Almost Eden (23 page)

For the Low German sayings and “upgemixed” English, I have my memories of growing up in a Mennonite community to thank, but even more so I thank the many family and friends who helped jog my memories and added their own to the mix. My mother, especially, suffered through many interruptions to patiently answer one question after another. She went so far as to try and teach me correct Plautdietsch pronunciations, until finally throwing up her hands in disgust and declaring, “That’s the best your tongue will do.” My heartfelt thanks go out to her and my siblings–Iris, Bill, Kathy, and Becky–and to Barb and Aron, Nancy, Susan, Jocelyn, Jeannette, Linda, and Connie. For some thirty years now, these childhood friends have continued to welcome me back on intermittent visits to my hometown. They have shown me a grace that never fails to enrich my appreciation for my roots.

As well as these personal sources, I’m also indebted to several texts, including Jack Thiessen’s
Mennonite Low German Dictionary
, Herman Rempel’s
Kjenn Jie Noch Plautdietsch?, The Windmill Turning
, by Victor Carl Friesen, and Armin Wiebe’s
The Salvation of Yasch Siemens
, which

Text copyright © 2006 by Anita Horrocks

Published in Canada by Tundra Books,
75 Sherbourne Street, Toronto, Ontario M5A 2P9

Published in the United States by Tundra Books of Northern New York,
P.O. Box 1030, Plattsburgh, New York 12901

Library of Congress Control Number: 2005927006

All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the publisher–or, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency–is an infringement of the copyright law.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Horrocks, Anita, 1958-
Almost Eden / Anita Horrocks.

eISBN: 978-1-77049-033-8

I. Mennonites-Juvenile fiction. I. Title.

PS
8565.0686
A
64 2006  j
C
813’.6  
C
2005-902896-3

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) and that of the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Media Development Corporation’s Ontario Book Initiative. We further acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program.

The author gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Canada Council for the Arts.

v3.0