Shenandoah Valley Mennonite Tour October 16-25, 2021 Massanutten Mountain Introductions to Travelers and Anabaptist History ~ Day One, Saturday, October 16 ~ We meet in Goshen, Indiana and drive to Holmes County, Ohio. A tour of the 265-foot circular Behalt Mural is a review of Anabaptist history from the beginning almost 500 years ago. It’s time to meet new friends as introductions to the members of the tour group prepares us to enjoy our travel time together. Worship and Travel to the Mountains of Maryland ~ Day Two, Sunday, October 17 ~ We continue to learn to know members in our group in a worship experience in the hotel. We travel into the heart An Amish farm in Holmes County of the Appalachian Mountains to Grantsville, Maryland. Dr. Alta Schrock had a vision to preserve the story of the way of life of the Mennonites and Amish in the mountains. We visit artists and crafts people in their studios in the Spruce Forest Alpine Village and Penn Alps Restaurant. Yoder History House in the Mountains of West Virginia ~ Day Three, Spruce Forest Alpine Village Monday, October 18 ~ We explore the Appalachians as we travel through West Virginia. After a short hike to Blackwater Falls, we can see the beauty of the Blackwater Falls waterfalls in a mountain valley. The falls are named for the water stained a brown color from the red spruce and hemlock needles in the forest. We enjoy spectacular 1 mountain views and explore the energy from coal and the wind as we travel through West Virginia. We catch the first glimpse of the Shenandoah River as we travel into Virginia. In the evening we settle into the Hotel Madison in downtown Harrisonburg which will be our home for six days in the Shenandoah Valley. Two Views of the Civil War ~ Day Four, Tuesday, October 19 ~ Today we explore different views of the American Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley. At the Brenneman-Turner Mill we learn about “The Burning” which was a time of suffering in the Shenandoah Valley as Union General Sheridan practiced the “Fire and Sword of War” to destroy the farms, livestock, crops, and industry of the Shenandoah Valley which was called “The Bread Basket of the Confederacy”. In Singers Glen Joseph Funk West Virginia mountains and valleys published the Harmonia Sacra songbook which he developed for singing schools to teach singing four-part harmony and changed the singing style of Mennonites. We visit the village of Singers Glen, named in his honor, to see where Funk lived and worked. The Museum of the Civil War honors the Virginia Military Institute cadets (students) who fought in the Battle of New Market. We visit the Bushong farm where the family huddled in the basement while the battle raged around their farmhouse. The Elder John Kline Homestead honors the pacificist Brethren leader who was killed for being a spy for the Union side although his travels were for the Church and not for politics. The homestead shows the life of a man who helped people with herbal medicines as well as helping their spiritual lives. Shenandoah Valley History Preserved ~ Day Five, Wednesday, October 20 ~ Crossroads: Brethren Mennonite Heritage Center preserves the history of the Anabaptist groups that settled in the Shenandoah Valley. Buildings for various purposes and different time periods have been moved to the site on a hill overlooking Massanutten Peak and the rolling hills of the Valley. The Heritage Center is the site to ask questions about life in the Shenandoah Valley because the stories are preserved here as well as the buildings. The Quilt Museum of Virginia preserves a different type of history. In the evening is the time to explore Hotel Madison in downtown Harrisonburg downtown Harrisonburg on your own. Restaurants, businesses, and the campus of James Madison University are within walking distance of Hotel Madison, where we stay. Tour leaders or the hotel staff can offer suggestions where to eat and what to visit. Mennonite Education, Publishing, and Volunteers ~ Day Six, Thursday, October 21 ~ We visit the institutions which are the heart of Mennonite life in the Shenandoah Valley today. We will see Eastern Mennonite University and some of the programs offered here and visit the Center for Justice and Peace. CJP is renowned for programs promoting peace and working for justice in the US and around the world. The Menno Simons Historical Library and other parts of the University Library house important resources about Mennonite history and thought. We pass Eastern Mennonite School with its high school campus and an elementary school. On our tour of the Christian Light Publications printing plant, we see how books, educational materials, and Sunday School material are published for plain Mennonite and Amish 2 groups. Gift and Thrift Store is a place to buy second hand items, recycled clothes, books, and many other items. There are several shelves of books for and about Mennonites, so be sure to have a look there. We tour the Booksavers of Virginia to see how they make sure that 100% of the books people donate do not reach landfills. Thirty thousand book titles are for sale from Booksavers online to anywhere around the world. Books that cannot be sold are torn apart and the various parts are recycled. Both Gift and Thrift and Booksavers are staffed by volunteers and any profits go to the Mennonite Central Committee. We see the modern campus of the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, a retirement center for independent and assisted living. Old Order Mennonites ~ Day Seven, Friday, October 22 ~ We drive through the beautiful countryside where Old Order Mennonites live in Virginia and visit a business that makes and repairs buggies and a business that makes harnesses and other leather goods needed for the horses the Old Order Mennonites use. Silver Lake Mill was used to make flour and corn meal for the Mennonite farmers near Dayton. We have lunch in The Dayton Market where a A recently built Old Order Mennonite buggy barbeque lunch is served and a bakery sells shoo fly pies, whoopie pies, and other Mennonite specialities. Another shop sells homemade ice cream, and there is a specialty shop for chocolate. There are twenty shops in The Dayton Market and close by is Patchwork Plus, a shop that sells cloth and supplies for quilters. In the afternoon we visit two places Silver Lake Mill to learn about stories of life in the small town of Dayton. In the Harrisonburg Rockingham Historical Society Museum we hear the story of how Mennonites and Brethren members were able to save the Town of Dayton from “The Burning”. The Fort Harrison, built in 1748, tells the Ft. Harrison stories of frontier life, wars, and a Mennonite girl name Mary Rhodes. In the evening there is an optional visit to the Massanutten Ski Resort in a spectacular setting. Underground Caverns and Historical Buildings ~ Day Eight, Saturday, October 23 ~ Today we cross the Massanutten Mountain through the New Market Gap to the Page Valley and the South Fork of the Shenandoah River. The Mennonite story continues and the beautiful Luray Caverns are here to tour. First, we stop to see the ‘white house’ with Mennonite family history dating from the 1730s. Touring the caverns is a breathtaking experience, and there are other sights for anyone who cannot make the hike Luray Caverns 3 underground. After lunch we return to the grounds of Luray Caverns to tour the Luray Valley History Museum. Look for the work of historic Mennonite artisans—Suter pottery, Spitler blanket chests, Joseph Funk printing—in the museum. The Shenandoah Heritage Village has a Dunkard (Brethren) meetinghouse, a school for African American students, and other buildings from the 1800s brought to the Village location. Mauck Meetinghouse has Mennonite connections and is the site of an annual all-day ‘Harmonia Sacra’ singing with dinner on the grounds every August. In the evening, we have a celebration, a farewell dinner in a spectacular setting off the Skyline Drive, to say goodbye to our friends in the tour group. Worship and Begin Return Trip ~ Day Nine, Sunday, October 24 ~ Sunday we will worship with the congregation of Park View Mauck Meetinghouse and the Mennonite Church. Park View Church is in the center of Park View Harmonia Sacra Singing, August 2018 village where many Mennonite institutions are located. Eastern Mennonite University, the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, and other Mennonite enterprises which we visited on Thursday are in Park View. After lunch the return trip begins as we drive north through the beautiful farm countryside of the Shenandoah Valley with mountains to the left and right. Near the town of Strasburg the Massanutten Mountain ends and the North Fork and South Fork of the Shenandoah River join into one river. The overnight hotel is in Washington, Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. Park View Mennonite Church Return to Goshen ~ Day Ten, Monday, October 25 ~ Arrival time back in Goshen, Indiana should be around 5:30 PM depending on travel conditions. The Shenandoah Valley Mennonite Tour has been timed hoping to catch the splendor of the autumn colors. Mother Nature decides when the leaves will show their brightest hues. The views and sights will be spectacular even if the leaves are not at their peak when we pass by. Tour Fare: $1,575 USD per person, $500 Single Supplement For more information, please contact: Steve Yoder, Tour Leader or Diana Yoder, Co-Tour Leader [email protected] 574-320-5967 574-903-4955 Gary Smucker, Historian and Story Teller [email protected], 703 862 7139 4 .