The writing of this book is for several reasons: one of which is an attempt to clarify to young Hutterites and also non-Hutterites how different we lived seventy-five years ago. I had an eventful childhood, which the readers may compare with their own. To compile a detailed account of colony life and history would be an extensive undertaking. So the reader will have to be content with the few details Ive presented which are relevant to my growing-up experience. Most events which include other people are mentioned, because they are somehow intertwined in my experience. Also, I want to bring the Hutterites closer to an intense awareness that all is not well and the solution is not in buying more land or buildings more livestock and poultry barns. There are needs which can only be met by a closer walk with God. Do I want to denounce colony life? No! But I have brought attention to some dangerous bumps in the road, which needs to be addressed in order to reverse the existing spiral. If the needed improvements are ignored, the results are predictable. If a conscious effort is not made to remedy the existing condition with scriptural guidelines, the results are predictable.
