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“O”rigin
My dad, Sterling, and my nephew Matt. A person’s “origin” can mean several things. It can be a place/location where I was born (Denver, Colo.), it can be a culture from where my ancestors originated or it can be my very beginning, which I consider to be in God’s image/likeness. My brother, sister-in-law and I took a trip to Pennsylvania last year, to meet some first cousins that we’d never met before. My dad was from Allentown and we discovered cousins on my dad’s sister’s side of the family. It was so much fun to see the physical similarities and commonalities, even though we’d never met each other before. During…
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“Q”uilts in the country
Photo © Diane Weidenbenner My dad and his family were from Allentown, Pa., and they were of Pennsylvania Dutch heritage. The few times my dad’s Aunt Nora and Uncle Malcolm came to visit, Nora would make us a Shoo-Fly pie and other treats that my dad remembered as a kid. She’d also bring him Tastykakes. I first noticed barn quilts, another Pennsylvania Dutch tradition which began in the 1830s, when my ex-business partner and I traveled around Lancaster County during a business trip. Since moving to rural Indiana, large, colorfully patterned quilt blocks painted on the sides of barns, houses, sheds and businesses are a welcome surprise. It’s not uncommon…
