Amish Girls Series - Book 1
Joanna's Struggle
J.E.B. Spredemann
Chapter 1 – Mud Sale
" Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help." Psalm 22:11
Eleven-year-old Joanna Fisher bounded into the barn calling, "Jonathan. Jonathan. Mamm said to…OW!" she cried, as a clod of dirt pelted her arm. From the haymow she heard muffled giggles and impatiently yelled, "Jonathan Fisher, you dummkopp. I'm gonna get you for that. Mamm will not be happy when she sees that you've gotten my dress dirty again. Especially since," she added, attempting to wipe the debris from her burgundy cape dress, "we're going to the auction. Mamm said you need to get ready now."
From behind a haystack she heard a gasp and then a sandy colored head popped up. "The mud sale?" seven-year-old Jonathan exclaimed, climbing down the ladder and darting out of the barn like a bolt of lightning.
Her anger subsided, Joanna giggled softly to herself. "For sure and for certain Jonathan is excited about attending the mud sale."
She took a deep sigh and adjusted her prayer kapp, a few of her honey brown tresses escaping the tight bun behind her head. Lord, I'm trying to love my little brother, but sometimes he makes it difficult, Joanna silently complained to God.
She'd been taught in her Amish heritage not just to love her family and friends, but to love her enemies as well. That certainly was not the easiest thing to do.
On this beautiful Saturday morning, the sun shone brightly through the sparse poplar trees that lined the Fishers' property. They'd just had a church service, or Sunday Go-To-Meeting, as they called it, last week. There would be no meeting this week because they were only held every other Sunday. Joanna loved to attend the services, although sometimes she had trouble staying awake. She didn't feel bad though, because sometimes she would see several of the older folks nod off too, and occasionally they even snored until they were nudged by the person sitting next to them.
Three hours was a long time for anyone to sit through preaching, let alone a girl Joanna's age. Her brother Jonathan had an awfully difficult time staying in his seat. One time, unbeknownst to their folks, he made his way up to the front where Bishop Hostettler was preaching. As the bishop delivered his message, Jonathan followed behind him mimicking his every move. No one reprimanded him for his actions as he performed his antics. Joanna attributed their folks' passiveness to the fact that they were probably too dismayed to do so at the time. And, of course, nobody wanted to interrupt the bishop's message. When the bishop noticed the amused faces of his flock and that the eyes of his congregation were focusing on something other than him, he turned around to see what was stealing their attention. He then offered to let Jonathan speak, commenting that perhaps the boy had a future in preaching. Sheepishly, Jonathan declined and Joanna never saw him ascend the platform again.
The ministers preached from the Luther Bible, which was in High German, so Joanna could only understand bits and pieces of the sermon. (Most Amish only spoke Pennsylvania Dutch, which had some words similar to German, and English.) She was looking forward to this Sunday when they would rest and visit with friends and family.
Joanna skipped out of the barn and accidentally collided into her father Gideon, who was leading their beautiful auburn horse. "Careful, Joanna, you almost bumped into Cinnamon."
"Sorry, Dat. I wasn't looking where I was going – "
"That's all right," her dad interrupted. "Now go help your Mamm, we're leaving soon."
Joanna hurried to the house. "Joanna, we could use your help getting the sandwiches ready to take to the mud sale," her thirteen-year-old sister Grace requested. "And fill up the thermos with hot coffee." Joanna did as asked, and then placed the items into their large picnic basket.
"Mamm," Joanna inquired of her mother, "are you taking anything to sell today?"
"Jah, thank you for reminding me. I need to go down to the cellar to get some more jellies and jams. It's a gut thing that the Lord blessed us with extra fruit and vegetables last harvest," her mother answered.
When everything was finally ready, all six members of the Fisher family loaded the buggy and headed for the mud sale. Joanna could barely contain her excitement. She couldn't wait to see her best friend Chloe. Maybe now would be a good time to ask, thought Joanna.
"Dat, Mamm," she ventured, "do you mind if I get an after-school job so I can earn some extra money?"
"Do you think you'll have any spare time, with all your chores and what not?" her mother queried.
"I can do my chores as soon as I get home from school, and I'll have some extra time during the summer after the harvest is over. I have been doing a good job with my chores, ain't?" Joanna hoped they'd agree.
Her dad answered, "Well, you have done your chores diligently…Just what kind of work would you like to do, Joanna?"
"Oh, I'm not sure just yet." Joanna thought. "Maybe I can help take care of a boppli, or do some housework for one of our Englischer neighbors like Ruth Yoder does." She hoped mentioning the deacon's daughter would help her plight.
"We'll discuss this later. Right now your vadder and I need to talk about the auction," her mom replied.
As her mother and father conversed, Joanna and her siblings sat quietly in the back seat of the buggy. Well, most of them did. Jonathan dug into his pocket with one of his grubby little hands and pulled out a tree frog. An imaginary battle ensued with the small green amphibian and Jonathan's index finger. Mamm turned around several times in an attempt to shush the young boy, but eventually allowed him to indulge in his merriment.
Cinnamon trotted along at an even pace as they rode past farm houses, barns, silos, and pastures. The fresh scents of spring wafted through the air and Joanna breathed in deeply. Soon, I'll be able to take off my shoes and run barefoot through the meadow, she mused. Oh, to feel the cool, soft, green blades of grass beneath my feet.
Many Englischer cars impatiently passed their buggy on the road, some of them honking their horns. The fast, large metal contraptions were sometimes intimidating from the inside of a horse-drawn buggy, especially the huge semi-trucks that nearly blew them off the road. The Amish preferred a simpler, slower-paced lifestyle which, for the most part, Joanna agreed was better. Sure, the Plain People had to work harder than others, but that was the life they had chosen. Separation from the world is what they called it, a lifestyle set-apart. The best part about it though, in Joanna's opinion, was the closeness of their community. Their People loved and cared for one another, and it was evident in every aspect of life.
***
Joanna hummed softly as they came into the Ronks' firehouse parking lot and up to one of the hitching posts. Several of the young Amish men often offered their help at the small volunteer fire department. Once, the firemen were called out to a fire at her uncle's metal shop. One of the sparks shot out from the welder and ignited some hay nearby, instantly setting the shop ablaze. There were several Amish men working for the fire department that day, so news of the fire spread quickly. Not too long after the incident, the men of the community rallied together and built a new barn for her uncle in a single day.
The familiar sights and sounds of the mud sale brought excitement, especially for the children. It had been a whole year since Joanna's entire family last attended one, even though there were several throughout Lancaster County. They are called "mud sales" because they take place in the late winter and early spring when the frozen ground starts to thaw, sometimes turning the ground into mud. The money raised at the sales goes toward the volunteer firehouse, to make sure they have the neccesary equipment to serve their surrounding communities.
"Come on, Joanna," her brother Isaac called, eager to join his own friends. "Stop your daydreaming and let's go."
As Joanna stepped out of the buggy, her eyes scanned the crowd for any signs of Chloe. Her friend was nowhere to be seen. She must not be here yet, Joanna thought disappointedly.
Her dad seemed to have read her thoughts and chuckled. "Don't worry Joanna, she'll be here soon. Let's look around and see what they have for sale today.
Keep an eye out for a gut saddle. We'll need one for the mare that I plan on purchasing at the auction."
"Oh, really, Dat?" Joanna squealed. "How will we bring her home?"
"I thought that Isaac would like to ride her back to Paradise," Gideon replied.
"She'll need to get used to his touch, especially since she'll be pulling his new courting buggy that we're picking up from the Hostettlers' next week."
Joanna could tell by the enthusiasm in his voice that her father was proud of her sixteen-year-old brother Isaac. He would be the first of the Fisher children to enter into adulthood and, hopefully, join the Amish church. Eventually, he'd be married and have bopplin too. Joanna smiled at the thought.
"There you are, Jo," Chloe Esh called from the next table over. She quickly made her way through the crowd toward Joanna. "Can you believe all the people this year?"
"It seems like every year there's more Englischers, jah?" Joanna replied, as she gave her friend a quick hug.
"Jah, and Plain folks, too," said Chloe, as she eagerly pulled on Joanna's arm.
"Let's go see the new pony cart Eli Yoder just bought."
"I want to look at the quilts too, but we can do that later. Let me tell Dat where we'll be, first," Joanna spoke, and then turned to her father. "Chloe and I are going to walk around a bit, then meet up with her mamm. Remember, I'm riding home with the Eshes."
"Make sure you're home for the evening meal." Her father reminded her, as he and her mother strolled to the next vendor's table.
Joanna turned to Chloe. "My dat said to be lookin' for a gut saddle. He's getting a new horse today to pull Isaac's courtin' buggy. I can't wait – a new horse to ride. I hope the horse is black. The black ones are so pretty, especially when they're racing."
"Joanna Fisher. Don't tell me you've been racing Barley without me," Chloe heralded.
"Shh…we don't want to let everyone know our secret," Joanna whispered. "Let's go look at the jams and jellies now. I helped Mamm make some plum jam - your favorite," Joanna said proudly.
The girls pushed their way through the crowd toward the brighty decorated jam table. "Hello, Sarah Yoder," Chloe hollered, waving to Eli's mother.
"How are you girls doing this fine morning?"
"We're doin' gut. Aren't we, Chloe?" Joanna replied, nudging Chloe gently.
"Jah, how are you?" Chloe said.
"Well actually, I'm starting to get tired. We've been here since before sun-up," Sarah answered.
"Has anyone bought my mamm's jam yet?" Joanna questioned.
"Yes, but there's plenty more," Sarah Yoder responded, as she examined the table full of delicious home-canned jams and jellies. "They usually sell like hotcakes, so I'm sure we'll be raisin' lots of money today."
The People donated their time and talents to help out, along with others in the surrounding communities.
"Joanna and I better get going if we want to see the pony cart and the quilts," Chloe announced, leading Joanna toward the quilts.
"Have a gut time girls," Sarah called, as they walked off.
"Look at this quilt," Chloe remarked. "It's beautiful."
"Jah, it looks perfect. Not a stitch out of place. I hope I can quilt this gut someday," Joanna responded.
"Jah, me too," Chloe agreed.
"Hey, there's Philip King, the herb dokter. I wonder why he's looking at the quilts," Joanna thought aloud.
"I heard that," Philip King replied, chuckling.
"Heard what?" Chloe asked, feigning innocence.
"I happen to be purchasing a quilt for my friend's wedding over in Hickory Hollow next week, for your information. And as of now, the three of us are the only ones that know about it, and I expect you two to keep my secret." Philip winked.
"Of course we will," they chorused and winked backed.
The girls knew how quickly news could spread. The Amish community was certainly not immune to gossip. Sometimes the People all the way over in other states like Indiana and Ohio knew what was going on in our back yard. Joanna thought. Yes, they would keep tight-lipped about Phillip's gift.
"We need to find him a wife," Chloe whispered softly in Joanna's ear.
"Jah, a wife indeed," Joanna whispered back, smiling broadly.
"What was that, girls?" Philip raised his dark brown eyebrows.
"Nothing," they replied in unison, which sent them into a fit of giggles.
"Well, I'd better get going…back to my herb search." Philip King smiled and walked off slowly.
I wonder why that nice, good-looking man hasn't married, Joanna pondered.
***
A couple of hours later, Joanna and Chloe had been to just about every vendor's booth. They both agreed that the quilt table was their favorite - aside from the horses, of course. The sun stood just above the trees to the west and several families, including Joanna's, had already left for home.
"Chloe…Chloe…" the girls heard Chloe's mother calling in the distance.
"Oh, that's Mamm calling. We'd better go," Chloe chided.
"You go ahead, and I'll be there in a bit. I need to use the bathroom," Joanna pleaded.
"Okay, but don't be long. I think they want to leave soon," she replied and ran off.
The restroom wasn't too far a walk, thank goodness. As Joanna turned the corner, she felt a firm grasp on her elbow and it startled her. She saw a huge shadow behind her. "Don't make a sound or you will regret it," a man with a deep, raspy voice whispered in her ear, and then pointed in the opposite direction. "Now, we're going to walk quickly and get into that blue truck over there. Do you hear me, young lady?"
She nodded briefly. What should I do? Run? I can't, his grip is too strong. Joanna thought desperately. Scream, she told herself. But when she opened her mouth no sound would come out. Frightened and shaking, Joanna complied with his wishes and headed toward the truck…
***
(Joanna's Struggle available via Amazon Kindle - Click below)
© 2012 by J.E.B. Spredemann