the cloth dolls and appreciative of what the dolls would mean to  children who had to leave all their toys behind or on the trail.  

      After the program, the children invted us to enjoy a snack with them.  We had butter and apple butter (seemed like apple sauce) the children had made.  With muffins the teachers proviced.  Very nice!

       It is, apparently, traditional, for the Living History Specialists to go to lunch after the school program.  A good time to evaluate and develope unity.  I don't know if I am going to do this.  We went to Cascada, a Mexican restaurant in Placerville.  To someone who thinsk Wendy's or Taco Bell is a splurge, a lunch that starts at about $17seems like a lot and is not something i can do regularly.   Happy surprise, however!  Sumner Howes, our District Leader, and his wife  bought lunch for a couple of us single ladies.  Very nice, I  cannot expect that every time, nor would I want to.  That would not seem right. 

      Friday, I worked at the Folsom Pioneer Village.  We had two school groups come through. (Home school groups.  Home School groups are very nice, too, although the children may be slightly more prone to do things their own way regardless of instruction)  When we do school groups at the Village, we charge $10/sturdent and $6/chaperone, and again do much the same program.  (I imagine we charge schools we go to.  I will have to ask.)  We do use up a lot of supplies.  We set up stations through the village with crafts and activities that are not usually available.  I did cloth dolls again,  And again was pleased with the interest and appreciation shown by both boys and girls . 

     One little six year old girl declared her intention to get married.  Then she asked when you can get married.  The mothers/teachers/chaperones stayed quiet.  So I told her that she needed to be quite grown up, maybe 20,and that first she she should get to know lots of friends so she would know what kind of friend she likes best and wants to always be with.  The girl told me that it had to be boys because two girls can't have babies.  I said, that's right, but having friends who are both boys and girls sitll helps you learn what you think is most important.  I also said that if you want a husband who works hard and tells good jokes, you have to be someone who works hard, too, and laughs.   I asked her age and then told her that she had to wait about15 years.  At that point, a mom/teacher/chaperone broke in and said 20.