Book Description

An exciting tale of family, faith, and survival, Abner's Story begins in the 1730's after ten-year-old Abner and his friend Schotzy hear William Penn's land agent tell of the opportunities in Pennsylvania. The boys are excited and ask Abner's grandpa to teach them all they need to know to go to America, including how to build a house. As Grandpa is planning to repair Widow Schneider's porch the next day he agrees to begin by taking the boys along to help. However, he is unaware that Schotzy's grandfather, a widower, has plans of his own. He accompanies Schotzy to the work site where he sweet talks the widow and then disappears. The boys are caught up in a series of events over which they have no control. There is tension in the village because by law, everyone must worship in the official church. However, Abner's family belongs to a group that refused to do so. The king has forced Abner's father to work for him, and is beginning to clamp down on the dissidents. Trouble breaks out when several boys from their religious group play a prank at the official church. "This work makes a contribution toward retaining a fast-vanishing culture that of the Pennsylvania Dutch. One intriguing part of their culture is its language, which is a form of German rather than Dutch. The language is often interspersed with English words, and some English speakers of Pennsylvania Dutch intersperse their language with German words. It's all part of what makes the Pennsylvania Dutch seem so quaint. Abner's Story digs into that culture and its language. Indeed, it effectively begins before the Pennsylvania Dutch era to when they were farmers living in Germany. One other point: Abner's Story describes powwowing and other Pennsylvania Dutch superstitions. Powwowing, a kind of faith healing bordering on white magic, will intrigue readers turning these pages. Information on these practices, also on the wane in Pennsylvania Dutch culture, deserve to be captured for posterity. Abner's Story does just that." James McClure, Managing Editor, York Daily Record York, Pennsylvania. "As York County celebrates the past 250 years, we commend the heartfelt effort to document and preserve this facet of our heritage? Rarely have I read a story that expressed the feelings of the people who were not the stereotypical adventurers that we like to think came here. Rather, they are ordinary folks being stifled by others' belief systems. They only thought of leaving their beloved homeland after it was no longer safe to stay in their own homes." Karen Hostetter, Headquarters Manager, 250th Year Anniversary Committee of York County, York, Pennsylvania. Abner's Story is not difficult reading and is suitable for the entire family as well as public, private, and Christian schools. It is historically accurate, fast moving, filled with interesting characters, laced with ethical values and humor, as well as pathos and mystery.