True Heirlooms: A Treasure in the Family

by Shirley B. Bergen

John and Verna (Wiebe) Bueckert were very excited when they inherited a beautiful chest from their mother, Helena (Groening) Wiebe, when she died in 1977. But alas, the chest was locked! And nobody knew where the key was. The did not want to break it open and ruin the beautifully dovetailed wood. Finally, someone suggested they turn it upside down to open it. Sure enough, the bottom lifted off. The big brass key was inside! The inside cover had the original pictures on it. An the outside has never been refinished!

This chest has been in the Altona-Winkler area for 100 years although its first place of abode in Canada was a sod hut in the Lowe Farm area where Helena Leoppky Groening (age 21) and Abraham Groening (age 23) spent their first winter (1875). Helena came from a well-to-do family in Russia and cherished this chest which was a gift from her mother, Helena (Krause) Leopki. (The construction of the chest leads experts to believe it may have come from Prussia with the Krauses when they immigrated to South Russia around 1813.)

Abraham and Helena looked forward to life in Canada. Their chest contained necessities like a feather blanket, treasures like the Kroeger clock and some linens. Their first disaster happened when their baby, Jacob, who was born on the journey from Bergthal to Moscow, died at four days old.

They probably did not anticipate living in a sod hut. Although this was depressing, Helena said it was tolerable because she could "serve faspa on a white tablecloth". The chest saved her good clothes and linens from the mice and dirt. Provisions were meagre, consisting mostly of bread and potatoes and whatever the men were able to hunt. In 1897 the Groenings moved to Gnadenthal in the West Reserve where they farmed till 1915 when Abraham died of cancer.

Their daughter Helena received the chest in 1936 when her mother died. She was married to the late Dr. Cornelius W. Wiebe of Winkler (see Heritage Posting, No.24, March, 1999, p.7) so she used to store emergency woollen blankets because sick people continued to call at their home even after the town had a hospital.

Now the chest is filled with beautiful quilts made by Verna, as well as some from her grandmother. It also contains a copper bowl and sad iron used in pioneer days. Silver spoons collected from Quaker Oatmeal in the 1920s were precious. Two black lace caps and a shawl worn by her grandmother as well as wedding stockings worn by her mother add character to the collection.

Verna preserves and displays her antiques well. She framed this pillowcase with the inscription on the back which reads:

"These pillow slips were 15 years old when I got them in 1901. The linen is made in Germany by hand out of flax straw. The cross stitch is made by hand by the mother of the lady who gave them to me." Signed: Agatha (Wiebe Thiessen) Klassen - 1974 (oldest sister of Dr. Wiebe)

However, the heirlooms that John and Verna Bueckert, who grew up in Winkler, Manitoba, and now live in Petalum, California, cherish are the treasures which cannot be contained in a chest. They are aptly expressed in this prayer of her father, Dr. Wiebe:

Our Father who art in Heaven, We thank Thee for the forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ. Revive our memories that we may recall the good which has been done for us; teach us how to work together in harmony in Thy vineyard; help us to seek Thy will, turn our steps into paths of love and service. Free us from the fretful spirit, sharp temper and stubborn mind. Grant us wisdom from above to solve our personal problems and illumine the minds of those who minister in Thy pulpits. Guide the rulers of our land and of all nations that they may follow Thy will and that nations may live together as Thy family. We ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.