Dorothy Hart

Larry E. Dahl and Don Norton, comps., Modern Perspectives on Nauvoo and the Mormons (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2003), 87-105.

Nauvoo, Illinois

Birthday: February 23. 1913

Interview on September 28, 2001, in her home by Joella Peterson

Adam Layton also present

Q. [Joella Peterson] I want to hear about Joseph and Hyrum first. Will you tell us the story?

A. [Dorothy Hart] When we were sophomores in high school, the graves of Joseph and Hyrum were dug up, and I think also of Emma. I don鈥檛 remember for sure. All the town kids鈥斺檆ourse we didn鈥檛 have buses then鈥攈ad to walk down to witness it. We had to sign a paper that we saw their bones. They were large men because the bones were long. They were put in long boxes that were velvet lined and then buried, and we had to witness it. We signed the paper that we saw it and all, but I don鈥檛 know what ever happened to it. Maybe we have it.

Q. Why did they decide to dig them up?

A. They were down along the river. I guess that鈥檚 the reason. Then they were buried up farther.

Q. What was the process they used? Was it just men digging? How did they do it?

A. I can鈥檛 remember for sure. I had an article on it, but I鈥檝e lost it. But it seems to me like they were digging for something, and then they run across these bones. It seems to me like that鈥檚 the story.

Q. How old were you?

A. I was a sophomore in high school. I was born in 1913, so I was about fifteen, I guess.

Q. When they came across the graves, did you all know?

A. No, they kept it very quiet. Nobody knew about it until quite a while later. I think it was the RLDS [Community of Christ] that found them. I don鈥檛 know anymore what they was digging for, but it was just an accident that they ran across it, and they didn鈥檛 tell anybody about it. They kept it quiet so they鈥檇 get it.

Q. So how did you get to know about it?

A. I don鈥檛 know how come we did.

Q. You just did?

A. Well, when they was going to rebury 鈥榚m, why all we town kids had to go down, and some of 鈥榚m didn鈥檛 go, but we did. I had a twin sister, Doris, and we went. We were the only children. My dad was married before, and he had a son, but they both passed away.

Q. How did you feel when you saw those [bones]?

A. You know, when you鈥檙e just a sophomore in high school, you don鈥檛 think too much of it. It was something that we had to do. I mean, the town kids had to. And there wasn鈥檛 too many of us walked down. It was February, real cold. But as my sister said, they didn鈥檛 even give us a cup of hot chocolate, and we had to walk home, [chuckles]

Q. [Adam Layton] So you were probably just freezing out there, right?

A. Oh, yes, yes. It was down along the river. Of course that freezes over all winter, so it was cold.

Q. [JP] Was there snow all over as well?

A. I don鈥檛 think there was snow. It was just cold.

Q. What have you heard about Joseph Smith?

A. No, we witnessed the burial of the bones. They showed us where he was shot. He was in Carthage at the jail. We just never knew too much about it鈥攚ell, I didn鈥檛.

Q. When you saw them dig up his body, did you know who he was?

A. They knew where they was buried. They always knew they was buried down there some place. I don鈥檛 know what these men was digging for鈥擨 can鈥檛 remember. It was Mr. Sanford, and I can鈥檛 think who them other men were. They run across [the bones]. They didn鈥檛 tell anybody. They kept it very secret because they knew there would be trouble鈥攕omebody would steal them or something like that.

Q. [AL] When you went over there to watch them dig up the bones, how much of it did you see?

A. We saw after they had been all dug and they were put in boxes lined with velvet. We just saw the bones. They were large men, because their leg and aim bones were long. That鈥檚 what they always told us.

Q. [JP] How long were you down there?

A. We walked down and had to walk back鈥攊t was quite a ways. It was down by the river.

Q. [AL] How many people were there?

A. Some people from town went. There was quite a few people there.

Q. Who exactly was in charge of the whole process?

A. I can鈥檛 remember if it was the RLDS Church or who because that鈥檚 where they are buried鈥攄own on their land. You know where they are buried, don鈥檛 you? And the RLDS have [the land].

Q. [JP] When you were down there, did you have a burial service?

A. Yes. They had a prayer, and they told that they鈥檇 been dug up and stuff. Then they were reburied. I don鈥檛 remember too much about it because I was just a sophomore in high school. That was a long time ago. [chuckles]

Q. You鈥檝e lived in Nauvoo all your life, right? So you were born鈥

A. I was born on temple lot, temple block, across the street.

Q. In another house or this house?

A. We had a twelve-room house over there. On the corner there was a stone building, and Father Tholen, a priest, lived in the front part. In the back part was a parochial school. My dad was a thirty-second-degree Mason. We weren鈥檛 Catholic, but they were the best of friends. He came over every night and visited with my dad. They鈥檇 smoke a cigar and take care of the town鈥檚 business.

Q. What did temple square look like back then?

A. It was all houses, because there was a stone building on the corner, a parochial school and the priest鈥檚 house. Then was our house, a twelve-room house. My dad was a farmer, so we had a barn and we had a cow and a horse because we didn鈥檛 have cars then. Some people had cars, but we didn鈥檛. We had some a little later. Then there was a lady that had a little pansy garden next door. And then John Dusenberry had a garage and there was a harness shop, or Shafer鈥檚 Harness Shop. Then there was a鈥擨 guess it was an Icarian building. There was a milk pit, and his wife lived in there. When we built this house, we lived on the corner in Rose Nicase鈥檚 house. Have you talked to Joe Nelson? It was his aunt. It was an Icarian house. And there was two rooms downstairs and a big hall and two rooms on the other side, and she lived on the other side. Then there was two rooms upstairs on each side. It was kind of divided with the hallway on the inside. We lived up there until we got this house completed. We moved in right before Thanksgiving in 鈥24.

Q. [AL] You say you were on the temple lot. Was it just right across the street? Was it actually on the lot where the temple is being built?

A. Yes, right straight from our front door. That鈥檚 where we were in the house.

Q. [JP] What color was it?

A. It was just like this, a wooden house.

Q. Where was the farm that you said your dad had?

A. It was down along the river, up on the bluffs.

Q. [AL] What did he grow? What kind of farm did he have?

A. He had wheat and corn, and we had a peach orchard and an apple orchard鈥攋ust a little bit of everything. He owned what they called the hundred-acre field; it was down on the flat here. The Mormons own it now. We farmed fifty acres. My father had a couple that lived on the farm who did a lot of work because my dad was a postmaster and supervisor in Alden, and he held all the city offices. He was very smart and very civic minded.

Q. [JP] What did his duties entail as postmaster?

A. He had to be postmaster and put out the mail and do everything. At that time, it was put out on Sunday too.

Q. He must have been very busy.

A. He was. He was a hard worker.

Q. [AL] Did you go out and plow on the field?

A. No. We had chickens. We had to feed them and gather the eggs. Then we used to go with my dad when he had a place over up the street where he kept the cow and stuff like that. We鈥檇 go over with him when he milked the cow. We didn鈥檛 [milk the cow], but he did. We didn鈥檛 know how.

Q. [JP] Have your ancestors always lived in Nauvoo?

A. My mother鈥檚 father came from Germany. But my grandma was born in Cairo and lived in Illinois. My dad鈥檚 parents came from Pennsylvania. They weren鈥檛 from a foreign country.

Q. How did they come to live in Nauvoo?

A. I don鈥檛 know how come they came, but they came down on the Mississippi River. I don鈥檛 know how they got here. But they must have came in a covered wagon; they must have, because then they went up and just around the Golden Point Church.

Q. So how long has your family been in Nauvoo?

A. All their lives. Of course my dad lived down near the Golden Point Church, but my mother and her brothers and sisters was all born here.

Q. [AL] How many brothers and sisters do you have?

A. My dad was married before and he had a son, but after he was married six months he got mastoid [an inner-ear infection], and of course then they didn鈥檛 know what to do. He was in Iowa City, and they was going to operate on him the fifth time, but he died. Then, there wasn鈥檛 any penicillin or anything like that. And that was probably in about 1918. I hardly remember him.

Q. [JP] What do you like about living here?

A. It鈥檚 just always been my home.

Q. Do you have anything that鈥檚 your favorite?

A. No, not especially.

Q. What are some hobbies you like to do?

A. I like to garden, and that鈥檚 about it. I keep up my house.

Q. What do you grow in your garden?

A. Oh, everything. All kinds of vegetables. But I鈥檝e cut it down this year. I have tomatoes and green beans and butter beans and carrots and beets鈥攋ust everything, all the vegetables.

Q. What do you remember about social life in Nauvoo when you were little?

A. We didn鈥檛 go out much. I mean we, the neighbor kids, would all come up and we鈥檇 play together.

Q. What games did you play?

A. Oh, just whatever we had. We played checkers, we played dominoes鈥攚hatever we had. And then we kids would go outside and have bacon-and-egg fries. We鈥檇 make a little stove out of bricks and stuff and we鈥檇 have bacon-and-egg fries. Then we鈥檇 have picnics once in a while.

Q. Have you ever held any civic or church service positions?

A. I go to the Methodist Church, and I鈥檝e been on the board of the Methodist Church. I鈥檓 not now because I didn鈥檛 want it anymore. I go to Sunday School and church every Sunday.

Q. [AL] Did you grow up in the Methodist Church?

A. No, my aunt taught Sunday School at the Presbyterian Church,and she鈥檇 take my sister and I to Sunday School. W;c was about three years old. We went over there until we was about in high school, or about while we was out of high school. They had an old minister, Reverend Goff, and he was so long-winded. We鈥檇 go at 10:30, and if you got out at 12:30 you was lucky. And that was too long for kids. Then we had a blind minister come to Nauvoo; he had parties for the young folks, and we were invited. Then after he left town, Reverend Powell came to town. He had twin girls, Doris and Dorothy, and we were Doris and Dorothy, so we joined the Methodist Church. So 1 don鈥檛 know when it was that we joined.

Q. Tell me about your sister. What was she like?

A. She was very outgoing. She liked to go a lot. I mean, she was very civic minded. She was more like my dad. I was more like my mother, and I wasn鈥檛 interested in that too much. She worked at the electric light company for fourteen years. Then she got married. She lived in a little town, Colusa, Illinois, just a wide place in the road. Her husband drove a fuel oil truck, so they lived out there. She鈥檇 come in at home real often when my mother wasn鈥檛 too well.

Q. How did you meet your husband?

A. Well, I never married.

Q. Oh, you didn鈥檛?

A. No, I worked at Sheaffer Pen Company for thirty-eight years.

Q. What was that like? What did you do?

A. I worked at the shipping department, and we had to check in.They had a kid from the ballpoint department and a pen department. We had to check in all the pens that were labeled and put them on the shelves. Then we had to fill export orders, foreign orders. I liked that. It was real interesting.

Q. How did you do that?

A. We would send people whatever they wanted. Some countries didn鈥檛 want black, some wouldn鈥檛 take blue, and some wouldn鈥檛 take red鈥攜ou had to know. Then we鈥檇 fill the orders. We had all different points: extra fine, fine, medium, broad, and stub. Sometimes we had to have a bunch of girls that boxed them鈥攈ad to put them in special boxes鈥攁nd packed them.

Q. Where was that company?

A. Fort Madison, Iowa.

Q. So you had to travel?

A. Yes, ten miles. I didn鈥檛 drive, so I always had a ride. I was lucky.

Q. Did a lot of people from around here work there?

A. Oh yes. At one time they had about thirteen hundred working up there. But they had a plant that they called Plant Two. It was down at the lower end of Fort Madison, but we worked up at this end. They had around thirteen hundred people that worked there. Now I don鈥檛 think they have over three hundred. It鈥檚 not going so good.

Q. How long did you work there?

A. I worked there thirty-eight years. I was in the same department.

Q. For thirty-eight years?

A. Yes. I was in shipping. We would send out all the pens and pencils and ballpoints. There was three of us that worked back there. We called it the vault鈥攊t really wasn鈥檛, but that鈥檚 what it was called鈥攊n the old building. Later the new building was built. The old building wasn鈥檛 very good.

Q. What have you heard about the history in this area? What do you know about the history of Nauvoo?

A. The Germans was here. Then the Icarians. Then the Mormons just come along.

Q. Tell me about the Icarians.

A. They鈥檙e called French Icarians. I don鈥檛 know too much about them. My sister wrote an article on Nauvoo. She was working for the electric company. She lived here, and then when she married she moved to Clousa, ten miles south.

Q. How did the bleu cheese factory get started?

A. There used to be wine cellars in Nauvoo. Oscar Rhode came to Nauvoo and started making bleu cheese. It was just a small affair. He had to borrow the money to start; he didn鈥檛 have anything. He鈥檚 dead now, but his family is very wealthy. They put the bleu cheese in caves to age it. The factory has been here for quite a few years.

Q. [AL] It seems to be pretty famous.

A. Yes, they ship a lot of it out.

Q. [JP] I read in Nauvoo history that there鈥檚 a wine industry here.

A. Yes, Baxter鈥檚 Winery now. But years ago the Germans lived here, and the men in every German family would make wine for use in winter. I don鈥檛 know too much about it, except that鈥檚 what they did. They must have drank some of it. [chuckles]

Q. What do you know about the wine and cheese festival?

A. The grape festival started years ago. I can鈥檛 remember what year it started. It used to be more of a little family affair, and now people come from all over. A lot of people like to go to the winery, into the bleu cheese factory: they used to go through it, but they can鈥檛 anymore. The state won鈥檛 allow it for health reasons. I never went through, but people have.

Q. Who were some of the individuals who stand out as people of Nauvoo?

A. I don鈥檛 know.

Q. Tell us more about your father; he sounded pretty important.

A. He held a lot of civic offices. He was postmaster. I鈥檓 not bragging, but he was very intelligent. I don鈥檛 think Doris and I got too much of that. Doris did more than I did. He was always very civic minded in everything. A lot of people would come to him for advice because he was very intelligent. He only graduated from eighth grade because then people didn鈥檛 have high school. He lived down in the country and he went to eighth grade, and then he taught grade school. Where the hardware store is, there was a brick building, and that was a grade school. Up the street farther鈥攖oward town鈥攚as the high school. When he was president of the school board, they built the school they have now. It used to be grade and high school together up here, but now the high school is out in the country.

Q. What was it like when he taught [school]?

A. He taught all grades. He had sixty pupils. He said a lot of times he would have the little first graders on his lap teaching them while he was teaching the others. They just had one teacher.

Q. Did he get involved with the school board because of being a teacher?

A. He was just very civic minded. He was just an outgoing man that got mixed up in everything.

Q. Are there any other people that stand out in your mind when you think of Nauvoo?

A. Yes, Lowell Horton. He did a lot when we got the hard road. There was quite a few. I can鈥檛 think of them right now. Joe Nelson. Now have you seen Joe Nelson yet?

Q. I haven鈥檛.

A. He鈥檚 left for Peoria now.

Q. Does he live there now?

A. He is over there for the winter. They moved there yesterday.

Q. [AL] How do you know him?

A. His dad owned the Nauvoo Electric Light and Power Company. We used to get the power from the Keokuk Dam鈥攜ou could buy it. Now we鈥檙e Union Electric. Of course they still get it from the dam, but it鈥檚 a bigger company. It was privately owned at that time by Joe Nelson鈥檚 dad. His dad was very civic minded too and held a lot of offices.

Q. [JP] Was he friends with your father?

A. They knew each other. They was on the school board together. My sister worked for him with the electric company.

Q. Tell us about your mother.

A. She was born in Nauvoo. They had a store up here鈥攖hey called it the Columbia Store. It鈥檚 what the little variety store up here is now. When she worked there, they had everything. They had a coffee grinder鈥攁 big one鈥攊n which they ground coffee when they sold it. They just had everything: dry goods, hats, shoes, groceries鈥攅verything. We had three stores then. That store, Datin and Leppert, and then Schneider and Hummel that was clear up the street. Now we only have one.

Q. So she worked there.

A. Six years. Then she got married to my father.

Q. Then she helped out around your home?

A. Yes. My dad had a vineyard. We had ten acres of grapes down on the farm and an apple and a peach orchard, so they were kept busy.

Q. Was it just your parents, your sister, and you who worked on the farm?

A. He had a hired hand down on the farm, a couple with two sons. They all worked together.

Q. Do you remember what the farm tools were like?

A. They used horses. They didn鈥檛 have tractors鈥攋ust plows and stuff.

Q. In 1839 a lot of Mormons came to Nauvoo because of Joseph Smith. Then later over fifteen hundred people lived in Nauvoo. Then there was a conflict, and many of the Mormons left.

A. The town was down on the flat鈥攚e called it the flat. My mother used to call it the Red Brick Store or something like that. I just don鈥檛 remember all that. When we were born, everything was uptown.

Q. What have you heard about why they left? What was the conflict about?

A. I don鈥檛 know what it [the reason they left] was, All I know is the Mormons left town.

Q. What have you heard over the years about what the Mormons may have done to provoke the actions against themselves? Do you know anything about that?

A. No. I never did hear very much about it. All I know is they just left and that was it. There was some difficulty. I don鈥檛 know what it was.

Q. Did your ancestors come after the Mormons all left?

A. I don鈥檛 know if they did or not. My Grandpa Sandmeyer came from Germany. It took him sixty days to come on the boat.

Q. How did he get here?

A. They came from Germany on a boat; then they came down the Mississippi River. I don鈥檛 know how come they came to Nauvoo, but that鈥檚 where they came, [chuckles]

Q. [AL] What year was it that your grandparents arrived here?

A. I don鈥檛 know exactly. My mother was born in 1883. She had two brothers and a sister that died before that. It was in the 1800s sometime, but I don鈥檛 know when.

Q. [JP] How did the Presbyterian and the Methodist Churches come to Nauvoo? Were they always here?

A. I suppose they were鈥擨 don鈥檛 know. I went to the Presbyterian Church because my aunt taught Sunday School from the time we was three years old until the time we was in high school. Then they had an old minister. He was so long-winded, we just didn鈥檛 get out. Then we went to the Methodist Church. I鈥檝e been a Methodist since 1930-something.

Q. [AL] What kind of religious background were your parents?

A. My dad belonged to the Golden Point Church down in the country. My mother was Presbyterian.

Q. So two different religions. Did they ever get in conflicts? [chuckles]

A. No. My dad went to the Presbyterian Church when he moved up here to town鈥攖hat was down in the country when he went to the Golden Point Church. We went to the Presbyterian Church until we was out of high school鈥擲unday School and church. That minister was so longwinded. It wasn鈥檛 interesting for young folks, [laughs] He was an older man. The church didn鈥檛 have much activity for the young folks. They had a blind minister come to Nauvoo鈥攖he Methodists did鈥攁nd they had parties for young folks. There were sixteen of us during the mutual. Now our church isn鈥檛 too large, but we鈥檝e got a good church鈥攁 good minister and everything.

Q. [JP] What was school like for you?

A. We had all grades in the school. The school had first and second grade together, then third and forth, fifth and sixth, seventh and eighth. Then we went to high school. I had one teacher for each grade鈥攆or each, first and second and such鈥擨 think there was four teachers over in the high school.

Q. Where was that school?

A. It was down from the hardware store. It was a brick building. I guess it鈥檚 still standing. I haven鈥檛 been down there. They had all eight grades down there. Then there was a brick building up by the motel. That was the high school. They had all four grades of high school up there.

Q. Did you go to school while your dad was the teacher?

A. No. He taught long before we were even born. He was postmaster when we were born.

Q. What have you heard about people鈥檚 thoughts about many of the Mormons coming back and building up Nauvoo?

A. There鈥檚 always some people that don鈥檛 like them and some people that do. I haven鈥檛 heard too much conflict about it. I think they鈥檝e all worked together very well.

Q. Do you like all of the buildings being rebuilt?

A. I think it will be nice. I don鈥檛 remember those buildings. I was down on the flat the other day with some people, and I was surprised at the buildings they were putting up. Maybe that鈥檚 the way it was years ago鈥擨 don鈥檛 know.

Q. What was it like before, down in the flats? Was it just fields?

A. Yes. Before the Mormons came here it was kind of trashy. People didn鈥檛 cut their weeds or anything. Now it is nice and neat.

Q. What was your reaction to the announcement that they were going to rebuild the Nauvoo Temple?

A. I just thought I was born on temple lot, and it鈥檚 okay.

Q. Was it called temple lot when you were born there?

A. No. We called it that. We called it temple square, but it wasn鈥檛. It was just Mulholland Street.

Q. Have you liked how they have redone the temple?

A. I wish they鈥檇 set it back a little farther cast. I think it would look better. I guess that鈥檚 where it was.

Q. Do you like all the construction?

A. It is kind of noisy and stuff. And then an underground place for autos is being made next door.

Q. When did they start working on all of this?

A. They started this spring with the auto part. This [temple construction] has been going on for a couple of years鈥攖wo or three years.

Q. [AL] Do you like the way Nauvoo was back then, with just fields and quietness?

A. Yes, in a way. But you get used to the activity. It was a quiet kind of a town. Not too much going on. It wasn鈥檛 too much for young folks. That鈥檚 why everybody went out of town to work. You had your church and that was it鈥擨 mean the churches. All the churches worked together very nicely.

Q. [JP] How many churches were there?

A. There鈥檚 seven: the Methodists and the Lutheran and the Presbyterian and the Catholic and the RLDS and the Mormons and the Baptists. The Baptists are kind of new here; we don鈥檛 know too much about them. The lady that is kind of the head of it has caused kind of a trouble among us.

Q. [AL] She has? What has she done?

A. She was kind of a radical about things. She didn鈥檛 work with the other people too well. I guess she does now鈥擨 don鈥檛 know. She was causing some trouble. I think she is an ex-Mormon because she has a car that says 鈥渆x-Mormon鈥 or something on it. I don鈥檛 know too much about her. She has an office up the street here.

Q. What do you know about all the other churches?

A. They all work together very nicely. It used to be the Catholics were the biggest church in town, but now I think the Mormons are getting to be the biggest. The Presbyterians used to have a harvest festival, and everybody went to that. They displayed all the vegetables and fruits that were raised. Then they would have a program and a chicken dinner on Saturday, and that was it. It was real activity.

Q. [AL] If there is anything that you could do to change Nauvoo, what would you do?
A. I wouldn鈥檛 change too much.

Q. It seems like you鈥檙e just fine with anything. You just go along with the flow.

A. Well, you have to. There is no use fighting it. One person can鈥檛 fight it鈥攊f you don鈥檛 like it. Everybody seems to work together well. Always have.

Q. [JP] What do you know about the BYU students who have been coming here?

A. I don鈥檛 know them too well. I鈥檓 a very good friend of Durell Nelson. I don鈥檛 know if you know him or not. They are very good friends of ours. We talk about everything but religion. There was Mormon people that lived over in the Clark house鈥攖he brick house鈥攁nd they came over where my sister lived. They says, 鈥淲e鈥檇 like to be your friends,鈥 and Doris says, 鈥淲e want to be your friends.鈥 But she says we won鈥檛 talk religion, because as soon as we talk religion, out the door you go and we go too. We don鈥檛 argue religion. Because everybody gets along and there鈥檚 no sense fighting it. As long as you believe in God and live a good life, why that鈥檚 it. Everybody seems to get along as far as I know. Of course, I don鈥檛 get out too much anymore.

Q. Did your family build this house by themselves?

A. We had a carpenter. Dachroth Brothers built it. The reason we built over here was because Father Tholen was going to build a house over by the Catholic church, and they was going to make it a parochial school, and the school kids was always in our yard. When my mom would have the wash on the line, why they鈥檇 play ball and she鈥檇 have to take it down and do it all over. Father Tholen and my dad was good friends, so when he was talking about building a house. Father Tholen said, 鈥淲hy don鈥檛 you build across the street?鈥 That鈥檚 what we did. Next door was an Icarian coal mine, but it鈥檚 been filled up. Now it has been dug up again, [chuckles]

Q. When was it the coal mine?

A. Years ago. Long before I was born. They always said it was an Icarian coal mine. We kids when we were little used to go down and pick violets and wild flowers. There was a big pipe that came through from the city. Whenever it looked like it was going to rain or stuff, my mother would get at the top of the hill and yell, 鈥淵ou kids get out of there. You鈥檙e going to get drowned.鈥 So up the hill we鈥檇 come, [chuckle]

Q. [AL] It looks like you have a lot of pictures over there.

A. Those arc pictures of Nauvoo. Go over and look at them.

Q. [JP] Will you tell us about them?

A. This one is St. Edmonds Hall. It used to be a Catholic boys鈥 school down here on the corner. This one is St. Mary鈥檚 Academy, and it鈥檚 tore down. This was the schoolhouse, my mother went to down on the flat.

Q. [AL] Is that still there?

A. No. This is the Joseph Smith Mansion. That is a courthouse. My dad was on the building committee when they built that.

Q. [JP] Where was that at?

A. Carthage. His name is on the courthouse.

Q. What was his name?

A. George Hart. This was Nauvoo years ago. That鈥檚 the parochial school. The Presbyterian Church.

Q. [AL] Is this your family up here?

A. This is my Mormon friends that used to be here. Most of those are just Mormon guides that used to be here. That鈥檚 the Douglasses. We used to know a lot of Mormon guides. I don鈥檛 know them now as much as I did. In fact, I don鈥檛 know any of them, [chuckles] They don鈥檛 get out as much as they used to. They have too much activity of their own. That up there is a beer stein. My dad and his first wife went to Texas one year, and they bought it. They didn鈥檛 drink beer, but it was just a gift. That picture over there was made by my dad鈥檚 first wife; it was all handmade.

Q. What is it made out of?

A. It is all weaved鈥攕titches. She went to the academy, and the sisters helped her. It鈥檚 all handmade. This is my twin sister. That is she and her husband.

Q. [JP] Were you identical twins?

A. No. She was a little taller than I was. I used to have lighter hair. My hair was blond when we was little, and she was dark.

Q. [AL] Do you keep in touch with your family much, your sister?

A. She鈥檚 passed away. I don鈥檛 have much family. I鈥檝e just got some second cousins. I don鈥檛 see them too often.

Q. I like your house.

A. It鈥檚 big. It鈥檚 got three bedrooms and a bath upstairs. Dining room, the sunroom, sitting room鈥攈ere鈥攁nd the kitchen.

Q. [JP] Is there anything else you would like to tell us about Nauvoo?

A. No.

Q. Thank you so much for letting us come.

A. That鈥檚 okay. I鈥檓 glad that you came in.

[After the interview, Dorothy told a story about how she got the big tree in her front yard]

A. My brother-in-law bought a chance on a tree. There were three chances for a dollar. So that night one of his customers called up and said, 鈥淲here do you want your tree, Hugh?鈥 He said, 鈥淭ake it over to my sister- in-law and leave her have it.鈥 So it cost six dollars to plant it, but it was just a little thing.

Q. When was that?

A. Oh, that was 1940s or sometime.

Q. [AL] So when you bought this tree, it was just a small tree.

A. It was just a little tiny one.

Q. And where did they transported it from?

A. I don鈥檛 know where they got it. I don鈥檛 know what kind it is. But that鈥檚 a ways鈥攖hat鈥檚 too big.

Q. That is a huge tree.

A. We used to have trees on this side. The electric company made us take them down on account of the electric wires. I got sawyer grass and I don鈥檛 like it. It鈥檚 real nice to walk on, but it鈥檚 hard to mow.

Q. Do you have to mow it every day?

A. No. I have my grass mowed now. If you need any more answers, why, if I can give them to you, I鈥檒l give them to you.

Q. [JP] Thank you.