Preservings 11 (1997) - Plett Foundation

Friesen’s grandfather, Klaas R. Friesen, and
Jakob Reimer (1871-1951) would be a third
cousin to our fathers, and Walter Reimer
would be our fourth cousin, and Major General
Dennis Reimer would be a fifth cousin
to Ralph’s children. Likewise all the descendants
of Mrs. David Klassen (Kleine
Gemeinde delegate to North America in
1873), nee Aganetha S. Brandt (1816-1904),
who settled in Rosenhof, Manitoba, would
also be related. Another large clan is that of
Sarah Siemens (1809-85) who married
Cornelius Janzen (1812-64), Neukirch,
Molotschna, and whose descendants include
Dr. Royden Loewen, Mennonite Chair, University
of Winnipeg.
Comments.
So in a long, round-a-bout way, that explains
how Dennis Joe Reimer, a barefoot
Mennonite boy in Medford, Oklahoma, came
to be Chief of Staff of the United States
Army. We are proud of you Dennis and welcome
you to the family circle. But be forewarned,
don’t invite us to the Pentagon for
dinner just yet, there are tens of thousands
of us, spread out all over North and South
America, and we’re very hungry people.
Acknowledgements.
I am endebted to my friend and “cousin”
Jo Ferguson, Midwest City, Oklahoma, for
her assistance in locating the family of Major-General
Dennis Reimer and the information
and photographs she sent me. Futher
information about Major-General Dennis J.
Reimer is found in Cmdr. William L.
Hendrix, “Army Chief of Staff Honoured by
ROA,” in The Officer, IXXIII, No. 6, June
1997. I acknowledge the research and genealogical
genius of Henry Schapansky, New
Westminster, B.C. who was able to track the
Reimer family lineage in record time and
provide me with the genealogical skeleton
necessary to flesh out the family tree and to
identify various connections: H. Schapansky
to author September 23, 1997.
Dyann Canon, a
Kleine
Gemeinder?
Apparently movie actress Dyann Canon
is also a Siemens descendant being a relative
of Steinbach pioneer Abraham S.
Friesen (1848-1916) and thus also a member
of the Kleine Gemeinde von Riesen dynasty.
She is the daughter of Ben Friesen of
Oregon and/or Washington State and has a
brother, David Friesen, a famous French
horn player. Friend and “cousin” Jerry
Barkman, Dallas, Oregon, is currently attempting
to obtain more information regarding
this connection for Preservings. Anyone
with additional information is this regard is
also asked to contact the editor.
No. 11, December, 1997
HSHS Board Meeting,
June 19, 1997.
The meeting was chaired by President Orlando
Hiebert with Henry Fast, Jake Doerksen,
Doris Penner, Irene Kroeker, Lynette Plett, Lois
Loeppky, Randy Kehler, Ralph Friesen, Royden
Loewen, D. Plett, and John Dyck in attendance.
Business:
1) Newly elected directors, Lynette Plett and
Ralph Friesen, were welcomed to the meeting
by HSHS President Orlando Hiebert.
2) Paul Loewen was appointed to the Board of
Directors effective immediately.
3) Date for Annual General Meeting (A.G.M.)
was set for January 16, 1998, Friday, or January
17, 1998. Topic of the A. G. M. to be the
Chortitzer Church and people, in honour of the
centennial of the worship house at Chortitz,
with details to be arranged by a committee consisting
of Orlando Hiebert, Irene Kroeker,
Randy Kehler, Lois Loeppky and Jake
Doerksen.
4) The June 1997 issue of Preservings was released
and accepted by the board. The December
issue will focus on Chortitzer to tie in with
the A.G.M.
5) Ralph Friesen and D. Plett will look into the
feasibility of organizing a writer’s workshop to
assist our many writers improve their writing
skills.
6) Irene Kroeker resigned from the Board.
7) Lynette Plett is appointed Corporate Secretary.
Paul Loewen
The HSHS is pleased to announce that
Paul Loewen of Steinbach has been appointed
to the Board of Directors, effective June 19,
1997. Paul is a graduate of Tabor College,
Hillsboro, Kansas, with a Bachelor of Arts
Degree, and a graduate of Bethel Theological
Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota, with a
Master of Divinity Degree. In 1993 he received
an Honarary Doctorate, Business Administration
Degree.
Paul is the President of Loewen Windows
of Steinbach. He is married to Mary Rempel,
with two daughters and one son. They reside
in Steinbach where they attend the Emmanuel
Evangelical Free Church. As such Paul speaks
for many local residents who are not directly
involved with a Mennonite Church, but who
are very interested in our local heritage and
culture.
The HSHS is pleased to have Paul join
our board. We trust that this new position will
enable him to persue his historical interests
and contribute to various aspects of heritage
preservation.
21
Museum Director
Resigns.
Harv Klassen, managing director of the
Mennonite Heritage Museum, Steinbach,
Manitoba, has resigned, effective December
31, 1997. Harv served in this position
during the difficult years when the Museum
was dealing with a huge mountain of a
crushing debt load. He leaves the office as
the liquidation of the debt is eminent and
feels this is a good time for someone else to
step in.
Photo of Harv Klassen courtesy of Carillon,
August 10, 1997.
Paul Loewen, appointed to HSHS board of directors.
Photo courtesy of Carillon News, June 30,
1997.