Corrections

Local History Workshop (p.5, No.31, Dec.2000)

1. The Penner, Thiessen, and Schellenberg families were well represented among the 27 families .... Note that the Johann Schellenberg sr. b.1829 had one brother, two sisters, two sons homesteading in Chortitz as well as five other village families married into his family! Many of this family moved to Saskatchewan in the 1890s, whereas more of the Penner and Thiessen families stayed in Manitoba and a few migrated to Mexico.

2. The original church in Chortitz was not built in 1875, nor did it remain a constant landmark to the present. It was moved to the Museum in Steinbach about 40 years ago. In recent years the village has about 60 households on the original street and in its 'suburbs'.

3. Waldheim (five kilometres west of Chortitz) had 24 families homestead there. Of these families 10 had Hoeppner family connections (see p.3). The Hoeppner/Heppner Family History Book was completed in 2000.

4. Henry Unger of Crystal City was the presenter of the interesting Grünfeld story. Many of his Elias ancestors originated there.

5. Photo caption correction - delete "..where she grew up and currently resides with her family." Instead, "In the photo next to her, are her husband George's grandparents, Anna (Hoeppner) and Gerhard Dyck of Waldheim and on the far right George's parents Rev. Gerhard Dyck and his wife Katherina of Glencross.

David Dyck (p.3, No.31, Dec.2000)

On the second column, in the fourth paragraph which begins with the reference to Bernard Pauls, it should say that "In 1883 Pauls was the first person assigned by Mennonite Brethren in America to collect and publish reports about the work done by the churches." It should not read Dyck there.

Early Print Culture on the West Reserve: A Grammar Textbook in German

by Lawrence Klippenstein

One of the first books printed on a Mennonite press in southern Manitoba was entitled Praktische Grammatik für de Volksschule nebst schriftlicher Übungen (A Practical Grammar for Public Schools, with Writing Exercises). It came off the press of the Volkszeitung Publishing House in Winkler⁽¹⁾ in 1905, with the author's remarks dated 10 December 1904.

W(ilhelm?) Neufeld, a teacher resident in Schönthal⁽²⁾ and possibly related to Henry Neufeld, the owner of the press, had written the textbook, along with a foreword for it on pp.3-4. It contained 42 pages in total, with one page of errata, and was on the market for 25 a copy. The inside front cover intimated it was once used in Blumenort S.D. #62, presumably in the East Reserve, near Steinbach.

The volume was prepared according to official regulations operative in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and promoted as designated not only for public schools, but also "the first class of gymnasia, the Central School, and any type of higher educational institute" (all essentially in what might be called the junior high/middle school level of education).

Ads on the back cover included one for the Educational Institute of Gretna (the Mennonitische Lehranstalt, soon to be moved to Altona), inviting inquiries to be sent to F.F. Siemens, secretary at Altona, another one advertising Siemens' own services as a notary public and a realtor, expediting land sales, with Rosthern and Herbert getting special mention, and one by Benjamin Ewert, advertising school and educational materials available in his German bookstore in Gretna.

The main ad, a fourth one, offered information on a very new German newspaper, Volkszeitung, serving the general public with a weekly issue, and concerned about the general well-being, but especially about supporting German interests in all areas. It included it own promotion of commercial printing services, and the sale of school materials, with most items less expensive than anywhere else.

Another page had two ads, one by Wilton Bros. also selling school supplies "for the lowest prices in Manitoba", and the Winkler Farmer store, selling groceries and dry goods, as well as buying farm products "of all kinds".

A copy of this very rare volume was found among the personal papers of the late John C. Reimer of Steinbach, Manitoba, and donated to the Mennonite Heritage Centre. We thank the family for this important gift.

Endnotes

1. Further information on the Volkszeitung Publishing House is available in an unpublished manuscript prepared by the late John Dyck of Winnipeg. The first phase of a study on the Mennonite Press in western Canada is in the author's files.

2. Both reserves had a village of Schönthal, the East Reserve village just west and north of the village of Bergthal (somewhat southeast of Niverville), and the West Reserve village a few miles west of Altona. Neufeld probably taught in the West Reserve one.