Family History

Grandma Irene showed up at the last family party with something wrapped carefully in a towel. With Grandma, it's always a surprise. She gathered us all together and unwrapped a cane. She then proceeded to tell us the story of this cane that used to be Joseph Smith's and was given to our great-great-great-great Grandpa Porter Rockwell. If you don't know about Porter Rockwell, he's worth a look up. (kind of exciting that Mark's bloodline comes from him).  The top is ivory with a stamped picture of a hunter and his dogs. There is a gold wrap at the base of the ivory and the cane is solid wood. Grandma also showed us a "chink" in the wood where the cane was slammed in the door during one of Joseph's jail stays (not Carthage she guessed). We have really been focusing on Family History at church and keeping our ancestors alive by not only completing their ordinance work but also, sharing stories and pictures about their lives and character. It was pretty neat to get to see the cane (that only gets passed around so often) and have my 94 year old grandma there to tell me and my kids about it.