Penn Valley

New England: Day One

We left the Pioneer Office at around 8:00 this morning.  This year’s trip promises to be different than those of the past few years.  Many of the friends we have traveled with in the past are not with us this time.  Many new faces are here and I look forward to getting better acquainted with them.  Our tour guide, Martha, had everyone introduce themselves this afternoon as we moved up the highway.

I listened to my fellow travelers tell about themselves and realized what a brutal year this has been.  Five people lost their spouses since January.  COVID took several of them, but not all.  Many of us have experienced this virus and recovered but others were not so fortunate.  In the beginning, back in 2019, a few of us wondered if this virus was even real.  We don’t wonder anymore.  It has taken a toll on everyone and our bus is filled with weary people who have suffered and who need a break.

We stopped at a scenic overlook hoping to seeing some elk.  The elk wouldn’t cooperate and they stayed out of sight but the scenery was beautiful anyway. 

Our stay for the night was at Penn Valley Christian Retreat, a church-run lodge that had plenty of lodging space for all of us.  The staff served us some major comfort food. After generous servings of meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, salad, vegetables, warm apple crisp and ice-cream we couldn’t help but feel like the first day of our journey was ending well. 

One of the young adults helping prepare and serve our dinner asked me if I might be her great aunt.  We played the Mennonite Game for a minute or two, and yes indeed, she is my great niece.  If you don’t know what the Mennonite Game is I will explain it in a minute.  One of the unavoidable benefits, or in some cases, hazards of large families is the possibility of being related to virtually anyone anywhere. There have been a few times when I would rather have denied a direct bloodline to someone declaring their mutual ancestry but this was not such a time.  Julie is a lovely young lady and I remember seeing her at the family reunions some years back although I would never have recognized her now, without her self-introduction.

As for the Mennonite Game. . .  Anyone with Amish or Mennonite heritage knows how to play, and most of us have done it at one time or another.  It goes something like this:

You approach a stranger, also with a plain-people lineage and ask, “Where are you from?”

They respond with their place of birth or current living location.  You then ask, “Who are your parents?” or depending on their age and yours, “Who are your grandparents?”

This usually leads to discovery of some mutual acquaintance and nine times out of ten there will be common ground found.  It is likely you are blood relatives if you are able to backtrack a few generations.

After supper most of my fellow travelers retired to their rooms but a few of us spent an hour or two playing cards.  I lost as usual but I was only there for the visiting anyway.