Preservings $20 No. 25, December, 2005 - Plett Foundation

Cornelius T. “Rawleigh” Toews (1891-1972)
of Greenland and later Steinbach, Manitoba,
by grandson Jim Doerksen, Santa Rosa, California,
Family Background
“Cornelius T. “Rawleigh” Toews was the son
of Peter B. (Grote) Toews (1859-1945) and midwife
Anna Toews (1868-1933), of Greenland,
Manitoba. 1 Peter B. and Anna Toews moved
from Blumenort to Greenland shortly after 1890.
In 1911 they joined the move to Needles, B.C.,
but returned to Manitoba the following year,
settling on a River Lot west of Ste. Anne. 2
Grote Toews was the son of Blumenort
pioneer and Brandältester Peter W. Grodtfoda
Toews (1831-1922). Anna was the daughter of
the well-known delegate Cornelius
P. Toews (1836-1908), which made
them second cousins. 3
Biographical Sketch
Cornelius T. Toews was born
in Greenland (or Blumenort ?). He
grew up on his parents’ farm on
Section ? 8-6-E. After completing
grade eight and spending a couple of
months at Gretna’s “normal school,”
“Rawleigh” Toews became a teacher
in the Greenland area. It appears
qualifications were a little slack in
those days. 4
He also did some farming which
nearly all of my relatives did and
many still do. He bought a steam
threshing outfit with brother Peter,
and Peter A. Penner. His teaching
career lasted three years, farming a
little longer, before his long career
with Rawleighs. He even had a stint
as a cheese-maker. No one seems to
know why he gave up these careers,
but it may be just his great urge to
roam.
Since his wife Marie died at the
young age of 44 in 1936, it put considerable
pressure on the rest of the family.
There were eight children living at
home, the oldest being Alvin, age 22.
While “Rawleigh” was on the road,
the older children became parents
of the younger ones. While this may
have been a great hardship at the time, the end
results turned out very good. They all became
great parents and have wonderful families. What
can I say, I am one of them.
Rawleigh’s Dealership
Cornelius T. Toews, alias C.T., Cornelius,
“Rawleigh” Toews, the Duke, Neil, and to me,
Grandpa. Mostly he was known as “Rawleigh”
Toews. He lived an illustrious life and was
somewhat of a family black sheep, though gentle
and kind. We always got along great. Nearly
everyone in Steinbach, Greenland, Blumenort,
Giroux, Richer, Ste. Anne, and the surrounding
areas knew him because of his successful
Rawleigh’s business.
Rawleigh’s was a huge conglomerate that
sold a large variety of wares. It would be difficult
to list the hundreds of items they sold as
there were so many different types of products.
Rawleigh and their competitor Watkins each had
thousands of salesmen and huge warehouses in
Winnipeg and most other Canadian and U.S. cities.
They were the predecessor to the big chains
such as Wal-Mart. Before the malls and modern
highways, everyone used them. Yes, Rawleighs
still exists, but barely. It is called downsizing.
When “Rawleigh” Toews, the consummate
salesman, drove into a yard, the children each
“Rawleigh” Toews selling his wares in winter.
Toews selling from the back of a car in the 1930s.
received a stick of gum. My great uncle Harry
Toews remembers that “Rawleigh” Toews would
extend credit during difficult times, even barter
for wood or moonshine. As a matter of fact, I am
writing this historical family article on a beautiful
oak dining table that “Rawleigh” Toews took
in trade for a customer’s Rawleigh’s debt.
Great uncle Harry also remembers “Rawleigh’s”
Model T with a self-starter. No one
had seen one of these before, and it was a
great novelty. In winter he used a horse drawn
top schlieh’de (or Kabit schliehd’de) with a
woodstove. I surely remember the great buffalo
coat he wore. One time when business was going
well, “Rawleigh” Toews hired a man who
happened also to be named Cornelius Toews.
Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, he became a
turncoat and went to work for Watkins. Maybe
my Grandpa was difficult to work for.
Anecdotes
The story of neighbour Abe G. Toews’ “still”
is still (pun intended) well remembered by our
family. It apparently wasn’t Abe’s still but he
leased the land for some extra dough. This was
during the depression and prohibition was still in
effect in the U.S., so some easy money could be
made. A lot of “booze” was manufactured in this
area and shipped to the U.S. Abe Toews had an
alarm system, but he eventually got
caught. Maybe it was an inside job.
“Rawleigh” had a few strange
quirks and one of them is mine to
this date—the love of very old ripe
cheese, especially limburger. My
uncle Levi Barkman had proposed to
Aunt Laura, “Rawleigh’s” youngest
daughter, and approached his future
father-in-law for his daughter’s hand
in marriage. To this day, and that
was 49 years ago, he remembers the
strong smell of limburger cheese
(some prefer to say his socks). I
always remember how good it was,
and so last year while we were near
Frankenmuth, Michigan, my wife
and I stopped at the limburger cheese
factory. After four hours in our R.V.,
it was either me or the limburger. It
needs to be eaten in a wide open field
far away from a residence.
“Rawleigh’s” daughter Annie
remembers that he spoke six or seven
languages and parts of others. The
languages were high and low German,
French, sign language (his son
Alvin was deaf), Ukrainian, and English.
My uncle Len has a single page
document in beautiful gothic script
German done by “Rawleigh”, also
known as C.T., when he was 6 years
old. “C.T.”’s children, grandchildren,
great grandchildren, and great great
grandchildren are spread throughout
western Canada and the U.S. and are noted for
their successful endeavours.
Death
Mennonites usually have great dying stories
with tragic scenes and family at the bedside etc.
What about “Raleigh”?
Anna and Grote Toews
Grote Toews (Peter B.’s) wife Anna, who
was also a Toews and a second cousin to her
husband, was a well renowned midwife. 5 She
kept meticulous records of many deliveries
which is said to exceed over 1,000. Unfortunately,
these records fell into the hands of Henry
Giesbrecht and were not made available to
those who wished to see them. Anna B. Toews
Preservings No. 25, December 2005 - 81