With their distinctive head coverings, plain dress, and quiet, 
unassuming demeanor, the Mennonites are a striking presence within 
the often flamboyant and proud people of Texas. If you have seen 
them at a gas station, in a grocery store, or even at the Dallas–Fort 
Worth airport, you have probably taken note and wondered how they 
came to be there.

    In this photographic tour of two Texas Mennonite communities, 
separated by almost 450 miles, Laura L. Camden and Susan Gaetz 
Duarte introduce you to the Beachy Amish Mennonites of Lott, a 
small community of approximately 160 people in Central Texas, and 
the very different Mennonites of Seminole, a West Texas farming 
community of more than five thousand residents and five separate 
congregations, several of which still speak the Mennonite Low 
German.

    Spending more than a year getting to know the families, 
participating in day-to-day activities, and photographing the unique 
culture of the communities, Camden and Gaetz Duarte developed 
deep insight into not just the religious beliefs but also the family 
relationships, role expectations, and daily routines of these people. 
Through their camera lenses, they offer others a touchingly intimate 
view of a unique lifestyle seldom experienced by outsiders.

    In a foreword, former governor Ann Richards identifies the book 
as part of both the long photographic tradition in Texas and the 
tradition of cultural and religious diversity in the state. Mark L. 
Louden's introduction provides the historical backgrounds of 
Mennonites in Europe, their core beliefs, and their development into 
branches in North America. Dennis Carlyle Darling offers insightful 
comments on the photography that allows an intimate, respectful 
view of the people, their lifestyle, and their culture.

_________________________________________________________

LAURA L. CAMDEN and SUSAN GAETZ DUARTE are professional 
photographers based in Flagstaff and Austin. Both earned master's 
degrees in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin 
and have had their award-winning work widely published. Gaetz 
Duarte currently teaches at the University of Texas at Austin. 
Camden has taught at the University of Texas at Austin, the 
University of Montana, and currently Northern Arizona University in 
Flagstaff.


Number Twelve: Sam Rayburn Series on Rural Life, sponsored by 
Texas A&M University–Commerce


What people are saying about this book

". . . the pictures are wonderful, capturing the members of the 
communities, their joys and hardships, and the uniqueness of the 
Texas experience."—Kerry Strayer, Otterbein College

"In sensitive and compelling images, Camden and Gaetz Duarte open 
the windows to two distinctive Mennonite communities."—Donald B. 
Kraybill, Elizabethtown College, author of The Riddle of Amish 
Culture