smh Apr 05 template.indd - the Mennonite Historical Society of ...

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 2SAKATCHEWANMENNONITE HISTORIAN2326 Cairns AvenueSaskatoon, SK. S7J 1V1Editor: Dick H. EppBook Editor: Victor G. WiebeGenealogy Page Editor: RosemarySlaterProof Readers: Ernie Baergen,Betty Epp, Verner Friesen,Rosemary SlaterAdvisory Committee: JakeBuhler,Verner Friesen, EstherPatkauThe Editor invites readers to participateby sending news, articles, photos, churchhistories and other items to him by emailat dhepp1@shaw.ca ; tel. (306) 343-1238HONOUR LISTHelen BahnmannHelen DyckDick H. EppMargaret EppPeter K. Epp (d)George K Fehr (d)Jake FehrJacob E. FriesenJacob G. GuenterGerhard Hiebert (d)Katherine Hooge (d)Abram G. JanzenJohn J. Janzen (d)George Krahn (d)Ingrid Janzen-LampJ. J. Neudorf (d)J. C, Neufeld (d)John P. NickelEsther PatkauDr. Ted RegehrEd RothWilmer RothArnold SchroederKatherine Thiessen (d)Rev. J. J. Thiessen (d)Dr. David Toews (d)Toby Unruh (d)George Zacharias (d)PresidentJake Buhler836 Main StteetSaskatoon, SK S7H 0K3Tel: 244-1392jakelouisebuhler@sasktel.netVice PresidentVerner Friesen641-120 LaRonge Rd.Saskatoon, SK S7K 7Z9Tel: 382-2970ve.friesen@sasktel.netSecretary/Archivist, MC Sask.Vera FalkBox 251Dundurn, SK S0K 1K0Tel: 492-4731Fax: 492-4731r.v.of.thodeandshields@sasktel.netTreasurerMargaret SniderBox35Guernsey, SK S0K 1W0Tel: (306) 365-4274sniderwm@sasktel.netArchivesKathy BoldtBox 152, RR #4Saskatoon, SK S7K 3J7Tel: 239-4742keboldt@sasktel.netAbe BuhlerBox 1074Warman, SK S0K 4S0Tel. 931-2512Margaret EwertBox 127Drake, SK S0K 0H0Tel 363-2077mewert@canada.comEileen QuiringBox 2Waldheim, SK S0K 4R0Tel: (306) 945-2165eileenajq@sasktel.netEd SchmidtBox 28Waldheim, SK S0K 4R0Tel: (306) 945-2217ewschmidt@sasktel.netTo add a name to the Honour List, nominate a person in writing. Candidatesmust have made significant contributions to the preservation of Mennonite history,heritage or faith in our province.MHSS Board of Directors, 2005Victor G. WiebeBook Review Editor/Archivist11 Kindrachuk Cres.Saskatoon, SK S7K 6J1Tel: 934-8125wiebe@sklib.usask.caBoard CommitteesPhotographer SMHSusan BraunBox 281Osler, SK S0K 3A0Tel: 239-4201Cemeteries/ArchivesHelen Fast146 Columbia DriveSaskatoon, SK S7K 1E9Tel:242-5448; Fax: 668-6844rhfastlane@shaw.caCemetery Project MHSSJohn P. NickelGeneral DeliveryBattleford, SK S0M 0C0Tel: 937-2134johnpnickel@sk.saskel.metAdvisory Committee SMHEsther Patkau2206 Wiggins AvenueSaskatoon, SK S7J 1W7Tel: 343-8645Genealogy Page Editor, SMHRosemary Slater111 O’Neil CrescentSaskatoon, SK S7N 1W9Tel: 955-3759r.slater@sasktel.netMennonite Historical Societyof Saskatchewan (MHSS)Room 900-110 La Ronge RoadSaskatoon, SaskatchewanS7K 7H8(306) 242-6105mhss@sasktel.netArchive HoursMonday: 1:30-4.00 p.m.Wednesday: 1:30-4:00 p.m.Wednesday: 7:00-9:00 p.m.Is your membership paid up?

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 3President’s MessageJake Buhler, PresidentAvery long time ago there were adistinct people who were movedaround a lot. From my readingof their history, they were movedfrom one place to the next by theBabylonians and by the Egyptians.Sometimes the story tells usthese people were led. They wereled by Moses, by Joshua, and bytheir God. It seems they werealways moving from one place tothe next, sometimes into wildernessareas, sometimes to placeswhere there was milk and honey.Always on the move, they were,these Israelites.Much later, there were anotherdistinct group of people whogot into trouble with local authorities.The rub had to do withbeliever’s baptism, about believingthat every person was his/herpriest, not joining the military,not swearing oaths, and suchthings. They were moved fromtheir homes and businesses toprisons where many died. Theymoved from Holland and Germanyto swampy areas, then toRussian-occupied steppes in theUkraine, and then on to prairieson new continents. Not content,some moved from Manitoba toSaskatchewan, and in the 1920s,to Mexico and beyond. Sometimesthese people were led byDavid Toews, B. B. Janz, and byGod. Sometimes they were ledastray by people like Klaas Epp,to Tashkent. Always on the move,they were, these Mennonites.More recently, some Old ColonyMennonites that had settled inthe Hague-Osler Reserve in thelate 1890s, moved in the 1920s,to Mexico. This migration willbe the subject, in early Marchof 2006, at the Annual GeneralMeeting of the Mennonite HistoricalSociety of Saskatchewanto be held in Hague. Why didthey move? Bill Janzen of Ottawawill explore this subject. LeonardDoell and local historians willdiscuss the more local migrationsthat followed later. Dr. Janzenwill also talk about the clashbetween liberties the Mennonitessought, and limits to those liberties,that the governments of theday imposed. This promises to bea very interesting time for peoplewho care about what happened inthe Valley area some 80 years ago.Perhaps you have informationabout the migration of Mennonitesfrom Saskatchewan toMexico. Please share any old letters,or records with us. We thankyou in advance.As 2006 approaches, our Societyis facing some challenges. DickEpp, our editor for many years,will be turning over his responsibilitiesto a yet un-named person.We are searching for a neweditor. It is possible you know ofsomeone who could do the job. Ifso, let us know.May the God who travels with allpeople on the move, protect usall from harm. God has done itbefore. ❋Editorial—Verner FriesenVerner Friesen, Acting EditorTransitionsWe Whave moved — from a houseinto a condo.The prospect of moving can bescary for seniors. Moving maymean leaving a home that holdsmany cherished memories. Itmay mean leaving behind trustedneighbours. It may also mean aconsiderable amount of downsizing:getting rid of a lot of “stuff”.

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 4Moving means letting go, and anxiety. Will we find another Aboriginal Neighboursletting go can be painful. Moving person to take on the editorialMCC Saskatchewanmeans change, and change does duties and maintain a good qualitypublication? In this case too, MCC Saskatchewan (MCCS)not come as easily to us older folks.Seniors expect that they will have transition means letting go. For us has developed an Internet andto move eventually, but because as a Society it means carrying on Systems Use Policy for the protectionof both the author and thethey dread the prospect they may without the person who has beentend to put off the ordeal as long the kingpin of this organization recipient. This includes the rightas possible. When the decision almost from the beginning, taking to monitor both incoming andto move has finally been made, a the leadership role in helping it outgoing e-mail. Questions regardingthe MCCS Internet andsuitable new home has been found, to grow and prosper. For Dick itand the move has been completed, means relinquishing the reins of a Systems Use Policy and/or privacypractices may be directed toit often comes as somewhat of a project which has been a vital partrelief.of his life for about one-half of his privacysk@mccs.org.adult years.So we have moved. Difficult butnecessary decisions have beenmade. The challenge of change andadjustments and down-sizing is beingmet. Many things are different,but it will be OK. It is OK.Our Mennonite Historical Societyis also facing change and transition.Dick Epp, long-time editorof the Saskatchewan MennoniteHistorian, is retiring. After thirtyoneyears of quality time given toour Society—as Board member,President and editor —Dick certainlydeserves to be relieved of thisresponsibility. No one person hasinvested as much time of himselfin this organization as has DickEpp.We knew the transition was coming.Dick has been warning us thatit was coming. But we have tendedto put off dealing with it as long aspossible. Now the time has come.The next issue of our SaskatchewanMennonite Historian (April 2006)will be Dick’s last as editor.For us as a Society, and forDick as well, this time of transitionbrings with it a measure ofSome things will be different; butwe have the confidence that, bothfor Dick and for us, it will be OK.We believe that necessary adjustmentswill be made, and that thework of the Society and its publicationwill continue to prosper.In the words of Harry EmersonFosdick’s hymn, we pray:Grant us wisdom, grant us courageFor the living of these days. ❋Resources cont’d fr p.31pied the land. When you have zoomedin and have a small hand symbol, clickon the quarter section and you willalso see the grant number and the ruralmunicipality name and number.You may print maps from the HOMEprogram however they will be a restrictedsize. Each rural municipalityin the province was given the option toobtain copies of their maps for resale.You may contact the appropriate RMoffice if you wish to purchase a copy.Find information on how to reach themat http://www.municipal.gov.sk.ca/apps/Pub/MDS/welcome.aspx.Because of the insecure nature ofe-mail, we do not accept liabilityfor errors, omissions or unintendedeffects that might arise. If youhave received this e-mail in error,please delete it and advise MCCSof your actions. Thank you.—Forwarded by Leonard J Doell/MCCS on 11/28/2005 04:20 PM.❋********************************Complete provincial sets of the papermaps may also be viewed at either theSaskatchewan Archives offices locatedin Regina or Saskatoon or the SaskatchewanGenealogical Society’s office locatedin Regina.If the Saskatchewan centennial celebrationsin 2005 have sparked an interest inresearching your ancestors, be sure to visitthe MHSS archives!. ❋Remembering our past. dhe

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 5Migration cont’d from p. 1However, it was not to last. The issue? Conscription.The Great War was spreading in Europe andby 1917 was threatening to become “total” war includingcountries that had until then been officiallyuninvolved. These countries included the UnitedStates. Consequently, the Wilson Administration inWashington needed to make important and difficultdecisions. One related to preparing the country toenter the war. Another pertained to preparing andsending troops. Hence, the government needed toface the issue of conscription directly.The story of conscription in the United States is oneof indecision, decision, more indecision, yet anotherdecision, and, finally, implementation. This, accordingto Homan, was the pattern not only of thegovernment but also of various Mennonite groups inthe country. While some Mennonites lamented suchindecision, others seemed to be caught up in wavesof patriotism. Jacob Klaassen, then of Cordell,Oklahoma and later one of those to emigrate toCanada, reflected the former view. He questionedhow Mennonites could turn their backs on theirhistory of nonresistance and nonconformity. Others,on the other hand, perhaps because of acculturation,were caught up with revivalism, fundamentalism,and temperance, concepts that overshadowed nonresistanceand nonconformity. This lack of unitymeant that various pockets of Mennonites and evenindividual churches throughout the country were essentiallyleft to determine and recommend their owncourse of action.Michael Klaassen was one church leader who didnot tolerate vacillation and indecision. If Mennonitesas a body were unable or reluctant to takea stand or position on the issue of conscription,then, he believed, it was up to him as Ältester todo so. He determined that the path of nonresistancewas not only the correct path, it was the only path.However, he found this to be easier said than done.Although many in his congregation supported hisposition, others did not.The issue came to its ultimate head when conscriptionwas implemented. By September, 1917, youngMennonite men from across the United States werereceiving their notices and were off to militarycamps. Yes, many attempted to gain exemption onthe basis of conscientious objector status; however,there were no guarantees and few exceptions. Forexample, all of the young men from the HeroldChurch who met the criteria of conscription receivedtheir notices, including Johannes Klaassen,the son of Ältester Klaassen.Conditions in some military camps, at least, weredifficult for these young Mennonites. No doubt,their passive resistance to military training was acontributing factor. Despite these difficulties, JohannesKlaassen and some forty other young men,all stationed at Camp Travis in Texas, remainedfirm in their conviction. The result was imprisonment.In June, 1918, eight months after beinginducted into the US Army, Johannes Klaassen,together with 43 other resisters, was sent to LeavenworthPenitentiary in Kansas, each man sentencedto 25 years imprisonment for resisting militarytraining.Unfortunately, Klaassen’s story does not end withhis imprisonment. He contracted Spanish influenzawhile in prison and died on October 17, 1918,from complications associated with the illness. Itwas only one year after having been inducted intothe army and less than one month before a generalarmistice was declared. Because of the flu epidemicand perhaps because of military regulations of thattime, the casket in which Klaassen’s body wasplaced was sealed. It was then sent by rail to Bessie,Oklahoma, there to be claimed by the family forburial.Ältester Klaassen received his son’s body and,rightly or wrongly, chose to break the seal of thecasket. Finding his son attired in a military uniform,he removed the uniform and changed his son’s attireto what he considered appropriate for burial. Withthis act Michael Klaassen incurred the wrath of theauthorities as well as a good number of local citizens.Within weeks he realized his life could wellbe in danger and he fled the country, arriving inWinnipeg in early November 1918.

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 6The unfortunate death of Johannes Klaassenbecame a defining moment for the Herold community.If Mennonite fathers and mothers wantedtheir sons to avoid conscription, these sons shouldseemingly be prepared to leave the country. Perhapsthe parents themselves should be willing toleave. Indeed, several families had already madethe move, including Michael Klaassen’s youngerbrother Jacob and his five sons. Cornelius Krauseand his wife Elizabeth (the writer’s grandparents)and their four sons had also made the move. Othersfollowed. Nineteen families, or approximatelyone-half of the Herold congregation, moved toCanada. Many stayed, but not all. Some returnedto the United States soon after hostilities ceased onNovember 11. Others returned after a few years.As mentioned, Michael Klaassen arrived safely inWinnipeg in early November. A few days later,on November 8, 1918, he arrived in Rosthern. Hisbrother Jacob met him at the train station and tookhim to the farm of Cornelius Krause. After a shortstay, Michael Klaassen returned to Manitoba andby December had purchased a farm near Morden.In this community he spent his remaining yearsand died there in 1934.And, finally, what of David Toews’ connectionto these people? There were several. First, DavidToews together with Michael and Jacob Klaassenand the elder Jantzens and Nickels in the accompanyingphotograph had all resided as children inAm Trakt, a Mennonite community in southernRussia. Indeed most were born there. These samefamilies (Toews, Klaassen, Jantzen, and Nickel)had been on the Great Trek of 1880-84 to Turkestan,the journey inspired, in part, by the revelationsof Klaas Epp, Jr.minister to these and other families in west centralOklahoma in the early years of settlementand, as Ältester, baptized a number of the olderpersons in the photograph, including the writer’sgrandparents. Jacob Klaassen married KatherinaToews, the younger sister of David. And someof the younger people in the picture were soon tobe students of the German-English Academy inRosthern with David Toews as their teacher andprincipal.Toews empathized with these families. His lifejourney in many respects paralleled that of theOklahoma immigrants, even though he had cometo Canada much earlier than they and under quitedifferent circumstances. Their being together onwhat was likely a Sunday afternoon in Rosthernspoke well of their long-standing relationship.❋References:Bergen, Esther C. (Translator), Michael KlaassenDiary, January1890-October 1934. Winnipeg,Manitoba, 1994.Harder, Helmut. David Toews Was Here 1870-1947(Winnipeg, MB: CMBC Publications, 2002).Homan, Gerlof D. American Mennonites and theGreat War1914-1918 (Waterloo, ON; HeraldPress, 1994).All had come from Russia to the United States, theKlaassens and Jantzens, settling initially in Nebraska,the Toews and Nickel families in Kansas.David Toews and Elizabeth (Nickel) Krause bothfound employment on the Bernhard Regier farmnear Newton, KS. Jacob Toews, father to David,traveled periodically from his home in Kansas toOld Father Time says that our year is almost over,so get your stories to us, soon. Thanks.

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 7Photograph CaptionThe above photograph was taken in the yard of David and Margarete Toews in the summer of 1921.The occasion was a reunion of some of the Oklahoma Mennonites with the Toews family. Thanks toMarie Spencer, Leona Epp, Walter Klaassen, and Bob Sawatzky, all of Saskatoon, and Ed Schmidtand Harold Krause of Rosthern who helped to identify the people (see the accompanying numberedoutline). (1) Gustav Klaassen; (2) Edward Krause; (3) John H. Jantzen; (4) Albert Schmidt; (5) DavidToews; (6) Albert Jantzen; (7) Rudolf Gaeddert; (8) John Klaassen; (9) Bernhard (Ben) Krause; (10)Heinrich Jantzen; (11) Leonard T. Schmidt; (12) Menno Nickel; (13) Michael Klaassen; (14) HerbertSchmidt; (15) Cornelius E. Krause; (16) Jacob Klaassen; (17) Edward Schmidt; (18) Jacob B. Nickel;(19) ? (20) Margarete (Friesen) Toews; (21) Cornelius H. Krause; (22) Jacob S. Schmidt; (23) Marie(Jantzen) Schmidt; (24) Elma Toews; (25) Amanda Nickel; (26) ? (27) Elizabeth (Nickel) Krause;(28) Martin K. Klaassen; (29) Stella Nickel; (30) Barbara Jantzen; (31) Clarence Schmidt; (32) SelmaNickel; (33) Elizabeth (Warkentine) Nickel; (34) Henry T. Klaassen; (35) ? (36) Anna Schmidt; (37)Edna Nickel; (38) Matilda (Schmidt) Jantzen; (39) ? (40) Henry R. Krause; (41) Linda Nickel; (42)Marie (Klaassen) Jantzen; (43) Margarete Peters; (44) Rudolf Jantzen; (45) Lisette Jantzen; (46) CarrieSchmidt; (47) Marie Toews; (48) Dora Schmidt; (49) Elsie Toews.

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 8nota bena: mark well and observeOur Reader’s Page: Announcements and InformationHeritage Nightand Annual General Meetingof the Mennonite Historical Society ofSaskatchewanFriday, March 3rd and Saturday,March 4th, 2006in theHague School Gymnasium, Hague SKTheme : Mennonite MigrationsFriday, March 3rd, 7:30 p.m.Heritage NightGuest Speaker - Bill Janzen,Director of the MCC Ottawa OfficeTopic: The 1920s Migration to MexicoSaturday, March 4thMHSS Annual General Meeting8:30 a.m. - Registration9:00 - Devotional9:15 - Business Meeting and Elections10:30 - Coffee Break11:00 - Presentation by Bill Janzen"Freedom of Religious Groupsin Canada"(With Special Emphasis on Mennonites, Hutteritesand Doukhobors)12:00 - Catered Noon Lunch1:00 - Leonard Doell and local Mennonite"elders"onInternal Migrations(Migrations ofMennonites within Saskatchewanand to other parts of Canada)Leonard is co-ordinator of theAboriginal Neighbour programfor MCC Saskatchewan2:30 - Coffee Break3:00 to 5:00 -(Optional)A visit to the SaskatchewanRiver Valley Museumin Hague**********************************************Mennonite Historical Societyof Saskatchewanis having aF u n d r a i s e r B a n q u e tSaturday, April 22, 2006atBethany Manor Fellowship Centre110 LaRonge Road,SaskatoonAlso a time of paying tribute toDick and Betty Epp for their manyyears of dedicated service to our Society.(More details at the time of our AnnualGeneral Meeting onMarch 3rd and 4th, 2006)Members are encouraged to send theirannouncements to the editor if they wish tohave their events made known to our readers.The editor also welcomes stories about earlySaskatchewan history. Let us preserve our storiesof the past by having them printed in our journal.dhe

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 9M e m o r i e s of H a g u eArnold J. Friesen (1910-1990)(written ca. 1985)Our town had two eating places – one wasthe Chinaman’s and the other Mrs. Hildebrand’s.The favored one of course wasthe home of Mrs. Hildebrand. Her husband haddied in the flu epidemic and she was left with a familyof five boys and three girls. She supported themby taking in boarders and as well provided meals tothe public. All the travelers made a point of stoppingat Mrs. Hildebrand’s for meals for she was anexcellent cook. The family very often had no ideawhat would be left for their meal – it depended entirelyon how many patrons stopped that day. Oftenthe family only had bread and scraps left.The Chinaman’s caféwas on Front Street – a bareroom with a few tables and chairs, a partition witha counter and glass case on the left as you entered.Behind the counter, a few shelves displayed chocolatebars and cigarettes. There was usually very littleto display in the glass case. Further into the roomwere a few tables and chairs, a partition separatedthis area from the kitchen with its big cook stoveand work table for preparation of foods. In a cornerat the back of the kitchen was a small partitionedarea with a couch which served as a bed for theChinaman. You could get an ice cream cone, chocolatebars and candy, even cigarettes if you were oldenough. The Chinaman was usually alone – sometimesa friend would drop by and stay a few days.He was invariably friendly and polite. He had theusual shuffling gait that seemed to characterize thesepeople. While they were friendly they were notgreat conversationalists, preferring to listen to whatwas being said or discussed. I’m sure none of theChinese lads who tried the cafébusiness in our littlevillage made a living wage. After all, Mennonitefolk ate their meals as a family at home – plain butsatisfying.The post office. It so happened that Father wasthe postmaster for our little village of Hague, Saskatchewanfor a period of years. He came to thelittle village in the fall of 1911 as postmaster andas the junior teacher in the local school. Later hetook employment as teacher in rural schools nearthe village and commuted by horse and buggy andcutter in winter. Mother looked after the post officeduring the day. In 1912, Walter would be eightyears old, Helen six, and Arnold was near two years.The post office was a one story building, the frontportion was the post office, the rear was the livingquarters for the family – one larger room was theliving room and kitchen, a smaller bedroom was partitionedoff from the living room. In later years, asecond story with three bedrooms was built and themain floor was enlarged with a front door throughwhich you entered a fairly large living room separatedfrom the kitchen by a divider of sorts. A door led

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 10Hague picnic in 1922. They seem to be having a good time.into the post office from the kitchen and anotherout to the back little kitchen. A stairway in the rearof the kitchen led up to the bedrooms. Immediatelynext to the post office building to the east wasa fairly large, long building which had one barberchair in the front of the local pool hall and bowlingalley. And on summer nights through openwindows came the sounds of clicking pool balls andthe thundering of the large bowling balls as theycrashed into the pins at the rear and, of course, thechatter and laughter of patrons. Immediately tothe west was the livery barn. The sounds and smellswhich naturally emanate from such a building werewhat we grew up with. You could hear the stampingof horses’ hooves on the timbered floors of thestalls as they fed on their hay and oats.A few years later the property was purchased bythe Reliance Lumber Company and an entire newrefreshing atmosphere was provided us next door.In summer the tall narrow doors located along eachside of the building housing the cut lumber wouldbe opened and allow the fresh smell of curingwood to pervade the air. Eventually the lumberyard went out of business and father purchased theproperty. My uncle who had been swindled out ofthe orchard property in Renata, B.C., had returnedto the prairies only to find himself out of funds andno work. So he was given the job of tearing downthe lumber yard buildings and selling the lumber.I believe it was in the years of the First WorldWar that Dad resigned his position at the localvillage school and got a position at a rural schoola few miles from town. This meant driving outevery morning and required a conveyance. So Dadbought a small barn big enough for a horse and cowwith a loft large enough to hold a good load of hay.Beside the barn was a bin for oats feed for the horse.And so Dad drove out mornings at about 8:00 andreturned home in the evening about 4:30. Motherwould look after the post office in the interim.There wouldn’t be a great rush of business generally– it meant meeting the town mail trains every dayexcept Sunday. The job at the wicket was fairly light– a few money orders, sale of stamps, handing outmail to people without mail boxes. And of course,sorting the mail at each mail time was special. Usuallythe villagers would be waiting around at mailtime and often the waiting room would be full ofpeople – talking and laughing while we would bebusily sorting letters and parcels – Christmas seasonwas especially interesting. Everybody ordered goodsfrom Eaton’s catalogue, Winnipeg, or Robert Simpsons,Regina, and of course, couldn’t wait to seewhat the parcel they had ordered actually contained.The big mail came in the evening – so we could besorting by lamp light. The din in the waiting room,with the big and not so big boys, could be quite aracket. Finally we would open the wicket and theywould come for parcels and general delivery mail.The station was perhaps the most important gatheringplace for the villagers. Here the outside worldcame to your little community. At around train

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 11Mr. Friesen picking up the mail and delivering it to the post office.Note the vehicle used for doing this job.time the grain elevator men would be seen comingacross the tracks taking out their watches tosee if the train would be on time. People leavingfor the city would drive up and enter the station tobuy their tickets. The agent, meanwhile, wouldhaul the trucks bearing milk and cream cans intoconvenient locations ready for quick loading ontothe baggage car. Soon the lonely wail of the trainengine whistle could be heard afar off, then againThe construction of the water tower in Hague. It is still alandmark for the community.a bit later, much louder -- Woo, Woo, Wo-Wooo– and then with a rattle and rumble, a swish, swishof steam and bell clanging the great monarch of thetrail would come steaming in with a squeal of brakesand come to a stop, the tender next to the big watertank. It was the fireman’s job to haul down the waterspout, place his foot on it and haul on the rope thatopened the flood gates to let the water pour in. Bynow the train trucks would be wheeled to the otherdoor of the express car and loaded. Passengers wouldbe coming off the train to be greeted by friends andrelatives while other passengers boarded. Soon thecall from the conductor rang out loud and clear, “Allaboard.” The brakeman climbed the steps of the trainand gave the cord in the passageway a tug – Tss-Tss– the signal that we’re on our way. The bell on theengine would begin clanging and with a Puff, Puff,Puff the monster would slowly begin to move. Whata marvel! The conductor would remain standing onthe station platform watching the cars pass slowlyby, slowly gaining speed. At the right moment as theopen door arrived he easily and smoothly stepped onand was whisked away into tomorrow.The arrivals and their friends soon disappear. Theplatform trucks are wheeled into the shed, the oneswith returned empty milk cans are wheeled aside fortheir owners to pick up. The elevator men saunterback across the tracks to their respective elevatoroffices, ready for the odd load of grain or order forfertilizer.There are four elevators in our little town. Normallythey are not terribly busy but in harvest time they arevery busy. Grain wagons and trucks come in fromthe farm threshing crews at all hours. Sometimesthey are lined up for blocks waiting their turn to unload.My best friend’s Dad was agent for one of theelevator companies so we used to hang around andwatch the proceedings. We would take late supper tohim when he worked into the night under lights.First the wagon load, drawn by two sturdy horses,had to pull the wagon up a long incline to the pitwhere the load was weighed. Then the front of thewagon was tilted up and the end box opened to letthe grain flow down into the pit. The elevator agent,in the meantime, scooped several scoops of grain,

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 12marked it and set it aside for grading. After thewagon was lowered, it was weighed again to determinethe weight of grain delivered. In the earlydays, if there was a rush, the agent might grade thegrain and even issue a cheque for the amount sold.But this was not done after the Wheat Board wasintroduced.The telephone office in our village was not a very imposingfacility. It occupied a corner of a small drugstorewhich also housed a doctor’s office in the rear.Actually the telephone office consisted only of anupright cabinet in front of which the telephone operator(usually a lady) perched on a high stool. Thefront face of the cabinet wall had a series of holeswhich connected lines to the various residential andbusiness phones and, of course, long distance lines.When a call came in, a little light came on above oneof the openings in the face of the cabinet with anaccompanying buzz. The telephone operator wouldconnect a line into the caller’s line and ask for thenumber wanted. The operator would connect thecaller’s line to the line called. The operator wouldconnect the caller with the number called simply byplugging the callers into the proper number called.For long distance calls you could step into a boothnearby which contained a phone and provided onlyminimum privacy. Usually the lines weren’t too reliableand the shouting in the booth usually filteredinto the community via an alert telephone operator.Likewise, calls for help could be directed to properauthorities with dispatch. While private residentialphones were few in the early days, most businessesin town had phones.The drugstore was that in name only. Along withthe usual tobacco products, cigarettes, candies andpatent medicines, there were various preparations,and cures available, but the doctor was the onlyone with the expertise to prepare and prescribe anymedicines.The doctor’s office was in one corner of the store.There was a huge buffalo head glaring down on youas you entered the doctor’s private office. He had aroll top desk, easy chair on one side, a couch and afew chairs. Our doctor was Dr. J.M. Uhrich, whoin later years became rather an influential man asThe author’s grandfather waiting for the train to pick up themail. In the background are the Hague elevators.Minister of Health of the Liberal Cabinet of ourprovincial government. He was a precise, proper,serious minded man. He walked to and from hishome (which was across the street from ours) in asedate, measured stride, often smoking his pipe andeven occasionally sporting a cane. Often in winterhe would come riding by in his cutter drawn by hisfine team of black drivers returning from one of hisvisits to someone ill in the country. I can still hearthe jingle of bells on the harness of the three beautifulblack drivers. He, too, had a barn at the back ofhis lot for his horses.While I regarded my doctor as a serious man, I feltno fear of him. (I was rather in awe of him and regardedhim more as a model, as a man that I wouldwish to be like.) I remember him bathing one ofmy baby sisters in our kitchen and can still see himholding the little mortal on the palm of his onehand.I remember our blacksmith shop, a fairly largebuilding for a village smithy. It was on the north endof Railway Street, unpainted, with double doors fac-

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 13ing the street. The windows were barely discerniblebeing sooted over from the constant smoke inside.You could hear the smithy at work from early morninguntil evening; the steady pounding of hammer– one, two, three – on the steel shares, interspersedby lighter clanging, and the drop of the heavy hammeron the anvil. In the shop one could hear thewhine of the bellows as the smithy stoked the firesto heat the steel, yet again and again the bang, bang,bang and clangor. As a young lad I used to wanderover to the smithy and watch the shoeing of thehorses, eager for the chance to grip the handle of thebellows for a few turns to help the smithy. I rememberthe fire, the glowing as the bellows broughtit to new life, the flowing horse shoes as they weremolded with the hammer, the blows now softer onsoft metal. Then the hiss as the white hot shoe waslowered with tongs into the water barrel. Black, everythingwas black – coal – soot – the smithy’s shirt,pants, leather apron, shoes and hands -- even his faceand hair. But what an interesting place to be!Arnold and Jane(Stewart) Friesenon their weddingday, October 7,1939.There were stores in our town. I mentioned thedrugstore. We also had a confectionery store or icecream parlor, a hardware store, a clothing store, and,of course, a couple of general stores. The confectionerystore was across and down the street fromthe post office with the other stores. The furnishingswere plain. The owner’s living quarters wereto the rear of the store. There was a counter with aglass front and top on the right as you entered. Thecandies, chocolates, cigars, cigarettes and tobaccoproducts were displayed on shelves. On the wallbehind the counter were a few shelves on which youmight see boxes of chocolates and various brands ofcigarettes displayed. A bunch of bananas hung fromthe ceiling. There were a few round tables on theother side of the room with ornate metal legs, andsome round bottomed chairs with sturdy wire legs.You could seat yourself at these tables and ordera light lunch, coffee, a dish of ice cream or an icecream cone. The ice cream came from the city in atall round metal container, completely surroundedand covered in chipped ice, sitting in the centre of around wooden tub, with a canvas cover keeping thewhole cold as ice. For five cents, you could order acone and the storekeeper would remove the cover,scrape the ice to one side, remove the metal coverand dip into the container with an ice cream scoopand produce a blob of ice cream the exact dimensionof the top of the cone. Not a feast but neverthelesssuch a luxury. That first lick was so cool, smooth,sweet and refreshing. On a hot summer afternoonFather would sometimes appear with a whole trayof ice cream cones, one for each of us. What a delight– such a refreshing treat!The hardware store was owned and operated by thefather of a good friend, Johnny. The false front hadtwo large windows, one on each side of the recessedentrance, where double doors gave entrance to thestore. There was a small area behind the windowon each side for display of articles, shovels, spades,and motors. As you entered you saw a long counterrunning down one side of the store with possibly aglass case perched on top with small articles such asclocks, tapes, flashlights, batteries, knives and thelike. Underneath the long counter were bins filled

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 14with nails; each bin with its size of nail. On thewall behind the counter were little drawers, eachwith an article fastened to the front indicatingthe contents. On the other side of the store werearrayed all the larger articles for sale -- mowers,harnesses, ropes in big coils, and carpenters’ toolssuch as hammers, saws, and screwdrivers. A storageroom at the back of the store held barrels ofcoal oil, gasoline, oils of various kinds and surplusstock. The hardware store was always an interestingstore for boys to visit. There were so manygadgets to see and try.The main part of the general store was the grocerysection. Usually items of clothing – coats, suits,dresses, shoes, socks, gloves and underwear -- werefor sale, too. These were usually large stores withthree or four clerks, in their respective departments.The majority of the people resident in ourtown including the store owners, were Mennonitesand German speaking. However, there was usuallyone general store operated by a Jewish family.They sold most items found in general stores butwere more into the sale of clothing such as suitsand coats, shoes and odd assortments of goods.One Jewish family was well-known to us – Laxtanoffs.They had three girls who were friendsof my sisters. I remember the older girl beingquite proficient on the violin. They used to visitour home a lot but generally stayed to themselvesmore.Mother was an intelligent, broad minded, generouswoman. She had the usual early upbringing of afarm girl where poverty was the norm. The familyhad emigrated from Europe only a few years beforesettling in the Rosthern area on a homestead. Theyhad to begin from scratch. Mother said that whenthey arrived they slept under their wagons and theirfirst temporary home was a room dug into the sideof a hill to give them some protection from the elements.Mother suffered an injury to her back whenassisting her father with the building of a log barn.The log they were attempting to put in place slippedand injured her back. Years later Mother suffereddeterioration of the bone in her back and was bedriddenfor over a year.At this time, an influx of German Mennonites fleeingfrom southern Russia during the Communistupheavals following the First World War, were lookingfor temporary shelter among local Mennonitefamilies. The winter that Mother was bedriddenour parents took in a family with two little girls.Another family took in their two sons and an olderdaughter. We had only three bedrooms; this familyoccupied one little bedroom. The husband helpedwith the chores, wood and coal, shoveling snow, andcarrying water, and the wife did the cooking. Wemanaged. I’m sure they were glad finally to havetheir own home. The family got on well and all thechildren made good progress in their lives. I haveoften marveled how harmoniously we got along inthose crowded quarters. After all, five of my sistersand I were still at home with our parents! I don’trecall any strained incidents that whole winter. Thiswas certainly a credit to the live-in family but also tomy Mother and Dad.Arnold’s mother,Helene Friesen, in 1928.Mother was quick to learn. She had only a coupleof months of schooling, such as it was in those earlydays. Yet Mother managed the post office, wrotegood letters and was good at spelling, too. She wasexpert at knitting and sewing. She made dresses forall of my sisters from cloth bought at the local stores.She was a good cook and knew dozens of recipes ofour Mennonite dishes from memory. If somethingneeded repair she wasn’t afraid to take a hammerand saw and do the job herself. She had a fine singingvoice and, while she did not play an instrument,she loved music and encouraged us in enjoyment of

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 15it. She was a positive, optimistic, forward-lookingperson, who was eager to learn. She was a lovingparent but not overly sentimental. When there wasillness she was an excellent nurse and generous in hersolicitude for the many elderly ill in our neighborhood.Mother was a serious minded person but shewasn’t a grumbler. I think my father made a verywise choice when he asked Mother to be his wife.Father was a modest person, very neat and tidy inpersonal habits, friendly and kind to everyone. Hewas very firm in his moral beliefs – honesty, morality,generosity – and was serious, earnest, yet cheerful.No compromise here. He didn’t considerhimself to be gifted but he admired people giftedintellectually, musically or skilled in arts. He cameto this country as a young man; had had elementaryeducation in Germany and had worked as a farmhand in America for about four years. At 20 years ofage, he began his schooling in Canada learning Englishalong with little children. He spent some yearsat Bethel College in Kansas where he learned to playthe organ. At 29 he got married to Mother. Theylived in P.A. that year while he attended high school.He always mentioned how difficult he found Mathematics,Algebra and Geometry. In Canada he wasdetermined to become a teacher. After attendingschool in Prince Albert and Regina, he eventuallygot his teacher’s certificate. He taught in Tiefengrund,(1906-1911) where his parents and siblingslived. Father took his work as a teacher almost asa missionary effort – as the molder of young lives.He considered himself a humble teacher, teachingthe young the rudiments of learning, the ABCs andelementary arithmetic, but first and foremost, morality.At the close of each day (as I recall so well fromthe occasional time he would take me with him toschool) Dad would tell the whole class of 25 or 30 astory - with a moral, of course – sometimes a Biblestory or a story he had read. Dad was a great readerand had a whole series of books, mostly on religioustopics, but he read other books as well. We alwayshad the Star Phoenix with the news of the day.Father was organist at church so we had our share ofmusic in the home -- much of it church music, butother music as well because he enjoyed good music.In his younger years, Dad smoked a pipe occasionally,but it was more of a fad and he quit smokingearly so I can’t recall him with his pipe. He wasn’treally the handiest man with tools; in fact, Motherwould prefer to do the job herself rather than askhim to repair something. He would willingly askone of our handy neighbors to perform the job andpay him well for it. He was polite and friendly toeveryone and would consider it beneath him to gossipabout others or in any way to demean another.Father was proud of his position as postmaster inthe little village, and the patrons respected and likedhim. After all, he was their trusted postmaster formany years. He enjoyedthe postmaster conventions,usually held in Saskatoon,to which both he andMother traveled by train.These were a highlight intheir years of work.The Hague Mennonite ChurchI had one brother, Walter,6.9 years older than I, soby the time I started toschool, he would have been13. I really only got toknow my brother when Iwas a teenager. I have noreal memories of him as a

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 16The author’s parents, Jacob and Helene Friesen. in1928.boy at home. Walter was not interested in school– wanted to get out and get a job. I rememberwhen he worked for a dairy farmer and heard aboutthe number of cows he had to milk morning andevening. He found employment on our uncles’farms near Carlton for some years, and later he wentto B.C. and got work as brakeman on the railway.Our grandparents lived in B.C. and had an orchardthere. Walter married a school teacher, ElizabethSiemens, settled down and started a chicken farm,selling eggs and small fruits, berries, etc.❋Editor’s note: This article will be of interest to allmembers when they attend the Annual General Meet-ing in Hague on March 3 and 4th, 2006. . dhe***************************************************All that mankind has done, thought, gained or been:it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages ofBooks. They are the chosen possesion of mankind.—Carlyle “Heroes and Hero Worship”New BooksVictor Carl Friesen,The Gift of CountryLife, Natural Heitage Book, P.O. Box 95,Toronto, Ontario M4A 2M8, 2005. Thisbook is written in blank verse about theauthors’s life on the farm. It is Victor’sseventh book. A very good read. Availableat McNally Robinson, Saskatoon. He is amember of our Society.Carl A. Krause, Benjamin Ralph: “One ofGod’s Gentlemen”, KC Books, 204-710Eastlake Avenue, Saskatoon, SK, S78N1A; 2005. This is Carl’s fifth book andhis third about history. An interestingdiscovery. Available at McNally Robinson,Saskatoon. Carl is a member ofMHSS.Barbara Nickel, Hannah Waters and thedaughter of Johann Sebastian Bach, PenguinGroup (Canada) 90 Eglinton AvenueEast, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P2Y3; 2005 This is Barbara’s third bookand it is one of the finalists for the 2005Governor General Canada Council literaryarts award, Children’s Literature section.The book is for children 8-12. Barbarahas toured Saskatchewan schools thissummer. Formerly of Rosthern, now fromVancouver.Bill Waiser, Saskatchewan, A New History,2005, Fifth House Ltd., A Fitzhenry& Whiteside Company, 1511, 1800-4 St. SW, Calgary, Alberta T2S 2S5;2005, a 563 page book about the historyof Saskatchewan. A book for everySaskatchewan resident to read. Availableat McNally Robinson, Saskatoon. Bill haswritten eight other books. dhe

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 17Our ReadersWriteMarianne Janzen writes:Many young men in the Ukraine of Russia joinedthe “Selbstschutz” to defend their villages. Later theyjoined the White Army to drive away the Red Army.When the White army was defeated, it retreated tothe Black Sea, and many a young man found hisway to Constantinople. Here many came downwith typhus. Some were taken to a French hospitalwhere food and nursing were very poor. Agents ofthe French Foreign Legion made contact with theseyoung men who promised them a decent hospitalwith proper treatment if they signed a contract withthe French Foreign Legion. They were also promisedthat they could stay in the Legion as long as theywanted, but they found out later that it was not true—they were in there for the 5-year duration. Oneyoung Mennonite man who signed the contract wasJulius Cornelius Heinrichs of Nicolaipol. I wouldlike to know if any other Mennonite men alsojoined this French Foreign Legion.—Marianne Janzen: 205- 333 Edison Avenue, Winnipeg,Manitoba R2G 0L9; e-mail addressbengel1@shaw.ca ❋Winkler Visitors write:Ernie and I attended the last Genealogy workshopin Saskatoon. Someone thought we were workingon the Bergthaler Gemeinde Buch church records.What we are doing is preparing to reprint the ReinlaenderBuch 1880-2003. The first printing was donein 1994 by the Manitoba Mennonite HistoricalSociety. These records record the Reinlaender Gemeindein southern Manitoba, also known as theOld Colony.We hope this will clarify the matter.Ernie and Martha Martens, Winkler Manitoba.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••Old folks are worth a fortune—with silver in theirhair, gold in their teeth, stones in their kidneys, leadin their pants, and gas in their stomachs.Corrections:Please make the following corrections for the lastissue ( Vol XI No. 2, September, 2005.1. First change the No. 3 to 2 in your last issue,p. 12. On p. 10 photo caption should be : Laverne(nee Linscheid) and Paul Boshman withchildren Beverley and Lawrence. (Dressed inJapanese costumes, 1958)3. On p. 11 (end of first full paragraph, lastline should read: Han and Martha Vandenbergserved as missionaries in Taiwan (notJapan).—Sincerely, Esther Patkau********************************************A South African Proverb: If you inherit land, youshould farm it. If you “inherit” a story you shouldtell it.**************************************************Helen Bergen, Lacombe, AB, mentions that the photoof the well diggers in the last issue should have beenidentified as: Brother Cornie as pulling up the bucketand his brother Abe is in the well out of sight. Sorry Igot them mixed up. dhe.Dear Friends,Advance copy of Irmgard’s new 365 page book about theexperiences of her father and other Mennonite refugees(including White Army soldiers) who escaped Bolshevismvia Constantinople and Batumi in 1920-21, has cometo her hands today. Its title is Constantinoplers --Escapefrom Bolshevism.This collection of real-life stories promises to beof interest to Mennonite (and other) historians,particularly those whose forefathers were amongthe escapees of the 1920-21 time period, and whoserecorded stories are related in this book. Many membersof their families reside in Canada and the USA.For further information about price and availability,please contact:Irmgard Epp, 648 Thorneloe Road,Kelowna, BC , V1W 4P6

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 18VORWÄRTS, January 23, l931Translated by Eunice and Peter StobbeIn January of 1931, Johann Gerbrandt of Drake, Saskatchewan, submitted this article to the German newspaperVORWÄÄRTS(Forward). The newspaper was printed in Hillsboro, Kansas. This article was included inthe papers of the late Jacob Gerbrandt (son of Johann). Since Jacob’s death it has been preserved by his sonOrlin Gerbrandt. Note: Gnadenberg (Grace Hill) referred to in this article is still a church community nearWhitewater, Kansas. The letter follows. EditorJohann and Helen GerbrandtDrake, Saskatchewanhereas, since your beginning, you haveWbeen Wa regular visitor in our home andhave brought several reports from variousregions, and also from the region where mycradle once stood, I would also like to give youa few sentences to take along on your journey.In the process of years, Poland had very muchreceded into the past for me, but when the enthusiasticcorrespondent, Gustav Ratzlaff, correspondsso interestingly from there, my dearhomeland steps meaningfully nearer. We havein the past years received a few immigrantsfrom Poland. A visit from Kliewer, a friend ofmy youth, was of special interest. After a longconversation about Poland, I was able to tellhim that his great-grandmother had been myaunt. That is, the mother of his grandfather,Peter Kliewer. There are, of course, still a fewof my relatives and acquaintances in Polandwho may read this report with interest.Another reason for writing is that beforeChristmas, as even now, we are receivingmany greetings of prosperity and blessings.Many of the wishes for prosperity and blessed-ness concerned the celebration of our fiftieth anniversary, which took place December 26, 1930. We suspectedthat our children were planning a little surprise for us, but the surprise was greater than we could havethought.The day came and we drove to the church. It had been decorated in a festive manner. The dates, December26 th , 1880 and December 26 th , 1930 were displayed behind the pulpit. These were also the years in whichthe Lord had especially spoken to my “Wenigkeit” (limitations). I could hardly endure the way my limitationsand God’s grandeur stood so lifelike before my eyes. The guest speakers were Jacob Quiring andJohann Penner, preachers of the Mennonite Brethren Church, who spoke to us special words of comfort.David Toews of Rosthern was the main guest speaker. He is well acquainted with our resettlement that took

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 19place 25 years ago. He spoke on Genesis 32:10.Concluding remarks by H.H. Bartel were earnestdeductions concerning the marvelous guidance andblessings of our Father in Christ Jesus.In the basement we took in the noon meal, whichhad been prepared by loving hands. In the afternoona program was rendered which was chaired by JacobGerbrandt, our son.To begin, I had to make my report which I hadpromised to the gathering. This was followed bynumerous congratulations from our children,their children, as well as others. Guests from ourneighbouring church, the Old Mennonite Church(Guernsey), who had settled here in 1905, also tookpart in our happiness. This gathering also concludedwith hymns and prayer. Then most of the guests, aswell as we, went home with the conviction that weare not worthy of the mercy and faithfulness of ourLord, as well as the love shown us by fellow Christians.In the evening, many guests gathered at our homewhere we had a wonderful and blessed interaction.In the conversation, a wish was expressed that I sharethe story of how the Lord brought us together. Ourson, John, read many messages of congratulationsand well wishes, which directed the conversationin recalling memories of the past. At about 10:00p.m. these blessed hours were closed with praise andthanksgiving.Now something of how our Lord brought ustogether. We had never seen one another in theyears of our youth. Three weeks before our weddingwe met for the first time. My wife’s maiden namewas Klassen, of the Michaliner Mennonite Churchin Russia. She emigrated to Gnadenberg, Kansas in1874. My parents and six other families came fromPoland in 1875 and settled on the open prairies ofMarion County, Kansas. Three other families fromour church in Poland had already settled there in1874. Our business town was Peabody, a distance ofthirty miles. Here we occasionally met people fromthe Gnadenberg Church, so we knew one another.Later there were visits, but these were rare. Onworkdays, work was pressing, and Sundays were tooshort for long distance visits. We knew nothing ofautomobiles at that time.We also had an elderly minister, who served uswith the word of God on Sundays. Later, anotherpreacher came in, so we really had everything werequired. But the Lord knew that we had needof more than this, so he sent us preachers of theGospel that preached us conversion, and the fruitof this was a true change of mind and different life.Because these messengers came from five differentfellowships, and each one wanted his recognition,some things came up that were not very appealing.Well, this is beside the point and really does notbelong to my theme. Yes, I just wanted to say thatin those days the Lord, through His spirit, awakenedme, and led me back to my Savior, Jesus Christ, towhom I had committed my life at age 16 years. Ihad wandered from the narrow way to the broadway. For six years, I had walked on the broad wayin the mindset that I was not as bad as others whostill considered themselves to be Christians. Now,when the Spirit of the Lord showed me my spiritualneed, the visitor changed his message and said, “Youhave known better, but have gone against your ownconviction. There is no help for you.”Then I went through two years that are indescribable.I experienced how Paul portrays the awakenedsinner in Romans, Chapter 7. Thank God, when weask in faith we can also experience Romans Chapter8. May every conscious sinner struggle to victoryover sin. Paul warns, “Wake up, O sleeper, rise fromthe dead, and Christ will shine on you.”Now, back to our wedding story. I was the only sonin the family. My two sisters had married, and sothe boy was left alone with his parents on the farm.He was to be provider for his parents, and so it wasnow time that he should marry. And he was not tooyoung either. So, he tried by offering a young ladyhis hand for life. She, however, was very modest andhad all sorts of excuses. She evidently did not wantto admit that she was already betrothed. My motherwas very sickly, so I made a new attempt. I spoke toanother young lady about it, who was quite willing.It seemed the parents had no objections, but whenI came again, the mother thought we should wait ayear. Her daughter was still young.

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 20In spite of my assuring her that my being mucholder would even this out, she insisted on her point.Because my matter had haste, I dared to say that wewould not want to have a commitment for marriagefor a year. If, after a year we were still of the samemind, we could take up the matter again. In themeantime, my father had also become sickly, and sohe renewed the wish that I provide a homemaker forthe home. This brought new concerns; there was nogreat choice. Added to that, it seemed everyone waspromised.In the midst of these serious concerns, a newthought suddenly came to me. You know that whatthe Lord says He will do, you are trying to do byyourself. At the very dawn of creation, has the Lordnot said, “I will make a helper suitable for him?”Humbled and somewhat bowed, my thoughts weredirected to Gnadenberg. After several days, my horsewas saddled and I began the journey.During this journey I seriously thought aboutthe prayer of the servant who had been the bridesolicitor for his master’s son. But this was alittle different. When I arrived there, the entirecongregation had gathered for a funeral. So I alsohad to ride there to the church. As far as I canrecall now, there were only two persons whom Iknew and with whom I could entertain myself.They acquainted me with the others. Towardsevening, my eyes were directed to a young ladywho was busily tidying up. Then the Spirit revealedto me, “She is the one.” But how could I becomeacquainted with her? The congregation was seatedat the tables. I had already had two invitations tostay overnight, but I had not accepted them; I waswaiting for a third invitation. I had already inquiredabout the name of the aforementioned younglady and had shaken her oldest brother, JohannKlassen’s hand. I hardly think that he anticipatedmy thoughts.Perhaps out of sympathy that I could be left withouta place to stay the night, he asked me if I would liketo come along. I assured him that I would gladlydo that. So then the foot journey began. On thisjourney I was able to extend my hand to this happybride for the first time in my life; however, notyet as my bride. In her father’s house during thecourse of the evening, I and this young lady, whowas housekeeper and hostess of the home, becameengaged.The next morning when her father, Johann Klassen,who was not well, got up, we introduced ourselvesto him as a bridal couple. This was a surprise tohim, and it is little wonder that he made all sortsof suggestions. When we assured him that this wasGod’s answer to our prayers, he wished us God’sblessings.Well now, we had to make preparations, she in herhome and I in mine, 25 miles away. Though apart,we would be united in spirit.On December 26, 1880, we were married by BishopJohann Schroeder. This took place in Gnadenberg.On the same evening we received a message thatmy father was seriously ill and that I should returnas soon as possible. The next morning, preparationswere made. Then it was homeward bound. Therewas a north wind blowing and snow was falling. For25 miles we faced the storm. On arrival, my fatherstill recognized me. So my young bride was able tocare for her father-in-law for three months before heentered his heavenly home.After father’s death, the farm was divided up andeveryone ventured courageously. The first fewharvests were good and the wheat price rose to 70and 80 cents a bushel. Consequently, the farmbusiness was enlarged, which required loans. Creditwas easily obtained, even offered. This made forsmooth sailing. But then the times changed. Acresthat in the previous year had produced 30 and 40bushels per acre now produced 3 and 4 bushels peracre. The prices of grain dropped. Interest rates wenthigher and higher, but land prices dropped lowerand lower.The result was that after ten years, our debt exceededthe value of our farm. This was a predicament ofsilent suffering. Added to this, the church recognizedmy modest abilities, and through the church, the

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 21Lord called me into his service.Now the storm clouds really began to rise and therewere things I had to suffer patiently. Many of myequals lost their farms and retained debts. I stood inthe same predicament. Again, I came to the end ofmy wisdom. In earnest prayer, I wrestled with Godthat he forgive my naiveness and shortsightedness,that he show me a way to avoid the blasphemer’scondemnation. I did not want my creditors to losemoney because of me. I would sooner support myfamily by being a wage earner. The Lord provided away by which I could honestly sell the farm on veryreasonable terms. Whereas the bank had seized somecattle from farmers who were moving to Oklahoma,the bank business manager asked me if I wouldconsider buying these cows.I replied, “I already have a huge debt with you.”He replied, “Yes, but you are planning to stay.” Wedared to do it, and the Lord richly blessed us.When we left for Canada we were able to pay allour Kansas debts as well as take something along.Amazing. By going into debt, we lost everything wehad; by going into debt again, the Lord blessed us.Why we moved to Canada was not really clear tome at the time, but it just turned out that way. InKansas we already had good prospects of gettingahead, and we knew that settling on the wildCanadian prairies would require new effort and hardwork. Now we have been here for 25 years. Also inthese years God’s guidance has been wonderful. Tohim be honor and thanksgiving.On the 12 th of February, God willing, the churchwill celebrate its 25 th Jubilee. At this time we wantto recall to memory numerous things of the past;experiences which attest to God’s guidance and richblessings through these past fifty years.A heartfelt greeting to the entire “VORWÄRTSFAMILY” as well as all relatives and acquaintances.Johann and Helen GerbrandtOBIITUARY: Rev. Johann GerbrandtRev. Johan Gerbrandt of Drake, Saskatchewan, diedon August 16 th , l938 at the age of 83. The funeralwas held August 19 th .The dear deceased was not a learned or rich man,pertaining to earthly or worldly matters. He hadvery little schooling, but on the other hand, hewas highly accomplished in God’s school andin practical life. He had become rich in spiritualmatters, namely, through observation, associationwith people, prayer participation with God, diligentreading and belief in the word of God.He had an understanding and interest incongregational affairs. He could relate to peoplefrom other communities as well as his own. Otherthan his Bible, he read with interest church papers,reports pertaining to Biblical questions and views,knowing how to judge and criticise them. He wasan attentive reader and didn’t always say yes toeverything. This applied to him during private andpublic discussions at conferences.He was a God-fearing man of faith. When otherswould become hopeless, impatient and dissatisfied inearthly and spiritual capacities, he would be patientand quiet and encourage them to do the same. Thewords of the Apostle Paul in II Tim. 4:7,8 - “I havefought a good fight, I have finished my course, Ihave kept the faith...henceforth there is laid up forme a crown of righteousness...” were his life’s motto.The deceased was a dear friend and brother to me,even if he was 16 years older than I. With him Iconversed orally and by letter about congregationaland Home Mission matters. ❋Benjamin EwertWinnipeg, Sept. 1, 1938A Big Thank YouI want to express my sincere thanks to Verner Friesen,Rosemary Slater, Esther Patkau, Jake Buhler and manyothers for seeing that the issues of the SMHistorian gotpublished and out to our readers.The April issue, 2006 will be my last issue. It will havethe following articles: Mennonites Among Muslims byAlan M. Guenther; Osler’s First Storekeeper; SaturdayBaths by Victor Carl Friesen; Pacifism—Is it a NewWord? by Victor G. Wiebe; Pembroke School Reunion,by Rosemary Slater: Heinrich Wiens Well DiggingEpisode by A.G. Janzen and more. dhe

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 22The Family TreeGenealogy Editor—Rosemary SlaterPreserving your family history for future generationsHow We Found Uncle Peter’s FamilyBy Bill Janzen and Helen Janzen, nee DyckIn 1924, when the Bernhard Dyck family left Russia for Canada, they were forced to leave behind sonPeter, age 22, who had been drafted into the Russian army as a Sanitåter worker and was not allowed toleave with the rest of the family. The plan was that Peter would follow the family as soon as his service wascomplete. However, when Peter and his wife, Margarete Rempel, whom he had married in 1928, went toMoscow to get visas allowing them to emigrate, their applications were refused. They returned home toMichelsburg, Fürstenland where three girls, Greta, Tina and Maria were born to them.In 1941, just prior to the invasionby the German army,Peter Dyck was taken awayand never heard from againby his family. After the endof World War II, a relativeinformed the family that Peterhad died of dysentery after beingtaken away in 1941.Margarete Dyck and herthree daughters left MichaelsburgOctober 6, 1943 withthe retreating German armyand ended up in a refugeecamp near Berlin in what laterbecame the Russian zone. In1945, after the end of the war,Left - right: Hans and Maria Dyck, Peter and Tina Isaac and Margaret Hottman and AlbertDyck on a walk in Germany.the Russians informed the Dyck family that they were sending them back home. To their dismay, afterseveral days underway, they found themselves not on the way home but on the way to the Ural Mountainsin Siberia to a labour camp.In 1950, daughter Greta married Daniel Hottman, in 1955, daughter Tina married Peter Isaak, and January11, 1958, daughter Maria married Hans Dyck. By 1961, the families all left the Urals and moved to Kirgisien,where mother Margarete Dyck died in 1975. The Peter Isaak family moved to Germany in 1978 andin 1990, Greta and Maria and their families joined them.

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 23L-R: Albert Dyck, Daniel Hottman, Maria Hottman, Margaret Hottman, Helen Janzen andElenora Janzen. Photo taken in Germany.daughters. Katie also had pictures of the daughters and their familieswhich she passed on to Helena Dyck.In 1998, the descendants of Bernhard Dyck in Canada had a familyreunion. The question came up again, “What ever happened toUncle Peter Dyck?” The pictures which Helena Dyck had receivedfrom Katie Thiessen Dyck many years previous were displayed underUncle Peter’s family pictures at the Dyck reunion. Albert Dyck,the son of Cornelius Dyck and grandson of Bernhard Dyck, had aspecial interest in family history and genealogy and was inspired tocontinue probing for information. At a genealogy class that Albertattended, there was talk about Rempels which was also the maidenname of Uncle Peter’s wife. Albert wrote to a Rempel in Edmontonwho had contacts in Germany and provided him with the address ofa Rempel in Bielefeld, Germany who might know Peter Dyck’s children.Albert wrote a letter, had it translated into German, includedhis address, phone number, e-mail address and copies of the picturesof Uncle Peter’s daughters’ families, and sent it to Germany.When the letter arrived in Bielefeld, it turned out that the person towhom it was addressed had died but the people living at his formerresidence read the letter and took the letter and pictures to church,thinking someone there might recognize some of the people in theOver the years, all contacthad been lost with therest of the Dyck family inCanada who continued towonder what had happenedto Peter Dyck andhis family. Then, whileon a visit to Abbotsford in1971 to see her nephew,John Dyck, and his secondwife, Katie Thiessen, whohad come to Canada afterWorld War II, HelenaDyck, widow of BernhardB. Dyck, discovered thatKatie knew Peter Dyck’sPeter B. Dyck, age 22, stayed inRussia,but his family came to Canada.pictures. Sure enough, all three sisters recognized their families and sister Tina Isaak had her granddaughterVictoria send a response to Albert via e-mail.After Albert received the e-mail, a number of letters were exchanged and it was definitely confirmed that hehad found Uncle Peter Dyck’s daughters. Albert was cautious about phoning to Germany because he wasafraid his Low German would not be good enough. Finally, he and his cousin, Nora Janzen, called to connectwith the German cousins. After the initial contacts, pictures and letters were exchanged and Albertexpressed a strong desire to make a trip to Germany to visit the cousins. This trip did materialize in May of

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 242002 when Albert together with Helen and Nora Janzen went for a two week visit. The German cousinsmet the Canadians at Hanover, immediately recognized each other and realized intuitively that they belongedto each other. Albert died in 2003 but in September of 2005, Bill and Nora Janzen and Henry andHelen Janzen once again visited the cousins in Bielefeld, keeping alive the gift that Albert gave to his extendedDyck family.❋Saturday, November 12, 2005, just over 50people gathered in the Fellowship Hall at BethanyManor in Saskatoon for the annual GenealogyDay sponsored by the Mennonite Historical Societyof Saskatchewan.Doors opened at 8:30 a.m., giving us a chance tobrowse through the numerous books for sale displayedby Vera Falk for MHSS and by LeonardDoell from his own collection. Coffee and cookieswere also available and chairman Ed Schmidt haddifficulty being heard over the enthusiastic buzz ofsound to start the actual proceedings at 9:30 a.m.Left to right: Harvey Martens, guest speaker, Ed Schmidt andMartha Martens, Winkler Manitoba.MHSS GENEALOGY DAYRosemary SlaterAfter his welcome and some introductory remarks,Ed introduced guest speaker Harvey Martens, a softwaredeveloper from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since1988, Harvey Martens has been developing a searchengine called GENVÜ which could be used on astandalone computer to search databases that havebeen converted into a GEDCOM format. (GED-COM, which stands for GEnealogical Data COMmunication,is a standard developed by the FamilyHistory Department of The Church of Jesus Christof Latter Day Saints to provide a flexible, uniformformat for exchanging computerized genealogicaldata. It was first released in October, 1987 andVersion 5.5 was copyrighted in 1995.)Harvey explained that his software is still underdevelopment so is not yet ready for distributionalthough it may be ready soon. He demonstratedsome of the searches he could do currently andasked the group for suggestions on types of searchesthey would like to be able to do. Harvey alsoexplained some features he is working on such asa source index for data originating with variousGEDCOM files and a century calendar that tracksthe lifetimes of individuals. In the afternoon, Harveyagain demonstrated some searches for individualsand spoke about some of the desired features hehoped to include in his software.The last hour of the morning was entitled ‘Sharingthe Journey’. Elmer and Erna Neufeld, Henry Epp,Victor Peters and Ernie Baergen shared informationabout how they became interested in family historyand their current projects.Martha Martens from Winkler, a member of theManitoba Mennonite Historical Society gave us anupdate on the work being done to get the ReinländerGemeinde Buch ready for republication, hopefullyin 2006.Vic Wiebe reported on the Global AnabaptistMennonite Encyclopedia Online (GAMEO), ajoint project of Mennonites in Canada and theUnited States. It will be comprised of two parts;full text documents and alphabetical entries. Vicinvited us to view the encyclopaedia online atgameo.org and to send in submissions, particularlyupdated church histories.After a very enjoyable lunch, we sat back and re-

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 25erlands and Poland May 23 to June 9, 2005 underthe leadership of Walter and Marina Unger. Thegroup saw many interesting and beautiful touristattractions, but the emphasis was on Mennonite andpersonal family history. Vic and Erna attended achurch where Wiebe ancestors had worshipped 400years ago. Vince and Emily identified towns theirancestors had lived in. By the end of the presentation,we were all ready to go on the next tour withthem.Elmer and Erna Neufeld, Saskatoon enjoying the sessions.laxed as Vic and Erna Wiebe, and Vince and EmilyRempel shared with us pictures and experiences oftheir 18 day Mennonite Heritage Trip to the Neth-The day ended with an overview of the morning’spresentation on GENVÜ and by 3:45 p.m. we wereready to call it a day, a very informative and enjoyableday.❋*********************************Grace cont’d from p. 30denominations, people from many different walksof life, people from different parts of the world, allcame to Regina and together created a fellowshipthat would become known as Grace MennoniteChurch of Regina. It was a process of building onone foundation.”“It was also during the war years that manyyoung Mennonite men who were conscientiousobjectors, chose alternate service in the psychiatrichospital in Weyburn, a meat-packing plant inMoose Jaw and a dairy in Regina. They received asubsistence allowance. The larger part of their wageswent to the Red Cross. After the war some of themen returned to their home communities whileothers chose to pursue further education. The citieswere the sites of the learning institutions.”“Together with the lay leadership of men likeC. Blake Friesen, John Boldt (Trossachs) and PeterPankratz ( Truax), deliberate efforts were made totake the formal step of church formation. It was atime of excitement and anticipation. The date setwas May 15, 1955.”“In a relatively short period of time, 1955 to1967, church membership grew from 64 to 135.Add children and other participants and the resultwas an extremely overcrowded church building at1409 Victoria Avenue. The urgency to meet thegrowing needs generated a lot of enthusiasm as wellas support and prompted a building program thatPaul and Lois Dyck were early pastors.at Grace.moved forward with very little delay. At the subsequentdedication service of a new church building,the congregation joined in the following litany: ‘Thatcourage may come to men and women who strugglehere with faith and doubt, with their first sermons, firstSunday School lessons, with feelings of personal, intellectualand spiritual inadequacies, with their responseto the call to service.”“The history of Grace Mennonite Churchcaptures many examples of a caring ministry. It isGod’s enduring faithfulness and our response to itthat enables us to to care for others: Loving God, lovingeach other, making music with my friends. LovingGod, loving each other and the story never ends.” ❋

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 26Mostly About Booksby Victor G.WiebeBook EditorGauthier, David A. manager. The Encyclo-pedia of Saskatchewan. Regina, Saskatchewan.Canadian Plains Research Center.2005. xx,1071 pp. Hardcover. $125.00.Reviewed by Victor G. Wiebe.The promotional material for The Encyclopedia ofSaskatchewan calls it “the most comprehensive sourceof information on Saskatchewan ever produced in a singlevolume” and it is. This is a lavish Saskatchewan Centennialproject. The province and numerous sponsors investedsignificant resources into this publication. With its colourfuland imposing dust jacket, its smooth green binding, thickshiny paper, large type and innumerable illustrations theEncyclopedia was meant to look impressive and it doesimpress.The Encyclopediagives much basic and encyclopedic informationabout Saskatchewan. The work is particularlyrich with information on Aboriginals and Métis, theirbands, individuals and organizations, and also plentifulare biographies of Saskatchewan women and their activities.Many superlatives of Saskatchewan are highlightedwith other areas like natural history, military, politics, andeducation covered in some depth. However, the overallcontent of the Encyclopediais rather inadequate. Generallythe selection of entries and the text reads like the focus ison Saskatchewan here and now and Saskatchewan’s past isnot treated with the equal emphases. For example there isno article on the Linear Accelerator which in its time hada huge impact on high energy physics research and thenuclear industry throughout Canada. It is only mentionedin passing in a couple of entries like the one on CanadianLight Source. This feature will cause the Encyclopedia tobecome quickly dated.Many topics important for knowing Saskatchewan aremissed. If one does basic studying about Saskatchewan, likereading the pamphlet Northern Saskatchewan: A Transformation(Regina, Sask. Northern Affairs 2002) or consultsthe online Dictionary of Canadian Biography one finds dozens of topics and individualsthat are absent. For example there is no entry for “Rupert’sLand” but there is an entry for “Rupert’s Land Purchase”which itself is rather biased since it only tells readers that thepurchase was detrimental to aboriginal people without anyinformation on its benefit to agricultural settlement. Someentries are just odd. There is one titled “Chronic Pain.”This is not about taxes or agricultural commodity prices. Itsimply reports that a named researcher in Regina in 2003received a significant research grant for pain research – butso did scores of others in the hundred years of Saskatchewanhistory but their entries are missed.There is an abundance of wonderful illustrations and chartsin the Encyclopedia. For example the informal photographof Otto Lang is great. The photo of David Carpenter captureshim at his best. Overall I think the number of illustrationsand charts far exceeds the total number of pages. In today’sculture where visual information is so important this featurewill engage all readers and it will also sell the book. Unfortunately,there are also poor quality pictures with some toodark and others eccentric. For example in the picture ofDiefenbaker a shadow all but obscures his face.In the make up of the Encyclopedia, the front matter, hasthe usual half title, title and imprint pages and in additiona rather mediocre map, three self congratulatory pages bysponsors, a contents page, another congratulatory page, thena six page “Message” from David Gauthier in which, in newspaperfashion, he calls himself the “publisher.” I found themessage rambling and misleading. On p.xi Gauthier writes“Read about the province that gave rise to North America’sfirst socialist government …” however, there is no entryon “socialist government” or “government” or “socialist”or “socialism.” Gauthier’s statement leads a normal readernowhere in the Encyclopedia. Next is a “How to use ...”page that is too brief to be helpful and this is followed byacknowledgements and “Friends of the Encyclopedia.” Themain body of the Encyclopediafollows giving 2,200 entriesin one alphabetical sequence of topics from “Aberdeen,”the town, to “Zooplankton,” the organisms, with 21 longeressays interspersed. These essays are generally quite good.Then the end matter includes, Appendix A, a list of the 762

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 27contributors but with out a list of their entries, Appendix B,a listing of the entries under 22 themes and lastly an indexof names of individuals who are only referred to in the bodyof entries. This last index was unexpected and useful. Thereis no comprehensive index.For Mennonites there are a surprising number of entrieson the different Mennonite denominations and the entrieson Bible Schools are also extensive for a non-Mennonitebook. Most of these entries are by experts in the subjectand well written and most list a reference or two for furtherreading. I found few errors in the Encyclopedia but thefirst paragraph in the entry “Mennonite Settlements” inerror notes that Mennonites moved into northern Germanyafter 1525. The area they moved into at the time was Polandand it was only after 1540s and again it was Polandthat offered them military exemption. While the entriesare good relating to religious organizations there are onlythree biographical entries, as noted in Appendix B, for allreligious leaders of the province and none are Mennonite.David Toews, J. J. Thiessen, Peter J. Klassen and Edgar Eppare all missing. The absence of this entire class of religiousleaders is quite puzzling. One other surprising absence isno entry for Rosthern Junior College. Altjhough contributionsof individual Mennonites in all aspects of the life ofSaskatchewan are noted in more than a dozen biographies.only occasionally are their Mennonite connections noted.Here are found Arnold Boldt, the athlete, Jacob Brown,the professor, Mohammed H.K. Shokeir, the geneticist,Gordon Thiessen, the banker and others.For all its wonderful content, and there is much wonderfulcontent, I encountered a number of disappointmentswith the Encyclopedia, most of them with the editorialwork and layout. I kept wondering why the editors didn’tconsult an expert on encyclopedias. First is its size andweight. The book is too heavy. My rule of thumb is that ifI can’t easily one hand the book then it’s just too heavy. Icannot imagine a grade six student taking the book off theshelf with out having it spill from his hands and crash tothe floor. Libraries should split the book in two and have itrebound. I found some of the entry names baffling. Thereis no entry under “land tenure” or “land ownership;” onemust find it under “Legal Land Survey.” The informationon “Block Settlement” is found under “Ethnic Block Settlements.”Encyclopedias are not known for their humourbut to find that Sarah Binks contributed her own entry isfunny. Unfortunately her entry is not in the expected “S”part but alphabetized as “Binks, Sarah.” There is a greatscarcity of SEE references which impedes the reader. Thecaptioning of photographs gives greater prominence toacknowledging the source rather than to the actual captionof the photographs. Then there is no text accompanying theCourtney Milne extraordinary photographs from which Iconclude that they are only added to make the Encyclopedialook pretty. Milne’s photographs deserve better.I do not want to leave the impression that this is a badEncyclopedia. It is as I note above, a good comprehensivesource of information about Saskatchewan. It should bein every school and public library and if you have only onebook about Saskatchewan you should consider this one. Ionly hoped it was better.A final comment - as a librarian I know that the day of theencyclopedia as a printed book is over. The children in ourschools today are the first generation born to the internet.They expect to find the best encyclopedic type informationon the internet and not in printed books. As a consequence,for this work to have an impact on our students and beused by them it must also be electronic and accessible forfree, which it is not. Today, the only reason to publish alarge encyclopedia in paper is not to make a source of informationbut to make a monument for the SaskatchewanCentennial. ❋Thiessen, Edna Schroeder, and AngelaShowalter. A life displaced : a Mennonitewoman’s flight from war-torn Poland.Kitchener, Ontario. Pandora Press. Scottdale,Pennsylvania. Herald Press, 2000.xii,217,(4) pp. Series: Mennonite reflections,vol. 3. Illustrated paper covers. Price:$25.00. Order from Pandora Press.Reviewed by Victor G. Wiebe.This is the personal story of Edna Schroeder who grew upin a Mennonite family in the town of Deutsch Kazun inPoland, west of Warsaw. Edna was 13 years old when theWorld War II started. She tells of the troubles and trialsof a young woman who tries to comprehend what war isdoing to her world.Her early world was the comfortable Mennonite farm andthe villages of Deutsch Kazun and Deutsch Wysmyslewhich are in the rich farm land on the flood plain of theVistula (Wisła) river. The Mennonites have been in thisarea for hundreds of years but Edna’s extended vicinitywas also largely Polish and it included neighbours whowere Russians, Germans, and a Jewish family. Edna’sstory is a narrative of the evils of World War II in Polandand the great misery and many deaths associated with itbut it is specifically the personal story of Edna’s survival.

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 28World War II was a catastrophe for everyone in thecommunity. Her family was one that did not flee withthe German army as the Russians pushed them back toGermany. The entire Mennonite community in the twovillages was destroyed.This Mennonite community is in the heart of postWorld War I Poland not the northern Vistula deltalowlands. When World War II started the reaction ofthe Polish government was to round up and control theGerman population, including German speaking Mennonites,who were scattered through the Polish nation.The Polish government dealt harshly with Mennonitesas they did with all other “Germans.” However, soonthe German army “liberated” the area. While the Mennonitesnow were freed from Polish control they weresubject to German military conscription and Nazification.Though economic conditions improved for mostMennonites, deadly evils descended on Edna’s non-Germanfriends. Four years later the Germans faced defeatand most Mennonites were evacuated west as the Russianand Polish National armies advanced. Edna Schroeder’sfamily did not flee. Now these Mennonite communitieswere destroyed. The Polish police arrested Edna’s fatherand he just disappeared. Edna next spent several years inPolish labour camps alternately starving and labouringto exhaustion but also enduring before fleeing to Germanyand eventually to Saskatchewan. In her escape shereceived considerable and unexpected help from MCC.At the end of her narrative we learn that Edna was able tomarry, raised a farm family and joined the PhiladelphiaMennonite Brethren Church in Watrous.This book provides an exciting and personal history ofan area of Poland that is not well known to most Mennonites.It is a well written narrative crafted by AngelaShowalter from narrated tapes. The work contains severalmaps and illustrations as well as facsimile documentsfrom MCC and other sources. ❋Two MHSS Board Members Receive The SaskatchewanCentennial MedalBy Leonard DoellOn October 25 2005, Dick H. Epp and Vera A total of 67 persons received medals that eveningFalk were among the honoured recipients of at the ceremony held in Saskatoon Hilton Gardens.the Centennial Medal at a special ceremony as part Lieutenant Governor Lynda Haverstock presentedof the ongoing celebration of Saskatchewan’s 100th the awards to the Saskatchewan citizens. The criteriaanniversary as a province of Canada.for choosing candidates was as follows: The SaskatchewanCentennial Medal celebrates individualswho give of their time and energy to improve thelives of others. These outstanding individual citizensexemplify values that define our Province,said Haverstock, including work ethic, communityservice and foresight. Recipients were selected basedon therecommendation of governmental and non-governmentalorganizations and members of the LegislativeAssembly.Dick H. Epp is a gifted writer and photographer andhas used his skills to produce material for the educationalmedia. Dick has written several booksand has been the editor of several journals andhelped to organize school and family reunions. Hehas served on the board of the Mennonite HistoricalSociety for 31 years, of which 20 were as President,

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 29Linda Haverstock, Lieutenant Governor of Sasjkatchewan,poses for a picture with Dick Epp after presenting theCentennial medal to him.and is currently the editor of their SaskatchewanMennonite Historian. Dick is presently retired from40 years as a teacher in the Saskatchewan Schoolsystem. He is an active member of the Nutana ParkMennonite Church. A very worthy recipient of theSaskatchewan Centennial Medal.Vera Falk is a very active community volunteer.She has a deep love for history and a concern thatit be passed down to future generations. She is anactive member of the Saskatchewan GenealogicalSociety, the Dundurn Museum Association, TheVera Falk alsoreceived theCentennialAward fromLynda Haverstock,LieutenantGovernor of thisprovince.Saskatchewan History and Folklore Society andthe Mennonite Historical Society of Saskatchewan.Vera is also an active member of the Pleasant PointMennonite Church and a correspondent for anumber of local newspapers. She has worked verydiligently in the community for many years and herefforts will be an asset to generations to come. Veraand her husband Werner operate a grain and beeffarm near Dundurn, Saskatchewan.There were also a number of other Mennonitepeople honored in Saskatchewan for their generouscontributions to the rich history of this Province.**********************************************************************************************Grace Mennonite Church, Regina Celebrates a FaithJourney of Fifty YearsBy Tony NickelJuly 23 and 24 of 2005 saw many past and currentGrace Mennonite Church families share in story,song, praise and fellowship, the many reasons forcelebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Church.Actually, the GMC story started long before 1955and that part of the history was also recognized. Immigration,the 30’s depression and World War II allplayed a part in its genesis. Clearly, the experiencesof radical changes were a big part of the contextwithin which Grace was founded. The celebrantsembraced the positive experiences of the past fiftyplus years, but also found it needful to remember thepainful and difficult ones as well and give praise toa faithful God of unconditional love who led Gracethrough its own wilderness experiences. He is God ofthe mountain, but also God of the valley.The celebration started with hugs, kisses andspecial greetings ... and food, of course. The Saturdayevening featured a jeopardy-type activity which enabledeveryone to walk back down memory lane: eg.What name was given to the first communion tableat the new church? Who was the first official pastor?

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 30Who were the gentlemen who sold the old mansefor a herd of cattle? So many memories ... so manystories. The Sunday morning service was filled withsongs of praise. It featured a mass choir that includedmembers from the Laotian and Chinese Fellowshipsas well as old timers. Piano, organ and a string quartetaccompanied the choir. The acoustics of GraceChurch again proved their veracity as that inspirationalsong, Old 606, was sung. What an awesomeexperience!Construction for the new Grace Church began in 1968.The new Grace Church as it seen todayA number of former pastors were able to attend.Pastor Fred Unruh (1969-1975) encouraged theworshippers, saying, “We celebrate God’s abundantgoodness that has nurtured us here.” KenBechtel, Saskatchewan conference pastor, alsoaddressed those gathered. “We and you also sharethis inheritance as God’s own people ... in order tograce yet others.”Excerpts from the book, Celebrate the Journey,capture in picture and word the faithfulness of themany people who had an integral part in shapingthat journey. The preface written by Pastors Karenand Terry Zimmerly puts the celebrative journeyinto perspective: “The Bible records our humanjourney as one filled with mystery and discovery.The biblical story is one of faith and faithlessness,... an attempt to make sense out of life. ... We offerup thanks to God for our story. On the pages thatfollow we glimpse the guiding hand of God who,through common men and women, formed a communityof support, faith and purpose.”Excerpts:“Chapter One sets the stage for a review ofthe history of Grace Mennonite Church of Reginaand making sense of that history in today’s context.... What does the reign of God look and sound likein the GMC community today? It sounds like thevoice of the cancer patient, Ray Cameron who said,‘Yeah, this is my church home! I’m home!’ ‘Beinga multicultural family, we have felt very welcomedand loved in this community.’ The cultural characterof GMC is significantly different and distinct fromwhat it was in the 1950s and earlier. ... the GMCfellowship is enriched by the diversity of culture andlanguage, which can be viewed as barriers, or as opportunitiesto grow. ... We might also very well learnhow to listen to the voice of God together.”“The story starts in Truax and Trossachs, two smallvillages in southern Saskatchewan. It portrays thehelp and generosity offered to the immigrant familiesby an extended Mennonite community. ... ‘TheCanadian Mennonite Mission Board encouragedpastors and Aeltesters from organized churches tovisit these new fledgling congregations that hadsprung up as a result of a mass immigration fromUkraine.’ Among the visiting pastors was AeltesterJakob B. Wiens from the Ebenfeld MennoniteChurch in Herschel.”“How apt the title of this section (Building on OneFoundation: the Regina story - from the 40s - 1955)turned out to be. People from many differentMennonite communities, people from many otherGrace cont’d on p. 25

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 31New Resources Availableby Gladys ChristensenThere are two new resources available to researchers visitingthe archives. Individuals searching for information on ancestorswho homesteaded in the area now known as Saskatchewanwill be interested in spending time looking at both.If you are searching individuals who homesteaded in theHague Osler Reserve you should also use the book “MennoniteHomesteaders on the Hague-Osler Reserve” compiled byLeonard Doell and the Mennonite Historical Society ofSaskatchewan. It contains cross references to the ReinlånderGemeinde Buch 1880-1903. and the Hague-Osler MennoniteReserve 1895-1995. All of these books are available in theresearch library at the MHSS archives.Saskatchewan Homestead IndexThis project was undertaken by the Saskatchewan GenealogicalSociety in partnership with the Saskatchewan Archives Board,Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation, Saskatchewan Institute ofApplied Arts and Technology, Information Services Corporation,Canadian Genealogy Centre, Metis National Council andPioneer Grain Company Ltd.It is a database containing approximately 360,000 references tothe individuals who filed for homesteads in Saskatchewan andincludes Metis and South African Scrips and Soldier Grants.The database may be searched by name, by land description orin the area of additional remarks.When the researcher has located the correct individual or landrecord, it is then possible to use the file number given to accessthe original homestead file. In Saskatchewan the originalhomestead files are located at the Saskatchewan Archives Boardin Saskatoon and microfilm copies are available at the SaskatchewanArchives Board Regina office.For those individuals with access to the internet, you maysearch the database online at www.saskhomesteads.com. Thereare links to various other websites including the SaskatchewanArchives Board and the Information Services Corporation.Also included are instructions on obtaining copies of docments.For those individuals who do not have access to the internet,this database is available by visiting the archives of theMennonite Historical Society of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.Many of the volunteers and individuals who were involved inthe project were in attendance at the annual seminar of theSaskatchewan Genealogical Society held in Regina October 21– 23, 2005. The Saskatchewan Homestead Index was officiallylaunched at that time and those in attendance had opportunityto search the database.HOME – Historical Ownership MappingEndeavourThis project was compiled by R & M Computer Systems inassociation with Information Services Corporation, SaskatchewanGenealogical Society, University of Saskatchewan, SARMand the Saskatchewan Archives Board.There are four components to the CD:♦ Map and database♦ History of Land Grants♦ Programs and Forms♦ Publication entitled Understanding Western Canada’s DominionLand Survey SystemAlso included on the CD is Adobe Acrobat Reader, Version 7,which is used to access the forms, reports and histories.Researchers should first read the document “History of LandGrants” as it contains excellent information. The “Programsand Forms” portion includes application forms and informationon obtaining copies of original land grants, homestead filesand also an application for the Century Family Farm award.To use the database, click on “Help” for an explanation of thetoolbar and directions on how to do a search using either thename or the land description. When you have located thequarter of land you are searching for you may zoom in – it willgive you the name of the individual as well as the date that theoccupants received title to the land. It is important to note thisis not the date the individual first made application or occu-Resources cont’d on p. 4

SASKATCHEWAN MENNONITE HISTORIAN 32From the PastThe best of prophets of the future is thepast…ByronSaskatchewan Centennial RemindersThe above photo tells the story of Saskatchewan harvesting north of Langham in 1915. The AdvanceRumley Oil Pull tractor is seen on the farm of Peter C. Epp. Photo courtesy, Reuben Epp, Kelowna. Thethreshing photo below was the outfit of Diedrich Epp with his Fairbanks Morse 15-30 HP Gas Tractor,1912 model in Eigenheim, near Rosthern. A similar model can be seen in the Western DevelopmentMuseum in Saskatoon. Can readers give us the names of the people appearing on the photos? dhe