For Christmas 1843, Joseph and Emma Smith invited their neighbors from Nauvoo to a series of parties at the Mansion House, their hotel. It was the last Christmas of Joseph Smith's life and the only Christmas celebrated so joyously. On December 4, 2009, the Emigration 4th Ward reenacted a Mansion House Christmas party.
For weeks before the party, Jack Hammond, an architect in our ward, did architectural renderings of Nauvoo buildings, to the specifications of the cultural hall. We build to 1/2 the scale Jack suggested, so the buildings weren't as imposing as he had in mind, but they were still colorful and fun. Each auxiliary had a store, and right up till the party began, ward members were still putting the finishing touches on their shops. The High Priests had a tackle shop, the Elders a wheelwright (with a real pioneer wagon wheel), and the Young Men had a gun and ammo store.
The Primary had the bakery and let guests decorate gingerbread men.
The Young Women had a Christmas store with old fashioned ornaments, and the Relief Society had a quilt store.
Darrell Moench had a printing press, like the one run by his ancestor in Nauvoo.
I brought my Grandmother Eyring's trunk as part of the wheelwright display. Inside, I discovered a decal of a 19th century beauty still decorating the trunk.
One of my favorite things about the party was the costumes the ward members wore. Susan Horne wore a black cape worn by her great-grandmother during the 1800s. Wynn Johnson was stylish in a cravatte and vest, and Peggy Spute found, somewhere, not only an old-fashioned brooch and shawl, but even a mop cap.
Kids were invited to the party, and they came dressed in pioneer outfits, too. Steven Jones wore a coonskin cap with his gingham shirt and levis.
For the first part of the party, Dave dressed as George Brimhall, his Nauvoo ancestor, in cowboy hat and levis. Then, after dinner, our former bishop, Bill Edwards, took over as emcee, and welcomed the crowd to the Mansion House. Dave came barrelling in, calling out, "Hallo there, hallo there! Good to be back with the Saints!" Bill tried to throw him out--"Get out of here, stranger!"--but another guest stood up and said, "Wait! It's Porter Rockwell! He's back from Missouri!" Dave explained to the crowd how he'd been falsely accused and imprisoned for trying to assassinate Missouri Governor Boggs. "I didn't do it," Porter exclaimed. "If I'd tried to shoot him, he'd have been shot."
Bill introduced "guests at the party tonight", i.e. at the Mansion House in 1843, to tell us their stories. One guest (Hal Cole) was John Browning, who converted to the Church in Tennessee, owned a gun and ammunition shop in Nauvoo, and went on to invent some of the most famous guns of the 19th century. Other guests included Sarah Granger (a founder of the Relief Society), Lucy Mack Smith (mother of Joseph), and Wilford Woodruff (great missionary who went on to head the Church). Bill interspersed the living history with colorful tidbits from the Nauvoo newspaper and with musical numbers, including Diane Yancey singing "Farewell to Old Nauvoo".
We finished the evening with memories and testimony from Heber C. Kimball and his wife, Vilate, aka our own Bishop and Sister Kimball. We sang "Silent Night" and then went home through the white, Christmasy night.
For Christmas 1843, Joseph and Emma Smith invited their neighbors from Nauvoo to a series of parties at the Mansion House, their hotel. It was the last Christmas of Joseph Smith's life and the only Christmas celebrated so joyously. On December 4, 2009, the Emigration 4th Ward reenacted a Mansion House Christmas party.
For weeks before the party, Jack Hammond, an architect in our ward, did architectural renderings of Nauvoo buildings, to the specifications of the cultural hall. We build to 1/2 the scale Jack suggested, so the buildings weren't as imposing as he had in mind, but they were still colorful and fun. Each auxiliary had a store, and right up till the party began, ward members were still putting the finishing touches on their shops. The High Priests had a tackle shop, the Elders a wheelwright (with a real pioneer wagon wheel), and the Young Men had a gun and ammo store. 
One of my favorite things about the party was the costumes the ward members wore. Susan Horne wore a black cape worn by her great-grandmother during the 1800s. Wynn Johnson was stylish in a cravatte and vest, and Peggy Spute found, somewhere, not only an old-fashioned brooch and shawl, but even a mop cap.
Kids were invited to the party, and they came dressed in pioneer outfits, too. Steven Jones wore a coonskin cap with his gingham shirt and levis.
For the first part of the party, Dave dressed as George Brimhall, his Nauvoo ancestor, in cowboy hat and levis. Then, after dinner, our former bishop, Bill Edwards, took over as emcee, and welcomed the crowd to the Mansion House. Dave came barrelling in, calling out, "Hallo there, hallo there! Good to be back with the Saints!" Bill tried to throw him out--"Get out of here, stranger!"--but another guest stood up and said, "Wait! It's Porter Rockwell! He's back from Missouri!" Dave explained to the crowd how he'd been falsely accused and imprisoned for trying to assassinate Missouri Governor Boggs. "I didn't do it," Porter exclaimed. "If I'd tried to shoot him, he'd have been shot."
Bill introduced "guests at the party tonight", i.e. at the Mansion House in 1843, to tell us their stories. One guest (Hal Cole) was John Browning, who converted to the Church in Tennessee, owned a gun and ammunition shop in Nauvoo, and went on to invent some of the most famous guns of the 19th century. Other guests included Sarah Granger (a founder of the Relief Society), Lucy Mack Smith (mother of Joseph), and Wilford Woodruff (great missionary who went on to head the Church). Bill interspersed the living history with colorful tidbits from the Nauvoo newspaper and with musical numbers, including Diane Yancey singing "Farewell to Old Nauvoo".
We finished the evening with memories and testimony from Heber C. Kimball and his wife, Vilate, aka our own Bishop and Sister Kimball. We sang "Silent Night" and then went home through the white, Christmasy night.
3 comments:
Wow! Even though I think I heard many of the details previously, I am still completely impressed! What a fun night that I am sure everyone will remember. Once again, I really wish I could have been there with my children!
I didn't hear about Dad acting as Porter Rockwell. Before I had read the caption, I thought he was acting out a misguided portrayal of the First Vision.
Porter Rockwell could not have looked better in real life. Jonny's comment is strange
David
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