Bontrager Family

[maybeizfundie]

Just re: the clothing styles, since I have some Mennonite background and Menno connections :)...

It's quite common for born-and-bred conservative Mennonite families (Bontrager is a total Menno name) to move in that direction, even rather quickly. And by conservative, I don't mean the Old Orders/Beachy Amish types. There is a place in between those types of groups and the Mennonites who look normal. It happens within families and with some of the institutions (When I visited Rosedale Bible Institute, which is a Conservative Mennonite school, about 15 years ago, there was a plethora of skirts and headcoverings were required for chapel, now they are on my facebook feed and there are no coverings to be seen, and shorts are the norm for the women in their summer activities) Conservative Menno families can go from cape-dresses and headcoverings to "modern modest" in the same amount of time or even less. So I'm not surprised by the Bontragers shift at all.

A lot of these families maybe do shift to more liberal Mennonite churches, but many end up in ATI or Charity type groups, or homechurching because they dont' really fit in with any one group anymore.

[anniebgood]

Just a little OT but there's a marvelous book called A Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, A Memoir of Going Back Home

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080509 ... T6AKHXKSW8

It's very interesting about being in the world vs of the world. I really enjoyed it.

[lilith]

Uhm weren't they the Sound of Music sisters in the ATI pictures? You know, the ones whose frumpers looked like they were made from horrid curtains?

Yes, those are their "stage" dresses, on their blog most of the pics show them wearing quite similar clothes to the Duggar girls. There is also a photo of Chelsy wearing capri type pants to go kayaking, and one of her and her sister in long shorts and sun shirts swimming, but every other pic is either below the knee skirts or their stage dresses.

[lilith]

Apologies for not doing more research. But did the Bontragers not have their traveling circus when they were Mennonites? I've always wondered why they didn't just change out to more liberal and forward looking Mennonites? Or did they change teams to that they could support the gang with the road show?

The earliest CD available on their site was recorded in 2008. It appears they joined ATI around 2006/ 2007. I don't know how long they have been traveling and performing, but they play mainly at baptist churches and I can't find any pics of the girls wearing head coverings, or any of their mother covering post marriage.

[guidedbybobafett]

Chelsy has a blog that I read for awhile, but she recently stopped updating (last i had checked). It's on the reference list.

[kunoichi66]

In the picture of the three boys doing the window(and the Duggar boys who wouldn't throw out rotten food because that's 'women's work' should take note!), there's a little sign that says 'in everything give thanks'.

Maybe the Duggars should take note!

Lord, the hypocrisy of these people pisses me off.

[gustava]

I was expecting to see them up on ladders cleaning the outside of the upper windows or something. That would have made some sense, even though it is something the Duggars have the capacity to do themselves, but this is just common housecleaning. Strange.

Even though it's ordinary window cleaning, they can come and do mine any day!!!

[fundiefan]

Oh and there's a picture of their family cleaning windows (BOYS actually) at the TTH while visiting the Duggars. What family has guests do their windows? (No pic sorry. I'm not wading back through that. I didn't know there was a thread about this when I was going through it earlier.)

That's totally normal for the Maxwells.

[Markie]

That's totally normal for the Maxwells.

Hell, I'd rather clean windows than visit with Steve and Teri Maxwell. Now I might be persuaded to do other things at the Duggars' - atv, cool swing, redneck water slide... They at least do allow some fun into their lives, whereas the Maxwells only are content if they can suck all the fun out of life.

[farmwifegina]

Delurking to second what maybeizafundie said (don't know how to do the quote thing). Also, being straight up Mennonite and ATI are definitely not mutually exclusive. The two sets of views and lifestyles (especially with the more conservative Mennonites) are not very far apart at all.

[19 dogs and counting]

I've been reading their blog for the last few days as well. I found it refreshing to find several pictures that indicate that the boys help clean the house/ do the dishes and are learning to cook.

[tabitha2]

The Maxwell boys cook and probably help clean the Maxipad as well so it does not mean all that much.