Everything’s Up To Date in Indiana

One of the first things I noticed was that all the security people in the Indianapolis airport were on Segway scooters. Excuse me, "personal transporters." We Friends stood and gawked for a while. Very modern equipment, I must say.

In the Waycross retreat center, an Episcopal summer camp, there is Wi-fi access everywhere, but no cell phone service. Only in America. A Friend who has traveled widely in Africa and Asia said that, in his experience, even in remote areas there is always cell phone service. I didn't take my computer, but there were plenty of laptops in the lobby.

As we were driving away from the Waycross center, it occurred to me that this is the Friendly Persuasion country – the area where Jessamyn West’s famous book and the movie were set. Actually, that’s a little further south east and not so mountainous, Brent told me, but basically I was right. (Mountains? I’m sorry, I didn’t notice any mountains. But then, I grew up in the Sierras. I have high standards for mountains. :-)

Brent also told me that in Mt. Vernon county, where the books are set, the fourth graders still all read Friendly Persuasion as part of their Indiana history classes. However, there are no Quakers left in that area. He said they all moved en masse, the Nixon, Milhous, and West families included, to Whittier, California as part of the founding of the Quaker community in that area.

The Western Yearly Meeting building.










For all I complain sometimes about the Religious Society of Antiquarians, I love old buildings like that. And for an old building, it seems in very good repair. We tried to go to the Plainfield Friends Meeting Homecoming Celebration, celebrating 150 years of their yearly meeting, but we were late. We did get a lovely tour by two long time (elderly) members of the meeting, one of whose grandfather also went to that meeting.

I heard some discussion of this sign, even before I saw it. Apparently this is not an uncommon phrasing in the area: "Plainfield Friends Meeting, A Quaker Church." I kind of like it.



The discussion of the signs of renewal will just have to wait until next week. I’m going to be away from my computer, with my family, all weekend.