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The decision was based on a fear that family histories in the form of diaries and other documents were being lost — ending up on burn piles or becoming moldy in basements and attics.
Today their vision — the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society — is a repository of more than 30,000 books, diaries, papers, church records and fraktur art of Mennonite and Lancaster County history.
Beth Graybill, director of the society, said the organization has always seen itself as trying to appeal to the wider community in Lancaster County — not just the Mennonite community.
"We're glad to have a place to preserve (local history), where people can see it in our museum and use our resources to research through our archives," Graybill said. "It's a way to show off the Mennonite heritage but also connect with other people's heritages as well."
Sunday afternoon Mennonites and other Lancaster County residents joined at the society's home along Lincoln Highway East in a celebration of music and storytelling with a "Down on the Old Millstream 1950s Party."
Becky Gochnauer, director of the Hans Herr House and educator for the society, said the plan was to create an event that celebrated the society's 50 years of existence, dating to its 1958 founding in Salunga. Sunday's party included everything from poodle skirts to Plain dress.
Gochnauer said the society originally wanted to get Mennonite histories in a centralized location and to preserve the histories that were disappearing. She said because of religious persecution in Europe, Mennonites aren't known for their own written histories. Much of early Mennonite history has been gleaned from people outside of the society writing about Mennonites.
The history of the Mennonite church in Lancaster County is difficult to follow, Gochnauer said. She said disagreements over its history have ranged from rules governing the clothes that should be worn to whether or not to allow TVs in homes."As a group of Mennonites in Lancaster County, we're learning what it means to get along, even though we disagree," Gochnauer said. "We're on a journey, and we're learning."
The tradition of oral storytelling was on display as a few members took the stage to tell stories about local Mennonites.
Don Sensenig told stories about his stepfather, Orie Miller, former executive secretary of the Mennonite Central Committee and one of the founding members of the group.
Sensenig spoke about Miller's trip to Russia in 1920, during the height of a famine and fighting between the Bolsheviks and the White Army. Miller went there to provide relief to Mennonites living in Russia at the time.
Sensenig also told funny stories about Miller's lack of mechanical know-how. Sensenig said once he drove by his mother and stepfather who had a flat tire on Route 322. He said his mother was trying to change the tire as Miller sat in the car reading a book.
Ken Sensenig, assistant director of MCC East Coast, told the story of Christian and Elizabeth Weaver who lived near New Holland in 1782. They received a knock on the door from a Continental Army soldier posing as an escaped British prisoner asking for help.
The Weavers gave food and shelter to the disguised soldier, which they believed was their Christian duty, even though he supposedly was an enemy. Sensenig said the family was fined 50 pounds — the equivalent of a $10,000 fine today — for giving aid to the enemy.
Sensenig compared the story of the Weavers to a meeting scheduled for Sept. 25 of a dinner among members of the MCC, the Quaker church and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in New York. He said the question still exists of how Christians should treat people who are defined by others as enemies.
(70) (47) (21) (13) (8) (4)"When the enemy wants to sit down with you as people of faith — as followers of the gospel — then should we do that?" Sensenig said. "That's the question that is in front of us right now. … And I think of Henry and Elizabeth Weaver hearing the knocking on the door, and somebody needs to make the decision."
E-mail: myoder@lnpnews.com
