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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Review Of: Make Us A Blessing: A Biography Of Elmer B. Zimmerman—Fred M. Zimmerman, Sheldon Raber
Review Of: Make Us A Blessing: A Biography Of Elmer B. Zimmerman—Fred M. Zimmerman, Sheldon Raber
Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies
The title page of Make Us a Blessing states that the book is "The Life of Elmer B. Zimmerman – Farmer, Machinist, Developer, and Church Builder – 1918–1978." The book is clearly intended as dedicated “to all those who could call Pop ‘Grandpa’ or ‘Great–Grandpa.” Because the book is written by Elmer’s son, Fred, the history includes many personal insights. [First paragraph.]
Review Of: In The Fiery Furnace: Life In Ukraine, Siberia, Kazakhstan, And Germany: The Autobiography Of Johann And Elfriede Steffen—Edward Kline (Translation), Donald Martin
Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies
This is the autobiography of Johann and Elfriede Wall Steffen. They were Russian Mennonites who lived under Communist rule from after World War I until 1988. Russian Mennonites suffered much during the famine of the 1930s, then during the persecution of the “Great Purge” (1936-1938). During World War II, when Germans occupied Ukraine, Russian Mennonites with German heritage had several years of peace. But when the Russians drove the German army westward, Mennonites suffered severely. Thousands were exiled to Siberia where many died due to hard labour and starvation. [First paragraph.]
Review Of: John D. Burkholder’S Diaries Written During His Civilian Public Service: Camp 45, Skyline Drive, Luray, Virginia – November 1, 1944 Through May 1, 1946—John D. Burkholder, Steven Yoder
Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies
The book opens with a lengthy introduction by the editors to the history of the Civilian Public Service camps during the 1940s that came to be known simply as CPS camps. The diary begins November 1, 1944, a few months after John D. Burkholder started his service on July 4th at Camp 45. The diary ends abruptly on May 1, 1946. I cannot find exactly when his time of service ended but the editor reports that the camp closed at the end of June of the same year. [First paragraph.]
Review Of: Phebe’S Home: A Woman’S Life In The Warwick River Mennonite Colony—Jo Anne Kraus, Kathryn Swartz
Review Of: Phebe’S Home: A Woman’S Life In The Warwick River Mennonite Colony—Jo Anne Kraus, Kathryn Swartz
Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies
Phebe’s Home is the story of Phebe Shenk Kraus’s life, researched and written by her granddaughter, incorporating Phebe’s and others’ handwritten letters and diaries. It is also the broader story of the Denbigh Mennonite farm colony in Tidewater, VA, from its beginning in the early 1900s until it became a neighborhood within the sprawling city of Newport News. [First paragraph.]
Review Of: Carpenter Under Construction: The Story Of Don Plank—Diane Freed, James Swartz, Kathryn Swartz
Review Of: Carpenter Under Construction: The Story Of Don Plank—Diane Freed, James Swartz, Kathryn Swartz
Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies
Carpenter Under Construction is the story of Don Plank’s life, written by his youngest daughter. It briefly touches on his early life and moves through major life events. About half of the book covers the busy later years in life when he and his second wife moved from mission to mission in various support roles. Don was a good carpenter, but Freed puts more emphasis on what God built Don to be rather than on what Don himself built during his long life. [First paragraph.]
Review Of: From Vision To Legacy—Lester And Sarah Gingerich, Mildred Martin
Review Of: From Vision To Legacy—Lester And Sarah Gingerich, Mildred Martin
Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies
They married young and, within months, were stationed in Central America, as pioneers in 1961 for Amish Mennonite Aid missions. What began as relief work for hurricane victims turned into a 50-year saga, as relationships were forged, souls were saved, churches were planted, and grapefruit were bowled (page 261). From Vision To Legacy is an autobiographical life story of Lester and Sarah Gingerich, told in alternating streams of thought: his and hers. This spicy slice of Amish-Mennonite history opens with bits and pieces about ancestors immigrating from Germany but soon arrives at the narrators’ own births and lives from the …
Symposium Review: Exiled Among Nations: German And Mennonite Mythologies In A Transnational Age—John P.R. Eicher, Kenneth Burkholder, Nathan N. Zook, John P.R. Eicher
Symposium Review: Exiled Among Nations: German And Mennonite Mythologies In A Transnational Age—John P.R. Eicher, Kenneth Burkholder, Nathan N. Zook, John P.R. Eicher
Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies
In his book Exiled Among Nations: German and Mennonite Mythologies in a Transnational Age, historian John P.R. Eicher chronicles the stories of two Mennonite colonies transplanted during the rise of nationalism. As the introduction makes clear, though, the book is more than a mere record of history; it aims to show how “mobile populations fashion collective narratives as nations, religions, and diasporas.” The book can therefore be understood on two different levels. It acts as a straightforward history from 1874 to 1945, of the migrant Menno Colony’s (from Canada) and the refugee Fernheim Colony’s (from Russia) inception in Paraguay. As …
The 1955 Diener Beschluss: Text, Interpretation, Reception History, And Historiography, Christopher Petrovich
The 1955 Diener Beschluss: Text, Interpretation, Reception History, And Historiography, Christopher Petrovich
Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies
The contemporary diversity of the Amish is well attested by recent literature in the field of Amish studies. However, beyond Leroy Beachy’s Unser Leit, insufficient attention has been given to the question of how this state of affairs came about. The most consequential date in the twentieth century is September 1955, when a Bescluß (statement) that was issued at a churchwide ministers’ meeting ultimately divided the Old Order Amish into two separate, non-communing fellowships. Three important historical details about the meeting merit consideration: the document issued on the last day of the churchwide ministers’ meeting circulates among the Amish in …