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designated himself as ruler over the flock. I'm afraid a
strange rooster will have trouble living with Tom.”
    “Give them plenty of room to run so the
rooster can get out of Tom's way. Hopefully, they will get used to
each other soon. No matter how Tom Turkey feels about it, you must
have a rooster to hatch chicks,” Emma declared.
    “How about we go to next Wednesday's sale
while you're not teaching school,” Hal suggested.
    “Sounds gute to me,” Emma agreed. “It will be
fun.”
    When it was the women's turn to eat, Jane
Bontrager brought a woman to Hal's table. Hal saw them coming and
didn't recognize the woman. She must be one of the newcomers, a
dark haired, thin, stern faced woman, in her mid forties, dressed
in black. The idea passed through Hal's mind that this woman should
get along well with Stella Strutt for a neighbor.
    “This is Wanda Bruner, Nurse Hal,” Jane
introduced. “Wanda lives with her husband and her sister on the
Boxholder farm. They have just arrived from Kansas.”
    Hal shook hands with Wanda. “Wilcom to our
community. Won't you join me for lunch while we have a few seats
left? Jane, you too.”
    “I have to finish dessert serving. Save a
place for me. I will be back,” Jane said over her shoulder.
    “Where in Kansas did you live?” Hal
asked.
    Wanda placed her plate on the table and sit
down. “Hutchinson, Kansas.”
    “I've never been to Kansas,” Hal replied. “Is
it much different from here?”
    “Jah, much. Kansas is flat, hot and dry land.
I know I will like the pretty green rolling hills around here. Iowa
already feels cooler to me than Kansas,” Wanda said, smiling.
    Wanda's smile was sweet, and she had a soft,
pleasing voice. So much for first impressions. To her surprise, Hal
liked the woman. That made her sorry she'd lumped Wanda into Stella
Strutt's company just because of her black clothes and the fact
they were neighbors. “Sure enough. That's because it's fall. Winter
will be freezing cold and seem way too long. Next summer you will
appreciate the new paper fans the feed and grocery stores hand out.
By then you will wonder what the difference was between Iowa and
Kansas,” Hal advised, returning her smile.
    “Jah, that is what the real estate agent told
us when we called to see if there was any farms for sale in the
area,” Wanda agreed. “My husband, Enoch, told the man still and all
compared to Kansas, Iowa sounded much better for gute farm land and
weather wise. We were told there are not as many dry spells here as
in Kansas. The land is more fertile which makes for better
crops.”
    Hal took a bite of her ham sandwich, chewed
and swallowed while she thought about the Bruner family coming to
live among strangers. She knew how she felt when she moved from
Titonka to Wickenburg so far away from her relatives. When her
parents and Aunt Tootie left for home, she'd miss them. “So that's
how you decided to move here? A farm was for sale in this
area.”
    “Sure enough, that was the final reason.
Another reason is we knew the Old Order Amish in this community had
a strong Ordnung. That is what we want. Too many people in our
community around Hutchinson have become Beachy Amish. They bought
cars and phones. They made their homes modern and live more like
the English around us. With so few left in Old Order at the worship
services, we felt the need to move where a larger settlement
believed as we do,” Wanda explained.
    Hal hunched down in her seat and ate. How
would this quiet, devoutly faithful woman feel when she finds out I
own a car and cell phone. That I am only allowed to use them for
emergencies might not make a difference to Wanda. “I see. You
must have left many relatives behind which was hard.”
    Wanda's face was sad as she ran the potato
salad around her plate with her fork. “Jah and friends. We were
born and raised near Hutchinson. It had always been home, but we
will make this our new home now.”
    “Gute, we will be glad to have you.”