From December 1975 to June 1978 my wife and I lived in the upstairs suite in my parents home in Moose Jaw. I mostly went downtown to Jake Folk to get my hair cut. On occasion I went to Harold's Hair Inn, just a block and a half from home. Despite the fancy name it … Continue reading Haircuts and history
Another dead end
I began checking out other varieties of Mennonites, and there were a lot to choose from. Many of them turned out to be Mennonites in name only, and a little embarrassed about being encumbered with the name. Nevertheless, many of them had a deep affection for the Low German language and culture. I didn’t, so … Continue reading Another dead end
Memories of Panda
Panda was our number one furry friend for over 15 years. We got her from a street cat rescue program when she was about six months old. She was part of a litter of long haired black cats found in an abandoned car in a back alley. She grew into a magnificent Maine Coon cat … Continue reading Memories of Panda
In memory of Julia
Julia was 18 years old when I was born. We were cousins, but she seemed more like an aunt to me. She started teaching in a one room country school in the fall of that year, taught for two years, then married Ed. Their first child, Doreen, was born a year later. Ed & Julia … Continue reading In memory of Julia
Turbulent waters
Our planned evangelistic services were imminent; a preacher and a men’s quartet would be arriving on Sunday. Our pastor didn’t want the disaster cleanup to distract from that effort, so he let people know that no more volunteers were needed. He thought flowers for the church would be a nice touch so he sent one … Continue reading Turbulent waters
Family heirloom
Dear children, I am sending this dear old book as a Granny present. It is one of my dearest friends. I have been reading it for the last fifty years and tried to teach my children to live by its teachings and pray you may do the same by your own children. Its blessed promises … Continue reading Family heirloom
Writing and witnessing
There are two kinds of writers. First is the novice who has a burning desire to tell a story or to announce some truth. Feeling insecure in his ability, he adopts a formal tone, uses the most impressive words he can find, adds adjectives - lots of bold, beautiful, glorious, exuberant adjectives. He leaves nothing … Continue reading Writing and witnessing
Trying to swim upstream
Duyring the winter of 1973-74 our pastor spent several weeks in California taking in a seminar on church growth. Upon his return to Moose Jaw, he called a meeting at church to talk about what he had learned. He began the meeting by asking “What makes a church grow?” One lady responded with what seemed … Continue reading Trying to swim upstream
What on earth does shamefacedness mean?
English is a mongrel language, developed by indiscriminate interbreeding of Anglo-Saxon, Latin, Old Norse and French, with lesser contributions from Celtic, Arabic, Greek and other languages. This has created a language with a huge number of words, more than any other language.The grammatical structure puts it in the Low German language group, along with Dutch, … Continue reading What on earth does shamefacedness mean?
Things were going well for us
The Mennonite congregation in Moose Jaw was small, but we found the people warm and friendly. Being small, they overlooked the fact that we had not been baptized in the way they believed (immersion) and put us to work in the congregation. One Sunday I was teaching the adult Sunday School class and one of … Continue reading Things were going well for us
