by MarianBeaman | Mar 29, 2013 | Family / Nostalgia, Lists, Uncategorized
1. Quiet time for Mom 12 – 3 p.m. on Good Friday afternoon to correspond to part of the time Christ hung on the cross. 2. Easter jackets fully lined in pastel tweeds or plaids made by Aunt Ruthie. Easter dresses by Mom, sometimes with smocking or embroidery. 3....
by MarianBeaman | Mar 25, 2013 | Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
When I was about 6 weeks old, my parents took me to church–Bossler Mennonite Church close to Elizabethtown, PA. I was born in July–9 months, almost to the day, from my parents’ honeymoon night the previous October. When I got older and could figure...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 19, 2013 | Romance, Uncategorized
Whenever I leaf through my Bible, I often spot a special verse, Genesis 12:1, and note the date in the margin, July 1966: “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show you.” This is the catalyst for...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 15, 2013 | Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, neighborhood, Neighborhood / Environment, tree surgery, Uncategorized
It’s a long way from Lancaster county, PA to Jacksonville, FL, but years ago our family moved into a neighborhood called Killarney Shores with street names like Emerald Isle Circle, Leprechaun Court, and St. Patrick Lane. On the day of Ireland’s famous...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 12, 2013 | Conflict, Uncategorized
They were gathered in a circle when I walked in. Call it naivete or being preoccupied with my classes, I was totally unprepared for the conclave of bishops, school administrators and other assorted male authorities that greeted me on entering the conference room at...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 9, 2013 | Recipes, Uncategorized
A throw-back to celebrations in the Old Country, Fasnacht Day had its origins in Switzerland, southern Germany, Alsace, and western Austria. In Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Fasnacht Day is celebrated on the eve before Lent. Think “Mardi Gras” but less bawdy! Aunt...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 6, 2013 | Recipes, Uncategorized
My Mother loved her kitchen with a spiritual passion and was happiest at the altar of her stove, cooking or baking. We’d hear her off-key voice singing “Heavenly Sunlight” or “Keep on the Sunny Side” as she fixed breakfast while we...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 5, 2013 | Recipes, Uncategorized
Grandma’s Kitchen: Recipes and More Grandma Longenecker’s kitchen was many yards long with the necessities for cooking at one end where an old cook-stove squatted and the comforts of dining on an old oak table at the other end, bounded by three bay...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 28, 2013 | Uncategorized
Middle Schooler: Veiled and Caped Good Mennonite girls of the 1950s and 60s like me wore a prayer cap and a dress with a cape. Yes, no fancy fad in the frock I’m wearing in the photo. As best I can tell, the belted cape was worn to add an extra layer of padding...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 25, 2013 | Uncategorized
It so falls out / That what we have we prize not to the worth, / Whiles we enjoy it; but being lacked and lost, / Why, then we rack the value; then we find / The virtue, that possession would not show us / Whiles it was ours. Much Ado About Nothing, Act IV,...
