PHOTO OF THE DAY: SUNDAY SETTING

This was the scene at the historic Bethel Church on the campus of Heritage Hall Museum & Archives Sunday afternoon, Oct. 16 as Dr. Lauren Friesen presents a lecture titled, “The Dutch Golden Age — Mennonite to the Core.” In the presentation, Friesen, a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Michigan and brother of Freeman resident Marlyce Miller, detailed an era in the Amsterdam region of western Holland (1585-1732) that saw economic stability and comfort for the average person, and in which Mennonites thrived in areas like literature, art and music.

Friesen’s program was the culmination of a long weekend at the Freeman music that was a celebration of the reopening of the Ludwig and Susanna Deckert House — a rare pioneer home built in the 1880s that not only has survived time, but also seen a complete and authentic restoration. The home was open to the public during the long weekend, and Friesen’s lecture on Sunday was the final of three. Others included a Saturday afternoon program with Marnette Hofer, executive director and archivist at HHM&A, and Ryan Mews, a USD grad student and former museum intern; and a Sunday evening program with Rodney Ratzlaff, a Low German Mennonite historian.