by MarianBeaman | Oct 28, 2015 | blog, Coming of Age, Education, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Romance, Uncategorized
MY STORY Dorothy had the Good Witch of the North to give her “magical protection from fatal harm” on her journey to the land of Oz and back. Yet she followed an uneven path, using her brain, sometimes thinking with her heart, and slowly but surely developing courage....
by MarianBeaman | Oct 21, 2015 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Reflection, Romance, Uncategorized
True Love This month would be the 75th wedding anniversary of my parents, Ray and Ruth Longenecker had they lived. True, they bickered from time to time, but I knew their love was deep and abiding. I rested in the assurance that they would never divorce. There were...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 14, 2015 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized
Great Aunt Mary Grace would turn 117 this week on October 14 if she were still alive. When I was young, the Longenecker family visited Mary Grace Martin at her cottage at Mt. Gretna, PA. What I remember most about her appearance was her pleasant aura and a gap-toothed...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 7, 2015 | Amish, blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Recipes, Uncategorized
My sister Jan (“Janice,” growing up) is easily the best cook in our family. One of my birthday presents from her last year was a cookbook entitled Amish Cooking. In the head-line this week, I say “A Touch of Amish” because the recipes are quick and easy...
by MarianBeaman | Sep 23, 2015 | blog, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
Dollar Discovery! On September 10, 2015 I opened an envelope dated April 30,1962 that Mother sent me in college. I had read her letter then, but did not open the Bossler Mennonite Church bulletin where she had tucked a dollar bill (series date 1957) until now. I...
by MarianBeaman | Sep 16, 2015 | blog, Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
The closest thing I ever came to living in a convent was my year in the dormitory at Lancaster Mennonite School. It was much like living in the dorm at my alma mater, Eastern Mennonite College, now a University, but only more awkward. “Awkward?” you ask. “In what way...
