Joanne Marie Engle Miller

Childhood Memories

I was born on September 14, 1945 to John and Anna Engle, and I grew up as the fourth in a family of six children. Because of this position I tried hard to follow and understand whatever my older siblings would do. Sometimes I understood the issues and sometimes I didn't, but I was often afraid to ask questions. I'm sure I was guilty of being "Miss Goody Two Shoes" and bossing around my younger brothers as well.

I have a lot of happy memories of living on the farm. I liked to join in on the family games inside or outside. We sported cartwheels on the lawn and in the kitchen. Does anyone remember our mother doing cartwheels? I liked to play softball in the meadow (manure piles as bases) and shoot basketball. We played "Mother, May I?" and "Red Rover" games in the front yard and croquet in the back yard.

Many Sunday afternoons were spent playing games like Monopoly, checkers (RISK in Campbelltown) and doing puzzles. We hiked frequently to Dinosaur Rock, Buzzard's Rock or Mt. Gretna's Gov. Dick tower. I remember playing Parcheesi with Mom in her bed. That was probably in 1950 when my father was on his Germany trip. Many Sundays we visited relatives near and far.

I remember (perhaps more from hearing the story) about riding in the car alone as it somehow got in motion to go down the hill from the lane, over the garbage pile, into the garden and down almost to the stream. The other children were old enough to jump out, but I alone got the scary ride. I recall that the family was loading up for VBS that night.

Music was a big part of our upbringing. Sometimes we sang made-up "opera" to help chores get done. We each took piano lessons as starters; I also attempted violin and organ. Frequently there was more than one instrument being played at the same time. My piano teacher was Mrs. Eby who lived on the west side of Campbelltown. Mother would drop me (or us) off then go visit Grandma during lesson time. I walked that route to Grandma's often after lessons. It was special to get to read Mrs. Eby's comic books while waiting my turn. We didn't buy those things. When a bad thunderstorm would blow in and knock out power, we would play either the piano "by heart" or wind-up records on the Victrola.

Some discipline of course was required in our family. I remember "sitting in the chair" in the middle of the room and not being allowed to talk. One creative technique my mother used for Marilyn and me was to wash windows on the opposite side at the same time. We went from sticking out our tongues at each other to smiling and being happy! "Go run around the house until you can be happy" was another method. Spanking was probably used as a last resort method, but I don't recall being the recipient. One advantage of being number four out of six gave me opportunity to learn lessons from my siblings without personal experience!

There are a few poignant grade school memories (Lawn School). I was asked to accompany each day on the piano "My Country ?Tis of Thee" in third grade. My 5th grade teacher told me I wouldn't amount to anything because I was left handed. Fortunately I was brave enough to tell my parents and they encouraged me to go back the next day and tell her, that wasn't true about left-handed people. I told her I had aunts and an uncle who are left handed and they are nurses and a doctor. The teacher then apologized.

We were allowed to walk from Lawn School to the Evangelical Congregational Church in Lawn for a religious time release program. There I was again asked to accompany the singing. "The Lord is in His Holy Temple" was the theme song. I had about 7 years of 4-H club participation. Some of those years I served as president and must have had enough influence to get the club to do sewing as our activity almost every year. This instruction, following my mother's initial influence, gave me an avenue of creativity and developed a sewing skill beyond my peers. I liked it "sew" much that I continued sewing in high school and majored in Home Economics in college.

Another way I developed skills growing up was doing work for a neighbor. As Mrs. Blecher's helper, I did anything from pruning roses along the fence lane, to weeding, cataloging library books, and taking Lady for a walk. Only once in a while did she consider cleaning her house as necessary. My favorite "job" was getting paid while sitting on the porch listening to her talk about anything and eating Pepperidge Farm Bread with applesauce on it. The 50¢/hr starting pay may have increased, but mostly I remember adding up the 1 hr, 2 hr, 3 hr, etc. on my calendar and waiting for payday.

After Grandma Kreider's death in March 1962 our family moved into the Kreider house in Campbelltown. By this time I was a junior at Palmyra High School. What this meant to me was that I was closer to all the various activities I was involved with. Sometimes I felt like I majored in extra-curricular and mastered none. At school I participated in choruses, and some sports. I was co-editor of the yearbook my senior year. I was also heavily involved in church activities including president of the youth group, Christ's Crusaders. I imagine I spent the normal teenage girl time dreaming about boys and, somehow for me, going to Messiah College was connected with that!

I attended Messiah Collage three years, majoring in Home Economics. While there I sang in Choral Society and again served as editor of a yearbook. I didn't seek out these editorial positions; rather I agreed reluctantly to accept them when no one else would.

I had my eye on a certain Lewis Miller in chemistry class. There was an empty seat between us and he certainly knew a lot more about chemistry than I did. After he finished dating several other girls I kept thinking "Well, now it's my turn!" Once I asked his roommate about Lew. His response was "Oh, he's given up on girls!" It did take us until the last week of school to actually get together but when we did, it was like it was meant to be!

Since I could not finish a Home Economics degree at Messiah College, I transferred to Drexel in Philadelphia and graduated from there in spring 1967.

Lew and I got married in March 1967 over Spring Break. I went straight into student teaching. Talk about a lot of adjustments all at once! We lived in Perkasie, PA while he finished grad school at Lehigh and then we both taught high schoolers for several years. We attended Silverdale BIC with Amos Dick as pastor. A special memory from those years is that Nellie Dick told me one day that she had something special for me. It was an unused quilt that had been given to the Dicks when they were home on a furlough from India. They had requested some blankets and quilts to take back to India. This one was "too good" to go to India. Mrs. Dick stored it until she gave it to me as new many years later. The quilt was made and signed by Maria L. Hoffman Feb 21, 1887 - a relative. I visited and knew her as Aunt Maria. It is a treasure with a story.

My most vivid memory from teaching is the time I forgot to remove my students' pumpkin pies from the oven at the end of the school day. I was washing up supper dishes when I remembered. Lew drove me to school as I was hardly fit to drive. I imagined the school was burned to the ground. As I walked down the hallway, I couldn't smell any burnt odors. The pies were still there in the oven; the oven was still on; they were tough and dark as could be, but no burned chars! That night I was busy baking new pies and got to school early with a big box. The specially planned meal for the other teachers went quite well. Several weeks (months?) later when I 'fessed up to the Home Ec teacher, she replied, "Well, let me tell you some of my stories!" I breathed a sigh of relief.

Our third year of marriage, Lew and I joined a 2 year Voluntary Service program with BIC in Brooklyn, NY. We joined other volunteers, living on the upper 2 floors of a brownstone in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The lower 2 floors were used for program purposes. Lew worked second shift at Cornell Medical Center in the data processing department. Coming home late at night he was a marked man, wearing a suit, riding the GG train and then walking the last few blocks. This is the time he grew his beard (to look tough). He had a knife to his throat several times. Thank God for His protection.

I served as hostess and cook for the volunteers. The numbers swelled to 10-14 people during summer. I did community visitations and Bible / cooking classes for neighbors. They taught me more, I'm sure, than I did them. Our NY days gave me ample opportunities to give over my anxieties and grow in my trust in God. His faithfulness has been one of my life themes.

It was at the end of our 2 yrs of service that our oldest daughter, Rebecca, was born. Since Lew kept his job at Cornell, we moved to Queens when we left the unit in Brooklyn. After one year there, Lew found another job and we moved to Dover, N.J. November 1973 was a pivotal point in time for us. I gave birth to premature twins at 6½ months of development, weighing 2lb 14oz and 2lb 15oz. That was at the beginning of the neonatology specialty. Both Carla and Audrey are miracles, having been given a 50% and 10% chance, respectively, to survive. Again God showed his faithfulness to us in many ways during those early days and years. A major story here is that after I gave them up to God, he gave them back to me. Even though they were given the diagnosis of cerebral palsy at one year of age, God showed his love, grace and sufficiency throughout the many surgeries, physical therapy and doctor appointments. How would I know to be thankful for normal development and things we take for granted had we not gone through these experiences?

At Lew's encouraging, and my desire to do something beyond "mommying", I agreed to head up costumes for a 1976 Bicentennial play. There were about 100 outfits to sew. I sewed the authentic patterns, and managed a team of sewers to complete the others. For three months I pretty much ate, drank, and slept costumes. Without Lew's help, I could not have done it. In the end I was pleased and so was the director. He told me the costumes were the best part of the play. Then he added "Don?t ever do costumes again. You didn't sew costumes, you made tailored garments!" Guess that is all I knew how to do.

A job relocation brought us to Atlanta in 1982 where we have lived ever since, except for an 18 month stay in Monroeville, PA beginning in '85. Each relocation and job change brought challenges and growth for us.

Lew has worked his entire career in the computer field, managing either people or projects in the Information Technology arena. A series of downsizings cost Lew several jobs, but we grew from each of those challenges, learning that it is not the job that gives you worth, but God who gives you value. Lew currently works in the IT department at Boys & Girls Clubs of America headquarters.

I have done custom (not costumes!) sewing and alterations out of my home mostly here in Atlanta. I have also done alterations for several dress stores. There are way too many humorous stories to include here. Sewing has been both a job and ministry for me. It combines passion, relaxation and creativity for me.

Our daughter, Becky, married Eric Steffy in 1994. They met at Messiah College. She worked in the research lab at Merck for 10+ years. Eric has multiple skills of electrical engineering and computer programming. Their children are Daniel, Lauren, Natalie and Sarah. They live in Telford, Pa. and are active in their church.

Carla graduated from Converse College in Spartanburg, SC with Deaf Education and Spanish as majors. She has held several jobs. Currently she uses her Spanish in volunteer positions with English as a Second Language. She lives in Roswell and is an encouragement to those who know her.

Audrey graduated from Messiah College and returned to Atlanta area to teach in public school. She married John Bennett in 2001. John does sales and marketing and graphic arts as well. Their two boys are Johnny and Graham.

Lew and I are blessed with our wonderful children, their spouses and their children. We love any opportunity we get to play with our grandchildren. They try hard to keep us young. I have been most blessed to have a caring, loving and patient husband in Lew.

As a couple Lew and I enjoy hiking, music and gardening. We enjoy sitting by the warmth of the wood stove. Lew is a runner with two marathons to his name. My speed is walking. He has served as elder in our church for 20 years. I teach nursery, volunteer in the Welcome Center and have led small groups over the years. Currently I host and act as grandma to a Moms of Special Needs group. I do a lot of care giving, both within the family and to others. It is a way of giving back what I have received from many people over the years.

As a family we have tried to practice hospitality both in our home and our hearts. We participated in Mennonite Your Way for many years. We have many entries in our guest book from Malaysia to Switzerland to FL and many stops in between. MYW has allowed us to travel on our sofa all around the world. This suited our budget income. There are more great stories here - "Would you allow a MYWer to enter your home at 1:30am?" In addition to MYW, we had several special friends living with us for a few months at a time. We especially welcome and enjoy family visitors. Ya'll come, find when your name was last written in the guest book.

My own spiritual journey began as I observed Christianity modeled in the home where I was raised. We had family Bible reading and knelt for prayer. The designs on the kitchen chairs were traced very often! I remember at a young age praying to receive Christ in my heart at home after a revival meeting. Kenbrook camp experiences and youth retreats added more emphasis. Sunday School teachers, Pastors Earl Engle and C.N. Hostetter were significant teachers in my upbringing. Moving place to place also challenged me spiritually - helping me to question cultural issues vs. foundational Biblical tenants. Faith and values are a part of who I am. I have gained spiritual insights through my children and through the struggles I have faced. Guess I learn better in adversity than in times of ease.

I am very thankful that God loves me for who I am, not for what I do. Wherever I am He continually pushes me forward in His way, bringing to completion what He has started in me. I use Col. 3:17 as my life verse: "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father".