The wedding ceremony was over at mid-day, but there was still a lot more celebration to go. Several of the young people that left the tent before the bridal party had to help with the preparations for dinner by being the waitresses and waiters. With a good size crowd like this one, it took two waiters and eight waitresses for the tent. Three young married couples, the ech leit or corner people, were assigned just to wait on the bridal party seated in the corner.
The cooks didn’t get to see much of the wedding service. Four married couples were assigned as cooks. Most of the morning, they stayed with the food they were preparing. Three married couples were in charge of cooking the potatoes and warming other dishes. These were the couples that remained in the tent until the bishop got to the part where Rebekah slid off her camel. When they heard that cue, they headed for the kitchen.
From long experience, the cooks knew if the potatoes were started to cook at that time they would be soft enough to mash by the end of the wedding service. The cooks wanted to be able to go in and out of the kitchen during the service. They sat at the back of the tent so they wouldn’t disrupt the ceremony. As luck would have it, all of the kitchen help slipped back into the tent in time to be present when the actual vows were said. Of course on this particular day, they were witness to the unusual and uninvited guest, Goliath. All thoughts about food preparation went out of their heads. They hated to leave until the excitement was over so they stayed a little longer than normal. It was agreed among the helpers that they might never see another wedding quite like this one.
As soon as the tent was empty, each man set up a table made with three benches placed side by side and elevated on a special trestle. As the tables were completed, a woman came along with a white tablecloth to cover them. The tables were place end for end in the shape of a U with the corner, the eck, of the tent, reserved for the bridal party.
Next the workers carried in large chests filled with unbreakable dishes and eating utensils. These chests were only used for large crowds at weddings and funeral meals. Several men in the community had the responsibility for storing the chests at their house and renting them out for an occasion. The plates and silverware were stacked on the end of the food table in the middle of the tent. The line of people could fill their plates from both sides of the table.
To save time, some of the smaller items were passed from the kitchen to the tent bucket brigade style. By the time the long table was filled with bowls and roasters, the cooks had carried out large amounts of food in a particular order. The main dish, several large roasters containing stuffing mixed with chicken pieces came first then ten gallons of mashed potatoes, and ten quarts of gravy. The traditional wedding dish was creamed celery along with twenty quarts of cole slaw and fifty quarts of applesauce. Deserts were thirty cherry pies, four hundred of Roseanna Nisely’s doughnuts, fruit salad, tapioca pudding and the standard fare of bread, butter, jelly and coffee. For decoration ever so far apart on the tables, celery stalks with the leaves attached like a flower and stem were arranged in quart canning jars, a symbol of good luck.
On the eck table was a large cake, decorated with white icing, baked by Emma as her special contribution for the newlyweds. Small bowls held nuts, candy, mints and fancy fruit as well as platters of lunch meat and dip for the crackers. Holding hands, the couples entered the tent in the same order they did for the wedding. The ech corner was where John and Hal headed with the other couples in the bridal party once they past the food table. John and Hal sat across the corner from each other, with Hal on John’s left just like the way they would sit in church or a buggy.
One long table was meant for parents, grandparents and younger family members. Hal’s father sat at the head of that table. Hal’s mother sat on the side of the table along with the girl relatives under sixteen years old. On the other side, were the male youngsters who consisted of John’s sons, Noah and Daniel and Mark and Rose Yoder among others. All the young people over sixteen ate together while the other wedding guests sat at the remaining tables.
After everyone sat down, they paused for a silent grace before they ate. Hal was surprisingly hungry, but why not. She’d barely eaten for two days. The tent filled with the lilting hum of the Plain guests talking as they ate the good food. They should have an appetite, too. Men and their sons were up before daylight to milk and do the other chores while the women and their daughters cooked breakfast and cleaned the kitchen. Before they knew it, they needed to get dressed in their Sunday best, hitch of the horse to the carriage and make it to the wedding on time.
The waiters and waitresses scurried in and out of the tent, refilling bowls, pouring drinks and supplying other needs. After the meal was over, everyone paused for another silent prayer before they left the tent. Now it was time for the helpers to fill their plates and sit down. The corner waiters and waitresses, according to tradition, had the honor of sitting in the eck to eat as soon as the wedding party left the tent.
This was the social time. Guests stood around in the yard, visiting until the tables were cleaned.
As soon as the helpers ate, they were assigned for cleanup detail. Plus the waiters and waitresses had to wash and dry the dishes. A couple of them pushed into the tent a double galvanized washtub filled with soapy water on one side and rinse water on the other. One woman brought in a large stack of dish towels. While the dishes were washed in the tent, the other set of helpers washed the dishes in the kitchen.
When the cleanup was over, women moved back into the tent so they could sit down to visit, and the men went to the barn. The younger children ran away from the others to play softball. The teenagers separated, the girls to Emma’s room upstairs to visit and the boys down by the barn to play darts.
After about an hour, Emma stood in the tent opening looking for Hal. When she spotted Hal, she made her way among the guests. “Hallie, we have the wedding gifts on the bed in the spare room. You can come upstairs and open them now.” She spoke in a louder voice to the women, “Komm with us while Hallie opens her gifts.”
As soon as they reached the spare bedroom, Emma led Hal to the bed. They waited for all the women to fill the room. Hal was surprised to see how many white papered gifts covered the bed. As she opened the gifts, she found that though the gifts were new and practical. In a few minutes, the bed was covered with Tupperware containers, crystal salad and fruit bowls and kitchen utensils.
Each gift had a slip of paper attached with a pin to the wrapping so she’d know who gave her the gift. She opened a large gift and ran her hand over the most beautiful quilt she’d ever seen - red rose buds appliquéd along the light cream fabric. Rose buds were attached to each other by green tendrils. A row of tendrils vined along the scallops around the outside edge and a heart shaped ring filled with rose buds was in the middle. The name on the slip of paper was EMMA.
“Emma, this is so beautiful. You out did yourself putting together this lovely quilt. So much hard work. How did you find the time? Where have you been quilting this that I wouldn’t see it? Where did you hide the quilt that I didn’t come across it?” Rushed out of Hal’s mouth.
Emma giggled. “Slow down, Hallie. Jane helped me work on the quilt at her house. When you went to work, I went to visit Jane. She said I should leave the quilt at her house until the wedding so you wouldn’t accidentally find it.”
“Oh denki, Emma. What a treasure this gift is.” Hal gave Emma a hug then turned to Jane. “denki for helping Emma.” Then Hal spoke to all the other women. “denki for your thoughtfulness and for all the gifts. Each one will be a special reminder of you.”
“Now look over in the corner at what your folks gave you to go along with the quilt,” Emma said.
A large cedar quilt chest glowed with an amber glint caused by the sun shining through the window on its downward journey. “This is a wonderful gift, Mom.” Hal opened the chest. She sniffed and got a whiff of cedar that would permeate the stack of quilts she’d put in the chest. That is if she ever figured out how to make them. At least, she had Emma’s wedding quilt to start with. Funny, Mom hadn’t put a big bow on top the chest to make it stand out from all the other gifts. Emma must have clued Nora in to the fact only a small slip of paper was appropriate. The paper said Love Mom and Dad.
Hal continued to unwrapped a few remaining gifts. Each time, she exclaimed how much she liked the item. When she finished with the last one, she turned to the women around her. “The real gift for John and me is that you are all here to enjoy this day with us. Now I should go back to my husband and see what happens next. Please, join us downstairs.”
For a while, John and Hal moved among the clustered guests, handing out candy bars as they visited.
“See my sisters sitting over there.” John nodded mid-way of the tent as he touched Hal’s elbow. “Let’s say hello.” The two women ‘s dark hair coloring and eyes were very much like John’s. There was no doubt in Hal’s mind that they were related to her husband. John smiled down at them. “It is so voonderball gute, Beth and Amy, that you could both come today.”
The ladies stood up. Beth, slim and wiry, gave him a hug. “We would not have missed this wedding for anything in the world. Would we, Amy?” She gave Hal a hug and patted her back.
“Ach, nah!” said Amy, a plumper, shorter version of her sister. She stood on tiptoes to hug her brother than Hal. “Wilcom, to our family, Hal.”
“denki, I’m proud to be a part of the Lapp family,” Hal assured them. “denki to both of you for all your hard work yesterday. We so appreciated it. I don’t have to fear spiders for a while now, and I can actually see out of the windows when company comes.”
The sisters giggled behind their hands.
Amy said, “You are wilcom.”
Beth turned serious. “John, we were disappointed our bruder, Marvin, ain’t here today.”
“I just got a letter from him yesterday. He said he couldn’t come this far recht now. One of the twins is sick with a summer cold. He figured the other will come down with it soon. You know how that is with kids,” John said with a chuckle.
“Ach, I guess we do,” Amy agreed adamantly.
“Hal said we should write Marvin and tell him his family is wilcom when the boys are well enough to travel. They can come any time they want,” John said, putting his arm around his wife’s waist.
“Voonderball gute! Will you let us know so we can visit with Marvin and Ida when they are here,” Beth said excitedly.
“Of course, we will,” Hal said. “I’m hoping they can stay long enough to visit around the neighborhood. You should come for meals and spend as much time as you can with us while they are here.”
“denki, Schwestern Hal. We will look forward to that,” Amy said. “It has been a long time since we last saw Marvin and his family. I can’t remember how long. When do you think, Beth?”
“Recht after the twins, John and Marvin, were born two years ago. Remember, we paid a driver to take us to see the new babies.”
“Sure enough,” Amy agreed.
Bishop Elton and Jane Bontrager approached the newlyweds. Elton shook John’s hand and Jane hugged Hal. They both spoke to Beth and Amy.
“What a nice wedding ceremony, Elton. We really appreciate what you’ve done for us today,” Hal said, giving the elderly man a hug.
“Gute,” was Elton’s one word reply.
John looked grave when he spoke. “Elton, I am so very sorry for what Daniel did. We have yet to talk to Stella Strutt and see if she is all recht. The poor woman must be very upset.”
“Jah, I saw her earlier. Stella was still beside herself,” Jane said, and she giggled behind her hand.
“Boys will be boys. Stella has forgotten what it is like to have small ones around that are full of life,” Elton said, grinning at John.
Amy said cryptically, “Knowing Stella she will forget this matter and be upset with something else shortly.”
“Jah,” Beth agreed. “That is Stella’s way.”
“Just the same, Daniel’s bad behavior troubles me,” John said seriously. “He is always tempted to act before he thinks.”
“John.” Amy gave him a weak smile. “Daniel is just a little boy, but he reminds me very much of you at his age.”
“I agree, Schwestern,” said Beth, with a solemn shake of her head. “I remember hearing much the same words come out of our parents mouth when John did something that they disapproved of. Daniel is a son very much like his father.”
“That may be, but I remember punishments Papa handed out for my unwise actions. I cannot let this latest problem with Daniel go unpunished. He will not learn how to act the right way if I do,” John said firmly to his sisters.
“What you decided is up to you as his father.” Elton paused then suggested, “Would it help if I as bishop had a talk with Daniel.”
“It was your wedding sermon the boy interrupted. If you want to talk to him I would be grateful,” John said. “I would like Daniel to be more responsible for his actions, and he does respect your wisdom. In fact, he probably expects you will want to talk to him.” John grinned as he rubbed a sideburn. “I do not think you should disappoint him.”
Mid afternoon was the time for the young people to sing for the wedding party and guests. The long table had been set with snacks: chips, fresh platters of celery, red and yellow apples, and three kinds of cookies heaped on plates. On one plate was stacked the remainder of the delicious doughnuts Roseanna Nisely worked so hard on. Hal picked up two of them so she’d get her fill. She knew that plate would be the first one emptied.
Just before the singing, the boys went one at a time into the upstairs bedroom where the girls were. Each boy stood in front of the girl he wanted to sit by at the singing and held his hand out for her to take. Holding hands, they walked downstairs and went into the tent. For the afternoon, boys that dated one girl on a steady basis didn’t have to pick her for the singing. Later in the evening, the dating couples paired up and spend the rest of the time at the Lapp wedding together. This way a boy had a different partner in the afternoon to get acquainted with.
So the young folks sat in pairs at a couple tables, talking. They waited for the wedding party to sit down in the Eck corner and the guests to find seats. John and Hal were serenaded while they opened the few wedding gifts left for them on the table. These gifts were considered novelty items. Noah and Daniel had made miniature buggies from marshmallows with lifesaver wheels hitched to animal cracker horses with toothpicks. Several people had gift wrapped bowls of candies in plain white paper.
From time to time, John and Hal heard the words, “Knock, Knock.” The tent wall waved back and forth by the split in the corner. Either John or Hal would stick a hand through the crack to give a child, they couldn’t see, a piece of candy. This activity reminded Hal of Halloween.
Hal smiled at John and reached over to pat his hand. She whispered, “This has been the most wonderful day, John Lapp.”
“That is the way I see it, too,” he said, grinning at her.
The forgeher (ushers) handed out the Ausbunds, thick German hymn books, which only had words, no musical notation.
Hal frowned at the singing table. “John, there’s that strange young man by Emma.”
John glanced that direction and said unconcerned, “Jah, Josh Beiler.”
Hal had a different reaction, but she decided to keep it to herself. Emma was sandwiched between Josh and Levi Yoder. The girl looked uncomfortable with her arms tightly penned against her sides. Josh slanted his body enough that his shoulder seem to bore into Emma’s. To make matters worse, Levi was paying more attention to the young girl he had chosen. A sight that Hal didn’t like to see. All right, that’s the way it should be between Levi and the girl next to him, but Hal wished Levi would have had the good sense to choose Emma at a social function like this.
Hal felt sorry for Emma. For one thing, the way Josh smiled at the girl was just plain wrong. He reminded Hal of an Amish Phil King. Emma should have been Levi’s choice. Hal was sure of that. How had Josh gotten to Emma before Levi could pick her? For a young man that seemed so bashful around others, Josh sure was forward with Emma. This young Plain man didn’t seem to have a bashful bone in his body when he smiled at Emma. Whatever he said to her in the pause between songs made her blush. He was a stranger in the community and didn’t really know Emma or any of the other girls well enough to be that forward with them. At least, that was Hal’s opinion.
What started out in the usual chant like manner for the first song changed to a tempo that was faster in the next songs as the afternoon wore on. The girls could help lead the singing if they wanted to at this gathering. Their sweet young voices blended together with the boys. Hal never grew tired of hearing hymns like Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art even though the words were in the Plain dialect.
Later that afternoon, some of the guests left for home to do chores. They hurried home so they could get back in time for the evening meal. For other neighbors who lived farther away, the day had been long enough. They decided not to come back.
At five o’clock, the bride and groom left their table, ending the singing. The snacks were cleared away by the afternoon crew which consisted of aunts and uncles and young married couples that went to church with the couple. The groom’s family, Amy and Beth, pitched in. After the workers cleaned up the tables in the tent, the evening servers warmed up the leftovers from dinner, heated wieners to go along with pork-n-beans and poured potato chips in bowls for a lighter supper. Ice cream was dessert. Before the servers waited on everyone else, they ate their meal at the kitchen table.
Emma had told Hal the duty of making a list of young unmarried couples that sat together for supper and the evening singing fell to the bride. She claimed it wouldn’t be a hard job. When asked, many of the boys picked the girl they dated on a regular basis.
Hal suddenly decided she didn’t mind the task at hand. She had a plan since she was determined to make sure Levi was paired with Emma for the evening. This task gave Hal the opportunity to stop another young man from picking Emma, especially Josh Beiler. When Hal went upstairs, she found the boys standing at the end of the upstairs hall, ready for the pairing. As Hal walked over to the group, she searched for Beiler. He wasn’t with the boys. Maybe he’d went back to the Yoder farm to do chores. She hoped he stayed there.
Hal stopped in front of Levi Yoder first and insisted, “Levi, can I put Emma as your choice for the meal and evening singing?” That wasn’t a choice for Levi, but Hal wasn’t taking a chance that he’d choose someone else.
Hal smiled with relief as Levi agreed enthusiastically. “That would be gute.”
She noted Emma’s name next to Levi’s on her paper. “Enjoy the evening,” she said as she stepped in front of another boy. Suddenly, she felt someone too close behind her. Near enough the hair stood up on her neck. Hal twisted quickly and her shoulder bumped Josh Beiler’s chest. Her eyes met his intense brown ones that was trying to burn a hole through her.
“Hallie Lapp, I am a stranger here. Perhaps, you would like to pick a girl for me, too.” Josh’s words carried all the meaning they needed to tell Hal he was unhappy with her interference.
As if to lend protection, Levi moved closer to Hal. She turned to him and asked innocently, “Levi, would you like to suggest a girl for Josh?”
“Nonni Stolfus,” Levi said quietly.
Their eyes met again as Hal turned to Josh. She didn’t have any intention of backing down so she spoke with deliberation. “That will be your girl for this evening.”
He shrugged his acceptance, and she moved away from him. Though she felt the need to be cautious around this young man, she was determined not to let Josh know how much his demeanor bother her. She jotted down the names of girls the boys dating on a regular basis gave her. Bashfully, each one ducked his head as he uttered the name he wanted her to write next to his.
This social event was one of the very few times the parents of these couples saw them together. It was always a source of interest to see these almost grown children’s date choice. Other people craned their necks to see what young man liked a certain young woman enough to choose her to sit with in public. The couplings made fuel for speculation for some time to come about future weddings.
Hal returned to the tent when her job was done. She sat down and wished for a fan to circulate the heavy air. After a day of August sunshine bearing down on the canvas, the air was weighted with heat at supper time. The wedding party again were in their places in the corner as far away from the entry way and any breeze as they could get in a packed room. Knowing she couldn’t have a fan, Hal decided to wish for sundown. Darkness would be a welcome relief.
One of the eck waiters, Andy Zook, brought in three new cakes and placed them on the table. Hal gave her list of paired couples to him. The young man took his job serious as he positioned himself between the upstairs bedroom the girls were in and the gathering of boys at the end of the hall. In a loud, clear voice, he read the names of the couples paired on the list one couple at a time. Each boy walked to the bedroom door as the girl came out of the room. They went down the stairs, holding hands.
Another waiter for the Eck corner waited for the young couples to show up at the opening. He seated the couples at their table. The pairs going steady but didn’t have plans marry had to be seated on the groom’s side of the table. Couples that had just married or planned to be married this wedding season sat on the bride’s side. At other tables were relatives and friends of the couple.
Just before they sat down to eat, Hal and John had prepared special bowls with treats of cake, fruit and candy for their special wedding helpers. Everyone had worked so hard to make this day special for the bride and groom. The gifts the ushers, cooks and the bishop received from them would not be much in return. The real repayment, John told Hal, would come when they returned the favor by helping at weddings when they were called upon.
The young couples had to share the dish of ice cream which made this a special treat. It was always a bashful moment when the couples tried to decide which one of them would get the last bite. Hal noted in the case of Josh and Nonni, there wasn’t that uncomfortable moment about which one of them had the last bite. Looking bored, Josh pushed the bowl in front of the long faced, freckled girl. Elbow on the table, he sat with his head against his hand and watched Nonni enjoy the last of the ice cream. It would appear Levi had picked the right partner for Josh. She was one girl that was safe since this full of himself young man wasn’t interested in her.
Levi looked over at the ech table. When he saw Hal’s pleased expression, he lean forward and glanced down the table to see how Josh and Nonni were getting along. He caught Hal’s attention, gave her big smile and slightly nodded he understood. She winked to show she approved.
Just as they finished eating, hymn books were passed out that were used at Sunday evening singings. Together they sang, “What A Friend We Have In Jesus”. After several more selections, one by one the guests started leaving for home. By ten thirty, there were only a few people left.
The left overs were set on the kitchen table for a late night snack. Emma came to the tent to let everyone know that the fress (to eat gluttonously) table was prepared. Singing stopped. After the last of the guests ate, the men went out to hook up their horses to their buggies. The women cleaned up the kitchen, washed the dishes and put away the leftovers.
Emma pulled Hal aside. “You and me have to go upstairs to the spare bedroom and do something with the wedding gifts before my dawdi and mammi get ready to go to bed.”
“I guess we should,” Hal said and giggled. “It wouldn’t be very comfortable sleeping in a bed filled with wedding gifts.”
Giving some thought to what would be the quickest way to clear the bed that late at night, Hal decided, “Emma, can we stack the gifts in the storage closet in the spare bedroom until some other day when we have more time to deal with them? I’d hate to ask the women to wash another dish or container tonight now that they’re ready to leave just so we can put things away in the kitchen.”
“That is a gute idea,” Emma agreed.
When Emma following her. Everyone had gone home. They were alone at last. Hal sighed deeply and smiled at her parents and the boys, sitting together on the couch, “ What a day!”
“A voonderball gute day, but tomorrow is cleanup day so we will have plenty of company again,” John warned.
“This is as late as an old man like me can stay up,” Jim said, covering a yawn. “Too much excitement for one day.”
“You are very tired. I know,” John said.
“We all are,” Nora said. “I can tell from as quiet as we all are.”
“Would you like to stay for the evening prayer before you go to bed?” John asked.
“Of course, we will,” Nora agreed.
“We all kneel in a circle,” John explained. “I think this special night with all our family together we should say the Lord’s Prayer. As soon as everyone was down, he began, Unser vater der du bist im himmel, geheiliget werde dein name zu komm, uns dein reich, dein viille geschehe auf, erden vie im himmel, gib uns heit, unser taglich brod, und verbig uns, unsere schuld, vie wir vergeben, unsern schuldern; und las uns nicht, eingefuhrt weden in verschung, sondern erlose uns von med osen, denn dein ist das recih, dein ist die, kraft dein ist die herrbichkeit in Ewigkeit. Umen.
“Amen,” the others echoed.
“Now show me to my bed. I have to get some rest so I’ll wake up early enough to milk cows,” Jim said, grabbing hold of a nearby chair to help himself up from the floor.
Emma laughed. “Come with me Dawdi Jim. I’m headed to bed myself. Let me show you and Mammi to the spare room.”
Noah got up to follow them. Daniel shadowed at Noah’s heels, trying to get away.
John said sternly, “Daniel, I would like a word with you.”
The boy froze. Noah gave his brother a look of pity and keep going up the stairs.
Hal touched John’s arm as she rushed by him. “I’m going up and get ready for bed.” She glanced at Daniel long enough to get a you’re deserting a sinking ship look. Hal felt sorry for the boy, but she was smart enough to know there would be times John had to use his judgment when it came to disciplining his children. He wouldn’t like her interfering. Most of the time, John was the very image of a mild and loving parent, but he managed sternness very well when the occasion warranted. She knew that from experience when she’d displeased the man.
When they were alone, Daniel moved in front of his father.
“I feel as if you have been avoiding me all day, Son,” John began. “It is not hard to know why I think.”
“Des verschtehn ich,” Daniel groaned.
“You understand now? It is too bad you did not understand before hand instead of after you disrupted a very solemn occasion for Mama Hal and me and everyone at the wedding,” John scolded.
“I did not know I would be interrupting by keeping Goliath in my pocket. I did not have any place else to put him,” Daniel said with tears in his eyes.
“So be it, but do you realize you are guilty of a wrong doing?”
“Jah, I do, and I’m very sorry,” Daniel said mournfully.
“That is a start, but only that. You must tell Hal you are sorry and the bishop, too. Elton said to tell you he wishes to speak with you about this matter as soon as possible.”
Tears trickled down Daniel’s cheeks. He had expected as much. It was one thing to have friend, Elton, upset but another when he had angered Bishop Elton Bontrager. “W – what is going to happen to me?”
“I am not sure how the bishop will handle this matter. That is for him to say. As for me, I am going to assign you extra chores until I am sure you have repented for this grievous error. Is that understood?”
Daniel swallowed hard. “Jah.”
“Now go to bed. We have a busy day tomorrow.” John watched as the boy raced up the stairs to get away from him. The thought ran through his mind if he thought Daniel was a handful now, what would he be like when he was a teenager during runspringa?