Vol. 35, No. 1 (Mar. 2009)
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VOL XXXV, NO. 1 - MARCH 2009 Friesens in Altona, was willing to tackle the project, strongly supported by persons like Ted Friesen, J. Winfield Fretz and others. It would take a number of years and now stands, in its three volumes, written by Frank (now deceased), and then helped by Ted Regehr, as a Mennonite monument to that idea. My involvement would be limited later on to reader services and promotion of sales to a limited degree. In the early 1970s things changed quite a bit. The celebration of the centennial (1874-1974) of Mennonite settlement in Historian Manitoba had become the topical issue of the day. MMHS undertook to lead these A PUBLICATION OF THE MENNONITE HERITAGE CENTRE and THE CENTRE FOR MB STUDIES IN CANADA celebrations. A special Steering Committee to direct the planning was set up, and I gave some time to serve as executive secretary with an office in Altona where we were teaching after returning from University of Minnesota graduate studies about that time. Gerhard Ens began a program of Low German Mennonite history lectures on CFAM around 1972, devoted at first to promotion of the museum well established in Steinbach by then, and then moving into promotion of the Mennonite story as a whole. One of the projects where I became An evening playing Mennonite circle games on November 21, 2008 in Winkler brought fun personally quite involved was that of and laughter to the Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society 50th Anniversary Celebration. erecting a cairn in honour of the one-time Photo credit: Conrad Stoesz. land scout and minister, Heinrich Wiebe (1839-1897) of Edenburg. Unveiled also Heritage Hunting: The MMHS in My Life, 1946–2008 in 1972, it stands to this day at Cairn Corner about a mile northeast of Gretna at by Lawrence Klippenstein the junction of PR 243 and Hwy. 30. Part of serving as secretary had to do with here has been quite a bit of discussion the MMHS which would emerge th preparing promotional material and Tabout the 50 anniversary of the eventually twelve years later. getting out the word of centennial Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society I was not present either when a group of celebrating to various communities (MMHS) this past year. Perhaps that men gathered in 1957 and 1958 to throughout Manitoba. helped me to accept a small new formally organize the group. Of the ones One of our larger early public projects assignment to write a short history of present, Ted Friesen of Altona and was staging a centennial reenactment, in MMHS. I seemed to fit the niche of Gerhard Ens of Winnipeg, then the 1973, of the visit of the Mennonite writer, I was told, because I have been youngest participants, remain in our delegates of south Russia to visit the involved with Society affairs throughout midst. I am much aware now of several proposed new settlement area in the 50 years, and indeed a little longer. features of those discussions. One is that southeastern Manitoba in 1873. The trek Actually MMHS did not exist in 1946, establishing a museum rose quickly to began at the Upper Fort Garry gate near but there were antecedents of what was to become a main agenda item for the group. today’s The Forks, and proceeded to the come. A good deal of important ground Some organizing work along this line had old Hudson Bay post (then still standing) work had been done prior to 1958. I did in fact been going on in Steinbach about in St. Anne and other points of what not know either that I would meet a the same time, there led by John C. would become the East Reserve after the leading person in the prep crew in the Reimer and others. Mennonites arrived. person of Paul J. Schaeffer when I entered Museum work would begin seriously in The central celebration year, 1974, was the Mennonite Collegiate Institute the early 1960s. John C. Reimer and J. J. quite busy. A number of significant (Gretna, MB) in 1946 – my final year. We Reimer quickly became leading persons in events, music, drama, art exhibits, used a German-language text book on the project. About the same time MMHS publications, etc., resulted from the work Mennonite history which Mr. Schaeffer found itself connecting with its Ontario of several sub-committees and the MMHS had written (actually four volumes when sister historical society to discuss the board as a whole. We mailed out several he got done – Woher? Wohin? writing of a multi- volumed history of issues of a special newsletter, called 100, Mennoniten! [The Origins and Future of Mennonites in Canada. Frank Epp, then (cont’d on p. 2) the Mennonites]. It was a good theme for working with Canadian Mennonite at Page 2 Page 3 and provided regular reports of what was Recent Books happenings in local communities all over the province. The local papers of several Colin P. Neufeldt, compiler and editor. Genealogy and Family History Unsere Familie: A Pictorial History of communities seemed ready to publish By Alf Redekopp longer and shorter historical items which I the Ratzlaff, Janzen, Pauls, and Schmidt Families (Edmonton, AB: Private submitted during this period. We had publication, 2007) 332 pp. This family Mennonite Reporter, the successor to The Michael Ignatieff and Ignatyevo Colony history book focuses on the author’s Canadian Mennonite, strongly committed relatives from his maternal side, with the also to publishing much related material. stranger agreed to stay for a few days. His recent visitor to the Mennonite name was Nicholas Ignatieff and his permanent primary reference point being his great Soon after I arrived at the Conference of AHeritage Centre asked me if there home was in Toronto. He was the son of the grandparents Erich P. Ratzlaff (1890- Mennonites in Canada (now Mennonite was any connection between the recently last Russian Minister of Education during the 1979) who married Agneta Janzen (1892- reign of Tsar Nicholas II and his grandfather 1976); and, Hermann Pauls (1885-1946) Church Canada) as historian-archivist, in named leader of the Liberal Party of was the Count Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatieff, th who married Wilhelmine Schmidt (1892- 1975, the Archives began to publish Canada, Michael Ignatieff and the who in the second half of the 19 century had 1982); hence the names Ratzlaff, Janzen, Mennonite Historian which would then Russian Mennonite settlement with a become well known as the panslavic Russian Diplomat in Europe. Our visitor knew about his Pauls and Schmidt in the title. These first carry a good deal of MMHS news and similar sounding name. Others may have grandfather’s dealings with a Mennonite group generation people were forced to flee their reporting in the ensuing years. Its own wondered the same. which had bought the count’s estate. He also home in the Mennonite village of newsletter, edited by Royden Loewen of told us an anecdote in connection with his In 1888 the Chortitza Colony bought grandfather’s possessions in Ignatyevo. The Wymyschle, Poland at the end of World Steinbach, began to appear in December, 15,470 hectares of land from the Countess count’s wife was an American lady who had War II. This book consists of the 1984, and now entitled Heritage Posting, Ignatieff in the the Bachmut district of the expressed the wish that the village, in which historical family photos and documents, th the count’s buildings formed a rather has just begun its 25 year of publication. province of Ekaterinoslav, beside the significant complex, should be named New all done in original “colour” or as well MMHS Board 25 Years Ago (1984). Back (l-r): Rhinehart Friesen, John Dyck, Doreen Klas- current day (2006) photos of their The fork-in-the-road of 1979 was for sen, Ed Schellenberg, Abe Dueck. Front: Ted Friesen, Delbert Plett, Ruth Bock. Photo credit: Krivoy Torets River and close to the York. This request was granted, and thus the MMHS a kind of surge experience. That Kahr’kov-Mariupl railway line. Many of once unpretentious settlement in the Ukraine descendants. MHC 50:58. retained the name after the world-renowned A second book printed in the same high move allowed the museum, Mennonite the landless families from the Chortitza That left such fields as publishing, Reserve,” “Heinrich Wiebe, 1829-1897,” American city. quality by Friesens Corporation of Altona Heritage Village (its current name) to settled in this colony, founding seven “…Our visitor…had after the revolution of heritage site preservation, heritage and “Bergthaler Settlement of the West 1917 fled to England with his parents. There he is entitled . The Neufelds & Borns of become an organization independent of villages. In popular speech the villages outreach and awareness through the arts Reserve, 1878-1882” as a contribution to and his four brothers had studied, and after Kubanka: A Pictorial History of Two MMHS which had birthed it some 20 were often simply known by their 1924 the whole family came to Canada. and education, for MMHS to work on – this larger project. A small family book Families, also edited by Colin Neufeldt, years earlier, if the concept given life in numbers. My father, for example, grew up Nicholas at first worked as an engineer at the Kevin Neufeldt and David Wiebe work enough for years to come. I recall on Klippensteins from both Reserves Hydro-Transmission Company of Ontario, but 1958 can be part of the counting. in “number two”, which was actually Neufeldt (Lethbridge, AB: Private joining Adolf Ens in checking a (though I’m not into genealogy all that at the time of his visit in Reesor he was already Independent meant obtaining its own called Romanowka.