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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Maria Landis

Wie gehts. Ich ben die Maria Landis.
That was my opening line yesterday as I stood in front of this portion of the museum room at the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. After that line I switched to English with an apology for forgetting to speak in English and went on to say, "I am Maria Landis. My father is Jacob Landis. He came to Pennsylvania in 1717 and built this log house in 1745." (This is actually a portion of Jacob Landis' log house which was moved into the museum from its original location a short distance west of the historical society.)
The tour group we were taking through the museum were high school students from Puerto Rico. One young man was listening very intently. Before we moved from this spot he asked, "Who did you say your father is?"
"Jacob Landis."
"And when did he build this house?"
"1745."
"Are you really that old?"
I had been told to do this presentation in the first person. I had not anticipated such a question and I'm still not sure how to take it. Look at the picture in the previous post. That's how he saw me. Do I look like I could be 250 years old?

1 comment:

Meredith said...

You just need to tell yourself that you have a timeless beauty.

Merle