The reading and book signing at the Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford, British Columbia, is now in the past. It was a wonderful event--an attentive audience, great conversation, a beautiful room. I arrived to find everything set up: book display, flowers on the table where I would sign books; power point and screen set up … Continue reading Afterglow: The Book Event
Author: lorettawillems
Photos for Abbotsford Book Event
Below are the old photos I'll be using at the book event at the Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford, BC on Saturday, October 29, 2022. Memory Story Research Child Bride Jacob & Agnes 1938 Agnes Young, 8th grade graduation. Agnes is at the right end of the bench (viewer's right). The Gift of Laughter Helena … Continue reading Photos for Abbotsford Book Event
Abbotsford, BC Book Event
This coming Saturday, October 29, I will be doing a book event at the Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The Museum is just twenty-five miles from my house in Bellingham, Washington, an easy drive now that Canada has re-opened its borders. It does require a stop at the border and showing either a … Continue reading Abbotsford, BC Book Event
Bill Haney meets Frank Lloyd Wright
In last month’s post I wrote about my husband, Bill Haney, who had just celebrated his 90th birthday. I told the story of how we met at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California when I was beginning a doctoral program in Theology and the Arts, and Bill was beginning a Master of Divinity program … Continue reading Bill Haney meets Frank Lloyd Wright
Bill Haney
Bill and me 2017 My husband, Bill Haney is now 90 years old. The family celebrated his birthday last week. It was a beautiful day here in Bellingham--sunny, pleasantly warm with a gentle breeze, the kind of day that comes to mind when one thinks, “Summer day.” I had reserved our Condo Association's Activity Center, … Continue reading Bill Haney
Ukraine, pt 3: Gerhard & Katharina Rempel Willems
Dear Relatives, Our great-grandfather, Gerhard Willems, was born in Holland (or Prussia) on Oct. 3, 1820. He was married to Katharina Rempel in 1841. They spent some years farming in Russia. Great-grandmother died in Russia in 1875 at the age of 52. [1] Gerhard Willems (1820-1900) and Katharina Rempel Willems (1823-1875) are my paternal great-great-grandparents. … Continue reading Ukraine, pt 3: Gerhard & Katharina Rempel Willems
Ukraine, pt. 2: The Steppe
Note: The following piece was written in 2013 while I was researching the history and geography of the land north of the Black Sea where my Mennonite ancestors sojourned before migrating to North America. This is the land Russia is trying to take back from Ukraine. Photo from the Mennonite Library and Archives collection with … Continue reading Ukraine, pt. 2: The Steppe
Ukraine
Ukraine is not just a place on the map to me; it is a land that carries deep, personal meaning. My Grandmother Willems was born in southern Ukraine, in a small Mennonite village on the east bank of the Dnieper River about 200 miles from where that river’s waters empty into the Black Sea. Her … Continue reading Ukraine
Christmas 1960: Monroe, Washington
The log house in Monroe, Washington. Summer 1960 December 20, 2021 Woke this morning thinking about the log house in Monroe, winter thoughts, a pulling up of memories, Christmas memories, from that long ago time. Ben, the girls and I, spent only one Christmas in the log house, Christmas 1960. We must have had a … Continue reading Christmas 1960: Monroe, Washington
The House on South Blakeley
Note: The story below continues "The Log House in Monroe" (September 6, 2020). June 1968 We were moving back to Monroe, Washington, the town we left December 1961, a place we left because Ben hated his job and could find no other work in the area. We left hoping that someday we would be able … Continue reading The House on South Blakeley
Heritage 