-being the Journal of the Flemish Mennonite Historical Society Inc. Preservings $20.00 No. 23, December, 2003

“A people who have not the pride to record their own history will not long have the virtues to make their history worth recording; and no people who are indifferent to their past need hope to make their future great.” — Jan Gleysteen

The Old Colonists - Following Jesus

In 1875 the Reinländer ment at Peace River, Alberta. By the Gemeinde was formed in the 1990s the largest Old Colony congre- West Reserve, Manitoba, gation in had been established Canada, under the leadership of in Southern Ontario, mainly by return- Ältester Johann Wiebe (1837- ees from . 1905), Rosengart, formerly of the In 1922-26 some 6000 or approxi- Fürstenlandt Colony, South Rus- mately half of the Old Colonists in sia (see Preservings, No. 14, Canada, chose to suffer the bitter fate of pages 49-72). The new commu- exile rather than to submit to the arbi- nity consisted of immigrants from trary suppression of religious freedoms, the Chortitza “old” Colony and the illegal expropriation of property and its daughter settlements in the the resulting oppression and hostile cul- Black Sea region who were, tural landscape. Mexico provided a therefore, known as “Alt- harsh physical environment but proved Kolonier” or “Old Colonists”. to be fertile ground for the growth of The Reinländer Gemeinde at- the Old Colony church, spawning new tempted nothing less than the res- settlements within Mexico as well as in toration of the Apostolic Order (1958), and . in the tradition of their Flemish For 128 years the Old Colony Anabaptist forebears of Refor- have persevered through mation times who had suffered a exile, poverty and harassment, blazing a century of fierce persecution for trail of Biblical faithfulness across North their faith (see Preservings, No. and South America. In this issue of 22, pages 1-44). The Flemish Preservings we proudly feature the Old included a paradigm of Colonists, so often misunderstood and grassroots democracy, commit- denigrated by their assimilationistic and ment to the Gemeinde over indi- progressivistic Mennonite co-religion- vidualism, pure orthodox teach- ists. We celebrate the immense contri- ings (“Rein” meaning pure), butions which they have made to the yieldedness or surrender to the Christian church, serving as a light and will of God (Gelassenheit), tol- model of a people separated unto God eration for other faiths, penitence in the “old” New Testament tradition of and following Jesus (Nachfolge) “following Jesus”. as the key to salvation, and a vis- The Editor. ible church separated from the world in the spirit of medieval monasticism. Inside This Issue The Reinländer quickly grew to become one of the major Feature Articles ...... 3-44 branches of the Mennonite President’s Report ...... 45 church and, certainly, the largest Editorial ...... 46-50 within the Flemish-Russian stream (comparable to the Guest Essay ...... 51-52 and Old Orders among the Letters ...... 53-55 American-Swiss Mennonites). Susanna Peters, age 7, Colony Riva Palacios, Bolivia, showing her younger News ...... 56-67 By the turn of the century the de- sisters how to correctly ride a horse. Susanna is the daughter of Isaak Peters and nomination had established suc- has 11 siblings. Devout Christian formation as the sure path to salvation, respect Articles ...... 68-125 cessful colonies near Hague and for elders and authority, and genuine family values and strong work ethic are an Material Culture ...... 126-132 Swift Current, Saskatchewan, essential part of Old Colony faith and culture. Such large families are a blessing Book Reviews ...... 133-139 and later, also a pioneering settle- of God and the backbone of the church. Photo - Kennert Giesbrecht, Men. Post, May 16, 2003, page 4. Introduction - The Old Colonists - Following Jesus

Originating in the Flemish Gemeinden of Impe- ing in the exile of many conservatives from Canada. and a religious culture which exalted rial Russia, 3800 Old Colonists established them- During the 1920s some 8,000 Old Colonists, individualism and spiritualism. The editorial out- selves on the treeless plain between the Red River Sommerfelder and Chortitzers fled Canada rather lines the story of Ludwig Keller and how his ideas and the Pembina Hills in Manitoba in 1875-78. The than compromise their faith. There is always a so- and writings became the ideological vehicle for re- Reinländer Gemeinde has steadily expanded ever cial cost for the oppression of minorities. Marjan jecting the Gospel-centric teachings of Menno since, becoming the largest - and certainly, the fast- Blok has written that over half of Antwerp migrated Simons and for attacking and denigrating his spiri- est growing - branch of the Flemish-Russian Men- after its fall in 1585 and that the would tual descendants. nonite diaspora. A quarter of never have had its “golden age” had it not been for Some of the earliest scholarly writings about the descendants - some 150-200,000 souls - would the Flemish emigres and the money and skills they Old Colonists such as The Old Colony Menno- proudly claim ancestral and spiritual roots in this brought (Pres., No. 22, page 26). I have estimated nites: Dilemmas of Ethnic Minority Life (Baltimore, community (Endnote). Comparable membership that “harrying the good people out of the land” in 1969) by Calvin Redekop, and They Sought a Coun- statistics for other denominations are: Mennonite the 1920s is still costing the Canadian GNP some try (Berkeley, 1971) by Leonard Sawatzky evalu- Church USA 110,000; Amish 83,000; Mennonite $3,000,000,000.00 annually in lost revenue. ated them in terms of how well and quickly they Church Canada 37,000; M.B. Canada 34,000. Many capable writers among the Old Colonists assimilated - the narrative of modernization. The Previous issues of Preservings (No.s 14-17) have left a rich literary legacy. We are proud to Old Colonists, of course, did not fare well by this focused on the founding and early years of the publish two of these writings. The historical ac- standard as the story of the Flemish Mennonites Reinländer Gemeinde in Manitoba. This issue will count “Schools and Community” by teacher David since the days of the was one of faith- follow the Old Colonists through their unfolding Harder creates an authoritative narrative for their fulness to Christo-centric faith and heroic resis- history as they established new settlements in history in Mexico up to 1960. I first read the ac- tance to assimilation and proselytization whether in Mexico, Belize, Bolivia and Paraguay. count of the suffering and death of deacon Isaak Flanders, Zeeland, Frisland or Polish-Prussia. Un- Where other sectarian movements among the Dyck in 1944, written by his father Ältester Isaak fortunately, some Mennonite academics have seem- Russian Mennonites (with the exception of the M. Dyck (1889-1969), Blumenfeld, Mexico, while ingly failed to realize how important it is for a com- Kleine Gemeinde), set out to repudiate and renounce on a flight from Winnipeg to Toronto last October. munity to remain firmly rooted and anchored within their traditional Christo-centric faith, the vision of I was deeply moved by Ohm Isaak’s description of its tradition and “....to resist the siren call of mod- the Old Colonists was to return to the purity and his son’s suffering and death which provides a strik- ernization and accommodation that has seduced so zeal of their Anabaptist ancestors, hence the name ing voice for the genuine piety and deep biblical much of western civilization,” Eric Margolis, Wpg. “Reinländer”, speaking for the Flemish vision of religiosity of the Old Colonists. Sun, Oct. 19, 2003. “pure” teaching and a “pure” church. The Old Colo- Sjouke Voolstra has been referred to by Dr. Regrettably, also, the condescending tone estab- nists have experienced sacrifice, hardship and per- Walter Klaassen as “....the most important recent lished by such academic works has been adopted as secution (and errors), but have also manifested stead- interpreter of .” In his book, Menno the voice for much of the writing about conservative fastness in the New Testament tradition of peni- Simons: His Image and Message (Newton, Kan- Mennonites in Canada and particularly by those tar- tence and following Jesus. sas, 1997), 109 pages, Voolstra portrays Menno as geting them for conversion to so-called Evangelical The persecution of in South Dakato a faithful parish priest who sought to return the religious culture. Scholarship has evolved and be- as well as the Kleine Gemeinde in Kansas, speaks sacraments to their apostolic purity. Voolstra’s well- come more sophisticated and immigrant and minor- for the anti-Pacifist, anti-German mania which swept reasoned treatise places Menno within the context ity groups are now examined from different perspec- North America during and after World War One. of the Roman Catholic church assuming leadership tives, including their strategies and success in resist- The Old Order Mennonites of Ontario had more after 1536 of a part of the diverse Melchorite ing assimilation. These more nuanced studies cer- difficulties securing military exemptions than the Anabaptist movement. In the process Menno es- tainly recognize the immense contributions which conservatives of Western Canada who were pro- tablished a new denomination which sought to be a the Old Colonists have made to society with their tected by their Privilegium negotiated prior to immi- discipled, visible church “without spot and wrinkle.” ethos of resettlement and pioneering (the frontier ex- gration in 1874. In the U.S.A. oppression of An abridgement of Voolstra’s book forms a valu- perience). Several articles from back issues of Men- Hutterites, Amish, Conservative and Old Order able companion piece to the articles on our Flemish nonite Life from the 1940s and ‘50s by writers J. Mennonites was inflicted by bigots and lynch mobs Mennonite forebears published in Issue 22 of Winfred Fretz, Walter Schmiedehaus and Charles as well as by government agencies such as the Army Preservings, outlining the origins and antecedents Burkhart speak of earlier times which do not yet (Pres., No. 19, pages 53-54). In Western Canada for many of the teachings and practices of our mod- reflect the negative viewpoints referred to. most Mennonites lived in territorial block settle- ern-day conservative and traditionalist Mennonites. Henry Schapansky has correctly pointed out ments making individual acts of violence and ter- Amish, Old Order and Conservative Menno- that “Historical writing in respect of the Russian rorism more difficult. nites are accorded a relatively respectable status Mennonites has long been dominated by By 1916 public opinion had turned even more within Swiss-American Mennonite culture. By Brüdergemeinde apologists. Non-Brethren works dramatically and Legislatures in Saskatchewan and comparison, conservative and traditionalist Men- Manitoba enacted Anglo-conformist laws (ethnic nonites within the Flemish-Russian stream have Attention: Readers responses, critical or oth- cleansing), inter alia, abolishing Mennonite con- largely been denigrated and - more often than not - erwise, are welcome. The editor can be con- fessional schools, implementing compulsory dis- omitted entirely from the historical record. The ori- tacted at 1(204)326-6454 office, fax trict schools (“Zwangschulen”) funded by double gins of such pejorative attitudes, at least in part, go 1(204)326-6917, mail Box 1960, Steinbach, taxation, and punishing families that resisted with back to the historians of the Dutch Doopsgezinde Manitoba, Manitoba, Canada, R0A 2A0. usurious fines and imprisonments. This created a where the conservatives were described “...with Website - hshs.mb.ca - e-mail hostile environment and a crisis of conscience for more ridicule than fact...,” Samme Zilstra, Om de [email protected] those wishing to remain true to their faith and reli- ware gemeente (Leeuwarden, 2000), page 501. Please remember we are now the Flemish gious tradition. The 1919 plea of A. Vernon Tho- However, the condescending viewpoints dominat- Mennonite Historical Society Inc. (FMHS) mas, Free Press staff reporter, that the Mennonites ing Russian Mennonite historiography, in part, can and all cheques and payments for member- not be unjustly exiled - although ignored by his also be traced to the writings of German archivist ships and subscriptions to Preservings should countryman - demonstrated that not all Canadians Ludwig Keller (1849-1915). Keller popularized the be changed accordingly. Preservings will now were swept away by mass hysteria and prejudice notion that normative was represented be published annually. The annual subscrip- against non-Anglo-Saxon minorities. But the not by Menno Simons and the biblical teaching of tion fee remains $20.00. The membership fee course of government policy was firmly set, result- the discipled, visible Church of God, but rather by is an additional $20.00 annually.

2 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Shall the Mennonites be Driven out of Canada? 1919 “Shall the Mennonites be driven out of Canada?” by A. Vernon Thomas, Morden, Manitoba, from the Steinbach Post, January 22 and 29, 1919.

Mennonites Targeted? of Europe, living now in one country and now in no treaty, no covenant, no guarantee made in the Canadian papers received here furnish convinc- another, seeking religious freedom. They lived in English language is worth the paper it is written on ing evidence that a drive has been started against the Switzerland; they lived in Holland; they traversed as soon as any considerable body of people wish to Mennonites of Western Canada. Their children are portions of Germany and Austria and finally they break it. Have we not here one more instance of that to be forced into the public schools whether they found an asylum in Russia. In this latter country weakness in human nature which permits perfectly will or not, with the result that large groups of these they lived continuously for one hundred years prior good reasons to be found for doing something men people are seriously discussing emigration to Ar- to coming to Canada. and women wish to do, no matter what solemn gentina. When the Russian Government in 1870 with- obligations or sacred covenants have been entered If four years of war had not prepared one for drew from the Mennonites the immunity from mili- into to the contrary? anything I should have believed such a situation tary service granted them when they first settled in impossible. I feel deeply that fair-minded Canadi- the country, they looked around for a new home. Schools. ans do not realize what is at stake touching the The Canadian Government heard of this and sent a Let me frankly confess that the type of school welfare and good name of Canada, and as I ques- special emissary to Russia to invite the Mennonites which exists in some of the Mennonite colonies is tion to your readers. to Canada. The invitation was accepted on the not the type of school which I would wish to send First let me say very clearly that I do not discuss strength of definite and specific pledges, highly my own children if I had any. But I am not infallible at all the case of certain Mennonites who have re- guaranteed by the Canadian Government of the and I do not know whether the kind of school cently come to the Canadian West from the United day. One of these pledges had to do with freedom which conforms to my ideas of education is best for States with the intention, it is alleged, or escaping from military service but another, just as important everybody’s children or best for the whole country. military service. I have no reliable information as to to the Mennonites, read: The overwhelming reason for the particulars of what prompted it. What I have to say is solely appli- “The fullest privilege of exercising their reli- the Mennonites in regard to schools is fear of their cable to the old established Mennonite settlements gious principles is by law afforded to the Menno- children being demoralized by contact with the out- of the West, against which it is evident, a racial and nites without any kind of molestation or restriction side world. In view of the kind of world we have religious drive is now being launched. whatever; and the same privilege extends to the been living in during the past four years dare any- Mennonite History. education of their children in their schools.” one say that this fear has absolutely nothing to jus- The Mennonites of Western Canada are in no tify it? Are we now after these fearful years so sense nationalistic. They have no nationalist ambi- Fairness. cocksure that our system of education is the very tions or pretension. Whoever states the contrary, no Now I suggest to fair-minded men and women best conceivable, and so reliable, that it should be matter what individual Mennonites themselves may that the language of this solemnly made pledge is forced to anyone whether they will or no? On the have said in foolish moments, is either stating what reasonably clear. I think the wayfaring man though contrary, it seems to me that unless we want to he knows to be false or is criminally ignorant as to a fool might be counted upon to understand it. Yet march straight to such another bloody horror as we these people. today we are confronted with the strange spectacle have just gone through we shall ruthlessly examine The history of the Mennonites of Western of politicians, magistrates, editors and others con- our educational structure from basement to garret. Canada is an open book to anyone who wishes to tending that this pledge to the Mennonites does not read it. In just what particular country the forebears mean and imply what for fifty years, without a Premier Norris. of the Canadian Mennonites may have been born single dissentient voice, everyone has understood it Those who know the Mennonites of the West away back in the sixteenth century is surely unim- to mean and imply. have, I believe, invariably spoken well of them. I portant. Important is that they wandered over half These people may be right, but if they are, surely remember driving out from Morden one summer

(Introduction to Issue No. 23 continued) the apostolic order in the face of extreme harass- particularly the Old Colonists. Ironically, those who ment and sometimes outright persecution - frequently have studied growth patterns of various Mennonite have generally emanated from the progressives. The by naive and misguided co-religionists. David denominations have seemingly overlooked the fact Brethren secured some support from the Quiring has compared the situation of communities that when Mennonites convert themselves to other progressives since....the Brethren were seen as use- continually under attack to a country at war, “....which religions such as American Evangelicalism, they ful tools in breaking up and modernizing the tradi- neglects all else while it focuses on surviving the lose what they have that is distinct, and enter into a tionalist community,” (page 118). In his article, “Pa- challenge from the outside,” Quiring, “Men. Old fiercely competitive religious marketplace where triarchs of the Brüdergemeinde”, Schapansky brings Colony Life under Seige in Mexico,” M.A. Thesis, the successful predators recognize no moral or ethi- forth evidence that the sectarian movement did not 1997, page 198. cal boundaries in expanding their territories. In mar- arise spontaneously as has been claimed by de- The story of the Old Colonists is a fascinating keting language once product identity (brandname) nominational historians but was the result of “ex- account of the perseverance of a religious faith and is lost, the generic product can compete only on ternal forces and family backgrounds.” It is sober- community over time and space. Those who take the price and marketing. Dr. Redekop refers to the ex- ing to reflect that the painful split of 1860 - which time to compare the beliefs and practices of the Flem- ample of the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren who tore apart families, communities and churches across ish Anabaptists as portrayed in the June 2003 lost significant market share when they abandoned Imperial Russia and America - might have been Preservings, or the teachings of Menno Simons as the Mennonite name (much of Mennonite theology avoided had the foreign operatives not been allowed described by Sjouke Voolstra in this issue (pages 30- had already been rejected by the E.M.B. founders) access to the Mennonite colonies as was in fact 41), will acquire a rich sense of the many resonances (see Pres., No. 14, page 143-4). By remaining true recommended by Vice-Director Sivers (page 139). and convergences which still echo in the hearts, lives to the faith of the fathers and the “old” tradition of The article by Henry Schapansky provides an ob- and communities of the modern-day Old Colonists, following Jesus, conservative groups such as the jective analysis on the dynamics of sectarian divi- faithfully following Jesus unto the end. The Editor. Old Colonists and Amish, avoid the entire issue of sions among Mennonites and a helpful perspective growth as the ultimate “good” of North American as to how such painful and tragic events can be Endnote: Calvin Redekop, “Learning from those society and can focus on actually attempting to live prevented in the future (see Pres., No. 22, page 63). who leave Anabaptism,” in Men. Weekly Review, as the church and people of God - a formula which The Old Colonists provide a stark but poignant Oct. 20, 2003. Dr. Redekop is a renown sociologist has seemingly held them steadfast to their course example of a pilgrim people remaining faithful to who has written extensively about Mennonites and over the past five centuries.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 3 day a few years ago in the company of Premier ment even amongst the most backward element of Conclusion. Norris (Mr. Norris he was then) to a Mennonite the Mennonite population. I have reason to know that the present drive village. We admired the beautiful gardens which against the Mennonites was started and is being smiled in the front of every cottage, filling the air Tolerance. supported by some Canadians in the belief that with fragrance and astonishing the eye with a riot of Again let me emphasize this thought. These wartime was a favourable time to “put it over.” Is colour. people very different in origin and traditions from not this, however, the dishonourable and un-Brit- I remember that Mr. Norris was interested in ourselves, have moved, perhaps not as fast as some ish procedure of striking a man when he is down? the horses of one of the villagers and that we of us would have liked to see, but at any rate there Is it not deliberately calculated that arguments which exchanged a greeting with several of the Menno- has been movement. This movement was a work of the Mennonites might have at other times advanced nites. They were courteous and well disposed, if a quarter of a century. It was accomplished by the because of the national passions aroused in the gen- perhaps a little shy. But I am sure it never occurred exercise of patience and tolerance on the part of eral public by the war? Is it not calculated that many to any of us at that time that these people could teachers, inspectors, private citizens and others. With people who in normal times speak out for the Men- ever be a source of danger to Canada. Their life the continued exercise of these qualities the move- nonites are now silenced by the prevailing temper? was certainly not our idea of existence, but there ment will continue. But if coercive methods are Is it not calculated that it will be possible at the was orderliness on every hand, there were every- tried, it will, in my opinion, not only be more con- present time to create the impression that the Men- where evidences of industry and of a feeling for ducive to bailive but the gain of years will be en- nonites are sympathizers with the Kaiser and im- the beautiful. tirely lost. Is it worthwhile risking that? bued with the principles of Prussian Militarism? There is another reason for going slowly with This looks to me very much like a piece of dirty Progress. the Mennonites. Those who know these people work. Suspicious as the Mennonites are of the ways best will bear me out when I say that many of those A Saskatchewan dispatch in the Manitoba Free of the majority they have by no means stood still Mennonites who have become Canadianized as it Press of September 20 last states that the Menno- since they arrived in Canada. Let me commend is called, have lost some of the sterling qualities of nite convention held in Hague, Sask., decided to this thought to those who would now push and their parents. send a delegation to Argentina to see if favourable prod the Mennonite populations: there has been To be continued. terms of settlement could be secured in that country. movement and progress amongst them and a great (Continued from last issue). Personally I believe that at least half a dozen South many Mennonites have accepted the public school It is an old story, vouched for by thousands of American republics would “tumble over themselves” idea. sociologists, social workers and others both in to get Canada’s Mennonites as settlers and that they At the beginning of 1913 there were 64 public Canada and the , that the children of would cheerfully guarantee them all the measure of school districts in the Mennonite settlements of the foreign-born show many regrettable tendencies religious liberty they asked for. Manitoba, 76 Mennonite public school teachers and not apparent in their parents. One, at least, of the But are Canadians prepared to have it go forth to 1858 Mennonite children enroled in public schools. reasons invariably given for this is the hiatus be- the world that Canada, with all her boasting of the I take these figures from the Manitoba Free Press tween the old and the new traditions and ideals. Is it past as to her democratic and progressive institu- of Feb. 10, 1913. They are contained in one of eight then part of wisdom to try and hasten the transition? tions, drove beyond her borders a body of harmless special articles described as “A Study on the Ground As a matter of fact, beyond a certain point, it cannot and defenceless citizens because they desired to by a Free Press Staff Correspondent.” That staff be hastened. The quicker the process in appearance, exercise rights that had been solemnly guaranteed Correspondent was myself. I have reread these eight the slower it is in reality and vice versa. to them? articles after the lapse of five years, and I am proud Is it to go forth to the world that settlers, driven to be able to say that there is not a sentence I would Fanatics. out of Canada, found shelter and asylum, reli- wish to change. I commend this series of articles I make the charge that behind this drive against gious liberty and freedom of conscience, in a Ro- (Manitoba Free Press, Feb. 4 to 12, 1913) to Cana- the Mennonites are a handful of fanatics, some of man Catholic institutions? If so, it matters not with dians who wish to read what I believe is a fair them imbued by mere political consideration and what virtues and progressive instincts we deco- statement of the Mennonite position. These articles others by racial and religious arrogance. I admit that rate ourselves, the liberal spirits of other countries were approved by the Manitoba Free Press at the many decent and sincere people have been per- will never thrill when our name is mentioned. time and their accuracy and good faith were not suaded to join in this piece of Prussianism by the By A. Vernon Thomas, Morden, Manitoba, challenged from any quarter. specious and high-sounding names under which from the Steinbach Post, January 22 and 29, I find I mention in one of these articles an opin- the onslaught is being waged. But never yet did 1919. Courtesy of Ralph Friesen, Nelson, B.C. ion by Mr. Alex McLeod, formerly of Morden, Prussianism fail to find a fair garment with which The article by Vernon Thomas was apparently also Man, a well-known Canadian, who spent half a to hide its nakedness. published in the Nordwesten, Jan. 15, 1919. lifetime in close touch with the Mennonites, as to Proof? I can give some. The fanatics now egg- the literacy of these people. Mr. McLeod has stated ing on western governments against the Menno- About the Author. - emphatically that there is less illiteracy amongst nites are to a large extent the same men and women In 1913 Vernon Thomas was a staff correspon- the Mennonites of Manitoba than amongst any other who forced the Manitoba Government to abolish dent for the Manitoba Free Press, where he wrote nationality in the province, not excluding the En- without a trace the old standing right of the French his series of eight or so articles on “The Bilingual glish-speaking portion. to the use of their language in the schools. A minis- Schools of Manitoba,” published in the Free Plett I have shown that there has been a movement ter in the Manitoba Government which committed from February 4th to 12th. They were a prelude to towards the public school amongst these people. this wrong said to me personally: “It was an injus- or part of a campaign of the Sifton-owned paper to Let me add that there also has been movement in tice and I am ashamed of it. The truth is that we were end the bilingual school provisions of the “Laurier- their private schools. Many of the latter conducted stampeded.” The minister will today stand upon the Greenway Compromise” of 1896. Courtesy of pro- formerly in the German language alone have in platform and defend the abolition of the bilingual fessor Adolf Ens, Winnipeg, Manitoba. recent years voluntarily devoted some time to the clause, although his heart and conscience tell him it teaching and use of English. There has been move- was an injustice.

Publication Statement. “Preservings” is the magazine/journal of the Flemish Mennonite Historical Society Inc. (FMHS), Box 1960, Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada, R5G 1Z4, published annually, a project of Mennonite orthodoxy. Editor Delbert F. Plett, phone 1(204)-326-6454, business, 1(204)326-6719fax, e-mail “[email protected]”. Web sites: “www.hshs.mb.ca” and “www.mts.net/~delplett”. Please send manuscripts, articles and/or photographs to HSHS c/o Box 1960, Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada, R0A 2A0. The annual membership fee is $20.00. To be eligible for membership, individuals must be in agreement with the goals, objects and vision of the FMHS. Annual subscription fee for Preservings is $20.00, and is NOT included in the membership fee. Individual issues are $20.00 plus $4.00 postage and handling. . The editorial viewpoint of Preservings is conservative and orthodox with respect to the Russian Mennonite story and the settlers of the East and West Reserve, Manitoba, Canada. Our mission is to inform our readers of the history and faith of the Flemish Mennonites and their diaspora around the world. The views and opinions expressed in the editorials, commentaries, various articles and letters published in Preservings are those of the editor and/or individual writers alone and do not reflect those of the FMHS, its board of directors and/or membership. Copyright remains with the writers and artists. Registration # 1524399.

4 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 American Mennonites and the Great War Introduction. their outer clothing, confined them in their cells Miniger, an “old Mennonite minister and city Few experiences in modern times have left with their hands cross-chained to iron bars, and missionary of Kansas City who often ministered such a scar on the U.S. Mennonite psyche as fed them little food and water. Within five days to men in Fort Leavenworth, was at Joseph’s World War I. Mennonites considered themselves the four men were covered with boils and insect side when he died.” Mininiger later testified that productive, loyal citizens - but during the Great bites and had swollen arms. The ordeal in Alcatraz “if ever I saw a person die as a real Christian and War, their neighbours doubted their patriotism continued from mid-1918 until November, when pass from this life into a better world, it was and considered them disloyal at best. they were transferred to the military prison at Joseph Hofer.” When the U.S entered the war, the Germans Fort Leavenworth. Michael Hofer told Mininiger, “I wish it had were demonized as barbarian and militaristic Huns. During a night in November 1918, the men been I instead.” And on December 2, he died, Soon the nation was swept up in a wave of intol- arrived at the railroad station. According to later with his brother David at his bedside. This time erant mass hysteria and super-patriotism that de- allegations, the guards then drove them with bayo- the brothers’ father begged the authorities to dress manded total conformity. nets to the prison, which was located about three the body in Hutterite clothes, and they relented. The many Mennonites who did not conform hundred yards down the road. Further, accord- Meanwhile, after Joseph’s death, the men’s pas- suffered greatly. Particularly intense were the tri- ing to the allegations, the men, who had been tor, John Wipf, was trying to secure the release als of Mennonite men who refused to serve their overheated in the railway cars, now caught colds of the men by pleading with Senator Edward S. government as noncombatants - the only option when they were again stripped of their outer cloth- Johnson of South Dakota to intervene with Sec- then open to conscientious objectors. ing. Military officials denied that the guards had retary Baker. “I can’t stand it no longer,” Wipf From Gerlof Homan, American Mennonites acted so brutally and callously. wrote, “So for God(sic) sake, please help us and and the Great War 1914-1918 (Herald Press, But on November 21, Joseph and Michael put a stop to it. Go and see Hon. Baker. Secr of Waterloo, Ontario, 1994), back cover. Hofer were transferred to the military hospital. war. He can stop it, I know, please do your best, ______David Hofer and Wipf, still refused to work and but at one(sic).” wear uniforms, remained shackled for two weeks Johnson may indeed have intervened. In any Some conscientious objectors refused to work to the bars of their cells. Had he put on the uni- case, David Hofer was released a few days later in prison just as in camp; they soon found them- form, Wipf stated later, he would have been a and the chaining of prisoners discontinued. Wipf selves in solitary confinement, manacled to the “hepocriss(sic).” Wipf did manage to send tele- remained in prison, but as he reassured his wife, bars of their cells. Such was the sad fate of the grams to the wives of Joseph and Michael, warn- Katharina, on December 8, 1918, he was hold- four Hutterites - the three brothers David J., Jo- ing them of their husbands’ condition. ing fast to his covenant with God until death and seph J., and Michael Hofer, and their brother-in- Unfortunately, the women were given train counting on the reward or crown which God had law Jacob J. Wipf. Each of the Hofer brothers tickets to For Riley instead of to Leavenworth, promised to all who suffered for his sake. In was married and had children. They, together and when they finally arrived at Leavenworth April 1919, he too was released. with an Andrew Wurtz, were drafted in May 1918 their husbands were almost dead. Joseph died at From Gerlof Homan, American Mennonites and sent to Camp Lewis in Washington. Already about 8:30 a.m. on November 29, 1918. As a and the Great War 1914-1918 (Herald Press, on the train to camp, some fellow-draftees hu- final insult, authorities dressed his body in the Waterloo, Ontario, 1994), pages 152-154 (see miliated the Hutterites by cutting their beards. In military uniform which he had so persistently book review by Ted Regehr, Preservings, No. camp they refused to sign the so-called Enlist- and valiantly rejected. Reverend Jacob (J.D.) 22, pages 133-134. ment and Assignment Cards by which a draftee agreed to follow all military commands, render any kind of service, wear the uniform, and drill. Of the 65,000 drafted men who initially claimed to be conscientious objectors [in the U.S.A. in They were beaten and all of them except Wurtz, WWI], only 4,000 stayed with it, doing medical work in the Army or labouring in military camps who was separated from the others, were placed [Noncombatants]. The Hutterites evidently fit into a smaller group yet “some 450 individuals in the guardhouse. As for Wurtz, because he too would not cooperate with the conscription system in any way and went to Federal prison,.... refused to comply with military orders he was [Absolutists]” forced to wear the uniform, held under water, ....World War I draft law “exempted from combat service, but not military service, conscripts dragged over a wooden floor with rope tied from traditional .” around his legs and splinters entering his body, Many pacifists avoided such harassment in World War I simply by agreeing to wear a uniform and then thrown into a ditch. He finally agreed to and perform services that didn’t violate their do garden work and later worked on a nearby convictions. But the Hutterites thought it dairy farm. was too much to ask..... On June 10 the three Hofer brothers and Wipf The Hutterite men’s martyrdom, while in were court-martialed and sentenced to twenty years line with centuries of pacifist resistance, also of imprisonment. The Hutterite minister Joseph contributed to changes in this country’s Kleinsasser tried to persuade Keppel to inter- policy concerning conscientious objectors vene on behalf of the men by describing the kind status as an alternative to military service. of treatment the three had endured. “Now, dear That....contributed to a climate that smoothed Keppel,” Kleinsaser wrote on July 14, “is there the road for further conflicts. In World War no reasonable way to find out a persons (sic) II and the Korean and Vietnam wars, conviction, or stand, or religion?” Quite bluntly, Hutterites built Deerfield dam in the Black Hills, served as smoke jumpers in fighting he wondered if it were necessary to torture people A photo taken at Camp Funston, Fort Riley, Kansas, in order to find out their religion and if the gov- forest fires and did maintenance work at during World War I includes Amish conscientious ernment, of which Keppel was a part, was not Custer State Park. objectors refusing to wear the military uniform. Photo responsible for tolerating such outrages and to Today South Dakota has about 60 Hutterite - Homan, American Mennonites and the Great War, accept the “hun(sic) ways?” Colonies. page 113. This same photograph is identified in Kleinsasser’s moving appeal had no effect. By John Walker, “Hutterites Cherish Paci- Clarence Hiebert, The Holdeman People, page 254, The three men were transferred to a federal prison fism as Nation Wages War,” in Argus Leader, as being Holdeman conscientious objectors. on the island of Alcatraz. Here also they refused Sioux Falls, South Dakota, March 31, 2002. to cooperate. So the wardens stripped them of

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 5 Prisoners of Conscience - Fort Leavensworth “Prisoners of Conscience: Closing Fort Leavenworth,” By Robert Rhodes, Newton, Kansas, reprinted from Mennonite Weekly Review. Dec. 9, 2003, pages 1 and 10.

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. - Joseph Hofer Fort Leavenworth,...said some COs objected to ping off a train a few hundred yards away, they already had died when his wife Maria arrived by being held in the general population, considering were marched through the icy night to the USDB’s train from Parkston, S.D., that dismal autumn of themselves prisoners of conscience who did not entrance. 1918. Confined as a conscientious objector dur- deserve to be jailed with sometimes violent of- The two men, brothers from the Rockport ing World War I, Hofer had succumbed to long fenders. Hutterite colony near Parkston, S.D., had just months of physical exposure and harsh treat- Those who would not work, however - like come from the federal prison at Alcatraz in Cali- ment in two military prisons. the Hutterites, who wanted to give no appear- fornia, along with their brother David and an- Now, as his coffin was opened for his young ance of helping the war effort - were kept in the other Rockport Hutterite, Jacob Wipf. widow, she was met with a sight of unexpected prison’s lower level in solitary confinement. The four, along with other Hutterites, had horror. Instead of dressing him in his modest There, Robertson said, they would have been been drafted in May 1918. When they refused to black Hutterite clothes, Hofer had been placed in kept in chains for several hours a day - much the serve or wear the military uniform, they were the uniform of the U.S. Army - the uniform he same treatment afforded prisoners in solitary subjected to brutal physical abuse and privation. had resisted wearing for nearly half a year. now.... The beatings and other abuse continued until June Though in life he would not accede to the will Each cell held one prisoner, and was about 5 1918, when they were court-martialed and sen- of the American military, Hofer was returned in by 8 feet. An adult male, standing in the center of tenced to 20 years in Alcatraz. death to his family in the guise of a soldier. the cell, could not extend his arms full length to There, the damp conditions took their toll on In an age before alternative service, and when the side. In each cell was a metal-frame bed and the men, as they did on many others who had Christian COs were often still treated with harsh mattress, a stainless steel toilet and a small wall- been confined to the “The Rock” in San Fran- disregard for their convictions, it was an offense mounted shelf that flipped up to make a table. cisco Bay. the Hutterites would not soon forget. Accounts from World War I indicated prison- When they were transferred to Leavenworth, The prison where Hofer died - home to hun- ers in solitary did not have beds, or much else. they probably already had pneumonia and possi- dreds of conscientious objectors during the 20th In today’s solitary wing, only isolated pen- bly tuberculosis, according to accounts of the century - closed its doors Oct. 5. alty cells were without a bed, or a toilet. Instead, day. The U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort a raised concrete platform and a grate in the floor Crow said this was often the case for prison- Leavenworth, founded in 1875, has been replaced had to suffice. ers from Alcatraz. Indeed, around the time when by a new, state-of-the-art prison nearby.... The prisoner sat wherever he could, clad only the Hutterites arrived, an outbreak of Spanish For such a cavernous place, the hulk of the in his underwear. influenza claimed many lives in the USDB, in- old USDB is filled with a surprising silence. In prison terms, this was the end of the road. cluding several Mennonite COs. It is irrevocably empty now - a place where a Assistant command historian Kelvin Crow Because they refused to accept any work as- community of as many as 1,500 men once went said in its heyday, the USDB was considered a signments, the Hutterites were sent to the soli- about the enforced tasks and duties of incarcera- model prison..... tary confinement cells. tion and work.... “People would come from all over the place After being held there for a short time, nearly At the main entry, up a steep run of steps that just to study this,” Crow said, noting that the always chained to the bars except during meals, ends in a narrow alcove, U.S. Army Sgt. An- prison has long had a low recidivism rate. the ailing Joseph and Michael were transferred thony Gannuscio produces a large ring of an- Over time, Crow said, the military’s philoso- to the military hospital. Joseph died there on Nov. cient-looking skeleton keys. phy about jail standards has evolved consider- 29, 1918, and David on Dec. 2. Gannuscio rattles one of the keys in the main ably, too, especially compared to the days when After an outcry following the Hofers’ deaths, lock, then pulls the sliding bars away, opening rough conditions and even rougher treatment of David Hofer was released from prison. Wipf the portal onto the main floor of the maximum- COs by military guards was typical. remained in custody until April 1919. security lockup.... “I think the Army is more enlightened now,” The chaining of prisoners was stopped, how- “There was a lot of life here,” Gannuscio Crow said. ever, following the intervention of U.S. Sen. said..... Joseph and Michael Hofer arrived at the Edward Johnson of South Dakota, who took the Inside the enclosure, near the castle, is an- USDB on a cold night in November 1918. Step- matter of the Hofers before the Department of other similar building, a former hospital and medi- War. cal clinic. The entire affair sent shockwaves through This is where two Hutterite men died from the remote and close-knit Hutterite world, caus- pneumonia - and some say from physical abuse - ing all but one colony to pull up stakes and mi- only days after the Armistice that ended the First grate to Canada. World War. The shock has not been forgotten, either. To- The USDB was built to hold prisoners court- day, Hutterites need only hear mention of “the martialed for various offenses in the nation’s Hofers” and their story of martyrdom leaps to armed forces..... mind. During wartime, however, the prison’s mis- The graves of the two COs are today a place sion changed from the ordinary task of rehabili- of occasional pilgrimage - not unlike the dun- tating wayward recruits and officers to take on geons and public squares of eastern Europe, other matters. Mennonite COs, Camp Funston, Kansas. Photo - where Anabaptists still travel to touch a part of As many as 600 COs - sources vary on the Homan, American Mennonites and the Great War, their flight-filled heritage. exact number - were held in the USDB during page 112. Since these men do not wear the uni- This one is much closer to home, though. World War I. Among these were many Menno- form they are “Absolutists” who refused to par- Today, in the old Rockport cemetery, are two nites, Amish and Hutterites, but also COs of no ticipate in any activity which might aid the war clean, modestly decorated graves, set off from particular belief who simply refused to take part effort. The majority of the COs were “non-com- the others, marked “Hofer.” Whose graves they in the war effort. batants” who wore the uniform and took part in are, no one has to ask. William G. Robertson, command historian at military drills, etc. but not combat.

6 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 W.W.I Meade Kleine Gemeinde Experiences “W.W.I Meade Kleine Gemeinde Experiences,” by W. Merle Loewen, 205 Craig, P.O. Box 56, Ellinwood, Kansas, U.S.A., 67526-0056

Background. ing in front of their rural school- In the history pre-dating the house, during this era, holding an founding of the Kleine Gemeinde, American flag (see photo). reformers like Menno Simons in the My father, William W. Loewen’s 1500s, had a significant impact on older stepbrother, Abram E. Loewen the formulation of a pacifistic world (see photo), son of Heinrich F. view. The Anabaptists were firm on Loewen, was drafted along with sev- convictions like the Bible as man’s eral other Meade Kleine Gemeinde ultimate authority; peace with God young men during W.W.I. During comes only through faith in Jesus my youth, my father recounted some Christ; believers’ churches refusing of the persecution that my uncle Abe subjection to the state in matters of had experienced during his time at belief and worship; ministers elected Camp Funsten, Kansas. Regretfully by the congregation and voluntarily there was never any interaction be- supported by it; adult baptism based tween my uncle and myself about on confession of faith in Jesus Christ his W.W.I experiences. rather than infant baptism; godly liv- Some years after my uncle Abe’s ing, including refraining from vio- death in 1978, I came into posses- lence of any sort and rejecting mili- sion of his copy of a diary written tary service, based on Scriptures like Ältester Jacob F. Isaac’s two oldest sons and two friends hold up the Ameri- by his colleague during the Army the in Mat- can flag, ca. 1914: l.-r., Henry J. Isaac, John K. Cornelsen, Peter J. Isaac experiences, “Diary Kept By Noah thew 5. and Andy W. Friesen. H. Leatherman While in Camp Dur- Over the centuries much perse- ing World War I,” published in 1951 cution and debate occurred over the proper ad- Kansas Historical Quarterly, Volume XLIII, by Aaron L. Toews, Linden, Alberta, Canada. herence to the doctrine of pacifism. As our fore- 1977, p. 335). The writer documents various acts From this diary come accounts of the perse- fathers in the Delta faced the Hohenzollern- of intimidation, especially in central Kansas com- cution suffered by Mennonite Conscientious Prussian acquisition of Royal Prussia in 1772, munities, where individuals were tarred and feath- Objectors after their induction into the Army in they were allowed military exemption if they paid ered for alleged lack of patriotism to purchase June 1917, until Mr. Leatherman’s discharge from a specified tribute to provide military training in war bonds, resistance to active military service, the Army in January 1919. the area. The response to these restrictions and lack of sufficient flag display and allegiance. brought the search for a new more tolerant home- The Juhnke article also gives a humorous ac- land. This became available at the invitation by count of an activist response by a central Kansas for land in the Black Sea area pastor, Bernhard Harder. “Facing the mob in front of South Russia. Numerous families chose to of his farm house, Harder insisted that he never emigrate from Prussia by the 1790s and early had anything against the American flag. The flag 1800s. Nearly a century later the concern for was nailed to the front porch entry without pro- religious freedom, including adherence to paci- test. Sensing that the mob’s anger was still not fism, brought a tide of emigration to North appeased, Harder seized the initiative and pro- America in 1874-76. It is interesting to note that posed that they join in singing ‘America’. With the Prussian Mennonite community, after much his loudest and most vigorous voice, he sang debate, adopted a resolution in 1870 to reject four full verses of the patriotic hymn. The traditional adherence to pacifism, leading to more abashed mob joined in on the first verse, but their common military service and ever greater assimi- voices trailed away and their feet shuffled as they lation with German culture. didn’t know the words of the others. The embarrassed...patriots had been out-American- WWI. ized by a Mennonite German-American,” (Ibid. World War I brought new challenges to Kan- p.343). sas Mennonites. With the United States entry into the war against Germany in April 1917, vari- Meade, Kansas. ous communities in central and southwest Kan- My grandfather, Ältester Jacob F. Isaac, ap- sas were still using the German language in parently also faced a hostile group in Meade, homes and churches. Suspicion arose among during the W.W.I period, which questioned the non-Mennonite neighbours, that somehow these loyalty of the Kleine Gemeinde’s leaders and people were a threat to domestic security. congregation. In response to the request for the James C. Juhnke, professor of history at leaders to appear the next day to answer the group Abram E. Loewen, suffered severely for his nonre- Bethel College, Newton, Kansas, in an article challenges - for whatever reason - no one ap- sistant stance while drafted into the U.S. Army. He entitled “Mob Violence and Kansas Mennonites peared to receive the response and the intensity was the son of Kleine Gemeinde minister Heinrich in 1918” said, “Most Kansas Mennonites shared of the moment seemed to have subsided (see Loewen (1860-1935). The Loewens farmed at a common belief in . They respected Pres., No. 19. pages 53-54 and also Royden Meade, Kansas, in a big way, and in 1915 the and obeyed the government as ordained by God, Loewen, Family, Church and Market (Toronto, “three Loewen brothers operated a farm of 1375 but when there was a conflict between the com- 1993), pages 257-258). acres, raising 1010 acres of wheat.” According to mandments of government and the scriptures, It is interesting to me that I found a picture of one family history they “were credited with being they were ready to disobey government.” (The my uncles, the Ältester’s two oldest sons, stand- the first midwesterners east of the Rockies to use a combine.”

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 7 Abe Loewen. Uncle Abe Loewen is first mentioned in the October 22, 1917 entry, along with John R. Harms, and Jacob J. Bartel from Meade, Kan- sas. The final mention of any Meade men in the diary is April 1918. Whether the Meade men were transferred to Camp Dodge, Iowa with 161 men, including Mr. Leatherman, in early July 1918 is not stated in the diary. At the end of July these 161 men were trans- ferred to Ft. Riley, Kansas. After the W.W.I Ar- mistice of November 11, 1918, a group includ- The gates at Camp Funston, Kansas. Photo - ing Mr. Leatherman were transferred to the U. Hiebert, The Holdeman People, page 254. S. Disciplinary Barrack, Fort Leavenworth, (p. 21). Kansas, to serve a sentence of 25 years. Initial Thus ends the entries about Meade men in parole for good behaviour would be available Noah Leatherman’s diary. in 1935. In November these men met the four Hutterites (three Hofer brothers and Wipf) who Conclusion. arrived from Alcatraz Island. In late January In interviewing some of the children of Meade 1919, the men saw a list of 130 COs in the W.W.I COs, they remember very few remarks Kansas City newspaper scheduled for release. about the Army experiences by their father. This On January 27, 1919 these men were discharged pattern is somewhat similar to what W.W.II mili- from the Army. Noah Leatherman, a Kansas Holdeman, was tary veterans did for the first 50 years after the What we do know about some of the Meade drafted and registered as a conscientious objec- war. Then as the news media pressed for histori- men is that they did suffer some severe persecu- tor. This photo was taken while at Camp Funston. cal debriefings, many men now in their upper tion. At Camp Funsten, Kansas. (Oct. 22, 1917) Photo - Hiebert, The Holdeman People, page 254. ‘70s and early ‘80s begin to share as a final “John R. Harms, Jacob J. Bartel and Abr. E. goodbye to the traumatic war memories. Loewen refused to work in spite of the fact that floor” (Oct. 29, 1917) “It was quite cold with A few W.W.I. Meade stories have surfaced, they were severely threatened and placed in the some snow. We were ordered to take a cold even with the reluctance of the men to share Army lower room of our barrack without getting any shower in the morning and to stand on the north life details. Allegedly one CO, not mentioned in supper” (p.7). “Walter Lindel and I tried to ex- side of our barrack all day” (p.8). the diary, was unable to ever father any children plain our convictions to the sergeant and lieuten- (Nov. 8, 1917) “During this time Lindel re- as a result of Army persecution. Another had ant but they heaped threats and curses upon us fused work at the stone quarry and Loewen, suffered a facial scar, which was visible for the and placed us with Harms, Bartel and Loewen. Harms, Bartel and Graber were transferred to the rest of his life. Our meals were bread and water and frequently Y.W.C.A. For some reason Loewen was again Noah Leatherman’s diary comments at his we failed to get even that. Our cots too were made to run until he fell exhausted and uncon- discharge seemed to echo the sentiment of W.W.I taken away from us so we had to sleep on the scious. After recovering he was treated kindly by COs. “In conclusion I wish to thank our Eternal, a lieutenant of the Truck Co” (p.12). (Nov. 24, Almighty, Incomprehensible God and Father for 1917) “I learned that several officers were put his love, mercy and protection during these try- back in rank and transferred into different Com- ing times. To him be praise, honour and glory for panies because of treatment given to the COs” ever and ever” (p. 50) (p. 13). (Dec. 26, 1917) “Loewen was ordered to work at a warehouse instead of at the Y.W.C.A. Further Reading: Upon refusal to do so, he was made to stand on Gerlof D. Homan, American Mennonites and the cold side of our barrack and was deprived of the Great War 1914-1918 (Waterloo, 1994), 235 any dinner. Not being used to the severe cold, he pages. was too frozen at night to walk into the barrack Plett, “1922 Delegation to Mexico,” Pres., without assistance. We did what we could to No. 14, pages 104--5, for photos of Ält. Jacob F. warm him and by next morning he felt better” (p. Isaac, Meade. 15). Wendy Dueck, “Maria Dueck Isaac (1898- (Jan. 20, 1918) “We were told the quarantine 1975),” in Pres., No. 10, Part Two, pages 47- was lifted and nine of us were taken back to 49. Camp Funsten where we found conditions for COs much better. Orders had been received not to force anyone to stand outside anymore. This Holdeman Draftees order seemed to be the result of an investigation [Son Heinrich G. Esau] was forced to join of Loewen’s case” (p. 16). (Mar. 11, 1918) the Army on Oct. 7, 1917, and on the 8th of “Rorick, Schrock, Harris, Lindel and Loewen June, 1918, was sentenced to 25 years in Fort were called to appear before a major. Loewen Leavensworth on account of non-resistance. was asked whether he wanted the officer who On April 15, 1919, he was set free. ordered him to stand outside to be punished. He [Daughter Adina] was married to Abram 1955. Jacob J. Bartel (1895-1959), Meade, Kan- replied in the negative.” “Loewen’s books were W. Penner...[who] was called to the Army on sas. Bartel and Abr. E. Loewen “....refused to work brought back a few days later” (p.18). (May 8, October 7, 1917. On July 8, 1918, he was [for the army] in spite of.....[being] severely threat- 1918) “Smith was taken to headquarters for trial. sentenced to 25 years in Fort Leavensworth, ened.” Bartel was a descendant of Johann Bartel In the afternoon of the 13th, the Hutterites, Kansas, but set free on April 12, 1919. They (1764-1813), the pioneer minister in Kronsgarten, Loewen, Ross, Wagoner, Lindel, Rorick, Bartel now [1933] live on a farm near Littlefield, near Ekatherinoslav, southern Russia. Photos for and Hanson were also taken. The trouble caused Texas. From Johann Plett...Family Saga, page this article are courtesy of Merle Loewen, was due to Smith’s diary. However, they found 312. Ellinwood, Kansas. nothing for which he could legally be punished”

8 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Schools and Community - David Harder (1894-1968) Schools and Community: Remembrances of School Teacher David Harder (1894-1968), Eichenfeld, Mexico. Biography. she died February 29, 1994. Mr. Abraham Klassen man, and there was therefore really no legitimate David Harder was born in Manitoba on August is currently remarried and living in the Menno Home reason why they should emulate and adopt the 22, 1894. He was the son of David Harder (1865- in Aylmer, Ontario. modern “Reichs’ Deutsch” from Germany. In fact, 1937) and Susanna Thiessen (1872-1936) (see RGB there are probably many sound reasons to base 342-3). David Harder Sr. was the son of David Harder Anecdotes. linguistic traditions such as enunciation upon reso- (1834-1915) and Katharina Giesbrecht (1936-1922) Old Colony Ohm Peter Dyck, Wheatley, Ontario, nance with the Flemish (Dutch) language, the mother- (see RGB 325-3). Grandfather David Harder was grew up in Blumengard (Campo 15), Manitoba tongue of the ancestors of the Old Colonists. In the the son of Peter Harder and Maria Friesen. Colony. He remembers an anecdote about his uncle modern-day such linguistic uniqueness would be The David Harder (1834-1915) family emigrated David Harder from around 1945. Harder had an old celebrated and promoted in literature and tourism as to Manitoba in 1875 crossing the Atlantic ocean on car motor standing on his yard and this was quite an an empowering legacy of culture, local-colour and the S.S. Moravian with a travelling party consisting attraction for the young boys. On one occasion, Peter’s the life-vitality of a people. Historian Adolf Ehrt of Bergthaler and Old Colonists. The Harder family fingers got caught in the V-belt of the motor and Ohm (Das Mennonitentum in Rußland (Leipzig, 1932), settled in Eichenfeld, West Reserve, where they are Doavft had to come and free him. pages 20, 21 and 28) has pointed out, also, that the listed in the 1881 census (BGB, page 390-207). The Jakob Peters, formerly of Blumenort, Manitoba Germanization of Mennonites in the Vistula Delta children, David Harders (1865-1937) also lived in Colony (Pres., No. 20. pages 101-105) remembers and later in Russia, played a significant role in the Eichenfeld, Manitoba, where son Abraham was born David Harder as a good school teacher. Peters’ breakdown of traditional faith and culture, some- in 1899. brother-in-law Johan Loewen attended school with thing the Old Colonist Ohms were obviously cog- David Harder started teaching as a young bach- David Harder in Hamburg and apparently Loewen nizant of as well. elor in Manitoba. In 1916 he married Katharina (Trien) did not always meet his teacher’s expectations. Jakob The Mexican Mennonite community has been Wiebe born February 24, 1891, daughter of Bernhard Peters remembers David Harder as a slight man, blessed with a number of gifted and talented writers. Wiebe and Anna Peters. They had two children, approximately five feet, eight inches tall. Unfortunately only few of these have been pub- Katharina born October 11, 1924, and son David lished and made available to the Old Colony people Harder born in 1930, who died after three months. Schools and Community. and a wider readership. Hopefully the translation and Daughter Katharina married Abraham Klassen. David Harder was a gifted writer. He was best publication of “Schools and Community” will be a In 1922 the David Harders together with his known for his historical sketch of the Mexican Men- small step in filling this void and also encourage parents, three brothers and two sisters emigrated to nonites published posthumously as Schule und others to collect, study and publish the letters, ser- Mexico settling in the village of Eichenfeld, Manitoba Gemeinschaft: Erinnerungen des Dorfschullehrers mons and diaries of the Old Colonists. Colony, near Cuauhtemoc. David Harder lived in David Harder von Mexico (“Schools and Commu- Historian Peter Zacharias and author of the Neuhorst (Campo 13), where he taught for many nity: The recollections of the village school teacher ground-breaking study, Reinland: An Experience in years. According to a notebook of his writings tran- David Harder from Mexico”), (Gretna, Manitoba, Community (Altona, 2002), has concluded that scribed by “old friend” Peter P. Peters, Gnadenthal, 1969), 84 pages. The booklet was published in 1969 “David Harder writes well and with considerable David Harder lived in Neuhorst #13, on September by Jakob Rempel, Gretna, the Vorsteher of the Old objectivity. He was a very perceptive individual and 29, 1943. Son-in-law Abraham Klassen remembers Colony Gemeinde in Manitoba. Jakob Rempel was recorded details and events which are significant to that David’s brother Abraham, who was severely a well-informed folk-historian and knowledgeable historians. He was also willing to write about contro- crippled, lived with them in the teacherage in about the history of the Reinländer Gemeinde. He versial issues. The example of David Harder cer- Neuhorst. Later Abraham Harder married a spinster served for many years as the Old Colony representa- tainly challenges the myth that Old Colony school and had several children including son Abram who tive on various MCC boards and also sponsored teachers were uninformed and lacking in general lives in Aylmer, Ontario. refugees after WWII. knowledge. His writings and opinions demonstrate David Harder also taught in Hoffnungsfeld and “Schools and Community” is an insider’s ac- a good knowledge of the larger context of his people Hamburg. Nephew Abram Harder, Alymer, Ontario, count of the story of the Mexican Mennonites, pro- and Mennonite history in general.” remembers that around 1948 his uncle David Harder viding a useful background of the Reinländer taught in Saucito, a village 11 km. north of Rubio. Gemeinde, the beginnings of the emigration move- Conclusion. Cuauhtemoc apple grower, Peter Rempel, remem- ment, and descriptions of many of the more signifi- David Harder is remembered as a capable and bers David Harder coming into his father’s book cant experiences and difficulties encountered in much respected school teacher. He favoured more store to buy school supplies, as did all the other Mexico. Undoubtedly many readers will take issue instruction in grammar and greater explanation and teachers at the time. with one or another of David Harder’s descriptions clarification in the German language and regretted According to a Notebook of Peter P. Peters, the and/or interpretations of the Mexican Mennonite story. that he was unable to do so. David Harder was a David Harders were living in Rosenfeld, #5, Nuevo Nonetheless, his account creates a credible, central devoted Old Colonist teacher who supported and Ideal, Durango, by May, 1955. They lived in the narrative of that story. worked within the context of the confessional school “grote schoave” at the home of their children Abraham Harder’s views regarding the “alphabet war”, system. Klassens. In 1962 the Klassens moved to La Batea for example, are probably somewhat dated, as aca- Nephew Abram Harder, Aylmer, Ontario, recalls in the State of Zacatecus, settling in Blumenhof, #2. demics and scholars now recognize that it is quite that his uncle David Harder did not agree in all re- Two years later the Harders also moved to La Batea appropriate and even wholesome for a long-estab- spects with the “Ordnung” of the Old Colony to live again with their children. Mrs. Katharina Harder lished community such as the Old Colonists to de- Gemeinde in the Manitoba Colony and which may died in La Batea, on May 25th, 1964. velop its own vocabulary and dialect. The “au” sound have influenced some of his moves. Evidently he In 1968 the Abraham Klassen family moved back probably reflected the Flemish (linguistically Dutch) may also have sometimes attended worship services to Cuauhtemoc taking father-in-law David Harder ethnic roots of the Russian Mennonite pioneers, of the General Conference Church. From “Schools with them. They settled at the home of Abraham and should have been respected for that reason alone. and Community” it is clear that although David Harder Klassen’s sister in Campo 66, Nord Colony, who One detects here possibly the influences of General was critical of certain decisions and policies in the had a second property where they could live tempo- Conference workers in the area who probably did Reinländer Gemeinde at Cuauhtemoc, however, to rarily. Three months later, on April 7, 1968, school not fully understand the historical origins nor the the end, he remained a true and loyal Old Colonist. teacher David Harder died here at the age of 73 years, many valuable benefits for a community in foster- He was a gifted folk historian and steadfast chroni- seven months and 16 days. ing and nurturing its own unique literature and vo- cler, who supported and affirmed the Old Colony Daughter Katharina and son-in-law Abraham cabulary. The Old Colonists - like all Russian Men- community as a people of God and faithful followers Klassen eventually moved to Aylmer, Ontario, where nonites - had never, in fact, been ethnically Ger- of Jesus.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 9 Schule und Gemeinschaft - David Harder Foreword. the relatively young Fürstenländer Gemeinde however, Paul has forbidden us in Romans 12:2. The following remembrances of the late under the leadership of Ältester Johann Wiebe Here I would not want to be understood that teacher David Harder, who died in 1968, who (Note One). I judge other people or nations who do not have had been active in the village school in Manitoba As the first ones in Canada evermore started our faith. Banish the thought that I should con- before the emigration from Canada to Mexico, to participate in worldly matters and voluntarily sider or esteem other people who understand the have much historical and spiritual worth, so that, introduced the worldly or government schools Holy Scripture differently than us, that they should with the encouragement of several of his friends and elected government officials [2], and also all be regarded as lost or condemned. This judg- from there, his old friend, Peter P. Peters, permitted themselves to be elected into govern- ment or conclusion regarding the conscience of Gnadenthal, Mexico, came to Canada last sum- ment offices, wherefrom the others, however, man I leave completely in God’s Word, which mer with the aforementioned remembrances to abstained; thus a division soon came to be be- teaches that during the final judgment many will have them published as a book or other printed tween these two Gemeinden here, in that the so- come forth from morning and from evening to sit form. called Fürstenländer separated from the with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom Nothing definite was planned regarding the Bergthaler. At that time the Fürstenländer took of heaven, but the children of the kingdom will publication until the time that Br. Peters had to on the name “Reinländer Mennonites.” be cast out, etc. Matthew 8:11-12. But each one get ready to go back to Mexico other than during After the beloved Ältester Johann Wiebe had wherein he hath called, he is to remain with God, an informal discussion at Ältester Gerhard led his flock on good Biblical pastures, he died I Corinthians 7:24, also verse 17:20. Lorenz, Winnipeg, where Peters and Br. H. P. February 21, 1905. The Honourable Peter Wiebe, Hildebrand, Blumenort, and the writer, were who died September 12, 1913, became his suc- present. It was decided that Peters should leave cessor in office. He was succeeded by the “I [do not] judge other people or the books of teacher Harder here and that we Honourable Johann Friesen. nations who do not have our should faithfully publish these recordings as lit- In the beginning in Canada we dwelt only in faith....that they should all be re- erally as possible. In the meantime, however, Br. Manitoba. But when the land there began to be- garded as lost or condemned.” Peters has also died and thus, unfortunately, we come scarce, people from our Gemeinde settled now have to do the work without him. two more colonies in the Province of But as I am called forth as a Mennonite, the There are still some articles (also among Saskatchewan: one group in Hague, who elected faith of my fathers, and faithfully follow it in so teacher Harder’s writings) dealing with “The the Honourable Jacob Wiens as Ältester; then far as I find it to be in harmony with the Word of Calling of a Preacher”, “Child Rearing”, and some after some years, the other group [settled] in Swift God and acknowledge it as being right, I am meditations added. Finally, it should be mentioned Current. This group elected as their Ältester the therefore not at liberty to accept another teaching. that some additions to his writings have been Honourable Abraham Wiebe, a son of the de- This would not be any different from forsaking made. These are listed on pages 48,49 and 50. ceased Ältester Johann Wiebe. Together with the my own faith and choosing something else in its Gretna, Manitoba, March 1969, “Jakob Colony in Manitoba, these two colonies consti- stead. He who is not faithful in little things, is Rempel” tuted “one church”. Yet each had its own admin- also not faithful in big things, Luke 16:10. istration, own Waisenamt [orphans’ and widows’ 1. The Reinländer Mennoniten trust office] and its own Gemeinde Vorsteher Our Gemeinde, the Reinländer Mennoniten [Reeve or Overseer] (Note Two). “I am called forth as a of Canada, called the Old Colonists by many, is In Canada we had enjoyed complete freedom Mennonite,....I am therefore not at according to their confession, a branch of the old in operating our own schools, which taught pri- liberty to accept another teaching.” “baptism-minded Gemeinden”, of which we can marily reading, writing, arithmetic and calligra- everywhere read in the “Martyrs-Mirror”, which phy. The language was German. The reader was Thus our church lived in Canada since 1874 was founded during Pentecost in Jerusalem (Acts the Bible. For the beginners we had the “Fibel” in relative peace until the time of the European 2), and which, already during the time of the [primary reader] and the Catechism, which was War, 1914 to 1918, in which war Canada, as an Apostles and also during later centuries, had to based on the Holy Scriptures. These schools we English colony, also participated [4]. suffer indescribably much persecution; although consider absolutely essential to keep our people it was also sometimes tolerated here and there at free from the world, free from military service 2. School Persecution. times, especially after the fire of tribulation had and steadfast in non-resistance. In the govern- It happened in 1918 that the government de- abated in Holland and Germany, where they had ment schools the children are being taught that it manded of us that we send our children to their nonetheless lived for many years under various is their duty and responsibility, in case of a war, schools. In the beginning, and, in fact, in the obstacles - yet even then had endured much op- to protect the fatherland with the sword and to spring of 1918, this only occurred in the position for many years. sacrifice their life for it. Our simple und humble Gemeinde in Hague, Province of Saskatchewan, In the years of 1788 to 1789 the emigration of methods of teaching, in as far as we do not ne- but soon then also at Swift Current and in our forefathers from Germany [Polish-Prussia] glect them, are however, sufficient to satisfy the Manitoba. to Russia began, which immigration, according promises which our fathers made when emigrat- As the school question, as already mentioned, to the notes of Ältester Gerhard Wiebe, contin- ing into Canada: namely, to be a silent agricul- had become a religious question for us, we could ued until 1862, when the last non-resistant [Men- tural people who would benefit the country by not, if we wanted to be true to our confession of nonites] - or those who refused to accept any their service [3]. Should we, in contrast, commit faith, obey the government in this case. Thereaf- obligations regarding the military service - mi- our children to the worldly nurture, then not only ter it now often occurred that brethren of our grated from Prussia to Russia. would we suffer the loss of the humble agricul- Gemeinde were sentenced to pay fines or impris- When then after some 85 years of relative tural life and the fruits of the land, but rather it onment, as they refused to send their children to peace in Russia, our forefathers faced the ques- was also readily obvious where things would go the government schools. However much we ap- tion of military service, the greater part remained within a few years in such a case with our reli- pealed to the government by pleading to permit calmly in their place and subjected themselves to gion and regarding our Gemeinde, namely, to the us to practice our religion, the way we had en- the requirements of the government. But our fore- world. For the regular schools are the true bridges joyed in the past for so long, it remained un- fathers again left their homeland and migrated allowing a transition from to the changed: we should henceforth leave our chil- with their children from Russia to Canada in 1874 world, of which we have an example of many dren in their schools. and later, consisting of two groups or Gemeinden, Mennonites who have their children educated in Many delegations to the Federal Canadian namely: the Bergthaler Gemeinde under the lead- the secular schools, and who now set themselves Government as also to the officials in the Provin- ership and oversight Ältester Gerhard Wiebe and up as equals to the world in all respects, which,

10 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 not send their children to these schools, rather only to our schools. In the beginning of 1920 an offer of land and privileges came from Mississippi, U.S.A., and consequently delegates from our Gemeinden in Manitoba and Swift Current departed for there on January 15, 1920. They returned on January 19, 1920 with the news that they were being offered the wished-for freedoms in the State of Mississippi, although this was not yet ratified in writing by the government. Various dealings now took place between our representatives and several men in Mississippi. Representatives from out there came to Manitoba and offered land for grain farming, as well as religious freedoms. The latter, however, were not deemed to be satisfactory, not was it so, when they reappeared a second time. On April 12, 1920, many delegates from three Gemeinden went to Mississippi. They returned on April 29 and brought along – what they thought were - nearly all desired liberties [7]. At a brotherhood meeting on May 4th in the An early pioneer home. Sketch - Kaufman Museum, North Newton, Kansas/Men. Life, Oct. 1949, page church in Reinland, it was decided to purchase 10. about 200,000 acres of land in Mississippi. Fol- lowing this many individual persons departed cial Government in which we were living were with this news. for there on May 14th. They arrived back on made by our representatives. But everything was In fact a small shimmer of hope was illumi- Pentecost, May 25 with the information that they in vain. Yes, futile was also the request that even nated by the small South American country of had reserved 125,000 acres of land. It was now if we should have to forsake our dwelling places, Paraguay, yet an emigration to that place was decided at a brotherhood meeting in Reinland, whether the Canadian government would not deemed as impossible and was given up. But our Manitoba, on June 1, that four men should drive somewhere have a place for us, where they could Gemeinde at Hague continued to maintain hope there and complete the transaction and make the allow us our freedoms. In response to this re- for South America, and sent another delegation agreed upon down payment. quest the high officials had answered, “Also not down there. But these finally came back without Every householder from out of our Gemeinde in the farthest north!” having accomplished anything and consequently in Manitoba who wanted to move there now had After having been engaged in this effort for they also abandoned the idea of South America. to state how many acres of land he would like to over a year, and the government in spite of all But some years later – around 1926 or 1927 - buy, and make a $2.00 down payment for each work, begging and supplication could not be one group from out of the Sommerfelder reserved [acre]. This money was actually col- moved [in its policies], the Gemeinde decided to Gemeinde, with whom we otherwise did not have lected, but could not be paid out on account of the emigrate out of Canada, if we could find the lib- any fellowship, made the long journey for the land, as henceforth the U.S.A. border was closed erties which we had lost here somewhere in a same purpose which had concerned us, and emi- for all Mennonites. For this reason the brethren different country [5]. grated to Paraguay after their delegates had made who had been appointed to go there to complete prior investigations of the land regarding reli- the purchase agreement had not crossed over. 3. The Emigration. gious freedom [6], and after having received an Since we could not ascertain why the border In July 1919 (July 15 in Manitoba), brother- official contract from that government regarding was closed for us, nor was anyone permitted to hood meetings were held where it was decided to religious freedom, making the long journey to cross, we had to see this as the leading of God, send delegates to Argentina, South America, in Paraguay in South America, where - after they who would not want to permit us to suffer mis- order to find out whether the government of Ar- had overcome many difficulties and manifold fortune. Most likely the entire offer of freedom gentina would want to grant us the freedoms hindrances - they finally established themselves had merely been that of the land agents. Conse- regarding church and schools in their country. and made their living (Should we not learn from quently we gave up on the U.S.A. Two delegates each from all three Gemeinden them?). It now came to pass that the government of were sent: from Manitoba - Uncle Klaas Heide Although our delegates returned from that the Province of Quebec in Canada seemingly und Uncle Cornelius Rempel from Blumenort; long journey without success, yet the oppression was inclined to grant us the freedom which we from Hague - the two ministers Johann P. Wall regarding the schools did not abate in the mean- sought. As a result some representatives from und Johann Wall; and from Swift Current - Rev. time. In the beginning the persecution was un- Manitoba and Swift Current travelled there on Julius Wiebe and David Rempel. At the begin- dertaken only in areas where our brethren were August 13, 1920, and returned at the end of Au- ning of August in the year 1919 these six del- living in districts in which the public schools had gust. egates left for South America. While they were in earlier been built by such people who - although The Gemeinde at Hague did not participate in Brazil, Rev. Johann Wall himself fell sick and they called themselves Mennonites like we - were this. Some delegates from there went to Mexico died there. He was also buried there by his griev- ready to pull together with the yoke of the world on September 8, 1920, who then came back on ing travelling companions (Note Three). There- to a considerable extent and, in fact, did so vol- October 9 with good expectations [8]. after the five delegates pressed forward on their untarily. Although the entire oppression against But from Manitoba and Swift Current some trip and also finally came to Argentina. Yet the us because of the schools, to a large extent, was drove to Quebec several times, and it really seemed entire trip seemed to be a failure. Neither the caused by the these Mennonites, yet it seemed as if that the Quebec government was actually Argentineans nor the Brazilians wanted to grant the law regarding us was already complete, for inclined to accept us into their Province. But as us such liberties to instruct our own children presently government schools were built in and Quebec was just as much in Canada as Manitoba according to our methods in our own schools among our villages by the Attorney [Trustee] for and Saskatchewan, it was decided among us not and to remain free of military service. The del- the government and our brethren, as already men- to take the risk without the approval of the su- egates returned home on November 24, 1919, tioned, fell deeper into punishment as they did preme Canadian Government. Although both the

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 11 Ältester Johann Friesen from Manitoba and In the meantime our oppressed situation here be made for them. However, the dwellings of the Abraham Wiebe, Swift Current, themselves went in Canada had not improved for us. Various people landless should estimated, so that they would to Ottawa, the effort to move to Quebec was who lived in the vicinity of the state or govern- also receive something, and this money should likewise abandoned (Note Four). ment schools, and, in some villages where the then be taken from the money which the Gemeinde During this time another offer for land and government was now in addition allowing new would receive for all the land. freedom was made from out of the State of schools to be built, were being plagued evermore Certainly some found this a little difficult to Florida, U.S.A. But the same already did not severely. Nor were the ministers being spared: surrender their land, which they considered as of delay us very much. Although these people did the aged Rev. Peter Friesen, Schanzenfeld, to- better quality and upon which they had exerted find a receptive audience at places, it was not of gether with some others, was thrown into prison so much effort and work to maintain it in a more great significance. in Winnipeg for a month, since he did not wish to profitable condition, for the same price as that of commit his children unto the spirit of the world. less valuable land. Yet they soon became willing 4. Mexico. And although most of the brethren paid such and surrendered themselves to the principle, However, as already mentioned, when the punishments [fines] with money, it still was, none- “Look not every man unto his own things, but delegates who had travelled to Mexico came back theless, a plague. For this reason some people every man also unto the things of others,” on October 9 with good hope, it was decided at a began to leave their homesteads and moved to Philippians 2:4 and Corinthians 10:24. Indeed, it brotherhood meeting in Reinland on November such places, where because of their greater dis- soon had the appearance, so to say, that we were 1, 1920, to jointly send delegates from all three tance from such schools they were left in peace. of all one heart and one soul. It seemed that ev- Gemeinden to Mexico. These left on November According to a discussion held in the eryone realized that we all had to emigrate from 11, 1920, two from Hague and two from Swift Gemeinde a list was drawn up as how much land there and be united in faith if God was to grant His blessing for our journey. So it seemed and it may also have been that way in the hearts of many. But it is not nearly the most difficult thing to be a Christian in happy hopeful times, and at that time many were of the firm expectation that all the land which our brethren owned in Manitoba could be sold for a high price of at least $75.00 per acre. Many people could not understand that such a price was much too high for such people who would later have to buy the land from out of the hands of the real estate agents in order to cultivate it and then still be able to live from it, and that the high price of the property, which was paid for some individual farms, was to a great extent only the result of the high war time [prices] of 1914-1918, and that earlier it had been much cheaper, and out of necessity also had to become cheaper again. The high prices during the war period had, in this regard, blinded the eyes of many. Well and good, for most of the brethren com- mitted all their land for sale [11] and a contract Plutarco Elias Calles, President of Mexico, visited was made with the lawyers, McLeod, Black & the Mennonite colonies in Cuauhtemoc in 1925 (see Pres., No. 21, rear cover). Photo of President Co. in the City of Morden, that these should be Calles from Peter Rempel, ed., 1922 Mennoniten the sellers of our colony in Manitoba. This agree- in Mexico 1997, ment was binding until August, 1921. If the land could not be sold in a joint sale by the designated Current. This time those from Manitoba did not Alvaro Obregon, President of Mexico, 1920-24. date, then our people should have the liberty to receive their passports in time and, as a result, In 1921 Obregon granted the Old Colonists their sell according to their own possibilities, so that had to remain back. The travellers returned at the Privilegium. Peter Rempel, ed., 1922 Mennoniten the Gemeinde would not be prevented or held end of December and again brought good pros- in Mexico 1997, page 305. back from emigrating through a purposeless deal- pects. Thereupon, on January 24, 1921, the fol- ing. In Saskatchewan the Gemeinde had also ar- lowing from our three Gemeinden were sent to each brother wanted to buy in Mexico. There- ranged a similar joint sale. Mexico: from Hague - Rev. Johann Loeppky upon several delegates again went to Mexico, After many visits to Mexico, the delegates and Benjamin Goertzen; from Swift Current - April 5, 1921 to finalize the matter. They returned brought back the information on September 10th, David Rempel; from Manitoba - Rev. Julius May 9 and again brought good information, and 1921, that they had bought land for the Manitoba Loewen, Uncle Klaas Heide and Uncle Cornelius so the beloved Ältester Johann Friesen called the colony in the State of Chihuahua near San Anto- Rempel. brethren together on Thursday, May 19, in the nio de Arenalis (later Cuauhtemoc) for $8.25 On March 12th the delegation returned from church in Reinland for a discussion. It was de- American per acre. Once again everyone had to Mexico with the Privilegium which was received cided that some 200,000 acres of land should be state how many acres of land he wanted to buy, from President Obregon whereby our people were bought, to which we then wanted to move in and then immediately also pay $2.25 for every promised complete religious freedom and also order that we could again - as in Canada - culti- acre. Whoever was not able to pay everything, our own schools completely according to our vate our land. Also the land which our people owed the remainder to the Gemeinde against six custom – to instruct our children according to owned here in Canada should be sold, and, if (6%) per cent interest and the Gemeinde, in turn, our conscience [9]. Also the land was found by possible, before we emigrated [10]. remained indebted for this to the sellers. the delegates to be good enough, so that they It was now decided that all the land owned Regarding the selling in our Gemeinde, all voiced the hope that with the help of God we here in Manitoba should, if possible, be sold as a efforts up to August 21, 1921 were entirely fu- could also make our living there (Note Four). community, so that all would receive the same tile. Naturally, in the meantime, the land value Thus, finally a hope that we could again find price per acre. The dwellings should be counted had fallen drastically. Hence many brethren be- a place of refuge, if it was otherwise God’s will. as belonging to the land and no valuation should gan to be uneasy, so that it was again and again

12 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 decided at brotherhood discussions to leave the land in the block sale. Consequently our repre- sentatives continued to deal through the afore- mentioned lawyers. Many began to become quite unwilling in this regard and always more ear- nestly requested the freedom to sell their land on their own since they surmised an unnecessary delay in the immigration because of the futile arrangement with the lawyers. In the beginning when the land was submit- ted for sale, the aforesaid lawyers also soon had a prospective buyer for the land. Consequently a date was established [12] at which time the sale was to be concluded. When the designated day arrived, the buyer experienced some kind of a hindrance, so that he was not able to buy it for that price and the sale was aborted. But a new agreement was immediately entered into with the same buyer. A closing date was again agreed to when the sale was to be completed, only for a somewhat lower price. But when the designated day came, again something had intervened, so that the transaction was again aborted. This re- peated itself several times. One time the buyer did not have the money, another time he did not appear because of sickness. Soon it was this, soon that was in the way, so that the sale could not be completed. Yet the dealings were contin- ued in the same manner. Regarding the moveable property everyone was at liberty to sell according to their own need and wishes. Many who now had a desire to emi- grate as soon as possible, sold the goods which they did not want to take along to Mexico at public auction sales to the highest bidder already in the fall of 1921. Everything went for a low price, as there were too many sellers and too few buyers. Finally some people also began to sell their land on their own and that without having re- ceived the prior permission from the appointed leaders. They were, however, often seen as not being quite “in order”. Indeed, it got to the point that those who had sold their land on their own for the price which they could get in order to be able to prepare for the emigration, had to ask for forgiveness from the ministerial, otherwise they were declined the emigration papers. The prices for which the land sold differed, around $10.00 to $20.00 per acre, more or less. This writing, however, is not to serve for the purpose of publicizing the mistakes and unrigh- teous errors which were made in the entire emi- Map of the Manitoba and Swift colonies, near Cuauhtemoc, Mexico, founded by the Old Colonists in gration process. But as the evil beast is a perse- 1922 - Walter Schmiedehaus, Ein Fester Berg, pages 151-2. The Mexican Mennonites have won the cutor and perverter of all good in everyone, so it hearts of many neighbours and officials with their simple lifestyle and Christ-centered discipleship. One was finally really no wonder that his hand would of these friends was Walter Schmiedehaus, the German Counsel in Cuauhtemoc who became a frequent also be in play during an emigration where many advisor. In 1948 he published the renown history Ein Fester Berg ist unser Gott: Der Wanderweg eines a sincere-minded Christian, because of his faith, christlichen Siedlervolkes (Cuauhtemoc, 1948), 307 pages. But these pious people also have enemies, is subjected to many things [13]. Maybe the be- especially among the so-called American Evangelicals, such as Evangelist Jakob Funk, Winnipeg, loved God permits the enemy to do this in order Canada, who in 2001 published various untruths about them in several periodicals (see Pres., No. 18, to test the faith of those who consider themselves page 39 and No. 19, page 77). Presumably such slandering of the is intended as such who because of their religion fled from to make it easier to convert their young and dissatisfied people away from the “hard” Gospel of one land into another. following Jesus and to turn them against their own community and faith. Photo - Diese Steine, page In the beginning, when the work of the emi- 589. gration was introduced by the Lehrdienst, the religious liberty in so many places came to naught, years with some brethren who had difficulty in desire to emigrate was almost universally quite and now the selling of their own land did not accepting the Ordnung of the Gemeinde. Even strong. Only a few tended to hold back a little progress forward, the desire for emigration in during the time when the government did not more. When, however, the entire endeavour was many abated and, finally, ended entirely for some. demand it, they had rather sent their children to delayed for so long, in that, firstly, the search for The Gemeinde had already worked in earlier the secular schools instead of being a light. The

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 13 spirit of pride also evermore gained in Canada, the dealings therewith in strength in our people, including were continued as before, to sell it as the desire to drive the automobile a community and yet always more which became so strong within people began to sell on their own as many that they did not want to yield well as they could. Nor was any land in obedience to the Gemeinde in this ever sold through the community matter either. It had earlier already block sale or lawyers’ sale, although been decided by brotherhood deci- some three or four years were occu- sions that the automobile should not pied herewith, during which time also be allowed in the Gemeinde, as the Peter and Bernhard Penner, Gnadenfeld, plowing with two Fordson tractors most of the first emigrants moved vehicle, first of all, was a means of and plows brought along from Canada. Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in without first having sold their land. striving for equality with the world, Mexico, page 66. They sold later by means of letters whereby the desire and love of the or had others in Canada sell it for world and its glory was evermore enhanced. Also in Reinland on February 11, 1922, which then them. we do need to give heed thereto that we would also took place. Enough people were also gath- not only want to enjoy the good in this life with ered here so that a fourth train load could be 5. Situation in Mexico. the rich man, but rather should willingly bring filled. Here all the papers essential for emigration The proverb says, “All beginnings are diffi- sacrifices for our faith. were completed. cult.” We also experienced this in the new settle- Consequently Ältester Johann Friesen ar- Following this the first train departed on ment [in Mexico]. Many had gotten rich during ranged for a brotherhood meeting to be held in March 1, 1922, from Plum Coulee, Manitoba, the high prices of the war of 1914 to 1918, and the church in Reinland on January 24, 1922, for Mexico. On March 2 the second train left even those who had not yet been able to save where it was decided that the Ältester together from Haskett, Manitoba, Canada. On March 7 money but had a debt-free farm could, as soon as with the ministers should go through the church the third train and on Sunday, the 11th of March, he had received the payment for his land, make [membership] and make a list of those who fur- the fourth train left, both from Haskett, Manitoba. the beginning relatively well. But the landless thermore wanted to submit to the Word of God During this time two trains also left from the had different experiences, namely, after having and the simplicity in Christ and to emigrate to- Swift Current Colony in Saskatchewan. All of paid for the trip, they were without money right gether with the Gemeinde. Those from the start; indeed, some might who voluntarily came forward were even owe money for the journey. stricken [from the membership rolls] What was now to be done so [14] by the Lehrdienst according to that those who could not pay in ad- the teaching of Joshua, “...choose vance for the allotted land could pay you this day whom you will in honesty and faith upon credit? The serve...but as for me and my house, Vorsteher of the Gemeinde had to we will serve the Lord.” [Joshua pay the sellers from time to time as 24:15]. This was completed by the [16] land payments became due. March 1, 1922, but only in the But from where were they to get the Gemeinde in Manitoba. money if the debtors in the In the meantime the danger for Gemeinde could not pay? In this re- our religion grew ever greater as the gard meetings were held right from oppression on part of the govern- the beginning in the school in ment regarding the schools did not Going visiting with a nice horse and a one-seater buggy. Naturally mother Rosenfeld, Mexico. I cannot say oth- has the smallest child on her lap, the second smallest one sits between mother abate. In addition, as already men- erwise but that those who gave ad- and father, and the oldest two, sit at their feet. Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten tioned, lethargy and indifference vice at that time - who were mainly in Mexico, page 66. seemed to creep in amongst many. of those of better means and well- Since the mutual selling of the land, however, them arrived safe and sound in San Antonio dur- to-do - were led by the spirit of love, for in so far did not progress, many became fearful of wait- ing the first half of the month of March [15]. as I was able to ascertain, (I - who then was poor ing for too long with the emigration. Therefore Here our freight was unloaded and all things and have also remained poor), they accepted the many came to the conclusion to emigrate as soon were eventually taken from the city to the coun- well-being of their poorer fellow-brethren as much as possible, and, if necessary, without first hav- tryside, where each one planned to settle. The on their hearts as their own. ing sold their land, which they then committed to emigration now halted until July of the same year. The conclusion was reached that the poor, others who did not intend to emigrate immedi- Then again many trains departed for Mexico. who otherwise could not pay, should punctually ately to sell on their behalf. Some forthwith sold The emigration lasted primarily for three years, give over annually the fifth part of their harvest their land for the price which they could receive. 1922 to 1925. Nevertheless some also left Canada to the Gemeinde as payment on account of their February 7, 1922, a number of brethren gathered for Mexico thereafter. land debt. Those who would do so punctually, at the home of Franz Loewen in Rosengart in Regarding the frequently mentioned land sale would have the right to farm the allotted land order to determine how many would according to his desires, so as to be willing to emigrate right away, if support themselves and their fami- possible. Enough persons were as- lies in an honourable way. Could it sembled here in order to fill three have been done better? The one who train loads. This gathering was con- does not have his own land and cul- ducted by the ministers, the tivates rented land, usually has to Honourable Isaac Dyck and the pay the fourth part, and frequently Honourable Franz Loewen. None of even more, as the rent. For such a the other leaders were present. payment he actually has nothing After this had taken place, all more of the harvest than the left over those who pushed so much for emi- part. But here in the Gemeinde he gration were asked by means of a could become a landowner if he an- circular letter by the Obervorsteher Three Friesen brothers tilling beans, Neuendorf, during the 1940s. Photo - nually paid the fifth part, and that as Franz Froese to gather in the school Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page 66. payment for the land, so that year by

14 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 year he could increase his estate. would not receive any interest, but Once his land debt had been liqui- that the debtors were to pay one (1%) dated in this way, then he did not per cent interest. This was applicable have to pay the fifth part any longer. to the Waisenamt as well as also the Oh how sad, that many poor later Gemeinde treasury. But as the de- did not meet these obligations. Ac- positors in the Waisenamt had to give cording to my humble insight, many up one (1%) per cent of their depos- a one grievously sinned against that its for the administration of the generous arrangement, because Waisenamt, the depositors thereby many did not make the agreed-upon came to a disadvantage relative to payments over numerous years. the debtors. Instead of receiving Hence many fellow brethren, includ- some compensation from the others ing often the innocent heirs, suffered This photo must be taken shortly after the arrival in Mexico. In front, holding for the use of their money, they now great losses. Oh, how does this har- the whip, is David B. Penner. Sitting besides him is the well-known dentist, had to forfeit one (1%) per cent of it monize with the content of the sec- Isaak L. Dyck. Sitting in the rear, left hand side, is Peter B. Penner, Blumenthal. to the Waisenamt, whereas the debt- ond tablet of the Ten Command- Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page 66. ors who were using other people’s ments: you are to love your neighbour money, by comparison, only had to as yourself? sold to the increasing youth in our Gemeinde and pay one (1%) per cent. This awakened a good The agricultural practices in Mexico to a great be paid for by them in a similar way. deal of dissatisfaction. extent differed from that which we were accus- But then, however, as already mentioned, It came to the point that the depositors sold tomed to in Canada, so that all of us had to un- those first years were much more difficult than their accounts for far below the real value in or- learn many things. In addition the prices of our many had thought, and also little of the great debt der to thereby be able to use or spend at least a products decreased so much during the depres- in the Gemeinde could be paid back. It so hap- part of it. Those who otherwise wanted to buy sion [17], so that they had almost no things from other persons, by as- worth in comparison with the prices signing credit in their deposits, fre- of our necessary supplies and farm quently had to pay two or three times implements. (At that time, 1930 to the actual amount owing. This oc- 1932, corn, beans and oats were curred especially during public auc- priced only at 15-20 pesos per ton). tion sales when prices were bid As a result poverty also started to higher. manifest itself among those who dur- These difficult times lasted for ing the war years in Canada had al- many years. It was caused in part ready more or less laid money aside. because the Gemeinde had much Whoever bought a single corn culti- more debt in the Waisenamt and to vator in those impoverished years individual brethren than it had as- had to produce up to 15 tons and sets. Indeed the church had much more of corn in order to pay for the land lying for sale, but for the most same. part it lay at such high altitudes that The lack of money got ever there seemed to be no water to be greater and little progress was made located there. For that reason there with the paying of debt in the This tractor belongs to Abraham Rempel, Reinland, who apparently brought were no buyers to be found for this Gemeinde. Consequently the it along from Canada. Abram Rempel was the father of B. A. Rempel, Neu- land, although the land had been re- Gemeinde could no longer pay the Reinland (see Old Colony Men. in Can., pages 181-2). Photo - Rempel, ed., duced to $14.00 per acre, and there sale agents, unless they borrowed Mennoniten in Mexico, page 67. were many in need of land. It be- evermore money from the wealthier came more and more common, how- brethren. After a while, however, these started to pened that very soon the ones who had their ever, that our brethren bought land in other places become more and more reluctant. As a result al- money in the Waisenamt [18], could not nearly from the Mexicans, where there was water and ways higher interest was promised, and although be paid according to what they needed. Many which also was cheaper than the church land. it became always more difficult, the Vorsteher meetings were held regarding this matter, as to 1922-1936. were always able to bring together enough money how best to remedy this need. Presently it was Another very critical situation resulted in that the payments falling due to the sellers of the decided, among other things, that the interest on much difficulty. The land had not been bought land could be met until the debt to the outside the debt was to be dropped, so that the depositors from the owners in Mexico for Mexican cur- could finally be liquidated. rency but with American dollars, and In addition to loans from some therefore the Vorsteher had also [19] individual brethren, the Gemeinde borrowed much money for the pay- Vorsteher, however, had also bor- ment of this debt from individual rowed large sums from the brethren in dollars. Now it happened Waisenamt, which [money] at that that the Mexican peso, which in any time, at least in part, belonged to the case only had half the value of the minor heirs and, in part, also be- American dollar, was even more de- longed to the older persons and the valuated, so that it became evermore elderly, who had invested their sav- difficult to pay back the dollar debt ings into the Waisenamt in order to to the brethren. Therefore it was fi- be able to live from it. The money Johan P. Neufeld, Reinland, plowing his land with a unique team. In front nally decided to peg the value of was to be paid back, after, firstly, the are two exceptionally large mules and, in the back, three large Canadian dollar in the Gemeinde at $2.15 pe- brethren who owed their land to the horses. The driver is Peter Martens, formerly Heuboden, today [1997] living sos. This again caused much dissat- Gemeinde had paid for it, and sec- with his children in Campo 64-B. Mr. Martens and Mrs. Martens, nee Peters, isfaction among the brethren who ondly, after the surplus land which were both 87 years old [in 1997]. Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in had loaned dollars to the Gemeinde, had been bought for the future was Mexico, page 67. as these thereby lost a large part of

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 15 the value of their money. 1940s. [21] have already been thieves and robbers from When we all were in Canada then some breth- Our sister Gemeinde of Swift Current settled amongst our midst. Also goods are frequently ren gave the advice for the time being not to buy here in our neighbourhood according to similar brought across the border in unlawful ways from any more land in Mexico than could immediately circumstance in 1922 and later. Those of the Hague foreign countries by our brethren. In addition be paid for in cash. If later on more land was Gemeinde settled a few years later in the State of there is much complaining and scolding regard- needed, then surely means would be found. Oth- Durango. From the latter the greater part remained ing Mexico and the “thieving Mexicans.” But ers, however, thought that if once we were in in Canada, whereas from Manitoba the greater through this and because sometimes resort has Mexico and had success, then the land surround- part moved to Mexico. been made to weapons, we have not become any ing the colony would soon be bought up by oth- better, and instead of the stealing becoming less, ers and we would have no reserves for our in- 6. Temptations. it has increased and the thieves have also started creasing youth. Therefore it was best to buy as Also in other aspects the Gemeinde did not shooting at our people [23]. much land as was only possible, so as to also escape without trials and tribulations. Right fre- Indeed, even murders and fatal assaults have provide for the future. The latter advice was fol- quently robberies and thievery took place. But taken place amongst our people. Firstly, it hap- lowed, and because of this the aforementioned the behaviour of our people has also often been pened in the Gemeinde in Durango, where a youth difficulties arose. If the first advice had been so bad and lamentable, so that we justly must was shot by the hand of a Mexican. Only a few taken, the land could later have been bought much confess that we have been to blame when evil years later, in 1931, in our colony here in the more cheaply and no one needed to have suf- things befall us. Indeed the gracious God has village of Schanzenfeld, a young brother, by name fered loss because of the Gemeinde. Although used various means and wonderful guidance and Letkeman, a bachelor, was shot by bandits, this way of securing land for the future may have thereby sought to draw us closer to Him. For whereof he died some time later after a severe been meant well, it was now manifest that trust in example, through severe sicknesses which sickness. God’s help would have been safer. passed through our colonies with exceptional Thereafter, on Tuesday, October 24th, 1933, Under what load of debts the Manitoba Colony severity, especially in 1925, when many were at about 10 p.m. a murder was committed, which had to suffer for many years can in part be seen carried to their grave. far eclipsed all of the like which we had experi- from the following table. Although many breth- Also on October 31, 1928, at 10 p.m. we enced to that time, namely, the family of Peter ren owed the Gemeinde large debts, as of Janu- experienced an earthquake. Although it did not Schellenberg, consisting of husband, wife and ary 1 [20] 1932 the Gemeinde had $890.124.74 create any particular damage, it displaced many an only son of four years old, and living near the more debt than credit, in 1933 the Gemeinde had into fear and anxiety. People were affected with City of Cuauhtemoc were murdered in a dreadful 930.920.52 more debt than credit, in 1934 the dizziness and the shaking of the houses was evi- manner. The husband and the wife, severely Gemeinde had 769.182.73 more debt than credit, dent. Chickens fell off their roosts, and other stabbed and shot, were found dead on their yard in 1935 the Gemeinde had 689.738.03 more debt things more. on the morning of October 25 by the young than credit, in 1936 the Gemeinde had 684.436.94 Besides this Mexico has also suffered sev- Wilhelm Wiebe of Blumenthal. The son with a more debt than credit, in 1937 the Gemeinde had eral revolutions while we have lived here. It was slashed throat was found in a room. 658.696.41 more debt than credit, in 1938 the particularly difficult in the year 1929, when large Whether a special reason was applicable Gemeinde had 648.751.04 more debt than credit, units of soldiers rode through our villages. As against these Schellenbergs, which gave rise to in 1939 the Gemeinde had 598.518.96 more debt dangerous as such times can always be for the an act of revenge, has not become known. Should than credit, in 1940 the Gemeinde had 546.562.34 inhabitants of the land, yet not a hair was bent this not finally awaken all of us, that we should more debt than credit, in 1941 the Gemeinde had among us. So graciously the Ruler of the earth direct ourselves to the Father in a truly childlike 446.691.90 more debt than credit, in 1942 the extended His hand before us [20], so that noth- manner, to supplicate to Him for grace and mercy Gemeinde had 376.490.57 more debt than credit, ing happened to us. Have we in general not for- for ourselves and likewise also for the govern- in 1943 the Gemeinde had 308.826.19 more debt gotten far too much to bring our thanks to our ment, that it might be strengthened to guard against than credit, in 1944 the Gemeinde had 154.950.04 benevolent God because He has redeemed our such evil? This event more or less transposed the more debt than credit, in 1945 the Gemeinde had lives from destruction and bestowed so much entire colony into fear and dread. Although the 89.201.03 more debt than credit, in 1946 the goodness upon us? Yet in spite of all the wonder- government sent policemen to protect us, yet in Gemeinde had 40.1244.39 more debt than credit, ful leading, as well as the many blessings which many villages the men took turns standing guard and in 1947 the Gemeinde had 29.691.48 more the beloved God has allowed us to partake of in during the night, so as to warn the people in the debt than credit (Note Six). order to draw us closer to Him, it seems He village in case of a further attack and whereby the From 1932 to 1947 are 16 years. We emi- accomplishes His purpose only in small part, terror might be ameliorated and such attacks might grated already in 1922 to Mexico, namely, 26 because “.... one does not see any improvement. be also be thwarted [24]. years ago, and during this long time the excess O, superseding loss!/ men hate the peace for the After this, in the beginning of May, 1934, debt had not yet been liquidated. How much soul/ and rush onward toward Hell, and/ neglect another cry of fear went through the colony. On longer should it take until both the debt and the the time of grace. Monday, April 30th, Jacob Peters, teacher in credit were eliminated? Well, one had to console In the beginning when once in a while strang- Neustaedt No. 101, was shot by bandits in the oneself with the fact that the financial situation ers stole something among us, one seldom or store of P.H. Peters, Burwalde, during a robbery. was improving. In addition some brethren had never heard that the thieves carried weapons or This murderer was captured some days later by found through exploring the mentioned [reserve] arms. In contrast one often had to hear that in the police and some time later was also shot by land that there was a possibility of water, and that such situations our own people took weapons them. by drilling wells sufficient water might be avail- and shot after the thieves, even though primarily The Gemeinde in Durango also had to suffer able for the necessities. The land itself was fruit- to scare them away. Indeed, many, unfortunately, a good deal because of attacks by bandits - par- ful enough, if there is sufficient rain. As a result did not conduct themselves as would be appro- ticularly during the winter of 1933 to 1934 - so it became possible to either rent or in part to sell priate for non-resistant Christians. Instead of pray- that they hardly knew what they should do since almost all the land. Should now the beloved God ing for this country, the government and the they could no longer even rest during the night, grant blessing, then the financial account could people, much blasphemy and evil was spoken because they had to live in constant fear. Even improve in time. about the same. Instead of demonstrating to the their unmarried women were at times shamed Some of the rich and better provisioned breth- people of this land through a pious virtuous con- until finally the leader of the bandits was ex- ren had broken up much land with their tractor duct, how followers of Christ must here be en- ecuted by the police. Some more attacks occurred ploughs. The settlers paid for the ploughing with gaged, the conduct of many, including also the later whereby some of the wives were also raped. a certain share of the harvest. youth, is such that reduces us to shame. And Oh, what a lamentable situation. These are in part the economic conditions of how many have not already by now become guilty April 1, 1936, Uncle Abraham Braun in the our Manitoba Colony until the latter part of the regarding the property of others. Indeed, there Colony in Durango, was murdered during the

16 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 night by bandits. customs. This occurred in 1936, and we also although they had actually accomplished nothing When we think back to the years during which proceeded forthwith. more than “we will send it to you later.” Now the we lived in Canada without giving thought as to unrest increased evermore. Lists of names were what served for our peace, how has it become so 7. Restless Factions. drawn up, so as to show the Gemeinde how much different! Until the time of the Great War For many the time during which our schools many there were who wanted to go to Canada. of 1914 to 1918 we lived in comparative peace were closed brought forth sadness and anxiety, They demanded of the Vorsteher to start prepar- and even during the war itself we had nothing to but for many others the murmuring spirit of dis- ing for an emigration down there. complain about for the longest time. And as the content seemed to evermore gain strength. As In March of 1938 some men from the United times grew evermore prosperous, many amongst long as we could live here in apparent peace and States (U.S.A.) were here in Cuauhtemoc and us became rich with earthly possessions. Every- security, only a very few were very unsatisfied. had given a certain part of our brethren good thing that the farmer had to sell brought an ab- Even from the very beginning now and then a promises regarding land and liberties in the State normally high price. Wheat at that time was sold few went back, but most were nonetheless satis- of South Dakota. As a result a “South Dakota for over $3.00 per bushel, whereas before the fied. But when the loving God permitted the at- Party” was formed among us, which worked war it usually sold for less than a dollar, some- tacks by the bandits and even death and fatal toward an emigration to South Dakota. Later this where around 60 to 80 cents per bushel. Many assaults were committed against our people, then “air building” imploded upon itself. Nothing had were able to do with their farms what they wanted, the unrest became great, and there were ever- been gained thereby, but much money had evi- [25] there was always enough money at hand. more people to be found who wanted to get away dently been spent in travelling. In the meanwhile A few years later however, the prices fell and from here. But only a very few thought of an many also went back to Canada. But what was it began to go backwards. After we had already emigration. Most of them only wanted to return the worst of all this? Many a one had sinned been in Mexico for several years, prosperous back to Canada. Many brought their Canadian through complaining and blaspheming regard- times were also experienced here, in the midst of citizenship papers in order, and as many were ing the country, people and government, instead poverty and deprivation. Many who had never too poor to be able to so this, it was frequently of praying for it the way the Holy Scriptures been without money during the rich times, were desired that the Vorsteher should take the matter teach us. Could the word of Isaiah 30:9 not apply now without credit. But it is not always the great of obtaining British citizenship into their hands. to many of us when it states “That is a rebellious poverty which is to blame for the loss of credit, It got so far that Ältester Isaak Dyck was people, lying children that will not hear the law but also the punishable indifference in making asked concerning this matter during a brother- of the Lord?” payments, and that many far too easily promised hood meeting. However, it was disapproved by If we honestly consider how earnestly we what they later do not fulfill. If a person is hin- the brethren who could not see [27] that if we left have sometimes prayed that God, the Lord, might dered by poverty in making payments which have a country because of our religion to flee into have compassion over us and bring us into a land been promised, they should not allow the matter another, we could not subsequently ask the gov- where we could serve Him in peace and live any rest, but rather seek to make arrangements ernment out of whose land we had fled, for help according to our faith; and then when He gra- with the creditor. As this is often not done, he and safety for the reason that we were apparently ciously answered our prayers and had brought thereby loses his credit. not faring well here. This, however, increased us into a pleasant land, and we then speak so In May 1935 it happened - in fact, partially the unrest even more, and so they finally consti- disparagingly, “No, I do not like it here. I want to unexpectedly - that the government took away tuted their own party which then worked at being get away from here,” is this a thank-you well- our school freedom and closed our schools. In able to get back to Canada. This party gained a pleasing unto God for graciously heeding our the process the inspector recorded what kind of large following, and finally even the Ältester was prayers? How can such a person expect God to school room it was, the circumstances found in- persuaded to take up the work [regarding the be with him if he works with such an attitude, to side, and that our schools were forthwith closed, return] to Canada. move from one country after another, or to carry because the teaching methods in force therein, When a brotherhood meeting was held for out a move back to Canada? [30] Oh, that to- were against the school regulations of the land, this reason on November 1, 1935, the enthusi- gether with Nineveh, we would truly repent. Oth- or something of the like. This writing was signed asm was so strong for Canada, that it seemed erwise we have much to fear that severe punish- by the official, and also the teacher had to sign somewhat unwise to speak against it. Finally a ment might fall upon us. “Nevertheless the firm the same with the promise not to conduct school delegation from the Gemeinde in Chihuahua was foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, until the school was brought into compliance with actually sent to Canada, who personally traversed The Lord knows his own.” And, “Let every one the government. the entire country from west to east, but every- that names the name of Christ depart from iniq- During this summer our beloved Ältester Ohm where received only refusals except in the Prov- uity,” 2 Timothy 2:19. Further, “Now the just Johann Friesen, Neuenburg, died on August 2, ince of Quebec, where the liberties were not defi- shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my 1935, after a quite protracted sickness. His suc- nitely declined. The same wanted to consider the soul shall have no pleasure in him,” Hebrews cessor in that office was Prediger Isaak Dyck, petition for freedoms and then inform us of their 10:38; Romans 1:11; Galatians 3:11. Blumenfeld, who was elected through a general decision in that regard by letter. This process ballot on December 12. The election was still protracted for over two years, and in spite of the 8. Second World War. conducted by Ältester Johann Friesen [26]. fact that we in the meanwhile had again received When in 1939 the fearful war broke out in But as winter and therewith the holy Christ- our school liberties in Mexico and the govern- Europe against Germany, which Canada also mas time drew nearer, and we still did not have ment had also promised to protect us from the supported with all it’s might. then for a time the the freedom to hold our schools, notwithstand- attacks, yet the desire to move back to Canada restless spirit - which had worked so tirelessly to ing that our representatives on our part had dealt grew ever stronger. Finally, after repeated inquir- persuade the Gemeinde to move back to Canada with the government throughout the entire sum- ies, the answer from Quebec came, that they had - amongst us abated. Rightly said they periodi- mer, it so happened that in some villages the no land for immigrants and also that the language cally abandoned this field of conflict in order to teachers gathered quietly with their pupils in pri- would have to be either English or French. engage other issues and thereby to get as many vate houses during the evening to learn the po- Yet the Canada-minded party long ago al- souls as possible into the web. But for many this ems and songs which our children customarily ready had disregarded the work which the temporary forsaking of the thoughts regarding memorized for the Christmas program. Gemeinde Vorsteher did in this regard, and for Canada did not come about through an honest Finally after eight months of long waiting, some time had worked independently. Many times attitude, for it came about because so many during which time extensive negotiations were men from amongst them went to Canada, but among us in their feelings sided with Germany. conducted with the government, and it nonethe- who never accomplished anything. In summer This was in no way in harmony with the teaching less seemed as if everything was futile, the gov- of 1937 some of their men again went to Quebec. of non-resistance as found in the New Testa- ernment relented and granted us the freedom to They [28] came back in September of the same ment. Since Canada and the United States fought again teach in our schools according to our old year with a great display with good promises, against Germany, the rebellious desire to move

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 17 to Canada thereby abated temporarily. But unexpectedly and suddenly In spite of such sad misconducts the 19th of June, 1944 brought the among us, the financial situation did news that Rev. Franz Loewen had not stand still. Apparently it was to died after a two or three-day sick- be that we should experience things ness. Thus the last pillar there near as formerly the Israelites did under Saltillo was gone. A number of the Judah whereof it is written in 2 settlers from there also soon came Chronicles 12:12, “....and also in back, and presently more came and Judah things went well.” As this ac- already by the beginning of October count of 1939 earlier already re- of the same year, the last ones from ported, the huge debt of the there were back in Chihuahua and Gemeinde at that time was already Peter and Maria Neufeld settled in Kronstal. Maria is standing in the door- the entire settlement project was a way watching Peter plow with their horses brought along from Canada. Sons decreasing, although its complete liq- total failure. Peter and Herman are running behind. Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in uidation [30] seemingly still lay in Mexico, page 69. For those who observed these the distant future. The surplus land efforts and experiences in the which the Gemeinde had for sale for a long time, Cuauhtemoc departed on March 4, 1944, for Gemeinde in an honest way relative to the gradual was gradually sold; although the debt was not Saltillo, including Rev. Franz Loewen. Soon let- but increasing abandonment of the Word of God nearly completely liquidated, there was already a ters were also received from these members re- and the declining of the love among us, the rea- need for land for the young members. porting they found the region there to be above son for such misfortune cannot remain hidden. I Although spiritually conditions among us expectations. They had feared that the beef cattle say that it cannot remain hidden to whoever has were only poorly established, yet the Gemeinde would always have to be fed, but it turned out an honest heart that the Word of God amongst us grew larger in numbers through the steady natu- that the meadows there were better than these was being forsaken, which has not only occurred ral growth. The [Manitoba] Colony which al- here. In summary, the settlers lived in joyous in isolated instances. For example, we have ready in Mexico was too large for one Ältester hope and many from here rejoiced with them. among us a goodly number of brethren, who, with his ministers, spread out evermore in that Yet after a few months the settlers reported instead of farming are engaged in trade busi- many brethren bought land adjacent to the colony the exact opposite. According to the report the nesses and in order to protect their stores from from the Mexicans, where they also built their soil was, in fact, worthless - the top soil was too thieves or bandits, nearly every businessman dwelling places. shallow, and the subsoil was alkaline, chalk or amongst us retains his own policeman for a des- If we compare the size of our Manitoba something else. Indeed, what was seeded quickly ignated salary. Although this is done with the Colony, Chihuahua, with the colonies which sprouted, but then soon dried out. If it was irri- permission and approval of the government, it Ältester Gerhard Wiebe and Johann Wiebe gated, it dried out even quicker. All the good stands contrary to the teaching of non-resistance brought from Russia to Canada, in 1874 and reports of the fine growth of corn, alfalfa and the of the New Testament. later, we find that our Gemeinde was much larger like, which some of those who had inspected the In this and other similar ways the Gemeinde in numbers already during the time of its settle- land the previous summer had promoted, were has received the protection of the government. ment in Mexico. Ältester Gerhard Wiebe wrote now no more. Inquiries were made regarding the But if one goes deeper in evaluation, one finds in his book Auswanderung nach America (“Emi- same, but were nowhere to be found or heard. that in matters of church judgments, which have gration to America”) that the Bergthaler Gemeinde No, it was simply not possible to live there. By apparently been earnestly commanded unto the in Russia had five villages and the flock of Ältester June Vorsteher G. Neudorf already returned from Church of God here on earth, with respect to Johann Wiebe in Russia, according to the reports there to Chihuahua in order to look around here which together with other earnest warnings, how- of the elderly, consisted of six villages, although for a place - if possible, a Wirtschaft. He had sold ever, it has been strictly as the Holy Scriptures the membership was perhaps a little less than that his former property here in Rosengart for much state, “...for the judgment is God’s”, Deuteronomy of the Bergthaler. too good a confidence in the new settlement near 1:17, that it is a manifold departure from the Word In contrast even in the beginning our Manitoba Saltillo. Only a few remained firmly committed of God. Often times already judgment is passed Colony in Chihuahua soon consisted of 32 vil- to the view, for the time being, that first of all upon this one or another brother or excommuni- lages. In the year 1940 there were already 41. As more experimentation and practice were required cated one without witnesses, which, however is there was now, in any case, a constant need for there, among whom Rev. Franz Loewen was the forbidden in the Scripture, Deuteronomy 17:10. more land for the young people, who annually leader [32]. Further, the command of God, Exodus 22:16 through baptism were added to the membership, advise should and had to be established, to found a new colony, although the large land debt still had not been paid. Land for settlement was offered in different locations and delegates were also sent out to seek an appropriate parcel of property suitable for the establishment of villages. But many years went by and something suitable could seemingly not be found. Thus it happens when people place their trust more on the [31] visible, perishable creation instead of upon the providence of God. Soon this, and soon that stands in the way. Finally in 1943 to 1944 after four years of searching a small parcel of property was bought in the State of Coahuillo near Saltillo, Station Agua Nueva. Yet this transaction protracted for so long, that in the meantime, the Holdeman’s Gemeinde living here in the north bought the land there, and exactly that which we had actu- The children of school teacher Isaak Peters, Reinland, returning to the yard with a load of corn husks, ally wanted. mid-1930s. From l.-r.: Peter, girl unknown, Wilhelm, Justina, Isaak, Sara and Helena. Photo - Rempel, In the meanwhile, a trainload among us in ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page 69.

18 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 and Deuteronomy 22:28-29, is completely disre- year. “haben, sagen, laben, fahren” are not pronounced garded in our time, and set aside. The one who When the government in Canada took away like the “a” in the German is pronounced alike in objects and refers in that regard to God’s Word our rights regarding education, we moved from German, with the same sound. Amongst us, may soon hear that he is a self-righteous Phari- Canada to Mexico, exactly because of our rather, each word has its own pronunciation, see, who alone always knows everything better schools, since the Mexican government granted namely, “sagen” in our midst is “sagen”, “laben” than all the Ohms [ministers] and more of the us the freedom in that regard. And the thanks on is pronounced by us “lauben”, and “fahren” is like [33]. our part? As soon as we got here we immediately pronounced while reading like the Low German, Exodus 23:21 states that God, “...will not shortened the school year by one month, so that something like “foahren”. There are many words pardon your transgressions.” Likewise also in 2 at the best, we had school for only six months like this [36] which are wrongly pronounced Chronicles 24:20 and many other scripture refer- per year. while reading and speaking and in this way the ences. Further, it is stated in Matthew 24:12, Secondly, to a large degree, the memorization misguided and wilful mistakes have become a “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of of many assignments at home fell away, and the habit in our midst and this habit has been raised many shall wax cold.” Unfortunately this is also teachers who also wanted to have this practised to virtue. Isaiah 3:4 says, “I will give children to applicable amongst us. Love grows cold and dis- like in Canada, were prevented from doing so be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.” unity, jealousy, mistrust, suspicion of another, without regard to the fact that some of the older But not only the vowel “a” disturbs our peace, etc. articulate the hearts and minds of many breth- people saw this to be very essential; because, as love, unity, like-mindedness and learning to read. ren and sisters. Love, in particular, suffered a they said, this can be of much comfort for an Satan has long, long ago already discovered many grievous violation when the alphabet dispute older person when their sight and hearing has other words for that purpose. To mention only a arose amongst us. failed, when they can remember many biblical few - “Lehrer” is to be pronounced “lierer”, and proverbs, poems and songs. But as this, how- here one says “mier” for “mehr”, and “geburen” 9. Neglecting Our Schools. ever, was now omitted for the most part in addi- for “geboren” and more of the like nonsense. Since time immemorial we have had a long tion to the school term, which as already men- The person who pronounces words correctly is tradition in our schools that the discourse be- tioned, was shortened by one month, it was also seen as being proud and striving for higher things, tween teacher and pupil is in the language of the the case that during the in- between times the etc. Scripture: in the language in which we read and pupils to a large extent would forget what they How may such diversions harmonize with pray amongst us, namely, High German. Although had learned during the school term (as well, nearly the following and other teachings in the Holy it is called by us High German, it really is not all our holidays fell during the school term). In Scripture, “Of such things put them in remem- exactly the way the entire Scripture has been addition to all this misfortune it also frequently brance, charging them before the Lord that they written, but it is literally an incorrect German. happened that the student had to miss school strive not about words to no profit, but to the Regarding our schools, of which so many would several days because of the work on the subverting of the hearers,” 2 Timothy 2:14. And still make various positive claims, they have en- Wirtschaft. 1 Timothy 6:3-5, “If any man teach otherwise, tirely no structure and no established rules as to A severe thanklessness toward God and also and abide not by the salvation-yielding words of what is being taught and how. Consequently the the government! That all this must work itself our Lord Jesus Christ...he is proud knowing teacher is left completely to his own resources in out with negative results for the Gemeinde can nothing...” From such a war of words arises jeal- this regard. He discharges his obligation how he clearly be seen by all those who do not intention- ousy, hatred, slander, evil suspicion, “school dis- has accepted his service in his heart, according to ally close their eyes to the same. Sadly, for a long putes”, and such persons as are robbed of the what he feels or does not feel is best for the time already, the damaging fruits of this neglect truth, and others more. “Likewise Micah says in Gemeinde. have been visibly noticeable, for many confess chapter 3:9, “Hear this, I pray you, you heads of Through this process the schools have in gen- without inhibition that they do not understand the house of Jacob...that abhor judgment, and eral degraded to the extent that we find only few the sermons in the worship services. In addition pervert all equity.” Likewise also Amos 5:7. persons amongst us who still have some dis- there is also always more indifference towards Solomon says further in Proverbs 19:1, “Better cernment to know what is right and wrong. These the Holy Scripture. Hence, before long every- is the poor that walks in his integrity, than he that few individuals are accused by many as being body lives according to their own thoughts. is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.” Similarly “Hochhinauswollende” [wanting to be high- Therefore, the Scripture in 1 Corinthians 15:34 also in chapters 2:1-3, 8:13, and Proverbs 16:28, minded]. Indeed, under certain circumstances they aptly applies to us, “...for some (amongst us “A forward man soweth strife....” are actually seen and regarded at times as hurting many) have not the knowledge of God: I speak Concerning the letter “a”, Blumenort and the Gemeinde. But these individuals are exactly this to your shame.” Blumenthal steadfastly continued to cling to the those who at times accept much suffering and right pronunciation, while in the other villages often they make above-humanly efforts, if pos- 10. The Alphabet War. right and wrong rotated, which occurred with the sible, to ward off the complete apostasy [34] of Oh! What a lamentable apostasy of our changing of teachers and thereby the “au” re- the Gemeinde and a general departure from God Christendom! mained constant. and His Word - even if not to forestall it com- With respect to the decline of our schools and After the deterioration had progressed so far pletely, then at least to hold back as much as the voices against the villages of Blumenort and that many could not even read and even less to possible. Blumenthal whose residents manifested certain write meaningfully, then it had come so far that at Although our schools in Canada also did not efforts according to their understanding to run a a general brotherhood meeting [37] of October receive the legal recognition to which they were half-decently good school, although they also 6, 1942, it could be required of Blumenort and entitled by law, yet in matters of education it was lacked the correct knowledge. The school instruc- Blumenthal that in the future that they should better there as the weather provided us with some tion, as already mentioned, was left up to each pronounce “a” wrongly in their schools, like it help in that regard. Because of the cold, the pu- individual teacher, provided only that he not do was in the other village schools. But they did not pils were for the greater part contentedly con- too much diligence, namely, did not do or teach want to understand it in this way, as they could fined to the warm [school] room, and when they what the “good-minded” were no longer used to, not see why this should be required of them, as returned home after school, they always also and because of this, the learning of reading in they were only teaching their children the way all learned various fine proverbs, songs or poems, many schools was wrong and more or less dif- of them, the parents, had learned it, not only here so as to be able to recite them by memory. In this ferent. in Mexico, but also the entire time that the way the thinking and attitudes propagated in the The vowel “a” was uniformly wrongly pro- Gemeinde had been in Canada, and no one, not schools were to a certain extent also reinforced at nounced in most schools. In reciting the A.B.C.’s even the Ältesten Johann Wiebe and Peter Wiebe home and the schools and the parental home more the “a” is pronounced “au” among us, but while had demanded such of them. Consequently they or less extended to each other the hand. We had reading there are at least three different pronun- were declared as being opponents of the school there [in Canada] seven months of the ciations for this “au” amongst us. For example, Gemeinde and with them all those that supported

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 19 them in some way. There were many of these the payments when due, and even more difficult tlers according to need. Many difficulties, ex- brethren in the Gemeinde who agreed with the sometimes because of the water, yet God has pensive trips, chagrin, opposition and unpleas- two villages. always helped to bear the burdens. In addition, ant work which arose for the Gemeinde Vorsteher If only we had punctually made use of the during the rainless years the settlers often had to because of these credit purchases could have been freedom to operate our schools to instruct our be on the roads day and night with their emaci- avoided. Provided, of course, that the Gemeinde children in reading, writing and comprehension ated horses and partially broken down wagons, in all its dealings would always have dealt ac- so that the Holy Scripture could always speak to in order to haul home the water which was abso- cording to Holy Scriptures, and not always have our members, according to what Timothy says in lutely essential [39] for their families and their more and more deviated therefrom as at present. 2 Timothy 3:14-17. Here amongst other matters cattle from such places where water was still But the more the Gemeinde departed from the it is stated, “...And that from a child you have available in limited quantities, whether in a dug Word of God, the more independent it became, known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to well or here and there in creeks where water ran whereby the danger arose that such accretions to make the wise unto salvation through faith which together during the rainy season. A drilled well the treasury can easily become subject to capri- is in Christ Jesus....” I say, had we earnestly en- was made almost from the beginning, which in cious misuse. deavoured in all circumstances, but especially in fact yielded abundant water for the entire colony, According to what the Gemeinde Vorsteher the instruction of our children, to cling unto the but could not bring forth enough. But nonethe- of the old Manitoba Colony in Chihuahua an- Scripture, which manifoldly commands us how less, advice was always found here, so that the nounced in the beginning of 1958, by the close we are to teach our children, as for example in settlement could be carried through, and estab- of the year 1957, the Gemeinde had finally liqui- Psalms 78:1-8; Genesis 18:19; Deuteronomy lished on its own feet. dated the last debts to the Waisenamt, as well as 4:9,10, 11:18-21; 32:45 and many other passages In the beginning there was also assistance also to the individual members of the Gemeinde. of scripture, then the Gemeinde through the bless- with the payments from the Old Colony. The Indeed, all debts incurred up to the present have ing of God might have been able to be a light Swift Plan Colony was also involved in buying been paid. This, however, is valid only to the from which also the children of this world could this land. It also happened that the harvest was so extent that one does not take into account the have learned. In which case, however, our schools meagre that the payments due in that year could large sums lost by the brethren, or their heirs, would have been a strong hindrance to Satan in not be made. But then the seller was soon willing who had loaned a lot of money to the Gemeinde his endeavour to lead all the world unto eternal and postponed the payment date for one year. during the first years here in Mexico, as already woe. But to avoid this, Satan, the enemy, seeks to For a long time already there were men in the mentioned earlier (Note Seven). rob us of our schools. Until now he had not yet Manitoba and Swift colonies who owned well- But should one not take these sums into ac- succeeded in doing so by external means and so drilling machines. These helped along by secur- count? Is it right before God that those debts now he came from within, and - how sad! ing water for the new North Colony through should be arbitrarily considered as liquidated - Through strife, conflict [38] and lovelessness on drilling wells, which many in the beginning did without any thought on my part or yours - for we the one hand and through general neglect and not want to believe, as the water table was very do know how difficult it was for some brethren slothfulness on the other, it seems he has com- deep. to be coerced by the representatives and some of pletely succeeded in his work. Through the un- It was fortunate in many places to be able to the members of the Gemeinde to accept this loss? fortunate and woeful alphabet dispute the “love” make good wells, which provided good water. “You shall love your neighbour as yourself”. in the Gemeinde was extinguished to a great ex- Naturally all this cost much money, but it paid off The shortage of land and living space will tent. for those who possessed the means and the cour- become ever more critical because of the ever Is it then any wonder that our efforts to estab- age or were able to borrow it. Yet for the others increasing number of young people in the lish a new colony did not want to succeed? who could not bring forth either the means nor Gemeinde, especially in the State of Durango. the courage, the water issue was and remained a Although one repeatedly hears that there is still 11. New Settlement in the South. difficult hurdle, and many a one later left the much arable land for sale in Mexico, and although Finally, when the dispersion of many fami- colony for this reason. the Gemeinde has also frequently sent out men lies out of the Gemeinde increased precariously, If our Gemeinden had possessed such a fel- as delegates who usually came back with the it was possible in December 1945 to buy a large lowship amongst us and had steadfastly clung report that they had found land there and there parcel of property for $25.00 per acre, more or thereto, namely, that every member of the and which they had inspected and which, ac- less, adjacent to the northeast of our colony. Un- Gemeinde tithed a designated part of his income cording to their opinion, was good, yet for a long fortunately the land had to be bought again ac- to the Gemeinde, then the Gemeinde would have time it could not conclude a purchase because the cording to contractual obligations and paid off had a treasury, the contents of which undoubt- Gemeinde could not become united for any of with many instalment payments. In addition, we edly would always have sufficed [40] to pay for the investigated places. had not yet ascertained the depth of the water such land purchases in cash to help the new set- Finally in the year 1961 a number of brethren table and whether there was any water to be ob- tained at all. But with expectation that there would the means to meet all needs, we started to settle the land in the spring of 1946. The beginning, however, was much more dif- ficult than what many had thought. Again there were in the Gemeinde rich brethren, but many of those were hesitant at this time to loan much money to the Gemeinde, as the memory was still too fresh in their minds, how the lenders had been dealt with during the first land purchase in Mexico; namely, how poorly the great promises which the church fathers had repeatedly reiter- ated at the time were fulfilled, of which mention has already been made earlier in the book. In spite of all this our God always and at all times deserves unspeakably great thanks, to whom presently we unfortunately always remain too much indebted, for even though it was very Franz and Elisabeth (Bergen) Enns, Blumenthal and their daughters heading to church on Sunday difficult, and at times even impossible, to make morning, ca. 1940. Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page 70.

20 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 united in the Gemeinde in Durango duras. They considered those who and negotiated a transaction on pay- had come back as having fallen ments for a parcel of property in the away. The emigrants were believers State of Zacatecas near La Batea [41], until they too experienced disappoint- Post office Frenillo. Each buyer had ment, and even if not all of them, yet to pay a certain sum in cash for his many came back to the despised part, and obligate himself to punctu- Mexico. According to reports, the ally pay the balance in regular spe- ones coming back would have been cific instalments. This settlement even more numerous had they not took place in 1962. Three villages become too poor. This is also how it were established. Shortly thereafter was in the beginning in the colonies the Gemeinde accepted the respon- in Chihuahua and soon also in sibility for this undertaking. Cornelius Abrams, Santa Clara, ca. 1925, plows his land with a three-horse Durango. For some years it was team and a three bottom disk-plow. Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in principly a moving forth and back. 12. Social Insurance. Mexico, page 72. Very large sums of money were Already in the year 1956 it oc- wasted through this emigration and curred that a political party (whether out of the 13. British Honduras. immigration. Many thereby became completely government faction is not clear to me) began to Oh, how wonderful it sounded that British destitute. agitate that we should be registered for social Honduras somehow was “English”! Here one insurance. With this a general nation-wide law could emigrate with righteousness, and in spite 14. Settlement in Casas Grandes, Santa Rita was to be enacted, so that every person in case of of all opposition again live under an English gov- Although the Gemeinde in Chihuahua had sickness, employment disability, accident, age, ernment without experiencing a guilty conscience. bought additional land for settlement, yet an al- or the like, would have a guaranteed support. We Indeed, now one did not have to move back to most constant need remained. It seemed as if the opposed this requirement because, firstly: we “Egypt” - to Canada - but one could emigrate shortage of more Wirtschaften could no longer understood the Holy Scriptures that the follow- because of one’s faith, and still live in an English be met for the always again upcoming genera- ers of Christ should not assist in tion. Almost simultaneously with the migration making worldly laws, as Christ says, to British Honduras, a group of “My kingdom is not of this world,” members from the Manitoba Colony John 18:36. If, however, we provide formed a new colony as Casas our written endorsement for the en- Grandes. The ministers Heinrich actment of a worldly law, then we Wiebe and Abram Wiebe and are co-originators of that law. Christ Ältester Bernhard Wiebe moved teaches a clear line of demarcation there as well. between His followers and the mem- Not long thereafter additional bers of the world, Matthew 20:25- land was again purchased adjacent 26; Mark 10:42-44; Luke 22:25-30; 1942. Farmers from Reinland, Manitoba Colony, returning from Cuauhtemoc. to the Nord Colony [44] and by the John 14:17; 8:23; 17:14-16. They have sold a load of oats. Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, year 1961 or 1962, all the arable land Secondly: the provisions of the page 75. up to the colony of the social insurance system require that Sommerfelder Gemeinde at Santa each person of 16 years of age and over must country as formerly in Canada. Clara had been bought up [This new purchase personally register. This would have the result Soon men, among them also ministers, from became the Santa Rita (Colony)]. that the parents would be prevented from obey- the Gemeinde in Chihuahua drove to British Hon- ing the Biblical injunction of raising their own duras to investigate the matter. And truly, they 15. The Rubber Tire War. children, for at 16 years the children still have not found it to be the way the mentioned brother had The constant land shortage in our colonies, yet in any way out grown the parental responsi- stated. So that no one would need doubt the truth especially at present in Chihuahua is in part a bility. In our Waisenamt the children are only of the matter, they soon also brought the desired consequence of the steady increase of our people declared adult at the end of their 21rst year of life. Privilegium as the governmental confirmation of in the Gemeinde which after being here for 41 But the government of this land has graciously the same. Now it was ready! Just the way it had years was already large in numbers as it had granted and confirmed in writing our Waisenamt for so long been desired. steadily increased in size during this long period. privileges; so we are, therefore, able to see this Although we could live in Mexico according In part, however, the land shortage came about social insurance system [45], if it should be to our faith completely without molestation and because the cultivation of the land was done by pressed upon us, as a violation of our privilege. our God in addition had so richly blessed the draught machines (tractors). Thirdly: if through our own signatures we work of our hands so that many already had When we moved here in 1922, we were ac- assist in establishing such a worldly law and become well-to-do and in part had achieved great customed to doing all our fieldwork, such as help to enact it, we are thereby becoming the wealth, for which we never can thank our be- ploughing, seeding, mowing, and everything servants of man, which is forbidden to us by 1 loved God enough, yet now there was to be an which belonged to grain farming, with our horses. Corinthians 7:23. emigration [45]. This is also how we did things in the beginning As a result of our objections the aforemen- Already in spring of 1958 many moved away in Mexico. Nonetheless even in the beginning tioned party desisted for the time being. But this to British Honduras. The motivation was great one saw and heard a draught machine here and mild proving did not remain without conse- and many were truly of the view that it was an there pulling a plough through the fields. In fact quences in our Gemeinde. Many thought that emigration because of faith. A people can be- it took a number of years before tractors were in now it was time to move out of Mexico. Thus the come so foolish when they forsake God’s Word, the majority but then it did not take very long “Ten-delegates’ spirit” had received a powerful and yet, consider themselves followers of before the horse teams had largely disappeared nourishment. And as if it was destined to hap- Christ! from the land. pen, in the year 1957 a brother in the Old Colony After a few months some already came back. In the meantime, the draught machines had in Chihuahua had discovered that British Hon- They did not like it there and their faith had suf- been significantly improved by the factories and duras, an English crown colony in Central fered shipwreck. But this made no impression their wheels had long since received rubber tires. America, apparently had land for settlement and upon those emigration faithful who still were This apparently was to serve so as to minimize also granted religious freedom. here but also wanted to emigrate to British Hon- the repair costs. At the same time the draught

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 21 sip, thievery, robbery, disobedience to parents, etc. Indeed, it seems as if the hypocritical gossip- ers are often the ones who can best beautify their own matters but [at the same time] denigrate and shame their neighbour and bring them into disre- pute and whereby they have only one regret, that they cannot make it any worse; Psalm 36:3; Jeremiah 9:3-6; Galatians 5:19-21; Romans 1:28; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:9-10; 2 Timo- thy 3; Romans 2. It is no wonder, when such Christians, whose main concern only focuses that their self-made laws and prohibitions are followed, and indeed, who actually think that thereby they are wiser than the ancients, who governed likewise in the first colonies and al- ready before this last breaking down. I say, is it any wonder when such ruling leaders also break down shortly just like those who are being shunned by them! This was the experience of those leaders in both Nord Colonies in Chihuahua. Already in the fall of 1966 the tractor tires also pressed into Jakob Friesen’s daughters in Schönwiese washing clothes. This was apparently one of the first motor- their midst and they themselves were powerless ized washers. Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page 76. against them just as the former had been, who had been shunned by them - unfortunately! How machine was now also able to replace the horses and disappeared. Things were unspeakably bad. much better would it not have been [47] if the on the road. But exactly the latter were not al- Finally it got to the point in the Old Colony in Gemeinde would have governed in love, peace lowed. “Among us the machine shall not be a Chihuahua that the brethren that demanded the and consensus with “serving” and not “ruling” vehicle for road travel.” Why not? “Well, for then rubber tires carried away the victory. This oc- leaders, in accordance with the ordinances of the the opportunity is easy, especially for our youths curred approximately in the years 1958 to 1961. Scripture and not according to the rules of man. either on Sunday or in the evening, to quickly Towards the end it resulted in much alarm and drive here or soon there, or actually to speed to great accusations, especially from the leaders of 16.Registration for Emigration to Bolivia. the city and to partake in and revel in the plea- the other colonies, instead of [them] actually tak- Instead of holding to the Scripture and turn- sures of the world which only misleads. Soon ing a lesson therefrom: ing in love to their members, they separated them- we would no longer be a people separated from selves one from the other by public registration this world.” This must now be acknowledged Alas, that man might only hear, and preparations for emigration. In September during our current apostasy from the Word of That the Lord wishes to grant 1966 they sent delegates to Bolivia [to seek] for God. But from out of this, however, comes the His children the gracious peace. freedoms and land which was also granted them. second question, are we at this time really sepa- So that they would not fall into doubts, The brethren who did not subscribe for emigra- rated - the small flock despised and hated by the because of impatience and bring, tion during the registration no longer paid to the world of which we read in John 15:18-23? [45] themselves into foolishness [46]. Gemeinde. They were declared as fallen away. and 16:20. Where are the visible signs which But the emigration from Mexico was not de- prove this separation? Only a few years later, after the rubber tires cided for the reason that the Mexican govern- The unfortunate alphabet war had finally come had been forced into the “old” Manitoba Colony, ment had revoked any of the freedoms which to a halt without any resolution. In its place we the same happened in the Swift Colony. had previously been granted, rather solely and now had the “rubber tire war”. The number of Now there were still the newest colonies in alone, because many members of the Gemeinde the brethren that wanted to have rubber tires on Chihuahua - the Nord Colony where Bernhard no longer wanted to allow to stand the self-made their tractor wheels increased substantially. The Peters is Ältester, and the Santa Rita Colony laws and ordinances, principally with respect to contrary party, which had most of the ministers where Bernhard Penner is Ältester, and at Casas the rubber tires on the tractors. and the Ältesten on its side, did not concede in Grandes with Bernhard Wiebe as Ältester. These The emigration from the Nord Colony in this. Many brethren were placed in the ban be- now drew away from both of the first colonies, Chihuahua to Bolivia began in the year 1967 by cause of this; they usually, in fact, allowed them- Manitoba and Swift. They were of the view that selves to be reaccepted after a short time but with- the leaders of the Manitoba and Swift Colonies out having changed their attitudes. This form of had been too accommodating regarding the breth- judgement seat almost became the norm, indeed, ren who were demanding rubber tires and that it actually seemed as if no one thought of it any they had shown too little reacceptance of those more, that God himself says in His Word that the who (were barred). judgement “is mine” and that He very clearly and They wanted to do things better and held as unequivocally tells us in the Holy Scriptures how having fallen away, everyone whom they had to we are to govern the judgement seat and that we shun even though the scripture says no more in are not to add anything thereto. Matthew 16:15- that regard, other than that those who use [the 22; 1 Corinthians 5; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timo- things of] the world, shall not misuse them, 1 thy 5:21; Deuteronomy 4:2; Deuteronomy 1:16- Corinthians 7:31. God’s Word commands many 18; Deuteronomy 13:1; Revelation 22:18, 19; things, which are to be kept out of the Gemeinde, Deuteronomy 19:15-21, and many other places as for example, idolatry, strife, wrath, disputa- Johan and Katharina Wiens and their daughter more. tion, duplicity, factionalism, hatred, jealousy, self- Sarah, pioneers in Rosenort. The Wiens also lived The unrighteousness always more and more ishness, greed, seeking for honour, mischievous- in the village of Rosenort in Manitoba. Photo - gained the upper hand and the love grew cold ness, lying, slander, betrayal, wantonness, gos- Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page 128.

22 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 the Privilegium which had been received from President Obrigon, it was stated that the same needed to be presented to the Mexican Congress before it could be considered as being in force and satisfactory. Such a process, however, was not followed, nor was this required prior to pro- ceeding with the land purchase in Mexico and to the emigration. Soon, however, one heard it said among our people in Mexico that it was better not to become citizens there. They stated that the Privilegium was in reality, nothing more than an agreement between the President and the del- egates, namely, considered as foreigners. And in fact, there was no provision in the military laws for conscientious objectors. For this reason, it also occurred that our people there tried, in as much as possible, to keep their Canadian citizen- The Wirtschaft of Prediger Jakob Loewen in Rosengart, later owned by his son Abram. It later also ship papers current, in order not to be seen as remained within the family of Ohm Jakob Loewen. Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page 135. citizens of the country there [in Mexico]. Note Six: In addition to the financial difficulties air flight on the jet-propelled aircraft (called a Kanada 1875 is Form Einer Predigt mentioned by Harder, the long-time jet). A number also moved by the sea and land (Cuauhtemoc, 1972), 72 pages; see Old Colony Gemeindevorsteher Gerhard J. Rempel also added routes, namely, by way of omnibus [bus] and Men. in Canada, pages 51-52). the following: i) The sums mentioned on page ship. Note Two: The designation “Gemeindevorsteher” 13, are in Mexican currency, i.e. in pesos.; ii) It Also in the Durango and Zacatecas Colonies is to be understood as a substitute for was during the pioneer years in Mexico, while matters generally were in a sad state and every- “Oberschulze” and, in fact, for the reason that it the both F. F. Froese and A. J. Neudorf served where the apostasy from God’s Word and teach- was felt that a member of the Gemeinde could the Gemeinde as Vorsteher, when it became nec- ing became more and more manifest. In Chihua- not hold an office which had any legal or govern- essary to borrow money from the brethren for hua at one time the rubber tires sufficed as the mental basis, and also here in Canada should not the Gemeinde through which the question about reason and in Durango and Zacatecas the enemy take part in any Municipal offices [The designa- dollars or pesos arose together with the related had invented something else in order to bring tion of “Obervorsteher” may also have its ori- difficulties; but also that the regulations which became necessary, were - for the most part - ac- cepted peacefully. Note Seven: That the Gemeinde during the 1930s and ‘40s united itself that every average farmer paid 600 peso into the Waisenamt or provided equivalent surety, and that also many large and small sums were gifted, and in addition, for four years after each other, 25 centavos per acre extra tax was levied, and that also, through these deci- sions, it was possible, that the men who later stood in these offices could deal with such be- lievers where large sums came into question, so that likewise in 1957, the outstanding interest could be paid off, and that finally everything could be settled in a peaceful manner. Inside photo of the 75 year-old Jakob Loewen house in Rosenort. Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page 135. Further Reading; about disputation, discord and banning. gins in the Fürstenland Colony where “the lease- Katharina, Mrs. Abraham Klassen, daughter In the settlement at La Batea, Zacatecas, which holders in the six villages had to elect a man from of school teacher David Harder, has compiled a [48] had its beginning in the year 1961, the among their midst to represent them to the man- booklet of family information. unrighteousness terribly took over already right ager of the estate....He was the mediator between in the beginning, although not regarding rubber the tenants and the management in all matters tires but because of other disputations whereby with respect to the settlement,” Franz Doerksen, the judgement seat, which God has created for Diese Steine, pages 438-9. Editor’s Note]. Himself alone, was grievously misused. Note Three: On pages 49-61 will be found a Until here [are concluded] the recordings of letter from Predigern Johann Wall and Johann P. school teacher David Harder who was called Wall, both from Saskatchewan, written to their away from this world by death on April 4th, families while on the trip to South America, re- 1968 at the age of 73 years and four months and porting about the journey and especially about [49] 10 days. the illness and death of the Prediger Johann Wall. Note Four: Page five - The then Prime Minister Endnotes (as added by the publishers of Mr. Arthur Meigen from Canada had declined to David Harder’s manuscript): provide another written guarantee regarding the Note One: The Fürstenländer Gemeinde, as still valid military freedoms, but had made no Harder called it, only emigrated to Canada in objection to a settlement by the Gemeinde in part. A Farewell Sermon of the Ältester Johann Quebec. Wiebe from his Gemeinde in Russia is still ex- Note Five: In the report to the brotherhood meet- tant (“Die Auswanderung von Russland nach ing called by Ältester Johann Friesen regarding Prediger Jakob Loewen, Rosenort.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 23 Isaak Dyck: His Accident, Suffering and Death The Misfortune which befell the Honourable Deacon Isaak Dyck as well as his suffering and dying, written by his father; the Honourable Ältester Ohm Isaak M. Dyck (1889-1969), Blumenfeld, 1981.

Introduction. It is the inwardmost wish of your weak and humble father and grandfather that this tragedy and sad event would be written as with the fin- ger of God into all our hearts. Yes, that it might remain for us as an ever enduring memory, so that we would never forget how fragile our life is, and that we human kind should reconcile ourselves with God and fellow men during our days of health and not wait until the sickness or death would overtake us at a time and hour where we had not expected it. We say that we all together Are mortal, and that in any place Death could find us. Yet we do not prepare for death, and believe there is no danger Isaak and Maria (Martens) Dyck were the parents and continue in our sins. of Ältester Isaak M. Dyck (1889-1969). In Mexico One says the hour is unknown they lived in the village of Blumenfeld. Isaak Dyck Death comes suddenly like a tear originated in the Old Colony in Russia and had of the weaver’s thread. lived on the Fürstenland Colony with his parents. Like smoke and shadow fade, He had received a good education. Photo - Old and yet, this no one enlightens Colony Men. in Can, page 128/Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page 282. The Dyck fam- and we live on so securely. Isaak M. Dyck. At the age of 18 already he be- ily traces its ancestry to Jakob Dyck (b. 1752), We speak much time and again came a school teacher, a highly respected profes- Chortitza pioneer in Imperial Russia and owner of of a long eternity sion among conservative Mennonites, frequently Wirtschaft 38. Jakob’s father Jakob Dyck (1729- which never is to end. leading to higher office. At age 23 Isaak M. Dyck 92) lived in the village of Neustädterwald, West We say if a bird came from the sea was elected to the ministry. In 1935 he was elected Prussia, at the time of the 1776 Konsignation. to take a kernel of sand from the shore to the highest office as Ältester of the Old Colony already a thousand years have passed [3] timely passing of our beloved son, who in his Gemeinde, Manitoba Plan, and committed his But ever here there was yet hope young years had to leave this world. Wherein entire life in the service of his church. He died on that after many thousand years apparently, the most wise designs of God re- Dec. 2, 1969. This photograph was taken by a the sand would be carried away. main hidden, that through his early death, God Mexican reporter in 1950 and published in the Eternity, however, is without end. had sought to draw us closer unto Himself and periodical, “HOY”. Photo - Pres., No. 21, page Yet no one wants to contemplate it, to demonstrate to us how everything here in 104/Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page and escape eternal plagues. this world - whatever is not founded on the 282. Isaak M. Dyck was a gifted writer and several On this and about eternity most precious Word of God and our Redeemer of his books have been published: see Plett, “The to rightly consider at all times, Jesus Christ and His grace - is but vile and for Lonely Ohm - Myth and Reality,” in Pres., No. 21, would you, Lord, grant grace? naught; transitory and not enduring. pages 101-103. O grant that according to Thy teaching Oh, how frequently we humans forget to tion, what really is a visitation? Answer: All we not only talk much about it pray for proper grace to die. How often, even tribulation, fear, need, suffering and temptation But live accordingly. when we do read the Word of God, do we not and every tragic circumstance which the Lord Grant us wisdom, power and desire, pass by without notice the beautiful Psalm 39 according to His wisdom permits to come upon that we might at all times, without considering that it contains within it the us, and whereby He seeks to turn us away from seek to build on Thy foundation, best remedy for our sick souls and the best coun- the world and to draw us unto heaven. And which Christ for us has built. sel whereby we can overcome all disappoint- when death in its various manifestations enters And help us pray through Thy grace, ments, hindrances and manifold suffering and our homes and families, through which He in complete trust and confidence. Amen. burdens, which so often overtake us in our hu- wants to turn us away from our sins - all these Oh how often do we people not forget the man condition. are to be called visitations. They are to direct us words of Scripture which teach us: “For here A sincere but striving disciple of Christ, who humans unto God, and whereby weary and bur- we have no continuing city, but we seek one to truly treasures his salvation from the heart, must dened sinners should flee unto Jesus our Sav- come,” Hebrews 13:14. sigh with fear each time when he must hear of iour, through whom all repentant sinners can When the good King David had given over sicknesses and tragic deaths. With a frightened receive forgiveness of their sins and the eternal to his son, Solomon, the building of the glori- spirit and a contrite heart, he must pray and sigh salvation. If now the poor human through all of ous temple in Jerusalem in earthly splendour into His God: “Oh, Lord, make me to know mine these aforementioned visitations allows himself and glory to the honour of the most high God, end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that to be led unto repentance, then the beloved God David straight away pointed out the compara- I may know how frail I am. Behold, Thou has may thereby achieve His purpose with us. So tive brevity of all things and the frailty of the life made my days as handbreadth, and mine age is that once the visitation is over, after the chasten- of man. He said, “For we, however, are strang- as nothing before Thee. Verily every man at his ing and after the thunderstorm, things become ers before You, and sojourners, as were all our best state is altogether vanity,” Ps. 39: 4-5. much better with the person than before. fathers, our days on earth are as a shadow, and Jesus had to weep over Jerusalem that they It can then come to pass as the Apostle testi- there is non abiding,” I Chron. 29:15. had not recognized the time of their visitation fies in I Peter 1:13-19, “Therefore, gird your And hence, I thought to describe the un- [4]. Now we people often come upon the ques- minds for action, be sober in spirit, fix your

24 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 hope completely on the grace to unto them that are contentious, and be brought to you at the revelation do not obey the truth, but obey of Jesus Christ. As obedient chil- unrighteousness, he will repay with dren, do not be conformed to the indignation and wrath, Tribulation former lusts which were yours in and anguish, upon every soul of your ignorance. but like the Holy man that doeth evil,” Romans 2:5- One who called you, be holy your- 9. selves also in all your behavior, Over such an unrepentant sin- because it is written, `You shall ner Jesus must weep, if we people be holy, for I am holy.’ And if you do not recognize nor consider the address the Father as the one who time of His visitation. impartially judges according to My Saviour, oh Thy heart each man’s work, conduct your- weeps, selves in fear during the time of Weep, thou Jerusalem, with an- your stay upon earth. knowing guish! that you were not redeemed with Isaak and Margaretha Dyck. Isaak Peters Dyck, son of Ält. Isaak M. Dyck, In sin thou seeth perishing. perishable things like silver or gold married Margaretha Dyck Friesen, daughter of the veteran teacher Isaak F. Oh shall my spirit’s plague, from your futile way of life inher- Dyck. Isaak and Margaretha also lived in Blumenfeld. He was elected at a mine early and late lamentations, ited from your forefathers, but young age as a deacon of the Gemeinde. On April 4, 1944, he was working in not be seem by Your eye of mercy? with precious blood, as of a lamb his blacksmith shop and while welding on a piece of surplus iron he had Let us not perish in need unblemished and spotless, the purchased from the mine in Cusihuiriachic, he was grievously wounded by a not like Lot’s wife look back blood of Christ.” [5] strong explosion of which he died five days later. Photo - Rempel, ed., when you bought us out of Sodom, Mennoniten in Mexico, page 282. But if the grievously fallen per- much more claim Thee in genuine son does not allow himself to be turned about required. And where there is no repentant heart, faith through all the aforementioned and gracious visi- the Holy Spirit is not present either. And if the and the words, riches, greed and pleasure for- tations of God, and that he has not perceived the Holy Spirit is lacking, then the inspiration unto sake time of grace during which he has received so prayer is also lacking. And without a persistent through which Satan has enslaved us. many a gracious solicitation from the heavenly continuation in prayer, the good intentions can- And let us always truly consider Father, who loves us so dearly, and whereby not come into fulfillment. And good intentions what Thou wouldst give in blessing the good Holy Spirit has convicted him that he without a diligent daily life gradually fade away, to one who surrenders to Thy will, is a fallen sinner and that he must seek God’s like the mist disappears in the sunshine. what Thou wouldst grant him in grace grace and mercy, then he will continue to live in And thus many a one himself is thereby hin- to live with Thee and the Father, a world without a care according to the prompt- dered from making progress during good times, closer than here friend with friend. ing of his fallen nature. With each day he gets and no sincere Christianity is found and no older, colder and less perceptive respecting all blessed victory can take place [7]. Now, has I have, right from the beginning, that is good, thinks seldom about sickness and Again, he turns to the world and earthly af- departed from my objective and reason of my death, or how he will be able to prevail with his fairs, he makes himself busy, and excessively writing, I will again seek to guide the ship back account on that day before God as Judge. If busy, in order to gain and possess much here in into the harbour, and proceed with my intended upon once again hearing the Word of God he this world. He worries and has only little rest, task [9]. has become afraid, or perhaps he has been some- in that he always thinks only of how to increase where at a funeral and has seen the deceased the temporal; the body is weakened through all The Accident, April 4, 1944. lying in the coffin, whom he had known so well this travail, and yet, he does not wish to hear of It was on April 4, 1944, when the [days of] and with whom he was related, and then through death and of heaven. Easter again stood fast before the door. I had the funeral sermon he must hear how this pil- And in that the person is not awake to watch many concerns in my heart, Psalm 94. I had a grim had such a serious battle and in the years and to pray for himself, so he again soon be- heavy burden upon my heart. Again I had to of youth and in the days of good health, had comes indifferent, and then when he also gets fear, with anxiety and worry about how the Eas- been so little concerned about dying in an un- together with like-minded people like himself, ter days, especially Good Friday, would be ob- saved condition, and had grieved and regretted who deem everything as insignificant and whose served so sinfully and godlessly among us in it with such lamentations; he, [the deceased] undertakings begin and conclude mostly with our Gemeinde. For instead of meditating during being one whom he had considered as better joking and mocking, then the thought of their these days upon the suffering of our Redeemer and more righteous than he himself. own death is again soon dissipated. They live Jesus Christ, how He was sacrificed for us on Yes, and when at times in such hours and again like before, only as a carnal person and the tree of the cross and voluntarily gave Him- days, the grace of God works so mightily upon not as a spiritual person, continuing in an un- self unto the death, as a lamb which bore the him and calls out to him, “Hurry and save your changed carnal disposition, and the awakening sins of the world. And how our sins caused souls!” or: and exhortations of God within his soul be- Him so much suffering and pain; this is only so How long do you want to sleep come weaker and always weaker and dissipate little observed. For: you deceived son of man, within him. He conducts his life only so ap- Few there are that comprehend do you not see the punishments, proximately according to the course of this world the right way of Christ’s pain which already are at hand? and according to the princes which passeth be- and who hate the cursed sins Do you at all hours fore in lusts, namely, “according to the spirit and thereby become the cause of His suffering. fulfill the sinful measure? who now has his work in the children of unbe- They thereby crucified Him, anew, The whip already is prepared lief,” Ephesian 2:2 [8]. with their controverted thoughts. Which soon shall scourge you. Through his impenitence he treasures unto For instead of fasting, praying and weeping, Indeed, even if the good intentions arise himself the wrath of God unto the day of wrath and attending the worship services and consid- within him, to seek to be more diligent, since and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, ering the special significance that Good Friday still he feels so completely unprepared for dy- “who will render to every man according to his should be for us, and how our earliest forefa- ing; yet his good intentions cannot come into deeds, namely, praise and honour, and thers, aged fathers and mothers, Ältesten and fulfilled fruition without the gracious assistance unperishable being, To them who by patience teachers did not even rest on this day and how of the Holy Spirit - for a repentant heart is still and good works seek for eternal life, [8] But we also in regret and penitence over our sins

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 25 should direct ourselves to the cross of our Sav- face and mouth also somewhat damaged. little calmer and seemed to speak with courage iour in a godly sorrow and say to ourselves: The first thing he said to us: “It has not hap- to us, so that we, and especially his beloved [10] pened to one who is innocent. It is only a small wife, had hoped that he might get well. Soul go to Golgatha reminder of the nail marks of our Redeemer But here the Words of God were to come to sit down before the cross of Jesus Jesus Christ.” fulfillment, when the Lord speaks through the and consider there what leads you, United we bent our knees and supplicated Prophet Isaiah, “For my thoughts are not your as an inspiration unto repentance. God that He should not test him above measure, thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, sayeth Do you want to be unreceptive? but rather carry out everything for our best unto the Lord,” Isaiah. 55, verse 8. O then you are hard as stone. the salvation of our souls. When evening drew near, the pain again ap- And so the festive days in our time are used The accident had happened somewhat as fol- peared to increase. I wanted to stay with him for by the majority only for receiving guests and to lows: Some years ago he had bought in the city night, but when the clock had struck 11, he drive visiting and also to indulge oneself with of Cusi[huiriachic] a pile of old iron, in order to wanted that I should lie down. I asked him idolizing the delicious meals and thereby to nur- use it in the smithy as needed from time to time whether it would be right on my part, if I only ture the body, and to furnish the sinful body for necessary purposes. Under the many pieces wanted to sleep, and he then had to endure the with beautiful clothes; many a one entire night without sleep and had considers this to be the most impor- to lie there in his pain? tant matter incumbent upon us dur- Yes, he replied, I should only ing these days. But of the heavenly do so, as for so many a night he manna many hearts remain empty. had slept well while I had to wipe What does the Word of God say the sweet sleep out of my eyes and about such people? Namely as fol- had been away for many nights, lows: This “But she that lives in plea- while fulfilling my duties for the sure is dead while she lives,” I Tim. Gemeinde. Well, I allowed myself 5:6. to be indulged and had also slept Yes, I felt a special pressure upon well. my heart as if something great and When I came to his bed in the extraordinary would take place. Yet, morning, I became aware that he mother and I became united on that had not slept at all during the entire same day (April 4) in the afternoon night. to go to Blumengart for a little while During the day the pain abated to visit our sick mother there. We again. In his grevious suffering he had been there a time of perhaps 10 manifested a great patience. Often minutes, and we had only just barely Prediger and Mrs. Abram Dyck, Gnadenfeld, Manitoba Plan. He was the he lay in his bed with steepled unhitched the horses and gone into brother to Ält. Isaak M. Dyck. Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, hands, so that it seemed as if he the house. And while I was greeting page 282. Ben Froese, Palmlite Electric, Steinbach, Manitoba, is a great- mostly wanted to engage himself the aged mother and saying to her, grandson of Ohm Abram. in prayer to his God. This day, “It is with an older person, especially when they of iron he had often noticed a small pipe which Wednesday, towards evening, Johann Enns came are sick, just like the poet says: was screwed shut on both ends. Many a time he again and examined the wound and said that if it “I have been a guest on this earth had thrown it aside without taking note that it were as yet not God’s will, he would not need and have here no abiding place could be a heavily laden dynamite bullet. to die of this. Again we received courage and Heaven is to be mine On this day he had wanted to weld together hope that his need and pain would be lessened. It is my Fatherland. a horse bit and had picked up this little pipe Here I ebb - to and fro, from the earth and laid it cross-wise across the Visitors. there in the eternal rest welding table to hold the bit in a straight line. Many guests came to visit him and wanted is God’s gift of grace Hereupon he had released the stream of fire. to share in his tribulation and sickness which which concludes our striving,” [11]. And when the bullet achieved the required heat, had befallen him. Although with few words After I had finished reciting this verse, I the explosion followed, and a fearful crash re- and yet with friendly countenance he entreated saw that Isaak Bergen, our servant, came driv- sulted, so that it could be heard in the all to remember him in prayer. Now, the time ing with great haste upon the yard at mother’s. neighbouring village. did not stop and the next day, Thursday, I and The horse was covered with foam indicating The bullet had penetrated his leg about a all the Ohms again wanted to get together in that it had a great urgency. With fear and trem- hand width above the knee and had remained Rosenthal. The past night I had been at home. bling I went forth to meet him asking for the lodged there. When I got there in the morning, he again meaning of this that he had come after us so seemed to be quite courageous. He requested hurriedly? He said that we should quickly come Treatment. that I extend greetings to all the Ohms, and home as Isaak had had a serious accident while After the expiration of half an hour Dr. Johan also where he had failed or should have of- welding in the shop. Enns had also arrived. After he had examined fended anyone, that they would forgive him At once we hitched up the horses and re- the leg, he had said, that he was not prepared to for everything. When I came from the church turned home. Mother and I spoke but little while do so, to extract the piece of iron. He had not on Thursday, it was already quite late and the driving the way back. Only, we mostly groaned brought any tools along for this. day was starting to ebb, and I still had to drive and wept and prayed to God for grace and mercy Quickly [a horse] was hitched and driven to to Blumenort, and the next day, namely on Good that He would not so soon let our son die. And Rosenthal in order to get the equipment. Friday, I had to go to Blumengart to worship if [it was to be that] he should die through this After these had been brought, and a modest services. Hence I did not take time to drive accident, that He might grant him enough time anasthetic had been administered, he cut the piece there [15]. that he could get prepared. of iron - weighing half a pound - out of him. I asked mother, “How was it today with When we arrived, they already had brought This caused him great pain. As long as he was him?” she said, “Not any better. The pain is him inside. He laid upon his bed with folded holding my hand, he could just barely endure it setting in more and with greater frequency. It hands. without screaming. After the operation was com- also seemed as if the infection had to some ex- But, oh what a woeful sight for us parents! pleted and Johan Enns had somewhat reset the tent set in and the leg had begun to swell.” Also The leg was broken, the bone smashed and the leg for him, the pain abated somewhat. He got a I became aware through mother, that he had

26 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 made some arrangements what should be done down upon all of us. How it cut our hearts to the guests who had visited the day before, if he would die, which filled my heart with grief when he talked so solemnly and earnestly about about the suffering and death of Christ. The day and care. his death, perhaps towards the end. Many tears is much more serious than we believe. Here we Although I would gladly have stayed with were shed, for as intense and unbearable as his should seriously think about our sins and say: him, yet I had to drive somewhere to fullfil my pain and suffering was, he however, manifested “Therefore I reject evil sin obligated duty. During the entire Good Friday a great love for us all, and began to talk much with this good night today. my thoughts were mainly only with him, and about the beauty of heaven. When his loving Flee far away and stay behind, though I tried very much to hurry, it was still wife gave him a drink of water to quench his you have frightened Jesus. almost evening by the time I came back. great thirst, he then usually said, “Such deli- That He lamented without measure When I arrived, I saw at once that his condi- cious water there also will be in heaven.” how His God had forsaken Him. tion had worsened noticeably and he had al- Suddenly Wilhelm Wiebe’s little son, Peter, Receive thanks, Oh Friend of souls, ready waited very much that I should return. was at his bedside and wept his bitter tears, for for the fear and bitterness The pains always started to set in more and with as it seemed, he had such great sympathy with for the stripes, the pain and torture, greater intensity. Nothing could be read in his his beloved uncle. When Isaak presently took and for the bitterness of death. face but the expression of deep grief, sadness That you have for sin and pain. On this day there were especially many and shame endured to save us. guests with him, who entered and departed un- Grant that we henceforth would repent til late in the evening who wished him a good of our heavy load of sin, recovery and an eminent [return to] health. He and not renew the punishment responded to the well-wishes of the beloved which you now have paid. friends mainly with the sighing answer: “The But to thee we fully surrender world is not a loss to me.” and live according to Thy will.” After the visitors had departed, he suddenly said to us and his beloved wife, “I have always Recovery? felt so unworthy and thought that I was truly When the morning dawned, he became a little not much respected in the Gemeinde. They had The former farmyard of Prediger Abram Dyck, more peaceful. And although he often said with never received many visitors [16], nor had it Gnadenfeld. Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in groaning, “O, my poor leg”, it nonetheless been a surprise to him, as who could find any- Mexico, page 282. seemed to be getting somewhat better with him. thing pleasing in him? And that he should be- Most sicknesses in the human condition have come a servant in the Gemeinde, and be called note of this, he held him by the hand and said, such characteristics and traits that with the dawn as a deacon, he had never deemed himself wor- “Only be very good and obedient, then you will of the morning shimmer they abate somewhat thy.” But now that he was sick, he had to see also go into the beautiful heaven.” and get a little better. And thus it was also with and feel how the people loved him so, and they He then began to confess to us his great him. Yet, however, he gladly wished that I would received so many visitors, of which, however, weakness, especially to me, how in his younger not drive away anywhere, but rather remain with he felt so absolutely unworthy. years he should have lived and walked in much him. For he had perceived that on this day (Sat- Once the visitors on this Good Friday were greater obedience toward God and the parents, urday), I had promised to go far north with the gone, and we and the children, namely his sib- and that he had caused the heavenly kingdom Gemeinde Vorsteher [head of the secular ad- lings, again were alone with him, the song was too little violence [Matt. 11:12]. [Translator’s ministration of the Gemeinde] to the sung for him, “Flee you weak power,” which he comment: The kingdom is the realm over which Holdemaner because of the inappropriate deal- was able to listen to with great emotions. As he Jesus rules. One has to take it by storm, namely, ings regarding the land in Saltillo. was getting a little more calm for the night, we to enter into it by overcoming all hindrances. He did not want me to go, and rather re- agreed among ourselves that mother and Maria This storm of entering into the kingdom requires quested me in a child-like way to postpone it, as would remain with him during the night. sincere repentance and faith in Jesus, Mark 1:15 he believed that he would not last for long with And I asked him whether he would wish and John 3: 3,5]. And that he should have much his improvement. This request I could not reject that I also should stay with him? “No,” he said, more humbled himself before God and the nor ignore, because in so far as I knew his inner I should only go to sleep, as he saw that I was Gemeinde. He had also experienced what the emotional disposition, I was firmly convinced tired. And hence, with a heavy heart I went home Apostle Paul had testified, and said about him- that he would not have made this request with- and with the words of the poet, I wished him self, “For I know that in me (that is, in my out an important reason. Hence much counsel the blessing, “Let me this night experience, a flesh), dwelleth no good thing, for to will is again was needed and various remedies applied. sweet and tender peace, may all evil pass away, present with me, but how to perform that which Also this day two doctors of ours came and did cover me with your blessing.” is good I find not. For the good that I desire I do everything possible to help him, and yet, as it not, but the evil that I do not will, I do, Oh, seemed, without success. Turn for the worse. wretched person! Who will redeem me from I remained the entire day with him. Many At about 3 a.m. Maria came to the window this body of death?” Romans 7:18 [18]. guests still came on this day to visit him. And as and said to me with a frightened voice, I should Indeed, if we people could always be thus it seemed, they usually said in taking leave, “Oh, come at once, as Isaak now was very sick. I minded during the days of our health, as if one how you have wasted away. How is your face arose at once. And in the meanwhile Siemens’ were sick! Then we would fare as it is written, so haggard?” And these questions he mainly Jacob was here with the vehicle and hurriedly “Lord, in trouble have they visited You, they answered with but a few but deeply penetrating brought me over there. When I arrived there he poured out a prayer when Your chastening was words, “I do not regret the world!” (“Mir ist der was in great fear and anxiety regarding his poor upon them,” Isaiah 26:16. Welt nich Schade”). soul. He extended both arms to me and em- “I cried unto God with my voice, even unto With justification he could say with the righ- braced me with child-like love to his chest. Now God with my voice, and He gave ear unto me. teous Job, “Therefore I will not refrain my he quite openly told us that he would die [17]. In the day of my desolation, I sought the Lord. mouth. I will speak in anguish of my spirit. I And that we all should help him very much My hand is extended during the night, and ceased will complain in the bitterness of my heart and to pray that he might depart from here in a not. For my soul refuseth to be comforted,” soul. When I laid down, I said, When shall I blessed state. He requested that the older sib- Psalms 77: 1,2. arise? And thereupon I calculated when it would lings and Aunt Jakob Fehr also should come He also spoke of Good Friday, of what im- become evening, for I was in complete terror of over. portance it is and regretted it very much that he everyone until darkness fell. My flesh is clothed Oh, how sadly and with what pain he gazed had not spoken much more of the Good Friday with worms and clods of dust. My skin is bro-

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 27 ken, and become loathsome. My days are swifter It seemed as if we - all of us - would come to Death at Last. spent than a weaver’s shuttle, and are gone with- a complete end with him. Nothing wanted to After this heart-breaking farewell he became out hope, and no holding back was possible help, so that we had to think about the Words of completely peaceful and consoled, his soul be- there,” Job 7. Scripture which the Lord had spoken to the came quiet in peace and he submitted in confi- dence to his God. He said, that he The Last Night. had the firm hope that when the sun As the day drew to an end, I said of the morning would arise, he to him and his beloved wife, who would peacefully be able to fold his was present, I was getting a strong hands together in death. We all sat sense that we would have a difficult around his bed and listened to his night. During the evening his fa- words. Many things he did yet ar- ther-in-law from Kronsthal sud- range, some of which I already have denly came and said that he had come written and the rest I will yet men- as he wanted to stay with him for tion. When his wife laid both chil- the night, which he accepted with dren on his breast, especially his great joy. During this time he had a daughter Susana [24], and asked special love for all people. And so him, “What then shall I do with the upon his request the song was sang children if you die?” He answered, for him, “My God, in pity I lie here “These you should raise up in all with sickness heavy afflicted.” humility and from childhood on al- Dr. Johan Enns came again this ways point them to Christ’s foot- last evening and did everything steps.” possible to alleviate his suffering. Also he said, “It has always It seemed that as long as we sang been my habit one time every day and read for him, he was quite Prediger Abram Dyck, Gnadenfeld, with his horse and buggy. In this manner to kneel in a silent place and to peaceful, but as soon as we stopped also Ält. Isaak M. Dyck covered thousands of miles in the Bustillos valley, humble myself before God, al- the pain at once got greater. A fear- seeing to the spiritual needs of his parishioners. It was said that no storm was though because of great busyness ful night now broke forth for him too severe nor no night too dark, but that Ohm Isaak would be out with his it had often been omitted.” Also he and for all of us. The pain was al- faithful horse and buggy wherever he was needed to give comfort or counsel had received only one glimpse of most unbearable, but not once did to those in grief, pain, sorrow and anguish. Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten God’s grace that he as a pardoned in Mexico, page 113. This photo was snapped by Walter Schmiedehaus. he cry out. Only mostly silent sigh- sinner would be welcome at the ing and prayer, which we could perceive in frightened Zion: “In the moment of wrath, I narrow gate. The rest of his time of life he had him. have hid my face from thee for a moment. But always had to wrestle with sin. He also added, Oh, how often were we not moved unto the with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on that now I wish nothing further than that I depth of the soul for our poor son. Unitedly thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer,” Isaiah 5:48. could be carried to the cemetery as a twice we again all bent our knees in prayer and cried This difficult conflict lasted until three broken sinner – in body and in spirit (he thereby within the silent chambers of our hearts to our o’clock in the morning. All at once he raised pointing to his smashed leg). He also men- God for grace and compassion, that He might himself up on his bed with his own power - tioned the verse, “The sacrifices of God are a take him from here through a peaceful and which he could thus far not have done - and broken spirit and a fearful and contrite heart, blessed death. said with a loud heart-rending voice, “So now this O God, You will not despise,” Psalm 51:19. And thus he fought, wrestled and prayed, at the biggest pain of death is overcome. Only Now it seemed for a time as if he had ar- times under gruesome pain. All at once, he death is needed.” prayed the prayer which he had learned at home And although he himself believed that the in his young years, and which I had written out Jordan would as yet be very deep for him, none- for him, which Susana Petkau, Eichenfeld, had theless he hoped that the Victor over death, recited to me in 1925, yet prior to her death, and namely, Jesus Christ, “who has the power over which goes as follows: death, and has brought life and immortality to I come oh highest God, light through the Gospel,” Tim. 1:10, that He to Thee, and fall upon my knees. would safely help him across. It seemed as if he Oh, do You completely from me, had overcome all pain and bitterness, and wanted Oh, beloved Father, want to flee? for nothing further but to die. Oh, do not judge, righteous God, Now he asked us all to come nearer. And as You alone still can help, with hand and mouth he began to take farewell me from out of my calamity. of each one, whereby, however, many a tear Remember not how much was shed, which, as I hope, the beloved God I have sinned before You, my God will all have counted and received and sealed in and transfressed so frequently, His eternal testament, and that after overcoming how I have displeased You the final travail each and everyone upon such thus, many a day and weeks, seeding with tears will be allowed to enjoy an thus many a year I’ve spent. eternal and ever-enduring harvest of joy in that That I the guilt did not consider blessed eternity. For here in this sad world of which led to Your wrath. woe there is not anything better, nothing more Oh do not judge me, righteous God, loving, than a repentant, contrite and weeping according to my just deserts. sinner, over which not only every soul dedi- I transgressed Your command, cated unto God - but also every Ältester and which Your Son has reconciled minister - must rejoice. For Jesus says, “Like- Prediger Ohm Abram Dyck, photographed in 1950 I believe it firmly, wise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence by a Mexican reporter. The photo was published I trust in You for Jesus’ sake of the angels of God over one sinner that in the periodical “Hoy”. Rempel, ed., Mennoniten you will save me from all evil. Amen. repenteth,” Luke 15:10. in Mexico, page 283.

28 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 ranged all things. I sat by him at the head end of suffering. The Funeral. the bed and thought that his hour of redemption I have already written that he had made his On April 12, his remains were accompanied would soon strike. All at once he reached for last requests to me, but now he asked for one to the silent cemetery. The funeral, according to my hand and having held it, he again began to more thing, whether his funeral could be held in his request, was held in the worship house in speak and said, “Father, I trust you will not the church. Also he mentioned that no one Blumenfeld. Although the church inside was lessen your work in the Gemeinde, even if it should leave the funeral without having eaten. filled to over-capacity, almost the half [of the sometimes is very difficult. Cling fast unto that Now he again began to pray and among other mourners] had to stand outside [28]. which you have. Depart not from it, not to the things he prayed the beautiful song: The beloved Ältester Jakob Peters conducted right nor to the left.” When my sins do hurt me the funeral sermon with an important introduc- “Yes,” he repeated [25] “Cling to the old O, my Lord Jesus Christ [27], tion: regulations and Ordnungen of the Gemeinde.” Then let me well consider “Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, In response to which I answered him, “But how how You have died And the One who knows me is on high. am I to do it when my work is so often rejected and all my load of debt But the appointed years have come, and, it is being said, that it is wrong?” on the trunk of the holy tree, And I must go there upon the road, He replied, “Simply battle onwards.” The You have taken upon Yourself. upon which I shall not come again,” Job 16:19- incomprehensible almighty power of God, Suddenly he reached for his wife, and when 22. whereby heaven and earth are sustained, would she bent over him, he embraced her to his sick I conclude this writing with the poet and also help and assist me. bosom and said, “Please do not weep.” Here- say: Song 445 This I believe was his last encouragement to upon he directed his eyes toward me and asked 80 Mel – Es ist gewiszlich me, and that while he was fully conscious. Af- whether he yet once more could embrace me, 445. O, God, he who considers the life well, ter this it seemed as if the hand of death began to which I also did not refuse him. After he had will find that it is generally filled rest upon him. I sat beside him on the bed, and embraced me in child-like love and had given with fear, need, pain and sin, as it seemed he did not want to let go of my me a kiss, we all saw that it was coming to the full of effort, burdens, worries and anguish, hand. His wife was on her knees on the other full of weakness or vanity, side of the bed, praying. And when she pres- also where it is best. ently said in her prayer, “Then I will apparently 2. All these many years, have to say it, Lord, Your will be done!” Then I, unfortunately, have not really considered, Isaak said, “That is wonderful. This was what I the world has always deceived me so gladly wanted to hear, that you should re- with wrong impressions. lease me. Hence I die more readily.” Forgive me, Oh Lord! Oh, how often he looked to the clock and Through Your grace waited for the release of his body. When the also this my transgressions morning red came forth, I noticed he often and other serious sins. looked to the window. I asked him, “Why do 3. But now I think about it you do it?” He replied, “Now the sun shineth and also about the future life. outside against the brick fence, and I am still Humbly I call upon You, here on earth.” that You would grant that for which You have created me, A Separated Brother. redeemed from the burden of sin Presently I was called away from his bed, and also called forth through grace. for outside at the door an excommunicated 4. That which attacks me here, brother stood and wanted to speak with me. which still would like to torment me, After I had spoken the most essential things I want to commit my confidence with him, I asked this separated brother to come to Thee, Oh God! in – as I thought it to be for his best that he For when body and soul perish, would have to see how helpless and pitiful Isaak then help me, Oh my Lord, must lay upon his bed. that I do not need to fear, After this brother had entered and remained because I cling to you standing beside the bed, Isaak said to him, “Well, Dr. Johann E. Enns in his local pharmacy in with all my heart and soul. you now want to make right your matter with Rosenthal, Campo 6, was consulted not only by 5. Are the sufferings of this time, the Gemeinde? That is wonderful. Then let it be fellow Old Colonists, but also by many Mexican the difficulties here on earth, for you not only a confession of the mouth, but patients. Photo - Ken Hiebert in Schmiedehau, not worth the great glory, do it so that you do not make the Ohms and the Die Altkolonier-Mennoniten in Mexiko undoubtedly to follow? Gemeinde any more work.” (Winnipeg, 1982), page 171. Surely, the one who desires so, This moved the separated one to the core of shall be over-abundantly rewarded his heart, so that tears of repentance flowed forth end with him. When the clock struck nine in the for such very humble work. Amen! from his eyes. morning, his struggles and suffering were The End ended. The soul departed and separated itself Last Farewells. from the earthly bonds of the physical body and Further Reading: In the meantime, the time that the people hurried over – as we hope – to the eternal dwell- Peter A. Petkau, “Ältester Isaak M. Dyck, began going to worship services, around seven ing of peace. Blumenfeld, Servant of the Reinländer/Old o’clock in the morning, had come. Many stopped We celebrated a sad Easter. It was a sad Eas- Colony Mennonite Church,” in Plett, ed., Old by here before going to church to see about his ter for us and his bereaved widow, whom, as I Colony Mennonites in Canada (Steinbach, condition and were surprised that he was al- hope and desire, will never be forgotten during 2001), pages 125-128. ready so near to death. Many shook his hand as our entire life. Plett, “The Lonely Ohm - Myth and Real- a farewell. When the beloved fellow servant, Exactly on the first Easter day at 9 o’clock in ity,” in Pres., No. 21, pages 101-104. Ohm Heinrich Wiebe, came to him, he requested the morning, he left us and went over into eter- that they might pray for him in the church, so nity. that he soon could be released from his heavy

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 29 Menno Simons: His Image and Message Sjouke Voolstra, Menno Simons, His Image and Message (Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas, 1997), 109 pages.

Book Review by Walter Klaassen. into the very body of Christ. Rather, Sjouke Voolstra is the most im- “the heavenly bread, the body of portant recent interpreter of Menno Christ, which is not subject to trans- Simons. Voolstra was a formation and decay, changed hu- Doopsgezinde (Mennonite) minis- mankind within itself” The function ter in Middelburg and Eindhoven, of the Lord’s Supper is “in the first and was from there called in 1981 to place: remembrance of the suffering the Mennonite Seminary at the Uni- of the Lord” and “in the second place: versity of Amsterdam. He taught the- exhortation to love.” It was “a spiri- ology, but distinguished himself es- tual communion within the assem- pecially with his teaching and pub- bly of the true penitents served by lishing in Anabaptist history and true penitents.” thought. Voolstra writes about Menno’s His vision for the recovery of the view of baptism under the heading 16th century heritage by 20th cen- “The Longing for Perfection.” Bap- tury Dutch Mennonites involved him tism was an end and a beginning, repeatedly in controversy in the pages the end of the life separated from of the Algemeen Doopsgezinde God and the beginning of the jour- Weekblad (Dutch Mennonite ney of sanctification, being made Weekly) because his vision of the perfect by the Holy Spirit. Its im- contemporary appropriation of that portance is not in the water but in the heritage was strongly disputed by effect it has on the believer. “Believ- many theologically liberal Menno- ers are not changed by baptism but nites. Last year a large volume of in baptism.” Belief is the pre-condi- essays with the title Balanceren op tion for baptism. But “without true de smalle weg (Balancing on the baptism, and thus without true peni- Narrow Way) was published to tent belief and the New Testament honour Voolstra and two colleagues believers’ baptism, there is no prom- on their retirement from the semi- ise of the forgiveness of sins and nary. therefore no one can inherit heaven.” The book to be reviewed is not That was Menno’s position. new. It is the printed version of lec- The development of Menno’s tures delivered by Voolstra at Bethel views on penitence, the Lord’s Sup- College in October, 1995. It is the Menno Simons (1496-1561). Engraving by Romeyn de Hooghe, 1710, in per and baptism are set with in the fruit of many years’ work and marks Gottfried Arnold, Historie der Kerken en Kettern (Amsterdam, 1701). Photo continuity and change from Catho- a radical departure from what was - Voostra, Menno Simons, page 23. The engraving denotes baptism, one of lic priest to Anabaptist leader, a story written about Menno Simons in the the central themes of Menno’s teaching. Voolstra traces with great care. They Netherlands over the last century. The clue to understanding Menno on the sub- are reconstructed from his writings. I highly rec- According to Professor Voolstra in the first ject of penitence is his Meditation on the 25th ommend this little book of a hundred pages to the chapter, Menno, while he was acknowledged as Psalm. Voolstra shows how Menno’s views on readers of Preservings because of its rehabilita- the originator of the Mennonites, enjoyed virtu- penitence as an Anabaptist leader were brought tion of Menno Simons, but also because it is ally no honour among his own people in the forward from his practice as a Catholic priest written with passion and commitment for all who Netherlands in the last hundred years. The gradual from 1524 to 1536: “The justification of the sin- want to know about their heritage. alignment of the Doopsgezinde with liberal the- ner is not unconditional. Without contrition, with- Review by Walter Klaassen, Pt. 1, 606 Victoria ology and their radical individualisation of reli- out real penitence, there can be no absolution, Ave., Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 0Z1. gious faith closed the door to understanding this which is no longer granted by the priest, how- priest and Anabaptist leader from the 16th cen- ever, but by Christ himself. Faith is a process of tury. Since he was not a modern man with mod- penitence and reformation of the life being led. ern ideas he was considered irrelevant to the Faith is not faith unless it becomes effective in present: “At present, Menno Simons only con- love. And this love is principally a deed of obedi- tinues to merit respect in his native country be- ence.” cause of his love for the unattainable ideal. The The beginning, indeed the whole character of ideal itself has proved a mistake. The memory of the Christian life in its ongoingness is true peni- the messenger is kept alive, while his message is tence. scarcely listened to.” On Menno’s understanding of the Lord’s And then came Sjouke Voolstra. For years he Supper Voolstra writes that the emphasis shifted had been saying and writing that Menno Simons from concentration on the bread with its miracu- has to be understood as a man of his time and lous properties as he understood it as a priest, to compared with other Christians of his time rather “The true use, the true users, and the true servers than by what is thought appropriate in the 20th of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. The de- century. The writer then goes on to describe what gree of inner experience of God’s righteousness was most important to Menno Simons in the and love in Christ, and of outward obedience to Sjouke Voolstra, lecturing. This photo was erro- penitential life, in the Lord’s Supper, and in bap- the Word of God becomes the determining factor neously identified as Walter Klaassen in Pres., No. tism. The purpose was to give Menno Simons “a in a true celebration of the Lord’s Supper.” 22, page 46. face and a voice again.” It is now no longer the bread which is changed

30 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 An Abridgement of Sjouke Voolstra, Menno Simons, His Image and Message (Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas, 1997), 109 pages, compiled by Delbert F. Plett.

Chapter One - The Art of Oblivion: Menno Conceptualization of Menno Simons in Dutch name, therefore, did not mean that the Zonists Simons in Dutch Mennonite Historiography. Doopsgezinde historiography. retained Menno’s doctrine in full....Every effort Menno Simons is someone from a distant The Zonists. was made to allocate Menno a place of equal past....What perception have we formed of The Dutch Mennonites did not start writing value beside the church reformers Luther and Menno Simons through the course of history? their own history until the middle of the 18th Calvin. “Mennonite Protestants” was their pre- How reliable are the facts?....Is the perception century. This interest came mainly in the circles ferred designation as a consequence. itself still part of the perception that his spiritual of the confessional Mennonites, who had bro- The Zonists described their history as a pro- heirs have of themselves and wish to project to ken with the anti-confessionals in 1664. Until cess of breaking free from Melchiorism, and they the outside world?....What assumptions have de- 1801 they formed a separate religious commu- subsequently introduced a distinction between termined the conceptualization of his person and nity and were called Zonists, a name derived from the anti-confessional Doopsgezind and the con- the interpretation of his message?...(pages 1-2). the church building of their most important con- fessional Mennonites in order to facilitate the The most important, earlier historian of the gregation in Amsterdam. The Zonists appointed integration with the orthodox Reformed Protes- Reformation in the Netherlands was Gerard themselves guardians of the orthodox Menno- tantism. Menno Simons was used in the service Brandt (1626-85).....Halfway through the 17th nite tradition, and so it is not surprising that they of this objective to transform his followers into a century an increasing number of voices are heard took a fresh interest in the life and work of their respected and established minority within Dutch - Galenus Abrahamsz de Haan was to become spiritual forefather. The question facing us now . This meant, in concrete terms, that their spokesman - in favour of abandoning the is, How did they make Menno Simons instru- Menno’s ideas on Christology, discipline, the traditional closed Mennonite community, which mental to their endeavours to justify the Menno- office of elder, and the non-payment of ministers had become so divided by that same severe disci- nite tradition in 18th-century Dutch society. were discarded. It actually amounted to the ac- pline. This incited resistance on the part of the Herman Schijn may rightly be called the ceptance of the confession of Lubbert Gerrits conservatives, however, who started to argue the founder of Dutch Mennonite and Hans de Ries - the original opponents of importance of the confessions and the disciplin- historiography....They wished to convince their Menno’s ideas on Christology and discipline - as ary procedures laid down in them....(page 8). compatriots of Mennonite loyalty and love of a touchstone of Mennonite orthodoxy in the 17th In the case of Menno Simons’ stance on the peace.....The best proof that Mennonites were no century....Menno deserved lasting respect, not question of discipline, a psychological interpreta- revolutionary Anabaptists was Menno for his doctrine but for his life (pages 18-21). tion has contributed to the underexposure of other himself....On the one hand, it is true that they factors in the conflict about discipline. Abhorrence preferred the name Mennonites to Doopsgezind, of the excesses has meant too little understanding in order to use this reference to the Mennonite “....the confessional Mennonites, of the important role of discipline in the formation confessions to distinguish themselves from their who had broken with the anti-con- of a reformative church in a hostile environment, anti-confessional co-religionists who were ac- fessionals in 1664....were called for both Anabaptists and Calvinists. Without pure cused of indeterminate tolerance and Zonists,....” doctrine and morals, a reformative movement lost Socianism....In the question of discipline, they its unity and appeal and did not last long. Further- followed the moderate opinions of the Conservative Mennonites. more, it is too often forgotten that the guidelines Waterlanders and the Young Frisians, who had The anti-confessional Doopsgezinden re- for biblical discipline - and the conflicts of its ap- once been rejected by Menno....Retaining the mained silent about Menno; the confessional plication! - developed only gradually in interac- tion with practical circumstances and the political situation (page 10). We cannot allow the judgement of the Re- formed on Menno Simons to depend solely on John Calvin: “You cannot imagine anything more conceited than this ass [Menno Simons], any- thing more insolent than this dog,” (page 13). Menno placed all emphasis on Christ’s freedom from sin. How can Jesus Christ reconcile sinful human beings with God if he himself is not an immaculate sacrificial lamb? Christ’s human nature can show no resemblance to fallen humankind. Christ did not receive his flesh from Mary, says Menno Simons in an echo of . Christ, true man and true God, is a new creation of God. The Word has become flesh, repeats Menno constantly, and only faith in this immaculate Lamb can produce a community of saints without spot and wrinkle....The Mennonites longed fiercely for the visible reality of the freedom from sin of the re- born man...... It was exactly at this essential point Map showing the land of Menno Simons’ birth in 1496. Source: Piet Visser and Mary Springer, Menno that Mennonites and Reformed diverged in their Simons: Places, Portraits and Progeny (Altona, 1996), page 12. “The roads that he walked between ideas on the relationship between faith and works, Pingjim and Oldesloe, with or without crutch; the waters upon which he sailed, lying down or standing; and church and the world (pages 13-14). the villages and towns which he called at as a fugitive or where he was able to stay for longer periods with wife and children; the fields, barns or cellars wherein he hid or where he prayed and preached or The Mennonites longed fiercely debated differences with others, form merely vague lines and coarse points upon the map of the 16th century Low Countries,” page 11. For a map showing Friesland within the context of the modern for the visible reality of the freedom Netherlands as well as Flanders, the ancestral home of the majority of Russian Mennonites, see Pres., from sin of the re-born man No. 22, page 37.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 31 Mennonites allowed him a voice as a The first monograph on Menno representative of pluriform, orthodox Simons appeared in 1837...The Protestantism. But what did Menno book by A. M. Cramer...[who] con- mean to the Old Flemish, who could cluded that the Doopsgezind church call themselves the most faithful fol- had evolved from the personal lowers, both in doctrine and way of study of the Bible and that the rea- life? In the middle of the 18th cen- son for its existence should not be tury, this smallest group of Dutch sought with any great reformer, but Anabaptists attempted to preserve its in the medieval sects where the spirit separate identity in an era of rational- of Christ had been preserved in its ism and moralism by publishing a purest form....The idea of the church confession of faith and a catechism. isolated from the world by discipline Pieter Hendriks, minister with the had lost its meaning. We must [in Old Flemish in Sappenmeer, wished Cramer’s view] regard Menno’s to base the religious content of these goal of founding a pure church as a documents on Menno’s failure....the call to pure morals and writings.....Without passing judge- baptism after rebirth is what still re- ment on other confessions, he clings mains of Menno’s message..... to a separate existence for the Old With this perception of Menno Flemish, characterized by the preser- before them, the 19th century vation of the tradition of unpaid min- Witmarsum, the birthplace of Menno Simons, according to a sketch from Doopsgezind began to create a dis- isters and the office of the elder. Bap- 1739 by K. P. Sannes. Photo - Visser and Springer, Menno Simons, page 15. tinct profile of themselves in their tism without reform of the subject’s struggle to be recognized as a reli- life, and communion without proper gious community which represses preparation are rejected; the impor- the ideal of a non-sectarian, non- tance of the washing of feet as a sac- dogmatic, free Protestant church, rament is put into perspective. Mar- subservient to the development of riage with someone of another faith the Kingdom of the Netherlands. is condemned; discipline is preserved, The most important thing was the including a moderate use of excom- encouragement of their own, inde- munication and shunning; the swear- pendent, free piety, a practical and ing of and the use of weapons profound Christianity. Constant is denounced; the Christian public au- vigilance was required to ensure thorities respected. In general terms, that this inner piety was not threat- Menno’s body of thought is retained, ened by “outward” traditions, such only his Christology and defense of The reformed church in Witmarsun, 1785, according to a drawing of H. as defencelessness, simplicity of shunning of spouses are discarded. Tavernier. Here Menno Simons was appointed village priest in 1532. Photo clothing, home and lifestyle, as well However, Menno’s agreement with - Visser and Springer, Menno Simons, page 20. as subdued behaviour. The sharp the Old Flemish tradition could not features of the perception of Menno prevent this group’s further fragmentation and a professed by his co-religionist contemporaries; had faded so much by the end of the 19th cen- century later it had dispersed completely (21-22). humankind, through the fall of Adam reduced to tury that even as leader he was compared with [Editor’s Note: However, the teaching of the Old powerlessness, will not be saved by works, but and replaced by Hans Denck, who had been Flemish resonated with that of the Flemish only by the personally sustained belief in Christ’s made the precursor of free and undogmatic Prot- Anabaptists who fled to the Vistula Delta and later redeeming blood and his merits. Menno’s doc- estantism by Ludwig Keller....Menno Simons to the steppes of Southern Russia, where they trine of rebirth constituted proof that was had been reduced to a symbol of the virtuous established highly successful Christian communi- no new doctrine in the Mennonite 19th century Doopsgezind, conservative-liberal ties which rejected both the doctrinal fragmenta- church....Menno emerges from Deknatel’s an- citizen.... tion of their Dutch brethren as well as the spiritu- thology as a Pietist avant la lettre....This new The 20th century perception of Menno alistic and assimilationist agenda of their anti-con- perception of the mild and pious Menno had al- Simons is somewhat less self-glorifying than that fessional Doopsgezind enemies.] ready been pre-formed in the Pietist historiogra- of the late 19th century. The lack of interest in phy of Gottfried Arnold (pages 22-24). Menno Simons’ theology remains unchanged Pietist Mennonites: “Menno as the quiet one” because its relevance is as little felt as in the pre- Finally, the Pietists renewed their interest in Liberal Doopsgezind: “Menno as virtuous vious century. The apologist historiography has, Menno Simons halfway through the 18th cen- Dutch citizen” however, made way for research into reliable tury, and to a great extent they have determined ....The sharp distinction between confession- historical information. In historical terms, the how he is perceived. The wealthy Amsterdam als and anti-confessionals had faded gradually in Menno Simons biography by K. Vos may rightly preacher Johannes Deknatel was one of the most the second half of the 18th century. The conserva- be described as a milestone which no researcher important Mennonite followers of the Pietist Graf tives [although thriving in Imperial Russia and whatsoever can ignore....Later 20th century re- Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf in the Nether- North America] had become isolated and had as searchers have, as yet, found little to add to the lands [He was a minister with the liberal anti- good as died out [in the Netherlands]. The historical information collected by Vos. Dutch confessional Lamists]. Menno’s works were vir- Doopsgezind - they intentionally no longer called Doopsgezind historians preferred the spiritual tually unobtainable in Deknatel’s days and so he themselves Mennonites - were open to all spiritual leaders of a less sharply defined Anabaptism, published an anthology of them, which was movements of their times without allowing them- such as Hans de Ries and Galenus Abrahams de widely distributed outside the Netherlands in two selves to be tempted by extremes. Moderation be- Haan. It was only in the years in which his birth, German translations. The choice of themes from came their hallmark. Their piety was a vague mix- Menno’s writings makes it all too clear that ture of Rationalist moralism and Pietist subjectiv- Levensword van Menno Simons Menno is being produced here as the defender of ity. The Doopsgezind congregations had been Niemand kan een ander Fundament leggen, Pietist neo-orthodoxy. Deknatel ranges Menno united without any confessional foundations in dan hetwelk gelegd is, namelijk Jezus Christis. against the moralism and the scantity of works the Algemene Doopsgezinde Societät since 1811. 1 Cor. 3:11.

32 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 departure from Popedom, and his death were performed as a play during the mass. Christ, Mary Penitential books had an important place in commemorated that a consideration of Menno and the saints, the intercessors in sanctification, the performance of his task as a father Simons was unavoidable.... were tangibly and visibly present in the church confessor....The penitential books served to as- It was more respectful sympathy than shared building. A painting of the Last Judgement be- sist the confessor in uncovering sins and deter- beliefs...Menno had discarded the free-thinking hind the altar illustrated what the believer must mining the degree of punishment, the required Doopsgezind and alienated himself from them. prepare for during his life....In order to transport works of satisfaction....The norms for disciplin- They preferred to identify with the moderate ourselves to the religious world of Menno ing Christian society were derived from the high Waterlanders and the spiritualist figures on the Simons, we should try to look at such an altar demands made of the apostolic life in a monastic fringes of the Anabaptist movement. An over- piece with his eyes..... setting, which had to be kept up to the mark by whelming majority of them felt the most closely The individual soul was imprisoned in a life- regular confession....The traditional Christian allied to those groups which had been furthest long cycle of sin, forgiveness, and doing peni- preoccupation with sexuality is a prominent pres- away from Menno. Furthermore, the contempo- tence; of falling, being raised up again, and per- ence in most of the books of penitence....For rary rejecting of doctrinism and church disci- forming works in atonement of guilt. This cycle Menno, the Bible became the new confessional pline brought about a distortion of the task of was determined by the power of sin which caused mirror which had to replace the church’s confes- Menno Simons as apologist and organizer. If weak humankind to break God’s laws time and sional books. The problem of penance naturally there was any awareness of Menno Simons’ role time again, and by the forgiveness of sins of- played a major role in the development of the in the process of institutionalization and fered by the church in the sacrament of disciplining of the Anabaptist congregations along confessionalization of the originally multi- penitence....Confession and doing penitence were biblical lines. coloured Anabaptism, then it was regarded as a the believer’s most important religious activities. In the late Middle Ages, the eschata, the Last road to decline (pages 24-33). Confession was the most important part of the Acts, were one of the main themes of religious preparation for life’s end and the believer had to meditation....True religiosity consisted of go to confession at least once per year, usually as mortificatio, as ascetic killing of the urge for self- “....Menno Simons’ role in the pro- preparation for Communion at Easter. The objec- preservation and of natural desires and appetites cess of institutionalization and tive of confession was to reveal sins and to inten- in preparation for the total submission to God. confessionalization....was regarded sify repentance for the sins committed. The task The degraded Christ served as the model for this as a road to decline....” of the father confessor was to guide the penitent process of dying and submission. Mortificatio in making the most perfect confession and sub- carnis was the import of the imitatio Christi; the Epilogue sequently to assure him of forgiveness....[The] dying of sins being analogous to the suffering of At present, Menno Simons only continues to absolution [of the priest] enabled him to offer Christ. There was no hope of being raised to a merit respect in his native country because of his grace in a miraculous manner as a counterweight new life in Christ without this death and true love for the unattainable ideal....The memory of to the weakness and doubts of the believer.....The penitence.... the messenger is kept alive, while his message is church had the indulgences at its disposal to re- In the late Middle Ages a great deal of reli- scarcely listened to. We only know the percep- move these doubts - as a life insurance for the gious literature was published in print in the ver- tion of Menno to the extent that it has been formed deceased..... nacular, meant for a wide audience of monastics, and distorted in accordance with the ideas and It is a misunderstanding that Menno Simons semi-monastics (conversos), and laity. What had longings of each era. For those who no longer with his growing doubts as to the sacrament of originally been monastic piety became common experience anything of him, we can do nothing penance and purgatory also disassociated him- property in a large circle of serious believers who less than suggest his contours in the sketch we self from the penitence evoked by confession. meditated on the life to come with the aid of these design of his times. He wanted more penitence, not less. His objec- “do-it-yourself” instructions.....This literary tive was to restore to the contritio, or true heart- popularization of the original monastic-peniten- Chapter Two - The Anticlerical Priest: From felt repentance, the profundity and intensity which tial piety determined the nature of the Reforma- father confessor to lay preacher of true peni- it had lost. Menno Simons and his followers did tion in the Netherlands to a great extent.....In this tence. not interpret the Reformation as a lightening of religious literature which developed in the course Menno Simons was a Catholic priest. As a the burdens of faith; as serious Christians they of the 15th century, we encounter an ever-in- consequence, the study of his spiritual develop- voluntarily accepted a much heavier yoke in or- creasing occupation with the human being who ment must take his calling to the traditional priest- der to inherit heaven.....[Menno Simons] used must fight sin in great desolation, and who finds hood seriously and also attempt to assess the the Bible as the only instrument to reinstate and his only comfort in the solitary and suffering extent to which this calling had a lasting influ- shape the essence of late medieval penitential pi- Christ.... ence on his piety.....[His] spiritual development ety in all its simplicity and power. This harmonious merging of personal devo- is inextricably bound up with the process of re- tion and sacramental mediation of salvation was orientation in which the church and society found cruelly disturbed however when, with references “It is a misunderstanding that to the Bible, Erasmus and Luther unintentionally themselves at the time. The monk Luther sought Menno Simons.....disassociated him- to escape from his existential distress and asked, or intentionally fanned the feelings of doubt con- “How do I obtain a merciful God?” The liberat- self from the penitence evoked by cerning the legitimacy of the traditional sacra- ing answer was: “Not though a holiness which confession.” ment of penance. The consequence was that the can be earned, but through trust in the unmerited role of the priest as the exclusive mediator of forgiveness through Christ alone.”....The ques- From father confessor to preacher of peni- salvation became devalued, and the individual tion of the justification of the sinner through faith tence believer seeking inner peace was forced more alone made room for the more practical question The central themes of Menno Simons’ refor- and more to resort to independent reading of the of the regeneration of the believer. Once that point mational theology arise from his practice as a Bible as the only reliable confessional book. had been reached, the Anabaptists joined in the pastor and can best be explained in the pastoral The earlier tendencies to internalization of re- reformational discussion. The Anabaptists were context.....He developed a new kind of practical ligious life were reinforced again in this way, regarded as heretics, not only by the Catholics theology from his pastoral experience meant to also where the convention of prayer was con- but by the Protestants as well, because of their give his contemporaries ultimate assurance of cerned. For example, a shift away from saying one-sided emphasis on sanctification. their future salvation and of the new life on earth prayers aloud to praying in silence became ap- based on biblical norms which granted entrance parent in the course of the 14th and 15th centu- The Last Judgement in Word and Image. there. Two examples from pastoral practice will ries. Anyone who prayed had to do so with all Salvation was presented graphically to the illustrate this development - the preparation for his heart; in which connection it should be noted late-medieval believer. The sacrifice of Christ was communion and for life’s end. that in the Middle Ages the heart was regarded as

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 33 the center of reason and not of the feelings. It to a lifelong process of leading a pure life. Ac- of this evangelical confessional practice, and how was no coincidence that silent prayer, both at cording to Luther, with his radicalization of the was the call to true penitence heard in his home and in the assemblies of the congregation, primacy of grace, this true evangelical penitence times?...Christ was the only means of salvation. became one of the characteristics of Mennonite was not a precondition of faith but a consequence From now on, satisfaction existed in demonstrat- orthopraxy. Menno’s followers needed no one of it. It was not penitence, therefore, but faith ing the love of God and one’s neighbour, in the else for the most intimate conversation with God; which was the true key to receiving forgiveness.... belief which is effective in love and expressed in they could conduct that themselves. Outsiders Menno Simons, however, was afraid that no all the works of mercy inspired by Christ and the observing their silent prayers were apostles. This put an end to the com- amazed at the deep sigh which ac- pulsory prayers, masses, pilgrim- companied this most intimate of con- ages, and penances which had made fessions before God. the church into a mercantile corpo- The practical-experiential piety of ration trading in salvation. the followers of Menno Simons is Menno Simons confesses his not a product of the Enlightenment past to God in one of the writings or Pietism in the first instance, but which he produced in the year of his can be traced back as far as late-me- break with Rome, his “Meditation dieval penitential piety. Their assem- on Psalm 25.” Just as in the account blies and devotional literature dis- of the life of a monastic, one section play all the characteristics of the col- is always devoted to a vividly- lationes and admonitiones, as we coloured description of the path from know them from the tradition of the secular life to conversion and en- Modern Devotion....The works of trance into the monastery, so does Menno Simons have a close affinity Menno Simons describe his exodus with this. It was also his objective to from the church which has gone to produce a moral theology which can worldly ruin....Existential need, criti- be characterized as a biblically- cism of the traditional church, and grounded equivalent of the sermon care for the world form an invisible and the catechism, as we encounter Pingjum, where Menno Simons was appointed Vicar in 1525. A drawing by unity. Inner and outer conversion can them in Middle Dutch devotional lit- J. C. Vischer, 1778. Photo - Visser and Springer, Menno Simons, page 17. scarcely be distinguished from each erature. They were not intended to other.... be works of literary beauty, but rather instruc- real renewal of the life of the believer could be After his confession, Menno summarizes his tions for leading a life equal in form to Christ’s. involved as a result of Luther’s unilateral empha- new teaching as follows: “I have taught nothing In the case of Menno Simons this Christian lay sis on the passive aspect of faith and by his re- all along but true repentance, a dying unto our ethic was also nurtured by Old Testament Wis- versal of the biblical sequence of penance and sinful flesh, and the new life that cometh from dom literature (The Wisdom of Solomon, faith. And he saw the truth of this suspicion in God.” The intention of this doctrine was the pu- Ecclesiastes) and by the Christian tradition, which the behaviour of many of Luther’s rification and intensification of the traditional con- had a strong neo-stoic flavour. Menno Simons followers....Menno makes less of a distinction ventions of penance....The sacrament of penance owes tribute to this traditional, penitential lay pi- between faith and penitence than Luther does. was both a means of care and coercion.....True ety, from which he is only distinguished by a Anyone who does not show a visible change in penitence led to the reinstatement of the pure and great biblically-grounded, ethical rigorism. his life may not call himself a believer according simple Gospel from apostolic times - a longing to Menno Simons - which means that, to him, which could be fostered by humanist utopias and true penitence remains one of the conditions for dreams of a Golden Age....Once the Bible had “.....a shift....to praying in silence the determination of what believing actually im- been rediscovered as the only foundation for the became apparent in the course of the plies. It is the core concept of his semi-pelagian building of the authentic church, and the laity had 14th and 15th centuries.” doctrine of grace, which also governs his ideas claimed the right to interpret and apply what they on true baptism, the true Lord’s Supper, and the read in the Scriptures, the power of the scholastic “Nochtans soo vele van Luthero geholpen” true ministry. theologians and the clergy disappeared like snow When and how did Menno Simons’ doubts in the summer. In the third decade of the 16th about the traditional sacramental mediation in “....no real renewal...could be century - the decade of Mennos’ reformational salvation originate?....[He] attributes this libera- awakening - all emphasis was gradually being tion from his terrible fear and doubts to Martin involved...[by] Luther’s placed on the biblical authenticity of religion and Luther.....Luther and Menno Simons had learned unilateral....reversal of the biblical the moral purity of believers. from Erasmus that Jesus’ call to repentance in sequence of penance and faith.” Menno Simons and his contemporaries heard Matthew 3:2 (Vulgata: “poenitentiam agite””) did the proclamation of true penitence from Melchior not refer to the church’s sacrament of penitence, Penance and restitution. Hoffman and Jan Matthijs....The time had now but that these words had to be interpreted as a call But what was Menno Simons’ interpretation come for the radical decision and the great

View of Pingjum. - EVW. Photo - Visser and Springer, Menno Simons, page 18.

34 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 purification....The images of hell and damnation led....Love is also a commandment. Grace which It was no sudden conversion, but rather a on the altar piece were threatening to became fails to bring about any change in how life is process lasting more than ten years and consist- reality. lived is only cheap grace. Grace is not absolution ing of several phases - ignorance, rumours of alone, but also starting to behave as a liberated reform, growing doubts and uncertainty, Bible No Gospel without the Law person..... study, self-criticism, criticism of Christianity, cau- Let us relate the penance problem to a theme Law and Gospel, Law and Grace, penance tious internal church reforms, Anabaptist influ- which has received little attention as ences, resistance and then surrender yet in the study of Anabaptist theol- to these, break with the traditional ogy; namely the relationship be- church, call to leadership. It was only tween Law and Gospel.....Law and in his role of persecuted apologist Gospel, God’s demanding justice and leader of the Anabaptist move- and forgiving mercy, were one and ment that Menno Simons’ of equal weight in the spiritual in- anticlericalism became terpretation of Menno Simons. The virulent.....[His] fierceness against Word of God, as life-destroying the hostile clergy may appear strange Law, uncovered offenses and con- to us liberal advocates of tolerance, demned sinners and offenders. The but what appears strange to us actu- Word of God, as life-bring Gospel, ally inspires his persecuted co-reli- pardoned the condemned and gave gionists to have confidence in him..... them the strength to lead sanctified lives..... Rebirth is brought about by both ‘It was no sudden con- the Law and the Gospel. Where the version, but rather a process fear of God and the love of Him are lasting more than ten years both present, then there is true peni- [for Menno Simons]....” tence, according to Menno Simons. He makes scarcely any distinction True penitence and Mennonite between true penitence and faith. For piety him, true penitence is the articula- True penitence may be regarded tion of the true faith which changes as the germ cell of a type of piety people both internally and exter- which characterized the followers of nally.... Relief of Oldeklooster, Bolsward. In: Hotensuius - UBA-DG. Visser and Menno Simons for centuries. We find In general, the radicalism of Springer, Menno Simons, page 25. this piety to comprise a mixture of Luther’s doctrine of justification experience, common sense, and de- found little response in the Netherlands, where and faith, justification and sanctification, God’s cisiveness, which can be interpreted as the ar- people were better-disposed to the ideas of the work and human activity are closely intercon- ticulation of true penitence, the rationalist Bible moderate Melanchthon, who did not consider nected in the theology of Menno Simons and are interpretation, and the concept of efficacious the beginning of faith as the end of penance. sometimes difficult to distinguish. His traditional, grace. The precedence of a penitent life above the Thus we see that the traditional practice of peni- penitential piety is made to serve a practical ob- doctrine professed continues to be well-expressed tence and the effective doctrine of divine grace jective, namely the raising of the evangelical qual- in the baptismal liturgy of the Mennonite congre- left a permanent mark on the theology of the ex- ity of church and society, a renewal which de- priest from Witmarsum.....Faith is a process of mands obedience. No one can be blessed, ac- penitence and reformation of the life being cording to Menno Simons, without faith, love, and obedience to Jesus Christ. Christ’s gospel is also Law.....

Clerical self-hate and anticlericalism The principal concern of the early 16th cen- tury believer was the existential-religious fear for the salvation of his soul. Life on earth was but a prelude to everlasting life and had to be made subservient to it....It is only with some dif- ficulty that we secularized citizens of the late 20th century are able to imagine this medieval and early-modern fear of the Last Judgement and the craving for the certainty of salvation.... We hear anticlerical complaints not only at the time of the Reformation but also in the preceding centuries. They were expressions of fear for the soul’s salvation and of worries about the quality of mediation in salvation performed by the church....directed against the hierarchical structure....or against the base morality of the clergy and their monopoly on salvation....The father confessor who was supposed to use the confessional books to help his parishioners achieve self-knowledge, himself became a peni- Naaktkopers - naked runners in Amsterdam, 1535. tent when he saw himself reflected in the new Menno Simons’ tract against Jan van Leyden, ca. In: Hotensuius - UBA-DG. Visser and Springer, confessional mirror of the Bible..... 1535 (1627). - UBA-DG. Visser and Springer, Menno Simons, page 27. Menno Simons, page 29.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 35 Menno Simons’ Foundation book written in 1539/40; title page, left, with table of contents, middle. Right, Menno Simons. The first book on the ban: A Kind Admonition, 1541. Visser and Springer, Menno Simons, page 35. In 1833 the first complete German edition of M. Simons’ Foundation book was published by the Kleine Gemeinde in Russia in an attractive three volume set (see Saints and Sinners, pages 261-262). gations until well into the 18th form of criticism of this sacramental century....If true penitence, the expe- interpretation of the divine presence riential nature of faith and self-criti- undermined the foundation of the cism decline, then the development church and was regarded as heresy of an external and legalistic practice or atheism. of religion is possible..... As a consequence, the change in It proved simpler to hold up the Menno Simons’ belief in the pres- Bible in front of another as a confes- ence of the sacred in the profane and sional mirror, than to allow oneself to his post-Sacramentarian alternative be moved to true penitence by that for transubstantiation deserve fur- same Bible. Having learned from bit- ther analysis.....There are three cen- ter experience, later generations with tral questions in this connection; their rejection of all external factors namely the nature of the Eucharist, which could lead to dissension finally the role of the server, and the wor- also relinquished true penitence as the thiness of the partaker. His primary core Mennonite piety. Without an un- responsibility for the liturgy and the derstanding of the central role of true care of souls led the vicar of Pingjum penitence in the theology of Menno B & H. Danzig, ca. 1580. In 1549 Menno Simons stays some weeks in Danzig to the gradual realization that the ac- Simons, it has not become easy to in- to settle some differences. “The city and the neighbouring Vistula Delta were tualization of the incarnation could terpret Menno Simons’ vision of a very popular among the persecuted Dutch [and especially the Flemish] not be confined to the magical trans- Christian life. Without affinity with brothers and sisters. In this relative peace thousands of Mennonites are able formation of bread and wine into the this penitential type of faith, we can to construct a new existance,” Visser and Springer, Menno Simons, page 45. flesh and blood of Christ, but that only speak in terms of a partial actualization of the gible than in the host. God’s son was shown to its real significance was the transformation of the theology of Menno Simons (pages 37-58). the faithful in the form of a circular piece of bread, heart of the believer. True penitence as the real so that they could adore him.....The celebration nature of the sacrament of penance became, for Chapter Three - The real presence of Christ: of the Eucharist was a universal sign of recogni- Menno Simons, the most important framework The congregation of true penitents tion throughout the Christian Occident, right into for interpreting the sacrament of the Lord’s Sup- The fertile Frisian coastal area, which is where the remotest corners and tiniest hamlets..... per. Menno Simons came from is characterized by In the third decade of the 16th century, the innumerable Romanesque churches with increasing doubts concerning the reality of Christ’s saddleback steeples.... Today if you were to visit physical presence in the Lord’s Supper prompted “True penitence....became....the Pingjum, the village where Menno Simons com- a drastic reconsideration of the question of where most important framework for inter- menced his religious career as a vicar, you would divine reality could be experienced, if it was not preting the sacrament of the Lord’s find few reminders of his times. Only the stone tied to matter....Because the cup was denied the Supper.” church building has been preserved and it still laity, the host represented for the faithful the su- stands there like a beacon in the flat, green land- preme magical means of communication with the God is Spirit; worship is spiritual scape. The silhouette of the church and its tower divine. God descended into this “bread of life” in Menno Simons lived in a time in which many make the village recognizable as Pingjum. In a hidden and invisible manner, as a continuous serious believers replaced the religion of imma- Menno Simons’ day, however, this church was incarnation and a constantly repeated sacrifice....By nence with the religion of transcendence.....where more than a refuge for the village dwellers,....it partaking of this body of Christ, the communicant was the divine reality to be found when adora- was in fact the magical center of the parish, and was made identical in form to Christ, he partici- tion and glorification of images, relics, and the the material prosperity and spiritual welfare of pated in his future bliss during his earthly host were being denounced as false those living in the vicinity depended on it....Water existence....It was not as the proclaimed message religion?....[The Anabaptists] made a distinction and oil, bread and wine, received their super- of forgiveness of sins and victory over death that between the material and spiritual worlds and natural powers in this building. Christ constituted the foundation of the church, pleaded for exclusively spiritual worship....Freed Nowhere was the divine presence more tan- but in the form of the consecrated bread....Every of the sacramental material reality, and conse-

36 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 The Baltic Sea coast. Part of the landscape of the Flemish Mennonites in the Vistula Delta (see Pres., No. 18, pages 120-130). Visser and Springer, Menno Simons, page 43. quently no longer subject to manipulation by the to the spirit in a neo-Platonic manner (John 6:63; with Christ is only possible in the place where a priesthood, God was a spiritual and transcendent 2 Cor. 3:6)..... congregation is gathered in true faith and broth- power asking for direct admittance to the inner Menno Simons, in contrast, gives faith a much erly love, with obedience to the Bible and a cor- being of the believer during spiritual worship..... more biblicist-moralist charge. For him, flesh rect use of the sacrament, which is to say in two However, the spiritualization of religion in means disobedience to the divine commandments forms....Only through the Word of Christ is the the 16th century did not lead to belief being put primarily, while he interprets spirit as obedience Christian governed spiritually and inwardly.... into perspective, but rather to its intensification. and subjection to the Word of God....This also The degree of inner experience of God’s righ- The Reformation was not preceded by a time of has consequences for Christology. For Menno teousness and love in Christ, and of outward decline in piety, but by a time during which piety Simons, incarnation is the residence of Christ in obedience to the Word of God becomes the de- intensified among the common people as the hearts of believers and the transformation of termining factor in a true celebration of the Lord’s well....Menno did not revert to the critical voices individuals who were not obedient to God into a Supper....Is it not true that the grace of God does from the previous century in his doubts concern- people subject to God in obedience. The divine not work through dead matter, but in living hearts ing the miracle of the mass; he responded exclu- presence should not be sought in the host (as in sively to all the sometimes diffuse and confused Roman Catholic doctrine), nor in the written sym- rumours about reformers and reforms which bols of scripture or the impenetrable heavenly reached him in the second and the third decade of spheres to which these letters refer (as in the 16th century. This means that the most fruit- Erasmus), but rather in the congregation of true ful interpretation of the life and work of Menno penitents. The sanctified life of this congregation Simons will be one which is based on the spiri- constitutes living and visible proof of the real tual climate of the early Reformation in the Neth- presence of Christ. Grace which fails to bring erlands. And who determined that spiritual cli- about moral improvement is no grace..... mate more than Menno Simons’ contemporary and fellow-countryman Erasmus, critical heir of the piety of the Modern Devotion and inspiring “....Fundamental to the work of propagandist for a type of piety which bore clear Erasmus is his longing to restore traces of a New Testament interpretation with Christianity to its original, primitive, neo-Platonic tinges and of the “simple” theology apostolic purity....” of the early Church Fathers. ....Fundamental to the work of Erasmus is his Changing insights concerning the Eucharist, longing to restore Christianity to its original, the communicant, and the celebrant primitive, apostolic purity in doctrine and exist- Which traditional ideas about the Eucharist ence. For this reason the concept of rebirth which were dismissed by Menno Simons?....he showed we frequently find with various designations himself to be a kindred spirit of what were known (renascentia, regeneratio, restitutio) in Erasmus as the Sacramentarians, with their denial of the and Menno must not be interpreted in the narrow physical presence of Christ in the consecrated Baptismal scene. In Hortensius - UBA-DG. Visser Pietist sense alone. It refers to a religious renais- elements of bread and wine, and their rejection of and Springer, Menno Simons, page 19. sance of both the individual believer and the whole the adoration of the host....he challenged the mis- of Christendom, which can be brought about apprehension that the sacrament as such could and obedient lives?... through an authentic explanation of the teachings take away sins in a magical way.... There stands Menno Simons the priest, be- of Christ.....Nevertheless, Erasmus’ own criti- hind the altar....But doubt is eating away at him - cism of many church practices did not lead him The Eucharist. he does not believe that a miracle is taking place to actual plans for reformation, but where Their power [of the priests] came from the in his hands. We must try to imagine in how Erasmus had ploughed others could harvest....as doctrine that Christ, who resided in heaven, was much fear and trembling Menno Simons took a erudite interpreter of a contemporary, primitiv- locally bound to bread and wine during the daily leave of the traditional interpretations of the istic, biblicist, and neo-Platonic type of piety, mass, and that Christ’s sacrifice for our sins was Eucharist....the heavenly food did not change in- Erasmus unmistakably also touched chords in repeated by the priest....The invisible soul of the side a human body and did not take on human Menno, particularly regarding the internalization believer cannot be nourished with the visible bread substance. No, exactly the opposite took place; and spiritualization of religion, biblically legiti- and the visibly created reality of bread and wine the heavenly bread, the body of Christ, which mized with a reference to the dualism in John and cannot be transformed into the spiritual, invisible was not subject to transformation and decay, Paul, where letter and flesh are made secondary Son of God....True communication and unity changed humankind within itself.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 37 The communicant. a moral respect. The body and blood of Christ The communicant’s awe of the host was just had to be understood in the agreeable sense, as as great as the celebrant’s fear....Menno therefore being his love which was working in the “agree- replaced the host as sacramental medicine by the able congregation” which shared the faith of direct care of Christ as the spiritual master of Christ, where lust and desire were tempered and healing. It was Christ himself who should be burdens and cares were shared..... adored, not the host. God’s love was no longer It is in connection with this question that received through the stomach, but via the ear into Menno first names excommunication as a means the hearts of the believers. But what significance of prevailing upon these sinners to show peni- was still to be attached to the Lord’s tence and obedience to Christ. Those who had Supper?....Menno Simons summarizes the true committed inner sins, however, did not have to use of the Lord’s Supper...in the first place: the explain themselves before the congregation, but remembrance of the suffering of the Lord....in before God himself. By reason of logic, Menno the second place: the exhortation to love....His Simons was forced to add a third characteristic ideas on the Lord’s Supper do not differ greatly of the Lord’s Supper to the first two. Besides the remembrance of the reconciling death of Christ and the exhortation to love, Christ had instituted the Lord’s Supper to preserve the purity of God’s church. The true penitence of the communicants must be maintained at a high level by means of good discipline; the “service” or “duty” of love as the Anabaptists called it. Jan Matthijs, apocalyptic preacher and successor “....Christ had instituted the Lord’s to Melchior Hoffman as leader of the Anabaptists Supper to preserve the purity of in the Netherlands. Drawing by C. van Sicherm I (1607) - UBA-DG. Visser and Springer, Menno God’s church.” Simons, page 21. The celebrant. elements of the Lord’s Supper were criticized The proper use and proper users of the Lord’s and reinterpreted.....it has been established that Supper are only realized when there are suffi- the Sacramentarian groups were the first targets cient good servers of the Lord’s Supper. Menno of the apocalyptic Anabaptist preachers of peni- Simons gradually came to the conclusion that tence, just as the apostle Paul addressed himself these were difficult to find in the circles of the to the synagogues first. It was not until Melchior Roman Catholic clergy....In the opinion of the Hoffman and his pupils had convinced him that outlawed priest from Witwarsum, the evangeli- baptism too must be administered to the true peni- cal ministers led easy and safe lives, because tents, that Menno Simons started making the bap- they were less strict than the Anabaptists where tism of believers and strict discipline the precon- the discipline of the Lord’s Supper was concerned, dition for admittance to the Lord’s Supper..... Melchior Hoffman who brought Anabaptism to partly as a concession to their protectors. Their In our times, when religion is increasingly Friesland in 1530. Drawing by C. van Sicherm I congregations remained half church and half becoming reduced to the sphere of private life, it (1607) - UBA-DG. Visser and Springer, Menno world, and constituted the visible demonstration is essential to be aware of the “totalitarian”, en- Simons, page 21. of their adoptionist Christology, which taught compassing-all-reality nature of religion at the that Christ was half God and half man. This was time of the Reformation....The discussion of from what the Sacramentarians taught.... in sharp contrast to the Christology of Menno Menno Simons’ changing ideas on the Lord’s At the end of the religious discussions be- Simons, in which strong emphasis was given to Supper is the proof of how difficult it really is to tween Luther and Zwingli in Marburg in the complete divinity and holiness of Christ in- do justice to these very aspects (pages 59-81). 1539....Menno remarks that the scholars of this carnate. Only a church without worldly taints world had not addressed the most important ques- could be born out of the belief in this Christ who Chapter Four - The longing for perfection: tion, namely the people for whom Christ had was free from sin - “the pure Word of God.”.... The separation of the latter day saints instituted his supper. It is not the question of the In summary: In the eyes of Menno Simons, After the search for the historical and theo- nature of the presence of Christ in the elements the true Lord’s Supper was a spiritual commun- logical origins of Menno Simons’ ideas on a re- of the Lord’s Supper which is of the central im- ion with Christ in the assembly of true penitents, newed practice for penance and the Lord’s Sup- portance to Menno Simons, but Paul’s exhorta- served by true penitents. The true church, as the per, the time has now come to turn our attention tion in 1 Corinthians 11:28-29: “But let everyman communio sancorum from the Apostle’s Creed, to another aspect of the care of souls, namely, examine himself and so let him eat of that bread was interpreted as the congregation of the true baptism....On which points and on the basis of and drink of that cup....” The necessity of self- penitents.....The mercy of Christ was not to be which considerations did Menno Simons intro- examination is one of the most important charac- sought in images or in the host, but in the strictly duce a correction of the Anabaptist doctrine with teristics of Anabaptism....The strong emphasis disciplined brotherly love which formed the out- which he came into contact after 1530? on self-examination preceding participation in the standing distinguishing mark of the apostolic Lord’s Supper, became the evangelical substitute church. Rumours of a new baptism for traditional confession, which was also meant Doubts about the physical presence of Christ to lead to knowledge of sins and contrition be- A Sacramentarian priest? in bread and wine had led Menno Simons to fore communion. The Lord’s Supper could only Menno Simons says that in 1524....the thought study the scripture. This had brought the vicar of be celebrated in the congregation of true peni- suddenly struck him that the consecrated elements Pingjum the name of being an “evangelical tents, who formed the embodiment of the faith of of the Lord’s Supper were not flesh and blood of preacher”, a reputation which he himself consid- Christ and freedom from sin. It was among the Christ.....Sacramentarianism is the designation ered unjustified....His cautious sympathy with truly penitent that the efficacy of Christ as spiri- of a religious movement in which the church’s the reformational cause had not affected his rela- tual sacrament proved the greatest, particularly in ideas about the physical presence of Christ in the tionship with his immediate surroundings. On

38 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 the contrary his parishioners considered him a ous men and women to leave their houses, goods others in his immediate surroundings, Menno preacher of the Word of God and a man of irre- and children behind to find a “safe haven” in must have been affected by the apocalyptical proachable conduct.... besieged Münster. preaching of penitence by Jan Matthijs’ emissar- ....his doubts concerning the biblical legiti- Nor can the priest of Witmarsum have re- ies. The call to true penance and proclamation of macy of infant baptism were not aroused by his mained ignorant of the fact that Bartholomeus the imminent advent of a new world of sanctifi- own Bible study, but by a concrete person and a Boekbinder and Willem Kuiper, two other cation and justice which had to be awaited with- historical fact, namely the sentence passed by the apostles of Jan Matthijs were who filled with the out the use of force made a great and lasting Court of Friesland on Sikke Freerks on 20th same Pentecostal spirit, had caused turmoil and impression on him and he continued to consider March 1531.....The rumour of the beheading of discord in the Sacramentarian conventicle at this message to be the true import of the Anabaptist Freerks had also reached the vicar of Pingjum...he Leeuwerden, with the Münsterite message that faith. He rejected and opposed the Münsterite had heard about the execution before he had God would very soon extirpate all shedders of realization of this same message, however, as heard anything in his life about several “broth- blood, all tyrants, and all the ungodly.... They soon as its excesses became visible in his own ers” - kindred spirits of Melchior both took part in the demonstration of the “Sword surroundings. Hoffman....Menno Simons [concluded]....that no Walkers” or “Sword Bearers” in Amsterdam of What we have difficulty in understanding is account of infant baptism was to be found in the 22 March 1534, walking through the streets with the great respect which Menno Simons and his Bible. He found in the Church Fathers that infant drawn swords exhorting the inhabitants to peni- fellow believers originally cherished for “proph- baptism had mainly come into fashion due to the tence.... ets” of this kind....Is it possible to link Menno idea that original sin could be washed away by Menno Simons lived in the northwest coastal Simons so closely to these prophetic and apoca- this rite....He then went on to study how the re- region of Friesland which, for reasons still un- lyptic beginnings? There are a number of clues formers in Wittenberg, Strasborg, and Zurich known, proved particularly receptive to the apoca- which make the temptation great to risk a recon- continued to justify the practice of infant bap- lyptically motivated practice of rebaptism. Nu- struction of a circle of Anabaptists with whom tism.... merous villages around Witmarsum had inhabit- Menno Simons became associated.....Geertruid ...the Anabaptist movement in the Low Coun- ants who had been rebaptised.....Between five and Griet, two sisters from his parish, were also tries is the fruit of Melchior Hoffman’s success- members. Menno married Geertruid, most prob- ful preaching in East Friesland. From April to ably a beguine, a member of a Netherlands lay June 1529 [he]....together with Karlstadt...had sisterhood, not bound by vows....Geertruid’s sis- been a guest of squire Ulrich van Dornum, who ter Greet,....was married to Rein Edes.... was a strong Zwingli sympathizer. They sup- ...Menno Simons had close connections with ported the general resistance of the East Friesian a circle of Anabaptists in Witmarsum, which had nobility and peasants against the Lutheran refor- evolved after 1534 from the preaching of a mation, through their rejection of the Roman Münsterite minister and these people were so Catholic and Lutheran doctrines concerning the dear to Menno that he married one of them....It Lord’s Supper.... was not until the excesses of the Anabaptist Inhabitants of East Friesland had allowed their preaching of penitence became visible that Menno children to go unbaptised even before Simons turned against these prophets and op- 1530...Melchior Hoffman was the first to start posed the central role of Münster in the prepara- this practice, after he had joined the Anabaptist tion of the coming of Christ. He disassociated movement in Strasborg. He visited East Friesland himself from Melchior Hoffman and Jan for the second time from May to November 1530 Matthijs...Against these developments he ranges and turned the shire into a bridgehead for the his own interpretation of the Anabaptist faith, Anabaptist reformation in the Low based exclusively on the “explicit, literally writ- Countries....When Hoffman had to leave East ten Word of God as truly understood in the spirit.” Friesland in the autumn of 1530, he appointed Excommunication comes into operation on the Jan Volkerts Tripmaker as his deputy and Volkerts basis of this doctrine, and this inevitably had to it was who baptised Sikke Freerks..... lead to the development of a division between his Sikke Freerks had gone to Leeuwarden from followers and those who continued to sympa- Emden, and he probably spread the ideas of thize with the Münsterite ideas.... Melchior Hoffman in an existing conventicle of Jan van Leyden, polygamous Anabaptist king of like-minded Sacramentarians in the Friesian Münster. Drawing by C. van Sicherm I (1607) - The ultimate purification capital....The brothers Obbe and Dirk Philips may UBA-DG. Visser and Springer, Menno Simons, The apocalyptic craving for purity was the page 25. have been members of this circle, although it was most significant motive for the Anabaptist refor- not until January 1534 that they were baptised by and six hundred Anabaptists had gathered....then mation in the Low Countries. The consciousness the missionaries of Jan Matthijs of Haarlem, managed to capture the Oldeklooster (the Old of living at the end of time was common during Hoffman’s successor in the Netherlands....Being Cloister) near Bolsward....The stadholder Schenk the Reformation... among the first leaders of the Melchiorite von Tautenburg was only able to retake the mon- Menno Simons, too, lived his entire life in the Anabaptist movement, Obbe and Dirk appointed astery after a week-long siege. One of those killed expectation that the final judgement of the world Menno Simons a fellow elder at the beginning of was Menno Simons’ brother....Full of under- was at hand. This apocalyptical consciousness 1537.... standing and compassion, Menno Simons writes reinforced yet again the fear already present in all The second wave of Anabaptist activities led of them as people whose only misdeed had been serious believers of having to appear before God’s by Jan Matthijs did not go unnoticed by Menno to defend their faith... seat of judgement at the end of their personal Simons who writes of it in dramatic terms....Many lives. Apocalypticism and eschatology presume other inhabitants of Friesland had also been Menno Simons’ first contact with the and strengthen each other, as well as sometimes rebaptised, spurred on by the threatening apoca- Anabaptists being difficult to distinguish from each other, lyptic preaching of Jan Matthijs. Rebaptism was ...It appears that he [Menno Simons] was also in the writings of Menno Simons. Menno’s necessary to escape the ominous Judgement of baptized by Obbe Philips and accepted into the whole life was determined by them to a signifi- God and those baptised had to swear to break Anabaptist congregation, but Obbe Philips does cant degree. He had experienced in his own sur- completely with the Roman Catholic church. The not mention this fact, saying only that he or- roundings the signs of the wrath of God which prophecy that the time of assembly of 144,000 dained Menno Simons as an elder in the city of threatened temporal existence - hunger, illness, redeemed had come (Rev. 7:14;14:1) led numer- Groningen....at the start of 1537....Like many drought, wars, fire, robbery, imprisonment and

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 39 extirpation, and this must have greatly increased were responsible for religion determined that to “Slay the monks, priest, all rulers of the world, receptivity to the preaching of penance by the neither Menno nor his contemporaries were able especially our rulers.....” Münsterite prophets. But it was much more threat- to conceive of a fundamental separation of The expectation that time was short was ening to have been robbed of God’s Word, thus church and state.....[But] The Habsburg repres- growing and approximately 300 of those present depriving believers not only of their temporal sion did not give the required latitude to lower were rebaptized believing that this sign would lives, but also of the promise of everlasting life. authorities who sympathized with the save them at the coming Day of Judgement. This was the reason why he interpreted the redis- Anabaptists, while the severe demands made Everyone threw themselves on the ground, covery of the Gospel and the ensuing reforma- on the moral standard of the purified church by weeping and singing....to cut an exciting story tion as a positive sign of the end of time. While the Anabaptists with their strict discipline made short, they came to a bad end. Cornelis int the Münsterites did not shrink from using vio- it impossible for the government to enfold all its Kerkhof, the Son of God, was exposed and lence to cleanse church and society of godless- subjects within such a church without spot or driven off...while Herman Schoenmaker fell into ness if necessary, Menno Simons, on the other wrinkle.... the hands of the troops of Karel van Gelder, the hand, wanted to use only the Bible and his own stadholder of Gronigen.....The “Messiah of `t writings as a double-edged sword to achieve his Zand” died in prison, incessantly screaming the objective. Their means differed but their objec- “If Menno had succeeded in find- message from Bernd Rothmann’s “Van de tive was the same; the cleansing of church and ing a local or regional authority wrake” [On revenge], that monks, priests and society.... which could have implemented a rulers should be extirpated..... What the Anabaptists unmistakably had in reformation in the Anabaptist The course of the disturbance gives a good mind at the beginning, and as a matter of prin- impression of the overstrain which the expecta- ciple, was a reformation and purification of re- stye....this would not have been in tions of the end of time and the persecution by ality as a whole. They were concerned with a conflict with his theology.” the church and authorities had caused in many personal inner conversion (true penitence) and people.....Approximately a week after the trouble outward renewal (regeneration)....In the case of Defenceless and defending saints at ‘t Zand seven men and five women cast off the Anabaptists, this true evangelical religion Condensed in time and space, the distur- their weapons, clothes and jewellery in a house was characterized mainly by a new individual bance near ‘t Zand in Gronigen provides a good in the Zoutsteeg, on the orders of the tailor and collective morality implying social criticism. illustration at microlevel of the core and am- Hendrik Hendriks. Naked and defenceless as And because religion was a political matter in bivalence of the question of violence....Two children they were to await their deliverance. those days, the Anabaptist purification move- people from Gronigen had seen the situation in The truth had to be naked. They ran naked ment encountered restrictions defined by the Münster for themselves and returned with posi- through half the city in the wintry cold, howling authorities. The Anabaptists were greatly frus- tive news at the start of 1535. At the beginning horribly: “Woe, woe, the vengeance of God, the trated in their original ambitions by severe and of February...between 900 and 1,000 people vengeance of God.” Most of them were sen- bloody repression, but at the same time they gathered in and around the farm of the rich tenced and executed....At what point did the were confirmed in their conviction that they, as farmer Eppe Peters, close to the stronghold of apocalyptically-motivated passive resignation the persecuted, were the true latter-day saints. the Omptedas, the squires of the village, joyful and defencelessness have to change into mili- ....It was only after the fiasco of Münster at the good news which the two commissioners tant purification?... that gradually developed into a prin- had brought back from Münster. The crowd ciple for that part of the Melchiorite Anabaptist which had flocked there included the movement in the Netherlands led by Menno aaforementioned Herman Schoenmaker who “[Menno Simons]....emphasized Simons and his followers, which wanted to dis- proclaimed himself an Old Testament prophet, that Christ had already come and sociate itself from the Münsterites.....As far as even God the Father himself. For days on end that no other earthly Messiah was he was concerned, nonviolence in principle was he lay in bed, stripped to the waist, constantly to be expected before the Second not a central theme of overriding importance in drinking beer and calling out as one possessed his theology. This is shown, for example, by Coming of Christ....” his ambivalent attitude to the authorities. Menno’s rejection of government violence is Internal and external Kingdom also determined by the situation: ultimately he Although the apocalyptic drive to purify re- only denies the authorities the right to use judi- ligion was something Menno Simons contin- cial violence in questions of religion. In other ued to have in common with the Melchiorites words, the authorities must not allow the Ro- and the Münsterites, he did feel called upon to man Catholic church to turn them into the correct the excesses of the appearance of the implementor of its pursuit of heretics....and con- Melchiorite movement. In opposition to the ex- tinually exhorts the authorities to form an inde- pectation of the appearance of a Messianic third pendent judgement on the true and false church.... David, whether Jan van Leiden, David Joris, or someone else, he emphasized that Christ had already come and that no other earthly Messiah “....after the fiasco of was to be expected before the Second Coming Münster....nonviolence gradually of Christ....In worldly matters he called for obe- developed into a principle for that dience to the Emperor, kings, lords, and all au- thorities. The only sword with which the refor- part of the Melchiorite Anabaptist mation could be continued, was the double- movement....led by Menno Simons” edged blade of the preaching of the Word of God. This led to the foundation of a spiritual, If Menno had succeeded in finding a local or inner and invisible Kingdom; namely a commu- regional authority which could have implemented nity of saints with the faith of Christ which was a reformation in the Anabaptist stye - and the not congruous with the world. Christ with his chance of this was quite real in East Friesland - David Joris, spiritualist, “....who reduced word and spirit ruled in the hearts and con- then this would not have been in conflict with belief....to a radical, inner purification.” Drawing science of reborn people. It was a “gathering of his theology. The totalitarian nature of religion by C. van Sicherm I (1607) - UBA-DG. Visser and penitents”, a community of love which had to at the time and the conviction that the authorities Springer, Menno Simons, page 39. be maintained by constant self-examination and

40 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 discipline between the members, and which had wrath of God, but would be reborn through the to await submissively the Second Coming of sacrament of rebaptism. He then performed the “[Menno Simons]....devoted the Christ. rite, explaining each separate part of the cer- major part of his works to the de- Menno Simons’ emphasis on the inner and emony. He blew over the child...exorcized the fense of Christ’s complete freedom spiritual Kingdom - his reaction to Münster - devil....stroked its eyes with saliva and laid salt from sin,...this constituted the foun- should not be misunderstood as a flight from on its tongue; made the cross over the infant the world, or as spiritualism. It was no invisible and baptized it as it was held above the baptis- dation of his church without spot or Kingdom in the sense that all that really mat- mal font by its godparents....How poorly did wrinkle,....” tered was inner purity of heart and conscience, his later Anabaptist baptismal convention con- without this belief manifesting itself in an out- trast with this. There were no unbiblical sacra- ....Menno....considers the believers’ baptism ward form. On the contrary, the church as “a mental attributes and only some water was in the first place to be a sign of obedience to true and proper entity”, recognizable by its doc- poured over the head of the person being Christ’s command to baptise (Matthew 28:18- trine, faith, behaviour, sacraments, discipline, baptised while the trinitarian baptismal formula 20 and Mark 16:16).....he uses Sebastian etc. would be created in the hearts and con- was uttered. This much more powerful baptism Franck’s Chronica as his main source in an at- sciences of reborn believers as a consequence rescinded the idolatrous infant baptism..... tempt to prove that adult baptism was also ap- of the rule of Christ, the preaching of the pure Before Menno heard of the “renewal of bap- ostolic practice in the early church. Word. tism” through the execution of Sikke Freerks, Just as was the case in his teachings on the Menno had to fight a battle on two fronts, he must have been aware of the criticism of Lord’s Supper, Menno shifts his attention in his against Jan van Leiden on the one hand and infant baptism which was being heard loudly teachings on baptism from the sacrament itself to David Joris on the other. The stained-glass art- everywhere....Even around 1521 doubts were the effect it has on the believer. Without true peni- ist from Delft, who had been ordained an elder already being expressed in the circle of the tence and faith, water will be of no help to the by Obbe Philips in the same year that Menno Wittenberg reformers....In addition, Erasmus’ person being baptised. Believers are not changed had been ordained, reduced belief after Münster notes on Christ’s command to baptise in Mat- by baptism but in baptism. Not by the magical to a radical, inner purification which should effect of the water, but by obedience to the Word extinguish even the fomes peccati, the tender of God and therefore also to Christ’s command which continually caused humankind to flare to baptize.....Without true baptism, and thus with- up in sin. The method of achieving this was a out the true penitent belief and the New Testa- complete confession before the congregation or ment believers’ baptism, there is no promise of part of it, which would not only arouse repen- the forgiveness of sins and therefore no one can tance for outward sins (as was the case in inherit heaven, is Menno’s sharp formulation. Mennos’ ideas concerning true confession), but In this way, the spiritualists were kept at a which also brought to light surreptitious feel- safe distance from Menno’s church without ex- ings and desires, mainly of a sexual nature. The ternal spot or wrinkle. But the Münsterite spiritual person could become perfect by Anabaptists were also spurned. They interpreted publically confessing the secret stimuli which baptism one-sidedly as an apocalyptic sign, the led to sin. The Law, God’s demanding justice sign of Tau from the Revelation of John, with which revealed the sin, lost its accusatory which the 144,000 redeemed were marked at a nature....By stressing this urge for inner perfec- decisive moment, awaiting the Second Coming tion as the core of faith, the necessity of external of Christ. When this decisive moment had passed forms such as the sacraments and discipline dis- Religious disputation between Mennonites and in 1535 with the fall of the New Jerusalem, the Dutch Reformed (1597) - UBA-DG. Visser and appeared. The evangelical teachings became a Münsterite Anabaptists started to replace bap- Springer, Menno Simons, page 39. secret, individualistic, and spiritual doctrine of tism with the laying on of hands. It is no coinci- sanctification without outward manifestation, thew 28:19, cleared the way for the idea that dence that this strict apocalyptical interpretation thus making it easier to avoid the danger of education should precede baptism.... of baptism as the sign of Tau is only found on a persecution. In the Low Countries, too, the point of view few occasions in the works of Menno. He Menno Simons recognized a formidable en- was held as early as 1532 that it was better to wished to disassociate himself from the idea, too, emy of his own program of purification in this baptise someone who realized the significance by reserving the sign of Tau for his own follow- extreme spiritualism, in this temptation to of their promise not to lead a worldly life. Nev- ers alone, who were characterized by exclusive nicodemism (“feigning to the world”), and in ertheless, this criticism had not led to the prac- obedience to the letter of the New Testament. the ‘devilish confession, bringing no shame with tice of believers’ baptism and Melchior Being just as aware as the Münsterites of it.” It endangered his endeavour to build the Hoffman was the first to initiate it....Menno how short time was, Menno Simons maintained Melchiorite movement on the foundation of the Simons must have been well acquainted with unabridged the call to true penitence, but cor- apostolic teachings; the perfection to which his writings and he certainly derived his doc- rected some aspects of the belief on which true Menno aspired to had been moderated to the trine of incarnation from Hoffman. He devoted baptism must be based. He concentrated belief absence of public sins. But obedience to Christ’s the major part of his works to the defense of on exclusive obedience to Christ and the apos- teachings and ordinances was also a precondi- Christ’s complete freedom from sin, because tolic teachings, thus rejecting the Münsterite ideas tion to obtaining the promise of forgiveness and this constituted the foundation of his church on the violent revenge of godlessness, the visible everlasting life. The most important of these without spot or wrinkle, but he perforce shows Kingdom, polygamy, and the sharing of goods, ordinances was baptism, which marked the as- little evidence of a direct dependence on most of which were founded on the Old Testa- sembly of true penitents and completed their Hoffman where other characteristic tenets are ment. Free of these errors, the original true peni- separation from the godless world. concerned, including baptism. The Anabaptist tents could truthfully describe themselves as re- ideas on the doctrine of incarnation, baptism, born; believers who “breathed Christ” in faith, Baptism as an end and a new beginning and the Second Coming of Christ, which doctrine, and life, yearning to meet their Lord. In his early writing Verclaringhe des Menno came into contact with after 1530, sub- christelychen doopsels (1539), Menno Simons sequent to his “Exodus from Popery”, were Further Reading: describes the traditional manner in which he reformulated by him in a supremely effective William Schroeder, “Menno Simons: 500th himself, as a priest, had baptised many infants. manner within the context of the teachings of Birthday: What mean these stones? A Biogra- Before the child was baptized, he had explained Christ and apostolic practice. phy of Menno Simons,” in Preservings, No. 8, to those present that the child lived under the Part Two, pages 24-27.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 41 The Missing Peace - Violence in America “The Quest for the Missing Peace: Violence in America and in American Historiography,” by James C. Juhnke, a precis of The Missing Peace, The Quest for Alternatives to Violence in United States History (Pandora Press, Waterloo, 2001).

Historical myths promote support for war, prof says The Missing Peace, by James Juhnke. by Joy Brown, Mennonite Weekly Review, The book, The Missing Peace, The Quest than Canadians, instinctively assume that theirs Nov. 18, 2002, pages 1-2. for Alternatives to Violence in United States is a country made by war. In public schools we History, addresses the problem of violence. learn a history of freedom and independence Bluffton, Ohio - How we learn history is part The United States is a violent society. Every won through war with Britain, land expansion of the reason Americans continually advocate day, on average, more than 6,000 Americans and growth through war with Native Ameri- warfare, a Mennonite history professor be- suffer physical injury from violent assault, and cans and Mexicans, preservation of the union lieves. more than 65 people die from homicide. At its and freedom for slaves through the Civil War, “We are the victims of the myth of redemp- peak in the 1980s, the U.S. homicide rate was achievement of world power through naval tive violence,” said James Juhnke, the feature about 15 times that of industrial nations such power projected overseas, and deliverance of speaker at the Bluffton College’s 24th annual as France, Japan, Germany, and the United the world from Nazi and Communist totalitari- Keeney Peace Lectureship Oct. 29. “It per- Kingdom. American citizens own more than anism through war and threatened war. vades our culture, our history books. The 200 million guns. More than a decade after the The power and prevalence of this historical myth....dictates the master narrative of Ameri- end of the Cold War, the United States is still narrative is demonstrated by a simple exercise can history.” armed to the teeth with weapons of mass de- that Colman McCarthy, a popular journalist Juhnke, a recently retired history professor struction, and makes preemptive war against and history teacher, uses to begin his history at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas, other nations that want to have the same weap- classes. He asks the students to identify the is co-author of The Missing Peace: The ons. following 10 people: Robert E. Lee, Sojourner Search for Nonviolent Alternatives in U.S. How can we reverse this spiral of violence? Truth, Ulysses S. Grant, A. J. Muste, Napo- History (Pandora Press, 2001). We suggest that one important place to begin is leon, Adin Ballou, Caesar, John Wollman, With the United States once again at the with the teaching of history. Dwight Eisenhower, Dorothy Day. His results brink of taking military action against Iraq, A connection between contemporary vio- are consistent, whether in high school, college Juhnke defended his opinion that war is not lence and the history that we have been taught or law school. Students know five: the five the answer. may appear at first preposterous or ludicrous. generals - the five who perpetuate the notion “War is going to make the situation disas- Few of us (historians included) remember any that greatness and freedom are dependent upon trously worse in Iraq,” he said. of the history we were taught. When asked to the effective use of violence. Why? (Note One). Speaking to a packed house at Yoder Re- recall history, we think we are being asked for The linkage of violence and freedom in U.S. cital Hall, Juhnke said U.S. history education a trivial pursuit of obscure dates and events. experience has grown into a powerful national ignores efforts at peace. He said most Ameri- Few people remember these details of history, myth, marked with appropriate holidays (holy cans cannot name one dispute, particularly in but we all carry a very vivid history that has days) like the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, the international arena, that ended peacefully. been absorbed, rather than processed, and so Veterans’ Day, and George Washington’s birth- Juhnke named three historical events in remains unconscious. Americans, perhaps more day. Like all great myths, this one is com- which peaceful solutions were achieved. One pounded of truth and falsehood, born of the was the Cuban Missile Crisis in which Presi- not the whole story of American history,” urgent need to explain and justify human ex- dent Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Juhnke said. “We need to know the stories of perience. It has roots in an ancient mythic Khrushchev made a deal that favoured re- when peace broke out when war was ex- structure, one which theologian Walter Wink moval of nuclear weapons from Cuba and pected. The U.S. is a country made by peace argues is embedded in a “domination system” Turkey. as surely as it is a country made by war.” going back to the origins of Western civiliza- “Why don’t more Americans know about He noted events that most people thought tion. According to Wink “the distinctive fea- the dynamics of peacemaking?” Juhnke would never occur without war, such as the ture of the myth is the victory of order over asked. He answered himself by noting that breakup of the and the end of chaos by means of violence.” This pervasive President Bush made a speech earlier this fall apartheid in South Africa. myth, which he argues is the “dominant myth in which he told the American people that Returning to the issue of war with Iraq, in contemporary America (more influential by “throughout history people have fought for Juhnke said “the impulse of America is to far than Judaism or Christianity),” is variously freedom” and named various wars, from the assume we alone are responsible [to solve] called “the Babylonian creation story, the com- Revolutionary War to World War II. Juhnke the problems” and that violence is the only bat myth, the ideology of zealous nationalism, said Bush was perpetuating the myth of re- way to do this. and the myth of redemptive violence.” “It is,” demptive violence by claiming that only fight- Juhnke urged his listeners to “find your Wink claims, “the spirituality of the modern ing begets freedom. place where you can be a peacemaker” in or- world,” (Note Two). “It becomes important for us to know this is der to bring about “cultural transformation,” The book, The Missing Peace, undertakes which he said will be a huge task for genera- three tasks: 1) to demonstrate that violence in tions.’ the United States has done more harm than People can do a variety of things to make a good, often escalating rather than diminishing difference, from teaching students on the play- violence. The violence of even arguably “just James Juhnke, re- ground how to mediate their conflicts to stand- wars” has left a legacy of death, destruction cently retired history ing up for people in a disadvantaged ethnic or and debt which has perpetuated and intensi- professor at Bethel social group. fied the violence of poverty, racism, the work- College, North New- “Make your peace where you can, and know place and the home. Violence has limited free- ton, Kansas. Photo you are part of a rising movement for cultural dom. - Men.Weekly Re- transformation,” Juhnke said. “Let’s work for 2) to offer a different lens from which to view, Nov. 18, 2002, a day when that myth crumbles....into frag- view history: one of mutuality and interdepen- page 1. ments.”

42 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 dence rather than of self-willed triumph. A just century before the Europeans arrived. sion of the earlier holy experiments in Penn- and lasting peace is marked by a concern for Each Native-American tribe had its own sylvania and New England. The new republic the welfare of all and a recognition, in Martin peace traditions. Because of their missionary was hostile to “standing armies,” military in- Luther King’s words, of the “inescapable net- work among the Cheyenne and the Hope Indi- struments belonging to old world monarchies work of mutuality,” (Note Three). For this rea- ans, Mennonites became aware of the peace and their conspiracies with ruling aristocrats. son, efforts for peace move toward reconcilia- traditions of these peoples. The Cheyenne In- America’s early peace idealism was more tion and mutuality, rather than demonizing “the dians had a strong tradition of Peace Chiefs, than misguided romantic innocence. It led na- other” as “enemy” and “evil.” Peace cannot be rooted in the teachings of their founding tional leaders to decisions against war in situ- separated from justice. Therefore we offer an prophet, Sweet Medicine. This peace prophet ations when warfare seemed imminent and jus- alternative framing question for our interpreta- appointed the first chiefs and told them: “You tifiable - as in 1799 when President John tion of history, one that asks how a given event chiefs are peacemakers. Though your son might Adams moved to end the “Quasi-War” with moves people toward reconciliation and jus- be killed in front of your tepee, you should France, and in 1807 when President Thomas tice or away from that goal. take a peace pipe and smoke. Then you would Jefferson avoided war with England by a strat- 3) to provide hope and encouragement for be called an honest chief.” Today, one of the egy of economic embargo. Classical republi- a less violent future by re-remembering those Cheyenne Peace Chiefs is Lawrence Hart, a can antipathy to “standing armies” is an au- people and events who worked for nonviolent graduate of Bethel College and a former Men- thentic American ancestor of late twentieth cen- alternatives, but whose stories are often miss- nonite pastor. tury concerns about the excessive power of ing from traditional texts. Often the stories are American history textbooks, attempting to the military industrial complex. missing because the alternatives were rejected be politically correct in an era of ethnic toler- or because they were not considered “success- ance, lift up the names of Indian warriors who Civil War, 1860-65. ful.” This approach robs us of the ability to militarily resisted the European advance – men The American Civil War competes with the learn from mistakes. Narrating events without such as Tecumseh, Geronimo, and Crazy Horse. War for Independence as a heroic moment in discussing alternatives that were tried leaves The names of great peace chiefs such as Hand- the American national memory. Americans us with a rather deterministic, inevitable inter- some Lake and Black Kettle are not well known. imagine that the Civil War was inevitable. They pretation of history, subverting the notion that But who most deserves to be remembered? make president Abraham Lincoln, who made personal choice had anything to do with out- Should it be the warriors to died in fruitless the key decisions for war, into an unqualified comes. We want to rethink the notion of “suc- battle after fruitless battle? Or should it be the hero. In retrospect, from the viewpoint of cess” and reclaim the hidden heritage of a “non- peace chiefs and nonviolent survivors – many people living at that time, it appears that op- violent America.” of them women - who outlived the wars and tions to war were available. From a pacifist In this book we propose a shift in view- who taught the cultural ways of their peoples perspective, Lincoln is less heroic. point from the myth of redemptive violence to the next generation? The cultural survival of What might Lincoln have done differently which acclaims the effectiveness of violence Native-American ways in the face of an awful to avoid war? Instead of isolating himself at in securing freedom, to the celebration of what holocaust of disease and destruction is most Springfield, Illinois, and avoiding comment on makes for a peaceful and just society for all the remarkable. It must be explained. The true he- the national crisis, as he did after the election citizens of the world. In our understanding, roes of this cultural achievement are not the of November 1860, Lincoln might have taken peace is both personal and communal; local defeated warriors but the peace prophets and an active leadership role before his inaugura- and universal; spiritual and political. Violence persistent peacemakers. tion. Immediately after the election, Lincoln typically subverts both justice and peace. We The American War for Independence (1775- needed to assert himself as a moderate national attempt to demonstrate an alternative reading 83) is one of the most sacred events in Ameri- leader, not hostage to the radical wing of the of history, one that celebrates those people and can history. It is an article of faith that the war Republican party, and willing to cooperate with those structures and systems which offer non- against oppressive British rulers was neces- moderate unionists in the South. Lincoln had violent models in the struggle for freedom and sary for independence. The American revolu- said, “I believe this government cannot endure, a more peaceful and just society. tion was, Americans believe, inevitable. In this permanently half slave and half free.... It will case, Americans would do well to learn more become all one thing or all the other.” He sub- Alternative interpretations. about Canadian history. Canadians demon- sequently had reinterpreted his provocative How shall we understand, for example, the strated that it was possible to achieve indepen- statement, pointing out that it was a prediction, history of violent encounters of invading Eu- dence gradually and peaceably over a long pe- not a policy, and that “it may have been a fool- ropeans and resisting Native Americans? One riod of time. The Americans might also have ish one perhaps,” (Note Four). option is to celebrate the peace traditions that had a less blood-soaked history if they had The truth was that president-elect Lincoln existed in North American communities be- adopted the proposal of Joseph Galloway at had no intention and no plan to challenge sla- fore the European ever arrived. An Iroquois the First Continental Congress in 1774 to re- very where it existed. Even though Southern- “League of Peace,” was one remarkable Native form and restructure the British empire. ers doubted that truth, only about 25 percent of American experiment to replace violence with Galloway’s proposal for a North American them would have favoured secession immedi- nonviolence. The League originated in the parliament came within one vote of being ately after Lincoln’s election (Note Five). Lin- Great Lakes region of what is now northern adopted at the Congress. But it has been tossed coln could have done much more - with strong New York between the Hudson and Niagara into the dustbin of history, along with the pro- public statements and personal correspondence rivers. According to Iroquois legend, the posals of other peacemakers. - to convince Southern moderates of his inten- League was born out of the genius and vision Early American national history was not a tions, and to empower the southern unionists of a leader-prophet named Deganawidah. The matter of unrelieved warfare. A perspective of in their efforts to oppose the secessionist move- five Iroquois peoples were destroying them- constructive nonviolence remembers the peace ment. Where great statesmanship was required selves in warfare and cannibalism and were idealism of the early republic. At the outset of to control events, Lincoln largely let events abandoning their agricultural villages. Among the American national experiment, a commit- control him. David Herbert Donald, distin- these disrupted peoples, Deganawidah came ment to peace was near the core, not at the guished Lincoln biographer, has noted preaching a gospel of peace and the rule of fringes, of national identity. Quaker pacifism Lincoln’s general “reluctance to take the initia- law. He led in creating a new confederation of put a permanent stamp on the character of the tive and make bold plans; he preferred to re- self-ruling but cooperating tribes, with broad middle colonies and states. A classical republi- spond to the actions of others,” (Note Six). popular participation in decision making. The can, or “Whig,” political ideology saw the Great League of Peace and Power unified the American experiment in democratic republi- Toward Total World Wars. self-ruling villages of the Five Nations in the canism as an updated and more secular ver- The analysis of the decisions for war in the

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 43 mid-nineteenth century can be applied to sub- Jennings Bryan “failed” as Secretary of State tion (Note Seven). King was uncompromising sequent wars. From the late nineteenth century in his efforts to negotiate conciliation treaties in his commitment to the gospel of love, to the through the twentieth century, the United States with the nations of the world (1913-14) and in essential unity of all humankind under God. moved toward wider cycles of global warfare. his advocacy of consistent U.S. neutrality af- He applied the principles of nonviolence as The Spanish-American War of 1898 repre- ter war broke out in Europe (1914-15). But in surely to the war in Vietnam as to racial oppres- sented a clear turning toward imperialism. The the perspective of peace values, Bryan’s poli- sion at home. The civil rights movement is a American version of imperialism, however, for cies look more worthy than the world war fountain of hope for the future not only because the most part masked itself as an “Open Door” which Americans later claimed to have won. it teaches us to nurture a heart of love, but also policy to allow unimpeded flow of American “Success” in history, especially in victorious because it reminds us nonviolent social trans- capital interests. The United States did control wars which set the stage for more warfare, is formation requires persistent and disciplined the Philippines as a colony, but in general the often a cruel illusion. challenges to unjust social structures. American empire took a “neo-imperialist” form A constructive nonviolent perspective in- that achieved economic domination without di- vestigates the critical moments leading to war Mutuality and Interdependence. rect political control. and asks the questions: Was this war neces- The American story is much more than one The American national decision to join the sary? Who was offering proposals to avoid of violence. The United States is not solely a European War in 1917 needs to be examined not the violence? What were the arguments for and “country made by war,” as one recent military simply in terms of the inexorable causes leading against those proposals? What would the likely historian would have it. America is also a coun- up to war, but also in terms of the visions and effects have been of their adoption? Too often try built by peacemakers. “The critical drama efforts of peacemakers who wanted to keep the we have blotted out the memory of peacemak- of our past is not violence,” says peace histo- country out of war. From a peacemaking per- ers while we celebrate events of violence. rian Charles Chatfield, “but rather the struggle spective, the proposals of William Jennings Americans are remarkably well informed of to overcome violence,” (Note Nine). The ele- Bryan for international arbitration and for true the details of the Boston Tea Party of Decem- ments of that drama are at hand in our histori- neutrality are as important to remember as the ber 17, 1773, while we are quite ignorant about cal libraries and in the minds of our elders, drift of President Woodrow Wilson for war. the success of the people in Philadelphia at the awaiting the honest historians, literary artists World War I was a failure in conflict reso- same time in nonviolently persuading the Brit- and social prophets who can craft them into a lution, and one result of that failure was the ish captain to take the East India tea back to compelling narrative. If America is to be trans- outbreak of another world war. World War II, England. Or, to choose a recent example, formed toward peace, Americans must learn to today often referred to as “The Good War,” Americans need to reexamine the notion that tell the stories of peace. The same can be said killed more people, created more refugees, de- President Ronald Reagan brought about the for the remembered history of all nations in stroyed more cities, and disrupted more social end of the nuclear arms race with his hard-line this world. Right remembering of the past is and political systems, than any war in human rhetoric and military buildup of 1981-5. We an important dimension of Anabaptist-Chris- history. Among its legacies were the Soviet need to take account of the decisive influence tian witness and mission to the world. Union’s control of almost half of Europe, a of peace-minded anti-nuclear scientists, espe- dangerous military-industrial complex in the cially Andrei Sakharov, upon Soviet leader Endnotes: United States and the permanent threat of ther- Michael Gorbachev to take dramatic unilateral Note One: Coleman McCarthy, foreword to monuclear holocaust. and disproportional steps toward disarmament. The Universe Bends Towards Justice: A Reader The prevailing view of World War II as an If we can overcome our addiction to stories of on Christian Nonviolence ni the U.S., ed. Angie unqualified triumph for freedom and democ- redemptive violence, Americans would be able O’ Gorman (Philadelphia, New Society Pub- racy has malevolent effects upon foreign policy properly to credit the international peace move- lishers, 1990), ix. decisions in the United States today. President ment with its decisive role in bringing about Note Two: Walter Wink, Engaging the Pow- George W. Bush repeatedly justifies his unre- the end to the Cold War. ers, Discernment and Resistance in a World alistically optimistic views of the prospects for The breakthroughs of nonviolence in United of Domination (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, post-war democracy in Iraq upon his States history have come more often from cre- 1992), 13, 16. triumphalist view of World War II. The people ative minorities than from established centers Note Three: King Jr., “Letter of Iraq, as well as of the United States, are of power. In the vanguard of the great crusades from Birmingham Jail,” in Why We Can’t Wait paying a high price for this view of history. against slavery, for women’s rights, against mili- (New York, New American Library, 1963), 77. tarism, and for civil rights, were leaders of cre- Note Four: Quoted in David Herbert Donald, Hidden Heroes and Stories. ative minorities who knew that the ideals of Lincoln (New York, Simon & Shuster, 1995), Have peacemakers invariably failed in United peace and justice are ultimately one and insepa- 209. States history? Much depends upon what we rable. These peace prophets came upon the scene Note Five: William W. Freehling, The Reinte- define as “success.” An honest portrayal of as outsiders whose alternative visions projected gration of American History: Slavery and the American history must distance itself from the new possibilities for public life. They consti- Civil War (New York: Oxford University version of pragmatism that argues whoever or tute a luminous honour roll: Deganawidah, Press, 1994), 212. whatever wins is right. History is more than the Roger Williams, Henry David Thoreau, Elihu Note Six: Donald, Lincoln, 15. stories of the powerful, rich and famous. We Burritt, Carrie Chapman Catt, Mark Twain, Jane Note Seven: Vincent Harding, Hope and His- must remember those who vigorously contended Addams, Mary Harris Jones, Linus Pauling, tory: Why we Must Share the Story of the Move- for peaceable solutions to conflict, even when Cezar Chavez, and many, many more. ment (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1990), their faithful witness was not rewarded. Peacemakers have often paid a high price See especially chapter five, “`God’s Appeal to Students of the American past may well for their convictions. Martin Luther King, the This Age,’The Search for Alternatives to Vio- draw more inspiration from the peacemaking greatest American teacher of nonviolence in the lence,’ 91-104. efforts of Joseph Galloway at the First Conti- twentieth century, today is so eulogized on his Note Eight: Geoffrey Perret, A Country Made nental Congress than from the bare majority national holiday that we forget how lonely his by War: From the Revolution to Vietnam. The which rejected Galloway’s plan for inter-colo- stance once was. Yet King forged the teachings Story of America’s Rise to Power (New York, nial union. There may be more to learn from of Jesus, Thoreau, and Gandhi into a movement Random House, 1989). the Garrisonian nonviolent abolitionists in the that transformed race relations in the country. Note Nine: Charles Chatfield, “Nonviolence Non-resistance Society of the 1830s than from As historian Vincent Harding argues in Hope and the United States History: Insofar As,” in those who made civil war more likely by in- and History, we must tell the story of that non- Nonviolent America: History Through the Eyes sisting that only violence could solve the prob- violent movement because it carries the ideas of Peace (North Newton, KS., Bethel College, lem of slavery. It may be said that William and resources for a wider cultural transforma- 1993), 259.

44 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 President’s Report By Ralph Friesen, 413 - 6th Street, Nelson, British Columbia, Canada. email: [email protected] Mennonite envy I was shocked to read this. Were not our an- ourselves. For the citizens of Prussia, as for the Since the last President’s Report, we have cestors “harmlos”? Why would simple people Canadian on the streets of Winnipeg, the sight of moved to Nelson, B. C., a community of about struggling to live a life of true discipleship to Mennonites evoked some sort of reactive fear, 10,000 on Kootenay Lake, with houses climbing Christ be labeled envoys of the Evil One? which they gave the name of “devil,” the ultimate up the slopes of the Selkirk Mountains. It is a The same article, by “J. W. T.” (Johann W. expression of “not-me-ness.” beautiful place, both naturally and architectur- Toews, son of Kleine Gemeinde/Holdeman Our ancestors in Prussia and the lone Men- ally, and a vibrant one—full of artists, writers, Ältester Peter P. Toews) describes another in- nonite on the streets of Winnipeg were unde- snowboarders and adventurers from many parts stance of the same sort of labeling, occurring in serving victims of a mean and envious spirit. of the world. Winnipeg in 1874 or `75: “As was told to me by They meant no harm. They were not devils; they There is even the odd Mennonite to be found, pioneer Albert Wittick of Niverville, Manitoba, were scapegoats. Because of their stranger sta- such as my old schoolmate Henry Reimer, the the Mennonites at that time, living their simple tus, their simple way of life that set them apart, youngest of the P. D. Reimer clan of Steinbach. life, were often misunderstood. He told of an Mennonites were sometimes lightning rods for Back in 1932, P. D. Reimer advertised in the Englishman in Winnipeg, 50 years ago, who, the energy of envy and fear among the citizenry. Steinbach Post, giving notice that the Bargain upon seeing a Mennonite walking along the street, And yet, and yet.... what if, somehow, they Store would “buy, sell, exchange,” and that he a scarf bound around his head in the usage of the were devils? It was language that they them- had recently got a shipment of three dozen selves sometimes employed, within their army boots. Henry, a long way in space own community. and time from the Bargain Store, owns In the 1830s in South Russia, Klaas and operates Civic Auto Repair in Nelson. Reimer (1770-1837), founder of the Kleine At work early every morning, he seems to Gemeinde, attacked fellow Mennonites be just as industrious as his father was. who were teaching end-times, emotional- I have been making the rounds of lo- ist theology, by declaring that “Satan came cal churches on Sunday mornings. At the amongst us with many terrible sanctimo- Presbyterian church, the speaker told of nious matters through his servants, namely, being a Bible School student in Bernhard Rempel of Muntau, Klaas Abbotsford, years ago. He and another Friesen of Lindenau, Heinrich Wiebe of student were sent out to go door to door, Ohrloff and Martin Warkentin of raising funds. Wherever they went, Blumstein.” He goes on to list the specific people would talk to his colleague, whose errors of these “servants” of Satan (Note name was Wiebe, wanting to know which Two). Wiebes these were, was he related to Reimer’s sincerity cannot be doubted. And such-and-such Wiebe, etc. — the genea- supposedly the resident Prussians of the logical connection-making that has been 16th century were also sincere, and actu- a standard Mennonite practice for centu- ally believed that the Netherlandic refu- ries. The speaker said he, a non-Menno- gees were in cahoots with Lucifer, and re- nite, began to feel excluded and envious. sponsible for bad weather. The 19th cen- So he decided to fabricate an identity, and tury Winnipegger, on the other hand, was the next day, going out on his own, intro- clearly expressing a thoughtless, routine duced himself to a new household as sort of prejudice, which cannot be called “Klassen.” The occupants, of course, “sincere,” but which was powerful never- showed great interest, invited him in, theless, part of a mind-set that made pos- asked him many questions about his clan. sible such discriminatory legislation as re- Somehow, he evaded these, and escaped moving Mennonites’ control over their own the house after collecting a donation. A schools in pre-war Manitoba. block away, he remembered, to his hor- Duerrer’s “The Knight, Death and the Devil” (1514). Historically, as Mennonites, we have been ror, that he had signed the receipt with his both on the receiving end and the giving actual name. He knew there was nothing for it time, asked whether this was not a true devil. end of “devil” language. It may be that there is but to go back and confess, which he did. The Anyone who knows Albert Wittick does not need still a time and place for using it. Anyone who people of the household were understanding to be told that he soon set the Englishman to does, though, should be aware that demonizing and forgiving. rights.” the other is a marvelous way of distancing one- The reference to the Mennonite pedestrian’s self from one’s own darkness. Admissions of Mennonite “devils” turban-like headgear is a bit mysterious, as it is their own failings are found everywhere in the This instance of “Mennonite envy” turned not on the record as being the style of the time. At early writings of our ancestors. Sometimes these my attention to some historical precedents. The any rate, it would seem that the man drew atten- ring disingenuous, even false. Mostly, though, phenomenon goes back to the very beginning, to tion to himself by somehow looking Eastern they demonstrate a sincere willingness to genu- the 16th century. In 1924, at a celebration in European—hence, like a “true devil” in English inely acknowledge the imperfection of the writer, Swalwell, Alberta of the 50th year of the 1874 Canadian eyes. The Mennonite’s different ap- who depends on God’s grace. That is mature immigration to Canada, Peter Isaak reminded the pearance, his obvious “otherness,” marked him humility. assembly that as early as 1560, two years before for discrimination. the death of Menno Simons, Mennonites had The great Swiss psychologist Carl Jung Notes: already established flourishing communities in taught that we all carry around aspects of our- Note One: J. W. T., Steinbach Post, October 29, Prussia. Their success aroused such a degree of selves that we find distasteful. Instead of ac- 1924. envy that “it was even said that the Devil had knowledging these fragments of our own dark- Note Two: In “Ein kleines Aufsatz, 1836,” pub- brought them to this land, resulting in floods and ness, we tend to project them onto handy objects lished in Delbert Plett, Leaders of the Mennonite storms. (Note One). around us, such as people who are different from Kleine Gemeinde in Russia, p. 140.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 45 Editorial - Whose History is it Anyway?

“Ludwig Keller (1849-1915) and the Flemish Mennonites: Whose History is it anyway?”by Delbert F. Plett, Box 1960, Steinbach, Manitoba, R0A 2A0 (e-mail [email protected]) websites: “www.hshs.mb.ca” and “www.mts.net/~delplett” Anabaptism. 2000), page 14. Waldenses and the Anabaptists and that their prin- Historians generally agree that the first gen- Later historians such as Gerard Brandt (1626- ciples, doctrines, and institutions continued to eration of the Anabaptist movement of the Refor- 85), Amsterdam, made valuable corrections to live in the Christian church from its beginnings mation was diverse and pluralistic with rebaptism the historical record by recognizing the distinc- through the centuries which he named often the only common factor or motif, repre- tion between the Chiliastic Münsterites and the `altevangelische Brüdergemeinden’....He had a senting a rejection of the existing church and peaceful Anabaptists who came to be known as vision of an ideal Christian brotherhood of hu- social order. The term “Anabaptist” covered a Mennonites in honour of the Frisian reformer manity above the dogmatic ecclesiastical or ma- motley assortment of spiritualists, chiliasts, Menno Simons. Brandt pointed to “....the alleged terialistic, naturalistic view of the world.” Antitrinitarians, mystics and social-revolution- revolutionary descent of the Mennonites, but he Keller claimed that “`the best and purest tra- aries each with their own unique theological con- excused them by arguing that only a few dition of Anabaptism’ goes back to the period of figuration and agenda. Thus anyone from mod- Anabaptists had been overcome by zealotry and 1517-34....Keller equated the teachings of mys- ern-day Evangelicals, , Marxists, revo- had incited revolt....These simple and defenceless tics and spiritual reformers with those of lutionaries, terrorists, polygamists, and even the folk had, however, been wrongfully lumped to- Anabaptism proper....and above all Hans Denck. “left behind” industry can to some extent legiti- gether with the zealots,” Voolstra, Menno Simons They all taught a free semi-mystical and indi- mately lay claim to some brand of Anabaptist (North Newton, 1997), page 3. vidualistic interpretation of the Scriptures....but roots, antecedents and ideology: see Abram The Anabaptists, nonetheless, continued to they had little to do with the essential idea of Friesen, History and Renewal: In the Anabaptist/ be marginalized and deliberately misrepresented Anabaptism,” Robert Friedmann, Men. Enc., Vol. Mennonite Tradition (Newton, 1994), page xi. in Reformation historiography as the fanatical III, pages 162-163. Waterloo theologian Arnold Synder has de- revolutionaries of Münster in order to discredit Ludwig Keller linked the Mennonites to the scribed early Anabaptism as a process, a diffuse the entire movement. Historian Keith Sprunger Waldensians, providing “Anabaptism with a re- and varied phenomenon that developed over time has written that in later years “Progressive Men- spectable evangelical ancestry which pre-dated and ended with the consolidation of sectarian nonites yearned to overcome the caricature of even Luther....This put Mennonite history into a boundaries and church denominations (Pres., No. Mennonitism: That Anabaptists were positive perspective equally praiseworthy with 21, page 28). The founder of Anabaptism in the Münsterites, radical troublemakers, and theologi- the mainstream Lutheran and Reformed Protes- Low Countries (the modern-day Netherlands and cal illiterates, unlike the respectable Lutherans tants,” Keith Sprunger, “Cornelius H. Wedel....,” Belgium) was Melchior Hoffman. His followers, and Calvinists. Having evolved from the Men. Life, Dec. 1981, pages 18-19. “Keller’s Jan Matthijs and Jan van Leiden, attempted to Münsterite Anabaptists, Mennonites were vision was for a widespread Christian human- establish the Kingdom of God on earth by the chained to a blighted history and had no positive ism with its roots in the old Evangelical brother- violent seizure of power in Münster. Menno contributions to make to the modern world, ex- hoods,” Mary Sprunger, Men. Life, June 1985, Simons, who joined the Anabaptists in 1536, came cept perhaps as quietistic, isolated farmers,” Keith page 13. to influence and denominationalized that part of L. Sprunger, “Cornelius H. Wedel....,” Men. Life, the Melchiorite movement based on primitive New Dec. 1981, page 17. Influence of Keller. Testament Christianity, focusing on non-resistance, Keller sought and won widespread approval the ethic of love and the principle of the visible, Ludwig Keller (1849-1915). and acceptance of his ideas among Mennonite discipled church without spot and wrinkle. The It was Ludwig Keller (1849-1915) who dra- scholars of his time. He published articles in the Flemish Mennonites adhered to the wholesome matically changed the situation legitimizing Mennonitische Blätter beginning in 1883 and also biblical teachings of Menno Simons - the medi- Anabaptism as a respectable subject for academic eval monastic tradition of following Jesus. study. Keller was a German Protestant scholar Hans Denck (1500-27) was an early who served as state archivist in Münster until Anabaptist leader who emphasized spiritualism 1895 and later in Berlin. and inward piety over external conformity to the Historian Robert Friedmann has written that teachings of Jesus. Divisions, ceremonies and Ludwig Keller’s intensive research of the archi- sects were to be avoided and everyone should be val sources brought him to the realization “...that free to pursue his own salvation as best he could. the religious brotherhoods outside the church or- His indifference to sound doctrine, especially his ganizations had been given a completely false redefinition of the love of God for humanity (and evaluation in traditional presentations of church his universalism), offended many nonresistant history.....Around 1880 the Mennonites in Ger- Anabaptists. many were not very historically minded....In this situation Keller’s book, Ein Apostel der Historiography. Wiedertaufer, appeared in 1882, centring atten- Because of the violent and vile nature of many tion upon Hans Denck. It was a real eye-opener first generation Anabaptists, the peaceful or non- for Mennonites, and many were willing to accept resistant Anabaptists (Mennonites) were unjustly Hans Denck (the `spiritual reformer’) as the fin- denounced and demonized in the historical ac- est and most original expression of `Anabaptist’ counts of the Reformation. genius,” (page 163). Samme Zilstra has written: “The first histori- In 1880 Keller published his Geschichte der cal writings were written with a definite goal, Wiedertaufer, in 1882 Ein Apostle der namely, to make the readers aware of the danger- Wiedertaüfer (Hans Denck), in 1885 Die ous character of the Anabaptist movement for Reformatoren, in 1886 Die Waldenser, and in State and society, above all, on the grounds of the 1887 Zur Geschichte der altevangelischen Archivist and historian Ludwig Keller (1849- excesses which had taken place in Münster,” Gemeinden. Keller espoused “....the idea that 1915), Münster. Photo - Men. Life, June 1985, page 12. Zilstra, Om de ware gemeente (Leeuwarden, there was a direct connection between the

46 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 had personal contact with many German and Harold S. Bender has written that “...the intro- 1789 - who established one of the most success- Dutch leaders including Anna Brons, a writer in duction of the term, Alt-Evangelische and its cor- ful communities in all of Imperial Russia - as the Dutch Doopsgezinde tradition (see Mary responding historical concept into the literature being “predominantly from the most impover- Sprunger, Men. Life, June 1985. pages 10-16). and usage of the German Mennonites after 1885 ished and decayed segments of the Mennonite Keller’s loyal disciples in America included was largely due to the influence of noted archivist, society [in Prussia],” (page 91). This was actu- historian John Horsch, co-worker of Johann F. historian, and defender of the Anabaptists, Ludwig ally the very opposite of the truth for it was the Funk, editor for the Herald der Wahrheit and Keller of Münster, Germany....The yearbook later more pietistic and Germanized, post-Napo- Mennonite Publishing House, and father-in-law which H. G. Mannhardt of Danzig published in leonic Wars emigrants who were impoverished of Harold S. Bender. Others influenced by Keller 1888 carried the title Jahrbuch der in the way Friesen described (For a more de- included J. F. Funk, John Holdeman, David altevangelischen Taufgesinnten oder Mennoniten tailed discussion, see Pres., No. 21, page 94; Goerz, Herman Suderman and Jacob R. Toews. Gemeinden....In the second (1891) edition of her No. 19, pages 124-6 and elsewhere). By apply- In 1887 John Horsch moved to Elkhart, Indiana. book, Ursprung, Entwicklung und Schicksale der ing the Kellerite theories to the traditionalists in “Keller hoped that Horsch would perhaps help Taufgesinnten oder Mennoniten, Anna Brons the Vistula delta, P. M. Friesen was able to lay the in reshaping also the Mennonite church in added the word alt-evangelisch to the title. In like groundwork for a historical interpretation America according to his ideas....” In 1888 Horsch manner P. M. Friesen put it into the title of the whereby Flemish Mennonite faith, life and cul- published Hans Denck’s Von der Wahren Liebe book, Die Alt-Evangelische Mennonitische ture in Imperial Russia was seen as corrupted and long extracts from Denck and other Brüderschaft in Russland (Halbstadt, 1911). and fallen from its very outset and desperately in likeminded writers were published in the Herald Johann Horsch...had used the term....during the need of - you guessed it - renewal and conver- der Wahrheit and Mennonitische Blätter. period when he was under Keller’s influence, but sion to Separatist-Pietist and/or Baptist ideology John Horsch wrote that with “With Keller a he did not continue its use.” and religious dogma (see “Separatist-Pietism,” new era of historiography of the Old Evangelical Harold S. Bender, Men. Ency., Vol. I, pages Pres., No. 12, pages 12-15). churches has begun,” Keith Sprunger, “Cornelius 78-9. H. Wedel....” Men. Life, Dec. 1981, page 18. Search for a Usable Past? Robert Friedmann noted, astutely, that Peter M. Friesen (1849-1914). Under a discussion of a “Search for a Usable “Strangely enough, Menno Simons is somewhat Historian Abraham Friesen, Santa Barbara, Past” among American Mennonites in the 20th neglected and his authority even opposed (Keller: California, suggests that Keller’s Evangelical century, Dr. Paul Toews, Fresno, California, sum- `By cleaving to Menno Simons the goal of the Anabaptist theory found its way to the Russian marizes the ideas and influence of Ludwig Keller brotherhood has been narrowed down too Mennonites with the publication of P. M. Friesen’s as follows: much.’). In 1891 John Horsch published his 1911 history, Die Alt-Evangelische Mennonitische “Keller’s work especially would strongly in- Kurzgefasste Geschichte der Mennoniten, quite Brüderschaft in Russland (1789-1910) (Halbstadt, fluence a series of European and American Men- in line with Keller’s ideas; Hans Denck appears 1911), Part One - 777 pages and Part Two - 154 nonite historians, notably Christian Hege, Chris- here as the most important early spiritual leader pages. Keller is not directly cited by P. M. Friesen, tian Neff, John Horsch, and C. H. Wedel. Central of Anabaptism,” page 163. possibly because he “must have been aware of the in Keller’s work was a thesis that the Anabaptists Friedmann writes: “Keller had been thinking devastating attacks on Keller,” Abraham Friesen, had been part of a much larger movement in Chris- of the Mennonites as an open society of inspired History and Renewal, page 4. tian history - a movement whose principles, doc- Christians, while the Mennonites understood them- With the publication of his massive collection trines and loose institutional connections had per- selves as a closed brotherhood with strict disci- of documents and writings, Peter M. Friesen em- petuated a continuing Evangelical tradition. Keller pline. Keller, who was always a staunch individu- bedded Kellerite idealogy and philosophy into named the groups in that tradition the alist with some inclination towards mysticism, had Russian Mennonite historiography. The discipled, `altevangelische Gemeinden’ (`old evangelical fel- very little appreciation for this type of church life, traditionalist Flemish Gemeinden - faithful to the lowships’). In his recounting, these groups in- and his association with the Mennonites inevita- Reformation ideals of reformer Menno Simons - cluded historical figures ranging from the great bly had to come to an end. And yet his idea of `old were disparaged and denigrated and any associa- medieval mystic Meister Eckhardt; through evangelical brotherhoods’ was widely accepted tions with a more inward and spiritualistic religion Johannn von Staupitz, Martin Luther’s Augustin- even long after the 1880s. The Langnau-Emmental such as represented by Separatist-Pietists and Bap- ian prior; to Protestant mystics such as Johann Swiss congregation accepted this name for their tists of various varieties, were lauded and exalted. Arndt, so-called “father of German pietism.” church and on the title page of P. M. Friesen’s The resulting pejorative statements and nega- “It is no wonder that Keller attracted the Men- book on Mennonites in Russia (1911) we meet tive interpretations of Peter M. Friesen regarding nonites. With an emphasis on spirituality and this term again,” Friedmann, page 164. the Flemish Mennonites are already well known. piety, his thesis could fit well with influences Given his starting premises it is understandable from American Revivalists. Moreover, the groups “Alt-Evangelische Brüderschaften”. that he found little positive to say about the tradi- and persons of whom he wrote had all cultivated Ludwig Keller’s concept of the Alt- tionalists and conservatives. In pursuit of his their religiosity and piety apart from the state Evangelische Brüderschaft (“Old-evangelical agenda, he put forward essentially only false de- churches. And central in his analysis had been brotherhoods”), alleges that “Menno Simons had scriptions of their communities in the Vistula delta. the Waldenses and the Anabaptists. Indeed defended `precisely the most narrow minded in- He referred to the Flemish ministers as “the blind Keller’s interest was more than historical; he terpretation’... Not the post-Münsterite, but the leaders of the blind, void of any apparent educa- wanted to bring the kindred spirits together around pre-Münsterite epoch...” was the defining period tion or theological knowledge as well as any spiri- of the Anabaptist movement. Hans Denck was tual life emanating from God,” pages 54/57. Al- Epic Drama. embraced as the most important pre-Münsterite though the Flemish had heroically survived three It is remarkable how - with a little ingenuity leader and it was his “position that was to be the centuries of persecution and oppression in Polish- and creativity - the Kellerite disciples were cornerstone upon which Mennonite renewal was Prussia, establishing a highly successful and much able to belittle and redicule the great Flemish to take place,” Abraham Friesen, History and envied culture, P. M. Friesen maligned them as Mennonite migration to the steppes of South- Renewal, pages 62-63. Denck was embraced as follows: “Large scale impoverishment, with a con- ern Russia of 1788-89, which for sheer epic a “devout pietist, who earnestly heeds the voice sequent decline in the cultural, religious and ethi- drama and heroic pioneering spirit and perse- of God in his breast,” Abraham Friesen, page 70, cal values of the once highly lauded Mennonites, verance rivalled the 19th century trek of and who was linked through “...a kind of Baptist developed in alarming proportions. Many became Brigham Young and the Mormans to Salt Lake apostolic succession from the apostolic church discouraged to the point of dull hopelessness” City or even the 17th century odessy of the to Reformation Anabaptism and the English Bap- (page 87, page 70 in the original German edition). Mayflower and the Pilgrim Fathers to Ply- tists through the persecuted medieval sects, es- P. M. Friesen casually dismissed the sturdy mouth Rock. pecially the Waldenses,” A. Friesen, page 79. and courageous Flemish pioneers in Chortitza in

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 47 stated that the Mennonites, like Old Evangelical brethren, valued primarily personal Christianity and freedom of conviction....” Sprunger adds that “Wedel’s Waldensian- Kellerite theories, although useful at a certain stage of Mennonite historical development, have not stood the test of time....Wedel’s history books had a large influence,” Keith L. Sprunger, “Cornelius H. Wedel....,” Men. Life, Dec. 1981, pages 14-22. Some time ago my cousin Eddy Plett in Mexico called me regarding the historical writ- ing of C. H. Wedel. Although Wedel’s books were useful in the classroom, they did find trou- bling his negative interpretations of the conser- vative or traditionalist Mennonites and more of- ten than not, their complete omission from the historical record. In his “Drittes Bändchen”, for Cornelius H. Wedel (1860-1911). Photo - Men. example, C. H. Wedel dismisses the Kleine Life, Dec. 1981, pages 18. Gemeinde as follows: “In many respects their Christendom was manifested as an impotent, Smith became the acknowledged dean of Men- pharisaical and powerless orthodoxy,” (page 168). nonite historians and the publication of The Story Such false and slanderous comments echo simi- of the Mennonites brought forward a somewhat Peter Martinovitch Friesen (1849-1914) with wife lar views later voiced by P. M. Friesen. different way to interpret Mennonite history see- Susanna (nee Fast) and daughter Susie. Photo - The followers of Ludwig Keller apparently ing the Anabaptists as “proto-American liberals”. Harry Loewen, Shepherds, Servants and Prophets saw the visible, discipled Gemeinden of the tra- Dr. Paul Toews describes Smith’s thesis as fol- Kitchener, 2003), 131. ditionalist Mennonites as anathema and repug- lows: “That interpretation argued in effect that the tradition. And of that new fellowship, 19th nant to everything they understood as pious, godly Anabaptists and Mennonites had contributed sig- century Mennonites were to be at the core.” and Christian. The resulting one-sidedness and nificantly to Western freedom and progress. “Church historians at large rejected Keller’s intolerance made it literally impossible for Mennonitism, like other social movements, had thesis, but for the Mennonites it was compelling. Kellerite disciples such as C. H. Wedel and P. M. both conserving and liberating elements. In Smith’s Hermann G. Mannhardt, a Prussian Mennonite Friesen to come to an objective and realistic un- narrative the liberating elements became the main pastor and publisher, and Peter M. Friesen, a derstanding of the conservative, confessionalist story. The great Anabaptist-Mennonite contribu- Mennonite historian in the , incorporated tradition, including the Grosse Gemeinde in the tions were the twin ones of church-state separa- Keller’s interpretation into Mennonite histories.” , the Flemish Gemeinde in the tion and religious tolerance. Both stemmed from “More directly for the Mennonites in America, in Czarist Russia or the Old the understanding that - `religion is a matter of Keller deeply influenced John Horsch. Having Colonists, Chortitzer, Sommerfelder, (New) individual conscience’ - which Smith said was the immigrated from Germany in 1886 and joined Reinländer and Kleine Gemeinden in Manitoba. commitment at `the very heart of....Anabaptism.’” the staff of MC [Mennonite Church] publisher “After the Anabaptists, according to Smith, and leader John F. Funk, Horsch was an accom- General Conference Renaissance. Mennonites had made other contributions to plished Mennonite historian well before he took Under a discussion of a historical renaissance Western culture. Logically and historically, their up the crusade against modernism. His pages in of General Conference Mennonites, Dr. Paul refusal of coercion in religious matters had be- Funk’s Herold der Wahrheit were full of writ- Toews, Fresno, California, explains how Kellerite come nonresistance in individual and political ings from Catholic and Protestant mystics. ideas and concepts influenced leaders such as C. life. Moreover in various countries Mennonite Horsch offered accounts of history that used the H. Wedel: industry, frugality, agricultural skill, and simple Keller thesis, emphasized the Anabaptists, and “Into the 1920s the Keller thesis was also a virtue had stimulated economic development. And linked them ecumenically to the spiritualist re- starting point for several GC historians, most in Holland, Mennonites’ contribution to high formers such as Hans Denck. At the turn of the notably Cornelius (C.H.) Wedel, founding presi- culture, commerce, and industry had few rivals century Mennonites were not separating true dent of Bethel College. Travelling to Europe in from other small religious groups.” Anabaptists from spiritualists, as Bender and 1898, Wedel unsuccessfully tried to visit Keller, “As the Holland example suggested, not all other Anabaptist vision scholars would later do.” and he freely credited Keller for much of his Mennonites had contributed equally....Essentially From Paul Toews, Mennonites in American historical inspiration. In an 1899 book, Bilder he [Smith] offered a scale of acculturation on Society 1930-1970 (Scottdale, 1996), pages 87- aus der Kirchengeschichte für mennonitische which the more liberal Mennonites had rendered 88. Gemeinde-schulen...., and then a much more the greatest contribution,” Toews, page 97. ambitious four-volume Abriss der Geschichte Cornelius H. Wedel (1860-1911). der Mennoniten.... published between 1900- Poor and Simple. Cornelius H. Wedel (1860-1911), the first 1904, Wedel used the Keller thesis to trace a Unfortunately the corrupted interpretations president of Bethel College, Newton, Kansas, continuity between Anabaptists and the earlier and biased descriptions of the conservative Men- led the way in establishing a tradition of higher apostolic age in Christian history. Keller pro- nonites offered by the Kellerite disciples con- education among American Mennonites. His four vided Wedel with a way of seeing the Mennonite tinue to dominate the historiography of the Rus- volume history of the Mennonites was “the first story as part of the larger record of God’s work sian Mennonites. In his The Story of the Menno- general and comprehensive history of the Men- to fashion his kingdom...” nites (1945), C. Henry Smith (1875-1948), for nonites written and published in America.” “Succeeding Wedel as GC’s interpreters of Keith L. Sprunger has written that Cornelius history were C. Henry Smith, eventually of Attention Readers: The opinions expressed H. Wedel and John Horsch “were the foremost Bluffton College and Edmund George (E.G.) in the editorial and/or elsewhere in American `Kellerite’ historians.... Their histori- Kaufmann, eventually president of Bethel. They Preservings, are those of the editor alone and cal work took place within the general American rejected the Keller thesis yet offered conceptual do not necessarily reflect the views of the Mennonite renaissance of the Kellerite categories very different from those of the emerg- FMHS, its board of directors, and/or its mem- period.....In a summing up of Mennonite history ing Mennonite Church interpretation....,” Toews, bership. at the conclusion of volume four, Wedel again Mennonites in American Society, page 93.

48 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 example, characterized the conservative Menno- choose....from a wide spectrum of `radical reform- Conclusion. nites of Manitoba as follows: “Religiously and ers’ scattered across the historical landscape of Historian Robert Friedmann has written that culturally the Manitoba Mennonites lagged some- 16th century Europe,” History and Renewal, page “Ludwig Keller rendered the Mennonites a meri- what behind their achievements in the field of xi. It has become quite respectable within liberal torious service by his historical research, which material progress....” (page 648). Smith revealed and assimilationist Mennonite circles to argue that obligates them to lasting gratitude,” Men. Ency., a rather shocking lack of understanding of the Evangelicalism is a modern-day configuration of Vol III, page 163. However, his interpretations Flemish Mennonite tradition as well as unfor- Anabaptism, using Reformation leaders whose did not stand under the scrutiny of his fellow givable condescension towards the Old Colo- writings resonate with these ideas much like scholars. Friedman notes that “Today scholar- nists in describing their worship services: “The Ludwig Keller did 120 years ago. This is the so- ship has learned to make a distinction between preacher never looked at his audience. The mer- called Evangelical Anabaptist theory (see Plett, “Is the spiritualists such as Denck, and the regular est gesture with his hands, or the shrug of the the future for Mennonites Evangelical?” in Anabaptists.” shoulders, the slightest departure in any respect Preservings, No. 21, pages 39-40). Nonetheless, Keller’s theories were eagerly from the practices of the fathers would have been Keller’s rejection of Menno and his vision of accepted by contemporary Mennonite historians met not only with astonishment but instant dis- the people of God gathered in discipled commu- as already mentioned. Following Keller’s mis- approval on the part of such in the congregation nity in favour of an aberrant form of Anabaptism taken view of normative Mennonitism as a proto- as were sufficiently awake to notice the innova- based on spiritualism, mysticism and individual- Pietist branch of Protestantism, C. H. Wedel, John tion....” (page 649). Of the Old Colonists them- ism, provided the opponents of the confessionalist Horsch, C. H. Smith and P. M. Friesen over- selves, Smith writes: “Deluded and foolish they Mennonites with an intellectual weapon which looked the actual roots of Mennonitism which were, so we say according to our modern no- they zealously employed to dismiss Flemish lay in the medieval monastic tradition, the Gos- tions....” (page 650). Mennonite tradition and culture as inferior and pel-centricism of traditional Catholic theology, Well known, also, is the statement by histo- corrupt. Because Keller’s ideas were adopted and Erasmus and Christian humanism, rian Frank H. Epp in Mennonites in Canada 1786- echoed by many writers in the Russian Menno- Sacramentarianism and the Brethren of the Com- 1920 The History of a Separate People (1974), nite community they continue to have a profound mon Life. These elements constituted the experi- “The Canadian groups [emigrants from Russia impact, although Keller was basically discred- ential embryo of the Anabaptist movement in the of the 1870s] consisted mainly of Chortitza ited by his contemporaries. Low Countries and it is here that the strength and people, descendants of those poor and simple Mennonites who have converted themselves sustaining life-vitality of the Flemish Mennonite pioneers who in the previous century had first to other religious cultures such as the faith are to be found. Surely the Flemish follow- left Prussia for Russia....” (page 195). These are Brüdergemeinde in Imperial Russia in 1860, the ers of Menno Simons are entitled to a historiog- almost the exact words written by Peter M. Friesen Rudnerweiders (E.M.M.C.) in 1937, and Evan- raphy that accepts and acknowledges them as in 1911 already quoted. That such misinformed, gelical Mennonite Conference in Manitoba in the fellow human beings and treats them and their myopic views were openly expressed in an offi- 1950s, are still exalting ideas similar to those of tradition of following Jesus with respect and tol- cial publication of the Mennonite Historical So- Keller - albeit in a more modern configuration - erance. ciety of Canada, supposedly speaking for all providing an ideological platform for their ag- The Evangelical Anabaptist theory is histori- Canadian Mennonites and not only the gressive attacks against and interference with the cally invalid and incorrect. It has dominated and assimilationists, is truly astounding! functioning of traditionalist Christian Gemeinden. corrupted Russian Mennonite historiography for Evidently Kellerite ideas had now been It is improper and untruthful to use such sim- far too long providing a rather implausible foun- morphed into some kind of a racist, genetic, cul- plistic and outdated ideas as tools in maligning dation for justifying what amounts to little more tural impoverishment thesis (also known as the conservative congregations or even in suggesting than disdain and ridicule of the conservatives. In “poor and simple” theory) (see Plett, “Poor and that their faith is less worthy or invalid. The notion view of the fact that the conservatives and tradi- Simple,” Pres., No. 16, pages 15-16). One of the that those who have converted themselves to a tionalists have invariably carried the Mennonite stellar formulations of same is found in the M.A. liberal, spiritualistic, modernization and/or Sepa- community on their collective backs with their Thesis of Abraham Friesen, “Emigration in Men- ratist-Pietist/Evangelical Fundamentalist religious hard work and pioneering spirit and that they nonite history with a special reference to the con- culture and agenda are the true Anabaptists, and emulated the heart and soul of the early Christian servative Mennonite emigration from Canada to that the conservative, traditionalist Mennonites who Church, one questions why they have been so Mexico and South America after World War One,” earnestly strive in simplicity to live out the teach- badly misrepresented? (University of Manitoba, 1960). Dr. Friesen ob- ings of the New Testament in the tradition of Menno The example of Ludwig Keller illustrates the serves quite correctly that “....the Mennonites who Simons are not genuine Anabaptists, speaks of dangers when history writing is used as a tool in did not take part in the emigration movement [of intolerance and condescension unwarranted by the order to advance alien religious cultures and for- the 1920s to Latin America] disparaged and im- historical facts. eign traditions instead of actually documenting pugned the motives of those who did partici- In view of the propagation of such uninformed and honestly interpreting the unfolding of past pate,” (page 164). historiography and incorrect ideology, it was pos- events. Through the propagation of Kellerite ideas The “poor and simple” thesis reflects the theme sibly understandable why conservative leaders like by his Mennonite followers, several generations of modernization and the Anglo-conformist domi- Ältester Gerhard Wiebe (1827-1900), Chortitz, of leaders were misled to unjustly denigrate their nated scholarship at mid-century, and probably set East Reserve, Manitoba, were openly critical of conservative and traditionalist ancestors who the stage for the negative analysis found in the that kind of skewed higher education. It is within faithfully preserved the teachings of the great works of Leonard Sawatzky and Calvin Redekop this context, for example, that Ältester Gerhard reformer Menno Simons. on the Old Colonists already referred to. The tem- Wiebe referred to the majority of the leaders in the In the closing paragraph of History and Re- plate created by these and other writings is em- United States who had “...turned away from newal (page 146), Professor Abraham Friesen, ployed by modern-day neo-Kellerites such as Bethlehem and have gone over to Bethel Col- Santa Barbara, California, poses the poignant Harold Jantz, Winnipeg, to bombard MCC and lege....,” Wiebe, Causes and History, page 67. question, “...who speaks for the Anabaptists? The other institutions with such outmoded ideas ap- Ohm Heinrich Balzer (1800-46), Tiege, Russia, one who conforms to our position, as in the case parently as part of some program of mass conver- referred to “...learned preachers with higher edu- of Keller? If not, how do we determine who sion of conservative Mennonites away from Gos- cation, who in turn changed the church in its very speaks for them?” pel-centric faith to Evangelical Fundamentalist re- foundations, making it conformed to the world,” Mennonite historians of the Flemish-Russian ligious culture and Calvinistic traditions. The Golden Years, page 244. Balzer concluded stream, with only few exceptions, have not spo- that “Consequently it was necessary to depart and ken for the majority of their brethren in the faith, Evangelical Anabaptist Theory. secede in order that our Gemeinde could be led nor have they correctly understood and told that As Professor Abraham Friesen has already back to the foundation and orginal constitution of story. pointed out “Those who wish...can now pick and the church,” The Golden Years, page 223. Whose history is it anyway? The Editor.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 49 Hans de Ries and the Dutch Doopsgezinde Hans de Ries (1553-1638). Dutch Doopsgezinde historians who tradition- which Kühler ascribed to the Waterlanders, Hans de Ries (1553-1638) was an impor- ally exalted the Waterlanders as the normative such as openness towards those who held other tant leader of the Waterlanders, the Dutch de- Anabaptists. This was the viewpoint expressed opinions, the aversion to confessions and the nomination in the 16th and 17th centuries which by A. M. Cramer (1837), W. J. Kühler (1940) almost boundless tolerance towards different opposed and attacked the faithful followers of and N. Van der Zijpp (1952). viewpoints among the educated, are revealed Menno Simons. Hans de Ries was a minister This interpretation has been seriously chal- upon research to apply to only a fraction of the of the congregation at Emden, Friesland. After lenged by the recent history, Om de ware Waterlanders. And a not inconsiderable part of 1600 he served as the leader of the congrega- gemeente en de oude grounden: Geschiedenis the Waterlanders (half of the Gemeinden in tion at Alkmaar (see Pres., No. 22, page 26). van de dopersen in de Nederlander 1531-1675 North-Holland), did not join themselves to the His followers, the Waterlanders, refused to call (Leeuwarden, 2000), by Samme Zilstra (see Lamists in 1670 but rather to the Zonists who themselves Mennonites preferring the term Pres., No. 22, page 79). Zilstra points to the came out of the Flemish. The anti-doctrinal Doopsgezinde. “The Waterlander leaders Hans wealth of publications since 1952, “....which character of Galenus definitely went too far de Ries and Galenus Abrahamsz were the great has outdated the normative interpretation of for them.” heroes” of Dutch historiography: Zilstra, Om older writers such as Kühler and Van der Zijpp. “One of the reasons why they came to an de ware gemeente, page 20. Both writers utilized the images and incorrect understanding of the confessions of Hans de Ries’ great protagonist was the conceptions....of the Waterlanders (for the 17th the Waterlanders, was a misunderstanding of heroic Pieter Jans Twisck (1565-1636), who century), as the standard by which other de- the worth and the matter of the confessions vigorously defended the Mennonite Church and nominations are measured. This led to serious generally.....Whoever studies the primary the purity of the Holy Gospel against the in- misrepresentations such as the....enhancement sources more carefully will see that Galenus cursions of the anti-confessionalists. Unfortu- of the interpretation of the Waterlanders - a with his interpretation of the confessions (not nately - or fortunately, depending on one’s view- relatively small denomination - as the ideal of binding, the apostolic creed as sufficient) and point - the preservationist Flemish and Frisians true Anabaptism. This interpretation was ag- regarding the Ordnungen of the Gemeinde (es- were eventually driven from the Netherlands, gravated by the idyllic images of the 17th cen- sentially superfluous) did not represent the establishing renewed communities in Polish- tury Waterlanders which resonated with the norm within his movement, and formed the Prussia and Imperial Russia with a modern ideas inherent in the free-spirited 19th century deviant view more so than the Mennonites. diaspora numbering 600-700,000. Under the Christendom....” “These interpretations speak for a growing influence of the anti-confessional teachings of “In the first place, we have challenged the alienation towards a feeling of Mennonite iden- Hans de Ries, the Doopsgezinde Church in the interpretation that the roots of Anabaptism tity for Galenus and his followers. These be- Netherlands was almost totally destroyed, de- should originate from the time before liefs were definitely not shared by all the clining from 200,000 in 1800 to 10,000 in 1530....One of the options which could be pur- Doopsezinden. When Galenus and his follow- 2000. sued for the Oudste [Ältester] David Joris, ers wanted to implement these ideas among Although Hans de Ries was born in was spiritualism and a belief in an inwardly the Waterlanders they were also met by power- Antwerp, he was not part of the spirit and ge- process which made the outwardly, such as ful opposition,” pages 499-503. nius of the Flemish Mennonite church. The the organization of the Gemeinde, of little faith of Hans de Ries was incompatible with value....Further research has shown that until Conclusion. that of the Flemish Anabaptists who aligned approximately 1545, Joris had considerable Kühler’s historical interpretation has been themselves with the teachings and theology of influence and that he was a serious contempo- described as “`an attempt to seek an historical Menno Simons and Dirk Philips. Hans de Ries rary of Menno Simons. This spiritual stream Anabaptist parentage for the advanced theo- can be seen as the forerunner of many other has also received far more attention than it has logical liberalism’ of most 20th century liberal assimilationists over the centuries who earned.” Netherlandic Mennonites,” Paul Toews, Men- worked energetically to attack and interfere with “As just mentioned, through the interpreta- nonites in American Society, page 92. Based the legitimate functioning of the Gemeinden of tion of Kühler and Van der Zijpp, the on the research and writing of Samme Zilstra it the spiritual descendants of Menno. Waterlanders were made into the norm. The is no longer legitimate nor academically ac- Hans de Ries rejected many of the key evan- result was that the descriptions of the Frisians ceptable to present Hans de Ries and the gelical teachings espoused by Menno Simons and Flemish, who did not fare well by this Waterlanders as a norm for early Anabaptism. and Dirk Philips and promoted spiritualistic standard, followed rather predictable tenden- Nor can the Waterlanders any longer be repre- and anti-confessional ideals which resonated cies. The interpretations were constantly com- sented as the majority and most influential with the Kellerite teachings. For that reason - pared with those of the Waterlanders and were group among the Doopsgezinde as it was the presumably - he was treated favourably and more ridicule than actual fact. We have done faithful and steadfast Flemish who deserve that exalted by C. H. Wedel, C. H. Smith and P. M. more justice to these groups with our writing honour. It appears that the task of writing Dutch Friesen. Through these writings the spirit of which is distinguishable from Kühler and his Anabaptist history to properly document the Hons de Ries still prevails in standard Menno- followers. Nowhere in his work does he history of the majority Flemish as well as other nite history texts such as C. J. Dyck, (Intro- [Kühler] acknowledge that the Flemish were conservative and traditionalists denominations duction to Mennonite History (Waterloo, 1993), the largest denomination within the has yet to be fully engaged and completed. and Cornelius Krahn (Smith’s Story of the Doopsgezinde, only that he is ready to treat To the extent that the introductory histories Mennonites (Newton, 1981). Thus the leader this group disproportionately regarding their of C. J. Dyck and C. H. Smith have relied on whose liberal and anti-confessional ideas numbers. By doing so it is made possible, as the flawed accounts of Kühler and Van der doomed his Doopsgezinde denomination in the was bravely presented again in a recent work, Zijpp, they are of negligible value to the faith- Netherlands to irrelevance and extinction and to represent that the Waterlanders constituted ful descendants of Menno. Hopefully these who rejected the wholesome New Testament the majority within the Doopsgezinden, when historical errors and theological misconceptions teachings voiced by Menno Simons is incor- in actual fact they only made up some 20 per- can be corrected and rectified before the Men- rectly held forth as a great hero of the faith. cent. nonite Church in North and South America “Furthermore, our research has revealed that follows the example of the Dutch Dutch Historiography. the Waterlanders were not a monolithic block, Doopsgezinde into irrelevance and eventually The ideas and theology promoted by Hans as Kühler....represents, but consisted of a va- oblivion. The Editor. de Ries gained considerable credence from the riety of separate streams. The characteristics

50 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Guest Essay I am a Mennonite not an Anabaptist “I am a Mennonite not an Anabaptist,” by Levi Miller, Director, Herald Press, Mennonite Publishing Network, 616 Walnut Ave., Scottdale, PA., U.S.A., 15683.

Introduction. We are less Anabaptist in part because the American experience seriously. And for the late “They do not speak peaceably, but devise Anabaptism of today is no longer the Anabaptism ‘80s and the ‘90s, I believe that there is much in the false accusations against those who live qui- which Harold Bender introduced and domesti- legacy of the 19th century Mennonite experience to etly in the land,” Psalm 35:20. cated in 1943. An Anabaptism of sisterhood and help us keep the faith. I have several suggestions: I have lived my adult years in a church in which brotherhood, of discipleship, and of love and non- the basic stuff of sermons and conversations was resistance can be accepted (Bender’s ideal). But 1. Recognize and appreciate the resilience to be against those who live “quietly in the land”. the scholars have convinced us of the many ori- and ongoing vitality within North American As a youth, I was taught that all that is needed for gins of early Anabaptism. Some were violent peas- Mennonitism. We would note that, by the grace evil to triumph is for the good ones to be quiet. I ants, some were scholars, some were spiritualists, of God, we have lived and worked and maintained still believe that. and alas, not all were Swiss/South Germans. If Christian communities in North America for 300 I have been a part of a church which has had a the new definitions were more authentic histori- years. Indeed we have planted such communities love affair with warm and sometimes also noisy cally, they nonetheless had the effect of removing all over the globe. We would appreciate how this activism. Yet even today when I hear someone con- Anabaptism further from our North American movement has had strong renewing qualities demn us for being the quiet ones, I confess some Mennonite reality. within itself. guilt. After all of our church planting, justice, the It has gone from a martyr motif to humility, to fast lane, Ronald Reagan, video, and the Ten-Year Mennonitism. missionary, to Anabaptist recovery, to our present Goals, I’m still a Mennonite, one of the quiet ones. And as we move further away from the ‘60s peace, charismatic, and church planting phase. We and Anabaptism, we find ourselves looking again would not shout “crisis” at each turn of North at the 19th century. In pluralistic North America, American Christianity’s yearnings, but we would “....when I hear someone condemn Anabaptism lost its meaning as a faith of the per- have some perspective. We have borrowed from us for being the quiet ones, I confess secuted and we became Mennonites. Humility and and also defended ourselves from other move- some guilt.” a deep piety preserved the way of yieldedness to ments throughout our history. Christ, community, and non-violence. It’s the difference between the 16th century and By the mid-1970s, Goshen College student Jo- 2. Basically accept the economic and social the 19th century. In the 16th century we were seph Liechty, now a missionary in Ireland, would order in which we find ourselves and give thanks Anabaptists; in the 19th century we were Menno- do a study of the gentle 19th century bishop John to God for the many privileges and responsibili- nites. It’s the difference between a revolutionary M. Brenneman and discover a paragon of Christian ties of living in North America. We would be aware European restorationist movement and a North virtue (“Humility: the Foundation of Mennonite that our North American forbears were wealthy American experience which has lasted for genera- Religious Outlook in the 1860s,” Mennonite Quar- farmers who lived frugally and were quite literate tions. It’s the difference between the turbulent terly Review, January 1980). In Brenneman and in about their economic system. 1960s and the quieter ‘80s. If you would ask me if the letters of that period, Liechty discovered what Mennonites have a long history of treating I’m an activist or a quietest, I might answer the he called “much spiritual treasure of great value.” It wealth, sometimes faithfully and sometimes in latter as readily as the former. was as though a thirsty man had deliberately gone unfaith. Richard McMaster’s Land, Piety, and In the ‘60s the Anabaptists fascinated and to the desert and had found - of all things - water. Peoplehood (Herald Press, 1985) documents this guided us with their fanaticism and faith. They story quite well. The love of wealth and great belonged to a romantic era when we believed that Evangelical Anabaptism? disparities of wealth are the roots of all evil, as the we could turn the world upside down, especially Some, of course, still appeal to Anabaptism. Bible says. But our peasant-to-riches litanies are if we could change the structures of our societies. The stories are gripping and powerful and it is often beside the point. First, many of today’s pro- Our heaven-stormer ancestors seemed exactly admirable history. Nonetheless, at its worst, such fessional daughters and sons of farmers have less what was needed for an era when we sought to an emphasis can lead to individualism, because to real wealth than their grandparents, even if they stop an unpopular war. Peace, justice, and racial appeal to an Anabaptist community today is to may have more money to spend. Second, the ques- fraternity seemed within grasp. appeal to a non-functioning society. An older gen- tion is usually addressed with a view to finding eration of scholars such as John H. Yoder (The the ideal economic system. Anabaptism. Priestly Kingdom, Notre Dame, 1984) and We need not agree as to whether the British But today such activism and Anabaptism have Norman Kraus (Anabaptism and Evangelicalism, Tories, the French Socialists, or the Canadian Con- lost their hold on us. I thought of this at a ‘60s and Herald Press, 1979) have spent most of their adult servatives - three ruling governments - have the ‘90s retreat I participated in last year. We wanted careers appealing to this type of community. best economic blueprint for a just society. The to use the ‘60s to look at the ‘90s. But we were Some evangelical church planters also like to more basic question for us is what to do with the mostly looking back, fondly and almost sadly. call themselves Anabaptists. The Anabaptists were wealth which God has given to us. God may be a Too much had changed. a growing evangelistic group and the term is suf- democratic socialist, such as Duane Friesen ar- Today we realize that spirituality and contem- ficiently vague that one can use it to mean many gues in Christian Peacemaking and International plation are also a part of the Christian life and things. It is not burdened with some of the cultural Conflict (Herald Press, 1986) or God may be demo- community. Some of us admit to being a part of characteristics of North American Mennonitism. cratic capitalist. The 19th century Mennonite would the middle class and wear suits as readily as The Mennonite Brethren, for example, like it for have been reluctant to identify God too closely demins. We have children to raise, spouses to love, this reason. with any economic system. and vocations to pursue. We should grieve the loss but not lose our identity. We have become less Mennonite Legacy. 3. Be more intuitive and less scholastic in Anabaptist, but we can still be Mennonite Chris- In any case, the point here is not to eliminate our teaching of the faith. We would accept, for tians. Anabaptism; the point is rather to take the North example, that a Mennonite Christian is by defini-

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 51 tion a pacifist. Interestingly, the 19th century Men- dens and eat what they produce. Marry and have in Africa. He reported later that an African Chris- nonites did not write much about peacemaking. sons and daughters…” (Jer. 29:5-6). tian leader told him Mennonites are still one of the They simply taught the Christian story from Gen- This stance is especially hard for us today be- most welcome groups on the continent because esis to Revelation and assumed pacifism to be a cause we are so attached to our countries. The “they do a lot but they don’t make so much noise.” part of it. The biblical story was, of course, strongly reason we had to hate America so intensely during Last summer my family spent several days in reinforced by the martyr history with which we the ‘60s was that we loved her so madly. We were the gentle hospitality of Guillermo and Eva Zuniga identify. But rather than teach Christian peacemak- the Christian citizen’s answer to a jilted lover. We in Mexico City. Zuniga is a physician who by ing like a driver’s education course to adolescents were a generation who had come to believe that choice lives in a modest sector where he serves the - which, to be sure, is better than no peace teaching we were young Americans, and we had redefined people and leads the Mennonite Church Council - we would make peace and non-resistance a part America as a country of the peaceful, the just, and of Central Mexico. Guillermo said that he learned of our total understanding of being Christian. the disarmed. his service ethics from the Trique Indians of Ron Sider, in an interview last year with The I thought of this several years ago when I vis- Mexico among whom he and Eva had lived and Other Side maga- ited Washington with my son and showed served for several years. Although they had little, zine, noted this in- him the mall where over a half million of the Triques shared with their neighbours. fluence in his Breth- us had gathered on May Day of ’71. We ren in Christ church were angry that our government should and home: “Without have troops killing and being killed in “Quietism is not our only re- fully realizing it at the Southeast Asia. If only, I thought, our sponse; nor is it always the best one. time, I acquired a government would act justly like the Ca- But for many, it is both authentic and deep commitment to nadians or the Europeans or the Vietnam- biblical.” peacemaking and to ese; then these people could return to caring for the needy On Zuniga’s walls, among the Aztec and Mayan as well as a solid, or- art, was a Pennsylvania bank barn. That barn, he thodox theology said, was a part of a Mennonite family who helped which taught the de- him go through medical school. And now he ity of Christ, the wanted to serve and heal in the same way that bodily resurrection, others had helped him. This quiet Christian pietism the atonement, the is good and just and merciful. It is to love Christ Trinity, the person of deeply and to share that love. Christ as both fully A 16th century Anabaptist: I’m not saying that this is the only mode of God and fully hu- in Europe. behaving or the total Christian message. My stay man - all the doc- Photo - Gospel Herald, July in Mexico also reminded me that some 19th cen- trines Christians have 7, 1987, cover. tury Mennonites might well have joined Henry held down through David Thoreau in the centuries” (October 1986, p. 10). refusing to pay the poll tax in order to 4. Accept our being a part of the North refrain from sup- American middle class, in it but not totally of it. porting America’s This is not easy. I would be the first to agree with war against that Thomas Merton that it is hard for God to penetrate country in 1848. the middle class. In his autobiography Merton Quietism is not writes, “The one thing that seemed to me more or our only response; less impossible was for grace to penetrate the thick, nor is it always the resilient hide of bourgeois smugness and really best one. But for take hold of the immortal soul beneath that sur- A 19th century Mennonite: A many, it is both au- face, in order to make something out of it.” farmer in North America. thentic and biblical. Yet Merton became attracted to St. Therese of Photo - Gospel Herald, July To “live quietly Lisieux precisely because she kept everything 7, 1987, cover. in the land” has which was bourgeois about her but not incompat- deep rootings in the ible with faith. “She became a saint, not by run- peace and tranquillity. Alas, biblical and Men- ning away from the middle class, not by abjuring we were still to hear more nonite tradition. We or cursing the middle class, or the environment in killing in Southeast Asia. would do well to which she had grown up: on the contrary, she Our hope and love for cherish it and not clung to it in so far as one could cling to such a America, coupled paradoxi- discard it cheaply. thing and be a good Carmelite” (The Seven Storey cally with an intense hate of A 20th century Mennonite: the author Levi Miller. Reprinted Mountain, p.354). St. Therese became a great the government, were prob- from the Gospel Christian because, like many 19th century Menno- ably misplaced emotions for Photo - Gospel Herald, July 7, 1987, cover. th Herald, July 7, nites, she simply applied the gospel to her middle- a nation and how it behaves. The 19 century Ameri- 1987, pages 482-484. class life. We should do no less. can Mennonites were more philosophical and real- istic about the nature of nations. They hated America The Author: 5. Recognize that there are various ways of less, because they knew that no nation deserved the Levi Miller is a member of the Scottdale Men- being prophetic. The Hebrew prophets knew that love that we had given to America. nonite Church in Pennsylvania. He is currently serv- sometimes the strongest prophetic word was to ing as director of Herald Press. Earlier he served as live in a “foreign land” with faith and hope. Pro- 6. Cherish a certain modesty and quiet- director of the Historical Committee of the Menno- test and rebellion are only one form of prophetic ness. This is a biblical virtue which is often aes- th nite Church (Goshen, Indiana). Levi is the author witness. The 19 century Mennonite style was thetically pleasing and even has some utilitarian of Ben’s Wayne (Good Books) and Our People, the more in keeping with Jeremiah during the dark value. Roelf Kuitse of Associated Mennonite Bib- Amish and Mennonites of Ohio (Herald Press). hour of Jewish captivity. Do not rebel, he coun- lical Seminaries spent some time visiting Menno- Levi can be contacted at [email protected]. Phone selled, “build houses and settle down; plant gar- nite churches, service workers, and missionaries 724-887-8500.

52 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Letters We welcome letters to the editor and appreciate feedback from our readers, critical or otherwise. We will assume that all letters and e-mails can be published, unless the contrary is indicated. We reserve the right to edit, discard and/or not to publish any letter/e-mail and/or not to respond. E-mails should not contain attachments. All letters and e-mails should contain the writer’s name, address and home phone number. Letters should be short (preferably under 300 words) and to the point.

#24-2920 Cliffe Ave. not on scriptural proof, I have enclosed a pam- I am enclosing my cheque for my subscription Courtenay, B.C., V9N 2L7 phlet entitled “The Seven Dispensations of Scrip- to Preservings. My kindest wishes to you. “C. S. June 27, 2003 ture”..... Grant” ...You did it again. What a wonderful issue of Just write me.... Franklin Rempel ______Preservings. And so much new stuff. Thank-you. Editor’s Note: Mr. Rempel is referred to the ar- “Elizabeth Bartel” ticle “The Kingdom of God and the End Time,” by July 1, 2003 ______Walter Klaassen in Pres., No. 19, pages 28-30 as 9 Greensfield Dr., Winkler well as subsequent exchanges with M. J. Moll Manitoba, R6W 1E3 Box 1674, Battleford and Terry Tiessen published in Pres., No. 20, Greetings. Saskatchewan, S0M 0E0 pages 59-60. In his article Dr. Klaassen pointed I want to encourage you to keep up interesting June 25, 2003 out that “Jesus and the New Testament writers like articles in Preservings. You tell another side of a Thanks for your excellent detailed journal on Paul never linked the physical land of Israel with story that needs to be told. Enclosed also find my Mennonite history. Read every article, finding each the kingdom of God, nor ever claimed that the renewal of my subscription. Thank-you “Abe one captivating, especially “Mother Teresa - the unfulfilled prophecies of the Old Testament re- Wiebe” Saint of the Gutters,” page 60. Congratulations to ferred to the Jewish people and the land of their ______her assistant, Esther Reimer Crowe, for receiving time.” In the subsequent exchange, Dr. Klaassen the Governor-General’s “Caring Canadian Award”. pointed out that “Jesus proclaimed a different kind 2206 Wiggins Ave., Sincerely, John P. Nickel. of kingdom, `a kingdom that is not of this world.’” Saskatoon, Sask., S7J 1W7 ______In reality Premillennial Dispensationalism as it has Dear friends of the Historical Society, evolved in North America is built on the premises Have appreciated reading the wealth of infor- Box 42, Glaslyn and presumptions of Scottish Commonsense re- mation in Preservings. Enclosed is my cheque for Saskatchewan, S0M 0Y0 alism and Baconian philosophy (see Pres., No. $20.00 so that I may continue receiving copies. June 27, 2003 20, page 48). The bible school movement of the Thanks for your diligence in researching, collect- Dear Brother Plett, late 19th century, in turn, largely developed in or- ing, preserving and publishing this information. I read and reread the editorial, pages 38-42 of der to propagate these heresies and as such had an Respectfully, Esther Patkau. Preservings, No. 21, with tremendous interest and incredibly devastating effect upon Mennonites, ______found myself agreeing in point after point. As you since many fell victim to these delusions and propa- know by my correspondence, I do not agree with gated the same so fanatically. On the other hand, 37-54006 Range Rd. 274 you on every point you raise; yet, must admire the we should not be discouraged as the Bible also Spruce Grove, Alberta, T7X 3S8 Christian conviction that you so forcefully and clearly teaches that there will be many false teach- Enclosed find $20.00 for membership in 2003. fearlessly raise. Bravo, Bravo. ings in the end-times which will deceive the very Thank you for this informative magazine/journal. To tell the truth, I have used some of the points elect. “Elizabeth Siemens” that you addressed in our local adult Sunday School You claim you’re faith is centred on the “Lord ______on several occasions. Specifically? My disagree- Jesus Christ” and yet the tragic truth is that the ment with Mr. Kraybill’s “evangelical” conclu- Darbyite-Scofield religion neatly excises Jesus 367 Walsh Trail sion - I agree wholeheartedly with your conclu- Christ and His life, teachings and example out of Swift Current, Sask., S9H 4R3 sion, page 42. Biblical teaching during this time of grace and Enclosed is a cheque to pay for subscription to Thank-you for your insight - would you agree thereby its adherents cannot honestly claim the Preservings for 2003. I enjoy the magazine im- it is God-given? I could be (and will be) some- name of Christian. mensely. what specific - “The Third Way”, page 42, is a By becoming a mouthpiece for the Mullahs of Yours truly, “Peter R. Derksen” masterful presentation. American Fundamentalism, you are shaming not ______But enough, “Raymond Toews” only the name of your heroic Mennonite ancestors ______- who suffered the worst persecution known to July 8, 2003 mankind in Flanders for 150 years - but also the [email protected] Box 1945, Altona sacrifice of our Lord on the Cross whereby He 37-31450 Spur Ave. Man., R0G 0B0 won the victory over death and evil, establishing Abbotsford, B.C., V2T 5M3 Received June 12, 2003 the ethic of love for those who would follow Him. Since I believed this to be a truly scholarly Having recently read your letters section of the ______journal, I must admit there were things I did find December 2002 Preservings, I feel a response is surprising and also disturbing.....I am taken aback needed to your attacks on Premillennial by the lengthy editorializing that follows positions Dispensationalism. To claim that because I believe Box 1, Group 1, Selkirk taken that do not agree with the editor. Letters to the truth of scripture as it was brought out by Manitoba, R0E 0M0 the editor usually point out and elaborate the letter Darby and Scofield and others of the later 19th Greeting! Many thanks for issue number 22 writers’ views on issues presented in the century must mean that Christ has been reduced in of the Preservings. This is a particularly interest- article.....More disturbing is the defensive, stri- my faith to “a magical wizard of oz, whose ing issue. ‘Flemish Mennonite Martyrs....’ is some dent tone and language employed in these rebut- mantra’s need to be repeated in order to gain salva- account! Sadly I missed an obviously very inter- tals. One example will suffice to make my point. tion,” is completely unsubstantiated and simply a esting Family History Day in March [2002 - Pres., Leona Wiebe Gislason, a well-respected his- tragic error..... No. 20. pages 64-66], if the article on p. 34ff. torian and author of Rückenau...., in her letter to With regard to your claim that Premillennial about Flemish and Frisian Roots, is anything to the editor (Pres., # 21) pointed out several valid Dispensationalism is based on man’s thought and go by. The new cover is most attractive too! observations pertaining to the Eichenfeld Massa-

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 53 cre. Your response was that “the tent missionaries and death of our great Hero. Anyone that didn’t of these traits are still manifested in the Hutterites, evidenced an unchristian and spiteful attitude to- even know her would be compelled to read the Old Order, Amish and Conservative Mennonites wards the Mennonites in Eichenfeld” and then whole feature. of the modern-day including our beloved Old you generalized with “this is typical of those who As for my personal story, I’m still in disbelief Colonists. forsook the Christo-centric faith of their fore- - me and Mother Teresa on the same page and ______bears...” Do you really believe that only one Men- photograph? I’m unworthy yet euphoric. In fact, nonite Gemeinde interprets, represents and reflects almost “intoxicated” at the very thought of it! I’m Plautdietsch-Freunde e.V. a Christo-centric faith correctly? Are we not all as enclosing a small donation [$500.00]. Robert-Hanning-Str. 14 fellow believers in Christ striving to live our lives Shan’t ever forget, “Esther Reimer Crowe” D-33813 Oerlinghausen, Germany in such a way as to please the Lord? May God Card: We can never clone Mother Teresa but a From: “Peter Wiens” give us the grace to do this regardless of which compilation like yours is proof that the source that Mennonite heritage of faith we follow.... she tapped into is still at work. What a complete Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2003 21:24:24 +0200 Best Wishes, Mary Dueck and beautiful expose. Thank you very much, Velmol Dankscheen fe dee....nieje Preservings! Editor’s Note: 1) As we state in our publication “Esther” Etj hab daut Heft uck futs derchjebledat en statement (Pres. No. 22, page 4), “Preservings is ______faustjestalt, daut etj doa vel benne lese well en a project of Mennonite orthodoxy....The editorial mott. Besondasch entressere mie dee Artitjel “Flem- viewpoint....is conservative and orthodox with 1706 Kentfield Way ish an Frisian Mennonite Roots” en “Name and respect to the Russian Mennonite story....” We Goshen, Indiana Origins....” von Henry Schapansky.... make no apologies for defending that position rela- U.S.A., 46526 Daut eschte, waut etj mie nu oba aul futs tive to letters to the editor within the context of 15 July, 2003 derchjelest hab, es dee Bok-Rezensioon von Ralph Mennonite historiography, which for far too long Subject: Transition Friesen ewa Rudy Wiebe sienen latsten Roman already has been dominated by the fictitious and Delbert, “Sweeter Than All the World”. Dit es wertjlich een apostate “Evangelical Anabaptist” theory. By not So soon you tire of making spott of our wundaboaret Bok en een butajeweenlicha only defining this project but also defending the Steinbach and Hanover church leaders? Surely Schreftstala! Wiebe we je nu eene tietlang en same, a symbolic space and textual territory is there’s another twenty years’ worth of ridicule Dietschlaunt en etj haud dee Jeleajenheit, ahm en created where orthodoxy is normative - some- somewhere, especially with Ralph Friesen joining uck siene Fru tjanetolere. Etj kaun mie goot thing which has not been possible since the noble you in rewriting local history. veastale, daut dee Literatua von Rudy Wiebe uck Zonists in Amsterdam in the 1660s so heroically Now that you’ve changed the historical seea halpe woat, daut “ons” dietschet Voltj hia aul defended the traditional Gospel-centric faith es- society’s emphasis to pit the Flemish Mennonites dee ewa 200 Dusend Russlaunt-Mennoniete een poused by Menno Simons. against the Frisians you will have a wealth of tjlien bet beta tjane en vestone (en vleicht uck 2) The spiteful attitude of the “tent missionaries” Dutch material to feed that old rivalry. All you leewe?) woare.... was revealed by their view that “Not a single be- need now to complete the break with the commu- By the way: Enne neachste FRIND (Somma liever was to be found in Eichenfeld” (Pres., No. nity is a postal box in Antwerp. 2003) schriew wie een bet ewa Rudy Wiebe. Wie 21, page 25), demonstrating thereby that a) they “Melvin J. Loewen” welle ons een bet meea met ahm en siene Literatua were fanatical adherents of Separatist Pietism, rec- Editor’s Note: We appreciate your always cogent beschaftje.... ognizing as Christian no one who had not met its observations. I know it was a big shock for many, Aulet Baste fe die en fe dee “Flemish Menno- manmade and legalistic entrance requirements; b) to all of a sudden have the history of their people nite Historical Society”! they had no respect for believers who remained told from the perspective of their own grandpar- Peeta Wiens steadfast to the faith of their fathers, or c) they ents. The story of our Mennonite ancestors in ______were completely ignorant of genuine Christo-cen- Flanders tells us that the polemical disputations tric faith as manifested in Flemish Anabaptism. I among the conservative Mennonites in the north- 30 Jul 2003 agree with what I think you are saying, that Chris- ern Provinces of the Low Countries, as well as the Bremerhafen, den 06.07.03. tians of different confessions should respect each aggressive attacks by the apostate Doopsgezinde Westermannsgang 9, Germany other, but the tent missionaries - in my mind- mani- were never exported to the south, where a spirit of Subject: Brief uber Diese Steine fested the complete opposite position so charac- submission to the Gemeinde as the bride of Christ Zu allererst mochte ich mich fur das herrliche teristic of Separatist Pietism - and this is exactly prevailed and allowed them to survive 150 years Buch [Diese Steine] herzlich bedanken. Im Verlauf my point: the Eichenfelders did not run after the of persecution. Many of the most noble and heroic vieler Jahre habe ich mir bereits einige Bucher tent missionaries attempting to alien- betreffend unserer Volksgruppe, der ate their children and turn them Mennoniten, besorgt, und keines von against their faith, church and com- denen aber war so ausfuhrlich, was munity, it was the other way around. Chortitza angeht und auch sonst, wie ______das von Ihnen bezogene. Herzlichen Dank auch im Namen meiner Schwester. Dieses Werk ist allen Russlandmennoniten als #2511-40 Homewood Ave. Erinnerungshilfe warmstens zu Toronto, Ont., M4Y 2K2 empfehlen... Seien Sie herzlich gegrußt July 7, 2003 und nochmals vielen Dank fur das Re: Mother Teresa - The Saint of the Buch. Gruß, “Heinrich Dyck” Gutters, Pres., No. 22, pages 56-61. _____ Wow, that’s a real work of love! If Mother had done it herself I know Hertogerstr. 20 she would have chosen the exact 2211 Ham- same quotes that you selected for the burg, Gremany inserts. They express her most piv- July 31, 2003 otal concerns. “Diese Steine - Die Your’re right, the rescue cartoon Elisabeth Giesbrecht, daughter of Vorsteher David Giesbrecht, El Capulin, Russlandmennoniten” ist für mich ein says it all, and the history, Requiem Casas Grandes, Mexico, feeding the cows prior to milking. Photo - Eddy Tischbuch, ein Historische Dokument. and Eulogy accurately cover the life Plett, Jagueyes, Feb. 19/03. Ich möchte noch ein Exemplar diese

54 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Buches erwerben, bitte senden Sie mir das Buch Box 521, Hugoton Erläuterungen am Schluss des Buches “Zum auf die genannte Adresse. Kansas, 67951 Glauben und Denken” und ein Bericht aus dem “Elisabeth Wittenburg” Sept. 30, 2003 Buch von Horst Penner “Weltweite Bruderschaft” ______A note of thanks for all the great work you halfen mir einiges mehr zu verstehen. have done on the history of the Mennonites and Das die Konflikte von damals bis heute viele Colonie Sommerfeld No.4, the interesting stories you have in “Preservings”. I mennonitische Gemeinden, bis hin zur Asuncion, Paraguay really enjoy and [they] are informative. Enclosed Sprachlosigkeit, entzweien ist schmerzlich. Die Aug. 4, 2003 is a gift of appreciation for the information you Schwierigkeiten mit fremden Schulen wurde mir Crossway Publications Inc. have given us on our Mennonite history. It makes erschreckend bewusst, als ich gemeinsam mit Werte Freunde Adina Reger und Delbert Plett us appreciate the stand our parents had to take. Abram Fast (Weißenthurm), Dr. Heinrich Klassen Q.C. wie auch der Arbeitsstab von C.P.I. Da wir Thanks. “Lee Isaac” (BTG), Peter Rempel (AGUM) und Hermann schon drei Sendungen von dem Buch Diese Steine ______Heidebrecht (ABD) in das Innenministerium erhalten haben, die verteilt worden sind unter einbestellt wurde, um über die Schulsituation von unsern Gemeinde (Prediger) und Schullehrer; die Oct. 6, 2003 mennonitischen Spätaussiedlern zu sprechen, die gerne zur erbauung in der Mennonitische Bolivienhilfe ihre Kinder nicht zu allen Schulveranstaltungen Geschichte angewandt werden. So möchten wir CDC 6294, Santa Cruz schickten. einem herzlichen Dank ablegen für dieses Mate- Bolivia, South America Eine kleine Korrektur möchte ich anbringen: rial, in welchem so viele lehrreiche Stücke [email protected] auf Seite 533 schreiben sie im dritten Absatz eine erscheinen, die uns zeigen und sagen wie viel es Subject: diese steine Erklärung für IMO. Dieses ist nicht korrekt, denn unsern Mitbrüder und Schwestern gekostet hat Ich wollte mich noch einmal im Namen der die IMO (Internationale Mennonitische um treu zu bleiben, um ihren Glauben an Jesus Mennoniten in Bolivien bedanken für die Bücher Organisation für Hilfswerk und andere christliche Christus zu leben, und ein zeugniz zu sein für uns “Diese Steine”. Die Mennoniten in Bolivien sind Aufgaben) ist nicht das Hilfswerk der Niederländer und folgende Generation. sehr interessiert an diesen Büchern und lesen sehr sondern ein Hilfswerk deutschen und Sollten Forderungen an uns gerichtet sein, so viel darin. Unten habe ich ein Bild eingefügt, wo niederländischen Mennoniten. schreibt an - “Johann J. Heinrichs” Schreiber für eine Familie sich gerade ein Buch bei uns im Haus Zur Bereicherung der Geschichte der die Sommerfeld Gemeinde. Betesda abholt. Mennoniten, die aus Russland ausgewandert sind, ______Hier ist eine Familie Fehr, die möchten gerne schicke ich ihnen das Buch “Die Backnager die Zeitschrift “Preservings” bekommen. Könnt Mennoniten”. Hier [in Backnag] wurde nach dem Box 1074, Warman ihr die zuschicken auf meine Anschrift? II. Weltkrieg die erste Mennonitengemeinde der Sask., S0K 4S0 Und noch eines. Ich habe hier in Bolivien einen “Russland Mennoniten” (für viele bis heute ein Sept. 5, 2003 Enkel vom Prediger Johann P. Wall (der Delegat Schimpfwort) gegründet, die aus der Ukraine I would like to draw attention to an error in my nach Südamerika war) getroffen. Und wir haben (Galizien und Raum Chortitza) fliehen mussten. article on Ältester Abram J. Buhler in the June interesse, mehr Material über sein Leben und die Mit freundlichen Grüßen, “Günther Krüger” Preservings. Under the group photo on page 103, Delegatenreise zu sammeln und ein Buch machen. [Vorsitzender des Verbandes der I refuted Leonard Doell’s claim that this photo Wie denkt ihr darüber? Mennonitengemeinden in Baden-Würtemberg, was taken in 1952 for the reason that Franz Nun so weit für heute, seid Gott befohlen. Deutschland] Thiessen was only elected into the ministry in “Peter Giesbrecht” 1953. But the Franz Thiessen in the picture is not Enne ejne Sproak lese en schriewe tjene. the Franz Thiessen from Vanderhoof, B.C., as Editor’s Note: Es ist sehr wertvoll über unseren Von ewa sas Miljarde Mensche oppe Welt stated but another Franz Thiessen presumably from edle Voreltern Information zu sammeln, damit talt jieda sasta aus “analfabeet”. Dise Fru ooda the Sommerfeld Gemeinde in Manitoba. My sin- unsere Kinder und Kindes Kinder eine Kunde dis Maun es aulsoo een “nje gramatny”, cerest apologies to Leonard and both Franz über ihre Herkunft haben. Es ist besonders wichtig woona nich lese en nich schriewe kaun. Dee Thiessens. Biographien über Leiter und Prediger, wie Johan Vollvesaumlinj von Vereinte Natsionne stalt Truly yours, “Abram Buhler” P. Wall, Durango, Mexico, die ihr Volk an der Zeit enne Resulutsioon 56/116 faust, daut dee ______treu geleitet haben, anzufertige. In Preservings, “alphabetisierung enscheidend ist für den Nr. 20, Seiten 98-99 and 105, finden sie weitere Erwerb von unenbehrlichen Information über den Delegat Johan P. Wall. Lebensfertigkeiten jedes Kindes, jedes Jugendlichen und jedes Erwachenen, die sie _____ befähigen, die Herausforderungen anzunehmen, dene sie um Leben Hauffstrasße 20 gegenüberstehen [....].” Soo haft dee 71554 Weissach im Tal UNESCO dan uck fe dee Joare 2003 bet 2012 Deutschland dee “Internationale Dekade der 30. Oktober 2003 Alphabetisierung” utjeroopt. Sel wie Subject: Diese Steine - Reger und Plett Plautdietsche ons to dise Grupp von Mit großem Interesse habe ich ihr Buch gelesen. Analfabeete tale? Retjt ons tom Lewe dee Es vermittelt mir einen guten Einblick in das Leben Sproak von onsem “Gaustlaunt” too? Daut der Mennoniten, die ab 1788/89 nach Russland mucht vleicht hia en doa so senne...En dise ausgewandert sind. Auch über die fast FRIND-Utgow red wie von “Plautdietsch unüberbrückbaren Differenzen der Aussiedler und Literatua”, uck wan dee meschte von ons noch Spätaussiedler konnte ich so mein Wissen erweitern. nuscht opp Plautdietsch jelest habe, en noch Nur bei einigen Begriffen hatte ich wenja jeschrewe habe....Nich schlemm? Much Schwierigkeiten, da sie mir im Mennonitischen senne. Oba doch zimlich schod. Enne ejne Umfeld nicht geläufig sind. Sie sprechen des Muttasproak lese en schriewe tjene - daut öffteren vom “separatistischen Pietismus”, oft im schient mie eene gaunz normale Sach to senne. An Old Colonist couple in Bolivia picks up their Zusammenhang mit der “kleinen Gemeinde”. En et schient soo, daut etj nich auleen so dentj. copy of Diese Steine at the home of Peter Beides sind laut Text theologische Abspaltungen Peter “Pota” Wiens, Chefredaktion, FRIND, Giesbrechts in Santa Cruz. The story of the Men- der Mennoniten, die ihren eigenen Utgow, Nr. 10, sied 8 (see page 63). nonites presented from a Gospel-centric perspec- “mennonitischen” (?) Weg gehen. Die tive.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 55 News Professor Sjouke Voolsta, Amsterdam - Retires “Doopsgezinde dr. Voolstra seeks to halt cosmetic facelift of the church: Young Yuppies and a steadfast sailor,” by K. C. Karel, from Reformatorisch Dagblat, Nov. 21, 2002, page 19. Introduction. self-sufficiency, independence and orthodoxy, the as self-evident as many think. Nor can we avoid They are old enough, now to sit and talk with country’s oldest protestants in the past decade talking about the teaching of reconciliation. If it their children regarding faith. The Haarlem have sought their place in the church spectrum. has not been done for us, how can we be a recon- preacher, J. Gulmans, had to wait six years until Self-sufficiency is the course that the ciling influence within society.” the anniversary of the founder Menno Simons Doopsgezinde wants to achieve in ecumenical (1496-1561), to recognize that the 12,000 discussions. Consequently, according to Dr. Existential. doopsgezinden of the Netherlands were elderly. Hoekema, the Doopsgezinden, as a small minor- As a result, Voolstra has always known the After another two years a movement took place to ity in the community must give as much room as Doopsgezinde tradition as a type of existential- implement “a new thinking, faith and practice” possible for pluralism and alternative structures, ism, which has consistently been suppressed in among the “dopers” in the Netherlands. An ambi- where ecumenicalism and peace became the po- the 20th century. He mentioned the names of tious package of regulations was presented to put sition next to the narrow way. William de Clercq, Jan Ter Borg and Jan de Liefde, a halt to the departure of people. This was to com- Another interpretation is also possible. Nar- all of whom had departed from the Doopsgezinde. bat the greying process and the “doopsgezinden” row is the path of the man or woman not blown Many Doopsgezinde have joined in such a sepa- congregations were to receive new power. about by every tempest. Colleagues and friends ration. The 19th century reformation tradition of This has become a dead end road, finds have gotten to know Voolstra year’s-long career the separate community voices new resonances Voolstra. In an interview this summer, the scholar as a professor and researcher as someone who with the orthodox stream of “Dopers” as it has criticized the current program of his church com- maintains his own course. always existed. This aspect has remained under munity. “What has been promulgated as a re- In his contribution to the farewell anthology, represented in the writing of history and I wish newal, is nothing less than the restoration of a Piet Visser, Voolstra’s successor, characterized to ask that we respect the same. The dead, non-committed, individualistic, his predecessor’s nature “as steadfast to look Doopsgezinde past was almost totally written as `doopsgezinde-view’ based on sentiment.” In beyond dearly held assumptions to set the sub- a success story of the free-spiritedness [“liberal- order to voice a Christian faith in a secular soci- ject under intense scrutiny thereby provoking ism”] of the second half of the 19th century. The ety, you will find it necessary to define the de- genuine dialogue in order to get at the heart of a right-thinkers have disappeared from the land- nominational confession, said Voolstra, who char- matter. It is also the style of Voolstra, a passion- scape. We must do the right thing by this group.” acterized the program of the administration as ate sailer, to fix a firm course before his eyes, Voolstra distanced himself from the “cosmetic “nostalgic nationalism.” also searching for creativity and intelligence in facelift” whereby many churches are currently the winds of God.” polishing their image. Why do Christians always Narrow Way. Visser recognizes in Voolstra, “the faithful have to go along with the delusions of the day? Sjouke Voolstra spent his youth on a farm in theologian, the critical historian, the free-spirited Christians should stand in opposition regarding the neighbourhood of Akkrum. His father was Frisian and an outstanding Mennonite.” the thinking of their culture and must pay attention an outstanding farmer. His mother, who died in Regarding the fixed course missing in his so as not to succumb to these allures themselves. his youth, sharpened his Mennonite conscience. church, Voolstra says firmly, “a community must The old conservative ascetic tradition must again Voolstra registered as a student of theology at the be permanently engaged with its biblical faithful- be revived. To be Christian contemplates a defined Doopsgezinde Seminary in Amsterdam where ness. The dialogue must develop from this per- form of self-discipline. Take the example of Islam he graduated cum laude with a thesis on the teach- spective. The survival of the church does not with its strict self-discipline and forms of prayer. ing of the incarnation of the 16th century theolo- come from a universal feeling of spirituality as it Christians should also practice such forms.” gian Melchior Hoffman, a theme with which he is now everywhere understood. Service of God graduated 11 years later, with honours. He served has become a luxury item for the individual.” the Doopsezinde congregations of Goes- Sadly, Voolstra noted that a knowledge of the Meddelburg-Vlissingen (1972), Eindhoven scriptures and tradition have gone missing. Ex- (1978) and Amsterdam (1982). actly these elements are so necessary to form a Thereafter Voolstra taught for more than 20 community. The professor has always pursued years in the Doopsgezinde Seminary, at first as this goal in order to arrive at the composition of a lecturer and then, since 1984, as professor. He confession to thereby restore the venerable tradi- taught courses in Christian faith and ethics and in tion of the Doopsgezinde to an honoured stature. the history of the Doopsgezinde. The training all “Originally each group had its own confession. these years was conducted at the University of With the establishment of the Doopsgezinde Amsterdam (shortly it will be moved to the Free brotherhood in 1811, it was decided not to adopt University). any confession so that this would not become the At the beginning of this month [Nov. 2002], cause of disagreement. The confessional tradi- Voolstra took his leave together with lecturers tion was thereby forsaken.” Dr. C. van Duin and Dr. A. G. Hoekema. The trio “However, without a confession, a Christian completed a collection of writings under the title, community cannot amount to anything. The of- Balanceren op de smalle weg (Balancing on the ten empty content of the present discussion must “To be a Christian assumes a definite form of self- narrow way”) (published by the book center). At make room for dialogue regarding the scriptures. discipline,” says professor Dr. S. Voolstra (right), the end of the eighties, Voolstra used the biblical The confession must not be imposed from the who recently took his leave of the Theological expression to characterize the position of the com- top, but must derive out of such a discussion. Seminary in Amsterdam. “Take the example of munity life of the Doopsgezinde in the Nether- Human restraint also becomes relevant and they Islam.” Left, his sucessor, Dr. P. Visser. Photo- Re- lands. By balancing between ecumenicalism and question whether this position [currently held] is form. Dagblat, Nov. 21, 2002, page 19.

56 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Political Priest Helped Aged, Poor “Obituary - Donald Malinowski: Legislature became extension of inner-city parish,” by Aldo Santin, Free Press, June 7, 2003, pages 1-2.

A memorial service will be held this after- He was imprisoned when the Communists took endorsement from federal NDP elder statesman noon for Rev. Donald Malinowski, a north-end over Poland after the Second World War. He was Stanley Knowles. During the nomination speech, MLA for 25 years whose colourful and some- sentenced to death for refusing to swear alle- Malinowski spoke in Polish and warned the times controversial life included involvement as giance to the new regime but managed to escape mostly elderly non-English-speaking party mem- a Polish partisan during the Second World War and fled to Sweden. He emigrated to Canada in bers that anyone who voted for a communist and advocacy for the poor and seniors. 1950 and then entered the Polish National Catholic would spend an eternity in hell, apparently a ref- Malinowski, who died on May 16 at the age Church seminary in Pennsylvania two years later. erence to Penner’s father Jacob, one of the found- of 89, was the first priest to run for the Manitoba Malinowski married Anna Glazer of Toronto ing members of the Canadian Communist Party. Legislature. He ran unsuccessfully for the NDP in 1956. He was ordained in 1957 and was ap- The executive also accused him of paying for in Winnipeg Centre in 1962 and 1966 but finally pointed the parish priest at St. Mary’s in 1959, a memberships and busing in members who no won in 1969 in Point Douglas. post he held for 17 years. He was later pastor at longer lived in the riding. A subsequent investi- Malinowski won four consecutive elections, St. Joseph’s church in Beausejour. gation by the party executive later cleared all the while remaining a parish priest. He an- As an MLA, he advocated for increases in Malinowski of any wrongdoing. nounced his retirement from politics in 1985. the minimum wage and affordable housing for As parish priest in St. Mary’s, he oversaw Former premier Ed Schreyer said he appointed seniors. He opposed Sunday shopping and the the construction of a new church on Burrows Malinowski to be his legislative assistant, add- return of the death penalty. Avenue, and spearheaded the construction of ing the parish priest had tremendous impact in He made headlines in the run-up to the 1981 seven seniors-housing projects in Point Dou- the community. election when he won a closely contested nomi- glas, including the Polish Manor. “He gave us a great deal of encouragement in nation in St. John’s against lawyer Roland Penner, Among his honours for his community work, gearing up to build literally thousands of units of who would later be appointed Attorney General. Malinowski was awarded the Order of Canada, senior-citizens housing and nursing-home care,” The local executive condemned Malinowski’s the Order of St. John of Jerusalem Knights of said Schreyer, who will deliver the eulogy today tactics, which included using a four-year-old Malta and the Polonia Gold Medal. at a service at 1 p.m. at St. Mary’s Polish Na- tional Church, 361 Burrows Ave., - the same church where Malinowski had been the parish priest for 17 years in the 1960s and `70s. When he won the NDP nomination for Carl Bangs 1922-2002 Winnipeg Centre in 1966, he said he hoped to From the University of Chicago Alumni Magazine: “translate the Judeo-Christian ideals into legisla- Carl O. Bangs, native of Mandel, Norway, PhD 1958, a minister and professor, died July 7, 2002, tion.” of a stroke. He was 80. He was married to Marjorie Friesen of Salem, Oregon. Dr. Bangs served He said in an 1983 interview that he decided in Nazarene and Methodist pastorates in Oregon, Missouri, and Illinois. In 1953 he became a to enter politics “to help people not only on Sun- professor of philosophy and religion at Olivet day, but every day of the week.’ Politics, he said, College, where he taught until 1961 and also was a natural extension of his community work. directed the band and founded a brass choir. He “I found in many fields that spiritual help was then joined St. Paul School of Theology as a not enough for people who were short of money historical-theology professor, remaining until or couldn’t find decent shelter.’ 1985....He is best known for his biographies of As a youth, Malinowski fought in the forests Dutch theologian Arminius and American Meth- of the Swietokryskich Mountains with the Pol- odist bishop Phineas Bresee.....In retirement ish partisans against the Nazis from 1943 to 1945. Bangs was a member of the pastoral staff of Old Mission United Methodist Church. Source: Nazarene Archives website - courtesy of Dr. James Urry. Survivors include his wife, Marjorie, and a son. His wife - the Friesen Mennonite connec- tion died two weeks later. Dr. and Mrs. Bangs lived in Kansas City, Missouri. In the 1960s Dr. Bangs spent considerable time researching his wife’s Kleine Gemeinde ancestral roots. She was the granddaughter of Rev. Abraham F. Friesen (1857-1935), first minister of the Steinbach Brüderthaler Church (later the E.M.B.) in 1898 (see Dynasties, pages 445-6). The Nazarene Archives, Kansas City, recently received the Carl O. Bangs Collection, contain- ing over 50 c.f. of papers. Dr. Bang’s attention to detail is evident in his biography of Bresee and lies is at the heart of his current project: a book on the Mennonite Friesens. His wife, Marjorie Friesen Bangs, who speaks Dutch and Priest Donald Malinowski: spiritual help some- German like her husband, has been his constant Dr. Carl and Marjory Friesen Bangs. Photo - times not enough for the poor. Photo Free Press, partner in these projects. Bert Friesen, Winnipeg, Manitoba. June 7, 2003, page 1.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 57 Rhineland M.L.A. J. M. Froese Dies Jacob M. Froese, a Reinfeld farmer, commu- grow as some of our uncles’ farms grew. But did why: “Electors voted me in to represent them.” nity leader and long-time member of the Manitoba we leave a positive Christian example? When Froese obituary stated, “It was his faith that Legislative Assembly, died on June 14 at his Conservative MLA Arnold Brown stopped farm- sustained him and caused him to respond....to Winkler home at the age of 85. ing he rented his land out, and do you know constant demands and requests for assistance A member of the Old Colony Mennonite whom he rented it to? It was to Dad and his sons; from people in all areas. He lived out his lifelong Church, Froese represented the constituency of we are still farming this land to this day. We three motto `to serve and to be of service without ex- Rhineland in the Legislature from 1959 to 1973. brothers are farming together and have always pecting or receiving anything in return.’” His faith Jacob M. Froese was the son of Old Colony farmed together.” was an integral part of who he was and what he Bishop Jakob Froese. In a recent Winnipeg Free Press interview, did. He stood up for what he believed and did not Froese was first elected as a Social Credit Edward Schreyer, former New Democratic Party apologize for it. member for Rhineland at the age of 41 in a bye- premier and Governor General of Canada, re- Funeral services were held in the Winkler election, following the death of veteran Rhineland membered Froese warmly. The two sat next to Mennonite June 19, with burial MLA W. C. Miller, on Nov. 26, 1959. Froese each other on the same side of the Legislature, in the Reinfeld Cemetery. was re-elected in the Manitoba general elections recalled Schreyer, noting that Froese had a cau- He is survived by his wife Mary (Peters), of 1962, 1966, and 1969, and worked till a 1973 seven daughters, three sons and their families. loss. Written by Elmer Heinrichs, PO Box 1106, He served with distinction during the tenures Altona, Manitoba, R0G 0B0. Assignment writer. of Premiers Doug Campbell, Duff Roblin, Walter A shorter version of this article was published in Weir and Edward Schreyer. the Canadian Mennonite, July 14, 2003, page 4. He was the sole Social Credit Party member, A biography of Jakob M. Froese’s father, Ältester but this didn’t stop him from influencing votes Jacob J. Froese (1885-1968), Reinland, and decisions with his relentless research and Manitoba, was published in Preservings, No. principled stands. Some considered him the con- 16, pages 41-43. science of the Legislature. Froese served nationally and internationally Battle of the Foot-in-mouths in the Credit Union League from 1950-73, and The U. S. State Department raged last week was president of the Winkler Credit Union for a that Pat Robertson had suggested nuking its time. He spent countless hours serving as a di- HQ. Did he, or didn’t he?..... rector on MCC Canada, Eden Mental Health On Liberia’s Charles Taylor (who later fled Centre and on the boards of Winkler’s Salem the country with millions of dollars): “So Personal Care Home, and Bethel Hospital, and we’re undermining a Christian Baptist Presi- as a director of Radio Southern Manitoba. He dent to bring in Muslim rebels to take over organized and chaired the Property Owners As- the country?” sociation of Stanley Municipality for many years. On his prayer offensive to get rid of liberal Education was a high priority for Mr. Froese Supreme Court justices: “One justice is 83 serving as chairman of the local Calder and years old, another has cancer and another has Reinfeld school districts, for two years, as secre- a heart condition. Is it not possible for God to tary from 1944 to 1958, and on the Manitoba put it into the minds of these three judges that School Trustees’ Association, for 15 years as the time has come to retire?” vice-chairman. Jakob M. Froese - Photo by Harry Siemens/Cdn. And about that State Department: “When Froese supported both public and private edu- Men., July 14, 2003, page 4 (see also Pres., No. you get through [a recent book on U.S. diplo- cation. As vice-chair of the Manitoba Mennonite 16, page 41). macy], you say, “If I could just get a nuclear School Association, with children at Mennonite device inside Foggy Bottom, I think that’s Collegiate Institute, he was instrumental in get- cus of one, and I had a caucus of five, Schreyer the answer...... ” ting provincial funding for private schools. He said. Froese was an atypical politician, soft-spo- From Time, Oct. 20, was also vice-chair of the Manitoba School Trust- ken and concerned primarily with agriculture and 2003, page 63. ees Association for 15 years, where he worked issues affecting his and other rural ridings. successfully to get improved pensions for teach- Schreyer and his wife recently attended ers. Froese’s 60th wedding anniversary party. “I think Froese also campaigned for public support our showing up pleasantly surprised him,” he Pat Robertson, leader of against the adoption of unitary divisions. His said. the Religious right in position on unitary divisions was based on his Froese made headlines in 1961 when he America. opposition to the loss of local control it would pitched a tent in the main rotunda of the legisla- entail; the centralization of administration in an ture after being denied an office as a lone Social undesirable manner and the delegation of power Credit MLA. Manitoba Lieutenant-Governor to the appointed finance board, so says Peter Liba, was then a Winnipeg Tribune legisla- Notice to Subscribers. Rhineland’s 1984 history by Gerhard Ens, Volost tive reporter, and said the story he wrote helped The annual FMHS subscription fee for & Municipality (Altona, 1984), pages 227-9. get Froese an office. Preservings is $20.00. This does not As a grain and special crops farmer, he served ‘He was always a gentleman and he was al- cover our direct printing and publish- as president of the Winkler Cannery, a founding ways courteous. He did his homework for his ing costs and therefore donations and director of the Flax Growers of Western Canada, constituents,” said Liba in a Free Press inter- contributions are welcome. Please send a director of Palliser Wheat Growers Associa- view. in the $20.00 annual subscription fee tion, the U.S. International Wheat Growers As- Schreyer confirmed that at one point Froese on an annual basis using the blue insert sociation, and the US Durum Growers. turned down the NDP government offer to be form. If you do not wish to receive In a family interview, son Jack says, “Dad Speaker of the House. Earlier this year, in an made some sacrifices in that our farm did not interview for a history class, Froese explained Preservings please let us know.

58 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 A New Bethania in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine “Mennonite Family Centre of Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine: The Mennonite Benevolent Society in Manitoba Embraces the Challenge,” by Louie Sawatzky, Beacon of Hope, Number One, Issue One, pages 1-4.

Many Canadian Mennonites can trace their rounding areas. Currently approximately 15 roots to what is now called Zaporizhzhya in seniors are receiving daily or weekly visits by the Ukraine. The Bethania Mennonite Personal the caregivers. Every attempt is made to work Care Home of Winnipeg also has a cultural with the families in helping them care for their and historical tie to that area in that our prede- own. cessor, known as the Bethania Mental Hospi- Anne Goertzen, a Bethania employee in tal, was founded close to the River in Winnipeg, provides leadership to the program. the Chortitza Colony of Southern Russia in Her work is augmented by the efforts of locally 1911. Many readers of this paper have read trained Ukrainians and volunteers who consti- articles about various projects now taking place tute the “staff” for the program. in this area; projects led by people of vision The home care program is currently being who trace their ancestry to the steppes of Rus- expanded by adding several small apartments sia. where respite care will be offered for those who In the mid-1990s, Mennonite tourists from need a place to go for a period of time, either to Canada were attracted to Heritage Cruises and recuperate or to build up strength until they can tours of the world-famous Dnieper River, mak- return to the current care provider. This addition Louie and Nancy Sawatzky, Winnipeg. Louie ing stopovers in Zaporizhzhya, the first and old- to the home care program was ready to take the Sawatzky has been appointed project manager of est Mennonite settlement in Russia, dating back first guests in October of this year. This is an the new building project for a seniors’ care home as far as the 1780s. Participants returned home exciting program expansion. in Zaporizhzhya. Louie and Nancy both grew up burdened by the poverty, poor health and lack A home care training program was begun in in Southern Manitoba. Photo - Beacon of Hope, of any services for the frail elderly. Their stories 2002 and more recently a palliative care training Vol. 1, Issue 1, page 4. filtered to the Board of the Bethania Mennonite module has been started. This training program Personal Care Home, who in 1997, in partner- has ballooned, with courses given not only to for Ukraine lights the way for many of us to ship with our founders, the Mennonite Benevo- workers within our program, but to family mem- return to our roots with extended hands, reach- lent Society (Manitoba), dispatched a delega- bers, persons working within the medical sys- ing the hearts of the people of Zaporizhzhya. tion of three on a fact-finding mission. Upon tem of the City, and to persons in surrounding This dream can only become a reality when we their return, they confirmed the existence of areas. We are astounded by the demand for this assemble as a community (of Mennonite and pervasive and dire need and that MBS could course, and the changes that take place for those other Ukrainian descent) to join in the effort. reasonably play a role to mitigate the hardships taking the course, and those receiving the care While it is clear that there are many risks in- for at least some of the people residing in the from the graduates. herent in undertaking such a project, we are area. A modest equipment pool with basic orthotic inspired by the words of Paul Toews, Russian Partnering with the Zaporizhzhya Menno- supports to enhance independence in activities Mennonite historian: nite Church, a very basic home care service was of daily living has also been put in place. “There are opportunities that come to a established in the spring of 2001. The Church The vision for this comprehensive program people because of their history. It would be a serves as a referral point to identify the most includes a facility from where ongoing care can great irony if the greatest Mennonite contribu- vulnerable elderly within the Church and sur- be provided for those whose needs cannot be tion (in Ukraine) were yet to come.” For more managed within the present environment. Such information or to join in this exciting project, a facility will be fully accessible for persons please write to: with disabilities. We are grateful to the City of Zaporizhzhya Louie Sawatzky, for their donation of a 10-storey building shell, 158 Orchard Hill Dr., which when retrofitted, will be suitable to Winnipeg, Manitoba, house this program for years to come. It will Canada, R3X 1K4. serve as a visible “Beacon of Hope” for the at- Phone (204) 253-3631. risk elderly who are the prime focus for the E-Mail: [email protected] initial phase of this program. It will also double up as the church home for the Mennonite con- From Beacon of Hope (Volume 1, Issue 1, gregation in Zaporizhzhya. The MBS vision Summer 2002).

The City of Zaporizhzhya donated this 10-story building shell which when refitted and equipped will house the Mennonite Benevolent Society pro- The main building of the orginal Bethania Mental Hospital built in 1911 on the village site of Alt- gram for years to come. Photo - Rudy P. Friesen/ Kronsweide, just north of Einlage along the Dnieper River. The facility accomodated 76 patients. Photo Beacon of Hope, Vol. 1, Issue 1, page 3. G. Lohrenz, Damit es nich vergession werde, page 129/Diese Steine, page 147.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 59 Ukraine - Mennonites Show Mercy to Neighbours “Mennonite women in Ukraine show mercy to neighbours,” by Maria Linder-Hess, Mennonite Central Committee, Winnipeg.

Kutuzovka, Ukraine. a Bible college. That one about prayer is my favourite.” To help meet needs in their community, Each Tuesday the mercy group goes to Dolina and Kutuzovka are located in an women from Kutuzovka Mennonite Church Dolina Home for the Elderly to chat, sing and area of southeastern Ukraine once called have organized a “mercy group.” The 10- pray with residents there. Molochna Colony. Mennonite immigrants member group volunteers time each week to Olga Lartina, 80, who lives at the home, from Prussia founded the colony and its doz- visit local people who are elderly, sick or says she always looks forward to their visits. ens of villages at the start of the 19th century bedridden.The mercy group is a “place where “We sing a song - `In prayer I receive joy.’ and lived there until World War II (see Pres., faith in Christ can be put into action,” accord- No. 22, page 77). It was the largest Menno- ing to participant Lyuba Chernyetz, who also nite colony in the . During says volunteering has helped her realize the that time, Dolina village was called Schönau joys of serving. “I never knew I could be and Kutuzovka was called Petershagen. fulfilled by helping other people,” she says. The Kutuzovka Mennonite church was Chernyetz, 46, joined the church in 2000. first built in 1892 but was later closed by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Soviet authorities and used for grain storage. worker Rebecca Spurrier helped the mercy Church work began here again in 1998, and group form last year. Now the women meet the building was restored in 1999 (see Pres., biweekly to discuss their activities. They keep No. 16, page 50). a running list of community members who Rebecca Spurrier, of Dillsburg, Pa., is could benefit from a cheerful visit or helping working with school, church and other com- hand, and they make sure each person on the munity efforts in the area. Linder-Hess is a list gets regular visits. writer with MCC Communications. Recently the group began visiting patients Lyuba Chernyetz, right, brings homemade cherry in a psychiatric hospital in nearby biscuits to 9-year-old Oleg. Chernyetz is part of Rebecca Spurrier is a member of Grantham . On an afternoon in June, the women’s mercy group of Kutuzovka Menno- (Pa.) Brethren in Christ church. Chernyetz dropped in on 9-year-old Oleg, the nite Church in southeastern Ukraine. (Photo by From Mennonite Weekly Review, August grandson of a woman she used to visit. Oleg Matt Lester). Photo -MCC News Service. 4, 2003, pages 1-2. had lived with his grandmother until last win- ter, when she died from an illness. Following her death Oleg was sent to a children’s home, but recently his father returned to the area and Fresno Prof. gets Fulbright for Ukraine the two now live together. Chernyetz invited Fresno, Calif. - A Fulbright Scholarship In one and sometimes two trips a year since Oleg to a church-run summer day camp. will allow a Fresno Pacific University fac- 1996, Toews has searched archives through- She then visited a middle-aged woman ulty member to teach American history while out the Ukraine, working to identify and se- named Lida who has been partially paralysed researching Mennonite history. cure reproduction rights to millions of pages for four years and can rarely leave her third- Paul Toews, history faculty and director of documents for a consortium of five archives floor apartment. of the Center for Mennonite Brethren Stud- in Kansas, Winnipeg and British Columbia. Like the other mercy group members, ies, will be in Ukraine from September What he and other Mennonite scholars are Chernyetz does not own a car. She most often through June on a Fulbright lecture-research doing “will ultimately reshape the Menno- walks or hitchhikes in order to visit people’s award. nite story,” Toews said. His work has also homes. She lives on a small farm in the vil- He will teach U.S. history at Zaporizhshia lage of Dolina but hopes to someday study at State University and visit archives through- out the former Soviet Republic in search of documents relating to Mennonite history. The Fulbright program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. For 57 years it has sent Americans to study, teach and do research abroad and brought international scholars to the United States. Toews’ research will focus on finding Paul Toews. Photo documents relating to Russian Mennonites, - Men. in Ameri- whose story has been forgotten by the ar- can Society, page chivists who store the records. 441. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Mennonites came to Russia at the request of sparked the interest of Ukrainians. “This Czar Catherine II to farm the Ukraine. They was part of their history, as well,” he said. At the MCC-supported Dolina Home for the Eld- were persecuted under Soviet rule in the 20th Also while in Ukraine, Toews will lead erly in southeastern Ukraine, MCC worker Rebecca century, and most eventually left the coun- his 10th Mennonite Heritage Cruise. More Spurrier visits resident Nadyezhda Serdyuk. Clutch- try. Classed by the Soviets as “national mi- than 1,500 North American Mennonites have ing Spurrier’s hand, Serdyuk says she is sad be- norities” along with Jews, Tartars, religious taken these cruises, visiting sites and con- cause her sight and energy are failing. “When dissenters and other groups, they were necting with their history. we’re with God,” Spurrier replies, “you’ll see ev- treated officially as though they never ex- From Mennonite Weekly Review, August erything. And we’ll sing and dance.” (Photo by isted. 4, 2003. Matt Lester). Photo - MCC News Service.

60 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 The GRANDMA Genealogical Database The GRANDMA Genealogical Database, by Dr. Tim Janzen, Portland, Oregon. Mennonites have a long tradition of being variant spellings of the surname Klassen have entered into the database. The data from many interested in family history and genealogical re- been given the surname code “036” and the given published Mennonite genealogies can be found in search. With the advent of modern computer tech- name Kornelius and its variant spellings have the database, as well as information taken from nology it has become feasible to organize and been given the given name code “co”. The sur- many other sources. The ship passenger list infor- integrate all of this information into databases name code and the given name code are com- mation for all the Mennonites who immigrated to using genealogy programs. Alan Peters in Fresno, bined to create a “Name Code” such as “036co”. the United States has also been integrated into the California, was probably the first Mennonite ge- GRANDMA database. There are plans to do the nealogist to enter substantial amounts of genea- same for the Mennonites who immigrated to logical data into a database. As an outgrowth of Canada. Alan Peters’ work and the efforts of an active Probably the most significant weakness to the core of genealogists in the Fresno area, the Cali- GRANDMA database is the fact that much of the fornia Mennonite Historical Society launched a genealogical data in the database is not linked to cooperative worldwide project in 1991 called the any specific source. The reason for this is the fact GRANDMA Project. The goal of this project that many of the people who have submitted has been to create a unified database containing gedcom files to be included in the GRANDMA as much genealogical information as possible database have not taken the time to appropriately about the ancestors and the descendents of Men- attach sources to each event. However, a researcher nonites of Low German background (i.e. those can usually determine who contributed a particu- who trace their ancestry back to The Netherlands, lar piece of information by reviewing the various West Prussia, and/or Russia). compilation files, which contain all of the original The first version of the combined genealogical gedcom files in an unmerged state before they database, known as GRANDMA, was created in were integrated into the GRANDMA database. 1996 after merging the gedcom files contributed Even though there is much data that is not linked by 12 genealogists all together to create one uni- to a source, there is also quite a bit of data that is The Grandma 4 CD. A valuable research tool fied database and containing 135,482 people. This especially for those without easy access to a Men- linked to one or more sources. There are currently database was released on CD-ROM and was nonite archives. over 10,000 separate sources cited in the known as GRANDMA 1. Through the contribu- GRANDMA database and efforts are ongoing to tions of hundreds of other genealogists the When a Name Code such as “036co” is used in increase the amount of genealogical data that is GRANDMA database has grown significantly the search screen preceded by a backslash in ei- linked to specific sources. Because there is always since 1996. The second version of the database, ther version of the Brother’s Keeper program a the possibility that an individual bit of data found GRANDMA 2, was released in 1997 and con- complete list of all people having the name in the GRANDMA database is erroneous, it is tained 267,864 names. GRANDMA 3 was re- Kornelius Klassen and all of its variant spellings best to confirm the information found in the leased in May 2000 and contained 401,268 names. will be brought up, sorted by their birth date. GRANDMA database from primary source ma- The most recent version of the database, Also included on the GRANDMA CDs are terial if at all possible. GRANDMA 4, was released in December 2002 additional materials of interest to Mennonite gene- The GRANDMA database has become an ex- and contains 672,293 individuals from 205,463 alogists besides the GRANDMA database. The cellent source for genealogical information for families. GRANDMA 1 CD includes scanned images of Mennonites of Low German background. For The genealogical data on the GRANDMA 4 genealogical records from the Rosenort Menno- genealogists just beginning to research their an- CD are formatted for three different genealogy nite Church of West Prussia. The GRANDMA 2 cestral lines this should probably be one of the programs: Brothers Keeper 5, Brothers Keeper 6, CD includes scanned images of the pages from first sources they consult in their quest to under- and Legacy 4. Users of the Grandma database the genealogical portion of Benjamin H. Unruh’s stand their “roots”. The California Mennonite His- need to become familiar with at least one of these very important book Die niederlaendisch- torical Society is seeking additional genealogical programs if they want to access the data on the niederdeutschen Hintergruende der material to add to the GRANDMA database and CD. Brother’s Keeper 5 is an older, simpler ver- mennonitischen Ostwanderungen im 16., 18. und is also interested in correcting any errors that re- sion of the Brother’s Keeper program. Brother’s 19. Jahrhundert. The GRANDMA 3 CD includes searchers discover in the database. Keeper 6 is the latest version of the program and scanned images of genealogical records from the The GRANDMA 4 CD may be ordered from has been completely redesigned. It would be ad- Tragheimerweide and Orlofferfelde Mennonite Kevin Enns-Rempel - phone (559) 453-2225; E- visable for genealogists using the GRANDMA 4 Churches and the GRANDMA 4 CD includes mail: [email protected]; or write the Center database to learn how to use the Brother’s Keeper scanned images of genealogical records from the for M. B. Studies, 1717 Chestnut, Fresno, 6 program. Tiegenhagen Mennonite Church. Californai, USA, 93702-4709. Also see the website Accompanying the GRANDMA 4 CD is a One of the most exciting aspects of the at http://www.fresno.edu/affiliation/cmhs/gpc/ 94-page manual that users will want to keep on GRANDMA Project has been the development home.htm. Basic cost $30 U.S. or $45-$50 Cdn. hand for reference. The manual explains many of an on-line version of the GRANDMA data- things about the database and about the other base during the past two years. Ken Ratzlaff in materials found on the CD. Among the most im- Topeka, Kansas, developed the software for the portant things the manual explains is the use of on-line version of GRANDMA and others such the “Name Code” system that Alan Peters and as Jay Hubert provided significant input as well. Jeff Wall developed in the early 1990s and which The on-line version may be found at http:// is still being refined as necessary. Because many www.grandmaonline.org and contains the most Mennonite given names and surnames are spelled recent version of the database. Access to the on- Alan Peters, in many different ways, a system was devised in line version is by subscription only. founder of the which all of the major Low German Mennonite Among the strengths of the GRANDMA da- Grandma project. surnames were assigned a number between 1 tabase are its large size and the fact that many of Photo - Men. His- and 301. Similarly, all the common given names the early Mennonite church records from the torian, Dec. 1998, were assigned a two-letter code. For example, all 1700s, 1800s, and early 1900s have already been page 3.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 61 In Memorium - Historian Horst Penner (1910-2002) “In Memorium - Historian Horst Penner (1910-2002), Kircheimboladen, Germany, author of Der Weltweite Bruderschaft,” by Dr. Horst Gerlach, D-67295, Weierhof, Post Bolanden, Germany. Dr. Horst Penner was born on January In 1973 a Russian-German seminary stu- 27, 1910, in Neuteich, West Prussia....His dent from the Baptist Seminary in Hamburg father carried on the business of iron dealer smuggled the book to Russia. Here it was and merchant....Horst Penner received his eagerly transcribed by hand, embellished baptismal instruction and baptism in 1926 with pictures and passed around. In this in the Mennonite Gemeinde at Ladekopp, manner the Gemeinden living in exile again Großes Werder [Vistula Delta]. The instruc- found new access to their roots. The Ältesten tion was held according to the Elbinger Heinrich and Gerhard Wölk, currently liv- Catechism of Ältester Gerhard Wiebe ing in Frankenthal, who came to the Pfalz in (1725-96). From his earliest youth Penner 1978, related that they had taken part in such was a book worm. On one occasion his a transcription. It is told about the “Penner thrifty grandfather Peter Wiebe book” that when it appeared in , (Laddekopp) warned him against the ac- there immediately was a circle of readers quisition of more new school books and among the youth. The book was read in turns asked, “Kannst dat denn schon alles, wat and discussed. The partakers thereby re- en de ole Böker stet?” ceived a look into the Mennonite world and Horst Penner studied history, geogra- realized they were members of a world-wide phy and German philology in Tübingen, family. People felt bonded and related in the Innsbruck and Königsberg. His advisor for faith with the fathers of the faith, with the his doctoral thesis was Professor Friedrich courageous Anabaptist martyrs, and the Baetgen, later President of the “Monumenta “Quiet in the land” of all time periods. Germaniae Historica”. Baetgen said to him, In 1978 the first volume of the Geschichte “You are a Mennonite and I am assigning der Ost- und Westpreußischen Mennoniten to you the topic, the settlement of the Men- appeared, published by the Mennonitische nonite Hollanders [Niederländern] in the Geschichtsvereins (Mennonite Historical Vistula Delta.” This became the topic that Society). In this book the roots of all sur- he could never forsake throughout the rest names of this community were traced ac- of his life. His first teaching position was cording to their heritage. Hardly a week in Zoppot near Danzig. He went to Berlin would pass in the Mennonitische to further his proficiency in sports.....Here Forschungsstelle [Mennonite Research he met Clara Schrade....[They] were mar- Centre, Weierhof] that researchers would ried in 1939 and from this marriage were not reach for this book in order to research born three sons and one daughter. their own roots. The book covered the time Then came the war which he experi- prior to 1772. Later it was joined by a an- enced in the naval flak service. While sta- other volume, which dealt with the time af- tioned in Gronigen and Sappemeer with a ter 1772. The second edition of the first radar unit, he used his free time to research Weltweite Bruderschaft: Eine Mennonitische Geschichte, 5th volume was soon sold out. At present it is the Niederländische [Netherlandic] back- edition, 542 pages. A standard German-language work on the in the process of being reprinted and a re- ground of the Mennonite eastward emi- history of the Mennonites. To order write Horst Gerlach. print of the second volume is also being gration. Later he was with Rommel’s Afrika prepared. Corps and was seriously wounded during a Gymnasium (high school) and wrote a letter to In addition, Penner wrote some 50 articles bombing attack in the Tunisian harbour of Sidi- Richard Hertzler, Weierhof/Pfalz. He answered, which were published in the Westpreußen- Ab-Dalah and again later in Italy in an accident “Report at once to the Nordpfalz Gymnasium in Jahrbuch, the Mennonitische Jahrbuch and the involving a transport truck. Kircheimbolanden.” He received the position as Mennonitischen Geschichtesblättern.....A num- When the was approaching the assistant master and from 1959 to 1967 served ber of years ago Penner wrote a novel Der Vistula Delta in 1945, Horst Penner was taken as school principal. Under this responsibility also Viegenhof an der Weichsel. In 1994 the family from his birthplace with a military medical train came the reconstruction of the Gymnasium. paper, Der Bote published this manuscript con- just in the nick of time.... His next post was as During his spare time, Penner occupied him- sisting of some 90 type-written pages as the liter- public school teacher in Obristfeld near self with further research into Mennonite his- ary crowning masterpiece of a life of research. Coburg.....Penner always wanted to return to the tory. In 1955 he published Der Weltweite The President of the German Federal Republic Bruderschaft: Ein Mennonitisches decorated Penner with the Federal Service Cross Geschichtsbuch. The book went through many for his honourable contributions and the City printings which were always expanded and be- Mayor Dr. Lothar Sieß made him an honourary came the standard work of Mennonite history citizen of the City of Kirchheimbolanden. Horst and was read in schools and Gemeinden in Rus- Penner was also always a welcome guest at the sia, Mexico and Paraguay and was also eagerly meetings of the Landsmannschaft Westpreußen. used by many outsiders. The resettlement worker Gary Waltner, director of the (“Umseidlerbetreuer”) Hans von Niessen, Forschungsstelle, commemorated the service of Rengsdorf near Neuwied, remembered that he the deceased on behalf of the Mennonite Histori- used the book in the 10th grade in the cal Society [of Germany] and Dr. Horst Gerlach Zentralschule (high school) in his time in the for the Landsmanschaft Westpreußen. Dr. Horst Penner. in Paraguay. “It was best work Translated and reprinted from the Photo - Horst available at the time in the German-speaking Mennonitische Geschichtsblätter, 2002, pages Gerlach. market.” 216-218.

62 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 “Frind” - A Publication for the Language ‘“Frind’ - A Publication for the Language: first even Magazine published by the Plautdietsch-Freunde (Plautdietsche-friends) for a language previously passed on orally,” from Lippische Landes-Zeitung. Oerlinghausen (kk). Peter Wiens never expected over many centuries as no written tradition se- Russian-Germans as interested customers; now these developments. Two years ago [2000], the - cures its continuing existence. This is a develop- he must also increase the number of paying sub- at that time - 31 year-old founded the Plautdietsch- ment which always more Plautdietsch speakers scriptions. Gruppe (Society) in Oerlinghausen (see Pres., are seeking to work against. “Even Plautdietsch speakers have their diffi- No. 20, page 73). A short time later this was Only a few years ago, the Canadian Jack culties with the written form,” declares Wiens. followed by Internet access, conferences and read- Thiessen published a Plautdietsch dictionary. Like Those who until now have only spoken the lan- ings in the Low German language. Latest project: his fellow citizen, Reuben Epp, Thiessen wrote guage but never read, and certainly have not writ- the magazine “Plautdietsch-Frind”. This publi- stories which can also be found in the first issue ten, must first make themselves familiar with the cation is the first time that a print medium for the of the “Plautdietsch-Frind”. written version. “But that,” Peter Wiens is con- international Plautdietsch community is available Peter Wiens publishes the magazine for the vinced, “is purely practice.”... on the market. society and also functions as the editor-in-chief. From Lippische Landes Zeitung/Der Bote, In the meantime Plautdietsch is being spoken In terms of contents and graphics design the April 24, 2002, page 37. on all continents. To some degree it consists of magazine is very attractive and offers articles for entire village communities that have retained their reading, recipes and information regarding Endnote: See “Krahn Letters,” in Pres., No. handed-down language. For the most part, those Plautdietsch activities or media. Frind is pub- 15, pages 11-14. Because Plautdietsch was dis- mastering the dialect are Mennonites. Many of lished every three months [Issue No. 10 will paraged by many of the so-called intelligentsia them came to Germany in the 1970s and thereby come out at Christmas, 2003]. (e.g. P. M. Friesen) among the Russian Menno- the Plautdietsch is also strongly represented in The production costs of 1000 copies was nites in the later part of the 19th century, and the the southern city of Oerlinghausen. 3,000 Mark (approximately 2000 U.S.) which strong move to Germanization, much of the Peter Wiens himself was born in Siberia and are firstly distributed to members of the society Plautdietsch letters and sermons traditionally came to Germany in 1975. At that time, as he and to subscribers. With the first issue, Peter written among the common folk have presum- remembers, his mother-tongue was Plautdietsch. Wiens has been able to win rich numbers of the ably gone lost. He learned Russian and German as foreign lan- guages. In the meantime the Plautdietsch-Freunde “Plautdietsch Freunde e.V. (Plautdietsche Friends Inc.): Society for the documentation, E.V. (Plautdietsch Society Inc.) have spun a web promotion and nurture of the ,” by Editor Peter Wiens, which binds together Plautdietsch speakers in Oerlinghausen, Germany. the entire world. An objective of the society, says the 33 year-old Wiens, is not only to cultivate the Well-known Plautdietsche authors such as Zaporozhe, Ukraine, the former heartland of language but to also bring forward the written Arnold Dyck or Dr. Jack Thiessen from Canada the Russian Mennonites]. The periodical, word. describe Plautdietsch, the circa 450 year-old “Plautdietsch FRIND” is intended not only to The Plautdietsch language involves mainly dialect of the Russian Mennonites, as their “vir- report about the activities and projects of the an oral, spoken tradition of which there are hardly tual Homeland,” (see Pres., No. 15, pages 131- society, but to also be a public forum, namely, a any written documents (Endnote). This results 136). The number of speakers of Plautdietsch communications vehicle for Plautdietsch in in a danger of losing certain characteristics and in Germany has increased dramatically during Germany and world-wide. developments of the language which have evolved the last decades through the arrival of more Added to the long list of objectives also be- Aussiedler from the former Soviet Union. Un- long the promotion and support of literary pro- til now there has - unfortunately - not been an ductions, of translations, and of socio-cultural organization or lobby group on behalf of as well as linguistic research. Also highly de- Plautdietsch. Something is now supposed to sirable are contributions for the development change in this regard. of a Plautdietsch grammar, as well as the pub- The organizational meeting of the Society of lication of dictionaries and reading books for “Plautdietsch Freunde” took place in the Plautdietsche. Oerlinghausen. Twelve people from the region At present the society is still in its infant stages. of Ostwestfalen-Lippe took part. The charter With the entry into the Register of [non-profit] members are between 20 and 40 years old; the Societies and the recognition of the values of majority are Germans - more specifically Men- the society by the Finance Ministry, the first nonite Germans from Russia - from the former steps have already been taken. In the meantime Soviet Union who have immigrated to Ger- lecture conferences have been held, and study many and who to a great extent speak trips undertaken, Plautdietsche courses have Plautdietsch as their mother tongue. Founder been offered, and much more. Information re- and chair of the society is Peter Wiens from garding actual conferences, projects, support Oerlinghausen. work, promotions, memberships, etc., can be The gathering and presentation of Plautdietsch obtained at all times from the address below - material belongs among the first priorities of the society gladly provides information! the society’s goals - above all, also on the Internet. But also the organization and holding Address: of public meetings in and about Plautdietsch Plautdietsch Freunde e. V. stand in the middle priorities for the Society: Robert-Hanning Str. 14, for example, conferences, readings, film-nights, D-33813 Oerlinghausen concerts, public high school courses, etc. Study Germany. The cover of Utgow Nr. 9 of Frind, the magazine trips to Plautdietsch-relevant locations also be- www:plautdietsche-freunde.de for the Plautdietsch people around the world. This long among these goals [In the summer of 2003 Tel: 05202-9939450 issue featured Canadian best-selling author, Rudy the Society organized a tour of the Mennonite Fax: 05202-158654 Wiebe, Calgary (see Pres., No. 22, pages 136-7). settlement in Paraguay and in 2002 a tour to E-mail: [email protected]

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 63 Kelowna Historian Loses Home to Fire Canadian by Reuben Epp, October 2003. In 1995, when Harry Loewen retired from the University of Winnipeg, he and his wife Ambassador Visits Gertrude moved to Kelowna, British Columbia. At that time Harry had been Chairman of Mennonite Studies at the University of Winnipeg since 1978, and founding Editor of the Menno Colony, Journal of Mennonite Studies since 1983. In anticipation of retirement in Kelowna, Harry and Gertrude had built a house on the Paraguay outskirts of Kelowna completed in 1990. As time passed, Harry and Gertrude realized that On May 22, the Canadian Ambassador, they needed more space than they had in their single-storey home. A lot up the street and Mr. Thomas McDonald together with vari- near at hand became available. So, they bought the lot and set about building their new ous of his colleagues from the Canadian dream house. Consulate in Buenes Aires visited the They moved into this house in the year 2000. Gertrude again set about converting a stony Menno Colony. The Canadian Ambassa- gravel lot into a beautiful garden, which shortly thereafter received honourable mention in dor in Buenes Aries is simultaneously also local news for its beauty and conservation of water. st responsible for the countries of Argentina, In late evening of the 21 of August, Harry and Gertrude and their neighbours were Uruguay and Paraguay. The entourage of suddenly and unexpectedly notified to vacate their premises within 20 minutes to escape the Ambassador included the following approaching fire. They gathered their most valuable and irreplaceable possessions into persons: Ms. Francine Beland, Consul, their car, leaving behind most everything else, including Harry’s library of 2,000 or more Ms. Beatriz Barbaglia from the Citizen- volumes of historical and literary works and 1,000 books belonging to son Jeff. As it ship Department, Ms. Juana Leschziner, turned out, they might have rescued more, had they known that their home would not be Immigration Department and Alvin Fehr, destroyed that night. However, once vacated, they were not permitted to return for further nd Assistant Consul in Asuncion. salvage. Their house and those of 45 neighbours went up in flames on the 22 of August. The purpose of this trip was generally to Of the Loewen home and contents, nothing remained but memories and ashes. inform himself regarding the Menno Colony, whose residents are of Canadian origins and also almost half still are Cana- dian citizens. The greetings took place in the offices of the Oberschulzen [District Mayor]. Here a projector was used to inform them with general statistical information regarding the demographics, production, and social cat- egories. Thereafter the entourage, escorted by the appropriate management personal toured the most significant institutions of the colony such as the Museum, super- market, pasteurization plant, senior’s home, slaughter house, etc. For the evening the destination was La- guna Capitan, where they also had the op- portunity to see a part of our purebred Rio Verde Colony, East Paraguay breeding program. The evening meal was served here and appropriately appreciative The Rio Verde Colony (“green river”), located crops. They often harvest two crops a year and remarks were exchanged on both sides af- 350 km. northeast of Asuncion, was founded in also sell milk. Based on their yards, Wirtschaften firming the value of the visit. The Ambas- 1969 by Old Colonists from Mexico with 65,000 and appurtenances, many have gathered a consid- sador and his entourage demonstrated acres of land. The colony has 20 schools, a num- erable capital. There are currently approximately great interest regarding the state and de- ber of worship houses (but only one Gemeinde). 3000 residents. Automobiles are driven by some velopment of the The farmers raise soybeans, wheat, corn and other although not officially scantioned by the Ordnung. of Canadian heritage. In order to be a good example, the Vorstehers By Andreas Sawatzky, in Menno continue to drive with their horse and buggy. Informiert, May 2003, page 7. From Menno informiert, Oct. 2003, pages 4-5.

Visitor List - Menno Colony. List of visitors to the Menno Colony (tourists) in April, 2003: Canada - 60; Brazil - 1; Italy - 2; Asuncion - 13; Germany - 61; Moseldorf - 2; Colony Menno - 1; U.S.A. - 47; Holland - 2; Switzerland - 5; San Lorenzo - 40; England - 1; Bolivia - 1. Total - 236. Submitted by Abram W. Wiebe. From Menno Informiert, May 2003, page 20. Photo caption (right): The ex-Oberschulze of Menno colony, Jacob N. Giesbrecht (see Pres., No. Rio Verde Vorsteher Abram Friesen, brought a 18, page 95), shows the Canadian Ambassador, short report regarding the Colony for visitors Mr. McDonald (left), the Museum of Industry in from Menno Colony. Photo Menno informiert, Loma Plata, Paraguay. Photo - Menno Informiert, page 4. May 2003, page 7.

64 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 News from the Gemeinden News of interest to Old Colony, Sommerfelder, Kleine Gemeinde and Reinländer Mennonites in North and South America. Satan is working zealously to slander and denigrate the traditionalist and conservative Mennonites, steadfast descendants of the Flemish Anabaptist martyrs, valiantly faithful to the tradition of following Jesus. All Gemeinden and denominations have their calling from God and have made important contributions to the Kingdom of Christ and to the Mennonite community deserving of acknowledgment and celebration.

Ex-governor visits. by 40), is making headways. The work is pro- Temporal Colony. This week he brought along A string of important personal from the gressing on finishing the inside. The business a load of over 12 tons of bananas (but from PAN party came to km. 12 on May 31, where (cooperative) has supplies of almost all items Oaxaxa), and took potatoes and equipment, they met with the Mennonite citizens. At the which the neighbours might need in the homes etc. back to Campeche. The bananas sold head table were found the former Governor of and on their farms. Jakob Banman Hiebert is quickly on the streets. Wall makes regular busi- Chihuahua, Francisco Barrio Terrazas and his the manager. ness trips between south and north and has wife Hortencia, the current candidate Humberto Report by J.Reimer from K.N., June 13/03/ already transported much farm machinery (such Ramos Molina, and others. Barrio related how Die Post, June 20/03, pages 18-9. as binders) and every amenity imaginable to gladly he came to visit the Mennonites (see ------Campeche. Pres., No. 19, pages 75-6). He had good Expensive bananas come to Cuauhtemoc. The Mennonite colonies are experimenting memories of them from the time when he was With the further development of the with the raising of bananas even though their Governor. He treasured the confidence that they Campeche Colonnies, there is continually more region is not the best suited for the same. It had had in him, how they conducted their as- trade between Campeche and Chihuahua. One takes 18 months to raise such as crop. semblies, how they prayed with him before individual who has annually taken part in the Report by J.Reimer from K.N., Sept. 19/ the meals and other things more. He had good commercial exchanges is Franz Wall from El 03/Die Post, Oct.3/03, pages 18. memories of the 75th anniversary celebrations (see Pres.,.No. 12, pages 27)....It was quite Lacteos Mennonitas de Chihuahua. obvious how glad Barrio was to be among the Large new cheese factory is opened. On September 19, 2003, after a period of four years had Mennonites. been fulfilled, the first large and modern cooperative Mennonite cheese factory (Lacteos Mennonitas de Chihuahua) was opened at Campo 70 [Nord Colony] with many participating. The Governor of the State [of Chihuahua] as well as a large number of officials from various governmental departments, presented speeches, made a tour for an inspection and praised the facilities, the vision, dedication and hard work of the Mennonites and provided encouragement to carry the project forward. The Governor expressed the necessity of developing new markets, especially in the USA and Canada, where the price is high and this cheese would be very competitive. The President of the cheese factory executive, Heinrich Loewen, thanked the many stakeholders in the undertaking and said, “it would not have been possible without the support of the govern- ment.” He also thanked the Amish, who were represented there, in English. Seldom or perhaps never previously had there been such as large participation by the media (radio, TV, newspapers) at similar events in the colonies. For days on end afterwards there were reports about the factory, occasionally also very exaggerated. It was said without any factual basis that this was the largest cheese factory in Latin America and that it produced 12 tons of cheese per hour (later it was 12 tons of milk not cheese). The Governor received a case with the first When Francisco Barrio travels among the Menno- cheese produced by the factory. In addition he nite villages he gladly takes his wife Hortencia and the other dignitaries received a basket with along. They always again feel the well-being and cheese and other delicacies. even mentioned that they would someday gladly live in this region. Photo - Deutsch Men. Facts: To date the establishment has cost 60 Rundschau, June 2, 2003, page 5. million pesos [about 6,000,000 US]. - The Amish borrowed the factory $500,000 at El Valle Colony, Mexico. 5.5 per cent interest. The Federal Government is providing the - There were six cheese factories that were part- opportunity for land to be registered into the ners and which in time shall disappear. Pro-campo Program and El Valle has hopes - In total there are 1800 milk producers who that they will obtain a great benefit from same. are shareholders in the factory, in that 10 cents It is almost a certainty that in the future they per Kilo is always deducted from their milk will be able to obtain the government subsidy cheques. of some $100.00 per hectare for thousands of - The borrowed money pays interest ($1000 hectares of land. Only the little land that was per day) which seems high and also causes con- being cultivated during the first year at the time cern, whereas others say it is only seven pesos the colony was founded (1993) received the for each of the 1800 shareholders. Pro-campo at previously. It is expected that it - The State Government donated the cement, These three men have given much time in the will be possible to register up to 7,000 hect- paid for the well, and provided 6,000,000 pe- past three years to the construction of the milk ares of land, but it is not yet completely cer- sos as a guarantee for borrowings at the bank. pasteurization plant “Lamesa”. Here they are tain. - The fixtures and equipment (all new) were standing in front of the pasteurization equip- Another improvement is the cheaper diesel imported from Germany and the USA. ment. From the left: Dietrich Friesen, Campo 71, Johan Giesbrecht, Campo 66, and Heinrich fuel. They do not have the cards as of yet, Report by J.Reimer from K.N., Sept. 19/03/ Loewen, Campo 81. Photo - Deutsch Men. whereby they can buy diesel for half price, but Die Post, Oct.3/03, pages 18 (see also Pres., Rundschau, June 2, 2003, front cover. they are to arrive shortly. No. 20, page 76, and No. 21, page 95). The large new Colony supermarket (80 feet

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 65 -Komitee Elected - Manitoba Colony Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua, Mex. - An impor- ample, doctors, are taking the course. The word school teachers (this is a problem throughout tant meeting took place on August 15, 2003, in vocabulary and the exercises are practised dur- Mexico). They are still searching for one teacher the Gemeindehaus (Gebietsamt offices) in ing a discussion in the medical program. for the fifth grade. Lowe Farm, where seven “Ordnungs-men” A much smaller group, the EMC church, were elected. The candidates were two Various Courses. also has a school in the colony where Spanish neighbours from every village in the Manitoba On June 2, the annual IMAN-course (In- is the main language. In the neighbouring colo- Colony whose names were brought along to stitution Manantial) is again taking place in nies (Las Bombas and Los Juncos) there is a the meeting by the village Schulzen. This new the Kleine Gemeinde school in Schönfeld. Reinländer/Old Colonist school, but some par- committee shall see to good behaviour in the There are some 80 participants, mostly Kleine ents drive their children to Oasis. colony generally and proper driving on the Gemeinde school teachers from Durango, La Report by J.Reimer from K.N., Aug. 1/Die streets. The police are willing to recognize this Honda, Swift Colony, etc. During the four Post, Sept 5/03, pages 24. committee and to invest it with the appropriate week program instruction is given in Span- authority. One goal of the committee is to seek ish, English, German, SEAN (religion), gram- to avoid the situation where the police feel it mar, etc. Among the teachers are Eddy Plett, Amish Schools. necessary to watch in the villages. This some- Nancy Wall, Corny Reimer and Mervin A recent survey of Amish and Old Order times leads to more instead of less disorder, Kornelsen. Mennonite schools in the U.S.A. and complain some of the neighbours. An English course is also starting in the Canada reports a total of 34,194 students in Addressing the question of the disorder in Kleine Gemeinde school in Gnadenthal for 1246 Amish schools with 1778 teachers the Manitoba Colony does not manifest in any which there are always many students apply- and 8580 students in 298 Old Order Men- way that the problem in this colony is worse ing. It is clear that the interest of people is nonite schools with 178 teachers. In addi- than in most other colonies [or in any Menno- much greater to learn English than to improve tion there are 209 special ed. students in 71 nite community in Canada, for that matter, the German. Amish schools and 82 special ed. students where police are called to visit highschools on The Old Colonists also have regular classes in 29 schools. The a regular basis to search for drugs, etc], rather for school teachers and other teachers have report, which lists each school with the year it is a sign that the leaders of the colony are their own conferences for the exchange of ideas of founding and number of students, was seeking to deal with various problems instead and experiences.... published in Blackboard Bulletin, Decem- of ignoring them. Report by J.Reimer from K.N., June 13/03/ ber 2002, pages 13-30. The following seven persons were elected Die Post, June 20/03, pages 19-20. The Blackboard Bulletin is a magazine in order to help: Jacob Friesen (101/2), David ______written especially for students and teachers Fehr (61/2), Cornelius Fehr (1C), Johan of the Amish and Old Order Mennonites Klassen (61/2), Johan Friesen (4), Johan School Expansion in Gnadenthal. containing valuable stories of interest to Guenther (17), Johan Fehr (81/2). The concrete walls are standing and the roof young Christian readers and resources for These men will have assistants in every vil- is on for two additional classrooms to the Old their teachers. It is published monthly (ex- lage, who know all the neighbours, and who Colony school in Gnadenthal. Always more cept for July and August) by Pathway Pub- support the Colony-committee. One of the con- parents wish to register their children there lishers, Route 4, Aylmer, Ontario, Canada, cerns is the misuse of alcoholic beverages, also and now the school has become too small. No N5H 2R3. Subscription $6.00. Highly rec- by minors, who cannot legally purchase it. One more that 24 students shall be in each class- ommended for Conservative Mennonite particular measure will be to work with the room. This allows the teachers to spend more parents who are struggling to raise their sellers, whether they be older Mennonites or time with each individual student and it is also children in the Christo-centric tradition of the liquor vendors, who are only allowed to easier to find teachers. It has already been men- their parents. sell to older persons and during certain pre- tioned that it may soon be possible to offer scribed hours, but who do not follow the law. Kindergarten. It is always frustrating for parents when chil- In addition, the teachers can be more spe- dren under 18 years of age have access to for- cifically trained; for the teachers who, for ex- bidden drinks. ample, are teaching reading, do not necessarily Definite responsibilities, rights and work- need to understand the higher maths and the ing methods will be discussed further. The teachers for the higher classes can concentrate local government is prepared to give the com- on their subjects. More young women are al- mittee much authority. The Colony officials ways being appointed which has certain ad- (such as this committee, the Vorsteher, etc.), vantages; for example, they have not yet fallen do not in any way press their way into these into any deep ruts from which it is sometimes public positions and do not always accept almost impossible to help older teachers out them. The assistant to the Vorsteher elected a of, but which may lead to a false goal. few weeks ago, left Mexico rather than tak- Report by J.Reimer from K.N., Aug. 1/Die ing on the position. The question, whether to Post, Sept 5/03, pages 24. seek such an escape, often arises for the newly ______elected. Report by J.Reimer from K.N./Die Post, New School in Oasis. Sept 5/03, pages 4. In this dynamic, quite new colony, south of _____ Ojinaga, the Kleine Gemeinde is building a new school with eight classrooms. It shall be Plattdeutsch in the Uni. ready for use in time for the school opening Mariechen, daughter of Cornelius Goertzen Ruth Bergen, a Mennonite student, is teach- later this month. The school is replacing two from Nuevo Ideal, Durango, gladly helps on ing a Plattdeutsch course at the University of other buildings which will be used as teachers’ the farm. She is nursing a calf from the botttle. Chihuahua. Some 15 personal, who apparently residences. One great deficiency which the Photo - Deutsch Men. Rundschau, Feb. 17, 2003, front cover. later wish to work with Mennonites, for ex- colony has not yet solved is to find enough

66 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Two Old Colony Worship Houses Built in Chihuahua On October 2, 2003, the of the world’s largest Mennonite congregations new Old Colony worship with 14-15,000 souls. The population of the house at Campo 4B near the Manitoba Colony is 18-20,000. highway (off km. 13) was dedi- cated and for which many par- Paris, Texas. ticipants had come. Ältester It is an historical event that the Old Colo- Franz Kroeker and other nists and Sommerfelder have reached agreement Ältesten from other colonies and are building a worship house and school spoke many uplifting words to together in the Paris region. At the present time the listeners. The words were the Old Colony Ohms are coming every second so notable that many were week from Seminole, Texas, to conduct wor- moved to tears. ship services. In the meantime some of the At first those assembled This worship house in Campo 67 was completed in 10 weeks and is to neighbours gather to sing. [It is good when the gathered by the door and sang be dedicated on October 16, 2003. A corner of the old church can conservative Mennonites can unite and work the song No. 89. When they also be seen on the photograph. Photo - Bram Siemens - Men. Post. together as their common enemy, Satan, is al- got to the third verse, Ältester Oct. 17/03, page 4. ways seeking to destroy the true Church of God Kroeker unlocked the door with all manner of deceivers and the congregation entered. The 35 ministers and charlatans.].... and five deacons first met in the “Stübchen” Paris, Texas, is a city (ministerial office) and the women entered by with some 27,000 residents but their door and the men by the other. The Ohms the Mexican Mennonites live took their place in front on three long benches. 15 miles to the west of Paris. Ältester Franz Kroeker greeted the congrega- Many of them work in the two tion with the words, “Welcome here, most be- large (Thiessens’) or many loved friends.” small Mennonite trailer facto- The entire building together with inside ries. Other Mennonites work finishings, fence, and grounds altogether cost on farms and some at a giant 857,000 pesos. It is presently the largest Old sand screening plant of an Colony Church in Mexico; it was constructed in America. three months (The construction of the Blumenfeld This Old Colony worship house in 4B (off km. 13) was dedicated on Report by J.Reimer worship house also built in the last year, took October 2, 2003. The benches are sufficient to seat 460 persons, but from K.N., Aug. 1/Die Post, by setting out extra benches, over 600 can be seated. The bulding only two months, thanks to the help of many Sept 5/03, pages 24. superintendants were Franz Banman and Abram Wiebe. Photo - villages. _____ Bram Siemens - Men. Post. Oct. 17/03, page 4. The new 4B worship house resembles those built recently (e.g. Lowe Farm), except for small jokingly, “As much as we are working on the Of Crabs and Roads in Belize. details such as two doors for the women which church, it would be best to bring along a stove The crab industry is recovering from the sick- is not the case in other churches. The toilets are and blankets and to live there during the con- ness (“Taura Syndrome”) which severely af- fully modern and located close to the worship struction, in order to have more time available for fected the raising of crabs and this year the har- house. The benches are lacquered and have backs the work.” The new worship house is being built vest is very good. Expections are for a good (which hardly any others have), the central gas behind the old one. The old church, some 52 future and several Mennonites (such as the heating heats from above and at the bottom from years old, is built with mortar and the walls at the Froeses’) are again digging more ponds with the walls instead of from a stove in the middle of end are already weak. In addition they were al- their large equipment for the local people as the worship house. ready often in need of more room. The old wor- well as foreigners. There are 13 crab farms in The building of the worship house was su- ship house had room for some 300 persons, the the country, which bring in 100,000,000 pervised by carpenter Franz Banman, Reinland, new one should seat some 800 people. Belizean dollars into the land, representing and Abram Wiebe Steinbach. As someone has The new building has the dimensions of 90 33,000,000 pounds of crabs. Among the Men- already commented, “Good construction super- by 48 feet, of which the sanctuary alone is 78 by nonites there are Cornelius Rempels who are intendents have been at work here.” 48 feet. The ceiling is being painted white in raising the sea creatures and selling them. The This worship house is the 14th Old Colony order to make the room brighter. Belizian crabs actually have achieved the high- worship house on the Manitoba Colony. There At the entrances thought has also been given est reputation in Europe which will promote the are now the same number in the north end and to people in wheelchairs. A small ramp has been export. The outlook for everything appears south end. During the last 10 years the villages built there so that these can easily drive to the promising and it is to be expected that in the of Kleefeld, Lowefarm, Blumenort, Schönthal main level. future Mennonites will not only be scooping and now also 4B have received a new church. The caretakers of these worship houses are earth out of the ponds but also crabs. This worship house is primarily for the familys Cornelius Wiebe, Campo 68, and Bernhard The Mennonites (principly David Dyck and along the highway, and also for the worshippers Friesen, Campo 67. The construction superin- Albert Reimer) also continually build and repair from Steinbach and the south end of Reinland. tendents were Abram Giesbrecht 64B and Abram roads for the government. It is principly the Men- Consequently the worship houses in Gnadenfeld Friesen, Campo 70. nonites who own the equipment for the street and Rosenthal will have more room for their visi- According to the reports of the representa- and road construction. Foreign firms are also tors. tives, this is now the largest Old Colony worship allowed to partake in the larger projects. David At the same time a new worship house was house in Chihuahua. Dyck has already received a small contract to also built in Campo 67. The construction started Report by J.Reimer from K.N.,inDie Post, improve certain roads which will be finished on August 5 and on October 16 the worship Oct.17/03, page 4. within a month. In this year Dycks and Reimers house was to be dedicated. The entire construc- have built or repaired the largest part of the 110 tion took only 10 weeks. One of the church sex- Editor’s Note: God has blessed the Old Colony kilometres of access roads. tons (caretakers), Cornelius Wiebe already said, Gemeinde in the Manitoba Colony, probably one _____

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 67 Articles , 1946 “Mennonites in Mexico, 1946,” by J. Winfield Fretz, reprinted from Mennonite Life, April 1947, pages 24-27. Background. A fourth group of Mennonites is a remnant Of the total number of Mennonites in of the Mennonite refugees from Russia who Mexico as of January 1, 1946 [80-100,000 as came to Mexico following World War I. This of 2002], there were 12,673 [60-80,000 as of group at one time was comprised of from one 2002] who belong to the group known as Old hundred to two hundred persons, but most of Colony Mennonites. The Alt Kolonier, or Old this number have scattered to various parts of Colony Mennonites, is the descriptive name the United States and Canada. of an actual historical situation going back to Chief consideration in this article will be Russia. It referred to the first settlement of with the . Over 10,000 Mennonites of the Ukraine in 1789 in the re- [35-40,000 in 2002] are located in the State of gion of Chortitza. Following the original settle- Chihuahua, which is the largest of the 28 Mexi- ment in Russia, the newer settlements always can States and adjoins Texas on the south. The referred to the Chortitza settlement as the “Old Mennonite colony is about 230 miles south of Colony.” Those from the Old Colony who mi- El Paso and 75 miles west of the capital city of grated from Chortitza, Russia, to Manitoba, Chihuahua. Another 2,000 [10,000 in 2002] Canada, from 1874 to 1880 and from there to are located in the State of Durango, 75 miles Mexico from 1922 to 1927 continued to be northwest of the city of Durango. referred to as Old Colony Mennonites. The reason Mennonites went to Mexico is The name is appropriate in a sociological as that they were denied what they felt were im- well as an historical sense, because through- The two farmers, J. Knelsen and Cornelius portant educational privileges which had been out the last century this group has made per- Hildebrand, have just (spring 1935) completed a granted them in 1874 when their fathers came sistent efforts to retain all of the old customs, “good” bargain at the auction sale. Photo - Dr. to Canada. It was a part of the Canadian practices, and beliefs of their forefathers. They G. Wiens/Schmiedehaus, Die Altkolonier- Government’s attempt to nationalize all Cana- have tried to reproduce and preserve as accu- Mennoniten, page 110. dian ethnic groups except the French. The Men- rately as possible the old social and economic nonites felt that a threat to their own schools systems that their forefathers established. Their portion of the Sommerfeld Mennonites mi- was also a threat to their beliefs. They dis- settlement in villages, their pattern of building grated to Paraguay rather than to Mexico. patched delegations to various countries in arrangements, their mode of dress, their atti- A third group is the Church of God in Latin America to look for a new country in tude of non-conformity to the world, their Christ, Mennonite, more commonly referred which to settle. The delegation was unable to church and community organizations, their to as the Holdeman Mennonites. This small secure the desired privileges in any of the coun- system of landholdings, their attitude toward group has a membership of about 65. tries they visited, but by sheer accident one of education, and their adherence to the delegation chanced to engage the German language are reflec- in conversation with the Mexican tions of a conservative attitude. All Consul at Buenos Aires as they these customs and values have been were waiting on the pier to return transferred from generation to gen- to Canada. After hearing their story eration and from colony to colony the Consul invited the delegation with as little change as possible. to visit Mexico, promising them the kind of privileges they were seek- Migration, 1922. ing. Upon returning to Canada a The story of the mass migra- delegation was sent to Mexico, and tion of 5,000 [7,000] Old Colony after a number of journeys and at Mennonites from Canada to least five meetings with President Mexico in the ‘20s is one of the Alvaro Obregon they were granted most fascinating, and little known the desired privileges. chapters in Mennonite history. Immediately after receiving the These Mennonites demonstrated assurance they desired, they made all the stout courage, persistence, plans to dispose of real estate in industriousness, and amazing re- Canada and move as rapidly as pos- sourcefulness exhibited by any sible to Mexico. At first practically previous pioneering group. all the Mennonites had planned to In addition to the Old Colony migrate, but as time went on many settlers there are a number of lost their enthusiasm. It is estimated smaller Mennonite groups in that only about 50 per cent of the Mexico. A colony of approxi- Old Colony people actually left mately 600 Sommerfeld Menno- Canada for Mexico. nites is located north of the Old Colony. They migrated at approxi- Land Ownership. mately the same time and from the Peter J. Froese, Gnadenfeld, with his wife on the buggy, circa 1950. Mr. The original purchase of land same place in Canada. The larger Froese was the Brandältester of the Manitoba Colony for many years. Photo in Chihuahua consisted of about - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page 111.

68 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 155,000 acres. The price paid was $8 an acre, now considered to have been entirely too high; but at the time by comparison with Canadian land prices, it seemed very reasonable. This land was surveyed and laid out in a large num- ber of villages. Each village was provided with enough land for 10 to 30 farm families. The homes in a village are located on either side of the wide main street. The villages are several miles apart. The farms range in acreage 80 to 300 or 400 acres, but the average is about 160 acres. Very few of the farmers have all their land in one plot but have fields at varying dis- tances from the farm home. The land ownership policy of the Old Colony Mennonites will appear strikingly unique to most Mennonites who have become thoroughly individualized and used to private ownership. The Old Colony Mennonites in Chihuahua are organized in two separate cor- porations. The Manitoba Colony has two com- panies: The Rempel-Wall Reinland Waisenamt and the Heide-Neufeld Reinland Waisenamt. School girls in Reinfeld in 1951. Who will still recognize themselves on this photo? Photo - Rempel, ed., The two names represent the men of the colony Mennoniten in Mexico, page 139. who were well-to-do leaders. Each of these men together invested eight per cent of the to- with very little money in cash. On the other ated by enterprising farmers who operate such tal amount and the rest of the money was in- hand there is an increasingly large number of a business as a side line. Apple boxes, boxes vested by the colony under the name of the Mennonites who are buying farm machinery for pepsi-cola, orange boxes, and candy boxes Reinland Waisenamt. The land is divided into and doing everything with mechanical power. are made for some of the Mexican manufactur- individual farms, but farmers do not own their This is illustrated by the inventory that the ers. One of the farmers stated that he had made farms in a technical sense. They have no titles writer took of the machinery of one of the well- over 30,000 boxes in the last two years. or deeds and cannot take a mortgage on their to-do Mennonite farmers in the colony. Farm- A biographical note about one of the store- farms. The title to the property is held by the ers in the United States and Canada who read keepers and cheese factory operators runs as two delegated owners. Taxes are collected from this will discover that this farmer has more follows: Peter H. Peters, member of the Swift the company representatives and they in turn equipment than they are likely to have. Here is Current colony in the village of Burwalde, was collect from the individual farmers. a list of machinery found in perfect condition, born in Manitoba, then moved to Swift Cur- The problem of a developing landless class well painted and protected from the elements rent, Saskatchewan, in 1912 where he worked is a perennial one. In each village one can find in a dry shed: A McCormick Deering binder, a as a store clerk for several years. From 1917 to from two to a dozen heads of families who do McCormick-Deering mowing machine, a 1923 he managed a store and then came to not own land but work for others. When a power disc, a John Deer Model G four-bottom Mexico in 1923. He had originally planned to sufficient number of the landless class devel- plow, a Minneapolis Moline 16-foot drill, a start a flour mill but discovered that wheat did ops, a pressure is exerted to seek for new land. John Deer disc-tiller, a John Deere two-row not grow well, so he started a store. He em- During the past summer a 72,000 acre tract to corn planter, a four-disc John Deer plow, a ploys three to four clerks and pays them 150 the north of the present colony was purchased Case tandem disc and a Waynesborough Penn- pesos a month; translated into American dol- and 12 new village plots were laid out [the Ojo sylvania thresher. This farmer also has a gaso- lars this means about $30 a month. In addition de la Yegua or Nord Colony]. Immediately line engine, a large machine shop, a vise, drill to the store, he operates a cheese factory which those who were interested in securing land for and all the equipment that a farmer ordinarily he established in 1938. Mennonites had at first themselves applied for farms in one the vari- needs. Next to his machine shop he had an made butter; but since Mexicans were not used ous villages. Those who did not have the office with a knee-hole desk, metal filing cabi- to eating butter, there was not a great sale for money to pay in full made down payment and net and several chairs. it. Also, there was no way of keeping it sweet borrowed the rest, which was to be repaid in until it got to market; therefore, cheese was a five years. Commerialization. more practical commodity. There are from seven A characteristic of most villages is the com- There are 14 stores scattered throughout to nine men employed in this cheese factory. mon pasture consisting usually of about 40 the villages of the Chihuahua Colony. Most of acres per family. Thus, if a village has 20 fami- them are small and carry only the essential mer- Church Life. lies, it would mean an 800 acre pasture. chandise that is needed by the local farmers. The church is the very center of life in the For the more specialized purchases colonists old colonies. It is not on the periphery. Reli- Mechanization. go to the city of Cuauhtemoc or to the city of gious practices prevailing among the Old The Mennonites in Mexico are farmers. Chihuahua, 75 miles to the east. There are 14 Colony Mennonites are conservative. A de- There are, however, some commercial and in- cheese factories in the Old Colony villages. scription of a Sunday morning worship ser- dustrial developments that have sprung up as a One of the factories is moving to the new settle- vice may be of interest to the person unac- result of necessity. In the colony there are those ment to the north. These factories provide a quainted with this type of religious meeting. who are exceedingly poor and those who are market for milk and at the same time give em- Between the singing of the two hymns, the quite well-to-do. One of the more thoughtful ployment to two or three individuals in each ministers enter the pulpit from a side room. members of the colony observed that in Mexico, village. Often the young people who are not The minister of the morning then makes the as in other parts of the world, the process of farm owners find ready employment here. Re- introduction (Einleitung) which is written out the rich getting richer and the poor poorer was cently there have been a few wooden-box fac- and read. The same introduction is read every at work among the Mennonites. They can still tories established in connection with lumber Sunday; following this all kneel for a silent begin farming with a very few implements and yards in the villages. These are generally oper- prayer. A minister reads the text and proceeds

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 69 without comment to read the sermon. The time Mexican landowners who were eager to get required for its reading ranges from 45 min- Mennonite farmers to cultivate their land since utes to an hour. Mennonites knew farming methods and could The service begins at about nine o’clock produce much greater yields from the land. In [90 minutes after sunrise] and lasts from an one Mexican community we found 17 fami- hour to an hour and a half. Ministers wear lies, in another nine families, and in two other black, cotton shirts and long tailed or frock places two and three families, respectively. coats. None of the men wear ties. The older There were no churches established among women all wear black kerchiefs and the younger these isolated families, and from a spiritual women [unmarried] wear white ones. Most of standpoint these Mennonites were simply un- them have beautifully embroidered designs on Franz Froese, Neuhoffnung, Swift Colony, having provided. This is a situation that should be of the outside in the back. Many of the children his oats swathered. The yield was 140 bales per concern to Mennonites everywhere, because do not attend services except for special occa- acre. A typical landscape in the Bustillos Valley. as time goes on this drift of the landless and sions such as weddings or funerals. Young Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page the unattached will increase rather then de- people do not join the church until they are in 195. crease. their late teens or early ‘20s. They must join, however, before marriage as ministers will not The studies consist of the Fibel (the “ABC About the Author: marry anyone outside the church [marriage is book”), the catechism, the Bible and the J. Winfield Fretz, associate editor of Men- deemed to be an insitution of God]. The Ger- Gesangbuch. Individuals are advanced as they nonite Life, is teaching sociology and econom- man language is used in the service. The min- learn to read and write. The school day starts ics at Bethel College. He was engaged by the isters are chosen by vote of the male members with singing of a hymn, followed by prayer, Mennonite Central Committee to make special of the congregation who first elect deacons which is usually the Lord’s Prayer. Grace is studies in Mennonite mutual aid and coloniza- and from the list of deacons select a minister. said before and after each meal, audibly and in tion, visiting the Mennonites of Mexico and unison. A prayer is also said at the close of Canada a number of times. Photo - Mennonite day. The first period is devoted to reading les- Life, April 1947, page 2. sons and recitation from the Fibel. This is ac- companied by a period of spelling, then a pe- riod of writing, followed by arithmetic. When the Mennonites came from Canada to Mexico they changed to the metric system so they could not use their old arithmetic books. As a result sheets were prepared for the use of the chil- dren and these have been used over and over again. Simple arithmetic is mixed in with reci- tation, and words are written on the board for correction in spelling. Friday afternoon is an informal period of drawing, brief Bible his- tory and stories, and conversation. Most of the children seem to enjoy school. Everything is conducted in the High German language, al- though all of the children speak Low German [Plautdietsch] among themselves, and many of the teachers speak the High German poorly. In the middle ‘30s the Mexican Govern- ment made a strong effort to remove the edu- cational privileges of the Mennonites.

Conclusion. Steinbach Post, August 26, 1936 Prediger Ohm Cornelius Schmitt, Schöndorf, Swift It is surprising how few of the young people Colony. He was one of the men sent to Mexico City Mother G. E. Kornelsen was recently at old have left the colony in the 25 years of resi- in 1935 to work for the freedoms for the schools. Joh. Barkmanns, and went along to riverbend dence in Mexico. Yet one is able to find a rather He was sent on a second delegation in 1936 which at Ste Anne where she went on a boat ride was successful in restoring the confessional schools. large number of individuals and families who (Lumme), with young Harold Reimer at the Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page have wandered away from the precincts of the rudder. Not too bad for 80. During the hot 193. colony. During the past summer we discov- spell, Widow Joh R. Reimer, age 73, went ered upon rather casual inquiry no less than 36 along with a bathing party and went into the The form of worship and the method of select- families who had left the colony. All of these water. What’s more, she proved herself a good ing ministers is not greatly different from that were men who were in search of adventure or swimmer. Not to be looked down upon in the of some American Mennonite groups. more economic opportunities than they had in 70s. Our beloved ancestors, who spent their their home community. Some were older men childhoods close to the Molotschna or simi- Schools. with large families who were dissatisfied or lar rivers in Russia’s open fields, often re- Each village has its own school and the unable to make a living in the colony. gretted that here there was no body of flow- teacher is elected by the heads of the families On our way from Cuauhtemoc to Creel ing water throughout the summer. More than in the village. Often he is a day-laborer such as where the Bergthal Mission Station is located, once we heard the same thing from our fa- a carpenter or a smith’s helper or a cowherd we encountered Mennonites at almost every thers. Many times they told of swimming and [Often teachers have risen to great prominence railroad station and a number of times on the diving in summer, and of ice skating in win- in Old Colony society]. The schools are usu- train. Two or three of the Mennonite men we ter, in tones of admiration. ally in session for five or six months from met had married Mexican wives and were liv- The above incident is courtesy of Ralph November to April with the month of May off ing outside the colony. A number of the men Friesen, President of the FMHS. to help with the seeding. told us they were finding employment with

70 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Mennonite Life in Mexico “Mennonite Life in Mexico,” by Walter Schmiedehaus, reprinted from Mennonite Life, April 1947, pages 28-38. Introduction. It is the untouched surface of a hill which ings, stable room, baking oven and well and I would like to do with each one of my shows temporarily neither evenness or as- the workshop which is seldom missing and readers what I have already had the privilege phalt. Now down to the river, which in former the machine shop, all are located in the yard, of doing with many friends and countrymen years we forded, dry or flooded, bridgeless. the entrance to which is a short drive-way who have found their way to this distant ter- Now there is a bridge. from the street. These residences are like those ritory. I would like to invite them to mount of the farms of North Germany; the dwelling my wagon with me and to drive out to the The Mennonite Village. invariably together under one roof with stable. Mennonite settlement. We proceed through Here we are again on the flat, endless prai- The stables are orderly, a constant marvel the waste and thorn bush-covered plain rie, that is, what remains of it since the plow in view of the Mexican surroundings where around Chihuahua, then on the winding, up- of the Mennonites has torn it up far and wide such things are not known. Everywhere do- hill highway into the hills of Sierra Madre, and has brought it under cultivation. The roads mestic cattle are driven into open corrals, if it higher and higher, until the chapel has to be. But, proper buildings of the Hazienda of Bustillos for horses and cows! With cribs, comes into view, after that over mangers, litter, cement trenches the miles of the wide lagoon and water supply, and horses even which has the mighty ramp of the being groomed with curry comb outstretched copper mountain in and brush! This the natives can- its back and now suddenly we ar- not understand, and so they have rive on a completely changed land- their fun saying that the Menno- scape: the prairie of the steppes nites take better care of their horses of the high land. Here we travel than of men. May it be so? These alongside the Northwest railroad horses deserve it! What stately, whose shining rails extend massive, temperamental creatures! through the level stretch like a Heavy – very heavy Belgian glossy band which loses itself in breeds, as a rule, such as one sees boundless distance. nowhere else in Mexico except On we go until we reach the possibly on propaganda pictures height from which we get an in- Isaak Hamm, who served as a good school teacher in the village of Neuenburg of the local beer brewery. But there delibly impressive view of the for many years, also studied how horses could best be trained. Here he are lighter ones too, high-stepping magnificent territory which is the together with his only son is driving with a purebred stud horse. Photo - trotters, which draw the light purpose and the objective of our Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page 152. “buggy” like a toy, while they take journey. On the road of sand and the busy lord of the mansion rock our wagon still ascends to higher ground. are good and even, and in ten minutes we speedily from village to village or to town. Light-colored oak underbrush is found on ei- come to the first village, Blumenort. It is typi- These faithful, four-footed work-comrades of ther side. Now we have reached the summit. cal of all the rest; one needs to know the sur- the Mennonites honestly earn the thoughtful Unlimited seems the extent of our view: the roundings well in order that the similarity may care and love which they receive from their wide valley east, north and west before, not be confusing in finding one’s way. Every lords. around and behind, miles upon miles. The village is cut in two by a long, wide street. On Also the rest of the animals, cows, hogs, Mennonite villages lie towards the north. either side there is a lineup of separate farms chickens, ducks and geese, having their regu- From this place they appear as built up from a with its land in the background. Its pattern is lar place in this domestic economy, make a box of toys. Their corrugated iron roofs and the same as seen a hundred years ago on the very favorable impression. The chickens do stilted American windmills sparkle in the clear, banks of the Chortitza, in Russia, or as that not sit all night in the customary wood box - bright sunlight of this altitude. Waldheim, which was found in the Molotschna. How- a supposed protection against coyotes - which Blumenthal, Neuenburg, Blumenort, ever, the trees grew taller and the gardens balances on a man-high sawed-off tree trunk. Gnadenthal, Gnadenfeld, Schonwiese, prospered more magnificently in Russia. Due No, they are kept in appropriate chicken Osterwick - clearly visible and easily distin- to poor soil in this Mexican highland and the houses, and they reward both care and boun- guishable is village after village from this ex- moderate amount of moisture, growth is some- tiful feed with diligent egg laying. alted observation point. Those still farther what retarded. But that is eventually a ques- A few years ago the Mennonites, after hav- north fade away in the indistinct haze of dis- tion of time. There are villages in Mexico, ing tried the raising of crops exclusively, tance. too, where trees are as large as those in Rus- changed to diversified farming. Since that There, plainly before us, though some sia, where poplars once stood in succulent change, their income has increased consider- miles towards the east, is Cuauhtemoc itself, green and gardens prospered luxurious. ably. Dairies and cheese factories within the the former San Antonio de los Arenales, the Every house is located a little distance from colony insure a current income. There is a railroad junction, the business center for the the street, and behind it a garden in which the ready market for milk, butter, cheese, eggs, surrounding steppes and these mountainous women raise vegetables, flowers, and fruit lard, ham and bacon. The cheese dairy of P.H. places, the “town” of the Mennonites. It is no trees. There are the strawberry patches, there Peters, in Burwalde, is a respectable enter- longer that lonely cattle-traffic place of 1922, the vine clings to its support of lath-wood, prise which serves, in round numbers, 700 that desolate station at which the first Men- there the big sunflower turns her golden face hundred customers all over Mexico. A very nonite trains stopped. The old, wild-west out- to the light, there grow genuine gooseberries good business has been built up in Rosenthal post at which I arrived in the summer of 1923 and crowblack blackberries. One needs to be by the Wiebe Brothers. It consists of a per- has long since developed into a respectable reminded repeatedly that this is Mexico. fectly regulated cheese factory combined with place. a butcher shop. We jolt and shake with our wagon along Yard and Field. When I visited this place recently, a size- the straight, stone and boulder-strewn street Buildings and yards are well arranged and able building was in the process of construc- of Cuauhtemoc. Street! We call it by that name! tidy. The main dwelling, offices, farm build- tion with double and triple adobe walls and

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 71 facilities for the installation of paragus and ferns, these all make machinery which will cost thou- the home very attractive. sands of pesos. The whole thing is a freezing plant of which there Hospitality. is no equal in the whole of Sierra. These people are usually well They are mighty energetic people, prepared for unannounced com- these Wiebe’s and they will get pany. The bench or the sofa in the somewhere in helping the colony. living room is extendable and can At different places in the settlement easily be transformed into a the firm of David Redekop has double bed. If we do not get branches for the purchase of milk through with our visit today, this and eggs and for the manufacture country man will gladly let us and export of cheese. Isaac Dyck, sleep in his living room even of Osterwick, Blatz, Martens, and though he does not know us and others have meat and sausage prod- we are to him nothing but bloody ucts which they send as far as strangers who, on top of all, sniff Mr. Rempel, Neuenburg, has covered the eyes of his bull with a rubber 2,000 kilometers and to the capital around suspiciously and possibly blindfold. Now even his daughters Agatha and Sara are able to enter the of Mexico. corral undisturbed to feed and milk the cows. In 1965 the Rempels moved to try also to photograph everything Canada. Agatha and her husband Cornelius Fehr live (1997) in the Altona In the meantime he invites us The Home. area. Sara and her husband Ernest Fehr live in Waldheim, Mexico. Photo - into the kitchen which usually As soon as we enter one of the Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page 152. serves as dining-room at the same houses it seems as if the world- time. There are the good, iron clock has been set back a few hundred years. original color after the paint had suffered or cook-stove, the table and benches, water con- The spotless, polished floor reflects the an- was gradually sacrificed to the tooth of time. tainers and all kinds of crockery and dishes. cestral, traditional furniture. There are simple The clock, however, remained the same. Only We are urged to sit down, and at once food is chairs and wooden benches or sofas with cam- the dial was replaced by a simpler or brighter served. Bacon and eggs sizzle in the frying bered backs and brass-plated trunks with huge one or it was repainted according to the well- pan. Smoked meats are brought on the table keys, a pound in weight. There are shining known style of the old kitchen clock. and added to a dish of fried sausage. A little dish cupboards, mostly built into the walls, In spite of the missing ornaments, the in- later waffles are served and Pflaumenmus and in which there is porcelain of variegated color. side of the Mennonite homes makes one feel with all that good, homemade-bread, white or On the wooden beds there are beautiful quilts its snugness and its friendliness. The reason dark, the best butter and fresh cheese and as and feathered pillows neatly covered with for this is the breath of tradition and the clean- many cups of coffee as one may be able to flowered pillow tops. These are the pride and liness which everything breathes. The little drink. All this when they are unprepared for wealth of the housewife. In contrast to the windows with the extremely tidy curtains be- guests who, as they say, “snowed” into their otherwise strictly observed exclusion of all fore which stand the most beautiful house- house. But now, if they have invited their gay and gaudy colors, the furniture is red or plants, fuchsias with glowing “flying hearts”, guests before and if the good housewife has yellow, the floor is also yellow and the win- fleissiges Lieschen, and flessiger Jakob, next had an opportunity to do her best, then the dow frames light blue. If not blue, then the to this Kakteen and the fine-leafed green as- laden table is really bending under its load. more unassuming brown may be We have scarcely finished our preferred. visit in the house of this friendly For the industrious housewife host. Those strong, brass-plated the sewing machine is indispens- trunks, found in both living room able. Nothing is being wasted. and bedroom, and their fabu- Under skillful fingers even rags lously large keys have really and shreds are utilized in making aroused our curiosity. What might pieced quilts or in weaving foot- there not be in spacious chests like mats or bedside carpets. Pictures that? But we must not bring the as well as all ornaments and deco- patience of our friends under too rations are absent from the room. much provocation, and so we take Calendars hang on the wall instead leave of them and drive to the of pictures. home of Johann Thiessen, in the The great-grandfathers’ “Rus- village of Hamburg. sian” clock, with its sparkling Young and sympathetic is the brass weights, ticks away patiently appearance of this farmer. His on the wall. “Russian” because one wife, who is certainly not older of the ancestors brought it along than he, seems to be more ad- from Russia to Canada 70 years vanced in years, which is the un- ago. In fact there are veterans avoidable result of an overbur- among these clocks, which came dened life, which knows no vaca- from Prussia to Russia in the time tions and no recreation. The man’s of Catharine the Great, though work continues from sunrise to they are scarce. The dials are uni- sun-set, but the woman’s work is formly oval, perforated and in- never done! The young farmer dented above in the form of a During the 1940s the family of Jakob and Helena (Froese) Loewen lived in shakes our hand and, according crown. They are adorned in black the Wirtschaft in Neuenburg originally owned by Ältester Ohm Johan Friesen. to custom, asks us to come in. The with roman numerals in yellow In the 1950s Jakob Loewen was elected as a minister and in the 1970s the housewife follows with the and there are other decorations in family moved to the Rio Verde Colony, Paraguay, where he was elected youngest on her arm. Then some- yellow and red. The old dials have Ältester. The children on the photo are Jakob, Franz, Johan, Klaas and thing wisks through the doors, seldom been repainted in their Susana. Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page 152. and we barely catch a glimpse of

72 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 ning their attire, if any, an extremely reserved as to carry the little head freely in the light margin. Legs, ankles, arms and neck, yes even and the fresh air. Otherwise this costume is the head must be covered. Long skirts, drawn for all, adults and children, from the great- tightly at the waist, fall widely in numerous grandmother to the smallest girl who has just folds upon the tips of the feet. Above the skirt learned to stand on her own feet. In spite of is an antiquated, short blouse. A kerchief cov- all that is praiseworthy in character, it is and ers the smooth hair which is parted strictly in remains, by custom and tradition, a straight- the middle. Married women wear, in addi- jacket which the Mennonite child without tion, the black cap. The Mennonite bride is variation has to wear from the cradle to the brought under the cap literally [“unter die grave. Hawve” - Dutch Huwen - to marry] as well In regard to men the maintenance of the as proverbially just as we find her here and original costume is less pronounced, perhaps there on pictures which we see at our for frugal considerations. Well-woven, black grandmother’s or great-grandmother’s. When cloth costs money, and every unnecessary ex- going out, and often in the house, too, the penditure is to those people an abomination. kerchief covers the cap. With them everything is veel to dia (“much too high in price”), and so they claim their right to look around for cheaper and at the Two sisters from Reinland, siblings to the well- same time more appropriate clothing. In fact, known clock makes A. W. Peters. Left, Mrs. Gerhard no one cares to maintain that the black suit is Reimer, Waldheim, and right, Mrs. Peter Martens. exceptionally suitable for field work. So, for Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page the week days the plain but practical “over- 172. alls” are considered a good discovery. On Sundays, however, they must be exchanged the ends of flying frocks. Then a whisper, a for the traditional black costume of the fa- rustle in the adjacent room, and with extraor- thers or at least a dark jacket-suit. Here, too, dinary promptness, such as one would wish it is noticeable that the younger generation is for in many a young dame of our society, the moving away from tradition. One sees fel- three daughters of this family appear in the lows, of course mostly unmarried ones, walk- living room. Even the oldest is little more than ing about in light grey, green, and brown tai- a child, all three of them are beautiful: fair of lored suits. complexion, blond hair, rosy and healthy; The genuine costume has a vest buttoned without powder and lipstick, the hair parted to the top and a short jacket with one row of carefully in the middle, perfectly tidy from buttons. The head-gear is a dark sailor’s cap the head to the bare feet. In great haste the or a broad-rimmed, black hat. On the fields in Thiessen daughters had gone to the big chest sunny Mexico and at work the most favored and had exchanged their housedresses for is, naturally, the customary, big straw hat their holiday attire. At last we get a peep into which the women also gladly wear over their the ancestral chest which hides all that be- head-cloth. Collars and neckties are forbid- longs to the wearing apparel of the family. Two sisters-in-law from the village of Reinland, in den. Neither rings nor watch chains are worn, approximately 1940, with their babies born three the latter only when made of black horse hair. The Simple Life. days apart. Who recognizes them? Photo - Rempel, The best way out is a black shoe string. The The Old Colony costume corresponds per- ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page 172. Old Colonist wears neither beard nor mus- fectly with the earnest character of these With married women the whole makeup tache. He keeps his face smooth shaven. strictly religious people. It is neither pictur- from the head-cloth to the shoes is either black The big chest in the living room has again esque nor beautiful. It rather disfigures that or at least of another acceptable, dark color, been closed and the huge key has been turned which by nature is pleasing and attractive. such as dark grey, dark blue, green or brown. around securely. We have taken leave of friend Humility and the fear of God and the thought A few embroidered flowers on the kerchief Thiessen and his family. Again we are on our of repentance control the form of clothing even and some inconspicuous patterns on the dress way. Far in all directions lie scattered villages at the expense of practical usefulness for are permissible. In the choice of the color there of the settlement. which those of the Old Colony have other- is a very small range left to the taste of the wise such a good understanding. Seeing these woman, and it seems that this breach in the Public Affairs. people walk about in the gardens on Sunday bare wall is widening. Namely, one sees to- Each settlement has as a religious head an afternoon, one easily gets the impression of day comparatively more color than at first, “elder”, and, as a secular leader, an pilgrims walking about in penitential gar- specially noticeable in children’s and girls’ Oberschulze (“manager”). Every village has ments. This is especially noticeable in women. clothes. Many of them possess even a bright its Schulze, who is subordinate to the above Everywhere in the world, during the holidays, red. Even in the latter every suggestion of a mentioned and is responsible for order and women desire to make use of their original figure is strictly avoided. Yet the unmarried the necessities in his village. The highest court right to adorn themselves as beautifully as are allowed to wear lighter clothes, usually a of appeal is self-evidently the church. The circumstances permit in order to make the checked grey or flowered calico. They wear whole miniature state organization is decid- most favorable appearance. white or light-colored kerchiefs and aprons edly theocratic. Important problems are sub- Among the women of the colony the situ- of the same color, while those of the married mitted to the so-called Bruderversammlung. ation is the opposite. Custom demands that women are black or at least dark. Procedures in such matters are conducted by they should look modest and unassuming in The hair-dress is without exception the the board of trustees and their assistants. Im- order to be well pleasing to God and that no same for old and young; the smooth white portant resolutions without the sanctioning sinful thoughts may be allowed to come up. parting in the middle, and on the back of the of the preacher and the elder are inconceiv- All are dressed alike, adhering to a uniform head the closely fastened braids. Children are able. of centuries whose relentless rigidity leaves permitted now and then to let the head-cloth Into this frame belongs also the arrange- for feminine imagination and gifts for plan- slip down on the neck or even to take it off so ment of the Reinlander Waisenamt in the

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 73 Manitoba colony and the Bergthaler Mexicans, is exceptional. Here is a man in The pulpit in front is a simple reading- Waisenamt in the Swift Current colony. The whom there is a combination of practical ca- desk. Near this, next to the wall, is a special Waisenamt is an extraordinarily important or- pability and skill, amazing knowledge, and bench for the song leaders who are called ganization, purely ecumenical in character, an impressive personality. “Vorsaenger.” They have a very important which works hand in hand with the colony- Not unlike him is our friend the dentist, service to perform. In long, drawn, “a” sounds administration, the trustees, and the church. Jakob A. Enns (see Pres., No. 20, page 103). they give the congregation the right pitch and It is a sort of banking establishment. It re- Besides the very good and, for rural condi- then go on to combine the melody with stanza, ceives money and exists especially for the tions, extraordinarily equipped dispensary of verse, and word. Musical instruments are ta- purpose of managing the inheritance shares Johann E. Enns, there are two more in the boo. Consequently, the loud, unaccompanied, of widows and orphans. It keeps the inherit- colony. Moreover there are a number of am- unpracticed singing of these ancient church ance of children under age until they become bulance outfits owned by those skilled in medi- songs makes a peculiarly strange impression of age, takes over auctions of property left cine and by the midwives. Patent medicines upon visitors. behind, and regulates all other business in can be bought in most of the village shops. In The worship service is carried on in primi- connection with inheritance. The institution Cuauhtemoc there are two dispensaries which tive form and takes a long time. The preacher, has partial control of considerable funds, serve that place and also their Mennonite cus- with the Bible and the songbook in his cal- which are invested for the benefit of the tomers. We find Schlagwasser, Wunderoel, loused hands, mounts the pulpit in his high colony, especially in interest-bearing loans to Kaiseroel, Alpenkrauter, Grossmutters buttoned vest and his black coat and the settlers themselves, by which the poor get Abfuehrte, and Dr. Bell’s horse medicine Wellington boots. The latter is meant to be in both opportunity and help for improving their which is supposed to be agreeable to men as accord with Ephesians 6:15, “und an den economical condition. well as to horses. Beinen gestiefelt, als fertig, zu treiben das The colony has its own fire-insurance, its Evangelium des Friedens”. Perhaps tradition businessmen, mechanics, dentists, and even In Church. plays as great a role here as the adherence to physicians. The latter call themselves dis- Let us step into one of the churches. The the words of the Bible. It goes back to their creetly and appropriately Knochernarzt. They whole building is bare of all ornaments and ancient home in Russia and Prussia where are practioners who have learned whatever every kind of decoration both inside and out. farmers and fishermen wore high boots. they know from father, grandfather and great- A great number of these houses of God date Because of much repetition through the grandfather. Perhaps the gift of being able to from the beginning. They are built of wood years, the layman’s sermons have acquired a take care of disease and wounds has been as they were in Canada. The very first wood monotonous, flowing tone. The customary transmitted to them. These men might be com- which was used in the settlement came from procedure in things is seldom interrupted by pared to chiropractors. However, what per- Canada. Simple wooden benches fill the room, anything original. But when the preacher de- tains to the Mennonite physician, John E. being separated in the middle aisle. Over the parts from the guided High German and be- Enns, of Rosenthal by way of example whose benches on the men’s side, under the ceiling gins to speak to his congregation in the famil- consultation room and dispensary are crowded but within reach, is a ledge on which they iar Low German, then a liberating breath from morning til evening by Mennonites and hang their caps and hats. draws through the room and one can feel the

On August 15, 1987, the Vorsteher of all the colonies in the Cuauhtemoc area gathered in Steinreich for a meeting and invited Governor Fernando Baeza Melendez to the meeting. The purpose was to inform themselves further regarding questions of military freedoms and also to petition for assistance to improve the roads in the Nord Colony. L.-r.: Gerhard Reimer, Peter Bergen, Jakob Loewen, Gerhard F. Kornelsen, Governor Melendez, Peter Harms, Cornelius Friesen, Bernhard L. Dueck, in front of Dueck, Melchor Perez, Heinrich Sawatzky, Municipal President Jorge Castillo Cabrera, Johan Fehr, Johan Barman and Jakob Froese. Photo - Rempel, ed., Mennoniten in Mexico, page 256.

74 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 living pulse of a personal note. Many prayers and in spite of that appeared as the most mod- which the whole life of the colony is bound. are inserted in the sermons, and as the est and unassuming man among them. They One need not laugh that the private auto is preacher comes to those places in his reading travel the lowest class on trains and stop at not permitted but that otherwise the most mod- he gives a sign whereupon the members of the most inexpensive hotels and inns. Any ern agricultural machinery is allowed, such the congregation turn and fall on their knees kind of amusement is naturally prohibited. as tractors and gasoline motors. That is no with their heads laid on the hard benches. No money can be spent for that. At the most it contradiction. Back of that is a wise thought Singularly striking is the going back and may happen that one or the other stopping in and a good reason. Machines are for the work. forth of the attendants at the service. Women town secretly visits a movie or orders a glass They help building, production, business, and go to take care of their children. The men go of beer at some tavern. therewith further the real purpose of a soil to look after the horses outside and possibly With the exception of the permission to conquering pioneer. linger a bit for a chat or a small cigarette be- use tobacco, a concession considered trivial The long journeys to town are eagerly uti- fore they come back to the hard bench. in the colony, everything “worldly” is pro- lized for long and loud conversation between At last the worship is ended. The stranger hibited. No music, no singing (except church two or more. This shortens the way. News leaves the church with a depressed feeling. It songs), no dance, no ornaments, no glitter, spreads, speedy as the wind, through the is difficult here to discover a spark of light or no theater, movie, game, or sport. No carous- whole colony even though distances involve comfort, of edification, or exaltation. The only ing or card playing among men. No hundreds of miles, where telephone and tele- subject is repentance and submission which Kaffeekraenzchen, sewing society, or read- graph are not available. Spontaneous visits is repeated year after year, as a religious in- ing club among women. Books scarcely ex- among each other is the rule, and almost ex- heritance from generation to generation, plac- ist. They are not exactly forbidden, yet, the clusively the way to fill in holidays. An invi- ing a dull burden on the shoulders of the grow- contention of the older ones as a whole is that tation is often the last word of farewell in ing youth which to outsiders seems too hard they are not welcome. Too much might slip in front of the church door or after meeting ca- and too heavy. which absolutely does not belong to the sually in a store in town. The technical word And yet! One would have to become an colony. The spiritual nurture of the colonist for this social intercourse is spaziere and it’s Old Colony Mennonite one-self - speak Low by rights is to be limited to the Book of God. supposed to have a transitive meaning. If a German, farm as they do, live their simple, At the same time it is common practice to read Mennonite goes to spaziere with someone, it uninspiring life - in order to understand that the religious papers of the Mennonites from means that he visits him. It is then that much one can be happy also in that way and that Canada and the United States. roasted sunflower seed is cracked between this church also, in its own way, distributes Now we drive again over the plain, level the teeth and the husks of the same decorate peace and salvation. In any case, these people roads of Bustillos. It is remarkable that we the previously spotless floor. appear to be satisfied as they leave the church meet only horse and wagon conveyances, and Engagements, weddings, and funerals are with us. They gather in groups in front of the in case an automobile or a truck does rush opportunities for larger social doings. Invita- church. Friends and relatives greet each other. past us, it certainly does not belong to the Old tions to these are passed from village to vil- The men smoke their cheap cigarettes and wait Colony people. The automobile belongs to lage by word of mouth or written on slips of patiently until the women ultimately find the the list of “prohibited things.” And that is good paper. The following is an authentic invita- conclusive word of farewell to each other. By too! Why should a farmer need an auto? tion to an engagement service as it is formally and by the light wagons finally roll away and Whether he gets to town in one hour or three customary: begin to distribute themselves on the coun- hours, in order to make his purchases or to “Wertgeschaetzte Freunde! Weil es die try-roads and by-roads leading to the various visit relatives in some neighboring village, Alleinweise Guete Gottes so gefuegt hat, dass villages. really makes no difference to the tempo to sich unsere Tochter Helena mit dem

Social Life. About the Author: “In the sweat of they face shalt thou eat Walter Schmiedehaus (1901-90), born in Essen, Germany, bread!” This word applies not only to adults emigrated to Mexico in 1920 with his parents settling in but also to youth. Therefore, the orthodox Chihuahua City. He was interested in the Spanish colonial believer of the Old Colony does not approve period of Mexico and wrote many articles as well as a of play and hilarity for children. Early, very number of books on the subject including, Mexiko, das early in life the little ones must learn to know Land der Azteken an der Schwelle der zukumft. the seriousness of life. From childhood they Since Walter Schmiedehaus learned Spanish so quickly are expected to become accustomed to a life he was offered a job in San Antonio de Los Arenales rich in labor and well pleasing to God. So (Cuauhtemoc) in 1923 in a new bank being opened for the they are drawn into the work of cultivating infant Mennonite settlement. In 1926 Walter’s parents the land early and even the very small ones opened a pharmacy in San Antonio which he took over in join in and learn to herd the cows, to feed the 1933 when his parent’s returned to Germany. Young hogs or to take care of the still smaller brother Schmiedehaus soon won the trust of the Mennonites and or sister. These little ones never know that starting in 1924 represented their interests in various ways. best of childhood joys; namely, Christmas with At the request of Delegate Klaas Heide and Ältester Johan its shining lights and the decorated Christmas Friesen, he was sent to Mexico City in 1925 to represent tree. The Christmas tree is outlawed. That them regarding problems with the Agraristen. For many belongs to pomp and outward splendor, which years Schmiedehaus was the German Consul in Chihua- must not exist. But here, too, we find that the hua. lines are drawn somewhat mild and flexible Walter Schmiedehaus wrote various articles about the Walter Schmiedehaus. Photo - Men. after all. In spite of all prohibitions, numer- Mennonites and in 1948 published his best-known work, Life, April 1947, page 2. ous little girls play with homemade stuffed Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott (Cuauhtemoc, 1948), 307 dolls and little boys with wooden horses, or pages, republished in 1982 as Die Altkolonier-Mennoniten in Mexiko (Winnipeg, 1982), 215 little wagons received as Christmas presents. pages. They do find time to play with these trea- In 1990 Klaas J. Heide wrote about Walter Schmiedehaus, “His personal influence upon our sures. colonies has been too little appreciated. He has earned the right, not too be forgotten in the story I have known people among them, Klaas of the Mexican Mennonites,” Rempel, editor, 1922 Mennoniten in Mexiko 1997 (Cuauhtemoc, Heide for instance, who owned half a million 1997), pages 298-302.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 75 Junggesellen Jakob Reimer die Ehe music which has nothing in common with the of the grave and was a widow 22 years of age versprochen haben, und sie so Gott will, traditional songs exclusively allowed in who a short time ago had lost her husband. A naechsten kommenden Sonnabend den llten church. Yet they will change soon, very soon, few weeks later this uneven couple was mar- ds. Mts. sich in ein christliches Eheverloebnis as soon as they will enter their early wedlock. ried. einzulassen gesonnen sind, so laden wir alle They will become transformed into the same Not always does re-marriage take place so hierin umseitig genannten Freunde nebst ihren serious, uncompromising Altkolonier as their quickly. One woman of the Swift Current lieben Angehoerigen zu oben gesagtem Dato fathers are. They will then live and work as colony, 68 years old, remained a widow for zu Uhr 12 des Tages in unsere Behausung faithful members of the church with no over one year, and it was believed that per- gefaelligst ein, um mit uns in Gemeinschaft thought of changing even one iota of its tradi- haps at this age being already richly blessed diese Verlobungsfeier in christlicher Weise zu tion, even though in some cases a change could she might remain as she was. How surprised vollziehen, und hernach mit einem geringen not do any harm, as, for example certain things we were when we heard of her engagement. aber wohlegmeinten Gastmahle aufwarten und regarding the school system. We smile as we When we congratulated her she said, “Yes, bedienen zu lassen, wofuer wir uns jederzeit leave these young boys and are almost glad but I thought it over a long time. Three men I dienstschuldig erkennen werden. Eure Euch that once in a while youth has something to have already buried. One does lose courage.” liebend Freunde David und Agatha Dyck, conceal from their elders; otherwise they Kleefeld.” would not be genuine young people! Funerals. Such assemblies are at least in their part Plain, simple and without ceremony is the more formal and come near to being equal to Marriage. burying of the dead. Somewhere out in the a religious service even as the expression “in “It is not good for a man to be alone.” For fields lie the cemeteries without crosses, with- christlicher Weise” indicates. On the appointed this reason marriage on the average comes out stones, mounds, or markers, without trees, day young and old gather on the yard of the early in life. A few weeks after the engage- or lawn. The simple coffin is lowered into the bride’s parents. Usually the guests appear ment comes matrimony. It is a mystery how grave with a benediction and a short prayer. early so as to be ready for a good repast which these young people manage to learn to know Then the funeral procession starts on its way is served partly in the house and partly out- and to love each other since single people of to the home of the bereaved, there to take part side the house if the number of guests is large. both sexes seldom have a chance to meet and in a medieval “Totenschmaus.” No time for On such occasions there is a whole row of be together. But that youth will yet have to be mourning is given to the widow, the orphans, bowls with Borshtsh placed on benches along born which does not find a way when the and others. They are all kept busy entertain- the wall. If the guests are too numerous to be time comes! In this respect the youth of the ing guests: if wealthy, a banquet, and if in taken care of by the girls appointed as wait- Altkolonier differs in no way from the rest of less easy circumstances, at least coffee and resses, then they serve themselves from these humanity. Zwieback are served. bowls. Love, in the sense that we know it, is in- Because of all this, however, we have no The engagement-ceremony takes place in- deed not an absolute requirement. The main right to conclude that such a procedure indi- side. Peculiar old songs are sung by those point is to establish an orderly home and fam- cates a total absence of refined feelings or convened. First a song of greeting to the be- ily. For everything else the Lord provides. Is that it is proof of callous heartlessness. We trothed couple and then in response; both have it not written in the book of Moses: “Be fruit- met here with the old tradition as we do ev- long, draw-out verses and they are sung as ful, and multiply, and replenish the earth”? erywhere. It has been done this way for many they sing the songs in church. Kind wishes That large families are expected is, therefore, hundred years. So it is done today and thus it are given and the benediction is spoken. Now self-evident. When the German ambassador remains. To this is added the ever-present, as the bride steps out of the house she wears in Mexico, Mr. Collenberg and his wife, on a considerate, practical explanation. Many neither the light kerchief, which she wore as visit to the colony, asked Mr. Rempel how guests have journeyed hours, and some even a girl, nor the black cap under which she will many children he had he scratched his head half a day, to show their respects to the de- soon come. for a little while and then said: “16!” After a ceased, and in coming they became hungry From this point on the meeting is less con- while he added carefully: “Bis jetzt...!” and need to be fed. Life demands its rights. strained. Presently coffee and Zwieback are Bachelorhood is an exception because mat- served at long tables in a shed or barn. Very rimony is generally accepted as a duty or a Conclusion. soon the older ones separate themselves from necessity. One does not marry merely because Dust twirls behind our wagon. The farms the younger. The first stand or sit in solemn of pure inclination but because a wife is ab- of Blumenort on both sides fall back. The groups and talk about the weather, the har- solutely needed. Who would otherwise keep colony lies behind us. We’re on our way back vest, the hogs which have a peculiar sickness house, wash clothes, sew, take care of the to Cuauhtemoc. In a few minutes we come this year of which many have died, about try- garden and feed the calves, lambs, and small into the midst of the commonplace, grey real- ing a new kind of seed-wheat, about business pigs? Who would milk the cows, feed hogs, ity of Mexico after leaving what seems now and buying and selling. They also talk about make butter and cheese, bake bread and wait as a distant, singularly strange, and yet, for peace for which they have hoped; about that upon the “Lord” of the house? Lord, that is us, an intimate and homey land. which is to come; about England, Germany, exactly how the Altkolonier feels. All the Canada, and not last about Russia and Com- above mentioned are the tasks of the very Call for Papers: munism. busy housewife, besides the duty of bearing Preservings will henceforth be published Here and there the younger ones, too, know children and training them. annually, each December. The subcription fee something to tell each other, something To marry again in case of death is consid- remains at $20.00 annually. The feature story preachers dare not hear. But finally every- ered a natural thing. A year of mourning is of the December 2003 issue will be the thing is harmless after all. What these young out of the question. The normalization of the Molotschna Colony in honour of the people have to say to each other is simple, stricken home must not be hindered, and for Bicenntennial. The feature story of the De- innocent, and inoffensive. They are not at all that reason prompt remarriage is desirable. cember 2005 issue will be Polish-Prussia, so rebellious, so worldly as the older ones Frequently the widower or the widow has and the feature story for the December 2006 think, exceptions excluded, of course, even remarried within a few weeks. issue will be the Flemish-Dutch Mennonites. though some youngster of the group may se- In a village by the name of Schanzenfeld a These issues will seek to give voice to the cretly pull a mouth organ from his pocket and man of 60 years, whose second wife was be- story of the conservative and traditionalist play a modern “warble” behind the barn door, ing lowered into the grave, nudged his neigh- majority within these communities. If you are music such as he has heard in town or even in bor and said, “Say, I think I’ll take Katharina interested in contributing an article, please a movie when not under observation. Yes, over there!” Katharina stood on the other side contact the editor at 1(204)326-6454.

76 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Vorsteher Gerhard J. Rempel (1893-1988) Vorsteher Gerhard J. Rempel (1893-1988), Blumenort, Manitoba Colony, Mexico,” by son Gerhard E. Rempel, #804-325 6th St., Winkler, Manitoba, R6W 1G5. Family Background. Chortitz Colony. cows and a wagon (Diese Steine, page 661). Vorsteher Gerhard J. Rempel (1893-1988), Isbrandt Rempel is listed in the 1793 census Dietrich Rempel (1761-1845), age 41, is listed was the grandson of Wilhelm Rempel (1820- as owner of Wirtschaft 120 in Einlage (Unruh, in the 1801 census as owner of Wirtschaft 26 in 1901). Wilhelm Rempel was the son of Wilhelm page 211). Isbrandt Rempel, age 58, and wife, Rosenthal, with wife Helena, age 28, sons Rempel (1797-1848) and Anna Krahn (1798- Anna, age 58, are listed as owners of Wirtschaft Diedrich 10, Heinrich 7, Isbrandt 6 months, 1877) of Rosenthal, Chortitza Colony, Russia 29 in Einlage in the 1795 Revisions-Liste, with daughters Helena 11, Catharina 4. Dietrich (see 1880 Village Census, page 318). children Katharina, age 21, and sister Agatha, Rempel was a well-to-do farmer with 5 horses, Wilhelm Rempel Sr. was the son of Dietrich age 43. Also listed are son Diedrich Rempel, age 13 cows, 2 pigs, 1/2 plow, 2 wagons and a spin- Rempel (1761-1845) and Judith Loewen. Dietrich 34, [second] wife Helena [Wiebe], as owners of ning wheel (Diese Steine, page 662). Rempel I was the son of Isbrandt Rempel (1737- Wirtschaft 32, with son Diedrich, age 3, Heinrich According to the Feuerstellen-Listen 1802, 1803). Isbrandt immigrated to Russia in 1788 - age 2, and daughter Helena 4. (Unruh, page 239). Isbrandt Rempel was still resident on Wirtschaft listed as Family No. 92 in the immigration record Isabrandt Rempel, age 64, and wife Katharina, 210 but son Ditrich Rempel had traded with Peter of 1788 (Unruh, page 297). The Isbrandt Rempel age 64, are listed in the 1801 Old Colony census Rempel, “from whom it was taken away and given family pioneered in the village of Einlage, as the owners of Wirtschaft 33, with 3 horses, 6 to Johann Andres” (Unruh, page 251). Through this exchange Dietrich Rempel became the owner of Wirtschaft 261 in Rosenthal (Unruh, page 252). Dydrich Rempel, age 45, from the City of Königsberg, landowner, is listed as the owner of Wirtschaft 24 in the village of Rosenthal in the 1808 Revision with wife Magdalena, age 35, children: Magdalena (Helena) age 17, Dydrich 15, Heinrich 14, Catharina 11, Isebrand 8, Anna 6 and Gerhard 2. By 1808, Dydrich Rempel was a well-established farmer with 7 horses, 17 cattle, 2 sheep, 8 swine, 1/2 plow, 1 harrows, 1 wagon, 2 spinning wheels, 35 GTschw. of grain and 20 hayrakes of hay (Unruh, page 264).

Wilhelm Rempel II (1820-1901) and wife Agatha Sawatzky (1825-82). Photo - Rempel Family Book, page 3. Wilhelm Rempel (1820-1901) and second wife Sara (Penner) Abrams sitting in the buggy. Holding the reins is one of her son-in-laws. After his second marriage Wilhelm Rempel II moved to Gretna. Photo - Gerhard E. Rempel, Winkler, Manitoba.

The gravestones of Wilhelm II and Agatha (Sawatzky) Rempel in the cemetery at Blumenort, The Wirtschaft of Wilhelm Rempel II and Agatha Sawatzky in Blumenort, Manitoba. Photo - Rempel West Reserve, Manitoba. Photo - Gerhard E. Family Book, front cover/Pres., No. 17, page 40. The barn is still standing. Rempel, Winkler, Manitoba.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 77 Wilhelm Rempel II (1820-1901). My dearly beloved children. I feel led by the yourself to be invited [further] to come unto Him. Wilhelm Rempel II was born in Rosenthal, Spirit of God to share with you in honest love that Oh, if the beloved Jesus had not loved us so much, Chortitza Colony, South Russia, in 1820. On Feb- which I should have told and taught you in your then He - our loving Saviour - would have forsaken ruary 12, 1846, he married Agatha Sawatzky (1825- tender youth, which I have, however, not done be- us long ago. But He had shed His life-blood on the 82), daughter of Gerhard Sawatzky and Agatha cause of ignorance and embarrassment. However, tree of the cross on Golgatha for us, in order that He Friesen (see Pres., No. 9, Part Two, page 14). this presses upon my heart and I cannot postpone it redeemed us from all our sins; us, those of us who In 1875 Wilhelm and Agatha’s daughter Anna any longer since I do not know how much longer I come to Him in righteous penitence and repentance. and husband, Jacob Peters, immigrated to Canada have to live for sometimes certain premonitions And now my beloved - all of you: I have written arriving in Quebec City on the S.S. Peruvian on come to such as: “put your house in order for you this to you in genuine love and truth although in July 13, 1875 (Note One). The Jakob Peters family must die.” But I have only poorly prepared my very great weakness and imperfection. And I bid travelled in the same party as Ältester Johann Wiebe. house in that I have not lead you - my beloved you again, dearly beloved children: do not throw They settled in Blumenort, West Reserve, Manitoba. children - to God, and have not warned you in true what I have written to you in great weakness into They joined Ältester Wiebe in establishing the love and as a righteousness-working father of the the wind. You should be able to understand it, if Reinländer Gemeinde (RGB 116-3). necessity of leading a better life. Not once, my be- you wish to do so. On May 23, 1878, the extended Wilhelm and loved, have I invited you to pray together with me. Oh, my beloved children and children’s chil- Agatha (Sawatzky) Rempel family left their homes Dear beloved children, how much have I not ne- dren! You do not know how much I love you and in Russia. On June 8 they boarded ship in Liverpool, glected regarding you! So that I will never be able to how often every day I lie on my knees and pray for England, crossing the Atlantic ocean on the S. S. make it right in all eternity if the beloved God is not all of us, that the loving God might give all of us a Peruvian. They arrived in Quebec, Canada on June gracious unto me. new heart and a new spirit, and that the same might 18. Wilhelm Rempel II was the leader of the immi- But I hope and confidently believe in God, that lead us in all truth and love since all of us will have gration group consisting of 271 Mennonites. through Jesus Christ he will forgive all my debt of to appear before the throne of our Saviour Jesus Wilhelm Rempel kept a journal account of the im- sin including the sins of omission. So that finally Christ on that great Judgement Day and give ac- migration journey from Russia to Manitoba, through much striving and praying I shall be able to count for every unnecessary word that we have Canada, which was published in 2000 (Note Two). call forth: now I have found faith in Jesus Christ. spoken. Oh, but that none of us might have to go They arrived in West Lynn, Manitoba on July 1, He has also died for me on the trunk of the cross. lost. 1878 (Gregorian Calendar) (Note Three). The next And I also hope that on that great Day in his eternity Here, my beloved children, here I kneel down day they travelled by horse or by oxen to their He will also receive me. And therefore I write this to and plead with our Lord Jesus with tear-filled eyes, destination. The Rempels settled in Blumenort, you, beloved children and children’s children who that in His time He might wish to receive all of us to where daughter Anna and husband Jakob Peters may read this, so that we might all wish to gather Him, and to bring us into His eternal dwelling- had already built a small house for them. The Rempel before the throne of our Saviour where there will be place. Oh, do help all of us for that - You faithful family joined the Reinländer Gemeinde (RGB 122- no more tears nor crying and where God will wipe God - for the will of Jesus Christ. Amen! 1). In 1878 and 1879 Wilhelm Rempel and sons all the tears from our eyes. And now something more about the raising of Gerhard, Jacob, and Johann built a traditional house- Beloved children and children’s children: As children. I wish to tell you, my beloved children, barn on the Wirtschaft in Blumenort. Wilhelm your father and grandfather who loves you dearly, I something from my school years and of how im- Rempel was a moderately sucessful farmer and in plead with those of you who have not yet - moved pressionable children are in their innocent child- 1881 owned 15 acres of cultivated land, two oxen, to tears by heartfelt penitence and sorrow - properly hood: namely, I had an old Uncle and Aunt where two horses, and a full line of farm machinery. converted yourself to Jesus Christ and who have my Father had been raised. I always stopped in Agatha (Sawatzky) Rempel died on June 30, not yet made an honest commitment to Jesus Christ, there for a few moments in the morning on the way 1882, in Blumenort. On December 27, Wilhelm I beg that you convert yourself unto God and to our to school. In winter it would usually be about the remarried to Sara (Penner) Abrams, widow of Pe- Saviour. Do not always delay it from one time to time when my Uncle had just gotten up and was ter Abrams Sr. She was the mother of Sara Abrams another and do not think: “I am still young, I can getting dressed. While doing so he prayed these who was married to Wilhelm’s oldest son, Wilhelm still convert myself when I am older.” No, oh no, prayers: “Our Father who art in Heaven” and “Oh Rempel III, and of Peter Abrams Jr. who was mar- my beloved, do not make it the way I did. thou great God hear me!” and “Christ’s blood and ried to Wilhelm’s daughter Susanna. Oh, my beloved children and children’s chil- righteousness”. There was an interest in education in the Rempel dren! The loving and compassionate God has That was something new for me. This was not family. Oldest son Wilhelm Rempel III (1846-1931) sought me for so many years and has knocked at done so at my home. But I did learn these prayers at attended the “Fortbildungsschule” (Secondary the door of my heart, but I have not allowed Him - that time and they have always accompanied me School) in Chortitza and had taught for eight years the precious Saviour - in, and instead He had to throughout my entire life. in Russia. In Manitoba he taught in Reinland, and stand outside and wait. But He did not give up with So, beloved children, this is the way I was raised. was appointed Inspector of Mennonite schools in the always repeated knocking on the door of my But not that I did not know any better. I knew well 1884. In 1889 he and brother-in-law Peter Abrams heart until - after many long years and in my ad- enough but I did not wish to do so. I was ashamed helped organize the Mennonite Secondary School vanced age - I finally yielded to our precious Sav- to speak to you about God and the Word of God. in Gretna. Wilhelm Rempel III also became its first iour. But, my beloved, you should do it better than I did. teacher. In 1898 he moved to Rosthern, Oh my dear children! I beg you, as your very Lead your children to Christ - the children’s friend Saskatchewan. According to the Reinländer loving father, do not delay any longer with your - in their tender years and teach them what He has Gemeindebuch he “left” the Old Colony Gemeinde. conversion and also do not think: I first want to all done for them. Do not be ashamed before any- Wilhelm Rempel II died on February 20, 1901. become better, for you can come to Jesus laden one to always again speak about Him. Then you Agatha was given a gravestone in the Blumenort with sin exactly as you are. Yes, oh, yes, my be- will not have to lament the way I have just done. cemetery where she was buried, but Wilhelm Rempel loved, only come to Jesus exactly as you are, laden And now, my beloved, should I no longer be had not received a gravestone. At the 1999 Reunion with sin from the soles of your feet to the crown of here and if one or the other of you should err from in Gretna, Manitoba, the extended Rempel family your head. Throw yourselves at the feet of Jesus the right way which leadeth heavenward, then take decided to give Wilhelm Rempel II a gravestone with true penitence and repentance and truthfully this page to hand and reflect to yourselves of the beside Agatha’s. His exact burial spot in the cem- confess all your sins and do not cease in pleading time when I still lived amongst you and I wrote this etery is not known. and supplication. Although it may seem to take long for you in love. Written in my 74th year in 1894. I to you, He will finally hear and help, if only you was born on March 12, 1820 in the village of A Testimonial, 1894. by Wilhelm Rempel. will do so in a genuine childlike faith. Rosenthal in Russia. “Wilhelm Rempel” In 1894, Wilhelm Rempel (1820-1901) wrote Oh, you beloved children: Do consider the mat- From George Rempel, editor, Rempel Family the following remembrance and admonition for his ter, how long our beloved God has also sought Book: A....Genealogy of Wilhelm and Agatha descendants: you, and now you should also not want to allow (Sawatzky) Rempel...(Winkler, 2000), pages xi-xii.

78 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Johann W. Rempel, Vorsteher. (Zwangschulen) to drive Mennonites and their Johann W. Rempel, youngest son of church schools out of existence. In 1918 they Wilhelm and Agatha Rempel, was 11 years started to apply the new legislation. They built old when the family left Russia in 1878. more and more district schools on the Men- Johann received his elementary education in nonite Reserves. Mennonite leaders, includ- Blumenort, West Reserve, Manitoba, under a ing Vorsteher Johann W. Rempel, tried every- qualified teacher who had received teacher thing possible to persuade the Provincial Gov- training in Russia. (Blumenort hired only ernments to respect the Privilegium given to teachers that had received teacher training as them in writing in 1873 by the Dominion Gov- long as they were able to find them). ernment of Canada. When they realized the In 1887 Johann W. Rempel married Provinces were determined to forcibly apply Katharina Wiebe, daughter of Wilhelm their school legislation ever more strictly, Wiebe, their neighbours across the street. many Mennonite leaders saw no other way Johann W. Rempel (1867-1927) and Katharina They were members of the Reinländer for their people than to find such religious Wiebe (1867–1944). Photo - Rempel Family Book, Gemeinde (RGB 118-1) and had 12 children. freedom in another country. page 294/1880 Village Census, page 395. Johann W. Rempel took over the family farm In the course of his duties as Vorsteher, in Blumenort and farmed most of his life. Johann W. Rempel had much paper work and naturally did all my stupid things again and In the years 1909 to 1918 Johann W. records to maintain. He also carried on a con- expected to be strapped but nothing happened. Rempel served as Vorsteher (Reeve) of the siderable correspondence with various gov- But we lived next to the schoolyard where West Reserve on behalf of the Old Colony ernment officials and lawyers, using the En- teacher Rempel lived, and after Vaspa when (Reinländer) Mennonite Church. The work glish language. He was of the view that some teacher Rempel saw me walking on our court- of the Vorsteher was not always easy in his English language could have been instructed yard, he came up to the boundary-fence be- time of service, especially during the First in the church school system. tween our yard and the schoolyard and asked World War - 1914 to 1918 - when there was When Johann W. Rempel retired from me to come to him. Somewhat hesitantly I much animosity against the Pacifist Menno- farming, he served as a teacher in Kronsthal came closer to him and expected to be scolded nites who also happened to speak German, from 1923 to 1925. In 1999 a man by the or threatened. But instead, he said nothing the language of the enemy. name of Ben Kehler (age 93) remembered how about my behaviour in school. He just as- In 1916 and 1917 the Provinces of Johann W. Rempel helped him with a self- sured me that he wanted to be my friend. And Manitoba and Saskatchewan passed legisla- image problem he had in school: “Because of it did not take long under teacher Rempel’s tion of providing for government district how I was treated by previous teachers, I be- teaching that I actually realized that I too had schools and compulsory attendance lieved it myself already that I was no good it in me to do something right; and before for anything; and it long I loved my teacher and I knew that he seemed to me that I loved me.” could do nothing Johann W. Rempel was the last teacher in right in school. I got the church school in the village. In the fall of strapped most every 1925 the Manitoba government made the day for being mis- church school in Kronsthal into a district chievous, and so I school. thought I was a nut. I In 1926 Johann W. Rempel, wife, had accepted it, so to Katharina, and their youngest two daughters, speak, that I was not Margaretha and Susanna, (somewhat hesi- going to learn much tantly) emigrated to Blumenort near San An- of anything. And so, tonio de Los Arenales in the State of Chihua- on the first day hua in Mexico. Johann W. Rempel died in the Johann W. Rempel Palmore Hospital in Chihuahua, Mexico on was my teacher, I February 28, 1927.

Johann W. and Katharina Rempel had this yard and house built in Blumenort Johann W. Rempel (1867-1927) and Katharina Wiebe (1867–1944) as a (Mexico). Johann lived in these buildings just over a year and died. Photo - younger couple. Photo - Rempel Family Book, page 293. Rempel Family Book, page 294.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 79 Gerhard J. Rempel - Manitoba Colony Vorsteher Youth. wooden shed that Gerhard had purchased from a Gerhard J. Rempel was born to Johann W. and Heinrich Penner in Blumenort, Manitoba. Penner Katharina (Wiebe) Rempel in 1893 in the village of had it built for him to move into when he would Blumenort, West Reserve, four miles west of Gretna. arrive in Mexico, but had later decided to stay in He and all his siblings were born and raised in the Manitoba for the time being. Agatha’s brother Franz house-barn his grandparents had built on their Ens, who had moved to Mexico in 1922, had moved Wirtschaft in 1878-9. Gerhard was the third child that shed onto their yard. As a result the Rempel in a family of four boys and five girls. family did not have to live in a tent as did many of When Gerhard was only a few days old lying in the other pioneers. his cradle, a neighbouring woman and her children Gerhard J. Rempel (1893-1988) and Agatha Ens Brother-in-law Franz Ens had already built a came to visit the new Rempel baby and his mother. (1896-1973). Photo - Rempel Family Book, page large barn with a lean-to on both sides. Jacob Peters This being on a very short January day, it was 338. writes: “He [Franz Ens] had also built a shanty for already dark when they arrived. The woman went Gerhard Rempels and for my mother on our re- into the kitchen where Gerhard’s mother was mak- Not long after Gerhard J. and Agatha (Ens) spective farmyards. When we came to Mexico, ing supper and her little boys stayed with the baby’s Rempel were married, they moved from Blumenort, Rempels and we lived for some days in the lean-to brothers Wilhelm and Johann in the room where Manitoba, to Reinland in the Swift Current Colony, on the north side of the barn until our belongings the baby was lying in his cradle. Baby Gerhard’s Saskatchewan, where Gerhard was the village were brought into our shanties. When this was done, older brother Wilhelm, only three years-old, wanted schoolteacher from 1918 to 1922. Gerhard also did the Rempels moved with us into our shanty. The to show his neighbour friends what his little brother some farming. In spring of 1922 they moved back cows and horses were stabled in their shanty. The looked like. He grabbed the lamp and held it close to Blumenort, West Reserve, taking over the animals could not be outside as the farms were not to the baby so his friends could see. Wilhelm held Wirtschaft of his father, Johann W. Rempel, who yet fenced in. The Rempels then built a small adobe the lamp too much at an angle and the hot cylinder wanted to retire. Nephew Jacob Peters writes: “Why house and moved into it. When they lived with us I fell off and right onto the right cheek of the baby. Of his father, who was only 54 years-old, left the farm said to my cousins: `while you live with us, your course, baby Gerhard squeezed his little hand di- work to his son, I do not know. Maybe he felt father is our father also.’ But they would not agree. rectly against the hot cylinder on the side of his obligated to do something else, for he was a school They would not share their father.” chin, burning not only the skin on his little hand but teacher before he moved to Mexico in 1925.” Franz Ens had also already hired some Mexi- also burning even deeper into, or through, the ten- cans to make adobes (mud-bricks) for Gerhard and der skin of his chin. Baby Gerhard was badly Mexico, 1923. Agatha. Upon arrival in their new home village, burned. Even his future beard had been burned out; In October of 1923 Gerhard and Agatha and also called Blumenort, they started building the walls he never grew a beard on that part of his chin. their five children, Johan, Katharina, Abram, for an adobe shed, 16 feet wide by 36 feet. When Elisabeth, and Isaak emigrated from Manitoba to the walls were finished they put on a tin roof and Marriage. Blumenort, San Antonio de Los Arenales (later moved in with their five children. Next they built a In 1914 Gerhard J. Rempel married Agatha known as Cuauhtemoc) in Chihuahua, Mexico. kitchen and a pantry with adobe walls, but an earthen Krahn (1894-1915) whose family also lived in Nephew Jacob Peters writes: “1921 was the year roof. After this was completed the wooden shed Blumenort. Agatha Krahn died on December 25, when the Reinländer Gemeinde decided to move to served as a horse and cow barn. 1915, three days after giving birth to son, Johann. Mexico. In 1922 in March they began moving, and These were the primitive accommodations of Three months later Gerhard married Agatha Ens in October 1923, Gerhard Rempels also moved the Rempel family until 1927 when they added a (1896-1973), daughter of Abraham Ens (1855- there. From this time on, much of this account is few bedrooms between the kitchen and the shed. 1900) (Pres., No. 20, page 102), and step-daughter from my own memory because we - my mother, Gerhard and Agatha had taken with them three of Abraham Schmidt also from Blumenort. Gerhard brother and I - moved together with them. They had horses, harnesses, a wagon, a few cows and other had dated Agatha Ens before and according to the rear compartment in the last passenger wagon domestic animals, most of their furniture and other Gerhard’s own words, had liked both Agathas so on the train. Only the caboose was behind them. belongings. Although they quickly had sufficient much that it had been hard for him to decide which Our compartment was just before their’s. Together living space for their family, they still did not have one he should choose. He has been quoted as hav- with us was also Elisabeth Schmidt, my mother’s adequate shelter for the animals. Winter was draw- ing said, “looking back now, I am glad I got them step-sister. In the compartment in front of ours was ing nearer, and so, Gerhard hired Mexican labourers both.” the Peter Froese family who settled in Gnadenfeld to make adobe bricks to build the walls of a 30 x 50- Nephew Jacob Peters, Blumenort, Manitoba, #2B....Gerhard Rempel was the steward on that foot barn. has described Gerhard’s second marriage as fol- train. He had to see to it that all went orderly and that lows: “He [Gerhard] felt very desolate with his little the train was kept tidy.” Teaching. baby. So one evening he went to my grandparents, Gerhard and Agatha Rempel had bought an 80- When Gerhard and Agatha had barely begun Abram Schmidts (Mrs. Schmidt was formerly Mrs. acre farm in Blumenort and on it stood a small building the barn walls, the Dorfschulze (village Abram Ens), who had a 19 year-old mayor) came and told Gerhard that daughter named Agatha Ens. When he the villagers of Blumenort were in entered the kitchen, Mrs. Schmidt was need of a school teacher. They had alone there. He asked if he could talk decided they wanted to hire him if he with Agatha. Her mother allowed it. was available. He then talked with her, and asked her What should Gerhard do? Should if she would be willing to become his he accept the offer to teach, or not? wife and a mother to his little baby. She The barn was badly needed and the asked for some days to think it over, walls were waiting to be finished. And which he gladly allowed. After this time many other things needed to be done she accepted his proposal and they on the newly established farmyard. were married in 1916....This marriage Farmyard and buildings of Gerhard J. Rempel on the original 80 acre farm But money to survive the winter was lasted for almost 57 years, only 13 days in Blumenort, Manitoba Colony, Cuauhtemoc, Mexico. Son Gerhard E. also badly needed. The $250.00 dol- less, and they had 17 children,” (Note Rempel, was born in this simple house. Photo - Gerhard E. Rempel, Winkler, lars Gerhard had in his wallet when Four). Man. he arrived in Mexico were nearly used

80 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 the style in Manitoba. valley. The soil contained so much gravel that the Because of the dryer plowshares became dull in a few hours. conditions in the Gerhard J. Rempel, like the other pioneers, Bustillos valley, they put wanted to grow wheat in Mexico as they had done on a tin roof, not a in Manitoba. Through research and trial and error shingled roof. Sadly, they quickly recognized that wheat farming was not Johann W. Rempel was sustainable with the varieties available at the time. only able to live in this Often the wheat crops were a total failure. New House and barn of Gerhard J. and Agatha Ens Rempel in Blumenort, house for just over one methods of working the land and new varieties of Manitoba Colony, Cuauhtemoc, Mexico, their permanent home after 1933. year. On February 28, grain, beans and corn, had to be adopted before the Photo - Rempel Family Book, page 338. 1927, he died of consti- pioneers from Manitoba could successfully farm in pation in the Palmore the new country. up. He could not afford to hire much needed help. Hospital in Chihuahua City. Crops were small in the pioneering years and Gerhard and Agatha considered their options. After In 1924 Gerhard J. and Agatha Rempel built prices for the mixed farm products were not good. they had talked about this for a while, they decided two bedrooms onto their shed. The addition was It took a long time for the colonists to establish a that the modest income Gerhard’s teaching would also built with adobe walls and had an earthen roof. market for their products like eggs and butter, be- bring in would come in very handy during the win- It only had a dirt floor. cause they really did not have a marketing mecha- ter months. Gerhard loved teaching and Agatha said In the early 1930s, Gerhard and Agatha bought nism. Even in the 1930s when the bean, corn and she would make time to help him build the barn an additional 40-acre farm adjacent to their 80-acres. oat crops were relatively good, the market and prices walls after school hours and on Saturdays. They The little house on this farmyard had been vacated were poor. decided to take the teaching job and keep building when Agatha’s widowed sister Aganetha Peters, Sometimes a farmer took a load of good corn all on the walls, as time would allow. who owned it, remarried in 1926 (Pres, No. 20, the way to Chihuahua City with his horses and Gerhard started teaching immediately. Each day page 101). In 1933, Gerhard and Agatha started wagon. When he got there he received barely enough when he came home after school, Agatha had a pile building an addition to this smaller house, with money for the load to buy two 50-pound bags of of mud-mortar ready. Gerhard changed quickly and bedrooms, a large family room, kitchen and pantry. wheat flower. Good beans often had no price at all, the two worked on those walls every day until it They moved into this more adequate dwelling which or at best 30.00 pesos per metric ton. To somehow was high time to do the chores that the oldest chil- became their permanent home. The original shed make use of the beans, Gerhard J. Rempel’s sons dren could not yet do. they had first built and lived in until now was used built a cooking pot out of a 200-litre barrel and set it When the adobe walls were high enough, about up near the cow-barn and in this pot beans were 10 feet, an earthen roof was made over the walls. cooked daily to feed the cows. Long and heavy tree-trunks, purchased from native By the early 1930s Gerhard J. Rempel had found people who hauled them in from the nearby forest, a way to market butter. Once a week, with horse were lifted onto the walls with the help of hired and buggy, he went from neighbour to neighbour in men. Cheap rough boards, purchased and hauled in the villages of Blumenort and Schönwiese, buying from a nearby sawmill, were nailed onto the trunks. the villagers’ butter. He took it to the train station in Then a four to five inch layer of white soil was put Cuauhtemoc and shipped it to Chihuahua City. He on top of the boards and the roof was finished - a did this for a good number of years, until some of so-called “Eaddak” (earthen roof). A few simple the colonists started making cheese successfully. arrangements were quickly made inside and the Often, when Gerhard J. Rempel was busy doing animals had a home for the cold winter nights. Do- other things, his sons Johann and Abram went from ing the chores now was much easier. neighbour to neighbour to buy up the butter and Nephew Jacob Peters has written: “Gerhard delivered it to the train station in Cuauhtemoc. The Rempel was a teacher for two years. I had my first sons had to do this much more often after Gerhard school year with him, but I remember nothing in J. Rempel was voted in as the Colony’s Assistant particular of that time. We must have gotten along Vorsteher in 1932. very well.....” Land Surveyor, 1927. Pioneering. The Manitoba Colony in Chihuahua always had Almost every month, for the next two years, two land surveyors. In 1927 Gerhard J. Rempel Gerhard and Agatha received a letter from his par- Vorsteher Gerhard J. Rempel discusses mutual con- was elected as a land surveyor. At first he served as ents Johann W. and Katharina (Wiebe) Rempel, cerns with friend and advisor Walter Schmiedehaus, the junior surveyor under the leadership of Johann still in Manitoba. They had bought the half-farm 1940. Photo - 75 Jahre Mennoniten in Mexiko, Schellenberg, Schönwiese, the senior surveyor. adjacent to Gerhard and Agatha (next to the north). page 302. For another photo of Gerhard and When Johann Schellenberg died in October of 1931, By the fall of 1925 Johann W. and Katharina Agatha Rempel, see Pres., No. 19, page 115. Franz A. Enns Blumenort, was elected as land sur- (Wiebe) Rempel and daughters, Margaretha, and veyor and Gerhard J. Rempel became the leading Susana, were also ready to come to Mexico. In one for grain storage, and the old kitchen with it’s dirt surveyor. He served in this capacity until the end of of his letters, Johann W. Rempel sent along a blue- floor, was used as a work- and tool-shop of sorts. 1932 when he was elected as the Assistant Vorsteher print for a two-room adobe house, about 14 feet of the Colony. Frequently Gerhard J. Rempel had wide and 24 feet long. He asked son Gerhard to Farming. to take time to survey land in different villages when have it built for them. It also had an earthen roof but Pioneering in the semi-arid Bustillos valley was he did not have the time and when he had more than with planed beams and boards. Later this little house difficult because the climate and enviroment was so enough work to do taking care of his own family was to be their summer-kitchen. different from the prairie conditions the settlers had and farm. When they arrived in Blumenort, Mexico in late known in Manitoba. Breaking up the grassland and Part of the work of the surveyors involved the October 1925, Johann W. Rempel and family tem- prairie soil with plow and horses was slow and reserve lands of the Manitoba Colony. About 25 to porarily moved into that small two-room house. He hard. It needed just enough moisture to do this 30 percent of the colony land was not sold to any- then hired help and quickly constructed a building sucessfully and there were not many days in sum- one until the late 1930s. It was unbroken grassland about 30 feet wide and 70 feet long with three rooms mer when conditions were right. The share-plows and used for haying. When the summer months of living space in the front of the building and a barn that had served the Mennonite farmers well on the were not too dry, parts of this land produced good in the back. It was built with lumber according to Manitoba prairies were not suitable for the Bustillos hay. When the haying season came each year, the

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 81 colonists purchased the hay crop on various parcels Obregon was acknowledged by President Cardenas. Singing. of the land to feed their horses. The colony survey- Johan Wall now sent a telegram reporting the news Gerhard Rempel was also a song leader at wor- ors had to measure off the portions of land for and eventually the schools in the Mennonite colo- ship services, funerals and other occasions. Nephew individual colonists or groups of colonists and price nies were reopened....” Jacob Peters has written: “Gerhard Rempel was not each parcel according to the quality of hay growing only the Vorsteher, he was also a Vorsänger on it. The small income from selling the hay crop on Vorsteher’s Office. (songleader) in the worship house in Neuenburg.” the otherwise idle land was used to make a small The large family room added to the Rempel Both Gerhard and Agatha loved singing and in payment on that land. But most of the money to home in 1933 also served as the Vorsteher’s office. their home was much singing, old melodies, choral make the payments on this portion of land had to be Into an inner “adobe” wall of this room, a deep (number) melodies and the “Evangeliums Lieder” borrowed from the Waisenamt and from the wealthy closet was built to accommodate the huge safety- tunes according to their notes. Agatha sang most farmers in the colony. deposit-box, the so-called “Vorsteher Safe”. Every songs by memory and Gerhard sang “la la” when Friday was the so-called Vorsteher-sitz or sitting- he didn’t know the words any farther. When an- Vorsteher, 1933. day. On these days the Colonists came to do their other of Agatha’s siblings had died, and only her In 1932 Gerhard J. Rempel was elected as As- business with the Vorsteher. The so-called sitting- brother (who lived in Canada) was still alive, she sistant Vorsteher of the Manitoba Colony, with his day was hosted alternately by the two Colony called into memory a song she had learned from her term commencing in 1933. Vorsteher, both living in Blumenort at the time. older siblings in her youth (when she had been their The Manitoba Colony in Mexico, as well as in Every other Friday, when Gerhard J. Rempel maid off and on). The song came into her mind Manitoba, always had two “Vorsteher” (Reeve). was the host, the family room became the Vorsteher’s again and again, “Drüben im Lande der Ewigen The Vorsteher elected first is called the Leading or office, meaning also it could not be used by the Freuden” from the “Heimatklänge” hymn book. “old” Vorsteher and the other is considered the As- Rempel family. When the family gathered on Easter Monday, she sistant or “young” Vorsteher, until he becomes the There were other limitations as well. Every Colo- taught her children the song. This song has been a senior elected one. They were elected for two-year nist that came to see the Vorsteher drove onto the favourite for most of her children ever since. terms. Gerhard J. Rempel was first elected Vorsteher yard with horses and buggy or wagon. The men Agatha loved to work in her vegetable garden for the years 1933 and 1934 and then re-elected five coming from neighbouring villages would just tie and in her flowerbed. Her children and friends have times for two-year terms, serving a total of 12 years. their horses to special posts, do their business and greatly benefited from her love of flowers and gar- Towards the end of 1944, Gerhard declared he would leave. Those coming from distant villages had to dening skills. not accept re-election for another term. The Colo- feed and rest their horses before they left for home. nists accepted that decision and elected Cornelius These horses were put into the barn often taking up Retirement. C. Wall from Gnadenfeld. all the space. Frequently there were so many people Gerhard and Agatha continued farming until However, in 1953 Gerhard J. Rempel was that all the Vorsteher’s own horses had to go into the Agatha crossed over into her eternal home in 1973. elected for another term, serving for 1954 and 1955. corral in the back yard to feed on the pile of oat After her death, Gerhard said: “The Psalmist says, He was re-elected again for the term 1956 and 1957, straw. The days of our lives are 70 years; And if by reason resulting in a total of 16 years of service as the For mother and sisters this meant preparing and of strength they are 80 years, Yet their host is only Vorsteher of the Manitoba Colony. serving larger quantities of food on such a day, labour and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly The most serious crisis affecting the Manitoba because the men that came from distant villages to away. I will soon be allowed to follow her.” Colony occurred in the spring of 1935 when the finish their business with the Vorsteher had to be In 1975 Gerhard Rempel returned to Manitoba. government in Mexico City closed the Mennonite served, and indeed, before the family ate. And when For the last several years Gerhard Rempel lived in confessional schools in Chihuahua and in Fall in more guests came than were anticipated, we natu- the Salem Home in Winkler where at the age of 95 Durango. Nephew Jacob Peters describes the in- rally only got what was left over or whatever else years he too could go home. In these 15 years as volvement of Vorsteher Gerhard Rempel: “In 1935 was to be found in the pantry. A day like that meant widower he wished again and again that he could when Lazaro Cardenas became President in Mexico, we boys had to unhitch the many guest horses, soon depart from this world. When he was 93 years- he introduced new laws about education and the bring them into our barn and feed them. old, he said again one time - as so often before: “I schools of the Mennonites were closed. They should When more guests’ horses came than we had wish so yearningly that I could be where Mother use the new curriculum in their school but could not empty stalls, we had to take our horses and let them is.” agree to do so. Therefore Gerhard J. Rempel and feed outside on the oat-straw pile; sometimes our This time I said to him, before too much time Ohm Abraham Dyck from Cuauhtemoc were sent barn was over full of visitor’s horses. When one of you will die one day. And when you do, will you go to Mexico City to try to get the school freedoms us boys was plowing with a five-horse team and to heaven? And he said: I hope: my next question to restored. After about seven weeks Rempel and Dyck came home to feed the horses and to eat, but found him was: Then please tell me: What do you mean by came back and were not yet able to report any re- the stable full of visiting horses and was forced to it when you say: I hope? sults. In Fall when the schools were closed in feed his workhorses outside on the feeding wagon, And his answer was, “Gerhard, when I say, I Durango, Ohm Johan Wall and Ohm Peter Klassen and eat when all the guests had eaten, we some- hope, then I mean, I am counting on it with confi- from Durango and Vorsteher Johan Dyck from Santa times showed the unfriendly features of our faces; dence.” At the age of 95 years he gently fell asleep Clara went to Mexico City. Johan Wall remained in but not our parents, they were much too hospitable. one last time and went across into his eternal home Mexico City until Christmas. Eventually the to be there together with Mother and with Christ Privilegium given and signed by President Alvaro Business. Jesus in all eternity. Gerhard J. In the 1940s and 50s Gerhard Rempel frequently Rempel, ca. went to Kansas and Oklahoma, USA, and pur- Endnotes: 1955. Son chased used-tractors and implements, kitchen- and Note One: Jakob Peters was the great-grandfather George remem- heating stoves, wagons and buggies, harnesses and of Jakob Peters, Blumenort, Manitoba (see Pres., bers that “In his many other things. He took the machines apart and No. 19, page 101). last four years as loaded them into railroad cars for transport to Note Two: George Rempel, editor, Rempel Family Vorsteher, Mexico. When the loaded cars arrived in Book: A Family History and Genealogy of Wilhelm Gerhard J. Cuauhtemoc, we boys helped unload and hauled and Agatha (Sawatzky) Rempel and their descen- Rempel usually the material home and also put the machinery to- dants (Winkler, 2000), pages vii-ix. stood at the gate gether again. Here it was placed ready for sale and Note Three: According to the older Julian calender just like this when we helped to sell it. still in Russia at the time, the date of arrival was July people came to see him on business and were tying Gerhard Rempel had many children and in or- 13 or 12 days later. their horses `aum Wolm’ about 70-80 feet away der to have work for them all, he started a printing Note Four: Jacob Peters, Blumenort, Manitoba, let- from the gate.” Photo - George E. Rempel, Winkler. press and a small bookstore. ter to the editor, received June 17, 2003, 2 pages.

82 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 David Redekop (1877-1953), Pioneer Businessman “David Redekop (1877-1953), Ignatyevo Colony, Russia, and Cuauhtemoc, Mexico - Pioneer Businessman,” compiled by Delbert F. Plett, Steinbach, Manitoba. Family Background. Wilhelm Redekop (b. David Redekop was born in 1877, son of 1779) married Helena David Wilhelm Redekop (1843-1919) of the Friesen (b. 1781) in village of Eichenfeld, Jasykovo Colony, north 1802. David Redekop of the Chortitza “old” Colony. David’s mother, (b. 1748), “moved to Maria Woelk (1844-1901), was the daughter Walldorf and then to of David Woelk and Helena Martens of Einlage Russia in 1788 where who lived in Eichenfeld, Jasykovo Colony in he lived in Schönhorst 1873. from 1795-1803)” Historian Marianne Janzen, Winnipeg, (Unruh, pages 242 Manitoba (Pres., No. 18, pages 25-31) has and 296) and where pointed out that the 1873/1858 Jasykovo cen- he is listed in the 1801 sus states that “David Wilhelm Wilhelm census,” Diese Steine, Redekop [1843-1919] m. Maria Woelke [1844- page 656. 1901] was from Neuendorf # 11,” (Note One). Genealogist Henry Schapansky, New David Redekop Westminster, B.C. (currently of Edmonton, (1843-1919). David and Helena Redekop. Photo - 75 Jahre Mennoniten in Mexiko, page Alberta), has written that the 1808 census David Redekop 215. shows that “Living at Wirtschaft # 11 in and Maria Woelk Neuendorf was, indeed, Wilhelm Redekop (b. Redekop established their Wirtschaft in (b. 1884) married Jakob Wiebe (1882-1919) 1808) and his father Wilhelm Redekop (b. Eichenfeld, No. 4, Jasykowo Colony, just north son of Peter “Fischer” Wiebe of Insel Chortitza. 1779). Presumably # 11 passed from Wilhelm of Chortitza and Zaporozhe, where their chil- Anna married for the second time to Wilhelm (b. 1779) to Wilhelm (b. 1808), at some time dren were born. Maria Redekop died in 1901. Krahn (b. 1866). Daughter Susanna Redekop prior to 1858,” (Unruh, page 267). David Redekop Sr., son Gerhard David (1886-1919) married Franz Warkentin (1886- Marianne Janzen and Henry Schapansky Redekop, sons-in-law Johann Warkentin and 1919). suggest the following ancestry for David Jakob Wiebe, and daughter Susanna Redekop Redekop (1843-1919): He was the son of were murdered in the October 26, 1919, mas- Emigration. Wilhelm Redekop (b. 1808) who was the son sacre in Eichenfeld (see Pres., No. 18, pages In 1903 David Redekop (1877-1953) mar- of Wilhelm Redekop (b. 1779) who was the 25-31). ried Helena Dyck (1880-1971), daughter of son of David Redekop (b. 1748), listed in Daughter Helena Redekop (1868-1909) David Dyck and Helena Warkentin of Petershagen, Prussia, in the 1776 married Heinrich Unger (b. 1866). Daughter Kronsgarten. Together with brother Wilhelm, Konsignation. Elisabeth Redekop (b. 1870) married Wilhelm David Redekop and his bride moved to Neu- Henry Schapansky also writes that he be- Dyck (1869-1932). Daughter Maria Redekop York (No. 4) in the Ignatyevo Colony, north lieves Wilhelm Redekop (b. 1808) married for (1872-1920) married Johann Warkentin (1871- of Donetsk, where they owned a flour mill. the second time to the widow of diarist Jakob 1919). She died in Franzfeld, Jasykowo. Son Their children were born in Neu-York. Wall and that Wilhelm Redekop (b. 1808) was Wilhelm David Redekop (1874-1961) married Because of the oppressed conditions of the the miller who owned a treadmill in Neuendorf Aganetha Dyck (1876-1946). Wilhelm died in Mennonites in the Soviet Union, the David in 1869 as mentioned in the Jakob Epp diaries Selinograd, Soviet Russia. Son Gerhard Redekop family decided to emigrate in 1924. (see Harvey Dyck, ed., The Diaries of Jacob Redekop (1882-1919) married Aganetha Si- The door to Canada and the U.S.A. was closed Epp (Toronto, 1991), pages 153 and 266). emens (1882-1950). Daughter Anna Redekop and they decided to emigrate to Mexico to-

The customers of the Redekops would first sell their products such as eggs, butter, lard, hams, etc. in the so-called ‘butter room’ and then they walked over to the Redekop’s store business where they made their purchases. Johan The Redekop store. Here the Mennonites could purchase all their clothes and Berg worked for the Redekops for many years. Here he is purchasing the food. Friendly Plautdietsche service drew the customers from the villages butter from Jakob Friesen. Several foreign guests are talking with Jakob from near and far. Photo - 75 Jahre Mennoniten in Mexiko, page 215 (for Berg. Photo - 75 Jahre Mennoniten in Mexiko, page 215. another photo, see Diese Steine, page 598).

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 83 Every day from morning to night during the 1940s and ‘50s, horses hitched to wagons were tethered in front of the Redekop’s store in Cuauhtemoc. Photo - 75 Jahre Mennoniten in Mexiko, page 229. gether with a number of other families. After finally with the an unsuccessful attempt at establishing a settle- Hoffnungsau ment at Irapuato in the Caunajuato region, the Gemeinde near Redekop family as well as others moved to Goessel, who then Cuauhtemoc (End Note). In January 1927 provided teachers and David Redekop wrote Der Bote as follows: ministers. “There are presently five Mennonite families The Kirchliche living here from Russia, and two from the Gemeinde in Sommerfelder Gemeinde from Santa Rita.” Cuauhtemoc, consist- Aaron Redekop (right), with wife Katharina, nee Rempening, and nephew By this time the Redekops had expended ing of Russländer, Jake Redekop, Niverville (left), President of the Niverville Credit Union. Photo - El Paso, 1985. all their financial resources and were very was known as the poor. They started herding cattle for the Old Redekop Church and was served by General grain, groceries and money and in most cases Colony people. Being an entrepreneur at heart Conference workers until 1963 when Aaron earned their respect and appreciation. For many David Redekop started buying butter from the Redekop expelled them. At this time the Con- years Aaron Redekop served as a spokesman Mennonites and reselling it to the Mexicans. ference moved their operations to Quinta Lapita for the Old Colonists. The Redekops lived rela- Around this time many Mexican banks had and the Redekops continued with their own tively modestly considering their extensive fi- failed and consequently some of the wealthy church served by a Conference minister from nancial wealth. Old Colonists gladly lent him money for his Saskatchewan but not sponsored or associated business ventures as they no longer trusted the with the General Conference. End Note: A brief account of this migration of banks. By investing the money wisely David Mennonites from Soviet Russia to Mexico has Redekop not only established sound credit but Death. been compiled by Marianne Janzen, “Notes on rapidly advanced in his business affairs. David Redekop died in 1953. He was bur- the Emigration of Russian Mennonites to In the beginning the Redekop and ied in the Old Colony cemetery in Blumenthal, Mexico, 1924-1929,” in Mennonite Historian, Rempenning families asked to join the Old the closest graveyard to Cuauhtemoc. Vol. XVI, No. 1, March 1990, pages 1-2 and 7. Colony church but were told that they could At this time sons Aaron and Peter were still not be admitted as they were Russländer. Con- involved in the family business. Son David Telephone Interviews: George Rempel and sequently they asked around in Kansas for as- Redekop who was married to a Mexican ran David Friesen, Winkler, Manitoba, October sistance with organizing a church and connected the family ranch in Santa Clara which was later 15, 2003. bought by the Sommerfelder. In the mid-1940s David moved to Saltillo, Quacuila, where he bought a ranch close to where the Old Colony settlement was later established. Son Peter even- tually moved to Virgil, Ontario, where he owned an apple orchard and vineyard. In 1945 son Wilhelm Redekop moved to Niverville, Manitoba, where his sons farm in a big way, under the name “Redekop Farms”. Wilhelm’s son Jake assisted with the compilation of this article and Aron Redekop, translated the item from the Mennonitische Post. David Redekop was interested in the spiri- In 1949-1950 the Redekops built a massive grain tual life of his church in Cuauhtemoc and when elevator in Cuauhtemoc. It is told that Aaron Rudnerweider ministers Isaac Friesen, Winkler, Redekop had visited Kansas on business and was and Gerhard Froese, Altona, came to the impressed with the large grain elevators. When he Cuauhtemoc area, he received them gladly. Son decided to build a grain elevator in Cuauhtenoc, Aaron, however, did not support the he used the Kansas grain elevators as the model. Rudnerweider’s intentions relative to the Old Thousands of tons of oats were processed by this Colonists. Of all the sons, Aaron was certainly David and Katharina in their kitchen in elevator. It has been only little used during the the most aggressive businessman and the re- Cuauhtemoc. The dwelling house of the Redekop past years. Photo - 75 Jahre Mennoniten in spected head of the Redekop family clan. Aaron family was in the same building as the store. Photo Mexiko, page 229. helped many people by lending them seed - 75 Jahre Mennoniten in Mexico, page 229.

84 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Aaron Redekop (1911-2001), Entrepreneuer Remembrances of Aaron Redekop (1911-2001), Entrepreneuer of his People, Cuauhtemoc, Mexico, by Jorge Reimer, Kurze Nachrichten aus Mexiko as published in the Mennonitische Post, July 20, 2001, pages 17 and 19.

Introduction. Aaron told the story later of how his father outfitted livery barns so that his customers could Aaron Redekop, the most successful and most (David) had purchased a Model T Ford from J. have their horses well cared for while they made renowned Mennonite entrepreneur in Mexico and Rempel, Blumenthal and had borrowed 50 pesos their purchases. He declared himself rid of the one who for many years played a very important from Johan Rempel, Saucito, to be paid at a future Canadians and went on with his business. role in the development of Mennonite culture date. When the elder Mr. Redekop had accumu- Mennonites who had business in the city but here, died on June 9, 2001 at 2:00 a.m. at home lated the necessary cash to pay his debt, Aaron and who travelled some distance were always happy having reached the age of 89 years and 5 months. brother Peter had to walk from Cuauhtemoc to to stable their horses in Redekop’s barns and Mr. Redekop, directly or indirectly, intentionally Blumenthal to make the payment to save on gas. often spent the night there as well. The yard was or otherwise, left behind a lasting imprint in mat- The Ford, however, presented one problem. surrounded by a very high wall and the gate was ters of education, business and religion. When Rempels drove it from Canada to Mexico closed and locked at night. When one or another On the 21st of May he was involved in an the springs on one side of the vehicle had broken. of the Mennonites returned a little too late from automobile accident near Seagraves in Texas Mr. David Redekop, never at a loss to try having gone to the movies they would simply where he owned a cotton gin. He recovered from something, taking a friend with him, drove out to climb over the high wall. Redekop allegedly once his injuries and from pneumonia and returned to Rio Conchos and loaded his car with fish that he made the observation that “even if he had the his home after a two week stay in the hospitaL hoped to sell door-to-door in the colonies. Now wall built so high that it would reach into heaven Eight days later he developed a fever and despite he ran into the problem of the broken springs. they would still climb over.” efforts to control it, he passed away. Mrs. Si- They had not travelled very far when they had to The response to this was: “No, we Old Colony emens and his daughter Margaret were with him stop to repair the Ford. They found a branch Mennonites are not that stupid. If we ever should at the time of his passing. from a tree and fixed it as well as they could. But make it to heaven we would never come back to The funeral was held on June 12 at the Old the next problem was that they were out of gas Redekop’s.” Colony church. Bishop Peter Thiessen officiated and also had no money. The local people had He was apparently a man of high energy which and made the following observation; “Mr. gathered around and were wondering what was often caused differences of opinion but when he Redekop worked hard with great results but now going on so Mr. Redekop called out: “Cambiamos realized that something was damaging to his busi- he is still and is no greater than anyone.” His text pescado por petroleo!” (We wish to trade fish for ness he would rather compromise. was based on Isaiah 46,4. Ohm Cornelius Fehr gasoline). They had no money for food so they Someone remembered an incident where a spoke at the cemetery. The children; one son and cooked the fish in water with block [cattle] salt preacher Janzen [from the Russländer] selected a six daughters were all present. He was prede- for seasoning. sermon on the text: ”It is easier for a camel to go ceased by one son ( Aaron May 14,1999 age 54 Aaron Redekop likely also had a very diffi- through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to years) and his wife (Katherine June 6, 1999 age cult beginning in his business career but he must enter the Kingdom of God.” When the worship 86 years). have inherited much of his business acumen from service had ended and Mr. Janzen had left the He joined the Old Colony Church in Semi- his father. After a short time business improved podium, Mr. Redekop kicked him with such force nole approximately two years ago which is where and it did not take long before he owned more as to sprain his foot. ”You did this out of sheer Bishop Peter Thiessen is in charge. property than any other Mennonite in Mexico. spite to me,” said Mr. Redekop. He bought entire blocks in the city centre, land As a young lad Aaron Redekop took a ride on History. and properties in the neighboring colonies and a boat in the company of other young friends on Mr. Redekop came from Russia as a 13 year- ranches in the United States. the lake at Rosengart, Nr. 7B by the Hot Springs old with his parents, the David Redekops, along where a dam was under construction. When the with a group of Mennonites who settled in Missionaries. boat started to take on water, everyone was afraid Irapuato, Cuanajuato. The Mennonites had settled Initially his children attended the village and Aaron was convinced that the end was at hand. in a predominantly Catholic region and were school but eventually he became dissatisfied with Instead of trying to save himself he concluded that blamed for the lack of rainfall and the Catholic the level of learning so he sent for instructors he might as well end the matter quickly. Why try to clergy became hostile. Whether this was the rea- from Canada. These people, however, brought postpone the inevitable? With that he leaped into son for leaving the area or not is not quite clear with them more than the necessary school in- the water fully convinced that he would drown. but they left and settled in Rosario near struction. They began to do mission work and He was very surprised to learn that when his feet Cuauhtemoc and later moved to Cuauhtemoc. they also conducted evening assemblies. touched bottom his head was still above water. The Cuauhtemoc region is where Aaron Since Mr. Redekop had made vast strides in Redekop became an entrepreneur and worked the business world, the inhabitants of the neigh- Legacy. very bard. For some years he served on the city boring colonies without exception made their Some years ago his son Aaron was kidnapped council and when a certain matter would be de- purchases from him. This is how it came about and though he escaped his captors, his family no cided upon Aaron would say: “Esta bueno, esta that Mr. Redekop also invited the people from longer felt safe in Mexico. His wife wished to bueno, pero...” whereupon he would share his the colonies to attend these meetings. The Men- move to the U.S.A. as all their children were thoughts and ideas as to why he felt the matter nonites, as good customers, gratefully accepted already there. They did move but Mr. Redekop should be resolved otherwise. Invariably his ad- the invitation. These people had, however, made continued to do business in Mexico where his vice would be adopted. this commitment without consulting the authori- investments in land and businesses was still very Mr. Redekop’s parents were apparently very ties. When the spiritual leaders learned of what large. Among the many businesses and lands poor upon arrival in Mexico. People that knew was going on it caused considerable consterna- that he presently owned are: the only giant eleva- them say that at times they were reduced to beg- tion and the members of the congregation were tor in Cuauhtemoc, land in Los Juncos and area, ging to maintain an existence. forbidden to attend these meetings. a cotton gin in Seagraves, Texas, and a cotton gin Evidently the entrepreneurial spirit was This would have placed Mr. Redekop in a in N. Casas Grandes, numerous city blocks in deeply rooted in this man because it did not take very difficult position had he not changed his central Cuauhtemoc and a ranch in Dell City, very long before he was driving around in the mind very quickly. As a businessman he had no U.S.A. villages with his horse and wagon selling wares desire to lose his customers at any price. His About two and a half years ago Mr. Redekop that the settlers required. customers were everything to him. He had even joined the Old Colony church at Seminole.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 85 Dr. Franz Penner, Gnadenfeld, Mexico “Dr. Franz Penner, Gnadenfeld, Mexico: A Servant of His People,” Aptd 170, Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua, Mexico, 31,500.

Family Background. I attended the Old Colony village school for on campus. It was exciting to meet so many people Franz Penner was the son of David Penner only one year which was good. We had a good from different places in the world. In mid-term and Katharina Krahn of Gnadenfeld, Manitoba teacher and the kids were taught reading, writing of my studies, our first child was born. Colony, Mexico. David Penner started an apple and arithmetic (German was the language of in- Student life was busy and tough. We both garden when he was over 60 years old. The people struction). Dad was a farmer but he was more of worked part time in a clinic while I attended the said, what would that help him? He did live to be a businessman. He had more contacts with the preparatory school. Sara took language classes 95 years-old. David and Katharina Penner both outer world than many farmers. for a while and during summer vacations we came to Mexico as teenagers. He was the son of My siblings and I kept a good relationship both worked in Canada. I worked in construc- Bernhard Penners from Gnadenthal, Manitoba, with our friends in the village even though our tion and as a truck driver. Sara worked in a gov- and Katharina was the daughter of Franz Krahns lifestyle changed. After I finished Grade 8 I very ernment office (not that she was into politics but of Blumenort, Manitoba. much wanted to go to high school but that was she had a nice job). In 1974 Franz Penner married Sara Rempel, not yet approved by my parents, so I joined the A year before I finished medical school, I had daughter of George and Susan Rempel, currently rest of the family working on the farm. Even to look for a good hospital to do the internship. of Winkler, Manitoba, and well-known as a histo- though it was fun, I didn’t give up looking for an There were several choices: the ones I was de- rian and as coordinator of the Mexican Mennonite opportunity to continue my studies. After six bating were in Guadalajara, Chicago, or Chihua- videos (see Preservings, No. 21, page 59). Franz years that moment came, where I could go back hua City. We decided that being closer to home and Sara have three children. In addition to being into the books on a school desk. I met two more would have more advantages, and that’s the one a homemaker Sara works with emigration papers colleagues who were also my age, so it didn’t we choose. It was a 120-bed hospital and had and has considerable contact with the Canadian basically all the specialties. One year went by embassy in Mexico City and in the community. during which I worked on a very tight schedule. Franz Penner was born and raised in I hardly saw my family. I have never before or Gnadenfeld, Mexico, on his parents’ farm. He after had so little time to sleep. But that was a studied medicine in Guadalajara, Mexico, gradu- good experience and I needed every bit of it. ating in 1981. After interning at two hospitals in After that we went back to Guadalajara to the city of Cuauhtemoc he opened a private medi- write a final test qualifying me for a year of social cal clinic on Highway 28 in Gnadenfeld where service. This involved working in a government he is still practising today. In addition to his medi- hospital for 26 hours a week without pay - the cal practice, Dr. Penner enjoys working in his minimum time of service required of every doc- apple orchards, a small one besides the clinic in tor before he/she gets their licence to practice. I Gnadenfeld and a larger one in Grunthal, planted used part of that year to get settled into a private in 2002. practice. I also got involved looking after Dad’s apple orchard (that’s what I did before I got back Autobiography, Dr. Franz Penner. into studying). I was born and raised on a farm in a lovely Now 20 years later I enjoy taking care of my village in the middle of the century. My family own orchards. Sometimes I’m not sure which is lived in Gnadenfeld, one of the first villages estab- my hobby, my medical practice or taking care of lished by the Old Colony pioneers in the San An- the orchards. Working with and relating to people tonio de los Arenales (now Cuauhtemoc) area in gives me satisfaction and peace of mind - being 1922. Most families had numerous children living able to help people that suffer, to help alleviate on small farms, but family life was peaceful. their pain and see that they leave the hospital in a I was the last of 11 children. I’m fortunate better conditions, or that they leave my office that birth control was not used (four died at in- with hope for a better and happier future ahead. fancy). Mom was 45 and Dad 49 when my um- Our local medical association has a slogan bilical cord was cut. Being the last of seven kids which says, “To serve beyond the limits of our had some advantages as well as some disadvan- Franz Penner, graduating from medical school in obligations.” I pray that this might not be just a tages. When I would get into a fight with some- Guadalajara, Mexico. Photo - Oct. 1995. slogan but a fact for many more colleagues and body bigger, I would remind my opponent that feel so awkward to be among students six years Christians in general. one of my older brothers would back me up - younger. I had a wonderful time back in school From: Franz Penner E-mail: which of course usually wouldn’t happen. thanks to the teachers and colleagues who were [email protected] I got to learn many things on the farm by very kind. helping and observing what my older brothers I met a wonderful lady at the school. She was Dr. Franz Penner operates a medical clinic 8 did. The disadvantages I believe anybody can teaching in the elementary school and had planned km. north of Cuauhtemoc City on the main imagine. Discipline was a big issue in our family to help out for a year and then going back to highway Cuauhtemoc - Colonia Obregon. The and I am very thankful for that because disicpline Canada where her family lived. We got to know clinic was opened in 1983. The clinic em- helps to shape and mould a personality and char- each other and fell in love. After two years Sara ploys two secretaries/receptionists, both of acter for a better life. I tried to bypass certain and I got married in Rosenort (now Rosetown), them young married women. Dr. Penner is a things where Dad thought that he was right and Manitoba. family practitioner and his patients are mainly wouldn’t discus it with me, One example was After that we lived in Guadalajara, Mexico, people from the Mennonite colonies in the when we were not allowed to go to the barber for seven years. It is a beautiful city with an area. He attends patients at two hospitals in and have our hair cut. That was done at home and excellent climate throughout the year. I attended the City of Cuauhtemoc: “Hospital Medico Dad always determined the style. Soon two of the preparatory school and then the medical Sierra” and in the “Sanatorio y Maternidad my brothers got skilled in doing the hair cutting school. It is one of the best universities in Mexico. San Jose.” for us and somehow the style changed quite a bit. We had many international students and lecturers

86 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Belize - A Mennonite Story “Belize - A Mennonite Story,” by BBC Reporter Joasia Haniewicz, 20 Sandringham Road, Golders Green, London, NW11 9DP, written in 1991 ([email protected]). Introduction. graph on these people and instead described over again.” It was totally unexpected. I was in the the violent muggings and theft within the coun- Belizean jungle when a small, blonde-haired, try which left me feeling quite cold. The Mennonites. green-eyed girl emerged through a clearing. That was until I had a revelation. I decided There are over 600,000 Mennonites She wore a dingy blue 16th century peasant- that a country took on the characteristics of [1,000,000 adults members] scattered through- style dress, a black bonnet which hugged her one’s state of mind and that three years earlier, out the world today centered mainly in Canada, little fawn face and she walked barefoot. Not my attitude had been at fault and not the place United States, Central and South America. only did she wear a dress from another age itself. This proved to be completely correct. Their story is one of struggle for survival, a but an expression from another world. When I Upon arriving in Belize, instead of the “cat- battle which has lasted for over 400 years. asked her where she was from, she seemed calls”, I was met with warm Creole greetings: The first Mennonites emerged in the early puzzled, a little afraid and within seconds she “whe di go an gial?” (what is happening girl?) 1500s in Switzerland, Holland, South and ran away. This was my first sighting of a Men- and “I coulda help you?” (can I help you) and North Germany; they were called the nonite. “whada yer name?” (what is your name?). Anabaptists (again-baptisers) and were part of That was three years ago. I was a whistle- The sewer was still there in the centre of the larger Reformation movement. The stop traveller in Central America with just 48 town but greatly cleared up and the heat had Anabaptists were re-named Mennonites after hours to cross the length and width of Belize, just begun to pick out the fragrances emitted Menno Simons who was originally a Catholic a former British colony flanked to the one side from the orchid, jasmine and sour-sap. It is priest from the Dutch province of Friesland. by Mexico and to the other by Guatemala in hardly surprising that such a green, peaceful Menno Simons broke away from the Catholic the neck of the Caribbean. My first brief snap- and rather forgotten country had been selected church in 1536 and became the figurehead shot impressions of Belize City were hardly as a homeland by the shy and introverted through his leadership and writings for all Eu- inspirational: an ex-capital city; it had that “has hardworking Mennonite farmer. ropean Mennonites. The Mennonites believed been” look about it. I was vaguely charmed by “Great-grandfather migrated with his fam- in the total authority of the Bible, adult bap- the city’s decrepid shanty timber houses, ily from Prussia to South Russia via the wheel- tism based on a voluntary commitment to God, hungover after the vicious hurricane in 1961 barrow route. He lies buried there. Grandfa- the non-swearing of oaths and that all men but less enamoured by some of its male popu- ther with married sons and daughters came to should live in a peaceful, non-violent way. lation loitering on the sidewalks, hissing ob- Canada in 1875. He sleeps beneath the soil in These beliefs lie at the heart of practicing Men- scenities at me. But most of all, I disliked the Manitoba. Now father, an old man has brought nonites today. stinking black open sewer snaking its way his family to Mexico where he is starting all The Mennonites sought to lead a pure through the centre of town. Wher- christian life, one in which the in- ever you looked the sewer was ner life was reflected in the out- there. Whenever you didn’t look, ward appearance and attitudes. As it was still there, thickening in your such, they considered child bap- nostrils and ripening under the tism meaningless because a child humid heat of the day. Children was unable to effect his own per- sailed their blue, yellow and pink sonal transformation. True faith plastic boats in it whilst their par- was a decision to be reached by ents lived with sewer-phobia - the every thinking and believing per- fear of falling into it. Like Aldous son. Huxley, I felt that if the world was The Mennonites were com- flat, Belize City would be crouch- pletely opposed to all warfare and ing at the end of it. acts of aggression even if it was in The rest of Belize was more en- self-defence. They believed their ticing with its steaming swamps fate was in God’s hands. and great fat acres of unexplored They were people of high ide- high jungle - home to the jaguar, als and by their very existence they the deadly fer-de-lance snake and pointed out the failings of the Prot- sweeping cahun tree. Orange estant and Catholic churches. By Walk, Cockroach Caye, Spanish accepting their faith, they singled Lookout were just some of the be- themselves out as a “special” people guiling names on the Belizean and were open to criticism and per- map. It was a place for pioneers secution. In some ways they can and pirates and a safe plateau for be described as the Jews of the gen- refugees from the more volatile tile world. Central American countries. But to come back to that little Map of Belize showing the Mennonite settlements and Colonies. Map by “We didn’t inherit the girl. I just couldn’t stop thinking Wm. Schroeder, Mennonite Atlas (Winnipeg, 1996), page 80/Diese about her. What was she doing in Steine, page 616. Three colonies were founded in 1958: Spanish Look- land from our fathers, we those thick 16th century clothes in out by the Kleine Gemeinde from the Quellen Colony (Jagueyes), Mexico; are borrowing it from our the hot and steamy Belizean Blue Creek and Shipyard settled by Old Colonists from Mexico. Barton children.” jungle? She was a Mennonite. Creek and Little Belize were later established as “horse and buggy” settlements. Little Belize is a daughter colony of Shipyard. Barton Creek What was a Mennonite? Europe To Belize. I desperately wanted to know started as a conservative split from the Kleine Gemeinde Spanish Look- out Colony. The Blue Creek Old Colonists who remained steadfast in Following persecution in about the Mennonites but the guide northern Europe. the Mennonites book offered me only one para- their faith have relocated to Shipyard, Bolivia and Paraguay.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 87 found their way into the Gdansk seemed to represent a struggle be- area (Polish-Prussia), taking with tween the “old way” and “new them their Low German language way” - the traditional versus the known as “platt deutsch”. Their progressive, the Old Law versus initial persecution led them to iso- the freedom of the new. However, late themselves within Prussia, be- the underlying aims of each group coming a country within a host were identical; namely finding the country, a structure which has not best way of attaining spiritual per- changed to the present day. In fection. The Amish were originally Prussia they were given certain Mennonites but broke away from privileges in return for their farm- the Mennonite church in 1693 as ing skills. They were given reli- they believed without exception gious freedom, exemption from that an excommunicated Menno- military duties, and the right to have nite should be shunned. Shunning their own schools and government. in the Amish groups was the re- Initially, they were welcomed as in- sult of a person committing a dustrious farmers, clearing difficult grave sin in the sight of God. swampy areas and creating rich When shunned the offender was farmland. They never disturbed thrown out of the community and anyone, maintained their traditional The women on Barton Creek do not cut their hair, “which always remained banned from having any contact ways and made an impact on the in a hidden braid.” with his family and friends. He had country’s agriculture. disgraced himself before God and Their prosperity elicited a jeal- was therefore rejected by Him and ousy amongst their non-Mennonite by his human family. The Menno- neighbours and the Prussian gov- nites however, believed that ex- ernment stymied them from buy- communication should not be so ing more land. This land hunger stringent. Although excommunica- forced them to move on and in the tion is practised in all Mennonite 1780s, Catherina the Great invited communities, the aim is always them to clear the lands in southern first to try and bring back the “sin- Russia. In order to make her invi- ner” into the community and not tation more attractive, Catherine just to simply fling him out into offered the Mennonites free trans- the world. portation from Prussia, religious freedom and exemption from mili- Kleine Gemeinde. tary service. By 1789, 200 families In 1812, a division occurred settled in the Chortitza region by amongst the Russian Mennonites. the River Dnieper. Her successor The “Kleine Gemeinde” (small Paul I renewed these promises in a church) was formed when Napo- Privilegium (see Appendix I). leon invaded Russia and Menno- The initial colony in Chortitza nites pledged money in support of was made up of poorer Mennonites the Russian army. The Kleine but with the new privileges, rather Gemeinde believed that as a non- more prosperous groups were at- resistance group they could not tracted to settling in Russia from contribute money towards an ag- Prussia. Settlers arrived in A young couple with their child on the Barton Creek settlement. Family gressive movement. Molotschna in southern Russia in values and togetherness are extremely important to Hutterites, Amish, Old 1804 and by 1836, there were Order and Conservative Mennonites. Leaving Russia. around 10,000 Mennonites in the In 1870, the Russian govern- Molotschna colony. An American traveller pass- asked him how many sheep he owned, he could ment abolished all military exemptions and ing through the Mennonite villages in 1872 not tell but said he had 3,000 shepherd dogs made it compulsory for everyone to learn the speaks as follows: taking care of his flock. A little figuring devel- Russian language. Pressure was exerted on “The dwelling houses were large brick struc- oped that he owned over a million sheep, scat- the Mennonites to assimilate with the Rus- tures with tile roofs, a flower garden between tered in flocks all along the coast of the Black sian population. This, coupled with their in- the street and the house and well kept veg- Sea.” creasing land hunger, made it apparent that a etable garden and orchard in the rear. The The Mennonites had become very rich farm- new homeland would have to be found. Of- stables with splendid work horses of every ers and many people believed they had lost fers of re-settlement came from North build, and the sheds with vehicles of every de- their spiritual values by accepting large scale America, and in 1873 a Mennonite delegation scription, among them family coaches and all farming methods from the outside world. was sent there to search for a new homeland. kinds of farming machinery. They were cer- They were offered eight townships of land tainly the best farming communities I had seen near the city of Winnipeg in Canada. Every anywhere. Scattered over the country were “The man who begins to live Russian Mennonite over the age of 21 re- large isolated estates with buildings remind- more seriously within, lives more ceived 160 acres of land as a gift. More im- ing one of the feudal baronial castles of west- simply without.” portantly, the Mennonites were given com- ern Europe. Their owners were millionaire plete freedom of faith and exemption from Mennonites who had acquired large tracts of Divisions. military service. They were allowed to live in land by private purchase. I was entertained by The Mennonite church is characterised by closed self-governing communities, have their one of them, who had the reputation of being its numerous splinter groups. Various divisions own schools and speak the Low German lan- the largest sheep owner in Europe. When I occurred over the centuries and almost always guage as in Russia. The Canadian govern-

88 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 ment also agreed to subsidise the Mennonites’ Belize. Buttons and zips are forbidden. Their heads passage over the ocean. For two months, I lived in four major Men- are covered with headscarves and black bon- Shortly before their departure, the Czar of nonite communities in Belize including Up- nets. The men wear long trousers which are Russia, Alexander II made a plea for the Men- per Barton Creek, Spanish Lookout, Blue held up with braces as belts are forbidden. Their nonites to remain in Russia having woken up Creek and Shipyard. I also visited settlements shirts are dark and collarless. Watches are al- to the fact that he was about to lose a group of in Little Belize and the new settlement in In- lowed but have to remain hidden in their pock- people who made an enormous impact on the dian Creek. ets. country’s agriculture. In order to persuade the Only 174 miles long and 68 miles wide, Mennonites to stay, the Russian government Belize is a small country. It borders on Mexico Religion. declared that they would not have to serve un- and Guatemala and 65 percent of its land is The Mennonites in Belize appear to be a der the war ministry but in other services such undeveloped forest, scrub or wasteland. Its rather eccentric group of people - the stricter as forestry work, fire fighting in the cities and first settlers in 1640 were Englishmen who groups wear strange clothes and lead rather in civilian medical work in hospitals. This sat- arrived with their black slaves from Jamaica to exaggerated simple lives. Their overriding be- isfied some Mennonites but to others it repre- cut logwood. Largely ignored by the Spanish, lief is to live a life as pure as possible, faithful sented a contribution to the war effort. Subse- the country eventually became a British crown to God, adhering closely to the scriptures in quently, in the years between 1875 and 1914, colony in the 19th century. Guatemala has made the belief that the afterlife is more important 18,000 Mennonites emigrated to Canada and repeated claims of ownership on Belize but its than the one on earth. Although being a Men- the United States. British presence has helped it to remain cultur- nonite has evolved into being a culture, their For the next 50 years the Mennonites in ally, linguistically and politically separate from overwhelming faith in God is what influences Canada enjoyed their privileges and freedom its Guatemalan and Mexican neighbours. This the way they dress, work, think and interact but in the 1920s their way of life was once year (1991) Guatemala formally acknowledged with one another. again threatened by the compulsory attendance Belize’s separate identity. As described earlier, the Mennonites be- of all children in government schools. Parents The country achieved independence from lieve that baptism into the church should occur objected to the curriculum which they believed Britain in 1981 and currently has a population when a person has undergone a personal and was too worldly; they wanted the Bible to be of 180,000 dominated by Creoles, Garifuna spiritual transformation, usually in adulthood. the major text book in school, giving the chil- (black caribs), Mestizos, Mayan and Kekchi Once a person feels ready to take on this com- dren spiritual rather than material values. Indians. The Mennonites form three percent mitment, he attends religious instruction over The offer of religious freedom and military of the total population (representing the larg- a period of a few months and covers a number exemption drew many Mennonites to Mexico. est percentage of any country although in total of articles of faith. On these articles (varying By 1950 there were 16,000 Mennonites in (5,000) [estimated 10,000 as of 2002] they are to some degree from group to group), the Men- Mexico mostly in the state of Chihuahua still quite a small group. However, the Men- nonite faith is based. (See Appendix Three). [80,000 today]. Their freedom, however, was nonites’ contribution to the agriculture cannot short-lived because the Mexican government be underestimated. Over the last three decades, Barton Creek. was unable to supply them with enough land they have provided the country with most of Of all the Mennonite communities, the dark- to meet the needs of their rapidly expanding its chicken and milk, as well as being major est, strangest and most reclusive of all is Barton families. Additionally, certain Mennonites corn, bean and rice producers. Creek. I had not intended on going to Barton wanted to drive cars. This caused a split within Over the years, numerous internal conflicts Creek first, believing that a sensible plan of the Mennonite communities. The stricter within the Mennonite groups have led to mi- action was to ease myself in gently by staying groups believed that cars would evoke vanity grations within Belize. Most of the moves have with the more progressive Mennonite groups. and pride from the people and so in 1958 they been due to the more traditional groups resist- On my first day in Belize, a Belizean ad- left Mexico, this time for Belize, then known ing modern conveniences, e.g. electricity and vised me to never make any firm plans in the as British Honduras (see Appendix Two). cars. In the stricter groups, the women wear country because they always fell flat. How right long, plain and dark dresses with long aprons. he was. On route to Spanish Lookout, a pro- gressive Mennonite settlement, at a rather un- enterprising spot - a Shell gas station, I bumped into the one non-Mennonite living as a self- sufficient farmer in the ultra-orthodox Barton Creek settlement. Her name was Rosanne Orrizzi, an American of Italian origin who some five years ago decided to escape the western world and live alone on a farm in Belize. She could not have chosen a more remote spot. Barton Creek lies in the middle of a massive forestry reserve known as the Mountain Pine Ridge. It is right in the centre of Belize and 25 miles from the Guatemalan border. A three- hour ride by horse and buggy to the nearest rather desolate village called Georgeville, Barton Creek is not a place which people visit on a quiet Sunday afternoon. The road is dusty and rocky and creates havoc for any four- wheeled vehicle. Rosanne’s truck is the only one which braves the seven-mile windy path to the village - a trip she makes once a week to collect essential provisions. I knew I had struck my first bit of gold meeting Rosanne so with- Conservative Mennonite families are rich in children which they consider a gift and blessing of God. out any hesitation, I striped the bus of all my Great efforts are made in the home, family and church to teach them the ways of Christ. Here a typical belongings and clambered into her decaying family in the Barton Creek settlement. truck.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 89 Rosanne has an exquisite farm, overlook- ing dense woolly green mountains which she manages, out of choice, totally alone. A Ca- lamity-Jane type of figure, she can be heard all over the farm “yellin n’ cussin” at her sheep, dogs, chickens, geese, ducks and horses. A more striking contrast to the Mennonites - “the quiet in the land” could not be imagined. Rosanne proved to be a treasure house of information on the Mennonites. Her letter of introduction to one of the pivotal members of the Barton Creek community, a man called Henry Friesen, gave me an entry into this com- munity I might not have otherwise obtained. Clutching my note, I climbed the steep white dusty hill towards the Mennonite settlement. Within half a mile. I reached the first farm - home to the Hein family and their 16 children. As I approached, each window, doorway and nook and cranny was filled with a child’s staring face. The women looked strikingly ee- rie in their long black dresses, black aprons, black headscarves and blank faces, and the men rather biblical with their waist-length frizzy beards. I smiled at them but received no re- sponse - just a continuous long and hard stare. Four young boys in the Barton Creek settlement pose for the camera. Walking further, I met with the same treatment. Men and women in the fields put down their given a bucket and after having washed my servative members who in 1969 drifted away tools and transfixed their gazes on me. Having hands and face, was encouraged to wash my to establish communities in Upper and Lower somewhat adjusted to feeling a freak, I ap- feet. I did so and was followed by Henry Barton Creek. proached a man with a navel-length red beard Friesen, his wife, two daughter and two sons Note: The only thing that divides Upper and dressed in baggy trousers and braces and asked who all washed their hands, face and feet in Lower Barton creek is the beard. In Lower him the way to Henry Friesen’s house. Dis- the same water. Barton Creek, the men shave their beards. Cur- tant, but not unfriendly, he pointed his finger Even in 100 degrees plus temperatures, the rently, attempts are being made to unite the two to Henry’s farm. I carried on but looked back women in Barton Creek wore long dark dresses communities and saw that the man was still looking at me. in a colour range of dark blue, dark green, No modern equipment was allowed in Nervously, I approached Henry’s farm and brown or black with thick black stockings un- Barton Creek. Horses were used in the fields saw a man bearing a now almost familiar ap- derneath. Long aprons in the same colour were and as transport for pulling buggies. pearance - a long grey beard, pudding bowl worn on top. Head coverings were compul- In extreme need, the Barton Creekers could haircut, baggy trousers and braces. Believing sory - big black bonnets for outside the home, accept rides from other people and they were him to be Henry, I introduced myself (con- black scarves for inside. On retiring to bed, I allowed to take buses but they were told by sciously lowering the tone of my rather loud noticed the daughters wearing their scarves in their Minister to use the horse and wagon when- voice), shook his hand and passed him bed. Upon enquiring why, I was told “in case ever possible. They believed that the horse was Rosanne’s note. He read it, looked up and with we get the urge to pray to God in the night and put on the earth to work and that a motorised a smile he said “Ah welcome, welcome, it’s our heads must be covered in the sight of the vehicle was simply part of a man’s vanity. always a wonderful thing to receive a guest Lord.” And again a scripture: “Every woman Henry Friesen described to me a journey he from God.” Well, I’d never considered the BBC that prayeth or prophesieth with her head un- made by horse and wagon to Belize City from in quite that light but gratefully I stepped into covered dishonoureth her head: for that is even Barton Creek. It took him a whole week to get Henry’s home. all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman there, a journey which by bus would have Their home which was built of mixed tim- be not covered, let her be shorn or shaven, let taken just three hours. ber was glaringly plain. There were no orna- her be covered,” 1 Cor. 11:5. The women were On Sunday, I watched a procession of ments, pictures or mirrors - even the calendar forbidden to cut their hair which always re- horses and wagons in solemn single file ap- was dull and industrial. Upon asking Henry mained in a hidden braid, loaf-of-bread size, proaching the church for the regular Sunday why he kept his house looking so simple, be underneath their head coverings. It was washed morning service. The men got out and stood at responded with a verse from 1 John 2:16, “for once every two months. Meanwhile, the men the right-hand side of the grey timber building all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and were not allowed to cut or trim their beards and the women clustered at the left-band side. the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not and they all had identical pudding bowl hair The men entered the church first, sat on the of the Father but is of the world.” He explained cuts. Instead of belts, men wore braces, be- right hand side and the women followed tak- that a Mennonite should live a completely un- lieving that belts attracted too much attention ing their places on the left. worldly life without any superficial and dis- to their bodies. The aim was to wear loose The Mennonite church is comprised of El- tracting adornments. Being of Canadian ori- clothing in order to not attract the opposite ders who controlled all the community’s af- gin, the Friesens spoke excellent English al- sex. fairs and ordained officials - Ministers who though between themselves, they used the The strongest symbol of Barton Creek’s taught the Gospel and Deacons who assisted original Low German. I explained to them that unworldliness was of course the horse and the Ministers. I was encouraged to join the I was carrying out a study on the Mennonites wagon. It is on this issue that many Menno- service and was immediately struck by the beau- in Belize and within a short period of time, nites broke away from the Spanish Lookout tiful singing of hymns in High German. Pas- they invited me to stay with them. community. Spanish Lookout Mennonites be- sages from the Bible were read out by the Min- Before going to bed, I asked whether I could gan acquiring cars, trucks, tractors and bull- ister and then interpreted. The service was car- have some water to wash myself with. I was dozers. This caused a rift with the more con- ried out partly in English and partly in Low

90 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 German. At one stage, the Minister spoke of the evils of drinking tea and coffee, and re- minded his members that they should lead as pure a life as possible. The service lasted three and a half hours, after which I was invited by numerous Mennonites to their homes. I was warmly surprised by this gesture and subsequently learned that the people were keen to share their spiritual values with me. On this occasion, I returned to the Friesens for lunch. Prayers were always said before and after each meal. For lunch we ate black beans with a mixed vegetable stew followed by a fruit salad. Everything was eaten from the same plate. Since I spent so much time with the Men- nonites, I also spent time in their outhouses! These were tall wooden structures set approxi- mately 30 yards away from the house. Inside, one would find a plank containing two round holes - a large one for adults and a smaller one for children. Rather amusingly, instead of toi- let paper, receipts for items bought were used, indicating that money was only fit for the toi- let! On one occasion in the outhouse, I flashed my torch into the corner and there six inches A typical farmyard in the Barton Creek settlement. There are few places on earth that approach the from my foot, I saw a slim black and red snake pristine beauty of this Mennonite community. The buildings are built in the “bat and board” style curled up snugly for the night. I later discov- reminiscent of the buildings of Mennonite pioneers in Kansas and California. It is a building style useful ered it was the coral snake, one of Central in wet and humid climates. On these high plateaus the Barton Creekers raise potatoes. Others farm in the valley of Lower Barton Creek. It is the only “horse and buggy” settlement of Kleine Gemeinde America’s most poisonous species. origins although the majority of the community are of Old Colonist background. The Mennonites in Barton Creek owned approximately 4,000 acres of land. The land write and do simple arithmetic. To be educated Televisions and radios were strictly forbid- was bought by a committee which sold vary- was not considered to be a great virtue as it den. People were aware that a war was going ing amounts to its members. The Mennonites was believed that physical work was the great- on in the Gulf but without access to the outside tried to keep their farming organic. Peanuts est expression of man’s love for God. world, they did not know why the war was and potatoes were the greatest income bearers. Each farm had a large circular metal tank to taking place and who was involved. Their in- They also grew corn, beans, tomatoes, water collect rainwater for drinking, washing and cook- terest in the war was fairly passive. melons, carrots, papaya, sweet peppers, cab- ing purposes. Sometimes during the dry sea- The very worst thing that can happen to a bage and coriander. On a smaller scale, they son, January to May, the tanks ran dry and wa- Mennonite is to be excommunicated. Excom- were involved in cattle and pig farming. ter had to be taken from the Creek. Whilst in munication meant separation from the commu- Flour was made from cassava and bread Barton Creek, I watched the Mennonites water nity and the loss of eternal life. Excommuni- baked once a week. Once the bread turned stale, divining and then digging a well for water. The cated Mennonites remained in the community the mouldy bits were cut off and the bread was method they used was ingenious. Two horses but were unable to enjoy any form of social put in the oven and eaten as toast. On the whole, rotated in a circle with a lead attached to a manual fellowship. At meal times, they ate alone and the Barton Creek Mennonites produced food transmission made up of bits and pieces taken were shunned by the entire community. The for their own consumption and with the money from old abandoned cars and bicycles. This lead only way they could re-enter the church was obtained from what they did sell, they bought was joined to a large concrete block which two through sincere repentance. In Barton Creek, cloth, kerosene for their lamps, shoes, salt and men guided into the earth to “drill” for water. It the entire settlement was plunged into sadness sugar. Nothing was wasted. Old clothes were was a slow process. However, two days before because one of its male members had been ex- torn into strips and used as towels. I left Barton Creek, the Mennonites struck wa- communicated. His crime (serious enough in Cloth was bought in bulk (usually by the ter at a depth of 80 feet. any group) was that he had had intimate rela- Minister’s wife) and then sold to members of The community did not have electricity but tions with his sister and had refrained from the community. No special garments were worn lived at night by the honey-coloured light emit- confessing it at the time of his baptism. De- at weddings, just their regular clothing. The ted from their kerosene lamps. In any case the spite repeated requests from members of the entire church was invited to the wedding and people went to bed early at around 8 p.m. and church, he did not repent of his sin and eventu- the food was provided at the bride’s expense. rose at 5 a.m. After supper, families sat to- ally was compelled to leave the community. I The church building was also used as a gether, talked and sang hymns. At night the discovered that he was working on a farm near school which looked positively Dickensian entire area would be filled with a great melody a place called Dangriga with another excom- with its plain walls and lines of wooden desks of High German hymn singing. municated Mennonite from Lower Barton and rows of benches from a bygone age. School On my last day in Barton Creek, the Creek - the latter having been excommunicated teachers were selected by members of the Men- Minister’s daughter presented me with a gift because of buying a truck to make his busi- nonite church and were expected to take up the of two pristine white pillowcases. I inspected ness more efficient. I decided to track the two position without question. Children began them for signs of creativity such as an embroi- down and discover how they were coping with school at the age of seven; the girls finished dered flower or little motif but, of course, I life in the outside world. their education at the age of 12 and the boys at should have known better. The pillowcases At 2.30 in the morning, I left Barton Creek the age of 13. School began at 7:30 am and were plainly stitched with white thread with- with the Minister Titus Martens on his horse ended at midday. In the afternoons, the chil- out any trace of decoration. Like everything and wagon. I decided it was tactful not to dren were expected to help in the home or in else in their lives, the Mennonites of Barton mention that he was taking me part of the way the fields. The Bible was the main text book at Creek believed that true beauty is found in sim- to see the very member he had excommuni- school and the children learned how to read, plicity. cated.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 91 The Misfits. servative Mennonite one. As a marriageable The pressure was too much for her and she left After repeated enquiries at restaurants and partner his prospects would have been poor. her husband, taking her children back to Lower gas stations in the local town of San Ignacio He would have been considered as too for- Barton Creek. Henry was devastated. He had (Belize is so small, it is very easy to track ward thinking for any strict Mennonite father’s lost his wife and children - everything he had people down), I was eventually led to the ex- daughter. Following the rejection of two pro- ever worked for. As he was married and un- communicated Mennonite’s adopted Spanish posals of marriage, in desperation he devel- able to obtain a divorce, he could not re-marry family. The family was unable to speak En- oped a close relationship with his sister. He in Spanish Lookout. He left and is now living glish but I was able to communicate with them could have kept quiet about it but instead de- with a Spanish girl - a way of life which makes in rudimentary present tense Spanish, having cided to confess what he had done and achieved him unhappy. Again, like David he is caught taken private lessons prior to my trip and a his longed-for release from the Barton Creek between two worlds. week’s Spanish course in Guatemala en route community. Henry had a large clapped-out American to Belize. I was given a telephone car. It was old and the windscreen number of the farm where the two was broken. It was certainly no men - David and Henry were work- status symbol but for Henry it was ing. Phoning them up, I was struck a massive leap from the horse and by how keen they seemed to want wagon. The three of us drove to to talk to me about why they had Dangriga, the town where I was been excommunicated. After a five- staying for the night. We went to a hour bus journey along the dusty local restaurant, a 1950s style and bumpy Hummingbird High- Burger King. Dark and moody way, I alighted at a swampy, mos- Creole women wearing pink and quito-ridden place called Kendal. yellow plastic hair curlers were Amidst the dark Belizean faces, I perched on high stools. A televi- immediately recognised the pale sion set was playing in the back- Mennonite face of David. He ground. Like children, both David showed me his dark dilapidated and Henry were glued to the wooden home and proudly dis- screen. Suddenly a submarine ap- played his radio cassette recorder peared on the television. I asked which would have been strictly Henry if he knew what a subma- forbidden in Upper Barton Creek. rine was and rather uncomfortably He gleefully pointed out the bright, he said “something unreal, a fan- shiny buckle he was wearing on tasy from another planet....oh I the belt to his trousers, having guess I don’t really know.” abandoned his braces many months It was painful to watch them ago. both, knowing that everything On leaving the Barton Creek around them made so little sense. community, David found himself a They left and I felt very sad. Spanish girlfriend. I met him one week prior to his wedding. He Shipyard. seemed to be caught between two Of all the Mennonite commu- worlds - the conservative world of nities, Shipyard had been the one I Barton Creek and the modern had least looked forward to visit- world of which he was now a part ing. Renowned for being skilful of. He complained of how much carpenters, I had experienced some people seemed to swear, drink and hostility from the few Shipyard smoke and how few spiritual val- settlers I had met selling their fur- ues they seemed to have. He ad- niture in Belize City. Having spo- mitted that he had been totally ken to a number of other Menno- wrong in being intimate with his Grandma reading the Bible. In addition to reading and studying the Bible, nites, I knew that this group sister but felt that the enormous re- the Barton Creekers place considerable value on the traditional Mennonite (known as the Old Colony) were strictions in Barton Creek had canon of devotional literature including the Martyrs’ Mirror, Schabaelje’s very set in their traditional ways, a driven him to it. The Wandering Soul, Dirk Philips, Pieter Pieters and Menno Simons. tradition firmly rooted in Russia. I As a teenager, David displayed rebellious Henry, David’s friend was a much sadder did not think they would accept me as an out- tendencies. He would trim his beard, visit the case. He had been excommunicated from Lower sider to stay with them. I also heard that very village close by and openly disagree with Barton Creek due to buying a truck in order to few of them spoke English. However, one name Barton Creek’s conservative ways. In some make transportation of his chickens to the mar- was given to me by individuals from different respects, one has the impression that the com- ket more easy. He found the horse and wagon settlements - a man called Dr. David Friesen munity enjoyed him for his individual ways too impractical, having to get up at 2 a.m. ev- [see Pres., No. 21, page 72]. I knew he wasn’t but at the same time scorned him for being too ery morning to make the three-hour ride to the a qualified doctor but nevertheless treated the much of a controversial figure. As the eldest of market. Despite repeated warnings to sell his whole community of Shipyard with the rudi- 16 children, he had a somewhat privileged po- truck, he held onto it and eventually was forced mentary medical knowledge he had acquired sition. When his father was out of the house to leave the community. He took his wife and over the years. Two people from Blue Creek working, David would take on the role as head four children to Spanish Lookout, a progres- took me on a dark evening to his home to see if of the household. To a certain extent his posi- sive Mennonite community where he was wel- I could make arrangements to stay with him. tion gave him some flexibility, a freedom to comed with open arms. However, every day, Upon entering the community. I was re- challenge his father’s ultra-orthodox ways. By members of the Lower Barton Creek commu- minded of my first impression of Barton Creek the time he reached his 18th birthday, he had nity would arrive in Spanish Lookout and tor- - the sound of clip-clopping hooves on the soft turned into a wayward teenager, fairly normal ment Henry’s wife telling her that she had for- white sandy paths and the smell of their drop- in any western society but outrageous in a con- feited eternal life by leaving the community. pings gently hanging in the air. The darkness

92 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 hit me most of all, electric lights being forbid- when they had a few natural teeth left, in their quaint and dated English expressions. He was den in favour of the kerosene lamps. In a shad- mouths, they would persuade Dr. Friesen to the embodiment of perfect humility. As a team owy corner of his yard. I was introduced to pull them out to give room for new false ones. they were perfect and as a third party, I was Dr. Friesen and he agreed to have me in his To the side of the dental practice was the warmly included in their day to day lives. When home for as long as I wanted to be there. surgery. David would skip from one room to David was away, I would help John in the My stay in Shipyard ended up being my another depending upon a patient’s needs. One surgery, mopping up blood, holding patients’ most rewarding and happiest time in Belize. of my favourite occupations was to peer hands and clearing and tidying the shelves. Dr. Friesen was happy to allow me to spend through the wooden slatted windows and watch The surgery was open six days a week from 7 my days with him in his surgery and, of course, the patients drawing up to the surgery in their a.m. until 5 p.m. and any time for emergencies. through this I met many people and learned a horses and wagons. Sometimes there would Last year, David had only three Sundays lot about them through their visits to the sur- be a queue of four or five of them. For consul- totally free of patients. gery. tations, David would charge nothing and a One of the first patients I met was a woman small marginal profit on the drugs which be who had been pregnant 27 times! She had mar- Medical Centre. ried five times and lost one child Dr. Friesen’s father was a self- in infancy but otherwise had 21 taught dentist in the community. healthy children. When Dr. Friesen was 15 years- Another patient was a seven- old, his father went to Belize City year old girl who had chopped her for a few days. During this time a left hand off with an electric saw few people came to the surgery and (electricity for work purposes is requested David (being the allowed). Every morning this little dentist’s son) to pull their teeth out. girl would come to the surgery to At first he refused to do the extrac- have her dressings changed. She tions because although he had would cry her heart out every time watched his father doing the work the bandage was removed prob- many times, he didn’t have any ably at the shock of seeing her experience himself. Finally, the stumps and realizing that she did people said that if he made a mess not have a hand anymore. Another of their extractions, they would not child was brought in after having take any action against him, if only fallen out of a horse and wagon he would try. He did and removed and rolling underneath. The top their teeth successfully. This layer of his skin on his arms and marked the beginning of Dr. A young lad with his home-made tricycle on the Shipyard Colony. legs had been ripped off. Friesen’s medical career. Part of the reason for the high Dr. Friesen left school at the age incidence of accidents among chil- of 12 and had few formal qualifi- dren lay in the fact that the Men- cations. He had a certificate in mid- nonites have such large families wifery and a certificate for treating (they did not believe in contracep- malaria. At the front of the medical tion) and they just cannot keep an centre was the dental practice. The eye on all their children. A small room contained 50-year old ex-U. family consists of six to eight chil- S. dental equipment and an equally dren, an average one of 10 to 14 old and threadbare dentist’s chair. and a large one upwards of 19. The Most of the equipment’s accesso- children were expected to do adult ries did not work. However, David jobs before they were mature was able to carry out fillings and enough to cope with them and the extractions quite adequately. On top standards of safety were appalling. of this he made false teeth in a room My days flipped over like a at the back. The false teeth busi- pack of cards watching toe nails ness was a big one in Shipyard due being removed, fingers being sewn to the Mennonites having such poor hack on, children being treated for teeth. By the age of 15, most Men- thread worms and even a bullet nonites had full or partial plates. It A tractor equipped with steel wheels on the Shipyard Colony. from an air-gun being removed was almost a symbol of adulthood from a boy’s thumb. The Menno- - you reached your mid-teens and got a new sold. Besides treating the 2,000 Mennonites in nite pale European skin is totally unsuitable set of teeth! In any case, the Mennonites Shipyard and 1,000 in Little Belize, a large for the tropical climate and unsurprisingly there thought the false ones were prettier than their number of Belizeans would come to see him, is a high incidence of skin cancer among the natural teeth. Judging from the mis-shapen ones believing him to be one of the most efficient community. Once a month the British army I saw, they could have been right. I tried to practitioners in the area. Mennonites from other would send in a doctor to perform operations work out why they had such bad teeth. To a more distant colonies would come to see him, such as hernias. The community had a very certain extent they didn’t look after their teeth sometimes travelling up to half a day in order good relationship with the army who in emer- and they all drank rain water which had very to reach him. He was an astonishing character gencies would send helicopters to sick up the few minerals. In addition, their diet was defi- and with his rather forlorn and brown three patients. cient in calcium. Few people drank milk, ate front teeth poking out of his mouth, he was an cheese or fruit and vegetables. Dr. Friesen was unlikely advertisement for a dentist. He worked aware of this and at the time of my visit was with just one assistant whom he trained to do Spanish Lookout, Belize, trying to re-educate the people to prevent tooth all the things which he could do, a man called has a new website: decay. It was mostly a waste of time, since John Heide. Softly spoken in English learned they seemed to enjoy having false teeth. Even from a book 80 years old, John used the most www.spanishlookout.bz

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 93 We would wake up at 5.00 a.m. and have break- fast at 6.00 a.m. often consisting of bread doused in a bowl of coffee (in this community coffee was allowed). As with all Mennonites, prayers preceded and ended each meal. At 10 a.m., we would eat lunch, usually rice, red kidney beans and sometimes pork. At 2 p.m. we would eat a snack called “faspa” usually comprising of bread with chocolate spread or cake. At 6.30 p.m. we would eat a very light supper usually some soup such as David Dyck’s plane on the Blue Creek Colony. Slash and burn “Milpa” - Indian Creek. A tech- borscht or chicken soup with home-made The Blue Creek Colony has been taken over by nique used to transform the rain forest jungle into noodles. Being of Central Eastern European Rudnerwieders (E.M.M.C.), a Fundamentalist sect some of the most productive farmland on earth. origin myself, I recognised some of their dishes from Canada who are apparently on a compaign Photo probably from Blue Creek. as being from this area. to eradicate Christo-Centric faith among Menno- Rather like the Jews, they selected the best nites in Latin America. him on the rubber wheel issue saying “I hap- dishes from every country in which they lived pened to be born in a community which has and adopted them as their own specialities. very strange ideas.” When the motor car Bath times were quite a performance. A tiny Rubber Tires. emerged in 1911, many Mennonites in Canada cubicle in the house was allocated as the shower. Shipyard was characterised by its ban on and in the U.S. accepted it but the Old Order I was given one bucket of water and an empty the use of rubber tires. This originated from Mennonites and the Old Colony Mennonites bucket with holes pierced at the bottom of it. the time when the Mennonites lived in Mexico banned it completely. My first attempts to wash were futile. By the and it was feared that the younger generation time I had lathered myself under the pierced would flee to nearby towns on rubber-wheeled Clothing. bucket of water, most of the water had hit the tractors to find worldly entertainment. Unlike As in Barton Creek, the community was concrete floor and I went to bed feeling like a Barton Greek, tractors were allowed in Ship- expected to dress modestly. This group had cake of soap. Gradually I became an expert yard but they had to have smooth or spiked- the most attractive dress code of all the Men- managing to lather myself quickly and transfer iron wheels. Smooth iron-wheeled tractors nonites in Belize. It was a style of dress brought only some of the water to the bucket with holes. were used for the roads and spiked iron- back from Russia. The women wore identi- I would then quickly raise this bucket, hang it wheeled tractors for the fields. Rubber wheels cally-styled dresses - mid-calf in length, pleated above me and shower under the few precious were allowed on trailers which were not at the back, smooth at the front with an apron droplets of water. motorised thus a tractor with iron wheels could effect at the toe. The prints on the dresses were Afterwards, I would spend a couple of carry a trailer with rubber wheels. Even different but usually floral on a dark back- hours teaching the squad of 10 children some children’s bicycles had iron wheels. ground. They wore rather fetching large- English. At 8 p.m., I would go to bed. My Shipyard people were allowed to ride in brimmed straw hats with different coloured bedroom at John Heide’s was a schoolroom. I other peoples’ motorised vehicles but they were ribbons which hung to the side. Sometimes, slept beneath the blackboard on a raised plat- forbidden to ride in a vehicle belonging to some- under the straw hats, they wore peasant-style form with rows and rows of desk and benches one of the same religion because if a man from scarves. They really looked lovely. The men in front of me. First, I would run around the Shipyard was driving a vehicle, he was break- wore braces or overalls with checked shirts room with a petzl (miner’s torch) on my head, ing the community’s rules and therefore should and straw hats. wopping the cockroaches with the sole of my be excommunicated. Although rather eccen- Like Barton Creek, the Mennonites in Ship- shoe. I would then block off the sounds of the tric, the horses and wagons were an attractive yard were forbidden to have televisions, ra- squeaking rats outside by donning my head- sight. I enjoyed riding in them, visiting other dios and cassette recorders. What did surprise phones and listening to the World Service on members of the community and it was won- me was that they were allowed to smoke! Ap- my short-wave radio. derful to inhale fresh country air, unpolluted parently, the habit was brought over from Rus- As mentioned earlier, John Heide and his by car fumes. One of the most breathtaking sia and remained part of their culture. wife Elizabeth had 10 children. He was 31 and sights was seeing a large procession of horses I alternated between staying with Dr. Friesen his wife was 27. Elizabeth could not speak any and wagons going to church on Sunday. and John Heide. Both men had 10 children. English but this was not a problem as John Dr. Friesen would smile when I quizzed The structure of their days was fairly similar. would take the time to act as a mediator be-

The little one is tired. Playing and working with many siblings and cousins of similar age creates a rich learning, socializing and growing-up experience Prayers before supper. Shipyard. for children.

94 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 tween the two of us. She was a lovely woman stead. Mahogany was cheaper than plywood - Shipyard, the wonderful warm dark evenings and like the Friesens, there was obviously a lot even rabbit hutches were made out of ma- punctured by flickering lightening bugs, sit- of affection between the two of them. John hogany! Carpenters would make the furniture ting on various lamp-lit porches, surrounded believed that his wealth lay in having such a when they weren’t taking care of their land. As by inquisitive children exchanging stories with large and close family. a departing gift, I was given a solid mahogany the Mennonites. And how rich those stories For 12 years, John worked as a school- suitcase. It became clear as time went on that were. Most of them described their long event- teacher in Shipyard. This would have been a most Mennonites could turn their hands to any- ful journeys from Canada to Mexico to Belize position of some status, as he would have been thing of a practical nature. and the astounding pioneer way in which they selected by the community to do this work. In As in all the Mennonite communities, I was cleared the wild and vast jungles of Belize. order to make a little extra money, John would struck by the cohesion of the family unit. Each There were no rude noises from televisions, help Dr. Friesen after school in his radios, cars or phones to disturb surgery. these evenings, only the gentle Some Mennonites who had sound of horses hooves clip- been excommunicated from Ship- clopping past. One rarely appreci- yard due to buying a truck, came to ates how happy one is until the visit John Heide. Because they were time has disappeared. That didn’t excommunicated, John should have happen to me. I kept pinching shunned them in accordance with myself the whole time to remind the community’s regulations but he myself that I was there and soon didn’t. and subsequently lost his would be gone. It came too soon. job as a schoolteacher. On top of I left with watery eyes and the this, he forfeited his position as one gentle smiles of John and Eliza- of the seven leading singers in the beth in my mind. church. Luckily Dr. Friesen gave him full time employment in his Spanish Lookout. practice but it seemed that it was Two Belizeans and a Spaniard only a matter of time before John were trekking through the bush. would be excommunicated. Suddenly without warning, a wild Pressure was already on him to boar jumped out of the trees and leave the school house and the pic- began running towards the men, ture looked rather bleak until Dr. aiming particularly for the Span- Friesen came to his rescue. Dr. iard. One of the Belizeans cried Friesen had a brother living in pro- out “hey Spanish look-out.” From gressive Spanish Lookout who such legends, place names are promised to look for a house there born. for John Heide and his family. Prior The Spanish Lookout Menno- to my departure, a house had been nite settlement is situated on the found for them and the Spanish Belize River, 65 miles west of the Lookout community was planning capital city Belmopan. The people to set John up as a dentist there. in this colony are from the Kleine It was a shame for Shipyard. Gemeinde group and have always John was intelligent, quietly spiri- been more economically success- tual and had a wonderful touch with ful than the other Mennonite colo- the children. Despite the nies in Belize. community’s rejection of him, he The first settlers arrived in maintained that he still loved his Spanish Lookout in 1958. The people and accepted their treatment early years were difficult as the of him because he knew that this Traditional meets progressive at the co-op store in the “Zentrum” at Spanish settlers had to clear dense, high was the way they lived and oper- Lookout. Barton Creekers travel to Spanish Lookout by horse and buggy to jungle, adjust to the humid climate ated. purchase their supplies. and battle against insects and tropi- cal diseases. They were also ham- Land. child would be designated a certain job either pered by the Belize River across which every- In total, the Mennonites in Shipyard had in the house or out in the fields. I never came thing had to be carried by a crude and inad- 22,000 acres of land, approximately 200 acres across a lazy Mennonite - not one. Each per- equate ferry. Several people were injured in per family. They grew beans, corn, sorghum son had his/her place and as such was never the first years of clearing the bush and the sto- and rice. The beans were exported. Due to their made to feel excluded. Of course, the spiritual ries have been well documented by a member rapidly expanding families, giving rise to land aspect dominated their entire lives. Religion of the community. hunger, a daughter colony was set up in 1981 was not just going to church on Sundays. Most in Little Belize, approximately 30 miles away people would read two or three chapters from Menno Loewen. from Shipyard. Most people had land if only the Bible each day and sing hymns. The hymn “John Reimer was out in the bush clearing to feed their large families. Dr. Friesen, in ad- singing was extraordinary and very peculiar to a 20-acre field with his two 17-year old twin dition to his surgery, had 200 acres of land and this Old Colony group of Mennonites. They sons, David and Harvey. The first pioneer as I left he bought another 300 acres in the new would linger for a long time on one note, emit- years had been hard on them but now as the colony at Indian Creek. ting a rather haunting sound. Dr. Friesen had a productivity of their farm increased, acres were Many Mennonites were involved in pro- tape recorder hidden in his drawer in the sur- being cleared for pasture and planting and ducing mahogany and cedar wood furniture. gery and at the end of the day, he would pull it the future looked bright. The father and his The craftsmanship was excellent and each out and listen to pre-recorded hymns - hardly a sons were out cutting down trees. Due to the household, no matter how poor would have a sin in anyone’s language. numerous vines binding the trees together, a shiny mahogany table, rocking chair and bed- I will never ever forget my precious days at tree doesn’t immediately fall down when it has

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 95 consumed vast quantities of corn. Some 24,000 broiler chickens were produced each week and distributed throughout the whole of Belize. Rearing cattle was another successful ven- ture although the community did experience considerable theft from their herds of cattle. Luckily the government imposed a high head- tax on cattle when sold which curtailed to some extent the thievery. The Mennonites here were also great milk, butter and cheese producers. Before the Mennonites came to Belize, most of the country’s food was imported and it was The Friesen Hatchery on Spanish Lookout is one of the earliest successful enterprises, supplying the very difficult to find any fresh food at all, so entire country of Belize with young chicks. the Mennonites’ contribution to the country’s food production was great. Even today, walk- selves in their community. To a certain extent ing through any major store in Belize City, one there is jealousy of their economic success. is struck by the enormous quantities of im- And it’s expanding. One wonders as this ported food products and the only fresh food- colony goes from economic strength to even stuffs appear to come from the Mennonites. greater economic strength how the population Spanish Lookout had electricity, even in the will view them and how their own spiritual more remote areas. They had a unique phone values will survive. system using an old-fashioned switchboard run Initially, the Spanish Lookout group bought by Wilma Thiessen and Sara Dueck. They had 18,274 acres of land in 1958 at a price of 15 lines with 10 to 14 numbers on each line. $100,000. They now own 46,000 acres. The The Spanish Lookout telephone directory was In conservative Mennonite families youngsters land was bought on mass by the community fascinating in its repetition of family surnames learn to help in the family farm at an early age. and privately sold to members of the commu- and unavoidably some inbreeding was evident. Here the children help their parents by sorting nity. The farms follow a Canadian system with Spanish Lookout had only one commercial kidney beans which are raised for export to Ja- farms running off intersecting roads. They are store although another one was in its final stages maica. beautifully maintained and have an almost sur- of completion. Everything from barbed wire real quality to them. The most important crops to food to underwear was available in this store. been sawn. They had already sawn four trees are corn and beans; the corn is planted in the All Mennonites living in the community re- that hadn’t fallen down and David was cutting summer and the beans in the winter. Milo, pea- ceived a dividend at the end of five years relat- the fifth. Suddenly, a huge cahun tree started nuts, watermelons and vegetables are also ma- ing to the amount of money they had spent in to fall. The boys tried to warn him but it was jor products. Gaging quantity production is the store. People from outside the community too late. The 2,000 pound tree fell on him kill- often difficult because if the produce is smaller (including Barton Creek) regularly shopped ing him instantly.” than the demand, the prices become inflated there due to the very competitive prices. Despite the setbacks the Kleine Gemeinde but with over-production the prices become There were five churches in Spanish Look- people at Spanish Lookout made an excellent abnormally low. out, served by a ministry of 20 preachers and adjustment to their new environment. Until From the very start, the Mennonites devel- deacons and again one’s spiritual life took pre- their migrations to Mexico in the 1950s, many oped an egg hatchery business. This was pri- cedence above all else. of them had lived in south-eastern Manitoba, a vately owned by the Thiessen family and some The Kleine Gemeinde group always took a densely wooded region in Canada. They there- 60,000 chicks were hatched every week, serv- strong stance on nonconformity, humility and fore had experience in land clearing operations. ing the whole country. The eggs were pro- church discipline. Among the practises espe- Additionally, they had more capital than Men- vided by Spanish Lookout although some eggs cially condemned were card playing, smoking, nonites in other Belizean colonies and spoke had to be imported. Broiler chickens were big drinking and musical instruments. Any worldly better English (due to their more recent Cana- business and very practical since the chickens act was punished by excommunication. Addi- dian origins) which gave them more tionally, the Kleine Gemeinde ob- access to the farming infra-struc- jected to all forms of resistance. It ture of Belize. was not permissible to help police Unlike the Old Colonists of apprehend violaters. Children Shipyard, the people were not op- were taught to take life seriously posed to using modern equipment and therefore laughing, joking and including trucks, bulldozers, trac- general frivolity were frowned tors and machine-operated farming upon. Over the years in Spanish implements. Those who did oppose Lookout, there has been a soften- the use of modern equipment left ing of attitude. Although televi- and joined the more conservative sions and radios are not encour- groups in Upper and Lower Barton aged, people do have them. Creek. Having sent some of my lug- Today, the Belizean government gage ahead of me with Mennonites views SpanIsh Lookout as a model taking the five-hour trip by horse example of a successful settlement and buggy to the Spanish Look- although some of their non-Men- out store, I was free to make my nonite neighbours feel frustrated way there fairly unencumbered that they do not mix with the rest The co-op store at Spanish Lookout. The store has been enlarged and and at a leisurely pace. I went by of the country, isolating themselves completely modernized since this photograph was taken 10 years ago. It is horse and buggy to Georgeville through their use of the Low Ger- now housed in a large building which rivals North American “box stores” and from there took a bus to within man language and keeping them- and attracts customers from all over Belize. two miles of the Spanish Lookout

96 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 ferry. It was Sunday so there was no traffic ger and caused them to retreat back into their whatsoever and I had to walk to the ferry. It own communities. Getting the balance right felt much longer than two miles in the midday between interacting with the society at large heat and within a short time I felt exhausted and yet maintaining their conscientious way of and the two small bags on my back felt like life was something the Mennonites here saw boulders. Eventually, I reached the ferry which as occurring through a closer understanding bore me across to Spanish Lookout. I was the of how they honoured the world. Whilst in only passenger. Once across the Belize River, Belize, I made contact with Howard Benson I still had another four miles to walk. To pre- (ex-BBC) working for VSO at Belize Radio. I vent myself from feeling sorry for myself, I introduced him to Menno Loewen and both kept thinking how the Mennonites must have Howard and Menno felt it was necessary for felt, arriving here in 1958, after a long and The telephone switchboard at Spanish Lookout. the Mennonites to have a sympathetic ear, for arduous journey to be faced with the prospect The telephone system has been amalgamated with the Belizeans to understand their way of life of clearing the bush on arrival - and all I had to Belize Telephone in recent years. and the problems they face via the radio. do was walk with two modest bags to this Shortly after my departure, Howard set up a prairie-like settlement. Eventually, I hailed a mittee. Going out to investigate the newly pur- programme based on the Mennonites in Span- ride from four Mennonite girls. Immediately, I chased land by tractor, he came across a field ish Lookout. was struck by how modern they looked al- which a freelance Belizean farmer had been though still rather home-spun in their cotton using to plant marijuana. He was spotted by Blue Creek. dresses and modest little head coverings. I was the farmer and recognised. Some days later, he If I had to select a Mennonite community in surprised to see a girl driving. I was taken to was returning home with his wife and three Belize in which I could realistically settle, I the hatchery and found a few Salvadorean children and just as he was about to park his would plump for Blue Creek. It does not have workers who invited me into their simple home car there was a shoot-out. It was clear that the romanticism of the simple life of Shipyard and offered me some water. Eventually, some Menno’s son-in-law was the target. Instead, or the pace of Spanish Lookout but lies some- Mennonites were contacted and I found my- Menno’s five-year old granddaughter was hit where between the two poles. self deposited with the family of Mary and in the head by two bullets. Medical facilities in Firstly, it is located in the most beautiful Menno Loewen. these colonies were limited and for any major spot, high in the hills with exquisite views all After Barton Creek, their home seemed operations, people travelled to Merida in around. The heat is never oppressive because positively palatial and at night I had the luxury Mexico or to Guatemala City. The family took of the constant cool breezes. Orange Walk is of an electric light bulb instead of running the little girl to Guatemala and after an opera- the nearest town and the Mexican border is down my batteries on my torch to read. Memo tion she made an adequate recovery although only a spit away. Loewen was one of the first pioneers to come the surgeons decided to leave the two bullets I stayed in Blue Creek with David and to Spanish Lookout and as such was a mine in her head because they were too deeply en- Susanna Dyck, arguably the wealthiest Men- of information about the area. Additionally, trenched in her brain and the removal of them nonite family in Belize. David was a building he was completely fascinated by Mennonite would have caused brain damage. I asked the contractor owning numerous bulldozers, trac- history and gave me fantastic information and family if they considered moving from the area tors, graders and trucks so essential for clear- access to books I had only heard about. We as they were obviously prime targets but al- ing the bush in Belize. He also owned 3,000 would spend hours discussing the Menno- though they admitted that some people had acres of land. Almost every recently built road nites, a subject that the pair of us found ut- moved because of attacks such as these, others and bridge I came across, seemed to have the terly absorbing. Menno’s wife Mary, was a had decided to stay and they themselves had stamp of David Dycks name on it and he was modest woman - quiet - but if the Mennonites decided that they were definitely not going to very highly regarded throughout all the colo- were the quiet in the land, the women had an be driven out. nies, offering employment to anyone who even quieter voice. The Mennonites have been accused of be- asked. Quilting was a great social occasion for ing too isolationist and yet drug-related inci- Blue Creek was established in 1958 and in women because as such, women did not waste dents such as this have reinforced their with- David’s own words, the people from this com- time talking and doing nothing. Their lives at drawal from society. Whenever they came into munity and Shipyard, all came from “one home were extremely busy looking after many contact with the world, the contact spelt dan- bucket”. They were all Old Colony Menno- children and running the household without the assistance of any modern conveniences. However, once a week, women would take it in turns to have quilting sessions in their homes. These giant squares of fabric would be stretched across a table and up to 20 women around it would hand stitch the fabric. Quilt- ing gave them the opportunity to talk, exchange recipes, sing hymns and quote passages from the Bible and with 20 pairs of hands a quilt was quickly completed. I was allowed to join in these sessions and somewhere in Spanish Lookout, there is a quilt bearing the rather over- large stitches created by my own fair clumsy hands. Maybe one day like the Mennonite quilts in the States, it’ll become a collector’s The main worship house of the Kleine Gemeinde in Schönthal, Spanish Lookout, seating over a 1000. item! It is used for all-congregational meetings and other community events. The Kleine Gemeinde here is The Mennonites had been the victims of divided into four church districts. The colony has 1400 residents and is considered by government drug-related problems throughout Belize. In officials to be the “bread basket” of Belize. In recent years Dick Harms and other predators have been 1990 the community via a central committee successful in establishing several small sectarian church groups on Spanish Lookout seeking wherever acquired more land in Spanish Lookout. possible to meddle and interfere with the legitimate functioning of the Church of Christ. Photo - Diese Menno’s son-in-law was a member of the com- Steine, page 616.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 97 nites originating from Chihuahua in Mexico, The busiest time of the year was in the dry store and after 6 p.m., the line was transferred driving horses and wagons, following strict months of February to May. During this time, to the Dyck’s household. This meant that their codes of dress and clinging to their old ways. the Mennonites were employed to work out- living room had an endless stream of people However, very rapidly, in order to clear the side the colony, land clearing and road build- waiting to use the telephone! It was a great bush, people started buying tractors, bulldoz- ing. For the rest of the year, they worked within meeting place for all Mennonites, an opportu- ers and land rovers. David’s father was the their own colony on their own land. nity for problems to be aired and discussed. first Mennonite to buy a bulldozer. Susanna There was a community store and whatever Although in terms of Mennonites, the Dycks Dyck’s father, a Minister also bought a vehicle profit it made, the community benefitted as the were very wealthy, they certainly weren’t ma- and one day found himself forcibly banned profits went into discounting the prices the fol- terialistic. Their home was comfortable but kept from preaching in the church by his congrega- lowing year and a small percentage went into fairly simple. tion who wanted to adhere to the old ways. It people’s pockets. In addition, the people had During my stay in Shipyard at Dr Friesen’s, was a scandal at the time, a Minister being their own bank called the Credit Union. All the I heard that David Dyck’s brother had been excommunicated by his own people. When interest stayed in the community rather than killed by a massive log of wood which fell David and Susanna wanted to be baptised in going into the commercial banks. One of the onto him from a trailer. He was just 40 years the church, a prerequisite to marriage, they biggest problems in Belize was getting spare old. When I returned to Blue Creek, this inci- were turned down year after year due to both parts for equipment so people would fly regu- dent caused the entire community to become their fathers owning rubber-wheeled vehicles. larly to the United States for spare parts. The subdued. But death in such a way was not Gradually, the traditional group started to leave, community had an aeroplane, privately owned unusual. Like farmers anywhere, they were moving to Shipyard, Bolivia and Paraguay until but there for the benefit of the people in Blue prone to accidents such as these. This one was only the progressive group was left in Blue Creek. unfortunate but I could not help thinking how Creek. In true Mennonite form, David Dyck was a many accidents could have been avoided When the Old Colony decided to move, they man of vision and imagination. Some years through more stringent safety measures. David needed to sell their land but were forbidden to ago, a South American cargo plane crashed 18 Dyck’s nephew had a nasty accident on a mo- sell it to the remaining Mennonites who by miles south of Belize. The wings were de- tor bike because of faulty brakes. Nobody had this time had all been excommunicated. David, stroyed so the company was unwilling to fix told him about the faulty brakes. He ended up not yet having been baptised into the church it; they asked David to bring his equipment to with two broken arms and stitches round his was one of the few people able to purchase the carry it away. Subsequently, David decided to neck. What was more amazing was how his land because until one is baptised into the buy it for storage and the plane literally was nephew took this accident in his stride. With church, one cannot be excommunicated. Thus plonked in his back garden. All the hydraulic two arms in plaster, I watched him change tires he acted as a middle man - buying land from parts were used for a hydroelectric plant pro- and mend equipment around the farmyard! people leaving Blue Creek and selling it to the viding water for some 45 families in Blue Until recently, the standard of education in people remaining. Creek. Blue Creek had been poor. Most Mennonites For a few years, the progressive commu- Equalling David Dyck’s flair and imagina- attended school until 12 or 13 and as teachers nity was without a church until the people con- tion was Barry Bowen, one of Belize’s great- had to be Mennonites, their standard of educa- tacted a Mennonite group in Canada who came est entrepreneurs. A seventh-generation tion would be low. However, in Blue Creek a over and formed the Evangelical Mennonite Belizean, (with the appearance of a romantic new educational programme had been imple- Mission Church [Rudnerweiders]. This along swashbuckling pirate) Barry owned all the soft mented for students up to the age of 17 and 18. with the Kleine Gemeinde are the churches in drinks and beer in Belize and he was a close It was run by the Eastern Mennonites of Penn- existence in Blue Creek today. The churches friend of David Dyck’s. The two of them were sylvania. After this a student had a choice on have a very good relationship with one an- often described as the Belize Builders. taking further studies. Most chose not to, pre- other and there are none of the petty squabbles Barry went to the United States and brought ferring to work on the land. The curriculum found in some other groups. back embryos from the strong stock of had a religious bias and each student was given The population of Blue Creek was 500 Herefordshire cows. Together with David a tailor-made programme to suit his/her needs. owning a total of 35,000 acres. Everyone lived Dyck, they implanted these embryos into the There were few discipline problems in the independently but worked together on main- stringier Belizean Brahma cows. The result was school probably due to the strong religious taining the roads, schools and church. Every- a fatter cow but with the genetic make up of the and moral element. The teachers were baptised one paid tax for this maintenance but it was not Brahma, a species able to withstand the tropi- members of the church and quite often teach- a fixed percentage of their income; it was based cal climate of Belize. ers from Canada were invited over to help out upon what the community spent during the There was just one telephone in Blue Creek. in the school. In Blue Creek English was taught year. During the day it was kept at the community to a high standard and many children found it a real struggle. I was therefore able to help several of them with their homework. Like Spanish Lookout, Blue Creek was pro- gressive in its outlook but again had run into drugs-related problems. In the past, because of their knowledge of the bush, certain farm- ers were enlisted to help in drug-trafficking activities. Sometimes, this was done at gun- point and the Mennonites had no choice in the matter. Occasionally, farmers were simply tempted by the promise of easy money. Others simply could not stand the pressure and joined Mennonite communities in Canada.

Indian Creek. For a taste of the pioneering life, I spent a “Reimer Feeds”, founded by John K. Reimer, son of Kleine Gemeinde Ältester Corn. R. E. Reimer, day in Indian Creek, a new colony 25 miles Mexico, was the first large privately-owned business on Spanish Lookout. Spanish Lookout is rapidly south of Shipyard, purchased for the mush- developing into a commercial and shopping for central Belize. Photo - Diese Steine, page 616. rooming younger generation of Shipyard. In

98 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 total 16,500 acres had been bought and the of time before this would all change. And yet I clearing of the bush was still in its early stages. could not help but feel what a shame this would I clambered into a bulldozer, taking my be. How long would their strong Christian place next to the driver. As there was no seat, I values last once they began to mix with the perched myself on an extremely hot metal ledge. outside world? The work ethic was so intense Suddenly, we were thrown forward in attack amongst them and one could see in Spanish on a large cahun tree before us. It tremored a Lookout how once they acquired modern equip- little but was barely blistered. After four or ment for farming they became more and more five lunges, the tree came down, splattering prosperous and their spiritual lives were much the bulldozer with its great big leaves. Sud- more difficult to maintain. denly a swarm of African killer bees in com- The Belizeans liked and admired the Men- plete revenge filled the bulldozer cabin. I nonites and regarded them as displaying true quickly covered myself with a net and escaped Christian characteristics. If anyone in trouble with only two but extremely painful stings. crossed their paths, they would do everything The driver wasn’t so lucky. He was stung by in their power to help them. Nothing was too at least 15 of them. much trouble. The environment was infectious The method used to clear the land is called and I found myself wanting to be of some use, A farmyard on Spanish Lookout. The Bramah live- milpa - slash and burn. It’s quite a remarkable of some service to them. stock is very suitable for Belize because of its resis- sight, seeing these vast stretches of land aflame I went to Belize to study a group of unusual tance to the humidity and heat. Photo - Diese in preparation for planting. Some Belizeans people. I left making several friends and the Steine, page 616. argue that the Mennonites are clearing too much letters I have since received strike a strange support. I also thank my boss Donna Eaton land and destroying the wildlife and I must chord in my heart. I have developed a bond who released me from my work commitments admit I never felt this as strongly as when I with these people and with this overwhelm- at a very busy time during the Gulf War. watched three howler monkeys hanging on for ingly wild and beautiful country which will The people in Belize I wish to give a spe- dear life onto the one solitary tree which hadn’t stay with me always. cial thank-you to include: Professor Ervin and been knocked down by a bulldozer. As Belize Phyllis Beck (my surrogate family in Belize becomes increasingly ecologically minded (it Acknowledgements. City), Menno Loewen who helped me enor- already is), more and more people are likely to I did not want to turn this report into a mously on the historical background, Mary object to these intensive landclearing opera- history book, but it is only when I looked into Loewen his wife (Spanish Lookout), David tions. the origins of the Mennonites and examined and Susanna Dyck for their incredible gener- osity, allowing me countless hours Conclusion. in their office and the use of their My experience of living with typewriter (Blue Creek), Ben and the Mennonites in Barton Creek and Loretta Wiebe for their precious Shipyard had a profound impact on feedback on my report (Blue me. It was an extraordinary feel- Creek), Henry and Helena Friesen ing, deserting London on a cold (Upper Barton Creek), Dr. David winter’s day in February when the Friesen and Agnietta Friesen, John entire western world was preoccu- Heide and Elizabeth Heide for in- pied with the Gulf War and just one cluding me in their daily lives week later stepping back 300 years (Shipyard). Noah and Loretta in time to a world which knew noth- Hochstetler who encouraged me ing about the collapse of commu- from the very start to carry out my nism in Central Eastern Europe and study (Stann Creek), Mike Gundy the devastation being wreaked by for mending my tape recorder, tak- the Gulf War. Working as part of ing a whole weekend to fix it the news operation in London, (Belize City), Bruce and Carolyn these major new stories had domi- Miller and Lissette (Gallon Jug), nated my life but being with the A store on the Shipyard Colony. The ice-cream “schmecks”. Today there are Barry Bowen and Dixie (Gallon Mennonites without any contact 10,000 Mennonites in Belize. Photo - Diese Steine, page 616. Jug), Rosanne Orrlzzi (Upper with the outside world, these events ceased to the reasons for their migrations, that I began to Barton Creek), Titus Martens (Upper Barton exist and suddenly I felt like an ostrich bury- understand why the more traditional groups Creek), David and Eva Penner (Upper Barton ing my head in the sand. Sometimes this ‘os- have chosen to live in isolated settlements not Creek), Howard Benson (VSC, Belize Radio) trich’ syndrome among the Mennonites irri- only in Belize but throughout South America. - and to all the people who gave me rides in tated me and occasionally I questioned the Throughout my stay in Belize, I received their trucks and horses and buggies when pub- morality of their withdrawn existence - living enormous kindness from the Mennonites. Their lic transport wasn’t available - in many cases and feeding off the land just enough to cover communities were always far away from any going out of their way to take me to my desti- their own needs but without giving much back built-up areas and in every instance, no matter nation. to Belize. This of course was only true of how plain, I was given somewhere to stay and Barton Creek and this community could only my offers to pay for my keep were often re- Photographs: exist because the other groups contributed so jected. Prior to this trip, I never dreamed that I All photographs for this article except as enormously to the country’s agriculture. Some- would be given such access to the Mennonites noted are by the author Joasia Haniewicz. Cap- times the rules and regulations such as those in especially to the ultra-conservative groups but tions by the editor. Shipyard seemed ridiculous. How many bro- as an outsider, I was always welcomed and ken legs and arms could have been set prop- invited into the heart of their lives. My experi- Appendix I. erly if people had cars and trucks to take them ence turned into one of the most precious two 1800 Russian Privilegium to the Mennonites. swiftly to the nearest hospital instead of rely- months of my life. 1. Religious tolerance; ing on their horses and wagons. Some of the For this I have to thank the board who se- 2. Exemption from military service; older generation believed it was just a matter lected me for this study and for Maureen Bebb’s 3. Freedom from the declaration of oaths;

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 99 lowed closely in one’s spiritual life in order to receive salvation. Everyone can be included except for disbelievers who are unworthy of eternal life. 6. It is believed that a man’s heart is essentially evil and needs to undergo repentance. A re- flection of this repentance is an amendment in a man’s way of life. Without faith, baptism, communion or any religious ceremony is hol- low and salvation will not occur. 7. Upon confession of faith, penitent new-born believers are to be baptised by water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 8. The church should consist of repentant and baptised believers only. 9. The church can only exist with Bishops and Ministers to guide its members. These reli- gious offices should be selected, through prayer by church members who are sound in faith. 10. Communion should be observed to keep the memory of Christ’s death. 11. The washing of feet should be practised as Old Colonist boys being taken to school by their older brother. The Old Colonists are known for their it represents the cleansing of the soul. It also genius in building and manufacturing products like these wagons. Their forefathers in the Chortitza denotes humility. “Old” Colony on the Dnieper River, once produced six percent of all agricultual equipment in Imperial 12. Matrimony is an honourable state if occur- Russia (see Pres., No. 21, page 120). Old Colonists’ wagons have high quality suspension systems. For ring between Christians. Freedom of choice is an earlier photo essay on the Mennonites of Belize, see Wilmer Penner, “Belize,” Pres., No. 12, pages 38- allowed providing each person selects a be- 40 (website www.hshs.mb.ca) liever. 13. It is believed that God has instituted a civil 4. 65 dessatien of free arable land to each fam- sory system of insurance. government for the punishment of the bad and ily; maintaining order. 5. Exemption from taxation for 10 years; The Mennonites will (in return): 14. Revenge and resistance to evil is forbid- 6. The right to fish and establish distilleries of 1. Pay all costs and expenses incurred in es- den. It is better to run away rather than attack which they were to have a monopoly within tablishing settlements. in self-defence. One should pray for, comfort their settlements; 2. Bring into British Honduras capital invest- and feed one’s enemies. 7. Freedom from accommodating soldiers. ment in cash and kind amounting to five hun- 15. The swearing of oaths is not allowed. A dred thousand dollars more or less British Hon- simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ should be sufficient. Appendix II. duras currency. 16. Excommunication in recommended for The Agreement Between the Mennonites and 3. Produce food not only for themselves but constantly sinning members of the church. The British Honduras. for local consumption and for the export mar- aim of the excommunication is to persuade the The Government of British Honduras will ket. sinner to repent of his sin to enable him to grant to the Mennonites: 4. Conduct themselves as good citizens, and return to the church. 1. The right to run their own churches and subject to this agreement, observe and obey 17. Excommunicated members should be schools with their own teachers in their own the law of British Honduras. shunned by other members in order that they German language, according to their own reli- 5. Pay all normal duties, land tax, estate duty, do not ‘contaminate’ their fellow Christians. It gion. property tax and income tax. is hoped that through shame, the sinner will 2. Exemption from making the customary im- repent of his ways. Once a member is excom- migration deposits. Appendix III municated, he is banned from all social occa- 3. Protection of life and property in peace and Articles of Faith. sions such as eating with other members. war. 1. It is only possible to be close to God through 18. It is believed that all the dead will rise on 4. Entire exemption from military service. strong faith. It is essential to recognise that Judgement Day and all believers separated from 5. The privilege of affirming with the simple God is an eternal, uncomprehensible being, non-believers. The good will receive everlast- “yes” or “no” instead of making oaths in or out the Creator of everything and those who seek ing life while the bad will go to hell. of courts. him shall be rewarded. Each Mennonite prior to baptism is tutored 6. Freedom of movement according to law to 2. It is believed that because of Adam and Eve, on the above and made to confess the articles enter or leave the country with their money men live in a continuous cycle of sin. It is only as a part of his faith. Until baptism, he is not and property. through God’s mercy that the whole of man- considered to be a complete member of the 7. The right to administer and invest the es- kind is not forever condemned. Mennonite church. tates of their people, especially those of wid- 3. Jesus was sent into the world to save man- ows and orphans in their own “Trust System” kind from guilt and sin. called the “Waisenamt” according to the rules 4. Jesus was conceived by the Virgin Mary Further Reading: and regulations. and therefore the human side of him, has to be Howard Snider, “Agriculture in 8. The right to bring into British Honduras the recognised. He was the “word” that changed the Kleine Gemeinde Community old, infirm and invalid members of the Men- into human form. He represents God’s sacri- nonite community provided that the individu- fice for the human race and only in him can of Spanish Lookout, Belize,” in als do not become a charge on the Government salvation be expected. Mennonite Life, March 1980, of British Honduras. 5. Christ provided the New Testament as a pages 19-24. 9. Exemption of Social Security or compul- guidance for his followers. It should be fol-

100 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Campeche: Old Colonists in the Land of the Maya “Campeche: Old Colonist Mennonites in the land of the Maya - A Photo Essay,” by Delbert F. Plett Steinbach, Canada, and Johan Neufeld, Colony El Temporal, Apdo 2, Hopelchen, Campeche, 24600 Mexico. Introduction. this reason many farmers have drilled holes souls. Both Chave and Yalnon are “Old Ordnung” Upon driving south of Merida towards the through this layer of limestone so that the water colonies. The former Ältester was Ohm Wall and Mennonite colonies in the Campeche region of can run away. There are also underground rivers the current Ältester is Ohm Klassen. Yalnon is the Yucatan peninsula one traverses the land of in some places. Fruits and vegetables can be raised the larger colony and therefore the Gemeinde is the Mayan Indians. The descendants of the once here and some international corporations own referred as the Yalnon Gemeinde. The farming mighty Maya who in 600-800 A.D. built cities large orange groves. originally was with raising corn, but because only unrivalled by any Europe, today live in simple The Mexican portion of the Yucatan Penin- little land is level it has changed over to cattle villages seemingly unchanged during the past sula includes the States of Quintana Roo (Cancun), farming and dairy. 100 years. The climate is pleasant, around 28 Yucatan (Merida) and Campeche (Campeche), Chave Colony has suffered three floods be- degrees C. in February. The trees and bush are bordering Guatemala and Belize to the south. cause of heavy rains resulting in severe physical quite small and scraggly when compared to the The cities of Campeche and Merida are among losses and economic devastation. rain forests of Belize. the oldest European settlements in the Americas, A large part of the Yucatan Peninsula con- dating to the conquest by the Spanish in the early sists of limestone which developed under sea 16th century. Campeche founded in the third cen- level eons ago. In many areas ridges of limestone tury A.D., was the principle town of the Mayan traverse the countryside. The stone is sometimes province. The name Campeche comes from the crushed and used for gravel, base material and Mayan word “Ah-Kim-Pech” which means “The for concrete mix. Because the ground consists of sir sun jigger”. The Spanish pronounced it “Kna stone, the water cannot seep into the subsoil. For Pech” meaning “place of snakes and jiggers”. In 1517 expeditionaries under Francisco de Cordova reached Ah-Kim-Pech to replenish their water but were repulsed by Mayan troops. By 1541 the Spanish had prevailed establishing the “Villa de San Francisco de Campeche” with fortifications built between 1685 and 1704. Since 1982 10 Mennonite colonies have been established in Campeche State in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, the land of the Maya. The newly established settlement experienced a tragic setback caused by Hurricane Isadore which struck Sep. 21-26, 2002. An account of the anslaught of the storm and the subsequent rebuilding efforts, including the generous aid of Old Colonists from Chihuahua in northern Mexico, is found in Preservings, No. 22, pages 92-94.

Chave and Yalnon, 1982. Schoolgirls washing their hands in the school in Chave and Yalnon were the first colonies in Grunthal. Because the earth in the Campeche re- Campeche State, Mexico. They were founded in gion is so reddish, and colours everything which it 1982. Because of a land shortage, the Durango touches, the students have to wash their hands and La Batea Colonies were looking for land after recess, so as not to stain their school books they could purchase to found daughter colonies. and materials. They were advised by friends and relatives in Shipyard and Blue Creek, Belize, that land might be available in Campeche, Municipco Hecelchancan. Delega- tions were sent out and land was purchased in Hecelchancan, ap- proximately 60 km northwest of Hopelchen and 60 km northeast of Campeche City. Chave was settled by the La Batea Colony and Yalnon by the Durango Colony, Maps showing location of Mennonite colonies Durango State. By in the Campeche - Merida area. Photo - Men. 2003 the two colonies Teacher Peter Loewen with some of his students in the school in village # 3 - Post, April 20, 2001, page 1. together had 1705 Grunthal, El Temporal Colony.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 101 Nuevo Progreso, 1987. Ejidataria or Mexican Agaristas. Several open lot, thereby selecting their site along the village The next colony to be established was Nuevo areas existed on the property, cleared by annual street. The open field system used by the Old Progreso situated 20 km east of Hopelchen. spring burning by the Mayas. No. 1 Rosenfeld Colonists in Canada was abandoned shortly af- “Progreso” is the name of the seaport on the was the first village laid out, at the east end. It had ter their arrival in Mexico in the 1920s, and each Mexican Gulf, just north of Merida. The land a considerable parcel of 100 hectares of open farmer now has his individual parcel of land along was purchased by the La Honda Colony, level land. The soil here was reddish grey and the common village street. Zacatecus State (see Pres., No. 21, pages 67-71 very productive. The land does flood after heavy The Gemeinde is served by Ältester Franz and 140) for its landless people. This colony was rains. It was decided that the first group of set- Wall. There are five ministers: Ohm Isaak Fehr - started around 1987. Neuvo Progreso adheres to tlers would have the most difficult start and so No. 4, Abram Fehr (no relation) - No. 1, Peter the Old Ordnung. It currently has approximately they were allotted this larger open parcel. Wiebe - No. 5 (the son of the former Ältester 1562 souls. The leader is Ältester Johan Wall. In The village lots were “en ge loest” - the Bernhard Wiebe), Jacob Wall (the Ältester’s son) the beginning corn was the main production. In koagels were numbered and each villager drew a - No. 2, and Kjnals Wiebe - No. 5. The deacon, later years they have started raising chilies and Ohm Isaak Enns - No. 2, is the Ämenpleger, watermelons. serving the poor. There are two worship houses, one in Rosenfeld and the other in Hamburg. The El Temporal, 1997. Gemeinde in Campeche is constituted on the Old The El Temporal Colony was bought in 1997 Ordnung. and settled the following year. The original tract Sunday worship services in El Temporal com- of land consisted of 5000 hectares of which only mence at 70 minutes after sunrise, but the time 1,000 was suitable for farming. The settlers came varies from colony to colony. By sunrise Old from Buenos Aires and Cuervo Colonies in Casas Colonist pilgrims have finished breakfast and Grande Municipco, State of Chihuahua, in north- the 70 minutes gives them enough time to feed ern Mexico. El Temporal refers to the desire of the cattle and do the chores and be ready for the settlers to find a region where they could worship services. raise corn and other crops from natural (“tempo- ral”) rains and without irrigation. Ohm Abram Fehr. Ältester Bernhard Wiebe from the Manitoba Writer and farmer Johann Neufeld (left) with son Ohm Abram Fehr was with the first group to Colony founded the Buenos Aires Colony in Johann Bergen Neufeld, El Temporal, Campeche. arrive in El Temporal. They had hired the Maya Casas Grande in 1958 (see Pres., No. 16, pages Photo captions for this article are courtesy of Johan ahead of time to build a tar-board shack, but it 74-77). When Ältester Wiebe retired, Abr. Neufeld. was not completely finished and the roof was not Thiessen was elected but he moved nailed shut. As a result, Ohm Abram to Bolivia founding the Casas Grande slept the first few nights under the Colony in 1996. A new Ältester was open sky, marvelling at the incred- then elected, Ohm Franz Wall, and ible iridescence of the stars in the he moved to El Temporal with a heavens in this part of the hemi- group. The Buenos Aires Colony was sphere. then reorganized by Ältester Peter Pe- The settlers took their equipment ters from the Nord Colony. along from El Temporal but sold the One hundred families joined cattle and the equipment which they Ältester Wall in the move to El Tem- would not use in Buenos Aires. The poral. Five villages were established: equipment was hauled the 3,000 km. No. 1 - Rosenfeld, No. 2 - Hamburg, with large semi-trailers. Ohm Abram No. 3 - Grünthal, No. 4 - Neuendorf The Wirtschaft of Johan Fehr Klassen, No. 3, Grunthal, Vorsteher of El recalled that he had had only 5000 and No. 5 - Rosengard. The Tempo- Temporal Colony. In front a field of Havenero chiles. Hurricane Isador pesos in cash left over after he fin- ral tract area was a leftover parcel of dumped more than a meter of water on the entire yard in October 2002 and ished selling his property in Buenos land not good enough for any the Klassens had to take refuge in the village school. Aires. With this he had to build a

The ancient tradition of “Scharwerk” as a form of mutual aid is still contin- ued by the Old Colonists in Mexico. Here Vorsteher Johan Fehr Klassen #3 Johan Neufeld and grandson Abram Neufeld pose with the Mennonite Kjist (front right), with a group of “Scharwerkers”, working on the road at the which his great-grandparents brought along to Canada from Imperial Rus- east end of #2, Hamburg. They are blasting away a large rock in order to sia. Glued into the inside top cover of the Kjist was a portrait of Kaiser level the road, making it more accessible to large trucks to haul their pro- Wilhelm II. duce.

102 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 simple house, plant a crop, and buy a Farming Economy. cow for milk, etc. The El Temporal Colony now Village No. 1 - Rosenfeld - was has 636 souls. The main farming immediately able to rent an additional is with corn, chilies, tomatoes, wa- 80 hectares of cultivated land from the termelons and soybeans, also dairy Mexicans adjacent to the colony which and beef. The colony was fortu- was ready for planting. They planted nate to be able to earn some cash corn and were blessed with a good funds in the first years, especially crop and this enabled them to survive with producing wood coals which the first year. With hard work and the were sold in Mexico City. This al- Lord’s blessing Abram Fehr was able lowed many to survive. Because to raise a family of 19 children. His there was only a limited amount of main income was raising corn and con- level arable land, another source struction, building houses out of ce- The Wirtschaft of Ohm Isaak Fehr in No. 4, Neuendorf, El Temporal. of income was necessary. Much of ment (Beton). Ohm Abram was elected the land consisted of rocky ridges as minister in Buenos Aires. Later he so that of the 5000 hectares origi- moved to the Cuervo Colony, a daugh- nally owned by the colony only ter colony where he farmed. Cuervo 1000 were cultivatable. An addi- means crow in Spanish. tional 500 hectares were rented from the Mexican neighbours Ohm Isaak Fehr. which is farmed by the Colony. Ohm Isaak Fehr was elected as a Through this many receive income minister in Santa Rita, Cuauhtemoc. during the season, which carries He was one of the latecomers to them through until their own crops Buenos Aires, settling there around are harvested and marketed. 1969. He and his family also were The dairy and beef farming is among the later settlers in Temporal School in Grunfeld (# 3), El Temporal. Providing a Christian education to the financial foundation for those arriving later in the summer of 1997. their children has always been a central part of the tradition of the Flemish of more modest means. One cow They settled in No. 4, Neuendorf. and Old Colonist Mennonites. produces from 8-10 litres of milk. Ohm Isaak was always interested A well-fed cow could produce up in the history of his people and de- to 20 litres of milk. The milk is sold voted to the teachings of the Holy to the cheese factory situated in Gospel. As a result the village Campo No. 1 owned by Isaac Schultenamt asked if he would be Braun. Another cheese factory in agreeable to serve as a school teacher. Campo No. 2 was owned by Abram Neuendorf was the smallest village Enns but closed in 2002. and found it difficult to get a good teacher. Ohm Isaac’s granddaughter Trinidad, 1998. had started teaching and needed help, The La Nueva Trinidad Colony and so he helped her. After the grand- was founded in 1998 by settlers daughter married, the village was from Los Virginias in Casas Grande, again without a school teacher. In the Mexico. The colony is under the meantime the Schultenamt, noting Old Ordnung with the one excep- Ohm Isaac’s abilities and interest, tion - they have rubber tired trac- asked again if he would not serve as tors and electricity. The Ältester is their teacher. He agreed as a favour to Heinrich Siemens and the ministers his village so they could have their Isaak Bergen Neufeld (left) and brother Abram Bergen Neufeld holding son include Joh. Rempel, and Abr. own school. Gerhard, standing on the yard of writer Johan Neufeld. On the buggy are Edith, Wiebe. The colony has a popula- Ohm Isaac is gifted with lan- Johan and Anna, children of Isaak Bergen Neufeld and Aganetha Neufeld. tion of 6-700 and is situated 10 km guages. He reads, speaks and writes south of Ozelbalchin. Plaut-Dietsch, High German, Span- Nuevo Durango Colony was es- ish and English. He has served on tablished by Durango Colony, several delegations to Bolivia and Durango State. Mexico. It was various States within Mexico, includ- founded in 1999. The population ing Campeche. Many of the Old is 610. The colony does not have Colonists had developed consider- their own Ältester but functions as able loyalty to Mexico over the past part of Yalnon Gemeinde. It is lo- 80 years and were reluctant to leave cated 60 km southeast of the Republic. Consequently, they Hopelchen. looked for farmland within Mexico, The Las Palmas colony was which would eliminate the need to founded in 1999 by settlers from emigrate to a different country. Ohm Ontario and Seminole, Texas. It is Isaak is often consulted for advice situated 4 km. south of Pakditi. They and his opinions are highly valued have recently joined the Santa Rosa by other Colonies and Gemeinden. Sommerfelder Colony. Ohm Isaac’s son Johan Fehr, Johan Neufeld, El Temporal demonstrates one of the Brownswiss cows which The Los Flores settlers were Grunthal, is the younger Vorsteher of the Amish Mennonites have purchased for their brethren in Campeche. These Sommerfelder from Tamaulipas. the Colony. The senior Vorsteher is cows are not as tame as the Holstein cows, but much more hardy regarding Las Flores was founded in 1999. It David Loewen, Hamburg. woodticks and other bugs and also endure the hot humid climate better. Those is located 20 km south of who wish to confine such a cow sometimes encounter interesting adventures.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 103 Ozelbalchin. Mexicans around the colony immediately adopted Buenos Aires Colony and the El Cuervo Colony The Santa Rosa Colony was a settlement from electrification and received government subsi- and also lent them money so the people could of Santa Clara Sommerfelder Colony, in Chihua- dies for drilling wells. This in turn required that buy seed corn.” hua State. It was founded in 2002 and is situated the Mennonite farmers use rubber-tired tractors “And so there was an outwardly searching north of Hopelchen. to get back and forth from their land. This be- for a solution and, in fact, in two directions - came a very devisive force in the colony. some wanted to electrify their wells or pumps, Casas Grande, Chihuahua. Most of the Ohms and also the old Ältester and others, wanted to buy land, where there was There were several reasons for the emigration Bernhard Wiebe, although against electrification, rainfall. But money was required for both op- to southern Mexico. When the settlers moved from finally came to the conclusion that limited use of tions. An approach was made to the Amish in the Buenos Aires it had already been devastated by electricity had become necessary to bring the Indiana region for help, and lo and behold, they many dry arid years. Not only was there no rain people back into the colony and make the farm- actually provided the money on a long term loan but even the ground water dried up. In the mean- ing more productive. Because of this, the new in order to buy the land which our people earlier time, Free trade (NAFTA) reduced prices for their Ältester, Abr. Thiessen, and one Ohm, Bernard already had identified in Campeche. And then products, especially oats and corn. The govern- Wiebe, (no relation to the old Ältester) and a they were also asked for help by those who did ment also increased diesel fuel prices not want to resettle, in order to bring as they wanted to export oil and pro- the electric power to the El Cuervo moted the use of hydro-electric power Colony. This was also granted and with subsidies. The Gemeinde was done. And thus, they [the Amish] not really in favour of the electrifica- helped those who wanted to remain, tion as a way of life, and even if it so that they had their means of ad- would have been, the electrification vancement, and also those who was expensive and beyond the means wanted to resettle somewhere else.” of the colony to install. “After we had lived here [in El Old Colonist folk historian Johan Temporal] for a short time, Mr. Neufeld, El Temporal has written that Melvin Yoder, together with others, “the third and most serious blow in came to see for themselves what their addition was that one year the weather money had accomplished here. And was so very hot, and exactly when surely they will have seen how poorly the corn was blooming, so that the things still were. As a result they pollen or seed was burned by the bought cows (maybe 10), and gave sun, so that the corn had ears but Johann Neufeld, El Temporal (right), in his work room with sons Isaak and the poorest people a cow, on the con- almost no kernels. That was a severe Abram. This building has a granary at one end, smithy in the middle, buggy dition, that once the cow had a calf, blow. The field had been abundantly shed/machine shed/cow and horse barn, at the other end. they should feed it up and then give it fertilized and also irrigated - which to someone else in need, and then the was very expensive - and now al- cow would be their property. This most nothing of that came back. I was also a great help to the poor. It still recall one farmer, who had very did not work everywhere the way it nice good looking corn, but he had, should have, but on the whole it did however, not looked at the ears. work very well. They [the Amish] When he went on the field with the later also bought more cows and dis- corn combine and harvested, almost tributed them among the poor.” no corn came into the bin. Then he “And so, they have always again stepped off the machine and went to helped us out. They bought a house the back to check, whether the corn in Hopelchen and placed a couple was all blowing over. There he found there, who were to help us with vari- the corn heads where almost no ker- ous matters, and who also did so. nels of corn had grown. What a (At that time they could hardly have blow!” fax to the author June 13, imagined how much the people here 2003. would need to rely on them; namely, Through all this adversity the fi- when the hurricane came over, the nancial means of the Buenos Aires Heinrich Banman, on the buggy, and David Fehr, standing, visiting on the Galen Nisslys distributed the goods Colony had been severely depleted. village street. Both are from # 2, Hamburg, El Temporal. David Fehr is the that had been donated).” The decision was reached that it was son of Ohm Isaak. “When the hurricane struck it necessary to find a new place of habitation where small group that wanted to remain faithful to the again was the Amish who provided the first they could continue their lifestyle and freedom of “old” Ordnung moved to Bolivia where they meaningful assistance. They brought much food religion without the need for irrigation farming. founded the Casas Grande Colony. stuffs. Because so many people had so much Having decided on the necessity for reloca- water in their houses, many of their possession tion, the group under Ältester Franz Wall quickly Amish. were damaged. The Amish again said, they came against a seemingly insurmountable prob- Folk historian Johan Neufeld, El Temporal, wanted to help us in this regard but they did not lem. After so many years of drought and crop has written: “All these circumstances among other say how much. They said - or rather asked - how failures, they had no financial resources left. But things, brought the Mennonite farmer of only much damage had occurred. Consequently the then the door opened when the Amish brothers mediocre means into the most desperate circum- tax assessors or inspectors from the in Christ in Ohio loaned them the money to pur- stance. Nor did this remain hidden from the out- Brandordnung (“mutual fire insurance agency”) chase the land. side world. Tourists came from Kansas and Indi- were sent around to every home to investigate Since the departure of the Temporal settlers ana, and also a Mr. McGrath - from the nearby how much damage each one had suffered. It was the Buenos Aires Colony has adopted electrifica- small city of Hannover, New Mexico - the leader all counted together and written on a list which tion. The concern became greater that many farm- of a Amish community. This Mr. McGrath....led was provided to the Amish. Then Galen Nissly ers were renting irrigated land from the Mexi- his Gemeinde so that now and again they brought called Mr. Yoder by telephone and explained the cans and were farming outside the colony. The the means of nourishment to the people at the situation to him. And to him came the calm reply,

104 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 `Write out a cheque for the entire amount!’” “Here again one sees their willingness. And in this way, they have also continued to bring provision here to our Armenpleger (“deacons”) right up to the present time. We also want to be truly thankful to them from the bottom of our hearts, but surely this is far too little. And we also want to thank God, the giver of all goodness. We have also received many gifts from the Hilfskommittee from Chihuahua and MCC. They have sent us beans, used clothing, sewing ma- chines and chain saws. They also provided 100,000 Mexican pesos so that we could make more than 25,000 hay bales on the leased land of the colony and to distribute them among our neighbours so that they could feed their cattle through the drought times. We want to be thank- ful also to these people,” Johan Neufeld, El Tem- poral, fax to the author June 13, 2003. The village street in # 5, Rosengard. A typical village scene. The windmill, left, is situated on the yard of Heinrich Friesen. In the background, the village school. The roads with their white gravel, contrast Belize Fellowship. starkly from the red-brown earth of the neighbouring fields. The Old Colonists in Campeche maintain spiritual fellowship with their pilgrim brethren in the Shipyard and Little Belize colonies in Belize. Meetings are held among the Ohms and gener- ally the same or a similar Ordnung is maintained in the Gemeinden. An interesting development which started in Shipyard, Belize, and spread to Campeche is a movement among the Ohms to discourage smoking, for health reasons. In visit- ing the five villages of the El Temporal Colony, for example, I do not recall seeing anyone smoke. Of course, the Old Colonists in Campeche and Belize share the common enemy of Ameri- can Evangelical missionaries who seek to lead astray the faithful with their Calvinistic untruths and legalistic traditions. My sense was that the leadership in Campeche was relatively well in- formed regarding the operations of such preda- tors and sought to combat same by maintaining their Gemeinde on a biblical foundation with wholesome teachings and by modelling a life of The Catholic church in the main square in the city of Hopelchen, Campeche, typically the center of the community it serves. This photo is taken from the window of the apartment of MCC worker Henry Wiebe devotion and dedication to the Saviour in the of Winkler. medieval monastic tradition.

Conclusion. The founders of the Reinländer Gemeinde in 1875 had a vision of a community founded on New Testament principles of grass-roots democ- racy, purity of doctrine, community, equality and of families working and growing up together on self-sufficient colonies (monasteries). Because of the commercialization of agriculture in north- ern Mexico, drought and the implementation of Free Trade, this way of life was no longer pos- The Wirtschaft of Ohm Peter Wiebe, # 5, Rosengard. Ohm Peter is the son of the former Ältester Bernhard sible in Chihuahua for many Old Colonists. The Wiebe, who years ago, led his Gemeinde from the Manitoba Colony, Cuauhtemoc, to establish the resettlement to Campeche represents an attempt Buenos Aires Colony in Nuevo Casa Grande in northern Chihuahua. to recreate the biblical vision of Ältester Johann and development of the colony. Through their quiet at the same time, retaining their faith and commu- Wiebe (1837-1905) and the Flemish Anabaptists and peaceful lives and boundless energy and work nity traditions. In the process they have estab- of the Reformation (Endnote). ethic the Old Colonists have not only transformed lished a new homeland for a pilgrim people - fol- It was a blessed experience for the editor to the physical landscape but also provide a dramatic lowing Jesus faithfully unto the end. meet and visit with the pilgrims in El Temporal testimony of Godly living. Colony, Campeche. It was evident that the settlers Through the leading of the Holy Spirit the com- Endnote: were there because they wanted to be there and munity of God has been transplanted to the land of For a balanced and scholarly review of the had willingly made the sacrifices of pulling up the Maya. Since 1982 some 6,000 pilgrims have vision and founding of the Old Colony Gemeinde, roots and relocating to an entirely different climate established 10 colonies in Campeche State. They see Dr. John J. Friesen, “Reinländer Mennoniten and culture in order to be faithful to that vision. A have again demonstrated the resourcefulness and Gemeinde,” in Plett, ed., Old Colony Mennonites spirit of Christian fellowship and mutual coopera- steadfastness of the Flemish-Russian Mennonites in Canada 1875-2000 (Steinbach, 2001), pages tion permeated the functioning, interrelationships in adapting themselves to a new environment, while 3-20.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 105 Return of the Kanadier Conference, Oct. 3-5, 2002 “Return of the Kanadier: A History Conference on a Migrant People, October 3-5, 2002,” as reported by Tina Fehr Kehler, Winkler, Manitoba, M.A. student at the University of Manitoba. Mennonite story, for example, the third book in Editor’s Introduction. “Return of the Kanadier” the Mennonite’s in Canada series, A People Trans- The term “Kanadier” in reference to Men- The symposium, held at the Eckhardt Gramatte formed, does not account for the experience of the nonite returnees from Mexico and elsewhere Hall at the University of Winnipeg, was a suc- Kanadier, implying that they have not been trans- in Latin America is an invention of those deal- cessful event. The purpose of this conference on formed. ing with them. The word “Kanadier” origi- the Kanadier people was to formulate their his- Bill concluded by asking whether it was pos- nated in the late 19th century when referring tory, the obstacles they have faced such as integra- sible for steps to be taken to welcome all people to those who had immigrated to Canada, as tion and their successes such as healthy family, where they live. The work at this conference is compared to those remaining behind in Rus- church and economic lives. It also gave those who part of the task of holding up the vision for the sia. By the correct definition all descendants study or have an interest in the Kanadier people worldwide Mennonite Church. Because the of the three Mennonite denominations emi- the chance to meet each other. Kanadier will not be able to come in the future, he grating to Canada in the 1870s are “Kanadier”, Abe Peters, Kanadier Concerns Desk at MCC asks what can be done in Mexico and Latin including myself. I for one am proud to be Canada stated that the term “Kanadier” was in- America. The world is pressing in while their num- associated with the “Kanadier” whether re- vented by Canadian Mennonites. The recent work bers are pressing out. God’s will is that this world turnees or otherwise. of MCC and the purpose of this conference, is to be a welcoming place for all. Clarification should be made regarding the promote more openness to churches that express their theology more term “Old Colonier” or better said, “Old Colo- conservatively. nists.” The modern-day descendants of the 4000 Old Colony settlers coming to Manitoba Abe introduced the between 1875 and 1880 are found in four first speaker of the con- major groups. There are those who never ference, Bill Janzen, di- moved to Mexico. This group is highly as- rector of the MCC of- similated. They include prominent business fice in Ottawa for 25 people like the Kroekers in Winkler, Jim years. He has a long as- Penner, founder of Penner Foods, and the sociation with the Low wife of Vic Toews, Provencher MP. It is com- German Mennonites in mon for members of this group to deny any Canada, Mexico, US, Old Colony association having found that the and Latin American biases and put-downs by assimilated Cana- countries. He played a dian Mennonites are simply too painful and key role in opening the powerful to fight. For this “non-emigrant” immigration laws al- group it is easier to abandon their heritage lowing thousands of and blend quietly into society. Kanadier Mennonites to The Old Colonists that moved to Mexico in obtain Canadian citizen- ship. Bill is also the au- the 1920s themselves can be seen as three thor of Building Up One distinct entities. The main group still living in and around Cuauhtemoc have established a Another. relatively successful society, which is start- Bill talked about ing to advance rapidly economically as the welcoming the process of capitalization gains momentum. Kanadier, what has MCC Kanadier Concerns director, Abe Peters (retired), Winnipeg, visits One can expect that within 50 years this com- been occurring since with Heinrich Loewen, organizer of the new cheese factory at Campo 70, munity may well replicate the success of the they began arriving. To Nord Colony, Cuauhtemoc, Mexico (see Pres., No. 21, page 76). Heinrich mother “Old” Chortitza Colony on the understand is to wel- Loewen has coordinated this project which has over 1,000 shareholders. Dnieper River in former Imperial Russia. This come. He reiterated the Questions during the discussion were raised is the community which is often featured in importance of the conference since approximately regarding the closure of the legal door to Canadian the “News from the Gemeinden” section in 40,000 Kanadier have come back. Thirdly, Bill citizenship. Bill reiterated his pessimism for the Preservings. Janzen discussed the question of whether there is continuation of the current mode of entry and the Over the decades many colonists have room for self understanding between the Kanadier opening of any other avenue. Those Kanadier who moved out of the established mother colo- and other Mennonites. Is there one Canadian Men- gain better education in Mexico will have easier nies, both for economic opportunity as well nonite family? The Kanadier have a different self entry on the point system and will be able to inte- as in reaction to ever increasing moderniza- understanding, they see themselves as wandering grate better into Canadian society. tion. These are the “horse and buggy” Old pilgrims, a people called to hardship. They liken Friday morning saw reviews of Delbert Plett’s Colonists who have established a hundred themselves to the children of Israel. He hopes that Old Colony Mennonites in Canada by Rosabel successful communities (and a few not so all Mennonites can understand themselves as part Fast and Ken Reddig and a response by the au- successful) in Mexico, Bolivia, Belize, Para- of one story. But there has been evidence that the thor. guay and elsewhere. Kanadier have not been written into the larger Pedro Castro from the Metropolitan Univer- The fourth group of Old Colonists are those sity-Iztapalapa, Mexico City spoke about the Men- who for one reason or another - including lished successful lives in Canada contributing nonites in the Cuauhtémoc area. His father owned poverty and lack of economic opportunity - enormously to the economies of Steinbach, a store in Cuauhtémoc that sold Mennonite pro- choose to return to the “homeland” which Winkler, and other communities across the coun- duce and so was intimately connected to them. their ancestors once wrested from the wilder- try as well as in Kansas, Texas and elsewhere. Castro has written a history book about ness of the Canadian prairies. They return The returnees were the group under consider- Cuauhtémoc a third of which discusses the Men- hopeful of finding work and economic well- ation at the “Return of the Kanadier” Confer- nonites. He pointed out five reasons why the Men- being. Thousands of returnees have estab- ence Oct. 3-5, 2003. The Editor. nonites are returning to Canada.

106 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 The first reason is that the Men- ter migration and that one tenth of the nonites have persisted in their own original settlers are still there after culture and have not integrated into celebrating their 75th anniversary of Mexican society. Mennonites tend to settlement. The number of returnees prefer Canada since they see it as some is greater than those who have re- kind of “Motherland.” mained. Secondly they have experienced The return migration from 1960 a scarcity of land. Their expansion to the present has been diverse in na- has reached the limit in the best lands. ture. Returnees have come from all Global climate changes have affected social classes, educational back- the area making farming successfully grounds and as singles or in families. difficult. Castro states that there are Some come for an adventure, others approximately 35,000 to 38,000 to see where their parents have come Mennonites living in the state of Chi- from, and many to escape poverty. huahua, when with their natural Their occupations include factory growth rates there should be approxi- work, construction, lumber, and car- mately 150,000. This indicates the pentry. Others have worked for MCC, degree of out migration. Larry Towell, Bothwell, Ontario, author of a photograph book on the Mexi- become missionaries, teachers, church The third affect has been an eco- can Mennonites (Pres., No. 18, pages 144-5) discusses mutual interests with leaders, chaplains and editors. Half nomic crisis. Much of their business Marvin Dueck, MCC worker, Chatham, Ontario (right). of those who return decide to become is in agriculture and cattle production. The Men- culture and a new church for those who were involved in a church. nonites have been negatively affected by free trade dissatisfied with the Old Colony Church. As the David Friesen, from Cuauhtemoc, talked about and American subsidies. They have not been able Kleine Gemeinde set up villages in the 1940s and the reasons for the migrations from Mexico echo- to be competitive since their costs are often higher ‘50s they were a threat to the Old Colony Church ing and adding details to those given by Pedro than their return on sales. They have been subject because they accepted excommunicated members Castro. Friesen highlights the economic reasons to Mexican agricultural policies which caused a and proselytized. In 1946, MCC’s Winfield Fretz for their return. NAFTA perpetuated the difficul- decrease in agricultural production and a subse- stated that “The Mennonites in Mexico are in need ties. Those who first moved to Mexico had no quent increase in buying exports. of spiritual awakening...” but warned that MCC experiences with doing agriculture on the type of These devastating effects have led the Menno- should play a background role. They concentrated land available. Between 1950 and ‘51 insufficient nites to search for better living conditions, the on economics, by giving out loans, and health amounts of rainfall caused many to leave for fourth reason for leaving Mexico. They seek em- issues. MCC went back in 1975 and Die Canada. Minimum wages were very poor, mak- ployment in the agriculture and industrial sectors. Mennonitische Post and Das Blatt with the agenda ing it impossible for those without land to make a Finally, Castro states that many decide to move to bring about change since in its view the Old living. because of the influence of drugs and alcohol. Colony system was “bankrupt” and in the “dark Some events have helped the Mennonites stay Mexico has been an exporting country of mari- ages.” in Mexico. Without the creation of the cheese fac- juana and cocaine with Chihuahua being an ideal Other organizations like the MB Church, tories, Friesen states, all the Mennonites would location for its movement because of its proximity EMMC, Mennonitische Gemeindschaft, EMC, have left. Then in 1994 the Mexican government to the U.S. border. Church of God in Christ and Reinlander have also instituted “Procampo” - a subsidy for farmers David Quiring, professor at the University of had an impact. Their major concern has been the which enables them to compete on the global mar- Saskatchewan, spoke about his studies in Mexico reform of the Old Colony Church. However, many ket. He concluded by stating that many more Men- in the 1990s. As a balance to Castro’s presenta- Old Colonists do not see other Mennonites who nonites will work illegally in the U.S. because of a tion, Quiring discussed their spiritual struggles. attack and condemn them as fellow believers. Other lack of opportunities in Mexico. In their efforts to pass their religious traditions to Mennonites have not allowed the Old Colony to Marvin Dueck, MCC worker in Chatham, their children their greatest conflict is with other go their own way for several reasons. They can- Ontario, spoke about the migration culture from Mennonites. Those that want to help often want to not ignore the problems of the Old Colony Men- the perspective of those living in the Leamington change the Old Colony Church. nonites particularly when they have called for help. area of Ontario. He comes from the position of In Quiring’s opinion the General Conference They also state that by returning to Canada, other working with immigration officers to give evi- (present-day Mennonite Church Canada/US), the Mennonites have had to make the Old Colony dence to support Mennonites to stay in Canada. Kleine Gemeinde and MCC have had the greatest Mennonite’s problems theirs. Evangelical Funda- The beginning of the welcoming process is the effect. In the 1950s the General Conference made mentalists believe that the Old Colony Church ability to register as Canadian citizens after de- a concerted effort to bring change in schools, agri- teaches heretical beliefs, for example, that the layed registration of birth having been born abroad. Church should separate from the world physi- When they come to Canada they find it diffi- cally, not to evangelize outside of one’s commu- cult to integrate culturally. He states that most people nity and that it is wrong to insist on a dramatic who leave do not reject the way of life or the conversion experience and that one must know Church but do so because they do not have land or one is saved. are impoverished because of health issues. Many The Old Colony bishops have been blamed find it difficult to work for others since being a for the decline of the colony. They believe they worker in Mexico was considered second class. have faithfully led the people and that forces out- Thus they have a dream of earning enough money side their control have affected their members. They in Canada to return to Mexico to set up their own see the greatest threat as being spiritual rather than farm or business. economic. The bishops also continue to have a The Mennonites from Mexico have made a clear understanding of what it means to be an Old significant impact on the area in which they re- Colonist. Both the laity and bishops are concerned side. For example, they contributed $60 million about the future generations and truth. dollars in labour in 2001 in one area of Ontario Titus Guenther, professor of theology at CMU, alone. They enjoy challenges and some have David Friesen, former MCC worker in Casa spoke about the migration to and emigration from started their own businesses. Many have a long- Grande, Mexico, and currently in Winkler, Paraguay’s Menno Colony. He stated that one in ing to return. Several groups have migrated back Manitoba, speaks about the reasons for the “Re- four either died or returned to Canada directly af- to various parts of South America at different turn of the Kanadier”.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 107 times in the 1970s. Overcoming culture shock is Alberta. The first Mennonites who settled the Anne Froese reminisced about working at a major concern. Culture shock is also coupled area came from Old Colony Mennonites from the Post for over 15 years. Being sensitive to the with guilt for leaving the Church in Mexico. They Saskatchewan and were later joined by others Kanadier has been their biggest struggle. The feel they are committing the sin of Lot’s wife by from that province, Manitoba and Mexico. The Post is accepted in most colonies. The reaction looking back to the country their ancestors left. move was initiated to distance their community by the leaders of the colonies has been by omis- The Church in Canada is integral to a family’s from the ever encroaching world. In 1967 sev- sion. They accept it for their people until some- integration, however they are not completely ad- eral factors caused another wave of migrations to thing controversial provokes an outcry. Dealing equate for the task. There are many different Bolivia in 1969. with sensitive issues is a balance between getting Mennonite churches which are involved in South- These families who remained in La Crete felt out the news and not offending and thereby los- ern Ontario. Unfortunately, the Old Colony, in verified in their decision when they heard about ing readers. The Post was to be a Christian paper, particular, have difficulty in retaining their youth. the numerous problems many of the families were in spirit and tone, but it was not be give biblical Robyn Dyck, an undergraduate student at the experiencing in Bolivia. Several of these families commentary or be a vehicle for theological de- University of Winnipeg, gave a presentation en- returned shortly, others then went back to Bo- bate. [Editor’s Note: It is clear that the Post regu- titled “The Diaspora Networks According to the livia and returned to Canada again. Migration larly publishes theological material of an Evan- Mennonitische Post.” The Post reunites the diaspora from Bolivia continues to the present for several gelical Fundamentalist orientation, e.g the col- of Kanadier Mennonites and creates an “imagined reasons. A drought over the last five years have umn “Was Sagt Die Bibel,” by John Dyck, community” through the letters families send to left many destitute, as well parents want their Blumenort, Manitoba. It is impossible for intelli- one another. An “imagined community,” says Dyck children to have opportunities which they did gent conservative leaders not to be concerned is no less real than a spatial community. It is a not. The migration to La Crete is increasing, though that some sort of wider agenda in being pur- community of interest rather than space. Dyck exact numbers are unknown. sued.] took a random sample of papers from the 1970s to The influx of immigrants has put pressure on The evening concluded with an audio visual the present to discover how community was main- the existing community. Though they have been performance by Larry Towell, an artist from tained through the writing of letters. able to find jobs, finding adequate housing has Bothwell, Ontario. Towell is a photojournalist The Post, Dyck notes, has created a space for seemed problematic. As well, the schools have who has worked in places such as Los Angeles a homeland on a page. It gives members a unique been burdened with a huge increase in enrol- and the Middle East. He came to know the opportunity to locate themselves in the discourse ment. A survey found the immigrants felt their Kanadier people through his father who hired uniting people across space and time. Space and needs were generally being met. them to work at his auto body repair shop. time are compressed as letters between relatives, Karen Pauls of CBC Halifax presented on Many of the presentations throughout the months between their compositions, are placed the Northfield community in Nova Scotia. This conference dealt with how others have helped side by side. Its contributors are mostly elders, group originated with the Kleine Gemeinde in the Kanadier, however, Towell stated that it was though they are equally divided between the Manitoba who had moved to Belize and are now they who had helped him. His experiences taught sexes. All are Mennonites but vary in socioeco- making their home in Nova Scotia. Though there him that there was little he could actually do for nomic background and Church affiliation. was no direct statement to the fact, Pauls sus- the people. He saw them as an endangered com- Dyck noted some interesting facts about the pects that the reason for the move to Canada is munity because of forces outside of their control. nature of the letters. She found that the scripts because of disagreements. He gained an appreciation for the Mennonite per- have remained the same; that Post members have Pauls noted several aspects of women’s lives. spective over the 10 years he worked among grown accustomed to the medium. The letters all Single women help on the farm and live at home them. It helped him become involved in the docu- begin in the same way, individuals greet the edi- until married. They believe that women should mentation of the anti-globalization peace move- tor, apologize for their lack of writing ability, work in the house and need to be submissive but ment. Because of the Mennonites in Mexico, he discuss the weather, greet relatives and then talk are not to be slaves. Women’s groups study a saw that there was “something wrong with the about local events and discuss the health and particular book to learn about how to live in a world and we have to do something about it.” well-being of themselves and those around them. marriage. The women, Pauls spoke to said that In 10 years, he went to each colony at least The format of the letter is a “cultural script.” Mem- they were fine with not being leaders. three or four times and shot 3000 rolls of film. bers know and use the appropriate sequence of The community attempts to live the mandate Before the art book of pictures was published, he letter writing. of being in but not of the world; thus are Chris- spent another year in Mexico gathering written Dawn Bowen, of Mary Washington College, tians first and citizens second. They do not have material for the book (see Pres., No. 18, pages Virginia spoke about the La Crete community in radios, or televisions but do read the newspaper 144-5). Later he produced an artistic soundtrack on occasion. They walk a thin line between as- of sounds from Mexico, which he terms an “ex- similation and adaptation, to be witnesses for perimental sound piece.” their faith while maintaining their stance as a sepa- The presentation included pictures from the rate people. book, sounds and poetry from the soundtrack Friday evening Myron Dyck, a student at the with accompaniment by Towell on various in- University of Winnipeg, gave an historical over- struments. It was moving, touching, beautiful view of the 25 years of the Mennonitische Post. and heart wrenching. The black and white photo- The Mennonitische Post filled the void which the graphs vividly captured their struggles and their Steinbach Post left when it failed a decade earlier. daily lives. His use of light and shadow was Abe Warkentin was the first editor in 1977 to genius, for example, one pictures displays a pro- oversee its publication. The response was posi- file of a young woman in the foreground while tive. Circulation fluctuated between 4-5,000. her husband sits on a chair in the background, The Post has attempted to respect the Kanadier the light from behind the photographer casts a people. It views them as a unique people who shadow of the woman on the back wall as though deal with complex issues. The Post has allowed she is standing right next to her husband facing them to define the paper for themselves. It also him and waiting for instruction. has had to deal sensitively with controversial is- Towell’s presentation was not without con- sues and various people’s opinions. In particu- troversy. Some of the pictures were of a personal lar, it has had to work against the sentiment that nature, others portrayed social problems, while a Pedro Castro, Mexico City (left), talking with Ken Mennonites should help others and not them- few photos showed individuals covering their Braun, Altona, Manitoba. Ken has been a regular selves. Overall, it has sought to build bridges of faces from the camera, as though they did not at Mennonite historical meetings for years. understanding. want their picture to be taken. Many in the audi-

108 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 ence questioned his ethics out of a continued to work equally with her concern for the exploitation of the spouse in raising children, tending Kanadier people. Some questioned a garden, working with the animals how he obtained their permission and and in the fields. A woman’s work he answered that photography is a was understood to be absolutely process. It takes years to gain accep- necessary for the continuation of life. tance and access. He stated that he However, in Canada there is a much was tolerated by the leaders of the greater distinction between work in colonies and they kept their mutual the household and work for pay. All distance. Towell said “you respect of a sudden, their “work” within the people and if they don’t want their household is not “work” because it picture taken they’ll tell you. People is not understood to be necessary give you their photograph.” for the maintenance of a household He commented that it was inter- in Canadian terms. The women also esting that he, a Roman Catholic, was tried to maintain the self-sufficiency doing this work and not a Menno- with which they lived in Mexico by nite. Roman Catholic images came sewing their own clothes and other up during his poems that accompa- Lisa Friesen, talking with Tina Fehr Kehler, Winkler, Manitoba (right), who household items, growing their own nied the presentation, likening a urine spoke about differences in the role of Mennonite women in Mexico and food, raising animals, and making stained blanket where three young much of their own food children had slept as a shroud. His work with the ers in Southern Manitoba. Another defining transition is the move from Kanadier was “a human experience, you see God Peter Epp, a student at the University of a religiously based life to one that is predomi- in other people. I saw a fallen, sinful people, not Winnipeg, presented a paper on entrepreneurial nantly secular. In Canada, the everyday tasks of unlike myself.” immigrants in Manitoba. It was based on a series life are no longer so intensely geared towards the Saturday morning saw the session on social of 10 interviews with Kanadier Mennonites. Epp maintenance of the religious community as they issues chaired by Merle Fast from the St. Jacobs discovered a difficulty that Mennonite entrepre- were in Mexico. For women, this means that Family Support Centre in Ontario. She said, “It’s neurs have in bridging Gemeinschaft and their tasks of socializing their children into the interesting that people want to see the Old Order Gesellschaft - community and society. Kanadier culture and religion, maintaining their Amish who’s way of life is different but they’re Ted Regehr, professor of history at the Uni- household, and caring for other members of one’s not interested in the Low German-speaking Men- versity of Alberta and Bill Janzen from MCC church or one’s neighbours do not have the same nonites.” Alberta, discussed the hurdles of integration faced religious meaning in Canada as they did in Judith Kulig and Barry Hall represented their by the Kanadier Mennonites in Alberta. The Mexico. They are no longer performing these research team from the University of Lethbridge Kanadier Mennonites came to Alberta in the 1970s tasks as members of a community within the on the topic of “Health and Illness Beliefs Among and in the 1980s. Prior to this time, the agricul- context of a “sacred village” but as individuals the Alberta Kanadier.” The study was conducted tural labour market was reserved for First Na- within a secular world. Thus the Kanadier in a partnership between academic researchers, tions People. The Kanadier are scattered all over women’s religious life tends to become more in- MCC and health authorities. Five Low German the province. Since the time the Mennonites left dividualistic in Canada as the Church does not speaking researchers conducted interviews with for Mexico, the government has become much play the same integral role as it did in Mexico. 45 women and 41 from the Old Colony, more flexible with respect to education. In Mexico a woman’s greatest religious un- Sommerfelder, Kleine Gemeinde and Reinlander Bill Janzen continued the presentation by giv- dertaking was bearing and socializing children churches. They also held three community meet- ing a picture of the problems they face and how into the Gemeinde. Many still held to the tradi- ings which were well received by the 23 women they are dealing with them. The Kanadier come tion of wearing a head covering for prayer. and 31 men who attended. because Alberta is in need of skilled and un- Kerry Fast, Ph.D. candidate in Religion at the Cheryl Campbell from the Pembina Valley skilled workers and they are seen as productive University of Toronto, spoke about the religious Learning Centre in Winkler, Manitoba spoke and able to contribute. It is difficult to track the life of one immigrant woman, Tien, in order to about adult education and the Kanadier immi- education of the Kanadier in Alberta because examine a Mennonite immigrant woman’s rela- grants to the area. The Winkler Resource Centre many schools are privately funded and some chil- tionship to her Church, community and family. along with area churches began English training dren are registered as being home schooled. The Tien has not been able to stop the pain that ac- in 1983. Formal classes were first held in 1986 churches are split by the issue of education. Janzen companied her separation from her husband, an moving from churches into schools. The Pembina stated that MCCs mandate is to work with the act not sanctioned by the Church or in the report- Valley ESL/Adult Education began in 1988. Cur- people in such a way that they gain a sense that ing of her husband’s abuse to the authorities. rently classes are being held all across Southern they are helping themselves. Fast explores Tien’s life to see how the manipu- Manitoba. Workplace language training, which Tina Fehr Kehler, an M.A. student at the lation of her pain has created religious meaning. takes place on site, has been running since 1991. University of Manitoba presented a paper on two Our bodies coupled with our history shape our The centre also runs full day programs which major shifts that occur in the lives of these women identity. begins in late October after the fall harvest. in their migration to Southern Manitoba. She in- The exploration of an individual story reveals Campbell says that the students are “extremely terviewed 14 women about their life in Mexico that a person’s story is unique in its experiences, courageous and have tremendous challenges.” and their life in Canada. The Kanadier can be “Tien is not just another Mexican Mennonite Luann Good Gingrich Ph.D. candidate at the understood as a subculture within the overall woman.” University of Toronto presented a paper entitled Mennonite ethnic group with particular differ- Tien married a landless Mennonite which “Social Exclusion and the Low German Popula- ences. Some women and their families attempt to meant no social standing in the community and a tion in Ontario.” maintain as much of their old way of life as pos- precarious income. Her husband was an alco- Later Saturday morning a session on Eco- sible, while others embrace a Canadian lifestyle. holic and in debt which meant social and reli- nomic Integration took place. The first paper was One transition involves a change in the eco- gious marginality. Their move to Canada was an presented by Janis Thiessen, a Ph. D. candidate nomics of the household. In Mexico, all family improvement not only in their ability to get enough at the University of New Brunswick. Her paper members contributed their share to the economic to eat but also in giving Tien the necessary inner was entitled, “Mennonite Factory Workers: survival of the household. Work and household resources to stand up to her husband’s abuse. Ethnicity, Class and Integration” which came out life in Mexico were integrated. A girl learned her Tien grew up in a loving Christian home based of oral history’s conducted with Mennonite work- life’s vocation in the home and on the farm and in the teachings of the Old Colony Church. Fast

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 109 quotes Tien as saying “I think my from their churches while many parents raised us very well!” She sees churches in Bolivia or Paraguay do herself as perpetuating the faith of not issue letters. the Church through the raising of her Bruce Guenther, professor at children. Trinity Western University and fi- Her life, however, has been pain nal presenter, gave a presentation filled, physically and psychologically. entitled “The Evangelical Path of the Health, as understood by the Men- Kanadier.” He began by recalling nonites, is dependent on a good rela- varying Mennonite reactions to the tionship with God and one’s com- Evangelical movement. Some Men- munity. It is a spiritual and social phe- nonites complain that nomena. Old Colony faith is not ab- evangelicalism is a sickness that has stract but lived in interaction with infected Mennonite teachings. Oth- other people, Fast states. In Mexico ers see it as a panacea for perceived the social pressure exerted by the Mennonite exclusivity. The church leaders and male community Kanadier who enter evangelical kept her husband in check and al- churches view those Kanadier out- lowed Tien to manage her situation. side the evangelical church as hea- However, in Canada the church did then. not excommunicate and therefore her Bill Janzen, with MCC Ottawa (left), talks with Abe Harms, MCC worker in The number of evangelical de- Ontario. All photographs for this article are courtesy of Conrad Stoesz, husband did not change his nominations working with the Mennonite Heritage Center, Winnipeg. behaviour. She is concerned that the Kanadier includes the EMMC, church does not act appropriately in dealing with and church. He began by stating that the Chris- EMC, Chortitzer, Brethren in Christ, MB, behaviour that jeopardizes his salvation. This dis- tian faith is about being an alien in the world. Gemeinde Gottes (particularly in Ontario), and a ruption of “church discipline” caused a point of Particularly, the Old Colony vision and experi- few Baptist, Evangelical Free and Pentecostal departure from regular practices of dealing with ence of church has been one where the Christian churches. These churches have been a means of her husband’s behaviour. Her pain filled body faith should shape all of life - economic, village, their integration into Canadian society. Those attested to the conflict she was in as she reported social and education. To do so required the con- Kanadier on the evangelical path are small but her husband against the will of the church, for trol of schools, retention of German, memoriza- significant - seven percent - the same percentage the sake, as she saw it, of his salvation. tion of the Catechism, familiarity with the Bible as the number of evangelicals in Canada. Prayer has the ability of creating new reali- and learning the skills necessary to live life in a The most dramatic trend is that approximately ties. Her prayer enabled her to report her hus- colony setting. 60% of Kanadier do not actively participate in band. It allowed her to deal differently than be- In the 1920s the Old Colony Church left for the church (this is an Alberta figure). This is a fore with her pain. Fast concluded by saying that Mexico because the Canadian government had pastoral concern that has united church leaders. “Through an examination of one woman’s life, I taken this control away. However, in Mexico, Most Kanadier have opted not to join evangelical have tried to demonstrate that constructing reli- the Mennonites still struggled with modernity. churches. gious meaning for Old Colony Mennonites in- Individual churches have divided over issues of Nevertheless, those who have joined do so volves an active engagement with the beliefs and modernization. The Church saw itself in contra- for individual reasons. Guenther cited nine rea- practices of the tradition but it is always given diction with the world. sons for joining evangelical churches. One, some shape in the particularities of individual lives.” When the Kanadier come to Canada, they do become disaffected with the Old Colony Church. Fast demonstrated that religion is more than the- so from the life based in the Church. Church life It is a natural progression away from a conserva- ology but is inherently involved in the active liv- was intricately a part of their lives in Mexico. tive orientation. Third, in the process of adjust- ing of people’s religious lives and that it is an They believe that the Church should have leaders ing to a new culture some also decide to enter a embodied experience. and must have rules for living. Communion is culturally different type of church. Fifth, it pro- Patricia Harms, originally from Winnipeg, has important as a way of making things right with vided a place for a more gradual integration into a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theo- one another. The Kanadier migrants share sev- Canadian society. Sixth, some parents went to an logical Seminary and is a Ph. D. candidate in eral characteristics. Most have come for economic evangelical church “for the sake of the young history at Arizona State University. Her discus- reasons, not because they are seeking a true people.” They felt that churches entirely in Ger- sion entitled “`God is here with us as well’: church. They come back as individual families man would alienate their children. The churches Gendered Experiences of Emigration from Para- rather than en masse. They rely on a network of offered programs that provided good opportuni- guay” arose out of a lifetime of stories told by the family and friends without which they would ties for youth. These spaces helped children ad- women in her family about connections with rela- have few resources. just to a new culture. Seventh, evangelical tives in Paraguay. The stories were verified by The Kanadier are most concentrated in the churches offered assistance when resources were taped conversations sent back and forth between conservative Mennonite churches including the scarce. Eighth, they offered women greater pos- sisters in Paraguay and Canada. Old Colony, Reinländer, Sommerfelder and sibilities in being involved in services and in a These tapes provide a glimpse at a story that Chortitzer Churches. They feel most comfort- way of life. Ninth, English evangelical churches is generally hidden from society, “a story told by able in these spaces because of the use of Low provided a place to shed Old Colony religious women of rural agrarian societies, a family that German. Though the composition of these heritage and Mennonite identity for those look- remained poor despite a lifetime of hard work churches is largely from those from Mexico, the ing to do so. and struggle.” It also made possible a way for Kanadier often do not become members. For in- The discussion periods after sessions were Helen to come back to Canada when her sister stance in the Zion Mennonite Church in rich with added information and insight into the Margaret visited her in Paraguay in 1985 after Schantzenfeld, potential members must give their Kanadier population. Discussions between ses- nearly 40 years of separation. As Margaret said testimonies in public which turns them away from sions about presentations, triumphs by and prob- on one of her tapes, “God lives here too and it membership. The churches in Canada accept the lems of the Kanadier were equally rewarding. was alright for them to come back.” baptism of those in Mexico and therefore see “‘Return of the Kanadier’: A History Con- The final session on Saturday afternoon ad- those churches as sister churches in the Christian ference on a Migrant People, October 3-5, dressed church life in Canada. John Friesen, pro- faith. Issues with the home churches must be 2002,” report written by Tina Fehr Kehler, fessor of history at Canadian Mennonite Univer- resolved before one can become a member. Some Winkler, Manitoba, an M.A. student at the sity, spoke on the Kanadier and their theology Kanadier arrive with sealed letters of transfer University of Manitoba.

110 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Altona, Shootings - October 16, 1902 “A Horrible Crime in Altona, Manitoba, Committed by the Teacher, H.J. Toews. Three Men and Three School Children the Victims of the Criminal. Then Sends a Bullet Through His Head,” Der Nordwesten, Volume 14. No.23 Winnipeg Manitoba, Thursday, October 16, 1902. Introduction. in regard to conflicting reports, especially on the Altona School for a short while and during A crime hardly imaginable, on Thursday, the part of the children. this time boarded at the Abraham Rempel house. turned the quiet, peaceful village of Altona, When in the year 1901 he came to Altona again, Manitoba, into a state of fear and agitation and The Place. he found a friendly reception in the same house. a number of families to grief and mourning In order to better understand the process of At the same time it constantly took the highest over a precious life. Paralysed by shock, one the tragedy it will be appropriate, next, to de- attention to satisfy him. Thus, when on Sept.1 is driven to search for a solution to the puzzle scribe the scene. Altona is a well-known, flour- of this year, he again resumed his activities at of human nature that would drive a man to ishing little town on the Canadian Pacific Rail- the school, the Rempel family in light of the shoot in cold blood three harmless, well-mean- way about 8 miles north of the international circumstances which his pretentious character ing men and three young, innocent girls who border. About a mile south of the railway sta- demanded, declined to provide him with fur- were entrusted to his care. Again, on the other tion lies the village of Old Altona. Both the ther board. Also in the Peter Kehler families hand, this horrible instance demonstrates how station and the village form a public school where he enquired, he received a negative an- thoroughly corrupt and capable of any action district. For the convenience of the village resi- swer. For one month then he boarded at O. human nature becomes when its passions are dents a separate school in Altona is maintained Gaube’s hotel in the small town of Altona and bereft of solid inner moorings or external con- where, for some time earlier, the perpetrator of finally with David Klaassen. As a result of the trol. the gruesome deed, Heinrich J. Toews, was refusal he had received from both the Rempel The murderer is the teacher, H.J. Toews. teacher. and Kehler families he directed a hatred against The victims of the Tartar are: John Hiebert, The schoolhouse lies in the middle of the the same that went so far as to seek every op- merchant in Altona, Abraham Rempel and Pe- village, just west of the main street. A few portunity to mistreat the children of the same ter Kehler, farmers, and two of Kehler’s daugh- steps to the south of the same and on the same in school. For example, during recess these ters and one of Rempel’s. Of these, Kehler’s side of the street lies the old schoolhouse, which children were not permitted to play with the daughter, Anna, has already succumbed to her is designated as residence for the teacher, but other children on the school yard, but were wounds. Meanwhile, J. Hiebert, Abr. Rempel which Toews, who is unmarried, did not use banned to the street. During school hours he and Helene Kehler are so severely wounded since he slept in the schoolhouse itself and left these children to stand on the platform while that their recovery is in serious doubt. P. Kehler took his meals elsewhere. Still farther south- he forced the others to laugh at them. and Rempel’s daughter are lightly wounded erly by several hundred steps lies the residence Whoever did not laugh along received a and out of danger. The murderer himself sent a of David Klaassen, jr. On the other side of the thrashing. He also bid the children to chicane bullet through his own head. road lies Peter Kehler’s house, approximately the Rempel and Kehler children by throwing In order to give our readers a more accurate opposite the old and new schoolhouses. For stones at them, for example, on the way home report of all the details of the event, we have easier orientation we are adding a graphic rep- from school. on our part had a special reporter at the scene resentation of the locality described . who has made a most detailed inquiry of the Called to Answer. persons involved. The following presentation The Motives. In righteous indignation over such demean- can, therefore, enhance the claim to accuracy Already in the year 1899 Toews taught in ing treatment of their children, the two fathers,

Drawing of the scene of the shootings. Der Nordwesten, Volume 14. No.23.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 111 Peter Kehler and Abr.Rempel, called Toews to to the right of the door while Hiebert stood some flesh from the fingers of his right hand. account in the classroom on Thursday morn- diagonally opposite him and Rempel on the How much more severe the experience of ing. During the dispute which ensued Rempel other side of the door. Hiebert had hardly ut- the other two on whom Toews sought to avenge at different times struck the pointer over the tered these words when Toews pulled his re- fully his supposed disgrace. desk and stove so that it splintered. When they volver. Hiebert just had time to utter, “You are Upon recovering from his consternation, realized that in this manner they could not ac- not going to shoot!” when a shot rang out, and Kehler sees Hiebert and Rempel hurrying over complish anything, they told him that in the the unfortunate victim received a bullet that to the house of David Klaassen jr.pursued by afternoon they would be back with all the trust- entered his right side just above the hip, passed the merciless murderer. Hatred beaming from ees. School trustees in addition to Abr. Rempel sideways through his abdomen, and lodged in his eyes energizes his feelingless hand with a were John Hiebert and John Schwarz. The lat- his left hip. As later surgery revealed the intes- sinister certainty. He fires another three shots ter two were notified of Toewses’ improper tines were not injured, a fortunate circumstance, at Rempel and all three hit their mark. The first behaviour and since they lived in town were explainable only by the fact that they were again hit his back but closer to his shoulder asked to come out to the village school in order firmly distended, as this happened shortly af- blade and pierced a lung; the second grazed his to talk to the teacher in an attempt to bring him ter the noon meal. Abr. Rempel, who during neck while the third from a greater distance to reason. the exchange had briefly turned his attention to left a blue bruise on his spine. When both of When the Rempel and Kehler children re- observe his workers in the field, is arrested by them reached the fence surrounding Klaassen’s turned to school after the noon recess Toews house they collapsed. Despite his severe asked them if their parents had said anything wounds, Hiebert had managed to crawl through about him to which he received a no for an the fence. answer and only that they would come with Alarmed by the shots, Mrs. Klaassen had the trustees. Since Mr. Schwarz was delayed stepped out of the house, and saw Toews turn by a business matter, the other two trustees, and stride directly toward the schoolhouse. That Hiebert and Rempel, met at the schoolhouse is where the second, more grizzly part of the around 2 o’clock alone. Peter Kehler came to tragedy was about to take place. Not content the place somewhat later to find out how the with the bloodbath so far perpetrated, the vil- matter would proceed. lain now turned his rage toward three fully When Toews saw both trustees coming he defenceless, innocent little girls, who looked went over to his bed, which stood in the class- up to their teacher with boundless trust which room, and the children saw him retrieve an still had not been shattered in spite of the un- object from the same and heard a click, with- just treatment they had already suffered. out a doubt the revolver. From a cupboard on The entrance to the schoolhouse is located the opposite side of the teacher’s desk he took to the backs of the children. Immediately upon a hammer and nails. his entrance he harshly commanded the chil- With crossed arms so that his hands were dren, “Now learn, and don’t let me catch any- hidden by his shoulders he stepped out onto one looking up!” This command the children the school yard where he met the two trustees. obediently followed. In the back of the chil- Accosted by John Hiebert, Toews invited both dren he then removed the spent cartridges from of them to step into the school, he would fol- the revolver and replaced them with new ones. low them immediately. To this Hiebert objected That done, he now coldbloodedly chose his since he wanted to avoid having the children victims. It would appear that he had also pre- hear the settlement of an unpleasant matter; meditated the murder of the three girls, for, there was enough space on the yard. quite contrary to usual procedure he had placed Susia Loewen, nee Rempel, one of the victims of the Altona shootings of Oct. 16, 1902, who sur- them on the back benches. On the last bench Shoots Trustees. vived. Her son Al Loewen, is retired and living in sat Susie Rempel, 11 years old, and Lene For whatever reason, Toews did not com- Altona. Kehler, 10 years old, and on the second last ply, but without saying a word, he strode to the bench the 7-year old Anna Kehler. First he old schoolhouse and entered by the open door. the shot and on seeing Toews turn to him jumps approached Susie Rempel and fired two shots The two trustees did not enter the building but to avoid the bullet. But, too late! Still next to at her so close up that her clothes singed. walked around it to the other, the west facing the tartar (murderer) in proximity he receives a With the one shot he shattered her right arm door. There they met Toews again, who had bullet from the barrel of the revolver in his left below the elbow, for the second shot he placed left hammer and nails behind in the building. shoulder. The bullet drove diagonally from top the mouth of the weapon in her armpit. The For what reason he had taken these two to bottom of his body. bullet shattered her upper arm and exited above. items with him is not clear; it is reasonable to While all this was happening, Peter Kehler The arm is forever useless and may have to be conclude that a well-laid plan, that he had de- to his misfortune, had also come upon the scene. operated. termined to execute went astray as a result of Wanting to hear how the discussion between Then he turned to the next-seated Lene the trustees’ decision not to enter the school- Toews and the trustees would be going, he had Kehler, shot her twice through the chest and house ahead of Toews. When Toews again met entered the old school building from the east once in her arm whereupon she sank down as the trustees, this time at the backdoor of the where he anticipated meeting the three. He saw if dead. old school building, he still had his arms Toews raise his arm and shoot at Hiebert and Suffering from the wounds she has re- crossed in order to conceal the revolver so that Rempel. With the exclamation, “The man, he ceived, she is currently lying without hope. the two intended victims were fully unsuspect- is shooting!” he turned to run through the first One bullet went through her body, while the ing of the fate that was planned for them. door. But not content with both his victims, other bullet is located in her back under her When Toews met all the remonstrances of Toews turned in full rage at Kehler and before skin where it can be easily felt. the trustees with silence, Hiebert eventually reaching the outdoors he already felt a pierc- The last victim was the little Anna Kehler. said to him, “If you will not answer to give ing pain in his right hand and felt his warm In order to reach her, he pushed one bench account we will have to lock the school and blood running down his fingers. Overcome by back somewhat, lifted up her jacket and placed release you of your position.” fear and terror, he ran toward his house where the mouth of the weapon directly on her body. During this one-sided exchange Toews he collapsed at the fence. Fortunately his in- In the meantime the child has by death al- stood leaning against the wall of the building jury was light, a grazing shot had only torn ready been delivered from her frightful suffer-

112 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 ing, until then occupied in fantasy with her was inflicted by H. J. Toews. The jury con- is hope that his life will be saved. Lene Kehler teacher by repeatedly saying, “Oh, teacher, had sisted of Messrs. Peter Braun, Jacob G. is improving slowly, A. Rempel feels better, you only been friendly to me - I tried so hard Yoerger, Otto Ritz, Henry M. Klaassen, Joh. and Susie Rempel is out of all danger. In most to be good.” At the first shot the majority of the Reinecker, H. Hubman, Wm. Berg, Jacob serious condition is Joh. Hiebert yet he may children ran to the door to escape into the open, Schwarz, John Patterson, Otto Gaube, H. survive if unforeseen complications do not but so paralysed by fear that as they tumbled Bannmann, and H. Braun. enter. over the threshold to the ground and crawled H. J. Toews is in the local hospital away on all fours. Some children, still deathly Personal Data. (Winnipeg tr.) under constant guard by two pale, only appeared from hiding after four H.J. Toews comes from the government dis- policemen. His condition is not improving, hours. trict of Ekaterinoslav in Russia, his place of inspite of most diligent care. According to in- birth, and is currently 38 years old. His father formation his doctor gave us, his condition is Attempts Suicide. died early and his mother remarried Joh. extremely critical, and it is hardly to be ex- It appears that Toews then immediately left Bergmann, now deceased, and father of the pected that he will recover. But it is too early to the schoolhouse, and using the roadway part- current reeve of Rhineland. Toews came to predict definitely. At times he appears to be way and partway the railway embankment, Manitoba some 25 years ago and grew up in unconscious and at other times he is fully lu- hurriedly made his way to the Altona station. the village of Reinland. A brother, Bernh. cid. Meanwhile some residents of the village had Toews, lives in the village of Weidefeld, an- About the events on Thursday he offers quickly gathered and started out to Altona to other near the village of Rhineland (sic. not a word, not even when an old friend vis- get the doctor, they however did not dare to Reinland) as well as a sister. His mother is ited him today. Otherwise he spoke clearly, he pass by the murderer. A cyclist, Ewert by name well advanced in years at 82. remembers the past and complains about se- was coming from the station to meet them, Toews had already spent a good while in vere pain in the head. who upon being informed by the villagers the teaching profession. For 7 years he worked A picture of the two Kehler daughters will quickly pealed back to the doctor. As he neared in Neuhoffnung; in 1899 he was employed at appear in our next issue. Toews, the same shot a bullet through his own the school in Altona for the first time but sud- head and collapsed on the roadway. Appar- denly left at Christmas and taught in the Further Reading: ently aiming at the temple he hit too close to Steinreich School District in the village of Bernhard Toews, “Heinrich Toews Mur- the eye so that the wound, not necessarily fa- Weidefeld. In the following year he returned to ders, Altona,” in Pres., No. 19, pages 98-100. tal, fully tore the eye, and injured the other so Altona again where he was engaged for this Esther Epp Thiessen, Altona: the Story of a that, should he survive, he will be blinded. The year. As teacher he enjoyed great popularity Prairie Town (D.W. Friesen & Sons Ltd., bullet lodged in the bone of the forehead. with parents and children. Although he was Altona, 1982), pp. 47-48. People from Altona found him lying on the not particularly outstanding in his profession - Vic. Penner and T.E. Friesen, Altona: A Pic- roadway with his head supported on his hand. he held his position by virtue of a permit - he torial History (Friesen Printers, Altona, 1990), In his pocket they found 16 shells and in the was able to motivate the children to produce p. 33. revolver another five. He was taken to Dr. lasting results in his school. He was generally Meek’s office where he was given first aid, a quiet character at times showing an irritabil- Acknowledgement: and stayed overnight guarded at his bed by ity in his being and an unbelievable overrating Mr. Al. Loewen, Altona, Manitoba, (324- Peter Braun and watched over by his aged of his own personality. This personality trait 6744) is a son of Susie Rempel, who was in- mother, who in motherlove ministered as best together with a thorough upheaval of his ner- jured in the shootings. The bullet was lodged she could in spite of her shock at the gruesome vous system in conjunction with an indulged- and popped out years later when the doctor deed of her son. in secret vice not to be described further possi- lanced her arm. As soon as possible, the wounded were bly led him to this shuddering deed, if one is “Altona Shootings” article Courtesy of Ralph taken into their homes where they are now not inclined to grasp at the popular explanation Friesen, Nelson, B.C. under anxious care. Both doctors McKenty of of temporary in- Gretna were immediately fetched. Dr. G. sanity. According Hiebert of Winnipeg, a brother-in-law of John to his religious Hiebert, that same evening hurried to the bed convictions he of suffering of the same. The three severely had not joined any wounded are hovering between life and death, faith community. although with Hiebert and Rempel there is a All our readers faint hope that their lives may be saved. know him by his Anna Kehler already succumbed to her travelogues which wounds on Friday and on Sunday, with com- he sent the munity participation, was carried to her final “Nordwesten” for rest. publication some On Friday morning, under guard, the mur- time ago. derer was taken to the Winnipeg General hos- pital where under anxious care he seems to be Last News. recovering. Whereas he interacts with his en- A Special Dis- vironment on other matters he claims to re- patch for the member absolutely nothing of the events of “Nordwesten” Thursday. from Altona re- On Friday evening an inquest into the death ports the condi- of Anna Kehler was held in the schoolhouse. tion of the According to the statements of Margarethe wounded on Berg, 8, Joh. Loeppky, 8, David Klaassen, 9, Wednesday noon Peter Klaassen, 7, and Dr. McKenty of Gretna, as favourable. All the jury came to the unanimous conclusion that are on the way to Anna Kehler died as the result of a bullet recovery and for wound between the 6th and 7th ribs which Joh. Hiebert there

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 113 Helen Rempel Wiens Franz – My Memoirs “Give God the glory - My Memoirs,” by Helen Rempel Wiens Franz, Apt. 205-32120 Mt. Waddington Ave., Abbotsford, B. C., Canada, V2T 2E8. Family Background. I made good progress in my studies at school At the end of May 1941 I had completed I, Helen Rempel Wiens, was born in 1928 to and began to read a great deal. I am still a vera- Sixth grade and I went to work on the collective my parents Franz and Helena Rempel in cious reader to this day. I got to know the Rus- farm during the summer. By then I was 13 years- Osterwick, Ukraine. My Mother was a Klassen sian literature quite well. People in the village old, my friends were a year older so this was our - Dietrich and Judith were her parents. Dietrich still had books and I was able to borrow them. venture into youth. The work on the farm was Klassen hailed from Osterwick but he was a pro- One of my favourite authors was Carl May. I drudgery, hoeing kilometre long rows of beets or fessional and so they lived in the cities of remember his book “Through the Desert” telling sunflowers, etc. I believe I damaged my skin at Melitopol and Berdiansk. He was a designer en- the adventures of some young people during the that time with too much sun. The men would cut gineer and had studied in Germany. My mother building of the Suez Canal. I also read books like the grain with a horse-drawn mower and it lay grew up and went to school in the city and hence “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, “Tom Sawyer” and “Quo where it fell on the stubble. Our job was to tie the speaks fluent Russian to this day. Vadis”. cut grain into sheaves - not with twine - we didn’t My grandparents, Dietrich Rempel and I received awards, called “premja” for excel- have that. We had to take the grain stems and Susanna Derksen Rempel lived in Osterwick. lence in school work. These awards were handed twist them together, and then tie them around an They were “Anwohner” (not landowners). out during a ceremony at a public meeting. One arm load of cut grain. We didn’t have shoes to Grandfather Rempel worked at the Schulz fac- of these awards was a book, “A 1001 Arabian wear to the field, we walked barefoot on the tory (see Pres., No. 17, pages 27-28). They had Nights”, another was a clothes brush, a tooth- stubble! 18 children of whom 12 grew to adulthood. Two brush and toothpaste, and once it was a tam (cap). of their children immigrated to Canada during Looking back now, I realize that none of these German Invasion, 1941. the 20s. Of the remaining 10, there was only school awards that I received were acknowledged On June 22, 1941, Germany attacked Russia. Johann Rempel who was arrested in 1937. One or praised by my parents. I felt though that my This would prove to be a totally new chapter in son Peter was a chauffeur in the city of Zaporohze, Mother was pleased because she had also been a our family’s history. Not until September 1945, where he married a Ukrainian woman called Olga. very good student. when my Father found us and we were united in Their offspring still live in Zaporozhe. We are When school started in September 1938 we West Germany, were we able to feel safe again always in communication with them and have were in for a shock. The language of instruction and live without fear. helped them throughout the years. was not German anymore - but Russian. Our My mother was still at the Maternity Clinic, My mother remembers when the Revolution former teachers had of course been bilingual, having given birth to brother Abram on June 19, took place - she was 10. Her father came home and just switched over. But we village children 1941. Now I had three brothers, Abram, Dietrich from work, took the picture of the Czar off the did not know Russian, maybe a word or two or a and Hans who was born in 1938 after Grand- wall and hid it. My Grandfathers both died of song. However, we managed our lessons in Rus- mother died. On Sunday, the 22nd of June our typhus in 1919. My grandfather Klassen was sian and in my Grades Four, Five and Six classes neighbour’s daughter came running over and said, buried in Berdiansk (I visited that cemetery in I had good report cards. I also made Russian “War has broken out. Germany has attacked Rus- 1995). The Klassen family then had to return to friends. I felt comfortable with Dascha, Katja or sia! It’s going to be announced over the loud- the village of Osterwick in order to survive. The Polja. I wonder if they survived the war? I know speaker, the control of which was at the Radio unrest and famine was raging; my mother re- that many of the boys in my class died while Station.” members going begging in the village - some serving their country at war. All we could do was listen to what was being people still had something but didn’t want share what they had. Were it not for the MCC food distribution, the “American kitchen” it was called, my parents might not have survived. My parents were married in 1927 in the beau- tiful church in Osterwick. They had seven chil- dren, two of whom died in infancy. My father worked in the collective farm. In 1935 the Com- munists broke down that beautiful church, to use the bricks for something else.

School years. During my school years three of my uncles were arrested by the police. One was my Father’s brother, Uncle Johann Rempel. Two of my Mother’s brothers, Jakob and Heinrich Klassen, who lived in the Caucasus Mountains, were taken away. We received this information about the Klassen uncles’ arrests by letters from their wives. In 1993 when I visited the sons of these Klassen uncles I was touched to see how one of these sons, who was 12 years-old when his fa- ther was taken away, had not forgotten his father. He was still moved to tears when he talked about him. When I returned from that trip I told my Derksen family photo ca. 1898. Great-grandfather Johann Derksen (1831-1918), front row, center. He husband and children, “I have never done a big- was born and raised in Neu-Osterwick. Couples l.-r. Susanna Derksen Rempel seated, front right, with ger mission in my life than this trip to visit my baby, and husband Dietrich Rempel, standing; Anna Derksen Berg and Jakob Berg; Helena Derksen Bergen with husband Heinrich Bergen to her right; Tina Derksen Peters, Mrs. Franz Peters, front beside relatives in Krasnodar in the Caucasus Moun- her father; Johann Derksen with wife Agatha in front; and Franz Derksen with wife Anna in front. tains.”

114 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 broadcast. The loudspeakers were there to serve for propaganda purposes. Foreign Minister Molotov came on and made an earth-shaking announcement, “Russia is at war.” We had been told Germany and Russia had a treaty, they had agreed they would not attack each other. They had even divided Poland between each other in 1939. In Russia we were not given the news of other countries, we did not know much about the war, that it had already started in 1939, or that the British King had abdicated, nor what was hap- pening in Germany. No one was permitted to listen to the news from the West, those who did were arrested. As soon as the war began we had refugees coming, multitudes of Jews were beginning to flee to the east. They were aware of how Germany treated the Jews. We, on the other hand, had no knowledge of who Hitler was or what his Nazi party plans were. My Mother came home with the Grandmother Susanna Rempel’s funeral in Osterwick, 1933. L.-r.: David Rempel, Peter, Susanna, new baby and we lived in a state of tension in our Anna, Abram, Liese, Bernard, Helena and Franz, Greta and Heinrich, Maria and Johann Rempel. homes. What would happen to us who were Ger- man? We didn’t dare to do this or dare to do the gious freedom in Germany during the war, to Escape. other. I think my Father must have been shaking say the wrong thing was dangerous. But all this My father as brigadier was still on the farm all the time, not wanting to do anything that could we would find out later. on August 16th. The German army was expected be held against him. I remember thinking, what if When the German army arrived there was a to arrive within a week. The order was given that I became better friends with Russian girls. I spoke bit of fighting, airplanes dropped bombs on the all the people and everything were to move across Russian well and had some good Russian friends. cities, but that didn’t happen to us in the village. the Dnjepr River and go east. But secretly our I realized by then they looked at me as being on the We kept on working in the fields, sometimes the family plan was to go west - and hide until the other side, because I’m German. planes would drop leaflets, but we did not dare to Germans would come and liberate us. And that is The German army (Wehrmacht) moved into pick them up or read them. By August 16th the exactly what we did. We were aware of how Russia with a Blitzkrieg (lightning war)! The German army was about 25 kilometers west of dangerous a plan this was if we were found out. attack on Russia started on June 22 and by Au- us. Our village was to move east - across the By now there was turmoil everywhere, espe- gust 18th the Wehrmacht reached Osterwick, 20 Dnjepr River with everything, horses, tractors, cially for the leading Communists in the village. kilometres west of the Dnjepr. They probably cattle, people. Many people had to accompany How to save oneself was the big question on reached the Dnjepr River the same day - there the cows, the women had to milk the cows and everyones’ mind. What happened that night of was not much resistance from the Russian Army. cook for the men who took care of the livestock. August 16th remains forever in my mind. The Wehrmacht came and liberated us! The Already by the end of July many people were My father secured us a ladder wagon ordinary soldiers were very nice to us, were glad moving east - across the Dnjepr River. Many of (Leiterwagen) on which we could load our be- to hear German spoken, treated us very well. my friends lost their fathers at this time because longings and hay for the horses. Some other fami- Much later we were to realize that Hitler and they had to drive the tractors, or look after the lies also threw some of their belongings onto the Stalin operated on the same system, especially in cattle that were driven across the river. wagon, and we travelled west - in the middle of the way they killed people. There was no reli- the night. I remember it so well, my mother with the two month-old baby and my two other broth- ers. My father was walking, leading the horses, as quietly as possible, leaving at the west end of the village instead of the east. Many other people from other villages did the same thing. We walked all night, saw and heard the fighter planes flying overhead. We travelled about 10 kilometres dur- ing the night. The next day was Sunday, August 17th. We needed to stop, rest and feed the horses, and we also needed to eat. My father was very agitated - so afraid the Communists would come after us. And they did - the top Communist people from Osterwick. They hunted people everywhere. We were parked in a little gully in a Russian village. There were some trees and there was grass and a school nearby. Then we all saw the officials’ horse-drawn coach coming and we rec- ognized the top Communist officials from Osterwick. They stepped out of their coach, rifle in hand, and said, “Oh, this is what you Germans are doing. You are traitors to our country! Now, who is the leader here and who gave you this House of Franz and Helena Rempel in Osterwick, Chortitza Colony, 1943, l.-.r: sons Johan and wagon and horses?” To my father he said, “Franz, Dietrich, daughter Helena, parents Helena and Franz Rempel with baby Heinrich, and German we are going to finish you right now.” He loaded Wehrmacht soldiers Ernst and Georg. The Rempel family left Osterwick a few weeks later on the train his rifle, but my mother and everybody screamed! bound for Germany.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 115 “Well, we’ll do it at the end of the the Molotschna colony. There the village,” he said. “All males come Russians did the same thing, they along.” They didn’t bother with the loaded all the men and boys onto women. We were a group of about trains and took them east. As a result 12 families. many more of their men died and My father went to say good-bye were missing in our villages on this to my mother and quoted a scripture, side of the Dnjepr River. Because of “My days are like the evening the delay of the German army, the shadow; I wither away like grass,” Molotschna villages suffered much Psalm 102:11. I have prayed much more severely, since the Soviets had for God to protect my father, but more time to send the Mennonites to never as fervently as I prayed that the labour camps of the Siberian day. My father was barefoot. These GUlag in the east. men were very much in a hurry and rushing the men. But my father was German Occupation. still hunting for his Schloren (“san- As soon as we were back in our dals”). He couldn’t go barefoot. In village we were permitted to work the meantime the Communist offi- freely and were able to organize our cials went back to the road thinking church services again. We used the all the men were on the wagon and elementary school building, took out would follow them. Eventually fa- the inner walls and made one big ther found his Schloren and then he meeting room for our Sunday ser- tried to catch up with the wagon on vices. So we had religious life back which the other men were. Franz and Helena Rempel and their five children upon arrival at the train in our village, with permission of A Russian man from the village station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, July 14, 1949: l.-r. Johan 11, Diedrich 14, course from the occupying military. who had watched all this whispered Helen (the author), Heinrich 8 and Franz 6. The collective farm could not be to him, “Why don’t you just disap- dissolved immediately under the pear, here in the bush?” And my father disap- had already been moved into the school building, occupation by the Germans. It was very neces- peared! God used this man to save my father’s and everyone was beginning to settle down for sary to produce grain and feed and to run our life. the night. My mother and I had seen father go households. But now there was a difference - we My father crawled deeper into the reeds and into the bushes. Later that evening someone came always had enough to eat, and of course we also came upon a field where the grain sheaves had to my mother and told her, “Franz is there in the had to raise food to feed the German army. In the already been set up into stocks. He climbed into bushes and he wants to talk to you.” So, thank fall it was back to school for me, Grade Seven. one of them and hid there. He found that there God, my father was alive and still with us. My The same teachers who had been forced to teach were many other men hiding in the stocks. We of father spent another night in the bush. The next Communism could now teach German. They course didn’t know this. We were still afraid the day, August 18th, 1941 the German army arrived were good teachers and I have fond memories of communists would come back. My father at the and we were free. my seventh year in school. It would also be my same time was concerned as to what would hap- We thanked God for his liberation. The next last school year in the Ukraine. pen to us. The men on the wagon were ordered to day we went back to our village of Osterwick. It There were about eight Jewish families living drive back to Osterwick, but in all the confusion was already under the control of the German army. in our village, who spoke the same Low German and agitation over the war front being so close, At the banks of the Dnjepr River the German that we all did. Already by September and Octo- most of them managed to escape. Wehrmacht’s advance halted for some time. Then ber we were beginning to experience what Nazi By evening my father crept out to see what the attack continued and the front moved further Germany was all about. The Germans were ar- was happening to us. Our women and children east, to the other side of the Dnjepr River, towards resting all the Jewish people and taking them to the city of Zaporozhe. At first we didn’t know what happened to the Jews that were sent away. But then we began to hear - the Jews were all being murdered. This happened in all the vil- lages, whereever there were Jewish families. The Jewish males were all circumcised, and the other people weren’t. So they just had the boys strip their pants and they had proof they were Jewish. I recall what happened to one family in our village. Vera was the lady’s name. She was Rus- sian and her husband was Jewish. Vera had a son from her first marriage - non-Jewish, and several children from the Jewish husband. When she was taken she had a small baby in her arms. One day in school I happened to glance out of the window. I saw Vera walking across the yard with her baby in her arms. She had been given a chance to save herself, but her husband and his children would be shot. Knowing what happened to Vera made a deep impression on me to this very day. She had chosen to die with her family and had just come to say good-bye to her oldest son. He lived with his grandmother and aunt. That son later died in Germany, while playing with a gre- Helen Rempel Wiens, second row, third from the left. Front row: teacher G. Heyeck and principal A. nade that exploded. In another situation, a Jew- Froese.

116 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 ish man was married to a Mennonite lady - the women and children. It was not easy travelling in At first the custom was to hang the helmet on top Nazis let her and the children live, but killed the war time; they would be bombed or fired upon, of the cross on the grave. We noticed the German Jewish husband. and the fall weather created misery with snow soldiers’ graves were dated only two years ago. My baby brother had been given the name and frost. My friend recalls travelling with this We had to think of the soldiers dying in Russia - Abram, but under German occupation we were group - they slept in open fields under the stars at no crosses would be marking their graves. not to have Jewish names, so he became a night, shaking the snow off their blankets in the Heinrich (Henry). By 1942 we began to realize morning. Post-War. what the plans of the occupation officials included, In my village of Osterwick many of our young Franz, my father, born 1905, and the others and that we were not as free as we had thought men were away, in the German army. By now the all worked on the collective farm in Osterwick. we were. Females named Sarah called themselves Russian army had pushed the Wehrmacht back We left with the retreating German army in 1943. We were sent on a freight train which took us to Ober-Schlesian (now Poland) in 10 days. Two weeks after that my mother gave birth to the youngest of her children, a boy named Franz. The doctor that attended was Jewish, he wore a yellow star. In 1945 we fled again, further west by train in the cold winter. We landed in the Harz Moun- tains, the City of Wernigrode. After our stay in that camp (we always stayed in camps), we were shipped a little further west and so we were never occupied by the Russian Army. The Americans liberated us on April 11, 1945. MCC made con- tact with us as soon as June 1945 and so we were helped again by MCC. It took four years until we could immigrate to Canada. For this our family has been extremely grateful. It’s the best country in the world. In the late 1940s and early ‘50s, my uncles’ Franz, Heinrich, David and Bernhard, came to Canada with their families. These brothers have all died. Ben was the last one to go in November 2001 at age 87. Four of the other siblings of my father died in Germany and two others in Russia. We, the Frank Rempel family, came to Franz and Helena Rempel with family in front of their house on South Sumas Road, Chilliwack, B.C. Chilliwack, B.C. in 1949. I, Helen, am the oldest 1962. L.-r. Henry, Dietrich and Dorothy with son Kenneth, Franz, Peter and Helena Wiens with children and the only daughter. My four brothers are John and Judy in front, and John and Erika. Dietrich, John, Henry and Frank. Four of us Lydia and males with the name Abram became to the Dnjepr River, just 25 kilometres from us. became teachers. Dietrich went into the ministry Victor or Herman. Brother Henry’s name change It was October 19th, 1943. The evening before after some time and is still pastoring in the remains a memorial of those days. we boarded the train to leave, we gathered in our Clearbrook Mennonite Church in Abbotsford. I did not get to attend “Zentralschule” (High church for a service. The minister Jacob Neudorf My mother, Helen Rempel, at 95 years of age, school) in Russia. By then the high school was said; “This is it - 140 or so years, not quite 150 lives at the Menno Home in Abbotsford. She is in Zaporozhe and students were required to pay years ago, our forefathers came here from Pol- in relatively good health. My father died in 1986 board and tuition. My father wanted me to help ish-Prussia. Now we are all going back to where at the age of 81. look after the household and my brothers. So I they came from originally.” It was like an official I married Peter G. Wiens in 1956. The Wiens remained at home and continued working on the farewell service with blessings and with prayers family came to Canada in 1923. They lived in collective farm. asking God for guidance. Saskatchewan for many years. We lived in I recall leaving the village of Osterwick. The Vancouver and were active members of the Men- Retreat, 1943. train station was about five kilometres from our nonite church. We had three children. Our chil- The war was not going well for Germany. village. My cousin, Margaret Dueck and I walked dren are all married and I have eight grandchil- The disaster at Stalingrad was especially bad. those five kilometres together. Others had gone dren. My daughter Andrea is married to John They kept flying the seriously wounded soldiers ahead with the luggage on a military truck, also Nikkel and they farm in Landmark, Manitoba. out. Many of them had become mentally ill from my mother who was in her last month of preg- Daughter Judy and Glenn live in Surrey, B.C. the terror, stress, starvation and suffering they nancy. I figured, this is the last I’m ever going to Son John and Michiyo live in Coquitlam, B.C. had experienced. They had been afraid of be- see my village. And now - I’m amazed to say, My husband Peter Wiens died of a stroke in coming Russian prisoners of war. Hitler refused I’ve been back there four times - in 1986, 1990, 1996. I married again, to Jacob Franz, a retired to let them retreat at Stalingrad and thousands of 1995 and 2002. At the train station we were put dairy farmer. We belong to the Greendale Men- his men were killed in that battle. Not only Hitler’s in the same boxcar with my family and other nonite Church, Chilliwack. In 1986 I and my German boys were killed, but also our young relatives. The train cars had wide shelves on which husband went to Russia for the first time. And Mennonite men were usually forcibly inducted we could lie with our blankets and look out then I went several times again. In September of into the Wehrmacht and sent to fight and died in through the little window. There was a little stove 2002 I went on the Mennonte Heritage Cruise the same way. in the car and we could boil water or cook a bit of down the Dnjepr River. That was my sixth time By 1943 we were preparing to go to Ger- food. Our train would stop at stations where we back “in der alte Heimat”. I believe this will be many. The German army was retreating and our could get food. So - we are on our way, travelling my last time. No more “dosviedanije”. Mennonite people were leaving Russia with west! them. The people from the Molotschna villages I knew my geography well, could tell when Source: who were further east than we were left before we were travelling through Poland. Often we Helen Wiens Franz, Give God the Glory we did, by horse and buggy. They were mostly would see crosses on German soldiers’ graves. (Abbotsford, B.C., 1996), pages 11-16.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 117 Patriarchs of the Brüdergemeinde, 1860 “Patriarchs of the Early Mennonite Brüdergemeinde, 1860,” by Henry Schapansky, 108-5020 Riverbend Road, Edmonton, Alberta, T6H 5J8.

Introduction. still be the massive opus of P.M. Friesen. He Observations. The emergence of the Brüdergemeinde was well placed to chronical events since he Turning to the evidence of P. M. Friesen, (later the Mennonite Brethren) during the 1850s knew many of the early Brethren personally and the profiles (presented below) of the indi- was a major and divisive development among and since his uncle Johann Klassen, early vidual early Brethren patriarchs, some initial the Russian Mennonites and requires serious Brethren extremist (although his extremism is observations may be made: examination by students of that history. The downplayed in Friesen’s work), was perhaps 1. The early Brethren were more numerous in Russian Mennonite community had previously the single most influential and important of the the Molotschna than in the Old Colony, al- experienced a division into “progressives” and Brethren. though both groups were relatively small in- “traditionalists”, and I have discussed aspects The purpose of this article is to examine the deed. Many of the early Brethren were closely of the earlier division elsewhere. The family backgrounds of the early patriarchs of related (family connections having been estab- “progressives” were essentially the Brethren, to establish a profile of both early lished prior to 1860), so that the number of assimilationists, wishing a fuller integration Molotschna and Old Colony Brethren, and to Brethren “clans” was even smaller. of the Mennonite community into Russian so- examine common features to explain, in part, 2. Extremists appeared in both Molotschna and ciety with its values of authoritarianism, na- the emergence of the Brüdergemeinde phenom- Old Colony Brüdergemeinde groups and were tionalism, capitalism and militarism. The mi- enon. Of interest too are the differences be- in the majority for a number of years. Indeed, nority progressives, represented by Johann tween the various Brethren groups, particu- the most extremist of all the Brethren may have Cornies, Bernhard Fast, and generally speak- larly between those of the Old Colony and the been Gerhard Wiehler from the Old Colony, ing, members of the Ohrloff Gemeinde in the Molotschna, and between those known to have who at one time banned his father and brother Molotschna Colony, naturally secured support been extremists and those of more moderate (all extremists) for disagreeing with his views. and encouragement from Russian bureaucracy. views. From the material of Friesen, we can con- Division in the Mennonite community is P.M. Friesen himself lends credence to the struct a listing of some of the more prominent an almost natural process, occurring through view that external forces and family back- extremists and moderates of the period 1860- normal internal growth, emigration and, some- grounds played a large role in the formation of 1864. Some of the extremists did, however, it times by differences in the practice and imple- the Brethren. He examines at length the influ- should be noted, adopt more moderate views mentation of theological beliefs, although P. ence of the Lutheran Separatist-Pietists, the after 1864. M. Friesen refers to this tendency as the “Men- Hamburg Baptists, the immigration of the pi- nonite sickness” (Note One). The significance etist-led Rudnerweiders and Gnadenfelders to Extremist Molotschna Brethren - Benjamin and uniqueness in the separation of the Russia, and generally documents well the im- Becker, Jacob Becker, Bernhard Penner (later Brüdergemeinde is two-fold. Firstly, I claim, portance of non-Mennonites in the Brethren a Seventh-Day Adventist), Isaac Koop, the Brethren were nurtured and inspired by movement. He also establishes clear links be- Hermann Peters (founder of the external groups, without whose support the tween the Brethren and other extremists such “Breadbreakers”), Wilhelm Bartel, Johann Brethren movement might have collapsed. Sec- as the Templars. In Friesen’s view the Menno- Klassen (uncle of P.M. Friesen), Heinrich ondly, the Brethren themselves were almost nite community had lapsed into spiritual leth- Bartel. absorbed into the Russian Baptist movement. argy and external forces were required to Extremist Old Colony Brethren - Gerhard Indeed, it may have only been through the ef- awaken it. Wiehler, Johann Wiehler, Johann Wiehler (jun- forts of a handful of Brethren; including Aron A somewhat different view, most recently ior) Franz Wiehler, Heinrich Neufeld, Peter Lepp, that the Brüdergemeinde survived as a elaborated by Dr. John B. Toews (although Berg, Johann Loewen. non-Baptist group. expressed in many other earlier Brethren writ- Moderate Molotschna Brethren - Abraham The Planer Brethren and the Volga Breth- ings) is that the movement arose almost en- Kornelsen, Heinrich Hiebert (banned by the ren did in fact join the Baptists (previously tirely within the community, involving indi- extremists), Jacob Reimer (also banned by the non-Mennonite but “converted” through the viduals alarmed by the decadence of Menno- extremists), Gottlieb Strauß, Daniel Hoppe. efforts of missionaries Heinrich Bartel and nite society, who had received the grace of God Moderate Old Colony Brethren - Abraham Benjamin Becker). In fact, the first chairman and had a conversion experience, either dra- Unger, Heinrich Epp. of the Russian Baptist Union was matic or otherwise (Note Two). Toews draws 3. Separatist-Pietist and Baptist views and Brüdergemeinder Johann Wiehler. It is there- some evidence for the decadent nature of Men- missionary efforts played different roles in the fore not surprising that the traditionalists, or nonite society from the translated diaries of formation of the Brethren. The earliest impact even the progressives, viewed the David Epp, although David Epp may not have was made by the Pietists among both the Brüdergemeinde movement as a threat to their been a representative witness, as I have dis- Molotschna and Old Colony Mennonites. A own existence. cussed elsewhere (Pres., No. 21, pages 134-7 study group of various individuals in the and No. 22, pages 138-9). In addition, the trans- Molotschna, influenced by the teachings of Historiography. lation by Toews of the diary is itself somewhat missionary Eduard Wüst, was formed and re- Historical writing in respect of the Russian problematic and sometimes misleading (Note ferred to as the “Wüst Brethren”. Individuals Mennonites has long been dominated by Three). from the Wüst Brethren formed the nucleus of Brüdergemeinde apologists. Non-Brethren The view expressed by Toews, and some both the Molotschna Brüdergemeinders and works have generally emanated from earlier Brethren writers, lends credence to the the Templars. In the Old Colony a similar small progressives. The Brethren secured some sup- opinion, held by some Mennonites of the extremist Pietist group arose in the 1850s. port from the progressives since it was exter- 1860s, that the Brethren had adopted a form of Johann Loewen, Heinrich Neufeld (later an nal support that shaped the Brethren move- Lutheran pre-destinationism. Many of the ex- extremist Brethren), Abraham Unger, and one ment, and since the Brethren were seen as use- tremist Brethren felt that, having been saved Jacob Janzen were part of this faction which ful tools in breaking up and modernizing the and therefore elected by God, they could do no however adopted some strange radical ideas traditionalist community. wrong. Many of the excesses of the period and eventually disappeared as a group (Note The largest single work on the history of arose from this belief. Four). the Russian Mennonites and the Brethren may Baptist influence was perhaps evident ear-

118 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 lier in the Old Colony than in Molotschna. draw any firm conclusions. ment of Pietist Tobias Voth as a school teacher Abram Unger, first Ältester of the Old Colony What is, however, apparent is that a major- in the Molotschna. Tobias Voth had married a Brethren (the Einlage Gemeinde) was a strong ity had Kronsweide Gemeinde roots, or mar- Lutheran (of a Pietist family) and was to influ- supporter of union with the Baptists (Friesen ried into Kronsweide Gemeinde families. Fur- ence some of his students including Heinrich refers to this group as Baptist- thermore, circa 1862, a majority of Old Colony Hiebert in Pietist directions. Predestinationists, page 446) and his son Brethren were living either in Kronsweide or The Gnadenfelders, originally from the Abraham married Louisa Benzien, daughter of Einlage. Some Old Colony Brethren came from Flemish settlements in the Neumark, had lived prominent Hamburg Baptist Karl Benzien who families of the post-war immigration. in Prussian territory since 1765 before finally later moved to Russia. 6. There were close connections, including moving to Russia in 1834. Many of the later However it was to be the Baptist influence family ties, between the Molotschna and Old leaders of the Neumark and Gnadenfelder that endured the longest and discussions were Colony Brethren. Many of the Old Colony Gemeinden were originally from Lutheran held between the Brethren and the Russian Brethren, particularly the extremists, joined the families including various members of the Baptists for many years regarding a possible Brüdergemeinde Colony in the Kuban. Many Lange and Lenzmann families. Over time, the union. Pietist influences survived longest per- of the disillusioned Kuban settlers later joined Neumark Mennonites, due to their isolation, haps in the Kuban settlement. P.M. Friesen the Old Colony Brethren settlements at had absorbed ideas and individuals from their seems to have viewed the Kuban settlement as Andreasfeld and Wiesenfeld. In the early 1860s Lutheran neighbours. Nevertheless many a backwater in the Brethren community, and several Old Colony Brethren appear to have Gnadenfelders, including Ältester August apparently favoured closer ties with the Rus- been living in the Molotschna including Lenzmann opposed the Brüdergemeinde move- sian Baptists. Gerhard Wiehler. ment. 4. The overwhelming majority of early Molotschna Brethren and Templars were from Conclusions - Old Colony. families who immigrated to Russia during or Conclusions in respect of the Old Colony after the European war of 1805 to 1815, par- Brüdergemeinde are not as easily made. Their ticularly after 1815. Many Brethren or numbers were small and less detail is available Templars came from families that had been with respect to the less prominent adherents. It Mennonite for only one, two or three genera- does appear that members from the Kronsweide tions. Gemeinde dominated the profile of the early Of the 27 or so Wüst Brethren listed in Old Colony Brethren. P.M. Friesen, only the following were clearly The Kronsweide Gemeinde originated as a from pre-war immigrant families: Abraham result of the efforts, it seems, of a group of Matthies, Abraham Peters, Heinrich Hiebert Friesians, known as the “Rosenkrantzers”, in (although heavily influenced by his school early years of the Old Colony settlement (1788- teacher, pietist Tobias Voth), and perhaps Jacob 1793). The Rosenkrantzers, led by Johann (Jan) Reimer and Jacob Buhler (1822-55). Some of Klassen and Franz Pauls adopted theological Wüst Brethren were from non-Mennonite fami- views rejected by their Flemish neighbours and lies including David Hausknecht (a school by the West Prussian Flemish Gemeinden. A teacher), and brothers Nicholas (1815-74), letter written by Franz Pauls, outlining their Heinrich (1824-84) and Johann (1826-64) ideas, to Danzig Ältester Peter Epp, was not Schmidt, whose grandfather David Schmidt deemed worthy of a response (Gerhard Wiebe came to Russia in 1810 from the Zweibrucken diary, letter of June 21, 1792, to Johann region (Pfalz). Many came to Russia directly Wiebe). from West Prussia as young men, including The Rosenkrantzers and Kronsweide Peter Siemens, Leonard Sudermann and Gemeinde settlers came from both Herman Sudermann, after 1820. Johann Claassen (1820-76), Liebenau, Kuban. Tragheimersweide and Lithuanian Gemeinden. Of the 32 family heads listed in Section The Tragheimersweide Gemeinde originated One (below), only the following came from The Old Colony Brethren played a surpris- out of Lithuanian Gemeinde settlers who re- pre-war families: Heinrich Hiebert, Isaac ingly large role in the early history of the Breth- turned to Prussia in the 1730s, and the Regier, Abraham Peters, Johann Hiebert, Jacob ren, in view of their much smaller numbers. Tragheimersweide Gemeinde became the Kroeker, and perhaps Abraham Regier (an 1808 This may have been due to the remarkable abili- Molotschna Rudnerweide Gemeinde when family) and Jacob Reimer (an 1810 family). ties of individuals such as Abraham Unger and most of its members moved as a group to Rus- Of the 38 additional family heads of Sec- the senior Johann Wiehler. sia in 1819. The Lithuanian Gemeinde had pre- tion Two, only the following were from pre- viously experienced a “Great Awakening” circa war families: Jacob Giesbrecht, Wilhelm Conclusions - Molotschna. 1710 and a number of Lutherans (some possi- Giesbrecht, Abraham Eidse, Daniel Eidse, What can we conclude from the family pro- bly of Swiss background) joined the Lithuanian Johann Martens (Old Colony) Jacob Martens files of the early Brethren? The first conclu- Gemeinde during this period. This was a ma- (Old Colony), Heinrich Neufeld (Old Colony), sion we can make is that indirectly proposed jor concern to both the Mennonites and Prus- Abraham Neufeld (Old Colony), Kornelius by P.M. Friesen. The Molotschna Brethren had sian authorities (The Lithuanian Gemeinde was Reimer (an 1810 family), Franz Martens (an generally speaking roots in families who im- located in Prussian territory, it should be noted). 1809 family). migrated to Russia after 1815. If we regard There is, therefore, a long connection be- 5. The number of early Old Colony Breth- war-time (1807-1815) immigrant families tween the Old Colony and Molotschna Breth- ren was much smaller than the number of early (small in number) in the same category as post- ren. The leading Old Colony Brüdergemeinder, Molotschna Brethren. Many were connected war families, then very few early Molotschna Abraham Unger, did indeed have family roots through family ties, particularly to the leading Brethren had roots in pre-war families. in the Tragheimersweide Gemeinde, as did less Old Colony Brethren who included school The early influence of Lutheran Pietists is prominent Old Colony Brethren. teacher Johann Wiehler and wagonmaker well evident in post-war immigrant families, We cannot however ignore the fact that some Abraham Unger. The small number of Old particularly in respect of the Friesian of the early Old Colony Brethren, including Colony individuals and clans in the Brethren Rudnerweide Gemeinde. Their Ältester Franz Heinrich Neufeld and members of the promi- movement and lack of family data in respect of Görtz was a supporter of Pietist views and nent Johann Wiehlers family, had roots in Flem- less well-known families makes it difficult to was responsible for the controversial appoint- ish families of the pre-war immigration pe-

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 119 riod. Johann Wiehler (senior) may have been a Abraham Kornelsen’s mother Maria X (b. 91) (see below). Katherina Schmidt is difficult remarkable individual since sons Gerhard and 1806) remarried Abraham Wall (b. 1798) of to locate. Johann Klassen was the uncle of Johann played key roles in the early develop- Grossweide, Molotschna. Brüdergemeinde historian, Peter M Friesen. ment of the Brethren. Abraham Kornelsen (b. 1826) left the He was a sometime supporter of the extrem- Additional research on those early Breth- Brüdergemeinde movement briefly during the ists. ren whose family backgrounds are less well- period of extremism, and later, in 1879, moved P. M. Friesen describes Johann Klassen as known, will, in my opinion, confirm the gen- to the U.S.A. He was the person P.M. Friesen politically astute and a determined and skilful eral conclusions drawn above. Curiously, while felt would have been the most able first Ältester organizer. He joined the extremists for a time, many leading Brethren were from Flemish of the Brüdergemeinde. He was an opponent and was later the first Oberschulz of the Gemeinden, the majority of the early Brethren of the Brüdergemeinde extremists. Brüdergemeinde Kuban settlement. were from Friesian and non-Mennonite back- grounds Curiously, too, despite the signifi- Johann Klassen (1820-76) Liebenau, m. Isaac Koop (b. 1817) Eliesabethal (later cance of the Gnadenfelders in the Wüst move- Katherina Reimer (1826-70), 2m. 1870 Waldheim?), m. X (unknown). A son of ment of the 1850s, they are not well repre- Katherina Schmidt (1852-1915). A son of Johann Koop (b. 1785) m. Katherina X (b. sented in the early Brethren, although heavily David Klassen (1760-1827) m. 1788 Sara X 1782) who came to Russia in 1819. They stayed represented in the Templers. Of interest too (widow of Johann Suckau of Tiegenhagen) in Burwalde, Old Colony until 1824 when they would be additional research involving the 2m. Aganetha Penner (b. 1782). moved to Eliesabethal. Johann Koop was likely Flemish immigrants of the post-war period, David Klassen was a son of Peter Klassen a son of Andreas Koop (b.1812), Klein living in the southern regions of the Heubuden Mausdorf 1776: 1 son (Ellerwald Gemeinde) Gemeinde (for instance at Kurzebrach) who later of Heubuden. may have been influenced by their Tragheimersweide Gemeinde neighbours. 2. First Ältester. Heinrich Hiebert (Hübert) (1810-95) Liebenau, m. Agatha Loewen (b. 1805), 2m. Sources: Maria Epp (d. 1900). The names of the Molotschna A son of Nicholas (Klaas) Hiebert (1785- Brüdergemeinde families, as well as some fam- 1858) of Münsterberg, Molotschna. Nicholas ily details are drawn from the work of P.M. Hiebert (1785-1858) was a son of Nicholas Friesen and include the following: Hiebert (1739-1804), Lakendorf, 1776: No I. (a) Signers of the Ausgangsschrift children listed. Nicholas Huebert (1785-1858) (6.1.1860); came to Russia in 1804. His widowed mother (b) Participants in the Brüdergemeinde Susanna Zacharias (b. 1764) married Nicholas Ältester Election of 1860; Ens (b. 1773) of Ladekopp, Molotschna. (c) Persons mentioned in the list of 5.1.1861 Agatha Loewen was a daughter of Peter Loewen (Report of government investigator Alexander (b. 1765) of Ladekopp, Molotschna. Maria Epp Brune, published in J. B. Toews, The Story of was the daughter of Jacob Epp, an immigrant the Early Mennonite Brethren (Hillsboro, to Russia of 1839 to 1845, difficult to locate. 2002) and not already mentioned in P. M. P.M. Friesen describes Hiebert as a thinker Friesen. and capable theologian, though a poor speaker, II. Signers of the Brüdergemeinde Petition of indecisive and not the best choice for Ältester. Heinrich Hübert (1810-95), first Ältester of the 30.12.1863; He was deeply influenced by his school teacher Molotschna Brüdergemeinde. III. Other prominent early Molotschna Breth- Tobias Voth. Heinrich Hiebert (Huebert) was ren of the 1860s referred to in P.M. Friesen, of Tiegenhagen, deceased in 1788 and possi- elected Brüdergemeinder Ältester in 1860 and but not found in the previous lists. bly in 1776. David Klassen may have moved retired in 1877. An opponent of the extremists. The names of the Old Colony Brüdergemeinde several times as various references refer to him Heinrich Hiebert moved to the Kuban in 1873. families are taken from the following: at Orlofferfeld, Königsberg and Petershagen. See Alf Redekopp, The Münsterberg Hüberts - Einlage Brüdergemeinde Baptism list from He may have been a merchant. Peter Klassen (Winnipeg, 1992), pages 1-17. 1862, Alf Redekop, Mennonite Historian, was likely the son of David Klassen (1700- March 1998 (Note Five) and also in the work 80), 1776: Fürstenwerder, Landwirt, 1 male, 1 3. Others. of J. B. Toews, see above. female, 2 sons, 1 daughter, 1 male servant, Dietrich (Dirk) Klassen (b. 1809) Marienthal, - All references are to P.M. Friesen, middle class. If this connection is correct, m. Maria Janzen (b. 1811). Brother of Johann Geschichte der Alt-Evangelischen Johann Klassen was also distantly related to Klassen (1820-76) above. Maria Janzen ap- Mennonitische Brüderschaft in Russland Martin Klassen (1820-81), author of pears to be a daughter of Heinrich Janzen (b. (Halbstadt, Taurien, 1911) German edition, 776 Geschichte der wehrlosen taufgesinnten 1775) of Prangenau, Molotschna, who came pages Part I and 154 pages Part II. Gemeinden von Zeit der Apostel bis auf die to Russia in 1818. Gegenwart (Danzig, 1873), a pietistically-ori- Martin Klassen (b.1820 - ?), Lichtfelde, m. Molotschna Brüdergemeinde I: entated history of the Russian Mennonites, and X (unknown), likely a son of Abraham Klassen I (a) Signers of the Ausgangsschrift his cousin Claas Epp (1838-1913), leader of (b. 1803), 2m. Maria X (b. 1808) m. Gerhard (6.1.1860) the infamous trek to Central Asia in 1880 to Görtz (no dates) of Rudnerweide, Molotschna. 1884. Johann Klassen would also have been Abraham Klassen came to Russia in 1831. 1. Three original leaders: related to David Klassen (1813-1900), delegate Franz Klassen (no dates) Eliesabethtal. m. X Abraham Kornelsen (b. 1826) Eliesabethal - of the Heuboden Kleine Gemeinde to North (unknown) 2m. 1846 Margaretha Fröse (1801- A son of Abraham Kornelsen (1789-1828), America in 1873 and well-known founder of 73) m. Abraham Wiens (1800-44). Difficult to m. Maria X (b. 1806). Abraham Kornelsen the Rosenhof/Rosenort settlement near Mor- locate this Franz Klassen. He was the first dea- (1789-1828) came to Russia in 1819 with his ris, Manitoba, in 1874 (Note Six). con of the Brüdergemeinde. Margaretha Fröse widowed mother Sara (nee Ediger), and two Johann Klassen came to Russia in 1827 was a daughter of Kornelius Fröse (d. 1834) sisters. The father of Abraham (1789-1828) with his mother and siblings, settling in of Grossweide, Molotschna. He was likely the was Abraham Kornelsen (1764-1810) of Sparrau, Molotschna. Katherina Reimer was a son of Franz Fröse deceased in 1776: widow Schweingrube, Tragheimersweide Gemeinde. sister to Brüdergemeinder Jacob Reimer (1817- Fröse, Marcushoff 1776: 2 sons, 3 daughters.

120 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Kornelius Fröse was a member of the Abraham Regier (b. 1828), Rudnerweide, Thiensdorf (Friesian) Gemeinde and came to m. X (unknown), 2m. 1868 Maria Becker (b. Russia in 1819. Abraham Wiens was a son of 1840). Brother of Isaac Regier above. Maria an Abraham Wiens of Herrenhagen (b. ca. Becker was a sister of Jacob and Benjamin 1762) and came to Russia (with other mem- Becker. bers of his family) in 1815. David Dirksen (b. 1830), Waldheim, m. See Alan Peters, “Margaretha Froese: `Mother’ Karolina Strauß (b. 1832). Difficult to be cer- of the MB Church,” in MBHS West Coast Bul- tain with respect to this family as there were letin, No. 18, Nov. 1987, page 4. several David Dirksens of about the same age Kornelius Wiens (1827-85) Eliesabethtal, m. in the Molotschna. A son of Kornelius Dirksen 1856 Sara Dyck (b. 1834). A son of Abraham (1789-1878) of Ellerwalde, Tragheimersweide Wiens (1800-44) mentioned above, an immi- Gemeinde and an immigrant of 1819. Karolina grant of 1815. Moved to the U.S.A. 1874. Strauß appears to have been a daughter of Abraham Wiens (1830-1900), Eliesabethtal, Gottlieb Strauß above. m. 1855 Maria Buller (d. 1871) 2m. 1872 Maria Jacob Reimer (1817-91) Gnadenfeld, m. Friesen (b. 1850). A brother of Kornelius 1839 Wilhelmina Strauß (1813-89). A son of Wiens above. Oberschulze of the Kuban settle- David Reimer (1784-1840) m. Maria Neufeld ment from 1874 to 1886. (b. 1789) who came to Russia in 1810 (Elbing Abraham Wiens (b. 1823?) Lichtfelde, m. X Region) and settled first in Kronsgarten, then (unknown). Possibly a son of Abraham Wiens Schönsee, Molotschna. Later he moved to whose widow married Abraham Neudorf (b. Felsenthal. Wilhelmina Strauß was a daughter 1782) of Montau. It is not know when the of Gottlieb August Strauß above. Abraham Wiens family came to Russia. Heinrich Bartel (no dates), Gnadenfeld, Isaac Regier (b. 1830) Pastwa, m. X (un- Jakob Reimer (1817-91), Gnadenfeld-Felsenthal- m. 1862 Helena Regier (no dates). This known). Apparently the son of Jacob Regier Wiesenfeld. Heinrich Bartel is difficult to locate. Likely the (1784-1864) of Münsterberg (Heubuden son of Heinrich Bartel (no dates) also of Gemeinde) who came to Russia in 1808 (ac- Wiens (1800-44) and sister of Abraham Wiens Gnadenfeld. In 1859, together with Benjamin cording to the 1835 Molotschna census). Jacob (1830-1900) above. Moved to the Kuban. Becker, he was engaged in proselytizing ac- Regier lived in the Old Colony until 1826 when tivities in the Volga region among the Volga he moved to Rudnerweide, Molotschna (ac- (b) Participants in the Ältester Election of Germans. It seems he had an affair with one cording to the 1835 census). 1860, not already mentioned above. Helena Regier in 1861, which when discov- Daniel Hoppe (b. 1823) Schardau, m. X (un- Signers of the Ausgangsschrift (1860) NOT ered created some scandal. Heinrich Bartel later known). Not it seems of Mennonite back- participating in the election include the three moved to the U.S.A. ground. From Neulanghorst, G.W, West original leaders (Abraham Kornelsen, Johann Bernhard Penner (b. ca. 1839), Prussia. Came to Russia in 1854. Klassen, Isaac Koop) and Jacob Wall. Gnadenfeld, m. X (unknown). A son of August Strauß (no dates), m. X (unknown). Benjamin Becker (b. 1833), Gnadenfeld, Bernhard Penner (b. 1813) m. Anna X (b. Difficult to place. Undoubtedly of Lutheran m. 1864 Anna Neufeld (no dates). Anna 1816). The senior Bernhard Penner came to origin, possibly from Volhynia, likely also a Neufeld was a daughter of Heinrich Neufeld Russia in 1834 with his father Johann Penner son of Gottlieb (August) Strauß who lived at (Brüdergemeinde extremist) from Einlage, Old (1773-1849). They were from Neu-Dessau Gnadenthal, Molotschna, at sometime. Likely, Colony. Benjamin Becker (together with Neumark Gemeinde. Bernhard Penner Jr. was therefore, an immigrant of 1836 to 1838. Heinrich Bartel) travelled to the Volga region an extremist and later joined the Seventh Day Moved to . in 1859 proselytizing among the Volga Ger- Adventists. Abraham Peters (no dates) Ladekop, m. X mans. Benjamin Becker was a brother of Jacob Johann Hiebert (b. 1818), Wernersdorf, (unknown). Possibly a son of Abraham Peters Becker above. m. X (unknown). A son of Martin Hiebert (b. (b. 1810) of Ladekopp. Abraham Peters Jr. Gottlieb (August) Strauß (no dates), 1787) from Kronsweide, Old Colony, who was a deacon in the Brüdergemeinde and later Waldheim, m. X (unknown). Likely father of moved to the Molotschna in 1825. This family moved to the Kuban settlement. August Strauß above. is descended from a Lithuanian Mennonite fam- Andreas Voth (1826-85) Pastwa, m. Katherina Friedrich Strauß (no dates), Waldheim, ily who moved to Kronsweide. Wall (1828-1908). Difficult to locate. Possi- m. Aganetha Pankratz (no dates). Likely a son David Klassen (b. 1806) ? Ladekopp, m. bly from a Neumark or Volhynian family and of the above Gottlieb Strauß. Helena X (b. 1809). This David Klassen was a likely came to Russia after 1835. Later moved Johann Strauß (no dates), Waldheim, m. brother of Johann Klassen above. It is known to the Crimean settlements. X (unknown). Likely a son of the above that Johann’s brother David joined the Peter Stobbe (b. 1830) Fürstenau, m. X (un- Gottlieb Strauß. Brüdergemeinde, but in 1835 he was living at known). This Peter Stobbe was likely the son Simon Harms (b. 1831), Liebenau, m. Sparrau. of Johann Stobbe (b. 1800) of Schardau, Agatha (?) Hiebert (b. 1833). Simon Harms Jacob Kroeker (b. 1822) Lichtfelde, m. Molotschna, an immigrant of 1819. was born in Wengelwald (Thiensdorf Maria Janzen (b. 1823). A son of Julius Jacob Wall (no dates) Pastwa, m. (unknown). Gemeinde) and came to Russia with his father Kroeker (b. 1796) m. Anna X (b. 1797) of Difficult to locate. Apparently Jacob Wall came Johann (b. 1801) in 1841. Agatha (?) Hiebert Blumstein. Jacob Kroeker’s name was crossed to Russia in 1836 as a young man from was a daughter of Heinrich Hiebert above. off the election report, although his name ap- Kurzebrach (Heubuden or Tragheimersweide Heinrich Fleming (1830-1912), Schardau, pears on subsequent Brüdergemeinde lists. Gemeinde). m. 1852 Katherine Stobbe (1833-77), 2m. 1877 Maria Janzen was a daughter of Franz Janzen Jacob Becker (1828-1908) Rudnerweide, m. Magdalena Janzen (1853-79), 3m.1881 Anna (b. 1787) of Tragheimersweide Gemeinde, an Anna Görtz (d. 1860) 2m. 1862 Margaretha Friesen (d. 1888), 4m. Renatha Wichert (1837- immigrant of 1819 (Lichtfelde, Molotschna). Wiens (1838-1925). According to Alan Peters, 1908). Heinrich Fleming was a son of Heinrich Jacob was the son of Peter Becker (d. 1842) Fleming (b. 1785) m. 1814 Elisabeth Köhn I (c) Persons mentioned in the report of and Helena Schmidt (b. 1805), originally from (b.1792), an immigrant of 1818 (Marienthal), Alexander Brune, May 1, 1861, not already Karolswald, Volhynia. Peter Becker would then from Bohnhoff, Tragheimersweide Gemeinde. mentioned above or in subsequent lists. have been an immigrant of 1836-38. Katherina Stobbe was a sister of Peter Stobbe Aganetha (Agatha) Pankratz (no dates), Margaretha Wiens was a daughter of Abraham above. Gnadenfeld, m. Friedrich Strauß (no dates).

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 121 Difficult to locate. Likely a daughter of Peter U.S.A. in 1874. ena Thielmann (1851-1928) m. 1872 Johann Pankratz (b. 1811) m. 1834 Anna Penner (b. Kornelius Reimer (1823-85), m. Anna Wiebe Wiehler (1839-89). A son of Franz Martens 1816). Peter Pankratz appears to be the son of (no dates), 2m. Anna Reimer (no dates). A (b. 1801) who came to Russia in 1809 with his Jakob Pankratz (b. 1774) of Deutsch brother of Jacob Reimer above, moved to the step-father Abraham Ens (b. 1784). Wymyschle (Poland) originally from a Kuban. See Alf Redekopp, Jacob Thielmann Prezckowko family. Anna Penner was from Peter Dyck (b. 1830), Pordenau, m. X un- (Winnipeg, 1987), pages 141-148. Neumark and was a sister of Bernhard Penner known. A son of Peter Dyck (1788-1867) of Kornelius Penner (no dates) m. X (unknown). (b. 1813) and an aunt of the extremist Bernhard Heubuden (G.W.), later Pordenau, Molotschna, Difficult to locate. Penner of I(b). The Peter Pankratz family likely an immigrant of 1819. Heinrich Penner (no dates) m. X (unknown). came to Russia in 1834-36. Abraham Dyck (1827-68) ?, m. Helena Difficult to locate. Elisabeth Pankratz (no dates), Gnadenfeld. Friesen (b. 1840), 2m. Heinrich Friesen (b. Abraham Penner (no dates) m. X (unknown). Difficult to locate. Likely a sister of Aganetha 1843). A brother of the above Peter Dyck, Difficult to locate. Pankratz above. Abraham Dyck was murdered by thieves in Johann Klassen (no dates) m. X (unknown). Susanna Unruh (no dates), Gnadenfeld. Dif- the Kuban. A son of David Klassen (b. 1806) of Sparrau, ficult to locate. Kornelius Kornelsen (b. 1805), Wernersdorf, brother of Johann Klassen (1820-76) men- Gerhard Wall (b. 1835), Grossweide, m. X m. Margaretha Braun (b. 1785), 2m. X (un- tioned above. (unknown). He was the son of Abraham Wall known). A son of Heinrich Kornelsen (b. Johann Klassen (no dates) m. X (unknown). (b. 1798), 2m. Maria X. (b. 1806) m. Abraham 1774) of Kampeneau (Thiensdorf Gemeinde) Difficult to locate but a cousin of the above Kornelsen (1789-1828) of I(b), an early leader who came to Russia in 1819. Johann Klassen and nephew of Johann Klassen of the Bruder. Gerhard Wall was a step-brother Jacob Giesbrecht (1824-1907), Berdiansk, m. (1820-76) above (according to P.M. Friesen, of Abraham Kornelsen of I(a), an early Breth- Gertruda Dyck (1828-1907): her 2m. - 1m. page 338). ren leader. Apparently Gerhard Wall’s wife did 1847 Isaac Neufeld (no dates). Jacob Kornelius Klassen (b. 1829) ? Kronsweide, not join the Brethren. Gerhard Wall may be Giesbrecht was a son of Jacob Giesbrecht (b. m. Anna Neufeld (b. 1831). Possibly the identical with the Franz Wall of Section II. 1787) m. Margaretha Wiens (b. 1788) of Kornelius Klassen of Kronsweide (see Old Agatha Schmidt (no dates), Schardau. Diffi- Muntau, Molotschna. Gertrude Dyck was Colony Brüdergemeinde). This Kornelius cult to locate. Possibly a daughter of Heinrich daughter of Gerhard Dyck (1793-1883) of Klassen, I believe, moved to the Kuban. Schmidt (b. 1814) of Schardau. Heinrich Lichtfelde. Kornelius Pauls (b. 1806) ? Neukirch, m. Schmidt was from Rosenkrantz (W. Prussia, Wilhelm Giesbrecht (b. 1833) ? m. X (un- Charlotte Döring (b. 1808). Difficult to locate Tragheimsweide Gem.) and came to Russia in known). This Wilhelm Giesbrecht was likely this Kornelius Pauls, but likely from the 1819. the brother of Jacob Giesbrecht above. Marcushoff Gemeinde, and came to Russia in Peter Regier (1824-1915), Rudnerweide, m. Abraham Eidse (1830-1906) Lindenau, m. 1840. 1842 Helena Kroeker (1824-1903). He was a 1856 Susanna Isaac (1837-64), 2m. 1866 Sara Peter Nickel (1826-77), Sparrau, then brother of Isaac and Abraham Regier of Sec- Block (1841-1917). A son of Kornelius Eidse Liebenau, m. Sara Gäddert (1829-82). A son tion I. Helena Kroeker may have been the (1801-60) of Lindenau, Molotschna, moved of Peter Nickel (b. 1798) from the Schönsee daughter of Jacob Kroeker of Tiegerweide. to the Kuban. Kornelius Eidse was the brother (Valley Friesian) Gemeinde who came to Rus- David Block (b. 1810), Rudnerweide, m. (?) of Abraham (1811-93), Fischau, and Helena sia in 1827. Sara Gäddert was a daughter of Elisabeth Adrian (b. 1817). Apparently he was (Mrs. Abraham S. Kornelsen) (1806-80), Peter Gäddert (b. 1795) m. 1822 Sara Gäddert, the son of Dirk Block (b. 1779) of Reichenberg whose families immigrated to the U.S. and of Liebenau, also, it seems an immigrant of who came to Russia in 1818. Elisabeth Adrian, Canada in the 1870s. 1827. possibly the wife of David Block, was a daugh- See Plett, Dynasties, pages 77-98. Peter Buller (Buhler) (no dates) m. X (un- ter of Heinrich Adrian (b. 1779) of Daniel Eidse (1833-92), Lindenau, m. known). Difficult to locate. Schweingrube, later Böhnhoff Katherina Klassen (b. 1840). A brother of Heinrich Boldt (no dates) m. X (unknown). (Tragheimersweide Gem.) and was an immi- Abraham above. Difficult to locate. grant of 1819. Abraham Dolesky (no dates), m X (un- Hermann Peters (1841-1928), Gnadenheim, Siebert Görtz (no dates), Sparrau, m. X (un- known). A grandson of Jacob Dolesky (b. m. X (unknown, d. 1927). Difficult to locate. known). Difficult to locate. Possibly a son of 1769) of Neulanghorst (G.W.) who came to This Hermann Peters founded the Hermann Heinrich Görtz (b. 1795) m. 1818 Maria Boldt Russia in 1816. Peter’s Gemeinde (or Breadbreakers), break- (b. 1794) of Kramershoff (Tragheimersweide Jacob Dolesky (no dates), m. X (unknown). ing away from the moderate Brethren in 1865 Gem.). Heinrich Görtz came to Russia in 1825. Likely a brother of the above Abraham to 1866. Eventually this Gemeinde re-settled Johann Neufeld (no dates), Sparrau, m. X Dolesky. at Trussovka, Omsk region. (unknown). Difficult to locate. Possibly iden- Wilhelm Loewen (b. 1834) (?) Rudnerweide, Franz Wall (no dates) m. X (unknown). Dif- tical to the Old Colony Brüdergemeinder m. X (unknown). Possibly this Wilhelm ficult to locate. Possibly an error for Gerhard Johann Neufeld (b. 1809) of Schönhorst. Loewen was the son of Johann Loewen (b. Wall (b. 1835) of Grossweide, step-brother of Johann Thiessen (no dates), Sparrau, m.(?) 1807) m. Sara Koop (b. 1804) of the Heubuden Abraham Kornelsen mentioned above. Katharina Fast. Difficult to locate. Possibly Gemeinde who came to Russia in 1828. Elected Jacob DeFehr (no dates), m. X (unknown). the son of Abraham Thiessen (1800-51) m. Brüdergemeinde Lehrer in 1878. Difficult to locate. 1824 Judith Epp (1802-74) of Sparrau, an im- Jacob Martens (no dates), Lichtfelde, m. Hel- Nicholas Hübert (no dates) m. X (unknown). migrant of 1836. ena X (no dates), 2m. Anna Schmidt (no dates). Likely Nickolas Hiebert (b. 1835), brother of Likely the son of Franz Martens (b. 1796), Heinrich Hübert above, or a son of Heinrich Molotschna Brüdergemeinde II. originally from Schönwiese, Old Colony, who Hiebert. Molotschna Brethren, signing the petition moved to Lichtfelde, Molotschna in 1836. Abraham Hübert (b. 1812) ? m. X (unknown). of 30.12.1863 to the Ministries of Crown Jacob Martens moved to Kuban. Possibly a brother of Johann Hiebert (b. 1818) Lands, not already mentioned above. Johann Martens (1839-99), Gnadenheim, m. above. Bernhard Janzen (b. 1831), Tiege, later Maria Reimer (1848-1911). Brother of Jacob Peter Siemens (1828-1906), Konteniusfeld, Blumenort, m. Anna Wiens (1832-95). A son Martens above. Maria Reimer was a daughter m. X (unknown). This appears to be the son of of Abraham Janzen (b. 1797) who came to of Jacob Reimer above. The Johann Martens Peter Siemens who came to Russia in 1846. Russia in about 1838. Anna Wiens was a sis- family eventually moved to Wiesenfeld. Peter Siemens Jr. was a school teacher in ter of Abraham and Kornelius Wiens men- Franz Martens (1828-1907), Rückenau, m. Münsterberg and elsewhere. P.M. Friesen tioned above. Bernhard Janzen moved to Susanna Guenther (no dates), 2m. 1895 Hel- states that in 1865 he was a member of the

122 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Ohrloff Gemeinde. In 1878 he was elected Schellenberg was the son of Abraham brother Abraham (b. 1813) was an early “Wüst Brüdergemeinde Lehrer. Schellenberg (1807-84), whose family was as- Brother”. Isaac Koop (b. 1845) m. X (unknown). A son sociated with the Kleine Gemeinde. His nephew (c) Signers of the Brüdergemeinde petition of of Isaac Koop above. Abraham Schellenberg (1839-1924), later 10.10.1867 not already mentioned above. Johann Friesen (b. 1817) ?, Gnadenheim, m. settled in Grünfeld, Manitoba. Abraham Heinrich Nickel (no dates) m. X (unknown). ? Helena Martens (no dates). Difficult to lo- Schellenberg (1845-1920) was elected Lehrer, Difficult to locate. cate. Possibly the son of Gerhard Friesen then Ältester 1875 (to replace Heinrich Hübert Peter Martins (b. 1845) ? m. Susanna Friesen (1789-1856) of Gnadenheim. This Johann who had moved to the Kuban). Abraham’s (no dates). Difficult to locate, but possibly the Friesen came to Russia in either 1811 or more brother David Schellenberg (1852-1919) was brother of Franz Martens (1828-1907) above. likely in 1819. elected Ältester in 1881 to replace brother (d) Later influential Brethren of the early pe- Gerhard Friesen (d. 1918) ? m. X (unknown) Abraham who immigrated to Moundridge, riod 2m. 1890 Anna Mierau (1857-1906) m. 1883 Kansas, in 1879. David resigned from his David Schellenberg (1852-1919) m. 1879 Abraham Wiens (1860-88). Difficult to locate. office amidst unfortunate circumstances in Helena Ens (no dates) 2m. Sara Klassen (b. Likely a son of Johann Friesen above. 1909. 1848) - her second marriage. David was the Franz Friesen (no dates) m. X (unknown). See Plett, Pioneers and Pilgrims, pages 437- brother of Ältester Abraham Schellenberg men- Likely a son of Johan Friesen above. tioned above. David Schellenberg was elected Heinrich Friesen (b. 1843) 2m. Helena Friesen Ältester of the Molotschna (Rückenau) (b. 1840) m. Abraham Dyck (1827-68). Likely Brüdergemeinde in 1881. the son of Johann Friesen (b. 1812) of Tiege. Eduard Löppky (no dates) m. X (unknown). Heinrich Friesen later moved to Friedensfeld. A Baptist from West Prussia, according to P.M. Helena Friesen and Abraham Dyck are men- Friesen, who later broke all ties with the Bap- tioned above. tists and joined the Brüdergemeinde. Moved Heinrich Neufeld (1818-90). This Heinrich to the U.S.A. in 1878. Neufeld was very likely the Old Colony Peter M. Friesen (1849-1914) m. Susanna Brüdergemeinde extremist (see Old Colony Fast (b. 1854). A son of Martin Friesen (1814- Section). His daughter Anna married extrem- 83) m. Helena Klassen (1814-79). Martin ist Benjamin Becker. Friesen was from Kurzebrach, son of Abraham Abraham Neufeld (b. 1843). This appears to Friesen (d. 1826) who came to Russia in 1818 be the Abraham Neufeld of Insel Chortitza, and settled at Sparrau. Martin Friesen’s birth Old Colony, who later moved to the Kuban, date in the Russian calendar is listed as and then the U.S.A. (see Old Colony Section). 17.9.1814 (see also Pres., No. 11, page 38, regarding the connections to the Bergthaler Molotschna Brethren III. Friesens). Helena Klassen was a daughter of Other Molotschna Brethren of note in the David Klassen (1760-1827) and Agatha early period. Penner (b. 1782) and was a sister of Johann (a) Wilhelm Bartel (no dates) Berdiansk, m. Klassen (1820-76). Brüdergemeinde founder X (unknown). Brother of Heinrich Bartel of Johann Klassen was therefore P.M. Friesen’s Gnadenthal above. An early extremist, he some- uncle, as were other early Brethren Klassens. what modified his views after the scandal in- Susanna Fast was a daughter of Johann volving his brother, but later joined the Abraham Unger (1820-80), first Ältester of the Fast (b. 1811) and Susanna Fast (b. 1828). Templars. Einlage Brüdergemeinde. Susanna Fast (b. 1828) was a daughter of Isaac Christian Schmidt (1833-1906) m. X (un- Fast (1775-1834) of Halbstadt, Molotschna. known). A Lutheran from Konstinograd, later 439. Kuban Ältester Daniel Fast (b. 1826) was the follower of Wüst. Joined the Brüdergemeinde Johann Fast (d. 1898) m. X (unknown). Likely uncle of P.M. Friesen’s wife and Johann Fast in 1861, elected Lehrer 1865 and co-Ältester the son of Johann Fast (1811-72) m. Susanna (d. 1898), co-Ältester of the Molotschna Friedensfeld 1875. Moved to the Kuban 1878. Fast (b. 1828) of Halbstadt. Johann Fast Sr. Brüdergemeinde was his brother-in-law. P.M. Named Reiseprediger in 1872. was a son of Martin Fast (1774-1828). Susanna Friesen was therefore related to many of the (b) Brethren of note who joined the movement Fast (b. 1828) was a sister of Daniel Fast above. Molotschna Brüdergemeinde Fasts. in 1864 Johann Fast Sr. was the father of P.M. Friesen’s P.M. Friesen was the widely-known Jacob Janz (no dates) Fürstenau,. m. X Toews wife, and Johann Fast Jr. was his brother-in- Brüdergemeinde apologist and author of Die (no dates). Difficult to locate this Jacob Janz. law. Johann Jr. was elected Lehrer 1868, co- Alt-Evangelische Mennonitische Brüderschaft According to P.M. Friesen, he was from a Pol- Ältester in 1878 (Molotschna in Rußland 1789-1910 (Halbstadt, 1911), fre- ish Mennonite family, possibly from Deutsch- Brüdergemeinde), but for various reasons in- quently referred to herein. He was elected as a Kazun. Later, in 1868 moved to Friedensfeld cluding ill health was unable to fully function Brüdergemeinde Lehrer in 1884. and was elected Ältester of the Friedensfeld as Ältester. and Sagradovka Brüdergemeinde Gemeinde in Philip Isaac (b. 1833) m. Margaretha Toews Old Colony Brethren ca. 1862. 1875. Elected Lehrer in 1865. His wife ap- (b. 1835). Philip Isaac was son of Philip Isaac Abraham Unger (1824-80) Einlage, m. pears to have been a daughter of Aron Toews (b. 1796) of Tiege, Molotschna. Margaretha Katherina Martens (b. 1825). A son of Heinrich of Fürstenau. Toews was a daughter of Johann Toews (b. Unger (1785-1855), 2m. Margaretha Sawatsky Daniel Fast (b. 1826) m. X (unknown). A son 1795), an immigrant of 1822, later of Tiege, (1795-1871). His mother Margaretha also of Isaac Fast (1775-1834) of Halbstadt, Molotschna. Philip Isaac held no office in the joined the Brethren in 1862. Heinrich Unger Molotschna. Daniel Fast was elected Lehrer in Brüdergemeinde Lehrdienst, however he was was a son of Peter Unger (1753-1818) of Insel 1870, Ältester Kuban Brüdergemeinde in 1877 a capable administrator of Brethren affairs. Chortitza, originally from the to replace the retiring Heinrich Hübert. He was Isaac Mathies (b. 1822) Rudnerweide m. X Tragheimersweide Gemeinde. Margaretha an uncle of P.M. Friesen’s wife, Susanna Fast (unknown). A son of Abraham Mathies (1781- Sawatsky was a daughter of Kornelius (b. 1854). 1824) of Altona. Isaac Mathies was a mer- Sawatsky (1771-1821) of Rosenthal. Abraham Schellenberg (1845-1920), Tiege, chant, who was financially ruined through his Abraham Unger was heavily influenced by m. 1868 Katherina Lorentz (1847-84), 2m. association with the Brethren and later aban- the reading of Baptist literature and by corre- 1885 Susanna Fleming (1861-1924). Abraham doned the Brüdergemeinde movement. His spondence and friendships with leading Ham-

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 123 burg Baptists, including August Liebig, Johann (1778-1830) 2m. 1811 Helena Dyck (b. 1791) ing with his views. He later moved to the Onken and Karl Benzien. His son Abraham who came to Russia in 1817, and a brother of U.S.A. In the Mennonite Historian article later married Louisa, daughter of Karl Benzien. Peter Lepp, founder of the firm “Lepp and (March 1998), his name is misstated as Gerhard All of these Baptists came to Russia to assist Wallman”. Aron Lepp was a superintendent of Buller. Aganetha Harms appears to be the in the formation of the new group. the Judenplan until 1862. He was, according daughter of Jacob Harms (b. 1816) m. Abraham Unger was elected first Ältester to P.M. Friesen, most responsible for ensur- Katherina Hamm (b. 1818) of Blumstein, of the Einlage Brüdergemeinde 1868-1876. ing that the early Brüdergemeinde was not ab- Molotschna. Kornelius Unger (b. 1822) m. X (unknown), sorbed by the Baptists, and was second Johann Wiehler (1839-89) m. 1872 Helena 2m. Katherina Regier (b. 1833). Brother of Ältester of the Einlage Brüdergemeinde Thielmann (1851-1928) (she remarried 1895 Abraham Unger above. Katherina Regier may Gemeinde. Katherina Siemens was a daughter to Franz Martens (1828-1907)). A son of the have been a daughter of Johann Regier (1802- of Johann Siemens (b. 1808) m. Maria Dyck above Johann Wiehler and likewise an extrem- 42) of Kronsgarten, later Schönsee and (1811-95) of Chortitza. ist. Johann Wiehler was the first chairman Oberschulze in the Molotschna. Wilhelm Janzen (b. 1818) Kronsweide, m. X (1886) of the Union of Russian Baptists. Hel- Plett, Pioneers and Pilgrims, pages (unknown), 2m. Maria Neufeld (b. 1828). Dif- ena Thielmann was a daughter of Jacob 305,308,325-6. ficult to locate. Thielmann (1810-62) m. 1836 Aganetha Heinrich Epp (1831-1916) Einlage, m. Maria Jacob Janzen (b. 1844) Kronsweide, later Letkeman (1819-1876), Neukirch, Molotschna Unger (1831-1907). A son of Kornelius Epp Serjevka, m. X (unknown). Son of the above immigrants to Russia in 1817. The Thielmann (1796-1872) m. 1817 Maria Pries (no dates) Wilhelm Janzen. family was originally associated with the Kleine of Rosenthal. Maria Unger was a sister of Peter Nickel (b. 1827) Nieder-Chortitza, m. Gemeinde. Franz Martens is listed under the Abraham Unger above and Heinrich Epp was Judith Nickel (b. 1836). Difficult to locate. Molotschna Brethren. therefore a brother-in-law of Abraham Unger. Franz Wiehler (b. 1843) Chortitza, m. Anna Johann Epp, Gedenke des ganzen Weges: Band Neufeld (b. 1843). Also a son of the Johann I: Geschichte der Familien Epp, Fröse, Unger, Wiehler Sr.. Anna Neufeld was a daughter of Lepp u.a. (Lage, Germany, 1998), 476 pages. Old Colony Brüdergemeinder Johann Neufeld Johann Epp (no dates) m. X (unknown). (b. 1809), see below. Moved to Kuban. Brother of Heinrich Epp above. Jacob Wiehler (1845-71) Chortitza. Also a Peter Unger (b. 1831) Einlage, m. Maria son of Johann Wiehler Sr. Moved to the Kuban. Bergmann (b. 1835). Likely a son of Peter Gerhard Rempel (1830-80) ? Nieder- Unger (b. 1806) of Insel Chortitza and a grand- Chortitza, m. Aganetha Wiehler (b. 1835), 2m. son of Peter Unger (b. 1780), uncle of Johann Siemens (no dates). This Gerhard Abraham Unger above. Maria Bergmann was Rempel appears to be the son of Peter Rempel likely the daughter of Wilhelm Bergmann (b. (1808-55), m. 1829 Maria Peters (1806-86) of 1791), originally from Nieder-Chortitza. Schönwiese. Aganetha Wiehler was a daugh- Peter Berg (b. 1831) Chortitza, m. 1851 Anna ter of the above Johann Wiehler. Rempel (b. 1831). A son of Jacob Berg (1791- 1881) m. 1811 Helena Sawatsky (1792-1852) Old Colony Brethren of 1862. of Neuendorf. Peter Berg moved to the Kuban. Heinrich Neufeld (1818-90) Einlage, m. X Anna Rempel was a sister of Gerhard Rempel, (unknown), 2m. 1862 Maria Unruh (1836-74). below. Heinrich Neufeld was a son of Abraham Peter Friesen (1825-95) Chortitza, m. Anna Neufeld (1777-1846), 2m. Helena Theichgraf Koop (1825-80). A son of Isaac Friesen (b. (1779-1866) of Schönhorst. Abraham Neufeld 1783) m. ? Katherina Friesen (b.1787) of came to Russia in 1803 from the Heubuden Burwalde. Peter Friesen moved to Kuban and Gemeinde. Heinrich Neufeld appears to have later to Wiesenfeld. Anna Koop was a daugh- moved to the Molotschna and later to Kansas, ter of David Koop of Chortitza. Philipp Isaak (1832-79), Tiege. U.S.A. Katherina Friesen (b. 1834) Einlage. From Abraham Neufeld (b. 1843) Insel Chortitza, Schönhorst. Difficult to locate. Johann Toews (b. 1825) Rosenthal, m. Maria m. Agatha Friesen (b. 1829), 2m. Maria Reddig Johann Loewen (b. 1828) Chortitza, m. 1849 Klassen (b. 1822). Difficult to locate but pos- (b. 1853). A son of Abraham Neufeld (b. Margaretha Friesen (b. 1829). A son of David sibly son of Jacob Toews (1798-1852) who 1820), 2m. Elisabeth Siemens (1813-57) of Loewen (1773-1863), 3m. 1827 Sara Pauls came to Russia in 1811 and eventually settled Insel Chortitza. Abraham Neufeld Sr. was a (1809-86) of Burwalde. at Schönwiese. Maria Klassen could be a grandson of Dietrich Neufeld (b. 1766), a Heinrich Krause (1818-1907) Kronsweide, daughter of Jacob Klassen (b. 1785) also of Lutheran Mennonite. m. Katherina Peters (no dates), 2m. 1856 Schönwiese. Elisabeth Neufeld (b. 1842) Kronsweide, sis- Katherina Friesen (b. 1823). A son of Peter Heinrich Toews (no dates) Alexandrovsk, m. ter of the above Abraham Neufeld. Krause (b. 1790) m. Aganetha Arend (b. 1795) Katherina Loewen (b. 1841). Possibly a Peter Neufeld (b. 1834) Einlage, m. X (un- of Kronsweide. Katherina Friesen was a daugh- brother of Johann Toews above. known), likely the son of Peter Neufeld (b. ter of Jacob Friesen (no dates) m. Katharina Johann Wiehler (1809-94) Chortitza, m. 1829 1806) of Schönhorst and a nephew of Heinrich Lempky (b. 1804). Aganetha Braun (1808-69), 2m. 1871 Maria Neufeld above. Jacob Koslowsky (1831-99) m. Sara Wall Kasper (1840-1918). Johann Wiehler was a Johann Neufeld (b. 1809), Kronsweide or (1832-79), 2m. Helena Born (d. 1881). A son son of Johann Wiehler (b. 1771) m. 1804 Einlage, m. X (unknown), likely a brother of of David Koslowsky (1769-1846) m. Anna Aganetha Kroeker (b. 1782) who came to Rus- Heinrich Neufeld above. Willms (1792-1846) of Einlage. Sara Wall ap- sia in 1804. Aganetha Braun was a daughter of Jacob Neufeld (no dates) m. X (unknown). A pears to be the daughter of diarist Jacob Wall Gerhard Braun (1784-1849) of Rosenthal. son of Johann Neufeld above listed by P.M. (1807-60) m. 1828 Judith Dyck (1807-42) of Gerhard Wiehler (1833-1911), m. 1858 Friesen as Jaab Neufeld. Neuendorf. Jacob Koslowsky was therefore a Aganetha Harms (1840-1911). Son of the Peter Neufeld (b. 1826) Kronsweide, m. brother-in-law of Fürstenländer Ältester above Johann Wiehler, perhaps the most ex- Katherina Klassen (b. 1818). Difficult to lo- Johann Wiebe (1837-1906). tremist of all the Brethren radicals. At one time cate. Katherina Klassen may have been a sister Aron Lepp (1827-1912) Einlage, m. Katherina he banned his father, brother Johann and fel- of Abraham Klassen of this section. Siemens (1829-1907). A son of Peter Lepp low extremist Benjamin Becker for disagree- Abraham Klassen (b. 1821) Kronsweide, m.

124 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Susanna Neufeld (b. 1818). Likely a son of Note Three: In an earlier review of the transla- 2. Entry of August 7, 1841. Original “Er habe Abraham Klassen (b. 1789) m ? Sara Kädtler tion, I pointed out a number of the translation sie fast mit Gewalt gezwungen mit ihr Hurerei (b. 1793) of Burwalde, later Kronsweide. errors which were obvious to me from the con- zu treiben”. The correct translation is “he al- Kornelius Klassen (b. 1829) Kronsweide, m. text itself. Having now had access to a copy of most used force [to attempt] to have sex with Anna Neufeld (b. 1831). Likely a brother of the original it appears that the number of such her”. Instead of Toews “[accused] him of rap- Abraham Klassen above. Kornelius Klassen errors is larger than I indicated previously. In ing her” moved to the Kuban. addition, there are some less obvious but po- 3. Entry of April 28, 1842. Original “Laut Sara Klassen (b. 1845) Kronsweide. Likely a tentially misleading examples of poor transla- Außsagen der Frau Striemer jun.” The correct niece of Abraham Klassen above. tion. As a case in point, early in the diary, the translation is “according to Mrs. Striemer jun- Heinrich Peters (1825-94) Kronsweide, m. entry of January 29, 1837 contains the follow- ior” instead of Toews “according to [the widow] Helena Klassen (1822-1911). Heinrich Peters ing remark “Peter Reimer, Anwohner aus P. Dyck”. This is important because the widow was a son of Johann Peters (b. 1792) m. Nieder-Chortitza, der sich ebenfalls unter die of P. Dyck is mentioned in previous entries. Aganetha Hiebert (b. 1793) of Kronsweide. Russen umtreibt solle nach der Colonie Note Four: G. Epp, Geschichte der Mennoniten Helena Klassen was likely a sister of Abraham gerfordert warden.” Toews translates this as in Rußland: Band II, pages 20-30. Klassen above. Heinrich Peters moved to the “Peter Reimer, a cottager from Neu-Chortitza Note Five: There may be some inaccuracies in Kuban. is likewise living amongst the Russians. He this material. For instance the name of promi- Katherina Klassen (b. 1842) Kronsweide, 3m. will be asked to return to the Colony so that he nent Brüdergemeinder Gerhard Wiehler is Benjamin Nickel (b. 1803) Nieder-Chortitza, can be dealt with.” I feel a better translation is translated as Gerhard Buller. m. X (unknown), 2m. Aganetha Driedger (b. “Peter Reimer, a non-landowner from Nieder- Note Six: Plett, “David Klassen 1700-80,” in 1824). Benjamin Nickel later (after 1862) Chortitza, who is likewise keeping company Dynasties, pages 259-295. joined the Brethren. He was the father of Ben- (hanging around) with Russians, should be jamin Nickel below. Benjamin Nickel is diffi- asked to present himself to the Colony (ad- References: cult to locate. He later moved to the U.S.A. ministration) so that he can be dealt with. Friesen, Peter Marten. Geschichte der Alt- Benjamin Nickel (b. 1840) Nieder-Chortitza, Many additional examples exist, for instance Evangelischen Mennoniten Brüderschaft in m. Helena Neufeld (b. 1835), 2m. Aganetha “Beisitzer” is not “Besitzer” as Toews would Russland. Halbstadt, Mol. 1911. Vogt (b. 1848). A son of Benjamin Nickel have it, entry for January 29, 1837 where Toews Friesen, Gary. Family History of J.A. Friesen. above. He later moved to the Kuban, then the translates Deputy/Assistant Oberschulze as San Marcos, California. Correspondence of U.S.A. Helena Neufeld appears to be a daugh- “landowner”. February 18, 2003. ter of Johann Neufeld (b. 1809) of this sec- Other examples of translation errors: Peters, Alan, “The Becker Family,” Newsletter tion. 1. Entry of May 16, 1837 - original “Das of the Mennonite Brethren Historical Society Dietrich Gortzen (b. 1833) Schönwiese, m. Schulzenamt würde zurecht gewiesen, Brüder of the West Cost April 1987 Aganetha Klassen (b. 1817). A son of Dietrich der Gemeinde erst vor Lehrdienst und Peters, Alan, “Margaretha Fröse,” Newsletter Gortzen (b. 1790) of Schönwiese. Aganetha Gemeinde gehoren and dann”. The correct of the Mennonite Brethren Historical Society Klassen appears to be the daughter of Jacob translation is “The [Einlage] council was re- of the West Cost November 1987. Klassen (b. 1785), 2m. Maria X (b. 1797) of minded [corrected and advised] to first bring Peters, Alan, “The Family Records of the Joes Schönwiese, and a cousin of Abraham Klassen members [affairs regarding members] to the M.B. Church.” Ibid, April 1988. of this section. Lehrdienst....” Peters, Alan, Mennonite Roots in Corn, Okla- Johann Fröse (b. 1825) Kronsweide, m. Anna Instead of Toews “[Mr] Schutzmann was homa, Ibid, April 1989 Nickel (b. 1826). A son of Kornelius Fröse (b. reminded”. This important passage illustrates Reimer, Gerhard J., “Zun Lebensbildung des 1793) of Kronsweide. Johann Fröse moved to the relationship between “Schulzenamt” and David Peter Reimer,” (copy of an article kindly the Kuban. “Lehrdienst” and its importance is obscured made available to me by Katherine Martens of Johann Hiebert (b. 1831) Einlage, m. Elisabeth by the poor and incorrect introduction of Winnipeg) Fast (b. 1834). Likely a son of Johann Hiebert “Einlage resident Schutzmann” into the trans- Ratzlaff, Agatha, Koslowsky Articles in Men- (b. 1808) of Einlage. lation. nonite Historian, June 1981. Kornelius Hiebert (b. 1835) Chortitza, m. Stasiewsky, Debra, Family Records of the Katherina Wiens (b. 1841). Likely a brother of Jacob Berg family. Johann Hiebert above. Wall, Jacob. Diary (1824-1860). Translated Johann Isaac (b. 1817) Kronsweide, m. Hel- copy made available to me through Delbert ena Banman (b. 1812). Likely a son of Jacob Plett, Steinbach, Manitoba. Isaac (b. 1784) of Chortitza. Helena Banman Wiens, David. The Wiens Family Chronicle, was a daughter of Jacob Banman of Gloucester, Ontario 1990. Kronsweide. Willms, Jacob. Miscellaneous Correspondence Gerhard Isaac (b. 1832) Kronsweide, m. relating to the Peter Dyck and Jacob Giesbrecht Susanna Schmidt (b. 1830). Likely a brother families. Waterloo, Ontario (1994). of Johann Isaac above. Wiehler, Erwin. Miscellaneous notes on the Peter Unrau (b. 1810) Kronsweide, m. X (un- Wiehler family. Surrey, B.C. 1999. known). A son of Wilhelm Unrau (b. 1778) of Schapansky, Henry. The Old Colony Kronsweide. (Chortitza) of Russia (New Westminster, Kornelius Unrau (b. 1819), Kronsweide, m. 2001). Maria Peters (b. 1819). Likely brother of the Toews, John B., The Story of the Early Men- above Peter Unrau. nonite Brethren (Kindred Press, Hillsboro, 2002). Endnotes: Note One: P. M. Friesen, page 28, German Acknowledgement: edition. All photographs for this article are from P. Note Two: J. B. Toews, “Mennonite Brethren M. Friesen, The Mennonite Brotherhood in Beginnings,” in Toews and Enns-Rempel, For Russia (1789-1910) (Fresno, Ca., 1978), page Everything a Season (Fresno, Ca., 2002), pages 279. 3-13. Prediger Johann Wieler (1840-90).

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 125 Material Culture Music of the Old Colony Mennonites “Music of the Old Colony Mennonites,” by Charles Burkhart, reprinted from Mennonite Life, Jan. 1952, pages 20-21 and 47. Singing. and daughter-in-law who were sitting on the repeated tricky passages several times. One night last December [1951], I and two other side of the room. Their voices rose in uni- On Sundays Fehr takes his place as one of other members of the MCC unit at Cuauhtemoc son in a kind of timeless, melancholy chant. several Vorsänger in the village meetinghouse. In paid a visit to the Old Colony Vorsänger, Isaac Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, the actual performance of a hymn by a congrega- Fehr, who lives in a large and sturdy house in Am Firmament des Himmels fern, tion not only does the Vorsänger start the song, Campo 14. On that visit I was to realize a desire Die Nacht ist nun vergangen. but at the end of each line, while the congregation that I had entertained for many months: to hear All sang in an energetic and forthright man- catches its breath, he always puts in a few little the Old Colony Mennonites sing their own ner, with ease and assurance, and I wondered solo notes of his own. An amazing thing about hymns, a thing they do entirely from memory, how they had ever memorized so perfectly such their performance in church, which I have also since none of their music has ever been notated. a complex and unpredictable melody. The Fehrs been previlaged to hear, is that it is also very A group of some 30 people made up of the were obviously a very musical family. Later in energetic and hardly ever subject to flatting. This Fehr’s children and their families was awaiting the evening I was to learn that Fehr knew by is no doubt due to very good Vorsänger, some of us when we arrived, about eight-thirty in the heart some 60 such hymns and that the family whom, Fehr insisted, know by heart 100 differ- evening. The Old Colony people are by nature sang together every night while the girls did up ent hymn melodies. friendly and having non-Old Colony visitors was the supper dishes. apparently a rare social event that no one cared to Suddenly the hymn ended and the singers Origins. miss. We all went inside and took seats in Mrs. seemed to expect the next move from me. I was An Old Colony Mennonite hymn tune is not Fehr’s spotless parlor. While we were getting rather nervous as I sang their song back to them, something that a stranger can whistle after hear- acquainted, I opened one of the copies of their for it was a bold thing I had claimed I could do ing it for the first time. Without metre or har- noteless Gesangbuch, which had been printed in and the master himself had doubted it was pos- mony, but consisting entirely of one long me- Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and I think that the Fehrs sible. I had no idea how exactly the singer mea- lodic line, it must be heard many times before it and I were brought a little closer together when I sured the many little flourishes that embellished can be remembered or even distinguished from told them that I had been born near there and that the tune, and for all I knew my version of it might another. They have been passed down from fa- my grandfather had worked for many years in sound distorted and ridiculous to them. But when ther to son for many generations, and very few the publishing house in that town. I finished, I was reassured by Fehr’s joyous smile Old Colonists would have sufficient musical Someone then suggested that we sing and I and the words: “Krakt racht!” (Correct!) training to read them. Listening to them being asked if I might be permitted to transcribe the At once more numbers were suggested and sung, the outsider is bound to ask: “Where do melody. “But surely you cannot write all the notes in the next hour and a half I took down the notes they come from? How have they been devel- down!” said my host. I said I would try and that of eight more hymns. Fehr started them all in a oped?” afterwards I would gladly sing the hymn alone comfortable key and the group scarcely ever flat- I have no doubt that old, Protestant chorale so that he might check my accuracy. Number 689 ted. All of them sang tirelessly, apparently fasci- tunes form the basis of this unusual music, but was then suggested and at once the host found nated by what I was doing and happy to satisfy only the basis. To these chorale tunes the Old the page and began to sing. The song was taken my curiosity about their music. They were also Colony Mennonites have added a great many up by his sons and then by his wife, daughters most helpful in correcting my mistakes and gladly embellishments of their own. An original chorale

126 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 tune, in fact, can scarcely be perceived by a su- waver along similar lines. Their vocal vagaries Endnotes by Cornelius Krahn, editor of Men- perficial hearing of the ornate Old Colony ver- become fixed, stylized, incorporated with their nonite Life: sion, but it can be extracted by a careful analysis `tunes’, and a singing manner is born – or Note One: Editor’s Note: It is likely that the Men- of the written notes. The method of extracting the evolves,” (Note Two). If Jackson is right about nonites of Russia and Prussia did not “create” original tune, that is, of eliminating all the embel- the Amish tunes, it may be that the Old Colony these elaborate variations and embellishments but lishments that the Old Colonists have added is tunes evolved from the chorales in the same way. simply adopted them from the surrounding Prot- simply to select the first of every group of notes The more recent history of this music is more estant churches in Prussia. This theory should that is sung to each syllable of the text. These certain. As I have the story from Fehr and an- lead to a study of Protestant singing in general in first notes, placed one after the other, will then be other Vorsänger in Campo 4, it seems that both the Prussian Mennonite communities during the found to form a fairly accurate version of a now the Old Colonists and the Bergthal group used 18th and 19th centuries. The Franz Choralbuch easily recognized chorale. This extracted melody this old, ornate style in the early days in Russia. has also to be viewed as a part of this develop- is then compared with the corresponding version Before coming to Canada, however, the Old ment. The Old Colony Mennonite creativity will in the Old Colony Gesangbuch. In case the melody Colonists dropped this style and adopted the sim- very likely be confined mostly to the preserva- extracted from the Old Colony version and the pler style of chorale singing, which, because it tion of once commonly-used old forms and varia- notated version in the Choralbuch fail to agree in was available in notation, was called Ziffern- tions of singing and not so much to developing a few places, the missing note can usually be Weise. The Ziffern-Weise was introduced through something new. found among the more prominent (longer) notes the Franz Choralbuch. After the migration to Note Two: “The Strange Music of Old Order within the corresponding group of notes in the Canada in 1875, the Old Colony elder, Johann Amish,” The Musical Quarterly, July, 1945, Vol. Old Colony version. Lack of agreement here and Wiebe, fearing that singing of the Ziffern-Weise XXXI, No. 3, pp. 278-279, G. Schirmer, Inc., there can be attributed to unconscious errors that was too worldly, had his people return to the alte New York. are bound to creep in when the Old Colony ver- Weise. But at the same time the more progressive sion is repeatedly sung by memory for so many Bergthal group, led by Elder Gerhard Wiebe, Further Reading: years after the original chorale melody has been droppel the alte Weise and switched to Ziffern Wes Berg, “Old Colony Mennonite Singing: forgotten. style, which is still used by the Bergthaler and Old Songs in a New Land: Russian Mennonite I have applied this method to all melodies that Sommerfelder. Hymns Come to Manitoba,” in Pres., No. 16, I transcribed at the Fehrs’ and one such analysis It is curious that the conservative Old Colo- pages 44-45. is reproduced here. To make it clearer, I have nists should have considered the highly embel- used two staves. The upper staff contains noth- lished alte Weise more reverent than the simple About the Author. ing but the original chorale as it is found in the melody of the Ziffern. Perhaps, when he had his Charles Burkhart is a graduate of Goshen Choralbuch, page 17, No. 49. The Old Colony people readopt the singing style that they had College, Indiana, and in 1952 served as an MCC version is found on the lower staff. The first of used so long in Russia, old Elder Wiebe was worker in Mexico. He is Professor Emeritus in these melodies lies imbedded in the second, as a prompted by what seems to be the central idea in music theory at Aaron Copland School of Mu- comparison of the two readily shows. the Old colonists’ outlook on their own culture: sic, Queens College, City University of New Seeing these two versions side by side it is that the old way is best. York. He is best known for his Anthology of reasonable to ask how it was that the one grew Musical Analysis. out of the other. How did the Old Colonists’ elaborate variations on a theme come into being? Was the process unconscious? Or was it an act of deliberate creation on the part of some early and especially gifted Vorsänger? The Old Colonists themselves do not have an inkling as to the de- velopment of their music, and as far as I know, no definite answers are to be found in books, which leaves speculation as a last resort (Note One). The American musicologist, George Pullen Jackson, in an article on the music of the Old Order Amish, offers an interesting hypothesis that may well apply to Old Colony music also. The Amish singing is almost identical with that of the Old Colonists: it is purely melodic, with- out metre, led by a Vorsänger and, according to Jackson, most of the melodies are ornate varia- tions of old European folk songs. Speculating on how the complex Amish tunes developed from the simple folk tunes, he writes: “…it is a com- mon observation that groups sing more slowly. And when the group is uncontrolled by instru- ment, director, or notation it drags still more… And even worse – the human vocal apparatus doesn’t seem able to hold to a given tone very long without letting down, breaking over into some sort of pitch variation. Hence the singer holding as best he can to any given tone while waiting till the group mind decides to sing the next tune-tone, tends to waiver up and down…(this) wobbling-about (does not remain) the self relief of one person…(but) tends to be- come the relief of the many. The many tend to

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 127 Old Clocks - Keeping Time, Yesterday and Today “Old Clocks - Keeping Time, Yesterday and Today: The Story of the Kroeger Clocks,” by Arthur Kroeger, 202-1060 Kimberly Ave., Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2K 4J7.

Identification. cific problems. Mechanically every clock tells There she met up with missionary Penner (He Mr. and Mrs. Peters brought their clock in her own story. Yet even more interesting, quite had taken a Kroeger clock to India for a dura- for cleaning and repair. As Mrs. Peters was often, is the story the clock owner has to tell tion of 38 years. That clock is now in the handing me the pendulum while Mr. Peters about his wanderings with his cherished fam- Steinbach Museum, - another story). Did the was unwrapping the clock itself, I remarked, ily clock that has been in the family for gen- Neufelds have any photographs? Yes, and a “Oh yes, it is a Kroeger clock.” erations. number of them from the Brazilian jungle and, “How can you say that without actually surprise, besides family pictures also those seeing the clock as such?” was Mrs. Peters’ The Neufeld Clock. of their “rich” relatives, the Koops of reaction to that statement. To mind comes the story of the “Neufeld Chortitza. There they were, the great-grand- After handling old Mennonite clocks for clock”. Miss Neufeld had heard about me one parents of my half-brother Peter. His mother, several decades, I learned to recognize most morning on the radio. When we got together I my father’s first wife, was a Koop daughter. of them at first glance. With the Peters’ clock, asked her about her clock story. Yes they took She died of typhoid in the 1920s. Because of even though it had a repainted face, the iden- their great-grandfather’s Kroeger clock wher- the old Kroeger clock I had discovered a long tification was easy. It was a very typical, turn- ever they ventured and venture the whole clan lost branch of Peters relatives. of-the-century, Kroeger-made clock with an did: from Chortitza in the Ukraine (the clock Another clock owner, as she was leaving all brass movement and a counting wheel bell- was made in Rosental near Chortitza) it was with the restored clock, remarked: “By the train. taken first to the daughter colony of way, this clock came to Paraguay via China. Identification of an older clock is not al- Borosenko, then to Orenburg in East Russia. We bought it from a “Charbiner”.” Another ways so simple. Restoring and repairing these In 1929 the rush was on to leave the So- fantastic story of rather tense conditions some old “machines”, and these are machines that viet Union for obvious reasons. They then Mennonites found themselves in. As a result have in most cases served their owners for a travelled to Moscow and on to Germany and of this, my wife and I read four or five books lifetime and more, is interesting, challenging Brazil, all the way into the jungle, where the written on this subject. The China detour was and also real work. Some of them have not parrots and monkeys ruled. The old clock was cumbersome but many took their Kroeger been cleaned for 20 or more years. To make put up in the primitive hut which the men had clocks with them. Where in the Neufeld’s case, them work properly it is required to pinpoint build. World War II ensued and after the war the German government intervened on behalf the problem which inhibits the working of the family split up. The clock was taken to of the refugees, in the Harbin-China case it the mechanism. Sometimes it is corrosion, the Germany, then back to Brazil. From there it was the American president who made the other time damage due to rough handling, or finally ventured to Winnipeg, Canada. transport from China, via Europe to South just wear. Whatever it may be, most of the Did she, Miss Neufeld, have written ma- America, possible. Interestingly one member time it can be fixed. These clocks have, due to terial about their travels? Yes they did. Very of the Neufeld clan was able to reach his fam- their sturdy construction, a remarkable dura- interesting indeed. A member of the family ily in Brazil via Harbin, China. bility. Nevertheless different clocks have spe- was for years in missionary work in India. Not always does a clock owner know

Pendulum clock and motor factory of David Krüger ca. 1910 in Rosenthal, Chortitza Colony, Imperial Russia. The patriarch of the Kroeger clock dynasty was Johann Kröger (1754-1823), clockmaker in Prussia. Sketch by Arthur Kroeger. For a photo of the premises as they appear today and owner David Kroeger, see Diese Steine, pages 133.

128 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 much about his or her clock. For instance, it may have been inherited from a person who never left a written record for the new owner to be informed.

Markings. Not always is an identification easy, espe- cially when it comes to the older clocks. Why did the Kroegers not mark their clocks? The study of history was required to establish the cause for the absence of identification marks on Kroeger clocks. The answer is compli- cated. It had to do with being a “Mennonite clockmaker” in the early 1700s in the Danzig area. Little do we know and realize how much the common man’s life was influenced and regulated (also) by the governments of most European countries. During the time when they were ruled by autocrats, i.e. kings, emperors and czars, the Mennonite families withheld their sons from military service and they did not pay govern- ment church dues either. These were two main obstacles to gaining citizenship. But citizen- ship was required for membership in a trade guild. Only guild members were allowed to mark their products or ware with their name. Since the Kroegers produced clocks in the Danzig area in the early 1700s, where they were prohibited from using any markings, be- cause they did not belong to the clockmakers guild, they continued this practice also in the Ukraine. Their clocks were simply known as “Kroeger clocks”. But the other Mennonite clockmakers in the Ukraine, Mandtler, Lepp, Hildebrand and Hamm all marked their clocks. Even at that certain clocks present a puzzle: the mechanism is distinctly Kroeger-made (and we should remind ourselves that six gen- erations of Kroegers in the Ukraine i.e. Rosental made clocks), but the face plate was marked with the letters “G.M.” It stands for Gerhard Mandtler, the clockmaker from Lindenau, Molotschna. As it turned out the Molotschna settlers had brought their (Kroeger) clocks with them from Prussia. By the time the Mandtlers set up shop in Lindenau of the handiwork. given to you by God!” More and more I have many of the old clocks required an overhaul. What does one do in such a case? I de- come to realize the weight of this statement. The round faces of the early 1800s were now cided to make an old-fashioned dial plate for (1840) out of fashion, and Mandtler would the old mechanism. The artfully painted “mod- Clock Stories. suggest a modern restoration, a new face, ern” dial did not have to wait very long to be The interest in Mennonite clocks amongst square with a half-round on top. The old face used. It was transferred to a “modern” (1900) our people ranges from zero to enthusiastic. was replaced and the clock looked like new clock mechanism I had been able to obtain Mr. Eddy Funk, of Winnipeg, comments: “The and could be given to an offspring as a wed- through a distant relative, a Mr. Victor Kroeger ticking of my Kroeger clock is music to my ding present. A few such clocks are still (now deceased), who had, a few years ago, ears.” Mr. Arthur Kroeker, originally from around. come from the Siberian part of the former Steinbach, now residing in Winnipeg remarks: One clock of similar kind was obtained by Soviet Union. The original dial of that clock “I really feel at home when I hear the old the writer a few years ago. The ancient, 1800 had been very poorly restored. In these two clock ticking away.” Arthur became a research mechanism had a “modern” face plate. This cases two Kroeger clocks which had been ambassador for me. Returning from a trip to clock had only the hour hand. The mecha- made by a Kroeger some hundred years apart South America he promptly brought photo- nism and the face had been made more than in a round-about way, travelled the world - in graphs and background stories of several one hundred years apart. My research led me one case via South America, in another, over Kroeger clocks from Paraguay. His wife, Mrs. to Paraguay, South America. I found out that Siberia to Winnipeg, Canada - to be restored Kroeker, almost overtrumped him, bringing the exquisitely hand- painted work was done to the rule: parts of the same period belong in information on a number of clocks owned by an art teacher, Miss Irene Franz, now de- together. by her friends in British Columbia, where she ceased. She had hand-copied the usual decals A completely disinterested person, hear- resided before. A prominent family in of a Kroeger clock in every detail. Only with ing about my hobby remarked: “this, work- Winnipeg marked the one hundred year anni- a magnifier could I detect the brush strokes ing with your ancestors’ clocks, has been versary of their Kroeger clock with a special

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 129 celebration, inviting family and friends. fining a mechanical clock meant to tick Arthur Kroeger, articles under the head- The above-mentioned “clock stories” are through 1,000 decades...a sociological ing, “Symposium über Immigranten Möbel but a sample of numerous such stories that experiment...A clock is a symbol of continu- Traditionen,” in Der Bote, 1992, No’s 23, 24 beg to be told. Besides Winnipeg, Steinbach, ity; one that lasts a real long time might give and 25. Winkler, Altona and the surrounding areas people a sense of perspective...” Have those Wally Kroeker, “Mennonite clockmakers: are “rich” Mennonite clock territories. Of designers heard of Mennonite-made clocks? their time - less legacy,” in The Marketplace, course the other Prairie Provinces rival with September/October, 1999 issue. Manitoba in this respect. Actually one has to Further Reading: Tony Funk, “Oh My Grandparent’s Clock,” say that old clocks can be found wherever Arthur Kroeger, “A timeless craft that in Pres., No. 21, pages 129-20. Mennonites live in any number. Amazingly passed through generations of Kroegers,” in Glenn Penner, “The Early Krueger/ such clocks still exist in the far reaches of Mennonite Mirror, Volume 13, No. 5, Jan. Kroeger Family in Prussia,” in Mennonite Siberia. 1984, pages 5-7' Family History, Jan. 1989, pages 18-19. At present I am working on two clocks. The owner of one is a former resident of Steinbach, the other is residing there. One clock is a real oldie, made around 1800 with the hour hand only. This hand is large and very orna- mental and showy on the round face marked with only the quarter hours. The other clock was made, as in a previously mentioned story, one hundred years later around 1900. If the first one was the simplest and also the cheap- est clock made by the Kroegers the sec- ond clock is up-to-date for the twentieth century. It has the hour and minute hand and a bell train. While the round face of the first mentioned clock is hand- painted, the second clock has showy floral decals as decorations and of course it has the “ringer”. It is loud and obtrusive. It is designed to be heard throughout the farmer’s house, on the hour, every hour, day and night. Clocks of this kind were and are more expensive. But from a collector’s point of view the old round- faced clocks are a rarity.

Conclusion. This is not the occasion to bring forth the whole comprehensive story about Mennonite- made clocks. Such a book is planned and “in the works”. Clock owners are asking for an informa- tive work on this subject! Is there any ex- cuse? Yes, the clocks just keep on coming and there is “no end to the story”. Would the makers of these clocks have given it a second thought, that their handiwork would still be around a hundred years later, and at that in many such strange places? The magazine Sci- entific American, special issue for September 2002, on “A Matter of Time”, advertises on its cover the subjects dealt with in this issue: Times’ Mysterious Physics, The Philosophy of Time, and Building time machines, and other related articles. Article upon article about time and the time- keeper - the clock, constitute the content of this publication. The one I would like to quote from is on page 92 and is titled “A Clock for All Time”. It is printed for some reason on a green background. In it, after a brief intro- duction, it says: “A typical cesium clock (for scientific use) lasts no more than 20 years...in a small machine shop (near San Francisco) a small group of futurists and engineers...is re-

130 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Russian in Mennonite Low German “Russian in Low German: Russian Elements in the `Plaudietsch’ of Mennonites,” by Gerhard Wiens, reprinted with permission from Mennonite Life, April 1958, pages 75-77. Introduction. Russian. pristav – overseer, volost – district, uyezd – When, in the summer of 1918, we treated the But I had no idea how extensive this assimi- county. soldiers of the German army of occupation to lation was until I began this study. I had always And many other new things in their environ- our delicious Ukrainian “Harbusi,” we were at been able to name offhand a dozen words of ment too tedious to classify: samovar – tea urn, first surprised and then amused that they should Russian origin and had assumed that there might kvas – sourish drink made from bread and malt, call these wonderful spheres of wetness altogether be several dozen. I can now say that khokhol – Ukrainian (derogatory), plavni-flood “Wassermelonen.” Watermelons! It seemed an there are several hundred. I have searched through plains, bashtan – vegetable plot outside village, insult to a noble fruit. We had “melons” too, of the Ushakov Dictionary of the Russian Language bashlyk – Caucasian hood, mogila – ancient burial course muskmelons, that is, and a “Harbus” was (85,000 words) and compiled a list of Russian mound, pop – Russian priest. no watery muskmelon. Our Low German word words which I know we used in Low German. I In the second category I have placed Russian was “Harbus” and in High German that had to be have analyzed the material to determine the shape neologisms which came into being with newly “Harbuse!” and manner of our borrowings. created things, like benzine, Bolshevik, or en- We had quite a few good German words tered our lives in more recent times, like okopi which we never found in a German book or dic- New “Things” Enter. (trenches). For example: drezinka – railway tionary. We did notice that these were the very Our Low German was altogether a spoken handcar, morozhenoye – ice cream, benzinka – words that the Russians seemed inclined to bor- language. What little literature we had was but a cigarette lighter, samogon – homebrew, cheka – row from us. Could it be that we had borrowed fixation of the spoken language, consisting of a cheka (secret police), propoosk – (military) pass, them from the Russians? Being a future language few short stories and plays on themes from our prodnalog - tax in kind. teacher I concluded even before I had spelled my daily life. Our dialect was limited to the require- In the third category I have put words which way through the Russian primer that we had in- ments of our simple life and never pretended to replaced existing Low German words, like bulka deed borrowed freely from the Russians. Some be anything more. – white bread, bazaar – market, svinka – mumps, time ago I decided at last to investigate the sub- It was natural, therefore, that our adoptions konoval – horse doctor, chesnok – garlic, saray – ject. It came to me that I might be the last man from Russian should have been of the same char- shed, gooskom – in single file. ever to undertake this study, or perhaps even in acter. They were common, concrete words. It is Here also belong those loanwords whose position to undertake it. For the little Low Ger- understandable that the vast majority or them were counterparts probably existed in Low German man Mennonite world in which I grew up is nouns. The stock of verbs, for example, which but were rarely or never used because our ances- smashed and gone and the memory of this lin- we had brought with us to Russia was adequate tors had little need for them until they came to guistic phenomenon is surviving only in the for a life whose basic activities continued the Russia; arbus – watermelon, bania – steam bath, minds of it bilingual members and will die with same. But there were many new things all around baklazhan – eggplant (but in our region – to- them. us for which our language had no names or not mato), kazarma – barracks, taboon – drove of quite the right names - “things” in the broad sense horses. Background. of physical objects, persons, animals, institutions, In the fourth category I have listed words My people were Mennonites of Dutch ances- offices, conditions. For these we adopted the which were used parallelly with their Low Ger- try who had fled from Holland during the Refor- Russian names. man equivalents, but usually with some shading mation, had lived in the Danzig region for 250 We did, to be sure, go beyond that and adopt of meaning: pulemot – machine gun, poyas – years, had left Germany just after finally decid- Russian names for things for which we had, or belt, baba – pleasant woman, kavaer – gentle- ing to drop Dutch and adopt German (High and may be presumed to have had, Low German man, khutor – estate, kipatok – boiling water for Low), and had settled in the southern Ukraine at words. But in this we were rather cautious. When making tea, puzo – stomach (derogatory). the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th I came to America and landed among the Penn- century. My own settlement, the Molochnaya sylvania-Dutch farmers of Ontario, I was amazed Assimilation. Colony (north of Melitopol), was the largest and at the extent to which their speech was “ufgemixt Now let us analyze the manner of assimila- second oldest. Consisting of 60 farming villages mit der englische langvich.” Compared to the Penn- tion. What happened to the Russian words - gram- with a total population of about 30,000, it was sylvania-Dutch and most German-Americans we matically, semantically, phonetically? large enough to permit the preservation of our were die-hard conservatives. Quite a lot. language and our way of life. But our beloved Low German was not nearly Most dramatic was the change in pronuncia- The Low German dialect of the Danzig re- so pure as we were proud to claim. This study of tion. We low-germanized everything “ohne gion, more precisely of the Marienburger Werder, mine may indeed shock some of my people, but Ansehen der Person.” (The second column be- was our mother tongue. We learned High Ger- I wish to assure them that I still love our dear low attempts to render the Low German pronun- man and Russian in school, but the language of Plautdietsch as much as they do. ciation.) bulka - bultji - white bread, varenye - our homes remained Plattdeutsch. High German I have classified our borrowings as follows: vrenj - jam, kanat - knout - rope, mogila - mihil - was used so rarely only in school, in religious 1. New words from the new environment; ancient burial mound, fortochka - fortochtji - small service, and in our correspondence that it exerted 2. Russian neologisms; hinged portion of window, khutor - khuta - es- little influence on our Low German speech. It 3. Replacements for Low German words; tate, dulia - dull - insulting gesture (fig), velospied was, so to say, a “Sunday language.” 4. Parallelisms. - flitsipay - bicycle, bazaar - bozoa - market, But Russian was very much a weekday lan- shchoty - shot - abacus, domkrat - dumikrouft - guage. We heard it every day from the inhabit- Examples. jack, screwjack. Low German dumikrouft means ants of the surrounding Russian villages and from First, Russian words for things new to the “thumb strength”. our Russian labourers and maids, and we had to settlers for which they had no words of their Russian proper names, too, were often given use it with them. We heard it and used it under the own. Among them were, naturally, the Russian the Low German pronunciation. Indeed, this was conditions of the workaday world, with its prob- measures and monetary units: Versta – two-thirds the rule for much used place names of the vicin- lems, its needs, its emotional exigencies, that is of a mile, pood - 36 pounds, destina - 2.7 acres, ity: Molochnaya - Molosh, Dnieper - Nippa, with all its realism. The impact was sufficient to sootki - one day and night, kopeika - kopeck. Berdiansk - Birdiaunstji, Yekaterinoslav - move even a stubborn Dutchman. Through five There were also the Russian terms connected Kitrinslouf, Bogdanovka - Bodownoftji. generations we assimilated a consider amount of with administration: uradnik – village policeman, I might mention here that Mennonite children

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 131 were rarely given Russian names, but the Rus- revolving cylinder of threshing machine; vokzal West Prussia. sian diminutives of some names were very popu- - railway station, waiting room of station; lavka - Again, half a century later (1923-1929), some lar, such as Anuta (Anna), Petia (Peter), Kolia bench, small store; paskha - Easter, Easter cake; 20,000 of us came to Canada. Many of these (Nicholas) Katia (Katherine). Our horses bore prikaschik - clerk, overseer of estate; podkladka immigrants live in sufficiently compact settle- beautiful Russian names like Solovey (nightin- - lining, washer (on bolt), kanat - cable, rope. ment that Low German has continued to be their gale), Iskra (spark), and understood only Rus- It is significant that quite a few words were everyday speech. Unfortunately I have had very sian, and no more of that than they chose. used only when emotionally charged, i.e. not in a little contact with my fellow-immigrants for a Since nearly all adopted words were nouns, cool report but uttered with feeling. Molodets quarter century. The present shape of our dear the grammatical changes were largely limited to may mean simply a fine young man, but we used mother tongue would be a fascinating study for changes in gender. These were quite frequent it only in its Russian affective connotation, as an me. and seem largely unpredictable. But not quite. expression of approval. Other affective nouns Plautdietsch has even migrated to Mexico and Russian feminine diminutives ending in -ka were were: coodak! - you’re a queer one!, chepooka! - South America (Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil). In among the most commonly adopted nouns and it doesn’t matter!, doodki! - nuts to you!, durak! the tightly closed settlements there it stands a nearly all of these became neuter, for the obvious - blockhead!. chance of living on even longer than in North reason that the suffix -ka became -tji, the Low But in this field we let ourselves go and used America. German equivalent of the High German diminu- not only nouns but adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, But the home of all of us is gone. There are no tive suffix -chen (fortochka - fortochtji), and in verbs and even entire sentences: nichevo! - it longer any Mennonite villages in South Russia. German all diminutives are neuter. doesn’t matter, pora! - it’s time!, zhalko! - too During the second World War their inhabitants An amusing phenomenon was the use of Rus- bad!, zharko! - it’s hot., kooda!-where do you were evacuated and dispersed. A few thousand sian plural nouns as singulars. For example: think you’re going!, khvatit! - that’s enough!, of them have found new homes in Canada and pirozhki (small pies) and vareniki (filled dump- mozhno? - may I?, poshiol von! - get out of here!, South America. lings), foods which were usually consumed in ya tebe dam! - I’ll let you have it! (threat), shtob plural quantities, became piroshtji and varentji, ti izdokh! - drop dead!, gorko! - means bitter and Sources. plurals, but for the singular we used the same was shouted by crowd when during game at wed- I know of three major works on our dialect: forms, giving them feminine gender for the Rus- ding boy got to kiss girl. 1. Jacob Quiring, “Die Mundart von Chortitza in sian masculine. Dukhi (perfume) is only plural in Sud-Russland,” Dissertation, Munchen, 1928. Russian, but in Low German it is singular neuter. Other Influences. Its section on the Slavic influence was of particu- Some words taken from the Russian plural left us Our store of interjections was greatly enriched lar value to my investigation because it lists sev- grammatically perplexed. When during the civil by Russian. In the midst of pure Low German eral dozen loanwords from Polish and Lithuanian war we gave shelter to Russian refugees we called one heard Okh! ekh! ukj! oy! ey! ooy! Noo! Oy- which our ancestors had brought with them from them bezhentsy, but what were we to call a single oy-oy! expressed admiration and ay-ay-ay! Con- their West-Prussian home and of which many refugee? Bezhents did not sound right, and the cern. Russian terms of abuse and oaths also were could easily be mistaken for Russian. correct Russian singular bezhenets, sounded even not unheard amongst us. 2. Walter Lehn, “Rosental Low German, more wrong, quite un-Low German. As might have been expected from the great Synchronic and Diachronic Phonology,” Disser- I have found only seven verb adoptions. They dissimilarity of the two languages, the influences tation, Cornell University, 1957. are: govet (prepare for the Sacrament by fasting), of Russian on Low German itself was extremely 3. J.W. Gorzen, “Low German in Canada, a Study gulat (stroll), borotsa (wrestle), sluzhit (serve), slight. I have discovered no etymological and of `Plautdietsch’ as spoken by Mennonite Immi- katatsa (take a drive), meshat (hinder), staratsa only one case of syntactical influence, but it is grants from Russia,” Dissertation, University of (endeavor). They were all given the Low Ger- fascinating. Indeed, it is strange that one of the Toronto, 1952 (m.s.). man infinitive ending and conjugated regularly: oddest Russian constructions should have been See also Mennonite Life: hivee-i, hily-i, birotsi, sluzhi, katy-i, mishy-i, stiry- the only one we adopted. A Russian can say: J. John Friesen, “Romance of the Low German.” i. Gulat was narrowed in meaning to signify the Rabotat-to on rabotayet, da fso nikuda ne goditsa, April ’47, 22; strolling of lovers and hence courtship. Borotsa meaning: He works all right, but it’s all no good. J. Gorzen, “Plautdietsch and English.” April ’47, is interesting in this respect; it is a reflexive-re- The infinitive at the beginning is, as it were, a 22. ciprocal verb, but we did not feel it as such. Since, questioning response to a claim, and then the however, wrestling is reciprocal, we super-added claim is granted but immediately whittled down. The Author: the German reflexive pronoun: He borotst sich In Low German we said: Obeidi obeit he, oba In 1958 Gerhard Wiens was with the Depart- met dem Broda (He wrestles with his brother). dout es oulis nusht vayt. ment of German, University of Oklahoma, with Sluzhit was used only to refer to the sitting up- In this article I have confined myself to a summer grant to study Mennonite folklore. right of dogs, as when begging for food. loanwords which were current in my settlement, the Molochnaya Colony. They were generally Change in Meaning. the same in the other Mennonite settlements, al- The sematic analysis showed that in most though in cases of closer relationships with the cases the chief meaning of the Russian word was Russian environment the borrowing was heavier. retained. In no case was the meaning changed Ukrainian too was frequently drawn upon when- completely, and only in a few cases was the word ever it was the main language of the given a new shade of meaning which it did not neighbourhood. have in Russian, as in bezhentsy, which to us meant only Russian refugees; or ingoosh, mem- Spread of Low German. ber of a Caucasian tribe, which to us meant only In the 1870s and ‘80s thousands left our vil- the mounted policemen, a member of that tribe, lages to go to the United States and Canada. Our whom we hired during the first World War. (An dialect has survived among many of their de- amusing sidelight here is that most of us mistook scendants, and in it much Russian lives on. In the first syllable for our indefinite article -en and Gretna, Manitoba, in 1925, I heard a tipsy young called the man a goosh.) fellow moan, “Etj fail fidollt prost” (I feel darned Quite a few words, however, were used only rotten). To feel without reflexive pronoun that in restricted meaning, which often happened not was already English, but prost was still good to be the main Russian meaning: (Russian - En- Slavic Plattdeutsch, having been borrowed from Gerhard Wiens - Photo - Men. Life, April 1958, glish - Low German Meaning) baraban - drum, Polish by our ancestors even before they left page 50.

132 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Books Linea Reimer Geiser, Caught in the Light (First ing trees.” Her “Grandmother God/swoops me up in her Books Library, Goshen, 2003), 96 pages. Ppbk. “(I) gladly stain my knees/risk poison ivy and/ arms/for a hug/a cheek to cheek and reminder/ that Poetry has been described as literature that roil my spine for the sake of/conspiring with God I am her treasure.” reaches into the fire. As readers, we want that, some- to tend/ my flower bed.” Linea lures us to consider These poems are an invitation to be lifted in this one else daring to touch life where it singes us with praise in unexpected places. kind of swooping motion, and to be “caught in the pain and joy. Linea Reimer Geiser reaches into the She honors the lives of family and friends with light.” flames of memory and observation with these po- loving and incisive language, and with these trib- Reviewed by Jean Janzen, Fresno, California. ems. utes and elegies she preserves the history of her Jean Janzen has taught poetry at Fresno Pacific As she recalls her life, her heritage, and re- heritage. The poignancy of the personal “Yellow University and Eastern Mennonite University. She sponds to her daily experience, she finds language Dress” is captured in its ending stanza: has published five collections of poetry, the last which awakens us as we read. With sensory and “My mother, elegant and poor in her yellow one, Tasting the Dust, Good Books, 2000. Her surprising images, she invites us to enter with her dress with yellow buttons trailed by daughters con- poems have appeared in numerous journals and into life and to remember what we may have forgot- cealing me high under her ribs.” anthologies and in 1995 she received a National ten. She ends this section with a poem of fragrant Endowment for the Arts Award. Beginning with the first poem “Sing for the vision for the world, gathering those she loves with ______Claw Foot Tub of Childhood,” Linea draws us into instructions to make “Soup for the World.” the need to wash away the past which irritates like Ending this collection are poems exploring lan- Milton K. J. Reimer, A Goodly Heritage: The “the summer straw of threshing” which sticks to guage for faith. Linea recognizes the pain of Life and Times of the John B. and Maria Dueck her body. But we find with her that the “past drips birthgiving of both mothers and martyrs, keens for Reimer Family (Box 212, Fessenden, N.C., 58438- through” and that “everything intermingles, every- the evil in this world, acknowledges loneliness and 0212. 2003), 95 pages. thing collides.” The contradictions of experience loss of direction. With wit and daring she has Jesus As already mentioned elsewhere, we are unable are the stuff of poetry, she convinces us in a number “Barreling/down the road in his silver pick-up” to to even begin to mention in Preservings all the books of her poems. She describes the cultural tensions of carry old Elizabeth to heaven where the poet’s cats published annually regarding the Russian Menno- Mennonite girls in the city, the spring dreams col- “aspire/to be nothing/but (God’s) regal lap-warm- nites. A Goodly Heritage is the biography of John lapsed by revival preachers, the reality of ashes as ers.” B. Reimer (1889-1962) and Maria Dueck Reimer we dance, and the Gospel as both freeing and de- manding. In her description of family members, she mourns death, recounting the flaws, the “father czars,” the hidden skeletons, as well as “the strong and beautiful.” What dominates in this collection, however, is the poet’s power to praise. The yellow leaves of autumn, the labor of gardening, and the winter’s deep cold are not metaphors for struggle and death, as we might expect, but are gifts to receive with sheer gratitude. The poet shouts “glory to the glow-

A real treasure of A Goodly Heritage is a reproduction of the title page of the Erster Anfang von dem Christlichen Gottes-Dienst (“The beginning of the Christian service)” published at page 86. Erster Anfang is the 1743 German edition of the Dutch catechism for the instruction of the youths by Herman Schyn (1662-1727), Amsterdam, the prominent doctor, minister of the Zonists Gemeinde, historian and heroic defender of the conservative Mennonite faith (Pres., No. 20, page 39). The book originally belonged to minister Klaas Friesen (1793-1870), Rosenort, Molotschna, whose grandsons C. K. “Well-driller” Friesen, teamster Klaas I. Friesen, and Johann I. “Malla” Friesen, played prominent roles in the history of Steinbach. The inscription reads: “This book belongs to Klaas Friesen in Rosenort. In 1828 I received this book as a gift from my brother Peter von Riesen in Prussia. This book belongs to Johann B. Reimer, circa 1904. I have received this book as a gift Linea Reimer Geiser, 610 Renere Dr., Goshen, from my parents.” Indiana, U.S., 46526 - August 2003.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 133 (1892-1939) who farmed on SE10-7-6E (where dispensationalist theology Clearsprings Mall is located today) from 1911 until embedded in Left Behind their retirement. The book was compiled by son novels is so entrenched in Milton Reimer, who has used documents, letters, contemporary evangelical and family recollections to create a surprisingly thought that some may con- multi-faceted portrayal of their lives. sider it “gospel truth,” many Johann B. Reimer was one of the associates of evangelical scholars and Rev. Ben D. Reimer, who pushed the Kleine teachers are not convinced Gemeinde away from the Holy Gospel and Jesus that the scenario played out Christ as the cornerstone of the Gemeinde towards in the Left Behind series are Evangelical Fundamentalism. Books like these help as biblical or orthodox as historians understand how these crusaders com- they may first appear. pletely failed to comprehend the vision of their fore- In fact, reading the his- fathers, and why they felt it necessary to forsake the torical survey contained in the same in favour of another religious culture and tra- first chapter of Craig R. dition. Koester’s recent book, Rev- J. B. Reimer was elected as deacon on 1944 and elation and the End of All one of the gem’s of his literary legacy are his “Home Things (Eerdmans, 2001) visitation reports,” surprisingly candid notations one might wonder if an “or- made subsequent to pastoral visits in the commu- thodox” position even exists nity. One example recorded after a visit to David given the diversity of posi- Ungers, Dec. 4, 1951: “....The man is sickly and tions held by Christians likes to talk about it. But he is reluctant to speak of throughout the centuries. spiritual things and constantly changes the subject. Many Christians today may I tried with God’s help to make him award of eter- be surprised to learn that, nity and finally he let me go on. The sister went prior to the twentieth century, outside and stayed there for a long time. I asked if I many evangelical leaders (including the theologian tion of what it means to follow Jesus when times could pray with them. He did not refuse and so I Jonathan Edwards and the evangelist Charles are tough. prayed. He thanked me for the visit and we parted Finney) were “postmillennialists,” meaning they Another recent publication - In God’s Time by not unfriendly” (pages 63-64). believed that the world would get better, rather than Craig C. Hill - covers many of the same topics in a The book also includes information on the par- worse, before the second coming of Christ. The more scholarly (and at times humorous) manner. ents of both John and Maria B. Reimer, he being Protestant reformers also varied in their approaches: Professor Hill, who teaches New Testament at the son of Steinbach major Johann R. Reimer and Martin Luther once declared it neither “apostolic Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., the grandson of the well-known patriarch Abr. nor prophetic” but later changed his mind affirming confesses he consumed tall stacks of Last Days “Fula” Reimer, most of which is material dupli- the book as a promise that “Christ is with us, even literature in high school, knows the evangelical sub- cated from earlier issues of Preservings. Maria, on when things are at their worst”; John Calvin main- culture well enough to persuasively debunk many the other hand, was the daughter of Johann R. tained a silent position on the subject, writing com- of more ludicrous End Times scenarios (e.g., that Dueck (brother to Ält. Peter) and Margaretha P. mentaries on every book of the Bible except Rev- the World Wide Web is a Satanic plot) with great Kroeker, daughter of Steinbach pioneer Franz M. elation. skill. Kroeker. The book includes some new material One of the more accessible books on this topic However, many conservative evangelicals will regarding the Dueck family - including some remi- is Paul Spilsbury’s excellent book, The Throne, find the introductory chapters of this book hard to niscences by Maria Dueck Reimer of her growing The Lamb, and the Dragon (IVP, 2002), which digest because Hill critiques “inerrancy” as a useful up years and family life - which I would gladly creams off what biblical scholarship has been say- or helpful category in asserting biblical authority. have had access to in completing my recent Plett ing about Revelation in recent decades, and pre- He is also critical of young-earth creationists and Family Saga, had the book been available earlier. sents it in a pastoral manner without getting bogged extreme views about God’s predestination of events, As it is, it will be a good reason for nephews and down in academic issues. which would make this book a difficult one to give nieces to purchase the book in order to learn more Spilsbury, who teaches New Testament at Ca- to many die-hard End Times enthusiasts. about their parents and grandparents. nadian Bible College in Regina, Saskatchewan, has The author admits as much in his preface, stat- For his dedicated efforts in preserving the goodly produced a relatively short book (156 pages) but it ing that he wrote the book for thoughtful Christians heritage of his family, we wish Milton God’s rich- cuts to the heart of the main themes of Revelation who find End Times literature “baffling, off-put- est blessings. and challenges Christians to live out the message in ting, or troubling.” For the most part he succeeds, Book review by Delbert F. Plett, Steinbach, a way that neither diminishes its relevance for to- though arguably many Christians unfamiliar with Manitoba. day, nor reduces it to a mysterious code-book of the the intertestamental Jewish literature might find his ______future. His sensitivity and desire to show how Rev- study of non-biblical apocalyptic writings such as 1 elation fits into the larger biblical story is evident Enoch just as baffling and troubling. The book also Christian scholars respond to Left Behind throughout the book. What’s more, he goes on to includes an appendix entitled “Not Left Behind” phenomenon, By Rob Clements. show what Revelation says about discipleship to- which challenges the idea of Rapture as taught by Craig C. Hill, In God’s Time: The Bible and the day. “prophecy scholars” such as Tim LaHaye, Hal Lind- Future (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002). According to Spilsbury, the book of Revelation say and Kenneth Copeland, among others. Regard- Paul Spilsbury, The Throne, The Lamb & The gives us “no reason to think that anything like the less, Hill does a remarkable job of articulating a Dragon: A Reader’s Guide to the Book of Revela- rapture will ever take place” (p. 79) nor should we thoughtful and fully biblical approach to what many tion (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2002). expect a prior event that snatches us away from the Christians find a bewildering subject, affirming that Craig R. Koester, Revelation and the End of All trials of the present age. “To follow the Lamb and to God’s eventual triumph is central to Christian faith. Things (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001). be identified with him is to share his experience of Rob Clements is director of Clements Publish- One of the interesting side-effects of the Left the world’s hatred and the dragon’s hostility” (p, ing and a con- Behind series has been the number of new non- 81). This is the sort of book one can give to a new sulting editor to Regent College Publishing in fiction books dealing with the interpretation of Rev- Christian obsessed trying to figure out the identify Vancouver, B.C. elation and other End Time themes such as “the of the beast and rest assured that, if read seriously, Reprinted with permission from ChristianWeek, Millennium” and “the Rapture.” Though the that person will come away with a deeper apprecia- May 27/03, pages 9-10.

134 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 John A. Harder, editor and translator, From Profits of the Apocalypse Kleefeld with Love (Kitchener, ON: Pandora Press, The commercial success of the Left Behind series has prompted a deluge of new co-published with Herald Press, 2003). Paperback, titles in the genre, some from surprising sources. By Greg Devitt & Rob Clements. 198 pp., In the last decades many books have appeared Gone are the days of the vagabond Dooms Day of March 27th, 2003, however, the Federal judge that chronicle the experiences of Russian Menno- Prophet marching the streets proclaiming, “the end presiding over the Tim LaHaye lawsuit regarding nites in the Soviet Union. Of special importance, is near!” You see, he’s been edged out of the mar- the Left Behind films has dismissed all of LaHaye’s for both the historian and the general reader, are ket. The prophets of today wear neatly tailored claims against Cloud Ten. collections of letters written between the 1920s and suits and have agents that broker multi-million dol- “Obviously the Federal Court has vindicated the end of the Stalin era when Mennonites under- lar publishing deals. The end of the world is now Cloud Ten,” said the company’s President Edwin went unprecedented loss, exile, imprisonment and big business. Ng in a press release. “We are extremely pleased suffering. Books like Letters from Susan (1988), Ever since Hal Lindsay published The Late Great with the result and continue to look forward to edited and translated by John B. Toews, From Rus- Planet Earth in 1970, Christian publishers have making future Left Behind films, television pro- sia with Tears (1991), translated and edited by Pe- fared well on prophecy books, but when Tim gramming and films based on the Left Behind: The ter and Anne Bargen, and Wo sollen wir hin (Where LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins’ Left Behind series hit Kid’s series.” shall we go?) (1998), edited by Julia Hildebrandt, the shelves in 1996 no one could have foreseen One of the more interesting of Left Behind’s off- Heinrich Klassen and Gerhard Woelk, are just a their dramatic impact on the publishing industry. spring is the Left Behind Prophecy Club Internet few collections of letters that come to mind. From April 8th marked the release of the eleventh book, site (accessible from ). For Kleefeld with Love is the latest collection of letters Armageddon, in this apocalyptic adventure series. only $29.95 (US) you can have a three-month written during this period. And the timing couldn’t have been better. To quote subscription (additional months cost $3.95) to a From Kleefeld with Love contains letters of the series’ website , “What growing community whose purpose is to specu- Mariechen Harder, Sara Spenst and a few others, a better time than now to take advantage of uncer- late as to how current events in our world fit into written to the Abram H. Harder family (Abram was tainty and fear by telling people the truth about Lahaye’s end-times theology. “Join now!,” the web Mariechen’s brother) who had emigrated to Canada `Armageddon’ and God’s eternal plan.” It hit num- site exclaims, “to find out, Is the UN a precursor of in 1924. Letters written by the Harders of Canada ber one spot on the New York Times bestseller list the One World government prophesized in the to their Kleefeld relatives have not survived, al- April 27. Bible? Could the Antichrist be alive now? If so, though there are a few letters written by the Harders The Left Behind series has sold in excess of 50 how can he be identified so he does not deceive us? to their relatives in Kansas, describing their farming million books since its introduction. The phenom- Are ATM’s and other revolutions in global bank- conditions in Arnaud, Manitoba, in the 1920s. Of ena has spawned a children’s series of twenty-six ing foretelling of the Mark of the Beast?” interest is not only the content of these letters, writ- books, a plethora of comic books, and a host of You may also participate in their message board ten by young women, but especially the frankness movies, greeting cards, videos, music and other forums with a host of other End Times enthusiasts with which they describe the deplorable conditions apparel (“the best in rapture wear”), not to mention to discuss numerology, the newest release in the in the Soviet Union of the 1920s and ’30s. The at least two official websites. series, or whether or not George W. Bush is, in courage of the writers is seen in that, while they All of this has been good news for Tyndale House, fact, the AntiChrist. suspected that the mail was opened by the authori- a Christian publishing house based in Wheaton, Truncated Theology. ties, they nevertheless let their Canadian relatives Illinois. In 1998, before the series really took off, The Left Behind series is based on a particular know what they experienced and suffered at the the company had sales of about $40 million. That area of End Times theology called dispensational hands of the Soviets and what they thought of their figure more than quadrupled during the fiscal year premillennialism. Tim Lahaye has been a leading new political masters. that ended in April 2001, according to Christianity proponent of this ideology for many years and is In a 1931 letter, Mariechen Harder writes that Today. the co-founder and president of the Pre-Trib Re- the reality which they now face defies comprehen- The remarkable commercial success of the series search Center, an organization established for the sion. Even the Makhno period, according to has not gone unnoticed by larger, secular publish- express purpose of promoting dispensational Mariechen, was not as bad: “The horrible times of ers. Publishers Weekly recently reported that Tim premillennialism within the Christian community. mass murder in Blumenort during the Civil War Lahaye has signed a four-book deal with Bantam Dispensational premillennialism originated in the were nothing in comparison to the tyranny we know Books (a division of Random House) in the middle of the nineteenth century with John Nelson today. And this is no exaggeration. What I am re- neighbourhood of $45 million dollars. And an- Darby and was popularized by the publication of porting will stretch all credulity” (p. 134). other large New York publisher, Penguin Group the Scofield Reference Bible in the early 20th cen- Mariechen’s letters speak of arrests of ministers, (USA) has banked on a continued appetite for tury. loss of homes and homeland, deportation and re- apocalyptic fiction by launching its own series Despite the remarkable popularity of Left Behind settlement in distant places, separation of families called The Prodigal Project. some Christian leaders and teachers are not happy and lack of food, requisition of livestock and pro- Said director of religious publishing Joel Fotinos with the theology presented in the series. duce, forced collectivization, and constant harass- in Religion Bookline, “The main goal isn’t to teach “The error of `Left Bind’ theology is that it fails to ment by the authorities. There is no doubt in the a specific theology, but to inspire through the story.” grasp the nature of apocalyptic literature,” says Dr. letter-writers’ mind that the Mennonites are targeted The first book in the series “Genesis” was re- Victor Shepherd, who teaches systematic theology by the authorities because they are “Germans,” are leased in January. The second installment, “Exo- at Tyndale College and Seminary in Toronto. “It considered “” (former well-to-do farmers), dus,” comes out in June, with an announced draws too readily correspondences between the and because they as believing Christians cannot go 350,000 first printing. images in Revelation and world occurrences.” along with the Soviet atheistic regime. Trouble in Paradise. Worse, say Shepherd, “it depicts an understand- The uppermost wish of the letter writers is to With all this money changing hands there was ing of God that is at variance with the crucified one. emigrate. Even after 1930 when Canada no longer bound to be trouble in paradise. God is portrayed as indifferent to the suffering of accepted immigrants, Mariechen still hoped that she Three year ago Lahaye sued Namesake Enter- the world if not the abater of that suffering.” might be able to get out of Russia. She is willing to tainment and Cloud Ten Pictures (even though the “Where they should be weeping, they strike me work hard in the new country, pay off her travel movie would go on to sell three million copies). as gloating,” he concludes. debts as soon as possible, and then devote her time Co-author LaHaye cited breach of contract due to Greg Devitt is a freelance writer and graphic artist and strength to contributing positively to her new the low quality of the movie version of the series’ in Oshawa, Ontario. Rob Clements is director of homeland. She expresses anger toward a certain flagship book they produced. Clements Publishing, Vancouver, B.C. “Herman Dick” family who emigrated to Canada in According to a Cloud Ten Pictures press release Reprinted with permission from ChristianWeek, the 1920s and then complained to their relatives May 27/03, pages 8-9.

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 135 their trust. viewer remembers the communication techniques The editing and proofreading, betray some haste of Ewert’s mentor, A.H. Unruh. The author does and carelessness. The map of the Molotschna colony not only write about the Bible. He uses biblical texts (p. 18), for example, to which the text refers repeat- copiously to illustrate interpretive principles. The edly, appears in reverse and is practically illegible. reader will be gratified to see how often the content One can only make it out when held before a mir- of the Bible becomes illumined in the process of ror! There are inconsistencies in the spelling of place writing a book on biblical hermeneutics. The book and personal names as, for example, in “Professor is conveniently divided into 13 chapters, thus mak- Benjamin Unruh” (p. 173) and “Benjamin Unrau” ing it readily adaptable for a quarterly Sunday School (p. 154). study on hermeneutics. These blemishes aside, the book is a valuable Hermeneutics, according to the author, is not source for students of Russian-Mennonite history only an aid to understand the Bible (theology), but and deserves a place in all Mennonite libraries and also, and at the same time, it clarifies the biblical homes. way of life (ethics). One has not understood unless Harry Loewen, Professor Emeritus of Menno- one walks the way, and conversely, as one walks nite Studies, Kelowna, B.C. the way, one understands. It is the strength of this ______book that it holds knowing and Nachfolge together as one indivisible whole, true to the Bible itself and Jack Klassen, The Chiropractor (Altona, 2003), the Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition. 212 pages. $19.95 Ewert demonstrates that, in order to understand From Kleefeld with Love - front cover. Mariechen Probably the first novel written completely in and apply the Bible, we need to know about biblical and Greta Harder, young women in the beauty of Low German. Also available in an English edition. times, its geography, culture and language (pp 20- their youth This novel deals with a period of time during the 4). But one must also understand oneself, one’s early 20th century when parts of eastern Manitoba pre-understandings (Vorverstaendnis). Our expe- back home in Russia about how bad things were in were still being settled. The Mennonite settlers who riences and perspectives from our world color our Canada: “It is a great tragedy that they left when came to the Kleefeld area near Steinbach were a reading of the Bible and its world. they did,” Mariechen writes, “they are fortunate devout and uncomplicated folk. They possessed an Ewert urges us to become aware of our pre- they escaped with their lives. Were they to return innocence which is missing among many of today’s understandings, but at the same time forthrightly now, their hair would soon stand on end” (p. 130). culturally assimilated Mennonites. Although these says that there is no fool proof way of escaping a There is thus far no study that deals with the pioneers were not perfect, they held to Biblical ide- subjective, individualistic reading of the Biblical effect that communications between Mennonites in als which were positive and good. text (p 36) - and especially so, the reviewer adds, in the Soviet Union and their relatives abroad had on Under these circumstances, a young girl grows the western world. To lessen this danger the author the Soviet authorities. There is no doubt, however, up to become a chiropractor and a single parent to a again stays within the Anabaptist/Mennonite tradi- that the Soviets knew from letters such as these and number of foster children, adopting several in the tion and wisely recommends testing one’s interpre- reports in Canadian papers like the Mennonitische process. The reader shares in her personal struggles tation of the Bible in the community of faith, the Rundschau and Der Bote about what Mennonites and triumphs as she deals with life from day to day. hermeneutical community (p 37, 116-18). Under- (and other Germans) thought of the Soviets and the From the Mennonitische Post, June 20, 2003, standing and Nachfolge are vocations of the church. conditions in Russia. When the Nazis in 1933 came page 22. Chapter 3 (The Uniqueness of Sacred Scrip- to power in Germany and in 1941 invaded the So- ______tures) briefly, and helpfully in many ways, dis- viet Union, a paranoid Stalin suspected all Soviet cusses the meaning of canon and the process of Germans (among other nationalities) as potential David Ewert, How to Understand the Bible canonizing the biblical books. Although biblical “spies,” “collaborators,” and generally “enemies of (Herald Press, Waterloo, Ontario, and Scottdale, canon consists of “inspired writings” (p 42), the the state.” Consequently Mennonites and Germans Pennsylvania, 2000), 240 pages. author does not, unfortunately, explain what is meant living in Ukraine and in the Volga regions were David Ewert is an esteemed preacher, teacher, by that term (see also p 60). It is clear, however that “resettled” to northern and eastern parts of the So- professor, and scholar of the Mennonite Brethren the process of canonizing these writings was a viet Union where they were forced to work in slave church. Appropriately, this book is dedicated to the church activity (p 43). The Bible is historically con- labour camps under often inhuman conditions. It is late Abram H. Unruh, whose careful exposition of ditioned. It is difficult to adhere to a plenary-verbal against this background that the cries for help ex- Scripture, according to the author, inspired him in theory of inspiration. From the meaning of the term, pressed in these letters must be understood. his youth. The author is aware that reading books canon (measuring stick), one can assume that there Mariechen Harder, the principal letter writer in about the Bible (hermeneutical aids) may be more is some coherence in the diverse canonized books, this book, died in 1939, with her hopes and desire problematical than reading the Bible itself (p 107), and that one can speak of a unifying theme, or to escape to freedom unfulfilled. The only freedom but he is equally aware that information about the perspective. Ewert calls this unifying theme salva- she had was letter-writing. Time and again she tells Bible does help us to understand it the way the tion history, Heilsgeschichte (p 43). her loved ones in Canada that writing for her is like biblical authors would actually like to be under- Most chapters of the book under review have to breathing; not being able to write would be her stood. do with the Bible as literature. In chapter 4 the au- death. In her letters she not only expressed her A quick glance at the bibliography (p 225-27) thor draws our attention to the fact that a translation longing for freedom, love and life itself, but she indicates that there is a plethora of “How to...” of the Bible is already an interpretation. Languages also left a legacy which continues to keep our link to books available on biblical hermeneutics. So why are thought worlds in which people live. Since there the past world alive - even though her home, the another one? The author justifies yet another book are no exact equivalents of translating one linguistic village of Kleefeld, has disappeared from the map. on hermeneutics by writing one in non-technical thought world into another, translations can readily The book is beautifully produced, includes pho- language, and by dealing with a large range of top- fall prey to the translators Vorverstaendnis. tographs and maps, and the English translation reads ics (p 12, 19). The author succeeds well in both If Bible translations have to do with translating well. The cover shows a photo of the sisters counts. From years of practicing the art of preach- one linguistic thought world into another in equiva- Mariechen and Greta Harder, young women in the ing and teaching, not only in academia, but also in lent meanings, we need to know how language beauty of their youth - a beauty and youth eventu- the ecclesia where God’s people gather to hear the functions in a particular linguistic world. Ewert en- ally turned to forms wracked with suffering and Word of God, Ewert is uniquely qualified to write gages us in a helpful discussion of this problem pain. Mariechen and the other writers ask why they yet another “How to ...” book geared for the laity. (chapter 5), beginning with the basic unit, the word have to suffer so much and so long, but in the end This book abounds with arresting and enlight- (its etymology, usage, and history), followed by the they leave the answer to God in whom they put ening illustrations and quotes, much like the re- more complex structure, the sentence (morphology,

136 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 syntax, and context), then on to the use of figurative runs the danger of christianizing the OT and not rating the church from God’s chosen people runs (chapter 6), and symbolic ways of communicating allowing it to speak in its own right. Since the so- the risk of uprooting the NT and the church from its (chapter 7). Although words and grammar are basic called OT was the only Bible the Jews who be- biblical/Hebraic character, from the OT. A God- literary units, the author warns against reading of lieved that Jesus was the Messiah, had, is it not centered understanding of the Bible would guard the Bible in a purely literal way, another important more appropriate to reverse that principle and to say against these risks. hermeneutical principle (p 70). Figures of speech that, for them, the light of the OT enlightened the For St. Paul, God’s purposes have not been and symbolic language were not intended to be Christ event? Should one not do the same today and finally realized with the coming of Christ (Ro. 9- taken literally. The readers may think that departing read the NT from the perspective of the OT since 11). History has not stood still since Christ came. from a literal interpretation, opens the flood gates to they are historically related? The end (parousia) has not yet come. Paul’s view is a loose reading of the Bible. The author argues that The Bible, the author claims, is essentially a that God will be all and in all (I Cor. 15:24-28). For this is not the case, and strengthens his argument by history of salvation (Heilsgeschichte, p 141). To him, Christ is penultimate. The Ultimate is God. a liberal use of example and illustration. prevent the NT from getting off the biblical track In conclusion, Ewert shows that a “How to ...” In one of the longest chapters of the book (chap- (e.g. to become hellenized and read from a Greek/ book about the Bible is at the same time a book on ter 8) the author highlights some general principles Western point of view), should one not read the NT faith, theology, and ethics. The book raises impor- (guidelines) of interpreting the bible, the science of from the perspective of the OT? Paul saw that the tant issues and provides many helpful ways to bet- hermeneutics proper. Throughout this chapter, Ewert law was given to keep God’s purposes on track ter understand the Bible. Our gratitude to David abides by the principles of our Anabaptist forebears (Gal. 3:24). For him the law was God’s revelatory Ewert for producing yet another book on how to that understanding and Nachfolge are two parts of gift to help us understand the purposes of God. Is it understand the Bible. The reader comes away from the same coin. Hermeneutical guidelines are given therefore not better to say that the NT is dependent reading the book instructed, enlightened, and chal- to prevent arbitrary and fanciful readings of the upon the OT to interpret the Christ event in an lenged. The book deserves to be widely read and biblical text (p 106). The author rightly shies away Hebraic/biblical way, rather than that the Christ event studied. from a western dualistic, and privatized reading of gave the NT writers a new standpoint from which Book Review by Peter Fast, Retired Professor the Bible, and emphasizes again the need to test to read the OT (p 187)? of New Testament Studies, C.M.B.C. and C.M.U., one’s insight in the community of faith, the herme- In the last two chapters of the book (chapters Winnipeg. neutical community (pp 116 ff). 12, 13). Ewert treats the problem of the relationship ______Following hermeneutical guidelines, however, of the OT to the NT, and the unity of the Bible in is no assurance that Christians will come to agree greater detail. One is tempted to say that these chap- Abram Abramavitsch Fast, W setjach OGPU- on all matters of faith and understanding. The au- ters form the most important pages of the entire NKWD (“In the net of the OGPU-NKWD”) thor touches upon the complex topic of reading the book because of the significance of understanding (Barnaul, Russia, 2002), 461 pages. culturally conditioned Bible, mixed up with socio- the Bible from an Hebraic/biblical perspective. In Firstly, I would like to note that this book is a religious-political factors of the time, in other cul- the mind of the reviewer, these chapters raise some significant reference work for the researcher of turally conditioned worlds (chapter 9). Losing this dangers and questions. Mennonitism. The hundreds of archival sources orientation and spiritualizing, or idealizing the Bible, First of all, the use of the fulfillment motif in which the author has studied enabled him to com- Ewert shows, is an unbiblical way of reading it. interpreting the NT (p 119, 203) creates the danger pile a well documented and analytical study regard- There is an unavoidable ethnic/cultural component and the possibility of leaving the OT behind alto- ing the Germans in Altaj. The Altaj region, District to biblical faith because God’s way can be mani- gether. The NT then becomes a free-floating entity of Barnaul, Province of Tomsk was founded in fested in this diverse socio-religious world. In this cut off from its roots and open to interpretations that 1908. The settlement lay between the Ob and Irtysch regard, the author stands firmly in his own may have more things in common with perspec- Rivers, 180 miles south of the Siberian railway. In Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition by keeping faith and tives from other thought worlds than the biblical the beginning Barnaul, 400 km. away was the near- life together, contrary to the two-kingdoms view of world. The OT gives the needed perspective and est large city. By 1910 36 villages had arisen on the faith of Martin Luther. roots to understand the NT and so prevents it from Kulunda steppes. In 1909 the city of Slawgorod But numerous hermeneutical questions arise becoming a multiplicity of new sects. was founded on the western border of the Barnaul from chapters 8 and 9, crucial in coming to under- The author rightly emphasizes that the so-called Mennonite settlement which was thereafter known stand and live out biblical faith. How can a time OT is the Bible of all the writers of the NT (p 206). by that name. By 1913 the settlement had a popula- conditioned book be understood, and manifested in Yet the difficulty of dividing “ethnic” Israel from tion of 10,416 which rose to 14,890 by 1921. The the modern world? Is finding the continuing rel- “spiritual” Israel (p 204) highlights the danger of settlers had a difficult time. evance of the Bible like removing and discarding emphasizing discontinuity between the OT and the This is a work dealing with the tragic events of the husk and keeping the kernel, or searching for NT. Does Christ “radically alter his (Paul’s) under- the 1930s in the German Rayon (Nemezkij Rayon) the essence, and once found can then be directly standing of the Bible” (206)? One must heed the of the region of Altaj. It relates how the wheel of proclaimed and applied anywhere in the world? caution of the author of not christianizing the OT. oppression of the communist regime of Stalin had Ewert at times tends in this direction. He states that Yet reading the Bible in a Christ-centered way rather its beginnings in the 1920s, reaching its pinnacle the message of the Bible is the same but the dress is than, as Paul himself did, God-centered, opens the with its surrealistic implementation in the years 1934 different (p 139), or it is a matter of distinguishing door to losing the biblical/Hebraic perspective in- and 1937-38, and concluding with the almost total between “religious practices of abiding significance“ forming also the NT. mass extinction of the entire able-bodied popula- and those that simply belonged to the first century Similar cautions can be raised regarding the tion of the German villages. (p 131). Is the “how” of the Bible only a matter of author’s theory of the unity of the Bible under the The author shows the preparations for the re- dress? Is only the “what,” the essence, the kernel, caption “progressive revelation” ( chapter 13). With pression and how it was carried out providing a that counts? Biblical faith is after all an historical this term the author means “... that God made him- documented account to the readers (or their rela- religion and cannot be spiritualized into an idealistic self known in stages, and the final stage was reached tives, acquaintances and associates). essence. In the last two chapters of the book, on the in Christ” (p 210). Although the author does not The book is divided into four chapters: 1. Estab- unity of the Bible, the author deals with this signifi- wish this term to be understood in an evolutionary lishment and Liquidation of the German Rayon cant question in greater detail, crucial to understand way - and rightly so - the idea nevertheless, lies (1927-1938); 2. Emigration Wave (1929-1930); 3. and walk in the ways of God. close at hand with the use of such terms as “stages,” Collectivization and Expropriation; 4. Search for Already in chapter 10 the author broaches the “coming to a climax in Christ” (p 209), and “fuller the Fifth Column. problem of the unity of the Bible, although chapter and final revelation” (p 209). Sometimes the author Each chapter begins with the overview of the 10 and 11 deal primarily with the literary genres of describes the relationship of the testaments in dis- story of the German Rayons for the particular time the OT and NT. He establishes a hermeneutical continuous terms: “new covenant” and “profound period together with citations from relevant works, principle that the OT is to be read in the fuller light difference” (p 208), “new people of God”, and “Is- his own analysis based on the documentation, and of Christ (p 144). He is aware that in doing so one rael failed to carry out its mission...” (p 221). Sepa- closing with references to archival sources. The

Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 137 book acquires a great value by including a list of ans, archivists and for the residents of the German als, in several languages (Russian, German and those “innocently repressed in the 1930s in the Rayon of the Altja Region or for their descendants French). The Russian documents were translated German Rayon” containing ca. 1000 names. and relatives, who were connected with the mass by Olga Levoushkina, Lenka Maksymets and A few snippets from the contents of chapter 1: repressions either directly or indirectly. Svetlane Solovyova - but revised by John B. Toews. “....The years 1925-26 were a time of conflict be- Book review by Adina Reger, Wießenthurm, French documents were translated by Alvin Harms, tween the two forces in the District of Slawgorod: Germany. the German by Toews. The translations were all the governing body of the official government ver- revised and edited by Toews. Much of the book sus the Mennonite community....The question of Abram A. Fast. consists of a report by Councillor of State Alexander the liquidation of the Mennonite community was Abram Abramawitsch Fast was born on Brune (a Lutheran churchman), commissioned by first raised by the Secretary of the Siberian District Nov. 19, 1934 in Protassowa, German Rayon, the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 1863 to report on Committee in November of 1926. This question Altaj Region. His mother Ekaterina Jakovlevna the emerging Brethren. was turned into reality without regard to the posi- was a housewife and died in 1981. His fa- Although I have not accessed the original docu- tive submission of the community...The establish- ther, Abram Abramowitsch, was a teacher ments, it is apparent that there are serious problems ment of a German Rayon [secondly] was to carry who died in 1982. A. A. Fast graduated from with the translation and editing itself. For instance, out a repression against the German population, to the Altjaer Technical School for the Mechani- the word “homosexuality” (page 137) is clearly be implemented by the German party functionaries zation of Accounting, the Nowosibirsk Party based on an incorrect translation. Given that the who were to be appointed by the government....The High School, and the University of Marx- translation of a prior work by Toews (The David purpose of this reorganization was to establish a ism-Leninism on the Altja regional commit- Epp Diaries, Pres., No. 22, pages 138-9) contains grounds for the Stalinistic unification of the farm- tee of the KPSS. He worked as the book important and serious translation errors, one won- ing classes with socialism....Goal: to disturb the keeper in the Kolchose “F. Engels” and for ders if Toews is really qualified as a translator of speech and religious barriers. The opposition of the the village committee of the village such documents. One wonders too if Toews’ ac- German population to the establishment of a Ger- “Polewoje”, as the film presenter on Orlowo, ceptance of early Brüdergemeinde claims regarding man Rayons was broken in 1926....The decision to for 25 years as the party secretary in the the decadent lifestyle of the Mennonite community establish a German Rayon with 57 villages and a Kolchose of “Telman and Lenina” and as may explain the translation errors as well as his population of 13,165 persons was finalized in March chairman of the executive committee of the own commentary. of 1926.....In any event, the German Rayon only village Soviet in Orlowo and Polewoje in the Many of the documents are presented only in lasted for 11 years and already on September 26, German Rayon of the Altja region. At present summary form. In some cases, it appears useful 1938, a decision to liquidate the German Rayon Abram Fast is a pensioner. Since 2000 he has information is suppressed, and one wonders why was publicized....Only in the year 1991 was a new lived in the City of Barnaul. this was done. Surely Toews can not have assumed German Rayon created in the region of Altaj. the details would be uninteresting to the reader. Even Chapter 2: The reasons for the emigration of the had the material contained repetitious detail or bu- German population to America: grain prices had reaucratic formalities, it should be the reader, not risen drastically; accelerated process of collectiviza- the editor, who should skip unnecessary passages. tion and expropriation; attack on believers, churches Some of the translations are prefaced by a com- and against the religious world view in general. mentary. Although sometimes useful in outlining One of the forms of protest was the immigration to background, I feel his commentaries should have America. been moved to his own general introduction so as Chapter 3: An increase in forced and unpaid not to intrude upon the immediate reading of each labour, and the loss of the love of the land. A psy- section. chological orientation towards poverty was estab- His own introduction again presents views pre- lished and a disappearing of the bond between the viously expressed as to the origins of the generations. Brüdergemeinde movement. In Toews’ opinion, Chapter 4: Developments in Germany in 1933 the Mennonite community as in South Russia had when Hitler came to power worsened the lot of the decayed, and a new reading of religious works led Germans in Russia which became even more tragic. to a new found joy of salvation in a small number During the years 1934-35, numerous acts of terror- of pilgrims within the Mennonite community. In ism were carried out against the Germans in Rus- this, Toews totally neglects the important conclu- sia. There were searches for “Enemies of the State”. sions drawn by the government officials presented Thanks to the NKWD, if there were 79 farmers in this book, namely that the origins of the Breth- (Wirte) who were signalled out in the German Rayon ren movement are found in the activities of “for- in 1934, by 1935 there were already 375. One must Abram Fast, author of Im Netz der OGPU- eigners”. Toews’ view of the decadent nature of truly possess a great ability to fantasize in order to NKWD. Photo scanned by Adina Reger. Russian Mennonite Society is simply the same as still be able to find that many Kulaks after all the that expressed by the early Brüder. One wonders expropriation and repression of 1931-32. Already _____ what he means by “deviant sexuality”. Is this based in November of 1934 a large group of the newly on his own incorrect translation regarding homo- found “Kulaks” were exiled to the north. John B. Toews, Editor, The story of the Early sexuality? One cannot but be puzzled by the inclu- Chapter 5: The motto of the NKWD was: sooner Mennonite Brethren (1860-1869): Reflections of a sion of reports (by the early Brüder) of masturba- that 10 innocent perish than that a spy might remain Lutheran Churchman (Kindred Productions, tion among teenage boys as evidence for moral hidden somewhere. With this the acts of repression Hillsboro, 2002). decay. became even stronger during the years 1936-38. This book contains English translations of docu- In a work of this kind, containing old and valu- The main purpose of this repression was: to estab- ments found in the St. Petersburg Central Govern- able historical documents, one expects to find a lish a permanent fear in the lives of millions of ment achieves, in a file entitled “Hupfer” (leapers). completeness, attention to detail and accuracy which people regarding their fate. That meant full and un- The documents of this file include government re- is lacking here. reserved submission to the power of Stalin. In the ports, memorandae, and correspondence compiled Turning to the actual documentary material it- years 1937-38 21,462 persons were repressed in for the purpose of understanding and dealing with self, much that is new and interesting is presented. the Altaj Region of whom 11,624 were shot. 658 the emerging Mennonitische Brüdergemeinde (the Among specific items of interest are, the listing of persons were repressed in the German Rayon of “Hupfer”) or separatists (“Aussgetretenne”) 1860- the original Bruder in the Old Colony (previously whom 561 were shot. 1869 in South Russia. The documents were written presented by Alf Redekopp, Mennonite Historian, This book is highly recommended for histori- by various government officials and other individu- March 1998), additional material on the early

138 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003 Molotschna Bruder, and details of proposals for rive from abroad should immediately be sent back. and church and adopted Communist ideology and exiling prominent Brudergemeinder leader Jacob Here again, we would find the traditionalists in then emerged as prominent Soviet German writers Reimer. agreement. Indeed, the traditionalists had very much (David Johann Penner and David Schellenberg). On a more general level, we have the opinion earlier anticipated this problem in opposing the ap- While they share most of the external factors in their and views of investigator Alexander Brune him- pointment of pietist teacher Tobias Voth in the biographies with their peers who devoted them- self, as well as those of other leading government Molotschna in the 1820s. P.M. Friesen would also selves to the Mennonite church, their views provide officials, who took time to study the issues and have been in agreement that foreign influence con- an alternative perspective on Russian Mennonite problems relating to the emergence of the Bruder. tributed much to the formation of the life. While they are sometimes greatly misinformed as Brüdergemeinde. Curiously, these important con- The biography which perplexes most is that of to the history and sometimes beliefs of the Menno- clusions have escaped the commentary of Toews. Walter Quiring. His associations and actions within nites, they nevertheless appear to have had a good The documents presented in this book are of the Third Reich were and are still controversial and grasp of contemporary issues relative to the Brüder. value in understanding the emergence of the Breth- troubling. That the Mennonite community in Canada Their conclusions in respect of the Brüder are gen- ren and in understanding the Russian Mennonite accorded him influence through his articles and erally very negative. On the other hand, they are community of the 1850s. Had the material of this books and then placed him into position of leader- aware that unthoughtful action could make martyrs book been translated, edited and commented upon ship, namely as editor of Der Bote, says something of the extremist Brüder, and further the by a non-Brethren, a different perspective from that about our view of leadership and political tolerance Brüdergemeinde cause. The extremism of the early presented here would likely have prevailed. which bears further reflection. Brüder is documented in these reports, as is the Book review by Henry Schapansky, 108-5020 One could point to other omissions if this collec- illegal proselytizing of Brüder among Orthodox Riverbend Road, Edmonton, Alberta, T6H 5J8. tion was intended to be fully representative of the Russians (Ukrainians) and the subsequent impris- ______pantheon of Russian Mennonite leaders in this era. onment of some of the Brüder (including Heinrich The pivotal role of the in this Hiebert) for this reason. Harry Loewen, editor, Shepherds, Servants and collection of biographies might explain why no per- The unwise reactions of various leading mem- Prophets. Leadership among the Russian Menno- sons from the more traditional Mennonite groups bers of the Mennonite community to the “Hupfer” nites (ca. 1880-1960) (Pandora Press and Herald who emigrated from Russia in the 1870s are in- is likewise documented here. Press, 2003), 446 pages. cluded. Some of the documents comment on the need What are the qualities of leadership nurtured by Other notable omissions from the religious life for improvement in morality and behaviour in the and for a closed ethnic-religious community such of the Russian Mennonites would be Jacob J. community. In this, most of the traditionalists would as the Russian Mennonites? Thiessen, who dominated the Conference of Men- have likely agreed. How does a closed community obtain leaders nonites in Canada after emerging as a leader in the Probably the most interesting aspects of those who can lead it into Christian interaction with its immigration of the 1920s, and Heinrich Voth, who reports relate to the various reasons assigned as to host society? ministered to the widely scattered “kirchliche” Men- the origins of the “Hupfer” movement. These are How do leaders transpose their leadership into nonites struggling to re-establish their spiritual and briefly: foreign influence, lack of unity within the a new context created by revolution or emigration? congregational lives in the post-World War period. Mennonite community, moral decline within the These are some of the questions which arise Fortunately we have fine book-length biographies Mennonite community. upon reading this collection of short and interesting of these people-shaping leaders by Helmut Harder I have already discussed briefly some aspects biographies of Russian Mennonite leaders in the and by Herman Heidebrecht, respectively. of alleged moral decline above. The reports of this period 1880-1960. Reading these biographies one is struck by the file contain the allegations presented by the early The most common feature of the leaders de- many moves made by these leaders – with their Brethren, which may have been accepted at face picted here seems to be that their lives spanned the families to new settlements, to schools, seminaries value by the report writers themselves. It is how- Russian Revolution after which they continued or and universities in Russia and beyond, to teaching ever difficult to take some of these opinions, par- launched their leadership under drastically changed positions or congregational leadership in the widely ticularly those of Gerhard Wiehler seriously conditions. The exceptions are two leaders who are dispersed Mennonite settlements; to exile and prison (Wiehler was one of the most extreme and erratic of famous among Russian Mennonites for their work camps in the GULAG Archipelago and in emigra- all the Brüder). On the other hand, probably no one as historians: P.M. Friesen (d. 1914 in Russia) and tion. felt that improvement in the moral life of the com- C. H. Wedel (d. 1910 in USA). Finally, one could also ask about and lament the munity was impossible. Lack of unity within the The dispersion of the Mennonites from and many unnamed potential and emerging leaders Mennonite community is most evident in the within Russia is partially reflected in the dispersion whose gifts and opportunities for leadership in the Molotschna. Here it was government intervention of the 22 leaders who lived into the 1920s: three service of their people, perished in the innumerable which caused many problems with the removal of remained in the Soviet Union, eight migrated to personal tragedies and the overwhelming destruc- two Ältester and the division of the traditionalist Canada, five to Germany, four to the USA, and two tion of the Mennonite community but also of Rus- Flemish Gemeinde into three. Likewise the arrival alternated their abode between Germany and sian civil society. of the pietist-led Rudnerweide Gemeinde in 1819, Canada. But why are no leaders who immigrated to Harry Loewen, the compiler and editor of this the Gnadenfelders in 1834 and the Waldheimers in South America included? Perhaps the profile of collection, provides a helpful introduction to the 1836 contributed to divisions in the community. such leaders could be raised in some way by our background and factors which shaped Russian The separation of the majority of the traditionalists co-religionists in the South. Mennonite leadership in this era. We should be from the Ohrloff Gemeinde was caused in a sense The only church leader depicted here who lived grateful to him and the eighteen writers of the indi- by assimilationists as well as by the arrival of the out his life in the Soviet Union is David H. Epp. vidual biographies for recording and interpreting Rudnerwieders. After establishing his reputation as a minister, pub- the lives of a representative set of leaders in our However, the most important cause of the emer- lisher and historian in the pre-revolution era, David history. They give us inspiring vignettes and epi- gence of the Brethren, according to Russian offi- H. Epp became the last elder of the Chortitza con- sodes as well as sobering ones. The amazing fact is cials, is illustrated in a report of Vice-Director Sivers gregation. Epp and most of the other leaders por- that God has worked in and through these gifted (not dated) included in the file. His recommenda- trayed in this volume are inspiring models for though flawed individuals for the benefit of us, their tions include the following (future) preventative combining high competence in various vocations descendants. Will we learn from them and carry the measures: 1. Prohibit all foreigners from teaching with a deep faith in God and devoted service to the light they passed on to us further to our neighbors or preaching in Russia. 2. Avoid appointing for- church. across the street and around the world? eigners educated abroad as village pastors. 4. For- Some persons are included in this volume not Reviewed by Peter H. Rempel, Mission Facili- eigners who received their education abroad should because they were leaders within the religiously- tator, Mennonite Church Canada, Winnipeg, not be allowed to teach in the village schools. 5. defined Mennonite community but because they Manitoba, July 29, 2003, as published in Der Bote, Teachers of new religious interpretations who ar- represent those who rejected the Mennonite faith Sept. 10, 2003, pages 28-29. Revised September 17, 2003. Preservings No. 23, December 2003 - 139 Campeche: Old Colonists in the Land of the Maya Since 1982 some 6,000 Old Colonist and other conservative Mennonites have settled in the Campeche region of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, faithful to their vision of living separate from the world and the “old” New Testament tradition of following Jesus. In the face of much adversity and travail they have established a new Homeland for a pilgrim people (see pages 101- 105 for the story).

School girls in Grunthal, No. 3, El Temporal, Campeche, Mexico with teacher Peter Loewen, rear. A sound Christian education and spiritual formation in the home and community have always been central in Old Colonist faith and culture. Photo - February, 2003.

Prediger Ohm Isaak Fehr, Neuendorf, No. 4, El Temporal Colony, Campeche. Old Colonists have been blessed with devoted and consecrated Chris- tian leaders in the tradition of their Flemish- Anabaptist forebears of Reformation times. Photo - February, 2003.

The farmyard of Johan Reimer, No. 1, Rosenfeld, El Temporal, Campeche, Mexico. Hurricane Isadore dumped more than a meter of water onto this yard, and the Reimers had to seek refuge with their children Jakob Bueckerts in Grunthal, No. 3. Photo - February, 2003.

The smiling face of an Old Colonist girl framed by a map of South America speaks for the contented lifestyle and Christo-centric culture of the conser- vative Mennonites. The cover of Utgow Nr. 9 of Frind features the Plautdietsch world of Paraguay (see page 63).

140 - Preservings No. 23, December 2003