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Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Things I love about a small town

Growing up we spent the summers buying or picking food from our garden for canning or freezing for the winter. Cherries, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, apples, corn, etc. Get a few family members involved and it's a day of cleaning, cooking and preping large quantities of food. Sounds old fashioned right?

Yesterday we got a call asking if we wanted to pick up 200 ears of sweet corn (1/2 for mom and 1/2 for her sister). It would seem that my mom was waiting for this call because she quickly packed us in the car and off we went to the Mennoitte farm. I really forgot how conservative Mennoitee's dress and while I put a skirt on, my tank top was embarrasingly - how do I put this - "immodest". We arrived to find at least 20 family members shucking corn - grandma, aunts, cousins, children down to the age of 4 months - okay the 4mo was cooing in a car seat but even the 2 year old was helping. The women wear bonnets, long dresses, black hose and dark closed in shoes. I have such high respect for these women. Really wished I would have remembered to wear a blouse. Kinda like showing up to church in a bikini!

Here is Charlotte's first visit to a farm (where I don't take photos of the people because my husband told me to show some respect - and I think he would have taken away my phone)






Okay maybe one little photo of the girl who babbled stores to me while my husband collected the corn - she was adorable!!!


And here is Charlotte hanging out in the wheelbarrel with about 50 ears of corn:


The last photo is our corn shucking station with cousin:


What a fun day!

Side note - I grew up in a family that attends a very strict church that does not allow women to cut their hair, no pants, no jewelry, etc. My mom fits in quite well with the Mennonite women with the exception of a bonnet and black hose. I've left this world for the fast business world of toys and a beach life in South Florida - coming home I often wonder what kind of person I would be if I stayed here in farm country, there is a certain kind of nostalgia that grabs me when I'm home.

3 comments:

Grit said...

thank you for that little moment there on another farm in another place. (cows look just the same though!)

JennyMac said...

Super cute pics...especially of Charlotte in the wheelbarrow. I am coveting all that fresh corn.

crazywildberry said...

Rach, I don't think you are that different than you would have been if you had stayed. You were already cutting (trimming) your hair, dressing a little different. Not that it's bad, it's not, just you were already heading that way. Plus, that lifestyle just isn't you. And you had me. I was bucking my upbringing a little too as a teen. I was the first of many, many girls who challenged wearing the bonnet (covering as the Mennonites call it). Although, the Mennonites you bought the corn from look really, really conservative. The church I attended was not nearly that conservative. And as far as the pictures are concerned, I know it's the Amish who have the biggest beef with photographs.