The 4th of July in Oregon ...

On Sunday July 7th I drove the short distance from our condo to Willameette Mission State Park where a Civil War re-enactment was being conducted.

I drove out on Sunday morning in time for the 9:30 a.m. worship service that was conducted by a Christian Church pastor, suitably dressed in period costume. The preacher of the morning gave a brief 3-point sermon based on a statement Benjamin Franklin gave to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, urging daily prayer for wisdom. His points were: pray more, bicker less, and trust God. Several well-known hymns were sung by those of us in the congregation, accompanied by two trumpets.

After the brief worship service (about 40 minutes), I wandered around the encampment, looking at the tents of both the Confederate and Union soldiers. Then, at 11 a.m. visitors like me were seated in bleachers to watch the "battle." - rw