Sewing Schools (cont. from p.1)
Ed went to work in the bush, she says.
Kroeker recalls a humorous story of the young women in one of her classes who decided to take a break from sewing one winter day. The snowbanks on the yard looked inviting and before long they were sliding gleefully down the slopes. The Kroekers' neighbour had only one comment: And denk dee - de vell zitj naechstit joa bifreeji! (And to think - they are to be married next year!)
The name Helen Krueger brings back waves of memory to many of the women who attended Neischaul - she appeared to be an individual one wouldn't easily forget.
Krueger came to Manitoba in the 1920s from Russia and likely began sewing classes in Steinbach sometime in the early 1940s or perhaps late '30s. She died in 1960.
Like Olga Reimer, Krueger lived with an older sister - Margaret - and her brother John in a 1-story house at the corner of Barkman Avenue and Main Street (the house is now on Maplewood). There was an extra-large room in the rear which could accommodate 12 students - the size of an average sewing class.
The work in this household was also neatly divided. Margaret cooked the meals and did the housework while Helen supplemented the income her brother brought in from a machine shop he owned, with sewing classes as well as sewing wedding gowns for young brides.
As in other classes the women brought in their own sewing machines which they shared with those who didn't won one. Those off the machine cut patterns or sewed buttonholes which was a hated task. Hildegard Adrian recollects they would ask each other (as a joke) whether Auntji at H.W. Reimer's store had buttonholes to sell.
The instructors are remembered as running a tight ship - after all, their reputations were at stake if they graduated girls who sewed crooked seams or couldn't put in a collar neatly. Most of the students benefitted from this strict instruction but there were the odd ones who had to rip open a bodice once too often and quit.
Doris Penner is a columnist for The Cariloon in Steinbach, MB.
Mennonite Heritage House in Reinland, Manitoba
by Henry G. Ens
This is the concluding section of the article which appeared in the September issue of the MMHS Newsletter.
The barn has the original "face to face" horse stalls as well as the "face out" stalls for the rest of the horsepower that was so important in the pioneer days. The cattle played a very important role in providing the family with milk, cream, butter, and meat. Their place in the barn was the so-called "Ohwesied", lean-to, on the west side of the barn.
The buggy, which dates back to the early 1900s is the one that was used going to church and visiting relatives in other villages. An original McCormick Deering two-tiered grain wagon with high wooden wheels, the famous "Doublebax", had to be there for hauling the grain from the threshing machine to the granary and alter to town.
Most of the stuff that is under the mechanics workbench is till from the Abram Rempel era. The forge has bellows instead of the more modern blower. A number of tongs used for smithing are hanging at the forge. Plough shares are lying besides the forge waiting to be sharpened and the Post Drill is ready make steel holes.
Grandfather, however, was more of a carpenter than a blacksmith, so he made making furniture and some of the essential tools. The woodwork bench is the one he worked at. Some of the tools/instruments that he used/made were discovered during clean-up. There are also a few unfinished items he worked at.
The table in the "corner room" is one of the last tables that grandfather made.
Although the house has seen some modernization, is basically the same as when the Grandparents bought it. The "Tiajel-Ohwen", central brick heater, is still intact, as well as the "Riatja-Kohma", meat smoking chamber, on the second floor. The "Sommastohw" has been converted into a wash/bath and laundry room. An oil furnace has been installed in the corner of the "Fäaht'hüs", front room.
The "Sommatjäatj", summer kitchen or "Wintjlehüs" to the west of the building was used in summer for cooking, canning, and baking to keep the house cooler. This usually had a "Spoarhiat", a stove where the fine tree branches or corn cobs were used as fuel. This summer kitchen has also been used extensively as living quarters for relatives and others in need.
Persons wishing to visit Heritage House may call Henry at 1-204-325-8811 or e-mail hgens@web4.net
Jewish Mennonite Ukrainian Groups Meet Again
This report is adapted from a slightly longer version which appeared on 21 October 1998 in the Jewish Post & News written by Bess Kaplan.
When representatives of Jewish, Mennonite, and Ukrainian communities met at the University of Manitoba for a conference in August, 1995, it was agreed that more interchanges of that sort could be interesting and helpful.
On October 14 this year it happened again, at the Asper Jewish Community Campus in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This time representatives of each group were invited to speak more specifically about their diversities, programs, and perceived changes for the future.
About 150 persons heard the presentations and stayed for extensive discussion and refreshments. The speakers included Rabbi Moshe Stern, professor of religious studies at the University of Manitoba, Dr. Stella Hryniuk of University of Manitoba, and Dr. Lawrence Klippenstein, historian/archivist, recently retired from the Mennonite Heritage Centre in Winnipeg. Jim Carr moderated the presentations and discussion.
Jewish communities wrestle with the question of secularization, according to Dr. Stern, Ukrainians are concerned about assimilation and loss of group identity, while Manitoba Mennonites have needed to come to terms with splintering into a dozen or more smaller groupings which attempt to retain some commonality as one community of believers.
Roz Usiskin, currently president of the Jewish Historical Society summarized some ongoing objectives of three joint gatherings held so far. "During the (past five years), we have built bridges amongst the three communities. ...In this way we will be able to strengthen and make meaningful the multicultural fact in Canada".
The Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society Newsletter welcomes letters and
reports pertaining to the historical interests of society members.
Correspondence can be mailed to Lawrence Klippenstein, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd.,
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3P 0M4 or Bert Friesen, 169 Riverton Avenue, Winnipeg,
Manitoba R2L 2E5, or e-mailed to the editor at editor@mmhs.org.
ISSN 1492-2614