by MarianBeaman | Oct 19, 2016 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Reflection
The Longeneckers think birthdays ending in 5 or 0 are special. At a Longenecker family gathering in Florida in 2003, we celebrated the birthday of my brother Mark, who turned the big 5-0. And also of my Aunt Ruthie who celebrated her 85th birthday at our house at the...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 12, 2016 | blog, Conflict, Literature, popular culture, Reflection
Outrageous. Unbelievable. True. These are the words author/researcher Ann Malaspina uses to describe the legal practice of denying women the right to vote in 1872. Even though women could own property, pay taxes, hold a job, and raise children they could not...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 5, 2016 | blog, Coming of Age, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Reflection, Uncategorized
Yesterday, Tuesday, October 4, my Aunt Ruthie celebrated her 98th birthday. Born in 1918, she is a towering figure in my life and, and along with Mother and Grandma Longenecker, my strongest mentor. And she has been mother/teacher to many. * * * See the determination...
by MarianBeaman | Sep 28, 2016 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Uncategorized
Do you have photo albums un-touched in years? Is there a box of pictures stashed away that hasn’t seen the light of day in ages? What treasures may be hidden in your attic or basement? After our Big Move August 9, more of Cliff’s artwork has come to light, pieces...
by MarianBeaman | Sep 21, 2016 | blog, Education, Literature, Memory, Uncategorized
Introducing Joan I met Joan Z. Rough on Chincoteague Island in February 2015, having become blog buddies months earlier. When we met on this writers’ retreat, Joan was using the Scrivener tool to revise and edit the manuscript for a memoir of the 7-year slice of her...
by MarianBeaman | Sep 14, 2016 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Recipes, Uncategorized
September is the month of late harvest. Those who preserve garden fruits and vegetables have proudly counted Ball jars and bags of frozen goodies before storing them to enjoy this winter. My Canadian blogger friend, Linda Hoye, finds joy in the process and has made an...
by MarianBeaman | Sep 7, 2016 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Literature, Memory, neighborhood, Quotations, Travel, Ukraine, Uncategorized
My writer friend Janet Givens and I have both said Goodbye to houses this summer. She, to a vacation house on a canal in Chincoteague Island, Virginia, and me to our family homestead 12 miles from the beach in Jacksonville, Florida, geographically about 750 miles...
by MarianBeaman | Aug 31, 2016 | Amish, blog, Family / Nostalgia, Literature, meditation, Quotations, Uncategorized
I’ve written about a Mouse, a Madras dress, Marie Kondo, my Mate’s stored secrets and Louisa Adams’ Moving adventure during our Big Move from a tri-level to a single floor. Now we are settling in. You may be curious about what happened to all the books originally...
by MarianBeaman | Aug 24, 2016 | Education, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized
Flop – flop – floppity – bop bop! That was the sound of grandson Ian’s heavy plastic bag of supplies bouncing off his left leg walking into orientation last week at Mandarin Oaks Elementary School. I didn’t pay too much attention to its contents until I helped him...
by MarianBeaman | Aug 17, 2016 | Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized
“Your life is a poem,” says Naomi Shihab Nye. And as the world tilts toward the dog days of summer, that’s how I see it too: tiny images of poetry seen through the prism of my childhood, remembering summers in the Longenecker back yard and inside...
