Preservings $20 Issue No. 26, 2006 - Home at Plett Foundation

A Glance into the Lives of
Elizabeth (Martens) Froese and Herman K. Froese.
Henry Kasper, Steinbach, Manitoba.
They traded a land of plenty but filled with
political tyranny, for an unknown hope—Canada,
and we are glad they did.
Herman K. Froese was born on January
24, 1880 in Steinfeld, South Russia. He had
two brothers, David and Kornelius, and five
sisters, Anna (H. Rempel), Maria (John Klassen),
Liese (Isaac Hildebrandt), Lena, (Ben
Hildebrandt), a twin to H.K.F., and Greta
(Hein Klassen).
Elizabeth (Martens) Froese, was born on
October 5, 1885. She had one brother, Abram
P. Martens and one sister Maria (Abram
Olfert).
On September 9, 1901 Herman K. Froese
and Elizabeth Martens were married in the
Kirchliche Church. The wedding invitations
consisted of a sheet of paper with hand written
particulars of the event followed by a list of
guests invited to the wedding. The invitation
was given to the first person on the list, who in
turn delivered it to the next, and so on. The last
person took it to the hosts, who were then sure it
had made the rounds.
Herman Froese’s parents were: Kornelius
Froese (September 1841 -September 30, 1910)
and Anna Schapansky (January 1, 1843 - June
9, 1917). K. Froese was a successful farmer in
spite of the fact that he was a fistula sufferer and
one leg did not function. He managed the farm
effectively from a wheelchair (or bed).
Elizabeth M. Froese’s parents were: Peter
Martens (May 11, 1847 - October 30, 1910) and
Maria Dueck (May 16, 1843 – April 30, 1918).
Mr. Martens was a blacksmith by trade as well
as a farmer. Herman K. Froese served as apprentice
in his father-in-law’s blacksmith shop.
At the Martens’ wedding, a delicacy of fish soup
was served.
Coincidently, according to legend, a wels
(catfish) was caught in the Dnieper River just
prior to the wedding. The enormous wels was
loaded on to a wagon where it extended the full
length with the tail hanging over the rear of the
box. Sound economics dictated the fish be served
immediately and what better occasion than a
wedding feast? The Peter Martens’ farm was
eventually taken over by Herman and Elizabeth.
They prospered on this farm and their household
grew with the birth of children as follows:
Maria (February 23, 1903 - September 8, 1918)
Anna (Geo Kasper) (January 18, 1906 - September
16, 1997) Cornelius (August 3, 1908 - September
21,2003) Peter (May 13, 1911) Liese (CF
Neufeld) (April 3, 1918 - January 12, 2004)
In 1918-1919 the Spanish Flu was rampant in
south Russia. Maria, at age 15, fell victim to the
epidemic while Anna was sick to a lesser degree.
About the same time, Cornelius was stricken with
Typhoid fever. He was not expected to survive.
Coffee and other condiments left over from
Maria’s funeral were stored for further funerals
Herman and Elizabeth Froese. Photo taken ca. 1940
likely to come. But it was not to be. Cornelius’s
work was not finished. As a young man, he served
the church as Sunday school teacher, then as lay
minister, and after ordination in 1961, as minister
until his final call to the hereafter. Understandably,
there was a void in the Froese household
after the passing of Maria. Shortly after her death
in 1918, news came from Gnadenthal that a little
girl with a sick mother and aging grandmother
Herman and Elizabeth Froese. Photo taken ca. 1907
needed a home. Herman K. and Elizabeth packed
their buggy and went off to Gnadenthal. The same
day the boys, Cornelius and Peter, were assigned
to thatch the straw roof on a barn. Anxiety overcame
them and more time was spent watching
the road, waiting for the arrival of their new sister
Liese, than thatching the roof. Her addition once
again completed the family unit.
At this time, around 1923, a shortage of
food became progressively more prevalent
and began to alter the lives of the family. As
an example, the elder son, Cornelius, still
only a teenager, was assigned to plant corn.
All went well until his cousin saw what he
was doing, came running up and desperately
grabbed a few handfuls of seed corn for immediate
consumption.
Herman Froese had a number of fine
horses, but he was particularly proud of his
black stallion. When Herman K. became
aware that the Machno bandits were in the
vicinity, he hid his prize horse in the barn.
He kept it well fed and watered, so the animal
would make no noise. The bandits did arrive,
took the horses, plundered anything of value
to them and left. Only then did Mr. Froese
realize that hiding anything from them would
have meant certain death for the family, had it
been discovered.
Political unrest grew and in September 1926,
an option to relocate to Canada was reluctantly
accepted. Proceeds from the sale of equipment
and other effects covered the traveling expenses
as well as leather jackets for the boys—a status
symbol in their day. Their land was taken over
by the “Red Paradise”.
With the exception of Anna, the whole family
went to Djawglado to board the train, and
then off to Ekaterinoslav and Moscow where
the necessary paper work was done. Riga turned
out to be a health scrutiny station for prospective
Canadian immigrants. Clothes and bodies were
treated with vermicide; hair was shaved in many
instances, eyes treated, etc. They traveled from
Riga to Montreal and then to Winnipeg. The
Colonization Board received them in Winnipeg
and routed them to Arnaud. When they arrived
in Arnaud, there was no one to greet them. In
a strange country, in the middle of the prairies
where a foreign language was spoken—if ever
they had a moment of despair, this must have been
it. Later a family (the Kaethlers) provided a small
house for them, which served in the interim.
In the spring of 1927, Herman Froese and
his brother-in-law, A.P. Martens purchased six
quarters of land in Kleefeld, with the help of the
National Trust Co. A year later, the partnership
was dissolved and the Froeses relocated to Pansy
on a 1/2 section of land. One half of the land was
cultivated and the other half in bush, but all of it
was under mosquitoes. Special concessions were
made, for example horses and seed grain were
supplied by National Trust Co. A year later, in
the fall of 1928, the eldest, Anna (Kasper) arrived
in Canada, bringing the whole family together
again. Years later the inadequacy of the local
school became a concern for Cornelius and he
decided to move his family to Grunthal. In 1936,
Herman and Elizabeth Froese also moved to a
farm 1 1/2 miles north of Grunthal.
64 - Preservings No. 26, 2006