Saturday, May 21, 2016 – P’day, Tour the old homes of Quincy Ill.

 For our P-day Sis. Johnson and I went with several other couples to Quincy, ILL. to tour some of the old homes and their gardens. The homes were very old but well maintained and very beautiful.  The tour was offered by the Quincy Area Convention and Visitor Bureau.   We really enjoyed our day in Quincy and the tours.

The second house we toured was the home of Jerry Holzgrafe. As he gave us the guided tour he commented: “We are so grateful for the generosity of your church when the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was here.”  He was referring to June 2002, when the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed in Quincy.  President Hinckley donated all of the proceeds from the choir’s performance to the Mayor and the Quincy Area Community Foundation. 

In 1839 it was here in Quincy that some 5,000 early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came for refuge after being driven across the Mississippi River from Missouri by Gov. Lilburn Boggs' infamous "extermination order." The local residents numbering only about 1,500 welcomed some 5,000 LDS refugees fleeing Missouri.

The early Latter-day Saints developed warm feelings for Quincy residents, who accepted them into the area when mobs drove them from Missouri. President Hinckley said, "In the annals of our church, this city and its citizens will always occupy a station of the highest esteem."  When the early church pioneers spoke of “The saints in Quincy” they weren’t referring to the Mormons, they were referring to the citizens of Quincy that took in the refugees.