“With kind and earnest wishes…..”
The journeys we go on, the roads we take, are enriched by the people alongside us.
As the last of us begin our journey home there is so much to reflect on. I'll have many memories to take with me. Looking over the edge of a 200 foot cliff with my sister at Courthouse Rock. Standing behind a waterfall in Silver Falls. The numerous times we read Williams' words and physically saw where his life changed forever. Each one of those memories is shared with special people. People that, by varying degrees have impacted my life.
William too had a traveling companion. A young man named David Culp. He went through three other parties, for various reasons before finding Culp. Culp meant the world to William, and they literally kept each other alive. At the end of a long journey though, they had to say goodbye.
'We therefore dissolved partnership, shook hands and parted. Four months of association, through pleasure and suffering, through perils and hardships, had bound us together as brothers. I realized from the first how greatly I was dependent upon him for the wisdom he had acquired by experience, but not until by my own experience did I fully realize what his had been worth to me….we separated with deep regrets and with many kind and earnest wishes for each others future welfare."
William Smedley, September 8th, 1862, Across The Plains
As far as I know, William never saw Culp again. He gained new partners on his travels, in Oregon and back to Philadelphia, via Panama. Through dental school and his return by train to the west. And ultimately with his wife, Ellen Vickers, and his 5 children Chester, Clyde, William, Annie (Garrison), and Agnes (Giesecke). And that's how we got to where we are now.
These deep roots and a little journal brought us together for a short week in August. I just want to thank my fellow pioneers:
To my father, who inspires us all every day to live a life of joy, kindness, and love. Who we planned this trip for and in honor of.
To my wonderful sister, whose hard work got us here. Words cannot express how much you have meant to me these last few years.
To Vicki, I always look back fondly on the Smedley Christmas parties, where Vicki and her husband Jim were the life of the party and made a young boy feel respected and cared for.
To the children of our wonderful Ellen, we have always found our roots at the cabin in Estes Park, that Jimmy Smith and his sister Sarah Meyer are caretakers of.
To the cousins I hadn't met, Cathie, Sarah and Erica, and the new memories we have to share from our travels.
To young Sarah Schmitt, thank you for coming along with us oldsters, and replacing me as the youngest tagalong.
To our Oregonian cousins who welcomed us at the end of our weary road.
To our families at home that supported us in the sending and followed along as we went.
To the previous generation that couldn't join us, but were there in legacy, memory, and spirit.
And William who was with us every step of the way.
The journey was great. The people were better. As we go our separate ways, with many kind and earnest wishes for each others futures, I pray it is not our last adventure.