Manheim Township MARCH 27, 2024
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL XXXIX • NO 43
Local history isn’t only thing to be explored at Mennonite Life
Connecting to the community: EPC at 70
BY JEFF FALK
O
ver the last 300 years, Mennonites have evolved and diversified. But one of the constants that has remained is how their lifestyles reflect their beliefs. Mennonite Life seeks to honor those beliefs, tell the story of the Mennonite sect in Lancaster
BY CATHY MOLITORIS
“It’s important to know how interconnected we all are,” she added. “We also care about preserving historical artifacts from the past. There’s value in preserving the past.” Mennonite Life offers tours, opportunities for field trips, educational programs, events and an extensive archives and library. Some 45,000 people from Lancaster County and beyond visit Mennonite Life each year. “The visitor’s center gets a big
Over the past seven decades, Engle Printing & Publishing Co., Inc. (EPC) has grown from one couple producing one pap er to a company that employs 150 people, distributes 16 community newspapers and multiple specialty publications to close to 200,000 people, and provides printing services for numerous clients. Although the scope of the business has changed, one thing has remained constant: community. “ We want to make that connection to our local merchants and to our community members,” said Charlie Engle, company president. As EPC marks 70 years in business this year, Charlie and his daughter Jocelyn Engle looked back on what started in 1954 in the basement of Alvin and Pauline Engle’s Mount Joy home. “My dad bought his own little press and put it in our basement,” Charlie said of Alvin. “He was working full time in the printing business, but he always wanted to do his own thing.” In 1959, EPC purchased its first community publication,
See Mennonite Life pg 5
See EPC pg 4
County and share that lifestyle with others. It accomplishes that mission through archives, historical displays and welcoming arms. “I think (‘Mennonite’ is) a little bit of both, theology and lifestyle,” said Abby Hershberger, Mennonite Life’s storyteller. “It depends on the Mennonite. (‘Mennonite’) can be a big umbrella for a lot of people. Mennonite life can be characterized by non-violence, non-conformity, a life based on the life of Jesus Christ and the teachings of Jesus Christ. Non-conformity means rejecting the status quo in different ways. It could be stepping away from certain technology. I’m a pacifist.
A tour guide gives a presentation to students visiting Mennonite Life.
I oppose violence in the world.” For merly the L ancaster Mennonite Historical Society, the story of Mennonite Life is sprawled across two campuses, one at 2215 Millstream Road, Lancaster, and the 1719 Herr House at 1849 Hans Herr Drive, Willow Street. The Mennonite Life campus features a visitor’s center, a collections building and a Biblical Tabernacle experience, while the historic 1719 Herr House is surrounded by the
Lancaster Longhouse, a blacksmith shop, a visitor’s center, a pasture and horse barn and an orchard. “It’s a big organization,” said Hershberger. “But we have a common goal to tell Mennonite life stories. We want people to know that we’re here and that Mennonite history is exciting. Mennonite Life is open to anyone who cares about L ancaster County history and Mennonite and Amish history.”
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“We just want to be this place that is welcoming to people who want to learn who Mennonites are.”
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