Mennonite
Central
Committee

Twillingate, Newfoundland reunion report, 2004

Ruth Glick

Reminiscence, sightseeing, fellowship—these were some of the activities enjoyed by a group of 14 former VSers, spouses and friends September 2-5, 2004 at The Meeting Place in Akron. Five nurses and three teachers who had served in Twillingate, Newfoundland in the late 1950s were the former VSers in the group.

The evening of our arrival, we enjoyed dinner together at the Africa House and then some of us ventured out for a walk. We were particularly interested in identifying the house where we had stayed during our orientation. Thanks to the help of a local resident who we met on our walk, we were able to find it and to learn about other MCC houses and buildings in the area. Each evening we enjoyed a time of devotions and sharing together before retiring.

During our first full day, we were privileged to have several of the MCC staff including Ken Sensenig, Lyndell Thiessen, and Ron Mathies bring us up to date on various programs of MCC. We then toured MCC office facilities, the Resource Center and had lunch at the tea room at Ten Thousand Villages. In the evening we attended Abraham & Sarah at the Sight & Sound theater.

On Saturday, we went to the Farmer's Market in Lancaster after which we did a walking tour of some of the historic sites in that vicinity. In the afternoon, we journeyed to the Hans Herr House where we enjoyed a picnic lunch (from makings of goodies picked up earlier at the market) before touring the House. More shopping at Intercourse was on the agenda later that day.

Sunday morning, we were delighted to see Edgar Stoesz appear at our door and had a good time visiting with him. Edgar had visited us in Newfoundland during our time of service. We had planned to attend the Mennonite church in Akron, but ended up joining the Akron Church of the Brethren when we realized that we were too late to attend the former. After lunch at a local restaurant, we departed, going our separate ways to various parts of Canada and the United States.

We appreciated so much the cooperation of the MCC staff in assisting us in making the reunion a reality. Also, it was a real treat to stay in the Africa House, an ideal spot for a reunion with cooking facilities and other amenities. The group plans to meet again in September 2006 at the site of our first reunion and 50 years after the first one!