Today we stopped for lunch at the Snake River Diner in the small town of Grandview, Idaho, population 500. As we were seated, we could tell from the way people greeted each other that everyone there knew each other. One of the men had seen Roger on his bicycle and talked with him about his ride. Meanwhile, I noticed that most of the women in the diner were wearing caps on the back of their heads. I started talking with one couple and said, “This is our first time in this part of the country. Can you please educate me? Are you Amish or Mennonite?” They were Mennonite, a religious community of people who, unlike the Amish, do not eschew cars and electricity, nor do they isolate themselves from the rest of the world..
I did a bit of online research to learn more about Mennonites. They were named after Menno Simons, a Catholic priest who aligned himself with the Anabaptists in 1536 in Friesland, a province of what is now the Netherlands. “Anabaptist” means “re-baptize,” as they re-baptized church members when they became adults, which was considered heresy by the Catholic church. The Mennonites stopped the practice of baptizing their children, because they believe that members shouldn’t be baptized until they are adults who have made a conscious decision to follow Jesus. Instead, they have dedication ceremonies when their children are young, where the parents ask the congregation to help them teach their child the ways of Jesus. They are a close-knit community and believe in cooperation to show their unity in Christ. They seek to be communities of grace, joy and peace.
I started talking with another Mennonite couple who, as it turned out, are the owners of the diner. Bob and Mechelle have lived in Grandview since 1977. They bought the building (which had been built in 1926 after the original building on that spot burned down) last year after it had been vacant for awhile. They fixed it up and opened it as a diner on May 3, 2018. Their daughter Tausha runs it. The centerpiece of the diner is a large, ornate mirror with backlit stained glass windows down the sides. The mirror was transported in one piece about 45 miles down a gravel road from Silver City, Idaho sometime before 1945, but the owners aren’t sure exactly how that was accomplished. It looks as though it was originally the backdrop for a saloon, but since Mennonites don’t drink alcohol, the bar at Snake River Diner is a coffee bar.
Bob told me that there are a couple of other eateries in town, but they all serve alcohol. The diner is open for breakfast and lunch Tuesday through Saturday and stays open for dinner only two nights a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The owner and the patrons of the diner were gracious and welcoming and most interested in our travels. This small community exemplified the friendliness of small town living and brightened our day as we travelled on through the Idaho landscape.