Another Group of Children Visit
The Mount of the House of the Lord
On Friday, August 9th, 1996 at 1:30 p.m., accompanied by two staff instructors, two groups totaling sixty children, about 15 preschoolers and others in elementary school, visited Woodmont, the Mount Of The House Of The LORD, for the purpose of seeing the cave located there and learning about caves in general. They entered Woodmont from Aloha Lane at Palace Mission Road at the north end of the property.
It was raining lightly and most of the children had no rain gear but they didn't seem to mind a bit. They were very anxious to get to the cave but when they saw the "castle" they really got excited. They were told that Woodmont was open to the public every Sunday during the summer from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October and that they could tell their parents to bring them again.
They of course were interested in the swimming pool, and when they saw the flowers at the main entrance of the "castle", the Manor House, they again had to stop and look. They must have been told about the cave because when they got there, they could not be restrained. So many crowded into the cave that it was impossible to see much but they touched everything and crawled into all the corners with flashlights that some of them had brought.
The instructor called them all out and made them quiet down after a bit and asked Mr. Philip Life to tell something about the history of the cave. They were informed about it being a former Indian cave and also about the story that it was also used during the Revolution by George Washington's troops as a shelter for some of the wounded.
She then took the younger ones in and gave them a lesson on the geology of caves, how they are formed and how old they are. Then the smaller children started up Christian Way to the top of the hill and then into the vegetable and cut flower gardens. Miss Seraphim was there and she toured them through the garden, explaining as much as she could to the enthusiastic youngsters.
Meanwhile, back at the cave, the older students were getting a much more comprehensive lesson on geology. When they finally got to the gardens, they too asked many questions and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. It was still raining as they departed through the orchard back to Aloha Lane and Riverbend. It was quite rewarding and enjoyable for the guides to be with this happy group.
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