Submission Twelve

Donald Carver on Hope & Heritage "what is it that makes us feel hopeless?...maybe a seemingly insurmountable task....a loneliness or separation?....a doubting of our self or fear of failure...and in turn, what can make us feel motivated or inspired?....beating the odds?... succeeding in spite of hardship?... being a part of something bigger than our self maybe.....when my life seems to get difficult, or things i take for granted inexplicably fail, or i have issues that get me down, i think of my great great aunt.............. phoebe left home in vermilon , ohio and crossed the great plains in a wagon in 1852... the arduous journey was chronicled in later life in her book "a pioneers search for an ideal home"....all manner of hardship was endured....attacks... death on the trail...hunger and thirst... 6 months!....parts unknown!...unsettled!....but they made it!..by sheer will...determination ...faith..... phoebe and holden went on to found the town of lynden in 1871.... she was called the "mother of lynden" not only because she named the town but also because , in the absence of a doctor, she delivered dozens of babies there... holden and phoebe started the first postal service... opera house...church ...school.... phoebe had 5 children of her own, one of which was born on the oregon trail (yes she was pregnant when she left home!), and she fostered 11 more children...... she was a common woman...a pioneer...but a history maker ,and a history teller....a possessor of spirit...and a giver of hope....her inspirational life will soon be commemorated by the renound sculptuist william mc dermitt, and serve as a constant reminder of the pioneer spirit and the determination and drive of the people who settled the northwest"