Pennsylvania Dutch traditions as told by women authors explored in Reading

Abigail Smith grew up reading books written by her grandmother Mildred Jordan.

“I read most of the children’s books, and all of the novels,” Smith said.

Smith was far from the only one with a fondness for Jordan’s books — the Reading author was called “a storyteller of more than ordinary gifts,” in a New York Times review.

Jordan’s most well-known work, “One Red Rose Forever,” is a tale inspired by Henry William Stiegel, a famed 18th-century glassmaker whose lavish and eccentric lifestyle earned him the nickname “Baron Stiegel.”

Jordan was one of the authors covered by Candace Kintzer-Perry, curator of collections at the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center, Pennsburg, Montgomery County, in a presentation Saturday at the Berks History Center titled “The Ladies of 20th Century Pennsylvania Dutch Literature and Illustration.”

Kintzer-Perry said she was motivated to research women writing about the Pennsylvania Dutch after looking into Katherine Milhous, a Philadelphia writer and illustrator.

Milhous created posters and images highlighting rural Amish life in her work with the Philadelphia Federal Art Project, a New Deal program to promote the visual arts.

“I consider (Milhous) part of how the Pennsylvania Dutch became more of interest to the general American public by the 1930s,” Kintzer-Perry said. “It’s part of a whole trend, in interior decoration, food, everything.”

Milhous’ 1950 children’s book, “The Egg Tree,” which highlights Pennsylvania Dutch Easter traditions, won the Caldecott Medal, a prestigious award recognizing each year’s most distinguished children’s picture book.

“She (Milhous) had that combination of traditional ideas and a more modern style,” Kintzer-Perry said. “She was a brilliant, brilliant artist and author. Just wonderful.”

Milhous’ art emphasized the quaint appeal of Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch life — a running theme in many similar works, Kintzer-Perry said.

Another theme typical of books on the Pennsylvania Dutch written by 20th-century women involves the clash of tradition vs. progress, which often takes the form of a conflict with a patriarchal figure.

That theme plays out in Jordan’s novel “Apple in the Attic,” a Pennsylvania Dutch folk tale featuring a husband who vows to never speak to his wife again after she undersells an item at the market.

“It’s a really interesting tale about a horrible husband and a very put-upon wife,” Kintzer-Perry said. “A bit of a tragedy, funny on some levels, but very tragic.”

Smith said “Apple in the Attic” was her favorite book by Jordan.

“It was really an intriguing book, it’s different; that one kind of sticks in my head,” Smith said.

Stereotypes an issue

Kintzer-Perry noted that some 20th-century authors depicted the Amish as ignorant or uneducated, which she said is inaccurate.

“I always felt that the theme of the Pennsylvania Germans being an uneducated people was very unfair,” she said. “I grew up hearing the phrase ‘the dumb Dutch’ … well that is not true … They were highly literate people, very devoted to education.”

Romance, especially with an outsider, was another common topic among the authors Kintzer-Perry studied.

The works of Lancaster native Helen Reimensnyder Martin were responsible for the birth of “bonnet fiction,” or romance novels involving Amish characters, she said.

Martin’s 1905 novel “Sabina, A Story of the Amish,” was the first example of bonnet fiction ever produced, according to Kintzer-Perry. She noted that some Pennsylvania Dutch have taken issue with Martin’s critical portrayal of the culture and depictions of romantic relations as transactional and oppressive to women.

“Martin was under a great deal of scrutiny because she was not Pennsylvania German and writing about Pennsylvania Germans,” Kintzer-Perry said. “Martin had very strong opinions … They were typical stereotypes that were only partially true.”

Highlighting a favorite

Another author of note was Marguerite de Angeli, a Philadelphia writer and illustrator of children’s books.

Angeli won the Caldecott twice, in 1945 for “Yonie Wondernose” and in 1955 for “Book of Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes.”

She won the 1950 Newberry Medal and the Lewis Carrol Shelf Award in 1961 for “The Door in the Wall,” a story set in the time of the Black Plague about an aspiring knight who loses the use of his legs.

Angeli’s work explored the rich traditions of many traditionally overlooked cultures, including the Amish and Mennonites, Kintzer-Perry noted.

She said Elsie Singmaster, an author from Macungie, Lehigh County, encapsulates Pennsylvania Dutch heritage like no other.

“I think her writing is wonderful, it’s very vivid, shows the Pennsylvania Germans in a sympathetic light that still talks very much about the traditions that were so much a part of their lives,” Kintzer-Perry said.

She noted that Angeli was the only author on her list who hadn’t received a higher education at a time when societal barriers made it more difficult for women to go to college.

“I think it’s amazing that these women were very lucky and got to be educated,” said Julie Angstadt, of Exeter Township, “Until my generation, it wasn’t acceptable to even go to high school.”

Source: Berkshire mont