Serena B. Miller's Blog, page 3

We Band of Angels

Sometimes, while researching, I stumble upon the most interesting books. We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of the American Women Trapped on Bataan by Elizabeth M. Norman is an award-winning book about nurses, written by a nurse.Here’s the story: After Bataan and Corregidor fell, the Amy/Navy nurses stationed in the Philippines were herded into internment camps. There, they endured three years of fear, brutality and starvation. They were young, single women, used to flirting and dancing, suddenly thrown into a horrifying situation.

My Dad’s Broken Guitar (A True Story)

Dad was a pretty decent musician--fiddle, banjo and guitar, so during the Depression when there was no work, he made a little money by putting a small band together. Mom said it was terribly hot that first year, and he and his band started practicing down inside an empty, underground cistern on the farm where it was cooler. She described sitting on the back porch with her little baby on her lap, listening to the music come up from the ground.

The Ransom of Little Red Chief

...we talked about how he was a great warrior named Red Chief, who had to find food to feed the hungry people of his tribe. We also talked about the fact that he was such a big boy now, he would get to go to Kindergarten tomorrow...

Amish Telephones

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I have a subscription to a very unique newspaper. The Budget, published in Sugarcreek, Ohio since the 1890’s, consists mainly of hundreds of letters sent in by “scribes” from various Amish and Mennonite church settlements from around the world...

Upcoming Mother’s Day

When my sisters and I were growing up, my mom owned a Jersey cow that kept our family supplied in milk, cream, and butter. Part of Mom’s daily routine was making certain the cow was milked twice a day and everything connected with the milking had been washed and sterilized.

Some Differences between Old Order and New Order Amish

Last night, I returned from another visit with my New Order Amish friends in Northern Ohio. As usual, I left with gifts. There was a box of mint rootings for my garden, dug up by my good friend, 81 year-old Martha. I had been so impressed with the “Garden Tea” her daughter served us, Martha […]

My Granddaughter is safe, and a truly inspiring letter from a fan.

My kids, grandkids, and sister will be coming tomorrow around noon. Thirteen of us. The entertainment this year will be taking turns snuggling little five-week-old Adeline Ruth. I’m also deeply thankful that my oldest granddaughter, Hannah, is here safe and sound. She is a voice student at Pepperdine University out in California. Her school was […]

Honor To Whom Honor Is Due

I spent a large chunk of this past rainy Friday in a hospice room at the Veteran’s Hospital. Visiting with my cousin, Neil, and his sister Eva, reliving our childhood memories was time well spent. Neil and Eva are my first cousins, part of a family of six siblings. Their home was only a short […]

The Old Stoney Castle

Years ago, while fishing on Ice Lake on Manitoulin Island in Canada, my family and I discovered the ruins of a huge, mysterious-looking stone house overlooking the lake. There wasn’t much left standing except a few portions of the old stone walls.   Later, we met a man in Michigan who had grown up in […]

River Falls attorney Dean Rohde

Lawsuit, filed by River Falls attorney Dean Rohde, disagrees with Gibbs assessment of the incident. Rohde wrote that Meyers conduct and actions were and unreasonable, without lawful justification or reason, and was designed to and did cause specific and serious physical harm, pain and suffering and death. He added that her death was caused by […]