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Secrets from Grandma Longenecker’s Diary

Secrets from Grandma Longenecker’s Diary

by MarianBeaman | Apr 4, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations

Last year when we were sorting through piles of paper in Grandma and Aunt Ruthie’s attic, I found this: just one leaf from a tablet my Grandma Longenecker began as a diary. She may have intended to add more.     Grandma’s Diary: the unedited transcription:...
Not Lost But Gone Before, Hope’s Message

Not Lost But Gone Before, Hope’s Message

by MarianBeaman | Feb 7, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized

A little church in Alabama with rough-hewn walls holds a glittering stained glass window with this expression: Not lost but gone before.   The saying in golden glass ends with a period though it’s not a complete sentence. Yet those five words reflect on a real...
Lessons from the Bisque Salt and Pepper Shakers

Lessons from the Bisque Salt and Pepper Shakers

by MarianBeaman | Jan 24, 2018 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Nostalgia, Tips, Uncategorized

Do you procrastinate? Are there unfinished projects lying about in your house? Years ago in graduate school at Florida State University, my husband Cliff made these bisque-fired salt and pepper shakers. He says creating the shakers was a side project back then,...
Our Un-Mystery Trip: Cumberland Island

Our Un-Mystery Trip: Cumberland Island

by MarianBeaman | Dec 6, 2017 | Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Nostalgia, Travel, Uncategorized

When our oldest grandsons were nearly 4 we took them on a mystery trip. “You are going someplace special, but we can’t tell you where,” we said. They were completely befuddled. Cartoon bubbles above their heads might have read, “What’s a mystery trip? Is it safe to go...
Secrets from Ruthie’s Autograph Book

Secrets from Ruthie’s Autograph Book

by MarianBeaman | Nov 8, 2017 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized

I found Aunt Ruthie’s autograph book at the bottom of this painted chest under a pile of blankets, dolls, and vintage clothing. Her classmates from Elizabethtown High School class of 1935 Wrote in her autograph book. Some sayings were Sweet, Some were silly. Three...
Do Real Men Wear Aprons?

Do Real Men Wear Aprons?

by MarianBeaman | Nov 1, 2017 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations

Food network star Guy Fieri admits, “I’ve never been an apron fan; it’s all too cumbersome to me.’   The Longenecker men didn’t wear aprons. To his credit, my dad did dry dishes but only on Sundays, and without an apron.   Beaman Men in Three...
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