A Mennonite Wedding and Apple Butter Festival

After Iowa, David and I drove to Missouri to see my Mennonite cousins, aunt, and uncle. We went to the reception of my cousin Martha's youngest daughter, Miriam's wedding. And I thought Amish weddings were big! Here are some pictures taken at the wedding:

Three-hundred people attended the wedding

 

 A glimpse of the bride and groom

 

Aren't they adorable? 
 
My cousins, Martha and Emma (Martha is mother to the bride and Emma is an aunt to her) 
 
My Aunt Martha, who is like a smaller version of my late mother. She looks, acts, talks, IS so much like Mem that David calls her "Little Katie." When I told her that, she said, "Well, I'm glad he added the 'little' part."
 
The day after the wedding, David and I had the privilege of being at the Apple Butter Festival that is put on every year as a fund raiser for the Mennonite School. Here are some of our photos taken at that event:
 
Uncle Dan is stoking the fire… he and Martha are in charge of making the apple butter every year. He is 90 and she is 81. 
 
David got in on the act — he and Emma are adding the brown sugar and cinnamon. 
 
Fun rides…

 

An afternoon auction
 
Silly me for not taking photos of the fun gatherings when we were together with Emma's and Martha's children and grandchildren. David and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at all the events. I feel so blessed that I discovered my Mennonite relatives. We always knew of one another, but my family was Amish and they were Mennonite, which makes a big difference to the people in my original community. Dan and Martha used to be Amish, but they left and joined the Mennonites. They are such Christian, good-hearted, loving people, and it is amazing to me that it took me until I was fifty to get to know them. This happened when my sister Elizabeth was ill and in the hospital. They then hosted that family get-together that included Amish, Mennonites, and those of us who are neither. I mentioned this in a blog posting here. Aunt Martha, Cousin Martha, and Cousin Emma were at Elizabeth's deathbed with me, which was an absolute Godsend. I will always be grateful for that. 
 
I have one more post to do of our travels — this time through Kentucky and Ohio. Then after that I will be posting answers to questions posed by readers while I was on tour.
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11 thoughts on “A Mennonite Wedding and Apple Butter Festival”

  1. hello! I just found your blog and I appreciate all you are sharing about the Amish. I was wondering if you could share how they keep their homes clean? And do you continue to keep your home spotless after having left their ways? It’s always interesting to learn of ways to keep the home cleaner. Thanks so much!

  2. Those two little ones are precious.

    That wedding – so big! And I thought Catholic weddings were big. Everyone looks to be having such a wonderful time.

    I’m so happy for you that you found your Mennonite family – even if it did take 50 years.

    I’ve been trying to guess where you were in Missouri, but since there are quite a few Mennonite communities, I give up!

    Have a wonderful day.

  3. Thanks so much for sharing this post…The picture of your Aunt..I love. The joy of the Lord shows on her face…and the sweet babies…so precious. I love the simple ways of all Plain People….I consider my life plain and simple too……blessings

  4. Hello Saloma,

    Thank you so much for sharing your story and pictures, how special!
    Guess what I’ll be doing after placing this comment … ordering your book, I found it at Bolcom (looked earlier but couldn’t find it then, so this is a nice surprise). Tadaa! Finally!

    Have a nice week & Dutch greetings,
    Carolien

  5. This looks so much like the Amish wedding I attended, but wasn’t allowed to take pictures of. Thanks! Nice reflection of those tables set for the meals… passing the food from end to end, and the amount of foods!! Not to mention the hard benches!! I’m hoping for a buggy ride in the coming weeks. :)

    Here’s a question, that may have been addressed before, but seeing the auction made me curious. Since you left your community, I was wondering if you have any quilts (or other family heirlooms) that have been passed down to you?

  6. Modern technology sure can evoke that awful image that I often heard among the Amish: chewing one’s tobacco twice.

    I just had responded to all your comments and questions and then I got an error message. So, here goes again:

    Linda, thank you again for the award.

    WT, aren’t they though? I love their expressions, too!

    Carrie, my house is by no means spotless, but I do enjoy keeping my house free of clutter and clean. For me it is often a matter of discipline and also, I tend not to accumulate too many things. We all have a threshold of when we need to clean our houses, and mine tends to be pretty high, probably because of my Amish upbringing. And now that David and I are by ourselves, we tend not to clean as often as we did when our boys were growing up. (Back then we cleaned weekly). The best to you as you find the right balance in your own home.

    Deanna, I am happy about finding my Mennonite family, too. These pictures were in Seymour, Missouri.

    Shelley, thank you for your thoughts and blessings, and the same to you.

    Carolien, I’m so happy you’ve obtained a copy of my book! I would love to know your thoughts when you’ve read it.

    SP, I do have one quilt from home. I embroidered all the squares for a state flower quilt and then Mem and I put it together and quilted it. This was the quilt that was my “going away” quilt, sort of like the “hope chest” that many Amish women put together when they are young. Sadly, this quilt is now so threadbare, that I have it stored in my cedar chest.

    Thanks, all, for your comments and questions.

  7. Just discovered your blog and love these pictures, I just spent a wonderful 2 days in Seymour with my grandma Martha and spent 2 nights talking long into the night with my aunt Emma. I knew of your family through my mother Ida, and we used to Christmas carol for your parents. Loved your involvement in the latest Amish documentary, I thought the entire piece was excellent. I look forward to meeting you in time. God Bless.
    Bob Schwartz

  8. That train is so cool!
    Now that I have a canner, I’m going to have to learn how to make apple butter. My daughter and husband like it.

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