Village News

When I took over the writing of the Village News last May, I began a journey into the 150 year history of Steinbach by quoting the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “Our histories cling to us. We are shaped by where we come from.”

Over the past several months, the Village News has focused heavily on the Mennonite settlers from Imperial Russia (modern Ukraine) and their first experience of Manitoba 150 years ago.

The Mennonite village model that is represented at the Mennonite Heritage Village is a community that is interconnected, founded on mutual benefit and one where the issues facing individuals cannot go unnoticed.

Like most Manitobans, I look toward the inevitable coming of winter with trepidation and muted anticipation.

The Privilegium of 1873, otherwise known as the Lowe Letter, is the reason Mennonites from Imperial Russia settled in Manitoba in significant numbers in 1874.

For those versed in the history of the East Reserve, mentioning New Bothwell along with early Mennonite settlements will raise some eyebrows, as the town wasn’t established until after the building of the public school in the 1920s.

Grünthal was not initially settled in 1874, and the 6 sq mile township section of 5-5E centred around Grünthal was largely unsettled until 1875 or ’76.

Niverville is one of the few communities in the East Reserve that is not originally a Mennonite community, nor does it derive its name from Mennonite sources.

The modern town of Kleefeld, the “Land of Milk and Honey,” has a storied past and holds the distinction of being the first Mennonite village established in Western Canada.

The Mennonite Heritage Village is a museum set out to preserve and tell the stories of Mennonite migrants to Manitoba from the areas of Imperial Russia in what is now Ukraine, and this includes both the East and West reserves.