Tales from the Mennonite Heritage Archives

Send us Fan Mail Today, we bring your listeners an interview with nationally acclaimed writer David Bergen about his novel Away from the Dead, a fictional account of victims and their relationships during the historical events that led to the complex and multi-layered conflict of the Ukrainian revolution in the late 1910s. Bergen has written more than a dozen books, many of which feature Mennonite backdrops. He is the recipient of the Scotiabank Giller Prize for his 2005 novel The Time in Bet...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we bring you a story about the Beaverlodge Mennonite Church, a little known congregation that formed in the late 1920s and disappeared from the landscape of Peace River country in northern Alberta some 15-ish years later. Guest Doug Klassen, Executive Minister of the Mennonite Church Canada, shares about his little-known family connection to the church, and we capture his reaction when a surprise visitor shows Doug church records containing names of his ancestors. Your...

Send us Fan Mail In part two of this two-part series, Elmer answers questions about his personal interest in Mennonite history, and how he came to move and restore an old house barn that now resides in the village of Neubergthal. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage Archives website - https://www.mharchives.ca/ Follow the Mennonite Heritage Archives on Instagram and Facebook.

Send us Fan Mail March 4 marks 69 years since Golden West Radio CEO Elmer Hildebrand first walked through the doors of the brand new CFAM radio station in Altona in 1957. We cover a lot of ground in this 2-part conversation. In Part 1, Elmer shares how Golden West Radio got its start. When he arrived at work for his first day, the building’s construction was still in progress, so he helped lay tiles to finish up the floor. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a g...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we carry on with our 2-part series featuring historian Dr. Aileen Friesen. In this episode, Aileen shares concerns about the endangered state of historical Mennonite documents in Ukrainian archives as the Russian invasion and war drags on. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage Archives website - https://www.mharchives.ca/ Follow the Mennonite Heritage Arch...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we bring you part 1 of a 2-part series featuring an interview with Dr. Aileen Friesen. Aileen wears more hats than a Caps R Us store can hold. She is a professor, a published author, a researcher, editor of Preservings magazine, executive director of the D.F. Plett Foundation, and co-chair of the Centre for Transnational Mennonite Studies, to name just a few activities in which she is involved. Still, she found time to talk with us about what drove her to study Mennoni...

Send us Fan Mail During Stalin’s Reign of Terror the 1930s, Jacob Petrovich Janzen was one of many Mennonites swept up into forced labour camps called Special Settlements, and then the more severe form of the camps called the Gulag. More than 80 years later, his great-grandaughter, Maria Lotsmanova, discovered parts of his story with help from the Gulag History Museum of Repressions in Moscow. Maria shares with listeners what she has learned about her great-grandfather’s struggle and faith du...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we bring you ‘From Russia with Woe’, part one of a two part series. During Stalin’s Reign of Terror the 1930s, Jacob Petrovich Janzen was one of many Mennonites swept up into forced labour camps called Special Settlements, and then the more severe form of the camps called the Gulag. More than 80 years later, his great-grandaughter, Maria Lotsmanova, discovered parts of his story with help from the Gulag History Museum of Repressions in Moscow. Maria shares with listene...

Send us Fan Mail Today, guest host Sara Dyck brings you the chilly tale about a group of Mennonites whose ship became trapped in icy Lake Superior in the spring of 1876. A journey that was meant to take five days turned into a 15 day ordeal. They ran out of food, and almost out of coal to power the steam ship. Their story is pieced together from letters and journals of the travellers who did – eventually – arrive at their southern Manitoba destination. Your donations help preserve and share s...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we bring you Part 2 of the Life and Adventures of Jacob Hoemsen. In Part 2, we return to the story of Jacob Hoemsen, as he rejects his pacifist upbringing to serve in the controversial Mennonite Self Defence League to protect Mennonite colonists from various paramilitary groups during the War of Ukrainian Independence. Later, a close call with Soviet authorities for whom he worked, clinched his decision to migrate to Canada. Your donations help preserve and share...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we bring you Part 1 of The Life and Adventures of Jacob Hoemsen. In Part 1, Jacob Hoemsen was raised as a pacifist, pursued education in Germany, and completed his mandatory non-combatant role in the Russian government’s Forestry Service. During WWI, Jacob served as a medic, eventually joining the elite Flying Column at the battlefront. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by vis...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we bring listeners the story of Manitoba born and raised nurse and midwife, Anna Thiessen. For years, she was the only trained medical practitioner in Colonia Sommerfeld, Paraguay. Anna helped an estimated 1,000 mothers deliver their babies. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage Archives website - https://www.mharchives.ca/ Follow the Mennonite Heritage Ar...

Send us Fan Mail In this REWIND episode, host Dan Dyck explores the Mennonite holiday tradition called brommtopp, named for the strange musical instrument used, which can be translated as "rumbling top". This tradition was brought to Imperial Russia from Prussia, and continued in Manitoba into the 1950's. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage Archives website - https://www.m...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we have a nostalgic retelling in English of the story Christmas 1926 by beloved Low German story teller Gerhard Ens. Told through the eyes of 10-year-old Hauns, Gerhard imagines a fictional account of what it might have been like for Mennonite refugees from the Soviet Union to celebrate their first Christmas in Canada. We are grateful for the extra time Golden West has granted this episode, which clocks in at 21 minutes. Thank you! Your donations help preserve and shar...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we bring you an episode with the excessively alliterative of Festive Foods and Folkways from the Mennonite Tradition. This instalment is based on a two-volume book series by Norma Jost Voth. She interviewed about 60 elder women who brought their Christmas traditions and celebrations from Russia to North America. Tune in to hear about Norma’s work, and listen to show host Dan Dyck mangle the pronunciation of German and Dutch words like Niejoasch’owend and Oili...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we’re delighted to bring you an interview with Patrick Friesen, a third generation Mennonite from Paraguay. His great-grandfather, C.F. Friesen, was one of the early leaders and teachers in Paraguay. Patrick shares about the historical migration from Manitoba, paints a picture of the Menno Colony today — and issues an invitation in English and Low German to visit his community for its 100th anniversary in 2027. Your donations help preserve and share stories l...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we bring you a story that’s about as close to a Whodunnit Mystery as Mennonite history gets. It’s a story about a baby, a pig pen, and ongoing attempts to get rid of the child — even as he grows up. To learn more, tune in to Episode 53 of Tales from the Mennonite Heritage Archives. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage Archives website - https://www.mharchiv...

Send us Fan Mail After a few consecutive episodes that leaned into some darker stories in Mennonite history, we’re pleased to bring you something on the lighter side. To air on Sunday, Nov. 30 we bring you… (drumroll )… A Short History of House Barns! Join me and Roland Sawatsky, curator at the Manitoba Museum and past curator at the Mennonite Village Museum in Steinbach, as we reveal that a house barn is (!SPOILER ALERT!) “a barn connected to a house,” how far back we can trace the his...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we bring you Part 3, the final instalment of our series on Nestor Makhno, a Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary leader during the civil uprisings of the late 1910s. In Part 3, Sean Patterson brings us insights into the role that wealth and ethnicity played in the movement named for Makhno, and draw some conclusions about what Mennonites today can and should take away from this story. Series synopsis: In Part 1 (Nov. 8), we take a deep dive into the life of Nestor Makhno’...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we bring you Part 2 of a 3-part series on Nestor Makhno, a Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary during the civil uprisings of the late 1910s. Part 2 focuses on the terrible Eichenfeld Massacre on Nov. 8, 1919, when well over 100 Mennonites were executed by Nestor Makhno's men. More Mennonites were murdered in surrounding villages. Did Nestor Makhno attend these events? Why couldn’t he better control his troupes? These are just a few of the questions we ask historian...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we start a three part series on Nestor Makhno, a Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary during the Ukrainian Revolution in the late 1910s. Makhno was reviled by some, and praised by others. He commanded 100,000 troupes, bands of whom pillaged Mennonite villages, executed Mennonite landowners, and raped and killed Mennonite women. The Makhno name still strikes horror in some Mennonites today, while in Ukraine, a statue honours him. In this series, I’ll take a deep dive into ...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we we present you with the story of Smallpox and the Mennonite Experience. According to historians, the smallpox virus has been circulating among humans for about 3,000 years. In this episode, we unpack the involvement of Russian Empress Catherine the Great and her vaccine cause, and share Mennonite encounters with smallpox and vaccinations as they lived and travelled across Europe, Russia, and into Canada. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! ...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we deliver Part 2 of our conversation with Mennonite author and satirist Andrew Unger, in which we ask how the Low German language influences satire, what makes satire funny – or not, and whether popular media has changed what Mennonite people find funny. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage Archives website - https://www.mharchives.ca/ Follow the Mennoni...

Send us Fan Mail Today we bring you Part 1 of a two-part chat with Andrew Unger. He is the author and creator of The Unger Review, a satirical web site that gently and humorously skewers Mennonite faith and culture. Andrew tells me how his sense of humour developed, the little known influence of satire on early Anabaptists, the benefits of laughing about Mennonite Tupperware, and how his humour is an expression of love for his own Mennonite identity. Your donations help preserve and share sto...

Send us Fan Mail Today we bring you a special feature for Thanksgiving weekend! Mennonite history enthusiast Gerhard Ens first recorded this fictional account of the first harvest by Mennonites in Canada (1876) on audio tape in the Low German language. The story, told through the eyes of an impatient 10-year-old Henry, has now been translated into English and adapted for radio by the Tales team. We hope you enjoy this nostalgic and entertaining re-telling. Your donations help preserve a...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we present the life story of the inspiring and resilient Susana Miller. Despite multiple family tragedies and hard times, Susana managed to rise above it all, and find joy in her 101 years of living. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage Archives website - https://www.mharchives.ca/ Follow the Mennonite Heritage Archives on Instagram and Facebook.

Send us Fan Mail Today, we bring you a 100-year-old story about a government tactic that was used as recently 2010. During World War I, the federal government ordered all Canadian citizens to register. They needed to know how many recruits they could rely on should the war drag on. Based on their principles and values, some Mennonites in southern Manitoba refused to register. Even threats of fines and jail couldn’t persuade them. It ultimately took a Bible story to convince them. One hundred ...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we bring you an interview with Ben Nobbs-Thiessen. He studies the history of Mennonite migration at the University of Winnipeg. We talk about his visits and research among Mennonites in Bolivia, what change looks like in that context, and what we in Canada can learn from Mennonite migrations to Latin America. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage A...

Send us Fan Mail You’ll want to tune in to this delightful conversation with Erin Koop Unger, who writes for the Mennotoba blog about local Mennonite and Manitoba history. We learn about a discovery she made while researching her own family background, and we find out how many wood ticks she gets while out exploring abandoned cemeteries. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage Archiv...

Send us Fan Mail Peter J. Klassen (1889-1953) was one of many educated Mennonites who migrated to Canada and took up farming out of necessity. After fleeing from the Soviet Union in 1925, him and his wife Elisabet (Liese), built a life on the prairies of Saskatchewan near the community of Herschel. They eventually retired to Yarrow, British Columbia. Throughout his life, he read and wrote extensively - publishing in Der Bote and other German papers, and a number of books. His writing has been...

Send us Fan Mail Host Dan Dyck sits down to discuss the research of PhD student Jonathan Hildebrand. Jonathan is exploring Indigenous-Mennonite relations through his research of land and waterways on the historical West Reserve in southern Manitoba. He is based at the University of Manitoba and is originally from Altona, Manitoba. Previously he worked for nearly a decade as an urban planner in the areas of land use, urban design, and Indigenous planning, before returning to school to learn mo...

Send us Fan Mail In our second part on Steinbach engineer Klaas W. Brandt, we learn about how he helped two budding entrepreneurs and pilots build Steinbach’s first airplane in the early 1930s. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage Archives website - https://www.mharchives.ca/ Follow the Mennonite Heritage Archives on Instagram and Facebook.

Send us Fan Mail Many small communities have a person that everyone knows, who doesn't quite fit the standard mold, but has become a part of the fabric of the place. In this episode, host Dan Dyck explores the story of 'Flower Annie' of Winkler, Manitoba. 'Flower Annie' was born Anna Neufeld in 1909 and earned her nickname and living by selling paper flowers around town. Despite being a well-known part of the community up to her death in 1980, most people did not know much about who she was. ...

Send us Fan Mail Summer Rewind - Author Ralph Friesen sits down with Dan Dyck to discuss his recently published book Prosperity Ever – Depression Never: Steinbach in the 1930s. Published by the Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society, this book looks at the history of this community, primarily Mennonite, and how it weathered the Great Depression better than other communities in Manitoba at the time. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1...

Send us Fan Mail Summer Rewind - In today's episode, host Dan Dyck sits down with archivist of the Mennonite Heritage Archives Conrad Stoesz to discuss their mutual love of Mennonite history, where the Mennonite Heritage Archives originated, and what archives can offer us today. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage Archives website - https://www.mharchives.ca/ Follow the Mennoni...

Send us Fan Mail Host Dan Dyck presents the life story of Anna Thiessen (1892-1977). While Anna had dreamt of working in India, her life would lead her to Winnipeg. Here she provided support to young women entering the workforce as matron of Mary Martha Home. This was a place for Mennonite girls to live and build community while they supported their far-flung families through work as domestic help. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560....

Send us Fan Mail Host Dan Dyck presents the life of artist Marta Armin (born Goertzen, 1923-2009). Marta was born into a large family in the village of Chortitz, Manitoba. Her creativity was noted throughout her life, but following a series of major shifts starting at 60, her artistic life bloomed. Part of this growth included a series of works reminiscing on her childhood in southern Manitoba - 60 of which are at the Mennonite Heritage Archives in the Marta Goertzen-Armin Collection. H...

Send us Fan Mail Host Dan Dyck chats with Mennonite Heritage Archive (MHA) administrator Graeme Unrau about his work in the world of GLAM*, Mennonite identity and the stories we tell about ourselves. Graeme also highlights some of his favourite collections at the MHA and the inspiration he has found in the people he meets and works with at the archives. *GLAM is an acronym for galleries, libraries, archives, and museums that is widely used in the cultural heritage sector. Your donations help ...

Send us Fan Mail Host Dan Dyck sits down with author David Elias. David discusses ancestor and noted Mennonite diarist Peter A. Elias, growing up in southern Manitoba, and his upcoming book Into the d/Ark. Peter wrote extensively and honestly about pioneering in Manitoba, and his personal struggles with the church after arriving in Canada in the early 1870s. This interview was recorded while David was on the Canadian Mennonite University campus for Mennonite Writer/s Ten, a conference o...

Send us Fan Mail Chortitz is a village in Southern Manitoba that traces its beginnings back 150 years to the arrival of Mennonites on the 'East Reserve' in 1874. Host Dan Dyck sits down with local Abe Penner, whose family has roots there going back to 1903, and Jason Janzen, anniversary organizer, to discuss the Mennonite presence in the area and how they plan to celebrate their 150th anniversary. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204...

Send us Fan Mail Join host Dan Dyck as he sits down with Lyle Thiessen to learn more about the history of the Reinland - Rosengart area of southern Manitoba and their upcoming 150th anniversary celebration. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage Archives website - https://www.mharchives.ca/ Follow the Mennonite Heritage Archives on Instagram and Facebook.

Send us Fan Mail In 1926, Maria Kroeker Neufeld (1870-1950) and her husband Johann Neufeld (1869-1950), along with three of her seven children, were part of a group of Mennonites that moved from Saskatchewan and Manitoba to Paraguay. Prompted by a desire for greater autonomy from provincial education legislation and fears of integration, their story is one of a family divided by continents and conviction. In this episode, host Dan Dyck reviews the correspondence between Maria and her fa...

Send us Fan Mail Host Dan Dyck sits down to discuss the research of PhD student Jonathan Hildebrand. Jonathan is exploring Indigenous-Mennonite relations through his research of land and waterways on the historical West Reserve in southern Manitoba. He is based at the University of Manitoba and is originally from Altona, Manitoba. Previously he worked for nearly a decade as an urban planner in the areas of land use, urban design, and Indigenous planning, before returning to school to learn mo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, host Dan Dyck continues his exploration of the folks that work at the Mennonite Heritage Archives (MHA). He previously spoke with Conrad and Sara about their work the the MHA, and today you’re going to hear from Isaiah, archival assistant at the MHA. Isaiah is in the business program at Canadian Mennonite University. Studying accounting while working at a historical archive might seem like an unlikely pairing, but Isaiah is fascinated by the relationshi...

Send us Fan Mail In our previous episode, host Dan Dyck tried to understand why Heinrich J. Toews would have committed the violent acts that ended in the death of a student and, ultimately, his own death months later. In this episode, Dan sits down with Ken Loewen, the grandson of shooting survivor Susanna Loewen (Rempel), and keeper of a grim memento that has been passed down in the family. Through the lives of the survivors, Dan tries to understand more about the tragic events of October 9,...

Send us Fan Mail How does a teacher that professes to care for his students and profession become the perpetrator of a school shooting? In this episode, Dan Dyck presents the first of two episodes on the Altona school shooting of 1902 that ultimately claimed the life of one student and the perpetrator Heinrich J. Toews. In it, we learn about the shooting itself, as well as the life and state of mind of Heinrich J. Toews. Both in the lead up to the events of October 9, 1902, and in the afterma...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, host Dan Dyck gives us a glimpse at the incredible life and service of Helen Friesen Reimer (1905-1993). Helen started her professional life as a rural school teacher, where seeing the need, she was inspired to become a nurse. This was the start of an adventurous life that would see her take roles in nursing and medical administration around the world, working for the World Health Organization and the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, host Dan Dyck continues a conversation with Sara Dyck that was started a few episodes back with the episode on Dr. Helen Martens, the first known Mennonite woman with a PhD. Sara discusses what pulled her to working at the archives, what she finds rewarding, and what the archives did when they became the unexpected recipients of 300 Amish romance novels. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find...

Send us Fan Mail Mennonites don't dance, or do they? Can a dance by any other name still be as fun? In this episode, host Dan Dyck explores Mennonite "circle games" with the help of Werner Ens, someone who has devoted a lot of time to recording and researching these traditions, as well as ethnomusicologists Doreen Klassen and Judith Klassen. Circle games were once a popular social activity for young Mennonites in southern Manitoba, but today you would be hard-pressed to find a chance to play ...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, host Dan Dyck is taken on a tour through the Mennonite Heritage Archives with archivist Conrad Stoesz to learn more about the day to day operations at the archives. Conrad also share some stories about the materials at the archives, how they came to be there, and some of the interesting ways that they have been accessed over time. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visit...

Send us Fan Mail Today, host Dan Dyck shines the Tales spotlight on Jacob Klaassen and his journals about life on the Canadian prairies from 1919 to 1947. Jake took a circuitous route to Saskatchewan, travelling via Central Asia and the United States, before arriving in Canada in 1918 from Oklahoma. Dan talked with two of Klaassen's great granddaughters, sisters Carole and Marjorie Jantzen, for this episode. They have been key to publishing Klassen's journals and preserving the family record....

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dan sits down with Sara, a history student and archives employee, to discuss Dr. Helen Martens, the first known Mennonite woman to achieve a PhD in Music. Sara spent considerable time organizing the Helen Martens collection and is well acquainted with Dr. Martens through her materials at the archives. Helen Martens was born in 1928, in Russia and travelled with her family from the Soviet Union to Canada in 1929. Helen dedicated her life to music, teachi...

Send us Fan Mail In our previous episode, host Dan Dyck shared the story of the Mennonite trek to Central Asia that took place in the early 1880s. Researching and writing that for story raised many questions. In today's episode, Dan sits down with a Mennonite historian John Sharp. John has spent a lot of time in Central Asia exploring the Mennonite presence there, and he helps dig deeper into the story of the trek and the lingering influence of it on people in the region. Learn more about Joh...

Send us Fan Mail In the early 1880s, hundreds of Mennonites trekked from Russia to Central Asia. It was a grueling, 3000-kilometre journey. Until recently, the spotlight of this story focused on Claas Epp Jr. as the leader of the quest. In this episode, host Dan Dyck explores history of Claas Epp Jr., the colourful and complicated motivations for the migration, and what happened in the aftermath of this dramatic adventure. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 17 we learned about the actions against Katharina Thiessen by the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons. Today's subject was another recipient of those fines. Abraham B. Hiebert was a man who practiced medicine by correspondence. Through letters and packages, Abraham diagnosed, and offered treatments to his patients. In today's episode, host Dan Dyck explores the life and work of a man that practiced medicine by correspondence. Your donations help preserve an...

Send us Fan Mail Johannes Klaassen, or John as we’ll call him in today’s story, firmly stood with his conscience and he paid for that decision with his life. In this episode, host Dan Dyck tells the story of John, a conscientious objector from Oklahoma that died in prison after refusing to don a military uniform. Here is his story, as told through the diary of his father, Michael Klaassen. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.199...

Send us Fan Mail 'Big Bill' was born Wilhelm Enns in 1894 in the village of Einlage in Imperial Russia. He was a jack of all trades whose work life included jobs as a teacher, farm laborer, dragline operator, salesman, and shoe repairman, among others. He was also an avid writer. With host Dan Dyck, today we will be exploring the colourful life and storytelling of 'Big Bill' Enns, largely through letters written by Bill and compiled and translated by Edward Enns, a relative. Your donations he...

Send us Fan Mail Katharina Thiessen was a Mennonite midwife whose practice started in Ukraine, and continued in the United States and eventually southern Manitoba, where she settled with her family in 1885. As a midwife and lay doctor, she held a role in the Mennonite community that was not always understood by the official medical establishment. In this episode, host Dan Dyck explores the medical career of Katharina Thiessen and the role that women like her had in the Mennonite community, as...

Send us Fan Mail Traditionally, faspa was a portable meal taken out to farmers on the field in the late afternoon. Faspa provided much needed sustenance for the hard workers who would typically labour until dark and then come home for supper. In this episode, host Dan Dyck sits down with Josh Penner, a Winnipeg business owner who is taking this traditional meal and giving it a contemporary twist. To start, he wanted to learn more about the tradition and explore the philosophy behind it. Where...

Send us Fan Mail Many small communities have a person that everyone knows, who doesn't quite fit the standard mold, but has become a part of the fabric of the place. In this episode, host Dan Dyck explores the story of 'Flower Annie' of Winkler, Manitoba. 'Flower Annie' was born Anna Neufeld in 1909 and earned her nickname and living by selling paper flowers around town. Despite being a well-known part of the community up to her death in 1980, most people did not know much about who she was. ...

Send us Fan Mail In our last episode, we learned about the work of Olga Penner, better known to many as 'Aunt Olly', the host of the radio program Children’s Party. In today's episode, host Dan Dyck talks with her sons Steven and David about being the children of a local celebrity, and the woman behind the show. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage Archives website - https://www.m...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we explore the work of Olly Penner, better known to many as Aunt Olly, the host of the radio program Children’s Party. From 1959 to 1987, thousands of children tuned in daily to listen to the program. When Olly became a radio host in 1959, it was uncommon for married women to work outside the home, but she made it work while raising a young family. In this episode, we learn about Aunt Olly's process, her path to the career she had, and hear as listener...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, we learn about Peter P. Dyck. He was a familiar sight around Carman from the 1940's to his death in 1970 - a man that refused to stay still despite the loss of his mobility after a tragic accident. While he spent much of his life in the hospital in Carman, Manitoba, his resilience and ingenuity were an inspiration to many. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting t...

Send us Fan Mail Host Dan Dyck interviews Ernie Hildebrand, a former pastor turned protestor. In the late 1970's, Ernie was a new pastor as Osler Mennonite Church when he became involved in efforts to oppose a planned uranium refinery in the region. After five long years, the community's efforts resulted in cancellation of the project in 1981. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage ...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, join host Dan as he takes us on an exploration of the song “Der Friedensfurst” (The Prince of Peace). This song was special for Mennonites who survived the violence and turmoil of the Russian Revolution. The Mennonites who emigrated to Canada in the 1920s brought the song with them, prompting some to think the song originated in Europe, but this isn't the case. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, host Dan Dyck explores the Mennonite holiday tradition called brommtopp, named for the strange musical instrument used, which can be translated as "rumbling top". This tradition was brought to Imperial Russia from Prussia, and continued in Manitoba into the 1950's. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage Archives website - https://www.mharchive...

Send us Fan Mail This week we’re featuring radio personality Gerhard Ens’ Christmas story, inspired by his love of Mennonite history. Gerhard was a broadcaster and storyteller that combined his love of the Low German language with his radio program. In “The First Christmas in Canada 1875,” Gerhard paints a picture of his fictional character, 13-year-old Obraum, the struggles and joys of Obraum’s family, and his childhood anticipation of Christmas celebrations. Your donations help preserve and...

Send us Fan Mail Kornelius Herman Neufeld, or K.H. as he became known, was born in 1892 in south Imperial Russia. An immigrant to Canada in 1923, he became known as “the wandering conductor” in a career that lasted until his death in 1957 from cancer. K.H. was known for his organizing ability, his gregarious personality, and story telling. He had a profound impact on Mennonite choral singing in Manitoba and across Canada. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gi...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s episode of Tales from the Mennonite Heritage Archives, we take a look at the letters of Anganetha Wiebe. From 1930-1939, Anganetha wrote letters from the Soviet Union to her daughter, Helena, in Canada. Her letters paint a picture of what life was like for Anganetha and many other Mennonites living in the Soviet Union during a turbulent time. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by v...

Send us Fan Mail Dale Hildebrand, an award-winning filmmaker whose work spans genres of documentary, action, drama, and comedy, discusses his latest film. Where the Cottonwoods Grow is a documentary about the 1874 Mennonite migration from Imperial Russia to Manitoba, and the hardships the newcomers endured as they settled in a new land. Learn more about Dale at his website: https://dalehildebrand.com/ Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204....

Send us Fan Mail In the previous episode, we learned about the accomplishments of Klaas W. Brandt on the Shoal Lake engineering project. In this episode, we are looking at how Brandt helped two budding entrepreneurs and pilots build Steinbach’s first airplane in the early 1930s. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage Archives website - https://www.mharchives.ca/ Follow the Mennoni...

Send us Fan Mail Klaas W. Brandt was a teenage runaway who didn’t want to follow in the farming footsteps of his parents and family. Instead, he studied engineering and had a hand in building the 156 kilometre-long Shoal Lake aqueduct, a huge pipeline that continues to bring safe drinking water to Winnipeg over 100 years later. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage Archives website...

Send us Fan Mail Author Ralph Friesen sits down with Dan Dyck to discuss his recently published book Prosperity Ever – Depression Never: Steinbach in the 1930s. Published by the Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society, this book looks at the history of this community, primarily Mennonite, and how it weathered the Great Depression better than other communities in Manitoba at the time. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out m...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, host Dan Dyck sits down with archivist of the Mennonite Heritage Archives Conrad Stoesz to discuss their mutual love of Mennonite history, where the Mennonite Heritage Archives originated, and what archives can offer us today. Your donations help preserve and share stories like this one! Make a gift here or call 204.560.1998. Find out more by visiting the Mennonite Heritage Archives website - https://www.mharchives.ca/ Follow the Mennonite Heritage Arch...