Justin Lawyer of the Palo Alto ward took these awesome photos and wrote this up:
Parents, Bishopric, Primary Presidency-
This last week the 11-year-old patrol decided to join the Redwood City 11-year-olds in a service project this morning. The Department of Public Works in Redwood City was organizing a number of cleanups in various locations. We were assigned to help with weeds and pick up trash at the Union City Cemetery. Little did we know that this would turn out to be an incredible experience! Not only did we help remove 5-6 garbage extra large bags of trash and weeds and uncovered numerous tombstones, but we were very lucky to be led by a local historian. By telling the stories of people behind the tombstones, he told of the origins of Redwood City 150 years ago. It turns out Redwood City was originally a redwood lumber yard from trees harvested on Skyline and was instrumental in building virtually everything from San Francisco to San Jose. This historian also shared the story of the California 100, a band of 100 seasoned frontiersman from Redwood City who left to fight in the Civil War with the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry. These soldiers were recognized as being some of the best horsemen, marskmen, and soldiers in the Cavalry. In addition, we got to see the headstone of Charles Benjamin, a member of this California 100 and who was the soldier who received the white flag from General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox in 1865, the final battle of the Civil War. We got to have a mini devotional and I think everyone (scout and non-scout in that group) left with a better appreciation of the sacrifices of those who have left before us, the importance of serving our communities, and of preserving the local history of the families who have gone before us.
This last week the 11-year-old patrol decided to join the Redwood City 11-year-olds in a service project this morning. The Department of Public Works in Redwood City was organizing a number of cleanups in various locations. We were assigned to help with weeds and pick up trash at the Union City Cemetery. Little did we know that this would turn out to be an incredible experience! Not only did we help remove 5-6 garbage extra large bags of trash and weeds and uncovered numerous tombstones, but we were very lucky to be led by a local historian. By telling the stories of people behind the tombstones, he told of the origins of Redwood City 150 years ago. It turns out Redwood City was originally a redwood lumber yard from trees harvested on Skyline and was instrumental in building virtually everything from San Francisco to San Jose. This historian also shared the story of the California 100, a band of 100 seasoned frontiersman from Redwood City who left to fight in the Civil War with the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry. These soldiers were recognized as being some of the best horsemen, marskmen, and soldiers in the Cavalry. In addition, we got to see the headstone of Charles Benjamin, a member of this California 100 and who was the soldier who received the white flag from General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox in 1865, the final battle of the Civil War. We got to have a mini devotional and I think everyone (scout and non-scout in that group) left with a better appreciation of the sacrifices of those who have left before us, the importance of serving our communities, and of preserving the local history of the families who have gone before us.
No comments:
Post a Comment