Ein Spiegel der Tauffe

Here is another old book I saw yesterday. It is in the rare book collection at the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. The title is Ein Spiegel der Tauffe. It was written by Henry Funck, a Mennonite bishop at Franconia and was printed in 1744. The small 94-page book was written to show pouring is the scriptural mode of baptism in response to the pressure being put on the Mennonite by the Tunkers (Brethren) who insisted immersion is the only valid mode of baptism. Philadelphia's German printer, Christopher Saur, was a Tunker and refused to put his imprint on the book.

Since I can't read much German, the name written on the fly leaf means more to me than the contents of the book. It says (in English) "This book belongs to me Barbara Burkholder." The "i-n" on the end of the surname was used to indicate the feminine gender.

Amos Hoover told me about this book. He thinks it probably belonged to the immigrant widow Barbara Burkholder, my ancestor and mother of Bishop Christian Burkholder. There is nothing in the book to verify it actually was hers but it would be in the right time period for her. Even if it belonged to some other Barbara Burkholder, it is a rare and valuable book.

Happy Birthday to Me

Look what Leroy gave me for my birthday this morning! This china teapot by Noritake is the Romaine pattern. Only one other time have I seen something with my name on it. That was a little sign in Israel, "Citerne Romaine" (Roman Cistern). Wasn't he thoughtful to give me something with my name on it?!

Confession time! I bought it myself on E-bay. I was watching this thing for weeks. It was listed three times and the price kept going down. On the third listing I thought the price was quite reasonable so I bid and there was no competition. I got it for the opening bid.

It came by FedEx last week. I opened the box and checked to be sure it had not been damaged in shipping. Then I put it in a plain brown paper bag and set it in the corner of the dry sink. I was waiting for Leroy to ask me what the bag was about but he never did.

This morning I asked him if he had noticed the bag. He said he had but figured it was a gift I was going to give somebody.

He was surprised when I said, "It's for you."

"For me?"

"For you to give to me for my birthday."

He smelled the rat but cooperated nicely and handed me the bag. I opened it and showed him what he had bought me for my birthday. He was the only one who was surprised. Well, I made the shopping easy for him, didn't I?

Birthdays are handy excuses for indulging ourselves with extras we don't really need. I guess it's good I don't have more than one per year or I'd do this too often. And besides, the numbers go up fast enough as it is. I guess we can call this a consolation prize for making 62 trips around the sun and crossing the line into the official retirement age.

Burkholder Family History

I had an appointment yesterday with Amos Hoover to see Christian Burkholder's Martyrs' Mirror which is housed in the Muddy Creek Library. Christian was born in Switzerland in 1746, immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1754, and bought this book in 1761.

The Martyrs' Mirror was written in the Dutch language in Holland in the 1600s. It was translated into German and printed at the Ephrata Cloister in 1748-49.

Christian's copy of the Martyrs' Mirror was passed down to four generations of his descendants and then to Hershey and Musser families. In 1980 Esther Musser Hammond found the book in her attic and consigned it for public sale. Amos learned about the sale and bought the book. Being printed at the Ephrata Cloister makes it a valuable book but the thing that makes this one priceless are the pages of family records Christian wrote in his own hand on the blank pages in the front and back of the book.

At the bottom of one of the pages, Christian wrote the names and ages of his brothers and sisters (above). This corrected some false information that had previously been published and was the key to finding a document in Switzerland which changed the Burkholder story. The names and ages in Christian's Martyrs' Mirror match exactly with the names and ages of the children of Ulrich and Barbli Burkhalter in a 1745 tax record in Switzerland. I am planning to include copies of both of these documents in the new Preface I am writing for Hidden Riches.

Amos also showed me the Family Bible of John Burkholder, grandson of Christian. This Bible contains many pages of valuable family records. John wrote his grandfather's family record on a page at the back of the Bible. He begins by writing (in German), "Christian Burkholder was born (in Europe) on June 1, 1746 and died May 13, 1809 (He came to America in 1754)." Both of these books are now safely stored in the Muddy Creek Library where they are not in danger of being tossed out as "junk" by a generation who has no interest in history.

One to Go!

Gerald took his final exam and finished the fall semester today. Only one more semester to go and he will reach his goal of achieving a Bachelor's degree in nursing. We are all cheering him on to the finish line.

Nursing is a worthy career and one which will always be needed. Hospitals will probably become more crowded as we baby boomers age. Even I, who took no pills or supplements whatsoever, have buckled this year and now gladly swallow my daily dose of methotrexate and plaquenil to combat Rheumatoid Arthritis. Leroy has been on medication for several years for diabetes and hypertension. We're happy we can get away with generic drugs that are not too expensive and hope it stays that way.

Gerald is not planning to work on a med/surg floor. He wants to be where the action is and has been working in the ER. He has already submitted an application for a full time position there after May 15. It would not be for me but I'm glad to see how much he loves his work.

So "Go Gerald!" Thirteen more credits and you will have conquered the mountain!

Hidden Riches

I had another of those calls yesterday asking if I would want to write someone's story. Sometimes it seems people think I am sitting here with nothing to do just desperately wishing someone would give me an idea for something to write about. Nothing could be further from the truth! I have lost track of the number of those requests but the answer was easy to find. I simply cannot add a new project to my list no matter how worthy the subject may be.

Last week I had an email from someone at Faith Builders saying they would like to use my first book, Hidden Riches, in their history curriculum. I was glad when the book went out of print in 2006 because it was not historically accurate. The story of the Burkholder family's immigration in 1754 was based on the information which we had in 1983 when it was written. Since then, research in Switzerland turned up new information which proves the Burkholders immigrated directly from Switzerland and never lived in Germany as we had been told.

Faith Builders asked if I would consider rewriting or revising the story. Either of those options would result in two different versions of the same story which it seems to me would create confusion. My suggestion was to leave the story as it was written but rewrite the preface to explain why it was written as it was, give the correct information, and advise the reader to take the story as typical of Mennonite immigrants in colonial times but not a historically accurate account of the Burkholder family's experience.

I am not at liberty to do anything without the consent of the publisher who holds the copyright, so I sent Faith Builders to Christian Light with their request. The timing was perfect and the request was presented at a CLP board meeting a few days later. They approved the reprinting of the book with a new cover and a new preface. Rewriting the preface, of course, is my job. That was suddenly bumped to the top of my job list. I have made a good start this week but am not by any means finished.

I know there is still interest in the book as I have had calls perhaps a dozen calls asking if I know where it can be purchased. The most recent call was about three weeks ago. When Hidden Riches went out of print I thought that was the end. It is getting a new lease on life and should be back in print in 2010. Do books have nine lives?

God Loves Variety

My sisters and I got together today to celebrate my birthday. It was a couple weeks early but December is such a busy month so we went now. I chose to go to a Thai restaurant for lunch. Thai food is similar to Chinese but more spicy. My Dutch tongue cannot tolerate hot peppers so I told the waitress to keep my order pepper-free. I had Pan Thai which was a traditional noodle dish with shrimp and other things mixed into it. Without peppers, it was sweet and very good.

After lunch we went to the Reading Museum. It is a small museum as museums go but has some nice displays. The artifact they are most proud of is an Egyptian mummy. As I looked at all the variety of things from different countries and time periods, I was reminded of the ingenuity and imagination of the human race. There are so many different ways to do the same things. People use what they have available and fashion things they perceive to be either useful or beautiful.

The Native American who wore this beaded vest felt just as elegantly dressed as the actress who wore this dress to make the Cinderella movie. Either one would not have felt comfortable in the other's world.

There are as many ways to feed and clothe our bodies as there are nations and tribes. In spite of the differences in our appearance, we all have the same basic inner needs for love and fulfillment. Eating Thai food and seeing the variety in the museum today reminded me that my way of thinking and doing things is not the only way. God loves variety. That's why He made us all different.

Happy Thanksgiving

There are loved ones who are missing

From our fireside and the feast,

There are faces that have vanished,

There are voices that have ceased.

But we know they passed forever

From our mortal grief and pain,

And we thank Thee, Oh our Father

For the blessings that remain.

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Thanksgiving, Oh Thanksgiving,

That their love once blessed us here,

That for a time they walked beside us

Sharing smiles and tears;

For the joy their love has brought us

That can never pass away,

For the sweet and gracious memories

Growing dearer every day.

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For the faith that keeps us patient

Looking at the things unseen,

Knowing spring will follow winter

And the earth again be green.

For the hope of that glad meeting

Far from mortal grief and pain,

We thank Thee, Oh our Father

For the blessings that remain.

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Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!