Schowalter Foundation, Newton, Kansas, has just announced a grant of $10,000 as seed money for the research and writing of a major new historical novel on the coming to America of the Swiss German Mennonites in 1710. Schowalter awarded the grant to the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society (LMHS), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in cooperation with Ken Yoder Reed, author of two previous novels on Mennonite life and history.
The coming-to-America story of the Swiss German political refugees is a largely untold story. Mennonite and Amish refugees, caught up in the European geo-political wars and chaos of the eighteenth century, fled to William Penn’s colony in North America, along with their neighbors. LMHS editor and archivist Carolyn C. Wenger, commenting on the award, noted that “one of the challenges of our work is reaching people’s imaginations. Only a relative few enjoy research in historical libraries, but the arts―especially music, drama, and fiction―quickly engage us all.
“Reed’s outline for a historical novel of this period is bold and dramatic. His previous novels have gained significant audiences and critical acclaim.” This novel will dovetail with the themes of Lancaster Roots 300, 1710-2010, a year of special events sponsored by LMHS and the 1719 Herr House Museum to commemorate the arrival of the first permanent European settlers in Lancaster County in 1710.
Reed is known to Mennonite readers for his previous novels, He Flew Too High (Wine Press, 2009) and Mennonite Soldier (Herald Press, 1975). Commenting from his home in Milpitas, California, he said: “It’s a big story. Like biblical Abraham and Sarah, my characters go out, not knowing where they will end up. It’s the story of religious harassment in Switzerland and South Germany, ocean trips, buying land, building a home in Quaker Pennsylvania, and the crisis of faith when their threatened neighbors challenge Mennonite farmers to contribute to the French and Indian War effort.”
The Schowalter grant will help to fund Reed’s basic research; his actual writing timeline and publication plans will be announced later. Through various media the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, 2215 Millstream Road, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, collects, preserves and interprets the historical background, religious thought and expression, culture, and family history of Mennonite-related groups in southeastern Pennsylvania for the church and public. The Society has a Web site at www.lmhs.org and can be reached by phone: (717) 393 9745 or e-mail: lmhs@lmhs.org.
Schowalter Foundation, Newton, Kansas, was created in 1954 to support programs developed by three Mennonite denominations: General Conference Mennonite Church, Mennonite Church, and the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite. The foundation makes grants twice yearly to nonprofit agencies.
Reed’s novels are well known to Mennonite readers. His first novel, Mennonite Soldier, the tale of a family conflicted by World War I, was reissued in paperback in 2009. His most recent novel, He Flew Too High (2009) the story of a 1950s church split, has received favorable reviews nationally. His books and contact information are also available through his Web site: www.kyreed.com.
From: Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society For immediate release
2215 Millstream Road
Lancaster, PA 17602-1499 (717) 393-9745 or
Ken Yoder Reed (408) 623-3968
Gene VanDyke
Ken- Congratulations to you on receiving this grant. The Showalter Foundation made the perfect choice in selecting you for this work. We think of you often and hope that we can connect when you travel east. All the best to you and your family for a blessed new year! Gene