Ida started hunting up and down the rows for it. “Effie, didn’t you put the envelope I gave you into Beth’s bonnet?”
“I did! I did!” Effie said. “I know I did.” She started to cry.
Lily’s belly clenched with a sick dread.
Mama went to the front door and came back with a shopping bag. She handed the bag to Effie. “Effie,” Mama said, “you must have put the envelope with your quilt block into the wrong bonnet at church.”
Over Lily’s head, Mama gave her one of her direct looks. Lily felt tears prickle her eyes. She would not cry! She wouldn’t. She had to be brave.
“It’s an easy mistake to make,” Mama said. “The bonnets all look alike. But I just discovered your quilt block and it was too late for Alice to add it into the quilt top. So I turned it into a pillow for Teacher Rhoda.”
Effie pulled the pillow out of the bag and gasped. Mama had made a beautiful quilted pillow top, with Effie’s big square right in the middle of it, surrounded by small quilted pieces. Effie’s face lit up. “This can go on top of the quilt!” She looked around the room at Lily and Beth and Hannah and Malinda. “It can go on top of everyone else’s quilt blocks.” She gave the girls a smug smile. “Everyone’s.” Even Ida seemed pleased.
That was all that Mama said about the quilt block. Nothing more to Ida, to Effie, or to Lily. The subject was closed. The lesson was learned.
On the way home, Lily scooted close to Mama and rested her head on her shoulder. She had the best mother in the world.
Alice Raber planned to give Teacher Rhoda the quilt on Sunday, right after church. The rest of the week passed so slowly. Finally, Sunday arrived. After the church service and fellowship meal, Alice gathered all the schoolchildren into a bedroom. She arranged the boys along one side of the quilt and the girls along the other side, then she went to get Teacher Rhoda.
A few minutes later, Teacher Rhoda popped her head into the bedroom. She looked puzzled when she saw all the children lined up. “Surprise!” they shouted.
“We wanted to make a memory quilt for you as a little symbol of appreciation for all the years of teaching you did,” Alice said.
Tears started to stream down Teacher Rhoda’s cheeks. Lily was surprised. She had never seen Teacher Rhoda cry. “I don’t know how to thank all of you,” she said, stroking the quilt gently and looking at each square. “I enjoyed my years of teaching and I will treasure this beautiful quilt always.”
Lily was pleased to see her block near the top middle of the quilt. She thought it really was the prettiest one. Then Effie pulled out the pillow Mama had made with her quilt block on it. “Here’s the best part,” Effie said, plopping it right on top of Lily’s quilt block. Teacher Rhoda was delighted and said it was just the right finishing touch to a beautiful quilt.
Somehow, Lily thought, Effie always ended up getting what she wanted. But as for the best part—Lily knew that wasn’t true. The best part was having a family like the one Lily had. The best part was having friends she could trust like Hannah and Beth and Malinda.
The best part, Lily knew, wasn’t a thing.
Questions about the Old Order Amish
Lily’s family lived on a farmette—but what is a farmette? A farm is a large acreage with enough land to raise crops. Eighty acres is considered a small farm. Whispering Pines, Lily’s farmette, was only fifteen acres; there was some land for pastures and animals but it wasn’t big enough to be considered a farm. Those small acreages are called farmettes.
Do the Amish make their own clothing? Yes, just like Lily’s mother, the lady of the house sews the clothes for herself and her family. A lot of sewing is done in the winter, when the garden is sleeping and field harvest is over. The mother makes dresses, aprons, capes, and coverings for herself and her daughters. She sews pants and shirts for her husband and boys. Most Amish women use the treadle sewing machine, though some may use battery-powered sewing machines. Did it surprise you to read that Lily’s grown-up dress and apron were held together with pins? Actual long straight pins! It might seem odd, but Amish women and girls are used to it. It’s a tradition.
Do the Amish wear colored clothes? They do. The women wear shades of blue, green, red, purple, brown, etc. Most colors are darker tones of the color wheel. Men wear colored shirts—white on Sunday or for funerals or weddings. Pants are navy blue, gray, or black. Little boys and girls may wear lighter shades of the above colors.
What is a circle letter? When Lily turned ten, her mother told her she was old enough for her own circle letter. Letter writing is a popular pastime for the Amish. It’s one way they stay in touch with relatives, exchange advice, and maintain community. But what is a circle letter? It’s a communal letter that is added to and then sent on to the next recipient on a list. Circle letters may be maintained by grown siblings, friends, cousins, or groups with similar interests, such as teachers or quilters.
What is courting? Courting is another word for dating, though it is meant to lead to marriage. Family is at the heart of Amish life, and young people take courtship seriously. For many of the Old Order Amish young people, “pairing up” begins at Sunday evening singings. The boy will take the girl home in his buggy. Courting is very private. Most couples don’t want to be teased, so they make a great effort to keep their dates secret.
What is an Amish wedding like? About two weeks before the wedding, the engaged couple is “published” in church and their intentions to marry are made known. Most weddings are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are used as days to prepare for or to clean up after the wedding. Saturdays are not used as wedding days because it would be breaking the Sabbath to clean up on the following day, Sunday.
The wedding is held at the home of the bride, and the sermon and ceremony will last about four hours, starting at 8:30 a.m. There are no kisses, rings, photography, flowers, or caterers. There are usually 200 or more guests. The bride’s family furnishes all the food. Women from the community help with preparation in the days before the wedding, and aunts of both the bride and groom are assigned to help cook on the wedding day. After the wedding, there will be a traditional dinner of chicken, filling, mashed potatoes, gravy, ham, relishes, and canned fruit, plus many kinds of cookies, cakes, and pies. And Sweetheart Pudding!
Were you interested in trying a taste of the pudding that was served at Rhoda and Samuel’s wedding? The recipe is on the next page.
Sweetheart Pudding
4 cups milk
1½ cups sugar
3 egg yolks
4 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to a full boil. Cool.
3 cups graham cracker crumbs
½ cup butter
¼ cup sugar
1 cup sugared pecans (see recipe that follows)
In a large mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar. In a clear serving bowl, layer one cup of graham crumb mixture and press firmly. Add half of cooled pudding. Toss sugared nuts and one cup of graham cracker mixture together and layer on top of pudding. Add rest of pudding. Sprinkle top with remaining cup of graham cracker mixture. Refrigerate.
To make sugared nuts:
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
½ cup sugar
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
In a mixing bowl, beat egg white and water until fluffy. Fold in chopped pecans. In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Sprinkle over pecans and toss until coated. Spread on lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 225º for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool and store in airtight container.
Note from Lily: Sugared nuts are good for Sweetheart Pudding and also for snacking.
Mary Ann Kinsinger was raised Old Order Amish in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. She met and married her husband, whom she knew from school days, and started a family. After t
hey chose to leave the Amish church, Mary Ann began a blog, A Joyful Chaos, as a way to capture her warm memories of her childhood for her own children. From the start, this blog found a ready audience and even captured the attention of key media players, such as the influential blog AmishAmerica and the New York Times. She lives in Pennsylvania.
Suzanne Woods Fisher’s grandfather was one of eleven children, raised Old Order German Baptist, in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Suzanne has many, many, many wonderful Plain relatives. She has written bestselling fiction and nonfiction books about the Amish and couldn’t be happier to share Mary Ann’s stories with children. When Suzanne isn’t writing, she is raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. She lives in California with her husband and children and Tess and Toffee, her big white dogs.
Books by Mary Ann Kinsinger
and Suzanne Woods Fisher
* * *
THE ADVENTURES OF LILY LAPP
Life with Lily
A New Home for Lily
A Big Year for Lily
Books by Suzanne Woods Fisher
* * *
Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World
Amish Proverbs: Words of Wisdom from the Simple Life
Amish Values for Your Family: What We Can Learn from the Simple Life
LANCASTER COUNTY SECRETS
The Choice
The Waiting
The Search
A Lancaster County Christmas
SEASONS OF STONEY RIDGE
The Keeper
The Haven
The Lesson
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Contents
A Big Year for Lily Page 20