A Bridge to the Past

By Jan Pinborough

Church Magazines

Clomp, clomp, clomp! Twenty-one pairs of feet walked across a wooden bridge. Twenty-one Primary children were about to travel back in history to a special place—and leave it better than they found it.

Primary children from the Billerica Ward, Nashua New Hampshire Stake, were having a service activity at the Minute Man National Historic Park in Concord, Massachusetts. The wooden bridge is a replica of the Old North Bridge, where the first battle of the American Revolution took place on April 19, 1775.

The children’s goal was to help clean up the park. Before they got started, a park ranger told them about the park’s history. Then their Primary president, Sister Stephanie Davis, reminded them how the founding of the United States helped prepare the way for the gospel to be restored.

The children knew they were in a place that deserves respect. They had fun without yelling or being rowdy. What does it mean to respect a place? Here’s what the children had to say:

“It means you want to take care of the place so that it’s kept special.” —Abby K., age 8

“It means you leave it looking the same or better than when you got there.” —Dallen H., age 9

“It’s like saying, ‘I appreciate you.’” —Taylor A., age 11

Then they put on rubber gloves and went to work, putting every piece of trash they could find into their garbage bags.

How did the children feel when they were finished? Good, because “this is a place where something really happened,” said Alden D., age 11. All the children agreed that it felt great to show their respect for an important place that’s right in their own backyard.

Photographs by Elizabeth Pinborough