Village News

Village Books and Gifts is just that – a store at Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) that specializes in books and gifts. While most major tourist destinations have souvenir shops, this one is focused on books and gifts that help tell the stories of the Russian Mennonites, their pilgrimage to Manitoba and other parts of Canada, and the contributions they made along the way.

One of the books recently arrived on our shelves is Dianne Hildebrand’s Upholding the old, Embracing the new – The Life of P J B Reimer – Teacher, Minister, and Mennonite Historian. Reimer was a son of one of Steinbach’s 18 pioneering families and was a well-known public figure in the Steinbach and Rosenort areas.

In the book’s Forward, Reimer’s son Al makes the following observations. “Dad saw his role in the Church and in the Community as that of an innovator and a reformer, but he stopped well short of becoming a rebel. He always tried to reform from within and did his best with whatever circumstances faced him, even when he ran up against stone walls of indifference or outright hostility. I can still see him as a young minister, standing straight and tall in the pulpit, preaching with eloquence and passion, ardent in his love of the Word, eager to impart that Word to his congregation, secure in the oratorical skills the Lord had blessed him with. And even in his advanced years he preached with vigor and clarity whenever he was given the opportunity.” This 300 page paperback volume is available for $20.00.

While Impressions of Manitoba is less about Mennonite History, it’s drawings by Marten Posthumus tend to take one back several decades in time to many familiar Manitoba sites and scenes. Beginning with The Pavilion in Assiniboine Park and Winnipeg’s City Hall prior to 1962, the book takes one from Winnipeg through many of Manitoba’s smaller communities with drawings of churches, businesses, houses and other scenery. This wonderful collection of about 200 drawings, bound in a hard-cover coffee table format, makes a great gift at $45.00.

Lest we forget about the “Gifts” in Village Books and Gifts, it should be noted that the store stocks a variety of toys, clothing, greeting cards, music and even some rather unique items such as wooden clothes drying racks and crokinole boards. Where else can one find a selection of Low German greeting cards or tee-shirts almost covered in Low German words? Village Books and Gifts even sells a waffle iron that makes old-fashioned heart-shaped waffles. Store hours are 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM in July and August. Come and browse.