Childhood memories along the Mississippi River

It is mid July, and my mind wonders to the sweet memories of my summers in Nauvoo Illinois. For as long as I can remember, my mom would take my sisters and I camping in Nauvoo for a week during the pageant, City of Joseph. We always camped in the Nauvoo State Park just on the edge of town and of Historic Old Nauvoo. We would spend the week gallivanting around Historic Nauvoo visiting our favorite homes. We would visit the brick yard, the gun shop, Wilford Woodruff's home, the Lucy Mac Smith home, the bakery and many many more. We always visited the temple site (before the Nauvoo temple was restored) the Nauvoo Fudge Factory, and we would drive to Carthage Jail about 35 minutes away.

I don't think I have a single memory of camping in Nauvoo that is negative. We did not have showers, so we would have to use a hose or make our own, we did not have flush toilets close, we had to cart our water to our camp site, and it was buggy and very humid. None of that mattered or even phased any of us, we were in Nauvoo and it felt like home. I have a few funny memories, like when Jolene stepped on a garden snake and screamed so loud she probably could have broken windows with her high pitch. One year Tiffany stepped on her curling iron and the bottom of her foot was pretty burnt. But on the upside she and Jolene were able to use the car to drive around Nauvoo rather than the usual walking. Often times we would drive over to the pageant area, but where we would park, we always had to walk past the stinkiest blue cheese factory, the stench would make my stomach churn. All of those little memories hold a special place in my heart that I hope I will never forget.

Of course one of the best things about going to Nauvoo the end of July was being able to go to the City of Joseph each night. As evening would approach, the excitement and anticipation of sun down grew more and more, for that was when the pageant would begin. Most of the time we would go an hour or two before the show was to begin so that we could lay out our blankets to sit on. We would then spend the rest of the time mingling and enjoying ourselves and all the new faces. When I was still pretty young, there were hundreds of people that would come to see the pageant at night. By the time I was a teenager, it was a couple thousand. In the last year of the production, it had quadrupled in audience attendance. Tears have begun to stream down my face as I reflect on watching the pageant. I knew all the scenes, all the songs and even some of the cast members. The show was full of life, love, spirit, history and truth. The costumes were bright and colorful, the scenes were fun and entertaining, and the music was truly moving and spiritual. My love and connection for Nauvoo grew each and every year. there was a spirit about the city, about the pageant that is nearly unexplainable. My testimony of the restoration of the gospel, of Joseph Smith, of the Book of Mormon, and of the hard work and sacrifices made by the pioneers truly was developed and expanded by my experiences in Nauvoo.

2004 was the last year that the City of Joseph was preformed. The pageant ran for 29 years and had only been rained out once in all those years. I was lucky enough to have been able to take my family the last summer on the pageant. Nauvoo had changed so much from my childhood memories. You use to be able to go visit the Historic homes and not have to wait in long lines, but this was not the case any more. Once the temple was rebuilt, the number of visitors that would flood into the area grew by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately this made the Nauvoo that I remember a distant faded memory. It no longer was a quiet quaint little Historic town with lots of visitors from the surrounding areas. It now had families driving cross country, cast members from Utah out numbered those of Stakes surrounding Nauvoo. Everything was packed and noisy, no longer laid back and peaceful. We found that you had to wait outside the pageant area with our blankets at 2 pm and then you would be allowed to go in and RUN to a spot you wanted to lay your blankets. Within minutes, the grass was covered by blankets and people who were wanting to claim their viewing spots for the evening show. It was just so completely different from what it was just 10 years prior. Even though things were so different, it did not matter, it was still Nauvoo. There was still a spirit about the area that just captures your heart. The best thing I can compare it to if the feelings I have when I step on temple grounds. I find myself completely blessed that my mom felt it important enough to take us camping by herself every summer so that we could take part in such an amazing place.

The City of Joseph is no longer running, instead there is a different production called Nauvoo Pageant. It has a very different feel to it. It is wonderful and uplifting, but my heart will always belong to the City of Joseph.