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House of Yoder News (Sept
98)
by Lonnie Yoder, ltby@shentel.net
You are Invited to the 3rd Annual Meeting in November!
The third annual meeting of the House
of Yoder will be held at Penn Alps
in Grantsville, Maryland on Saturday, November 14, 1998 from 10:00
a.m.
through mid-afternoon. Agenda items include: a business meeting,
a tour
of the Yoder House under construction, sharing a breakfast/lunch
buffet
at the Penn Alps Restaurant and input from our guest speaker,
Virgil
Yoder. Virgil will present a documentary through slides and lecture
of
the early beginnings of the Yoder family, from St. Joder in Switzerland
to their arrival in America. He includes the struggles the Yoders
faced
through the Reformation and traces his Amish family line in America.
According to the Yoder Family Archives web site, Yoder is noted
for his
"well-researched, wonderfully photographed, and exceptionally
scripted
slide show of Yoder Heritage in the old world.. Executive committee
members who have seen this slide presentation highly recommend
it. For
those traveling from a distance, consider spending a night or
two in the
Grantsville area. Lodging options at Grantsville include two motels,
an
inn, and a bed and breakfast: Holiday Inn (301-895-5993), the
Casselman
Hotel (301-895-5055), the Elliott House Victorian Inn (800-272-4090),
and the Walnut Ridge Bed and Breakfast (301-895-4248).
The Building Continues to Take Shape!
Construction on the Yoder House was proceeding
at a good pace earlier
this spring with the first floor exterior walls in place and plans
to
use the services of a crane to lift the beams for the second floor
into
place when a series of tornadoes struck the Grantsville area in
late May
and early June. The Yoder House was not directly affected by the
tornadoes, but the property of Kenneth Yoder,s daughter and son-in-law
was severely damaged along with that of a number of others in
the area.
The clean-up and rebuilding efforts for those affected by the
tornadoes
brought the Yoder House work to a standstill for a number of weeks.
Construction has begun again with the first floor ceiling beams
now in
place and the second floor flooring currently being installed.
A person
has been hired to work on a regular basis at the building project.
He
will be happy to incorporate any volunteer labor, either skilled
or
unskilled, you or others may want to contribute. If you or someone
you
know would be willing to donate some labor anytime this fall,
please
contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Paul H.Yoder, at 301-895-5411.
Fund-Raising Goal of $10,000 by the End of the Year!
At the July 25 House of Yoder Executive
Committee meeting it was decided
to set a fund-raising goal of an additonal $10,000 by the end
of the
year. This is the amount needed to finish off the $20,000 matching
grant from an anonymous donor towards the building of the Yoder
House.
To date, gifts of $10,471 have been credited towards the $20,000
matching grant. All contributions (including membership dues)
will be
matched dollar for dollar by this matching grant until we reach
the
$20,000 amount. Use the enclosed membership/contribution form
to send
your gift to support the Yoder House (payable to "The Yoder
House
Project) to Lonnie Yoder, Publicity/Membership Coordinator, Yoder
House
Project, 1066 Smith Avenue, Harrisonburg, VA 22802. In addition
to
obtaining or extending memberships, you can support the cause
by
purchasing doors, windows, and fireplace stones of various sizes
in the
Yoder House. There is also an opportunity to contribute in memory
or
honor of a family member such as a parent, grandparent, or
great-grandparent. This is a great idea for a family to go together
to
honor a loved one and support the Yoder House project. All such
family
contributions will be recorded on a loose-leaf page containing
the name
and a photograph of your loved one to be placed in a Memorial
Book. If
you are interested in a sample copy of this loose-leaf page, please
contact Lonnie Yoder or an executive committee member. Remember
that
all contributions to the Yoder House Project are tax-deductible.
A
Yoder House brochure is also enclosed with this mailing for your
personal use or to give to a family member whom you think might
be
interested in our Yoder House project. If you have need for additional
brochures, please contact Lonnie Yoder or a member of the executive
committee.
House of Yoder Membership Statistics
Currently there are 87 active memberships
in House of Yoder, Inc. Those
active memberships divide out as follows: 12 lifetime memberships,
45
five year memberships, and 30 one year memberships. There is an
insert
in this mailing for those whose membership expires at the end
of 1998.
If your membership expires at the end of the year, you are invited
to
renew your membership for the time period you choose. Even if
your
membership is not due, an extension of your membership period
will
contribute greatly to the matching fund. The mailing list for
this
newsletter currently stands at 157. For those whose membership
has been
expired for some time, we plan to do a significant pruning of
the
mailing list. There are 53 names on the mailing list who fall
in this
category. If you want to continue to receive the mailing, but
are not
current on your membership, please inform Lonnie Yoder as soon
as
possible.
Your Yoder House Executive Committee
Several references have been made to the
Yoder House Executive Committee
in this newsletter, so it is appropriate to let you know who constitutes
the 10 member executive committee. Their names and home towns
are as
follows: Doris Ours, President, Keyser, WV; Harvey L. Yoder,
Vice-President, Belleville, PA; Edgar Yoder, Treasurer, Grantsville,
MD;
Paul H. Yoder, Secretary and Volunteer Coordinator, Grantsville,
MD,
Kenneth L. Yoder, Building Superintendent, Grantsville, MD; Lonnie
Yoder, Publicity/Membership Coordinator, Harrisonburg, VA; Lowell
Bender, Bittinger, MD; Gerald Yoder, Woodbury, PA; Phyllis Weaver,
Harrisonburg, VA; and Carl M. Yoders, Flemington, NJ. These persons
have given considerable time and energy to the Yoder House project
and
are committed to its completion and opening so that you and your
descendents can benefit from this unique contribution to the Yoder
family story.
Did You Know?
Lowell Bender has been commissioned by
the Executive Committee to flesh
out the details of the early history of the Yoder House project.
The
idea for the House of Yoder had its origins in 1992. Jack Dueck
and
others cultivated that original seed of an idea into the project
we now
have nearing completion. At both the first and second annual meetings
Jack reminded us of the story from the book of Joshua in which
the
question "What do these stones mean? is central. These words
stand as
a theme for the Yoder House project as well. The stones of the
Yoder
House will serve as a reminder to future generations that our
heritage
as a family is indeed a long, rich, and storied one.