LL-L "Mennonite matters" 2003.12.16 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 16.DEC.2003 (03) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: WALTERG580 at aol.com <WALTERG580 at aol.com>
Subject: LL-L "Mennonite matters" 2003.12.16 (01) [E]

At 10:47 AM 12/16/03 -0800, Malcolm Shackelford wrote:
>Little did I know that Yoder's was Mennonite restaurant and that the
>employees spoke Plautdietsch to each other.  Soon I noticed the Yoder name
>all over southwest Georgia.  As well as the restaurant they own a bakery, a
>dairy, a woodworking business, and who knows what else.  And especially fun
>(in an academic way) is their bookstore, which sells books printed in both
>English and Plautdietsch.  So the Lowlands are alive and well in southern
>Georgia.

I find this quite surprising, since Yoder is a "Swiss Mennonite" name.  How
do I know?  My former brother-in-law is a Yoder in Kansas, and though he
can understand the language but cannot speak it, his ancestral language is
Rhineland German.  All the "ethnic" Mennonites I know (which is a very
large number, by the way), instinctively know which family names belong in
which group of either "Swiss" or "Dutch" Mennonites.  Are you sure they
were speaking Plautdietsch and not Pennsylvanisch?

>    Now I have a question or two:
>1.  How common is the name Yoder (Joder?)?
>2.  What is the relationship between Mennonites and Hutterites?

They were both part of the same "anabaptist" movement which formed the main
thrust of the left wing of the Reformation, but split very early on from
each other.  They recognize their common heritage and certain traditions
and tendencies they have in common, but otherwise are quite separate.  The
"Swiss Mennonites" came from the same area in Switzerland and Austria as
the Hutterites.

Ed Alexander, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

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