The church mirror
Some churches have a mirror in their cloak rooms. You might want to check your reflection before going in to worship. In older, more formal times, you might have combed your hair or adjusted your tie. Sometimes you are satisfied with your reflection, even pleased. Other times, you might be disappointed or avoid looking. Whatever…
A united witness
This month marks the 65th anniversary of English-language magazine publishing for Mennonites in Canada. The Canadian Mennonite, a precursor to the magazine you are holding in your hands (or reading on a screen), was launched in 1953 as “an English-language weekly, devoted to the affairs of Mennonites across Canada.” After publishing an introductory issue in…
Peace Factory
“Groups keep pleading for Peace Factory,” said a Mennonite Central Committee memo in 1996. An interactive exhibit, Peace Factory was a cooperative Mennonite project. Its goal was to “help all Christians connect their faith in God with a life of peacemaking.” In 1997, it toured southwestern Ontario. Pictured at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate in Kitchener, a…
From ‘never a teacher’ to ‘why not?’
“Never a teacher,” I declared from the time I was in public school, growing up in the Leamington district of southwestern Ontario. When I finished high school in Ontario, I enrolled at Canadian Mennonite Bible College (CMBC) in Winnipeg, and the “never a teacher” assertion played a prominent role in my mind through college, even…
Lonely creek
A lonely bridge over a creek near Winkler, Man., in 1907. A humble structure, but so very important. Bridges connected farmers to markets, children to schools, families to church, and pregnant women to midwives. Many of the everyday things that we use are humble pieces that someone has expended effort to make. We would do…
George Neufeld’s letters
George Neufeld worked in England, France and Germany after the Second World War, from 1946 to 1948. He wrote in his diary on Monday, Jan 7, 1946: “Received letter from Helene dated Dec. 6. I wonder what all has happened since then.” Sunday, Jan; 13: “Wrote a 20-page letter to Helene. Am lonesome for her.”…
Home children
George Bryant (standing) was a long way from the home of his birth when he posed with the Katie and Christian Bender family in about 1917. George was a British home child who arrived from Liverpool in 1907 and was sent to Stratford, Ont., for “distribution” to a local family. He believed his mother had…
Forestry service and fun
Old black and white photos often leave us with the impression that past generations were dour, ridged, thought in terms of black and white, and had no fun. But the technology of photography has done us a disservice in masking some of the character of the past. Life was lived in full colour, was complex…
Epp Garage
The Epp Garage in Fiske, Sask., suffered a devastating fire. When material, like this photograph, comes to the archives with little or no information, we can often learn about it from its context—the other “stuff” that comes with it. But in this case there was no contextual information. We don’t know the family, owner, photographer…
Bluffton archivist tells story of Ephrata ‘Martyrs Mirror’
At Bluffton (Ohio) University’s Musselman Library, archivist Carrie Phillips stores seven copies of the 1748 edition of the Ephrata Martyrs Mirror in boxes specially designed to keep them preserved. But this year, Phillips had multiple opportunities to take the books off the shelf and showcase both their religious and historical significance during presentations on and…
