Monument to the Forefathers

While on a project in Vassar, MI,  Mike Slocum casually asked if I had heard of the Monument to the Forefathers. I had no idea what he was talking about and he then hands me a DVD that had the title MONUMENTAL:  IN SEARCH OF AMERICA'S NATIONAL TREASURE.. (click on link)  It is a documentary that features Kirk Cameron searching for answers to todays ever increasing national, economic, moral and family problems.  

 

It was a couple of days till I had the time to view the DVD; honestly, I was procrastinating since I thought that this was going to be another boring monologue on a forgotten monument.  Well was I wrong - as the CD slipped into the player,the documentary started with a pretty good soundtrack and flashy screenshots; then Kirk started to give us a glimpse of what drove him to explore the  mission that he was to embark on:  to try and discover the solutions to our ever present dilemma. I was spellbound as he went through the process of discovering who the pilgrims were, what their story was and why they had to come to the  new land. I thought that some scenes were a bit too "theatrical" but the director evoked directors privilege to mainly drive a point.

 

After watching the documentary I had a sleepless night thinking about the relevance of what was portrayed and how indeed the solutions to most of the ills that plague us today may be found in the words and teachings of our forefathers. We had decided to make it a point to visit Plymouth, MA and visit the Jenney Museum (click for the link). 

 

Jenney Museum in Plymouth, MA

 

We called and were fortunate to arrange for the walking tour combined with the trip to the Monument to our Forefathers. Upon arrival at the museum and were greeted by Nancy Martin and Debby Dugan, both Directors of the museum. They gave us an quick introduction and while we waited for the rest of the group, we were ushered into the different displays and rooms. Leo Martin, our tour guide and narrator, came down and introduced himself and you immediately knew that this gentleman was full of knowledge and  historic tidbits. The Jenney Museum is small when compared to other museums but the message that it conveys is HUGE!!!

 

Leo and Nancy Martin founded the Jenney Museum about 18 years ago. Prior to this, they had managed the Plimoth Grist Mill  (link) next door from the museum. There is a whole different story to this mill which we will need to investigate at a later date.

Debby Dugan and Nancy Martin

 

Nancy and Leo Martin, Founders of Jenney Museum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



  

 

One of the rooms at the Museum

 

 

 

Plimoth Grist Mill

We started the walking tour right behind the Grist Mill with Leo narrating historic facts and anecdotes spiced up with a bit of humor and wittiness. The Pilgrims settled in this area primarily due to the river that delivered 3 primary essentials: water used for drinking and irrigation, water  used for generating power, and water were fish, herring in particular, swam up to the lake to lay their eggs and eventually die which fertilized the nearby land. Spring fed and pure enough to drink.

 

We went through the rest of the tour in quick succession of historic plaques, casted statues,  buildings and streets. Too much information to put into text - to get the whole story you may have to find the time to go to Plymouth and take the tour. I will have to let the pictures do the talking on this blog.

 

 

 

The "River"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leo at work

 

 

 

 

 

 

William Bradford, Governor of Plymouth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The famous ROCK

 

Landing site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Massasoit

 

Names of those that died on the first year at Plymouth

 

The first Church

 We had a small group of people with us on the walking tour to find out that we were the only ones who signed up to see and hear the message behind the Monument of the Forefathers which I felt was the most revealing "document" explaining what the Pilgrims where all about. BTW according to Leo they did not wear buckles on their hats and shoes as often portrayed in the history books - wonder why that is?

 

About a 5 minute drive from the museum through the busy streets of town and into a now developed housing community lies this gigantic structure. Monuments are described in many ways  and all of them are justifiably accurate; however, in most cases the underlying story is often left out and undermined by the sheer grandiose of the physical structure. This granite monument is no different, but the history and message that it seeks to deliver is amazing!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Names of those on the Mayflower

 

 

A quote from Governor Bradford

 

 

More passengers on the Mayflower

 

 

 

Watch the documentary, take the tour, read and do some research, whatever you decide to do will certainly be a revelation in historical facts. It may also hold the key to helping us understand a bit more about how this country came to be, the course it took to bring us to where we are today and more importantly how we can help direct it towards the right path. 

 

Blessings