By Lisa Stahl
When I first started writing for the Daily News, I told my readers Id be writing about the different cultures in the state of Montana. I did cover several cultures, but from the very start I noticed all my articles seem to lead to one topic Hutterites.
Maybe thats what I was interested in telling my readers about in the first place. There are so many misconceptions about the Hutterites, I felt I shouldnt waste this opportunity to tell people of the differences.
Over the past fifteen months Ive covered topics in all areas about the Hutterites that I could come up with. Im sure there are several people who could pick out topics for me which I havent covered yet, that would be of interest.
Well, Im proud to say I was able to find topics to write about until this last month, without missing a single week since March of 98. Id often have several ideas waiting for me to write about, because Id write them down as they came to me.
But, sorry to say, as summer drew near, I was left completely blank. With summer plans, up-coming weddings, and extra colony duties to attend. I was left with little time to come up with ideas for articles.
So instead of racking my brain trying to come up with last minute ideas or dropping my column completely, I asked my editor to let me write my column bi-monthly, instead of weekly.
I was surprised about how much stress it put off me, just having to come up with two topics a month instead of four.
Another reason for my decision to write bi-monthly, had to be with turning 17 this summer. When a girl in the colony turns 17, her colony responsibilities increase to that of the rest of the ladies ages 17 or over.
Im now responsible for my own cook week and also a bake week. When my turn comes around, I either cook or bake all the colonys food, bread, buns, and pastries for that week.
Turning 17 is like getting a promotion. You feel more of an adult then, even though we are considered an adult with the age of 15.
And, of course, with summer here, theres always something to do outside, especially in the garden. Hoeing and weeding the garden is done together, just like any other job. Those are some of the jobs were presently involved with.
And as usual, the evenings are reserved for playing sports, such as volleyball, taking walks around the colony grounds, and visiting with family and neighbors.
