by MarianBeaman | May 15, 2013 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Romance, Uncategorized
Baskin-Robbins offers nearly 60 flavors of ice cream at their shoppes. The varieties of dress among Mennonites and Amish, who split from the Mennonites, is nearly as long and equally fascinating. In recent research, I counted dozens of sub-sects. ...
by MarianBeaman | May 11, 2013 | Family / Nostalgia, Lists, Uncategorized
10 Reasons Why My Husband Does Not Hear Me: 1. He is listening to an audio book CD 2. He is listening to music 3. He doesn’t have his hearing aids in 4. He does have his hearing aids in but they’re tuned to TV/BlueTooth 5. He is upstairs 6. He is downstairs 7. He is...
by MarianBeaman | May 8, 2013 | Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Recipes, Uncategorized
As I shove the casserole dish into the oven, I notice the olive oil spray can, the top of the paper towel holder, knives, and a scissors all besmirched with sausage. When did stuffing a Dutch goose (euphemism for pig stomach) take so much time and effort? It seems my...
by MarianBeaman | May 4, 2013 | Uncategorized
Thread 1 All Mennonite girls of the 1950s and 60s made their own clothes. Hager’s, Watt & Shand, or Garvin’s in Lancaster city was not the place to shop for dresses with capes or any other plain clothing. So, we made our own frocks on Mother’s foot-powered treadle...
by MarianBeaman | May 1, 2013 | Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
Hex signs on barns, fertile farms, plain dress, PA Dutch cooking: These are the first impressions many people have of Mennonites in Lancaster County. But the ethic of compassion of these folk draws from a deeper well: From their founder, Menno Simons, to the present...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 27, 2013 | Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Uncategorized
His younger brother spent a lot of money traveling to visit him in prisons far away and close at hand. The older brother saw that his younger brother was kind and good to him even though he deserved revenge for stealing all those precious and rare coins many years...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 24, 2013 | Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Uncategorized
Once upon a time there were two brothers very close in age who often dressed alike. They roughhoused, played cops and robbers, and tricked one another just for fun. But one brother tricked the other way too much. Slyly, the older brother would steal gold and silver...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 20, 2013 | Family / Nostalgia, Uncategorized
Beauty in Jars I Yesterday morning, Mom assessing my cosmetics on her bathroom vanity: “What are you doing with all that stuff?” She doesn’t wait for an answer. “I wouldn’t know what to do with it all,” see adds as she eyes my jars of moisturizer, foundation,...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 15, 2013 | Family / Nostalgia, Uncategorized
On the plane from Jacksonville, Florida to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania my dark, curly-haired seat mate is playing MahJong on her iPad. She is content clicking and dragging tiles with red, green, blue curlicue Chinese letters across the screen, relaxing and whiling away...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 10, 2013 | Family / Nostalgia, Lists, Uncategorized
One day at Elizabethtown High School, a lovely girl from Mississippi with long, red locks strolled into our class a month or two into the term. We were mesmerized by her Southern drawl and relaxed manner. Her name was Jeannine Loux, a last name which she stretched out...
