by MarianBeaman | Jun 1, 2013 | Coming of Age, Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
Our family has fertile, Lancaster County land in lots and parcels, scattered hither and yon: behind our house there is a small garden of beans, sugar peas, and cucumbers, embroidered with roses and peonies. Then there is a field of four acres in Rheems which Daddy...
by MarianBeaman | May 29, 2013 | Coming of Age, Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
Tomato Girl, Part I Lancaster County, early June 1953 – and I’m in the tomato patch with Mother and Daddy. Actually, it’s not a tomato patch, it’s over 9 acres of farm land not far from Elizabethtown in Bainbridge where we are about to plant a new tomato crop. Years...
by MarianBeaman | May 25, 2013 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Lists, Tips, Uncategorized
For years I have kept a ratty ole pin cushion from Grandma Longenecker in my sewing cabinet. It looks pitiful, but I’ll never throw it away because it came from my Grandma. Pierced through its dusty middle with some of her pins and holding one of my...
by MarianBeaman | May 22, 2013 | Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
I’ve told my students if they ever see me in a bank behind the teller’s window—RUN! Math has never been my strong suit, but I can spell well. In fourth grade, I always win the spelling bees on Friday. In fact, my winning is so predictable that my friend Wayne tells me...
by MarianBeaman | May 18, 2013 | Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Uncategorized
Yes, my Aunt Ruthie is a cheater. I’ll admit that she also has an honorable resume that includes a principalship of Rheems Elementary School, Tax Collector of West Donegal Township, mother to refugees and immigrants. But, you heard right, she also has a rap sheet. Let...
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...
