Grandmothers

If It Weren't For Grandothers

by Lois Kempton

 

If it weren't for grandmothers, how would we know

How everything was in the long, long ago?

The changes that come and the changes that go-

If it weren't for grandmothers, how would we know?

 

The way people ate, and the way they dressed;

The way they suffered, and how they were blessed;

 The beauties they saw, and their fun, and their woe-

If it weren't for grandmothers, how would we know?

 

 

Oh, see her bright eyes as she tells of the way

Your Grandpa proposed! And the sweet wedding day;

The funny adventures that babies bestow-

If it weren't for grandmothers, how would we know?

 

For they are the keepers of memories untold;

The legacy treasures more precious than gold;

Oh, cherish their stories! Rejoice in their glow.

If it weren't for grandmothers, how would we know.

 

Taken from Poems Sublime and Ridiculous

 



You cannot...

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred.
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could do for themselves.

Abraham Lincoln

His Love Will See Us Through

His Love Will See Us Through

 

Only God knows the future;

He holds it in His hand.

And when our questions find no answers,

He's the One Who understands.

His presence still goes with us;

His love is ever near.

The whispered cries within each heart,

The Lord will always hear.

No matter what each day may bring,

His promises are true:

He'll never leave us,

And His love will see us through.

 

unknown

 

This poem was on the front of the bulletin for Benny Shertzer's funeral last week.

So fitting for all of us, regardless what we face in life!

Do remember to pray for Ruth Shertzer and the family. They parted with four children between 1997 and 2002, due to cancer. Now the father developed cancer six months ago- and went to be with his Savior and the four children. They have three living children - two of them are married and there are seven grandchildren. Two grandchildren are in heaven too. 

Coming to terms with aging

    Yesterday I was jolted when an acquaintance referred to a 72 year old couple (friends/peers of ours)  as "elderly"! And I wondered, "When do you become elderly?" Will we be termed "elderly" in five years or less?
    I am accustomed to being called an "older woman". My first brush with that idea was in my 50's when a student at 6th St mission in Philly passed by my sister and I in a hallway at the mission and asked his buddy, Who are those old women?' I looked around and did not see any old women- so I asked him, "How old do you think I am?" His first guess was 103! Whoa! What a joke!
    But since then my hair color has changed and other signs of aging have appeared..like the onset of Medi-care, senior discounts plus other advantages or disadvantages. Even though my husband is fast approaching the big 70- we continue to think of ourselves as "young seniors".
    But "elderly"??? -wait a minute!!! I checked the dictionary. It says "Seniors, somewhat old, beyond middle life."  OK, so we are somewhat old and beyond middle-aged. Since most of our children are middle-aged, it is not hard to recognize that we are beyond middle-age. But elderly- that is a new thought! Do we need a new definition for the word - or what?
    There is one consolation- I looked up the word "aged" too. The definition for aged is "VERY OLD".  OK, so we may be about to move into the camp of elderly- but we are not aged or ancient quite yet. After all, we still work for a living,  have our driver's license and a valid passport. We have not celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary,  put in a reservation at a nursing home or become great-grandparents yet.
    But then, in third world countries, it is a great honor and blessing to arrive at an old age. God has blessed us with life! Have we let the world pour us into it's mold of thinking old age is undesirable? The only other choice is to quit breathing- and we thank God for life- even if it feels like a transition to be viewed as "elderly". We dreamed of growing old together- and thank God for the privilege of spending 47 years together in our "Landis Home".

Railroad Rumblings

    During the Civil War there was talk about building a railroad from Port Trevorton to Mifflintown connecting the Susquehanna River with the Juniata River. Iron ore was being mined in Trevorton, PA on the east side of the Susquehanna River. Why not build a railroad - the most modern form of transportation of their day? Canals business was fading and trains were becoming a thriving business. Canals were too expensive to maintain with the frequent flooding along the Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers.
    By the early 1870's the idea became a plan, then a contract, then a project. How exciting!  Wealthy businessmen in Selinsgrove supplied funds and dreamed of prosperous times ahead. The costly war was behind them. Times looked promising as the United States moved forward as one nation again. The Reading Railroad jumped on the band wagon and supplied additional funding for the new narrow gauge Selinsgrove-North Branch Railroad. All along the route from the Susquehanna to the Juniata River, men worked with picks and shovels to create a raised bed for the proposed railway. A bridge was built across the creek near Freeburg, PA. The work continued near the villages of Mt Pleasant Mills, Richfield, Evendale, Bunkertown, McAlisterville and on to Mifflintown. By May 1874, six miles of the railroad bed had been already graded.
    One man who lived in Evendale built a large three-story-building with intentions to be able to open a hotel just in time for the opening of the new railroad. He probably dreamed of the bustle and business he would enjoy. This would surely put the tiny hamlet of Evendale on the map! A railroad station house was built in Heister Valley near Richfield, PA.
    But before the railroad bed was completed, things began to go south! For one thing the wooden railroad bridge across the Susquehanna River at Port Trevorton was declared to be unsafe. The project would need to find additional funding for a new bridge across the nearly mile wide Susquehanna River. Then in October 1874 the "great fire" in Selinsgrove gutted more than 50 buildings in the heart of town and ruined several wealthy business men who were great supporters of the new railroad. This fire was a lot more devastating than the fire of 1872 in their town. The final blow came when the Reading Railroad withdrew their support.
   What can I learn from the unfinished story of the railroad?
1. Jesus said, " For which of you, intending to build a tower (or a railroad- paraphrased) sitteth not down first , and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?" Luke 14:28
2. Don't count your chicks before they hatch!
3. Careful planning does not guarantee success.  Our course may be changed by the unexpected- fire, flood, eathquake, cancer, job loss, illness or handicap, financial loss or death can bring life-changing circumstances beyond our control.
    Today you can drive through Snyder and Juniata County and see the "hump" at various places where the "stillborn railroad" was intended to rumble.  The unfinished railroad stands as a monument to unfufilled dreams. Only God can write the final chapter of our unfinished stories.
   

"The Green Thing"

    We did not have this "Green thing" earlier in my life. Did our parents not care enough for the environment and save resources for the future generation? Fortunately, the current generation has recognized the need to conserve our resources!
    Back then they returned milk bottles and soda bottles to the store. The glass bottles went back to the company to be washed, sterilized and refilled. The same bottles were used over and over. But they did not have the "green thing" in those days.
    Grocery stores bagged the groceries in brown paper bags which were used for numerous things. Besides being used for storage, the brown bags were cut up to made book covers to protect school books so they could be used over and over from one year to the next. A brown paper bag was cut up to wrap a (recycled) shoe box for a parcel post package instead of buying a box at the post office. They packaged a fragile item  for shipping with wadded up old newspaper to cushion it. They did not use Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.  But they did not do the green thing!
    They walked up stairs because they did not have an elevator or an escalator in the store. They walked to the grocery store for a small item. They did not climb into a 300 horse power machine every time they needed to go two blocks for a five pound bag of sugar. But they did not do the green thing!
   Back then, they washed the baby's diaper because they  did not have the throw away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling-machine burning 220 volts. Wind and solar power really did dry their clothes back in those days -(and is still my preference)! Children wore hand-me-down clothes from their brothers and sisters, not new brand name clothes. But they did not have the green thing.
    In the kitchen they used a hand egg beater or a can opener.  They did not have electric gadgets to do everything for them. They had one electrical outlet per room- not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. They did not buy pretty vinyl drawer liner but used old newspapers for shelf and drawer liner.  But they did not do the green thing!
    They did not fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the grass in the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power.They exercised by working so they did not need to drive to the health club or use  a treadmill that operates on electricity. But they did not do the green thing!
    They drank from the water faucet or a fountain when they were thirsty. They did not use a plastic cup or bottle every time they wanted a drink of water. They refilled writing pens with ink instead of throwing the old pen away and buying a new one. They replaced razor blades instead of throwing the old razor away just because the razor was dull.  But they did not do the green thing!
    Back then people walked, took the bike or bus to school instead of turning their Mom into a 24-hour-taxi service. They did not need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles away in order to find the nearest burger joint. But they  did not do the green thing!
    Isn't it sad how wasteful our parents were just because they did not do the green thing?

Friends are a blessing!

      On Sunday we visited a Netherlands friend (front center of photo) at her host home in southeastern PA. She has come to live abroad for a year of voluntary service before she trains for a profession. We first met the Netherlands family when her parents hosted our tour group in their home. We enjoyed learning to know this family with two young children in 1997. Two years later her father planned a special service in the Pingium Church for our1999  tour group.  We have enjoyed continued contact and their visit to PA about eight years ago. We look forward to another  visit from the family later this summer. They live in the area where Menno Simons lived in the 1500's. Her father is a history teacher who is most interested in Mennonite/Anabaptist history.
     In the photo you will also see a historian friend, John L. Ruth and his wife, Roma. Our young friend was pleased to have all of us on one picture!
    Our world has been broadened and we are privileged to have the blessing of old friends and new friends, close  neighbors and friends from afar!