by MarianBeaman | Apr 20, 2016 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Reflection, Uncategorized
My mother wore many hats both literally and figuratively. Most of her head coverings were prayer veilings worn every day. As a young woman, her coverings were large, decreasing in size as she got older and church rules had progressively relaxed. Mother wore a...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 13, 2016 | Easter, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Reflection, Uncategorized
Little Mennonite girls could be fancy before they became plain. They could wear hats. Their mothers may have worn flat, black bonnets on top of their prayer veilings (coverings) at Easter, but they couldn’t wear hats with ribbons and flowers. At least not in Lancaster...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 6, 2016 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
My sister Janice and I blew up balloons when we were little. Here is a stop-action snap from Aunt Ruthie Longenecker’s 16 millimeter movie film. The balloons were thick, rubbery and multicolored. We also blew bubbles sitting on the porch swing or standing in the back...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 23, 2016 | blog, Easter, Family / Nostalgia, Literature, Mennonite History, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
At Easter-tide I’m dipping once again into my Grandma Fannie Martin Longenecker’s stash of vintage post cards. Here is one dated April 1908 from “your RBC,” it says, with the postmark wrapped around the face of the card. Another, from...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 9, 2016 | Cliff Beaman artist, Education, Literature, meditation, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Reflection, Uncategorized
Is there a drop of Irish blood in my veins? I doubt it. I grew up Mennonite in the Longenecker family in Pennsylvania Dutch country, a hot-bed of Swiss-German ancestry. Still, the Irish-named Donegal Springs is a mere 3-mile, 5-minute drive from Rheems, Pennsylvania...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 29, 2016 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Literature, meditation, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Reflection, Uncategorized
Today marks the end of February. In less than a month spring will have sprung, Still, you may be ready for spring now, not in three weeks. Here are the thoughts of Jane Kenyon, once New Hampshire’s poet laureate, anticipating the blooms of spring in her...
