by MarianBeaman | Mar 11, 2026 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Purple Passage, Quotations, Uncategorized
Fiery hot July signaled tomato-picking time in the Longenecker family in the 1950s. Two generations of women in our family worked hard in the fields in torrid temperatures. When I look at a film clip that Aunt Ruthie took of Mom in the tomato rows, I see her body...
by MarianBeaman | Dec 10, 2025 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, popular culture, Uncategorized
Three generations of family gathered at our house in 1998 for a Florida Christmas. Two Daltons came from Chicago, Illinois; two Longeneckers from Pennsylvania, and a bunch of Jacksonville aunts, uncles and cousins joined the group at our house in Killarney Shores...
by MarianBeaman | Sep 11, 2024 | blog, Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
Waiting in the sitting room for my dad’s truck to arrive for me, I was a spectator, looking through the mahogany-trimmed doorway into the kitchen. Women with prayer caps, Grandma Longenecker and Aunt Ruthie, were sitting at the gray, Formica-topped table facing...
by MarianBeaman | Jul 19, 2023 | meditation, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Neighborhood / Environment, Nostalgia, popular culture, Quotations, Tips, Uncategorized
Crista’s Cats Our daughter with husband and their daughter are visiting Florida State University in preparation for our grand-daughter’s first year of college. Gone for nearly three days, they have charged the grandparents—us—with the care of their cats, a menagerie...
by MarianBeaman | May 3, 2023 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Literature, Memory, Quotations, Tips, Uncategorized
Oh, my word! What a royal mess my writing studio had become. My space looked a fright at the end of March, just before my memoir launch party April 1. On that day friends and family would descend on our home to inspect my second memoir. They’d head for the...
