by MarianBeaman | Jul 11, 2015 | blog, Coming of Age, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Nostalgia, Recipes, Tips, Uncategorized
First of all, there was no parade and no song. But there was a plate. A plate of cupcakes. I can show you the plate, but the cupcakes are missing. Why? Because our grandchildren ate them all up. In fact the two older boys ate theirs up seconds after they landed on the...
by MarianBeaman | Jul 8, 2015 | Coming of Age, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
His yellow tag says: Cheeno Duncan – Host Family: Ray & Ruth Longenecker How would you feel if you were an 8 or 10-year-old from New York City and after a 3-hour train ride landed you in the farm pastures of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, lush but...
by MarianBeaman | Jul 3, 2015 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, popular culture, Uncategorized
You are seeing the thumbnail of an animated card waiting for you over on my Facebook page. The festivities in the town square here are set to the tune of Sousa’s Liberty Bell March. The tune, famous in the 1970s as the theme song for Monty Python’s Flying...
by MarianBeaman | Jul 1, 2015 | blog, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Travel, Uncategorized
Gladys asks me, “Would you like to drive up to Cataloochee National Park to see the elk sometime this week? We have to go at dusk because that’s when they come out to feed.” I’m quick to respond: “Sounds good to me.” I’ve...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 27, 2015 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Neighborhood / Environment, Travel, Uncategorized
We are spending the week in the cool Smoky Mountains, savoring the beauties of nature in Waynesville, North Carolina. Nothing breaks the silence except birdsong. Rhododendron buds unfold into blossom, a walking stick is a great companion, just like Laurelville Camp in...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 24, 2015 | blog, Coming of Age, Education, Gratitude, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Travel, Uncategorized
Lacing a belt of green and yellow gimp in crafts class Trips to the snack shop for an orange Nehi Bible study on the rocks, girls like us with braids, some with prayer caps These are my sharpest memories of Girls’ Week at Laurelville Mennonite Camp just off the...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 20, 2015 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Lists, meditation, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized
March 1986: Mom and Dad Longenecker visit the families of my sister Janice and me in Jacksonville, Florida. We all enjoy Epcot in Disney World, Dad’s chance to see a faux version of the Switzerland he never actually visited but planned to some day. My...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 17, 2015 | Amish, Amish fiction, blog, book review, Conflict, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Uncategorized
Cool Amish guys have replaced the dreamy looking girl with a huge covering and plain dress popular on the cover of some Amish romance novels. The images have done a flip. Now the young Amish-man with suspenders and broadfall pants and straw hat takes center stage....
by MarianBeaman | Jun 13, 2015 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Recipes, Uncategorized
The Corn Palace Bird beaks peck away at grains of corn on the walls of The Corn Palace. Still, the murals created with several colors of dried corn and grain arrest the eye. On our trip West we visited this grand monument to farmers and the grain industry they...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 10, 2015 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
The Marlboro man, pictured as a cool-guy cowboy in a fresh country setting, ruled cigarette advertising from 1954 -1999. Smoking then was considered glamorous and cool, a way to fit in with the crowd. One of our most popular presidents, Ronald Reagan, was formerly a...
