Upcoming Events
ALL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Tuesday, October 15, 2019 • 7:30 pm • Bucher Meetinghouse
SNOWDEN FELLOW LECTURE
A Life Revealed in Letters: Insights from the Correspondence of John A. Hostetler
Drawing on an extensive archived correspondence and using theories of adult development as a framework, Ann Hostetler uncovers the changes in thinking and interpretation expressed in her father's letters as he emerged from an Amish family to gain higher education and eventually become the leading interpreter of the Amish and communal societies of the second half of the twentieth century. As the letters reveal changes in his thinking in response to higher education and alternative service during World War II, they also show him as the chosen arbiter of difficult circumstances in his own family of origin. Hostetler argues that the skills he developed in mediating situations in his own family paved the way for his later work in negotiating conversations between the Amish and outsiders through his scholarly work as a cultural interpreter.
Ann Hostetler is Professor of English at Goshen College, where she teaches literature and creative writing. Her scholarship focuses on multiethnic literature in the US and Canada, including Mennonite writing. She is the editor of the Journal of Mennonite Writing (www.mennonitewriting.org); the author of two books of poetry, Safehold and Empty Room with Light; and the editor of the anthology A Cappella: Mennonite Voices in Poetry. With Steve Nolt, she revised The Amish, a classic short book by John A. Hostetler that has been in print for over fifty years.
Saturday, October 19, 2019 • noon to 4:00 pm • Young Center
BRETHREN HERITAGE FESTIVAL
Enjoy bicycle-churned homemade ice cream, popcorn from the Reist popcorn wagon, and other treats served in the tent outside the Young Center. Then listen to country gospel music by Days of Old, participate in a hymn sing led by Janice Holsinger, and watch a quilting demonstration inside. Children’s activities will also be available.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019 • 7:30 pm • Bucher Meetinghouse
INTERVIEW
A Conversation with Clarence Spohn about Printing in Ephrata
Young Center director Jeff Bach will interview Clarence Spohn about his collection of imprints, which the Young Center recently acquired. Spohn has spent years collecting imprints from the early presses in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. Part of the Clarence E. Spohn Collection will be on temporary exhibit in the Bowers Interpretive Gallery at the Young Center from November 1 through November 22. The exhibit is free and open to the public from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday.
Clarence E. Spohn worked at the Ephrata Cloister from 1968 to 1996. He has been active in the Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley, serving as its president from 2004 to 2008 and as editor of its journal from 1988 to 2018.
Part of the Clarence E. Spohn Collection will be on temporary exhibit in the Young Center's Bowers Interpretive Gallery from November 1 through 22. The exhibit is free and open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.