From the Inside Out: The Rural Worlds of Mennonite Diarists, 1863 to 1929 - Loewen, Royden

Clean, tight, unmarked; crease to lower front corner; name on title page; otherwise appears unread; This book contrasts diaries from two distinct Mennonite communities in Canada. The Swiss-American Mennonites in Waterloo County, Ontario, faced rapid urbanization, while the Dutch-Russian Mennonites in southern Manitoba maintained their more rural environment. The diaries mirror their writers' preoccupations with work and weather, but they also reveal a community's social structure and round of activities such as weddings, funerals, and worship services. In the process of diary-keeping, the writers sought to make sense of a dynamic and often unpredictable world. Reading what they chose to record is to learn much about their culture. Their writings provide glimpses of their lives, their collective mindset, and their history as a people.
Very Good
Soft cover
University of Manitoba Press
1999
Winnipeg, MB