| Maize & Snitz Silent Auction This year's Maize & Snitz Fest, taking place Saturday, October 4, will feature a silent auction. If you are interested in donating an item or basket to the auction, please contact Heather Strahin at museum@mennonitelife.org or 717.464.4438. Suggested donation items include handmade arts and crafts, plants, items reflective of Lancaster County's heritage (Indigenous and European), and non-perishable food items that have been prepared in a certified kitchen.
Request from EMU Historians seeking Lancaster County connections to Carlisle Indian School students: We are working to identify Mennonite farmers (or others in the Anabaptist tradition) who hosted Native American students from the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, located in Cumberland County, PA, between 1879 and 1918, and we are asking for your help.
Carlisle was a federally funded boarding school created for Native American children who were taken from their homes and communities in western states and brought to this school. The school was created to assimilate Indigenous children into American society. To aid this effort, Carlisle developed an "Outing Program" that placed students on farms mostly during the summer, but about 1/3 of the students were hosted for one to two years. Farmers were expected to be philanthropic. Ideally, students were paid, they learned English, attended local schools, and assisted with farm and house work.
The Outing Program prioritized middle-class farm families who did not use tobacco or alcohol, and attended church services. Because of this, we believe that Mennonite farmers, or others in the Anabaptist tradition, hosted some of these students, as did Quaker farm families. As part of our work to tell the story of this "Outing Program," we are looking for information, stories, or anecdotes you might have about Mennonite farmers who hosted Native American students. Please contact Kimberly Schmidt at kimberly.schmidt@emu.edu with any information or questions you might have. | 
