Those that have gone before....

(This was a trip that I took in July of 2009)This evening instead of sitting in my hotel room in Omaha Nebraska I decided that I would venture out and check out the Pioneer Cemetery in Florence, formally known as Winter Quarters. For a period of time this small community was a stopping point for the Saints after they were driven from Nauvoo, a place where they could gather and prepare for the rest of the journey to the Salt Lake Valley. But this place also became the final resting place for many, both young and old as was evident by the many names listed on the monument in the center of the cemetery.

Talk about the quiet reverence in the cemetery and the temple ground as it is nestled among the trees. A gentle breeze blowing and the birds chirping on a hot and muggy summer evening.

Not far from Florence in another cemetery in Elwood Nebraska is another pioneer, my great grandfather and grandmother. They emigrated from Germany leaving behind their homeland for a new beginning in a foreign country. Although I have not been able to find very much documentation on either one of them, except that they were farmers and loved to work the land in Nebraska, I am grateful for the sacrifices that they made to settle in this great land.

For some strange reason there is a draw to Elwood Nebraska that I had to take advantage while I was in Nebraska. Besides that fact that this is where it all began for my family, my dad was born and spent the first twelve years of his life living in this rural town, I just wanted to see where it began, to be able to walk the streets that my dad walked as a young boy to see the place where my grandparents met and fell in love and later married, to feel that connection with the town.

So with this tank full of gas in the car and my mind made up to make the pilgrimage to the small town of Elwood I headed south on Interstate 80. Once I arrived at Elwood it was not what I really expected, it was really a small rural town. It felt like I was sent back in time 40 or 50 years, the pace was slow, few people were out walking around, it seems like the corner gas station was the main focal point of this town. But I had to stop; I had to make the connection with the past. In fact as my dad would say the town would have had a stoplight but the cows and horses are colorblind so there is no need for a stoplight. Just stop signs at the main intersection.

So I pulled over, parked the car and walked the main street of Elwood Nebraska, reflecting and basking in the thought that this is where my great grandparents, my grandparents and even my dad walked. Maybe as they came to town to barter some of their crops or as dad went to school, this is where it began. For that humble beginning I am eternally grateful. Thanks to those that have gone before, from the pioneers traveling from Nauvoo Illinois to my Great Grandparents emigrating from their homeland in Germany.