Mennonite Heritage Village

July 19

Sometimes when you travel you see something and say, “Next time we should check that out.”  So today as we were travelling from Kenora to Killarney, we saw the sign for the Mennonite Heritage Village and said, “Today’s the day.”  I’d been there once as a teenager, and Dave had never been there. 

The Mennonite Heritage Village is located on the edge of Steinbach and tells the story of Mennonite pioneers coming from Russia and settling in southern Manitoba in the late 1800s.  Dave and I are both of Mennonite heritage, but our families immigrated at a later time.  Dave's parents came in the 1920s with his dad's family beginning in Ontario and his mom's family in Saskatchewan.  My parents came after World War II landing in Manitoba - my dad's family in Killarney and my mom's family near Winnipeg.

At the museum, they had an example of their early homes which were sod huts (semlin) built into the ground before winter struck.  Once they had the lumber, they built houses with the barn attached.



They laid out the villages in the same way as in Russia, with the church being at the centre and heart of the community. 

The Mennonites also built windmills.  As their heritage goes back to the Netherlands, the windmill technology went with them from country to country.  Unlike the windmills in Holland, most of which were used to pump water, the windmill that was built in Steinbach was primarily used for milling grain and sawing logs.  The sails were wooden louvers and were able to turn in any direction to catch even the slightest winds.

We had an enjoyable afternoon of wandering around the various buildings and ,of course, enjoyed a traditional Mennonite meal of vereneki met schmauntfatt, woorscht and komst borscht.  (Cottage cheese 'perogies' with cream gravy, farmer sausage, and cabbage soup.)  Delicious!