Mennonites in Belize

     In a quiet corner of Gnadenfeld village where Baltimore Drive and Riverside Road meet, is Riverside Library, one of Spanish Lookout's two or three libraries. The blond-haired young mother who owns it greeted us warmly and cheerfully then assisted us in locating the specific books. Set inside a shipping container/trailer, it doesn't look like much from the outside but after all, it's the inside that matters and for those interested in the quaint and odd off the beaten path, it sure contains a trove of literary treasures which delighted our little bookworms.  There is that cozy, warm thrill that runs up your spine and down your arms when a new door suddenly opens and the first thing you see is row after row of books to choose from. You know that everything will work out for good in the end, you know that earlier you and your sibling were quarreling and that Mommy had to carry out something that caused your rear end to smart, you know there's chores to do back home...

    Woodland Nursery, on Duck Lane, close to Linda Vista Lumber Yard on Rt 40 W    After several weeks of unstable weather conditions, it was refreshing to see the mud drying up, a bright blue sky and the first winds of the Belizean “spring” weather. Perfect weather for driving around so we decided to visit a hard-working and thrifty widow in Spanish Lookout who owns one of the 3 or 4 nurseries in the colony.   Ms. Hertha Dueck greeted us politely and pointed out the various types of trees and flowers. She explained that she currently has 50 types of palm trees, including a rare one which grows deep in the humid jungle and is highly prized by illegal Guatemalans who sneak into the thickly forested and poorly patrolled southwestern corner of Belize. She also mentioned 30 different hardwood trees, an impressive number. I asked about a shade tree which attracts mammoth caterpillars with spikes an inch high that can deliver an extremely painful burn on your skin. Sh...