Dear Dad
Carol Cribbet-Bell

Dear Dad:

I wish that you could sit in San Pedro Chapel with me. There is a quality about this building that seems to transcend the ages so that one feels like a ripple on the echoes heard within the old adobe walls. The sense of history and stories is what intrigues me the most, and it would weave a spell for you I'm certain.

San Pedro Chapel is rich with the earth of the mesquite valley it overlooks. It is the essence of early Arizona living and a tribute to the people of El Fuerte. Yet strangely it reminds me of the little Methodist Church that was the center of Grandmother's life and yours as a young boy. There was no mesquite valley, only the tiny village of Findlay, Illinois, population 500 in the boom years. And although the architectural styles of both buildings differ greatly and Catholicism and Methodist Protestant are no religious match, the spirits of the people who worshipped in each place seem similar.

Both the people of El Fuerte and your people of Findlay were farm folk and understood the wealth and the fickleness of the land. Hard workers six days a weeks and each Sunday devoted to prayers and songs in church. I always marveled that Grandmother knew every person in the congregation so well. And even more amazing was that they all knew so much about you and your daughters. I can remember Grandmother's raised eyebrows when Orville Wright sang so loudly and passionately during the chorus of the Old Rugged Cross and I knew that he must have sinned greatly during the week. Everyone else shared that knowledge as well which made the act even more powerful.

I think that Grandmother would have liked this Tucson Chapel too. She would appreciate the efforts of a community to create such a place to praise god and find salvation. And that is what makes this chapel such a wonder to me. There is a fierce uniqueness here and at the same time a universality that speaks to the everyday person. It is a reminder of one of the truths in this thing called life, each one of us so unique and yet so common. It is our strength when we choose to be united, and it is the broken arrow when we fail to understand our bonds. So when you visit Tucson this winter we must walk to the chapel and sit together inside. It will fill both of our spirits.

Love,

Your Arizona daughter

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