Old Order Mennonite Memoirs

The grandfather's clock in the corner of the living room chimed to me about my approaching bedtime and brought me away from my reverie of poetry reading and Christmas card creations. The darkness of the year's longest night looks into the window but the light of our short days have been greatly brightened by the thick cover of snow on the valley last week. Children were much delighted to play and ride sleds in the unusually early snow.

The last time December gave us so much snow, our oldest daughter was in first grade in 1992. For a Christmas gift, I had pieced a friendship quilt for her teach...