Growing up in a rural North Dakota community and being part of a Mennonite Brethren congregation forms the basis for the first part of this informative book. Where others have written accounts of personal reminiscence and begun with stories of the farm, home or family, Edna Boardman has begun with the church and the religious life within the community.
She is honest in her reflections. This does not imply that kind of honesty which dares to be negative. For that she is not. She is honest in that she says what she liked and what she did not like. She covers such interesting topics as the church building, getting saved, baptism, Bible camp, harvest festival, women in ministry and dating. Overall she does not reflect negatively upon the church community. But the small rural church of Sawyer does have some drawbacks, and she notes them.
In the second part of her book Boardman reflects on her family and farm life. She provides brief vignettes of her life as a farm child during WWII. She describes impressions of the summer kitchen, water, windmills, schools and grandparents. She portrays a descriptive honesty that does not gloss over the short comings.
The last part of the book concentrates on who the Germans from Russia and who the Mennonites from Russia are. Brief and to the point, it is unfortunate that this part is not very well researched. However, that is not the emphasis of her book.
Readers unfamiliar with the North Dakota landscape, may find the interaction with both Germans and Russians in North Dakota to be quite intriquing. The countryside was dotted with these immigrant communities which included German Lutherans, Catholics and Mennonites, in addition to immigrants from Russia and Ukraine. Boardman provides many impressions of this mix of people and some historical background. It was not uncommon for these people to mix socially during the week, and then, on Sunday morning, attend their separate churches.
My wife grew up in one of these North Dakota communities. In fact, she had numerous relatives in the Sawyer church, but is not acquainted with Boardman. Over the years we have gone to many family and church events in a number of these communities. My general impression is that Boardman has described church, community and family life in this rural setting quite accurately.
Review by Ken Reddig, Mennonite Historian, September 1998. Reprinted with the permission of the Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg MB, Canada.
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