I met and interviewed Ruth here at Garden Spot Village and was immediately intrigued by her. Ruth wears the traditional Mennonite bonnet, plain dress and sensible shoes and is a widow. She and her husband were small farmers and he was a minister in the Mennonite church.

Ruth brought down a little, folded piece of paper with the message below on it, typed on an old manual typewriter. She asked me to read it, think about its meaning and return it to her. I felt honored and special that she would share such an intimate piece of her life with me.

A letter from Ruth Meck, resident of Garden Spot Village, to her children, Christmas, 1995:

“I grew up on a farm on Horseshoe road, near Lancaster. Times were difficult for my family in the late 30’s and 40’s. Daddy was a good farmer and Mother tended a garden which kept our family in food. Money for the extra things was not available. At Christmastime, we learned to treasure the gifts of family, food, shelter and clothing.

In a little family room next to the kitchen, heated by an old-fashioned heatrola, Mother, on Christmas morning, prepared a plate for each of her 5 children filled with oranges, nuts and Christmas candies. These gifts were treasured because they were not every day available like they are today. Mother baked the best peppernuts with a raisin in the middle.

After doing the morning farm chores, we ate breakfast around the large kitchen table. There were 8 of us. Decorations and a tree were not a part of our Christmas. But, we always hoped there would be snow so we could go sledding on the nearby hill with the neighbors. Our Christmas day was much like a Sunday, with reading, visitsing and table games. One of the games we played was Bible Travelogue.

We enjoyed the music of Christmas. There was a piano in our home and we had a radio. Mother read to us the story of Christ’s birth from the Bible Story Book and we learned to share what we had with folks who came to our door. The postman, the milkman and the grocery man who delivered groceries each week.

I do not recall shopping or putting up a tree in my childhood home. We did, however, make paper decorations in grade school to trim the tree in our classroom. We exchanged small gifts with schoolmates. In S.S. [Sunday School] we sang the Christmas songs and heard the Christmas Story and it was given to us on picture cards to take along home.

Some folks from Philadelphia became friends of our family. They thought the Landis children should have Christmas gifts and bought toys for each of us. One memory that remains in my heart was the gift from the Fritz family of a beautiful doll, with eyes that opened and closed and a lovely face. She came complete with a wicker high chair. The doll was wrapped in a large pillow case.

In the fifties, I dated a young man names Jay. We enjoyed many Christmas times together. We went caroling with other youth from the Mellinger District. Sometimes by large bus with a horn on top to take the singing across the cold night air.

I treasured the family Christmas dinners at both Jay’s home and my home when we gathered around a large table laden with the “goodies” of the Season, prepared with love, and after saying a prayer of Thanksgiving to God we enjoyed eating, talking and the excitement of the gathering.”

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