California Mennonites

365 Pages·2015·4.898 MB·English

by  Brian Froese

California Mennonites
Young Center Books in Anabaptist & Pietist Studies
Donald B. Kraybill, Series Editor
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California Mennonites
Brian Froese
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Johns Hopkins University Press
Baltimore
© 2015 Johns Hopkins University Press
All rights reserved. Published 2015
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1
Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363
www.press.jhu.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Froese, Brian, 1969– author.
California Mennonites / Brian Froese.
pages cm. — (Young Center books in Anabaptist & Pietist studies)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4214-1512-3 (hardcover) — ISBN 1-4214-1512-7 (hardcover) —
ISBN 978-1-4214-1513-0 (electronic) — ISBN 1-4214-1513-5 (electronic)
1. Mennonites—California—History. 2. California—Church history. I. Title.
BX8117.C2F76 2014
289.7'794—dc23
2014002821
A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
All photographs courtesy of the Mennonite Library & Archives, Fresno Pacific University.
Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book. For more information,
please contact Special Sales at 410-516-6936 or [email protected].
Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly book materials,
including recycled text paper that is composed of at least 30 percent
post-consumer waste, whenever possible.
To Lorelee and Benson
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Whoever will, let him read history.
—Menno Simons, “Reply to Gellius Faber,” 1554
The analyst of California is like a navigator who is trying to chart
a course in a storm: the instruments will not work; the landmarks are lost;
and the maps make little sense.
—Carey McWilliams, California: The Great Exception, 1949
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Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xxv
chapter 1. Going to California: The Mennonite Migration 1
chapter 2. Alone in the Garden: Boosters, Migrants, and Refugees 23
chapter 3. Urban Dystopia and Divine Nature:
The Early Mennonite Colonies 45
chapter 4. Outsiders from Within: Defining California
Mennonite Identity 65
chapter 5. New Neighbors: Confronting Racial and
Religious Pluralism 91
chapter 6. From Sewing Circles to Missionary Societies: The Public
Roles of Women in the Church 111
chapter 7. Peaceful Patriots: California Mennonites during
World War II 133
chapter 8. Socially Active Mennonitism and Mental Health:
The Origins of Kings View Homes 154
chapter 9. Feeding the Hungry: A Story of Piety
and Professionalization 176
chapter 10. Protect and Assimilate: Evangelical Education
in California 193