Today was the mother of all dues.
About 100 of us gathered at Den and Ren's farm in Bradner to celebrate.
Not everyone was thrilled to be there.In 1926, forty-year old Heinrich Neumann and his wife, thirty-five year old Sarah, along with their 8 children, left Russia and came to Canada. In the old country, he was a shopkeeper. In Canada, he became a farmer.
They had 5 more kids, calling it quits in 1936 when they had their last son, George. Heinrich was fifty; Sarah was forty five - and their descendants numbered 13.
It's been 80 years since they arrived in Canada. Heinrich and Sarah are no longer with us, nor are 7 of their children. Their descendants now number 238 plus 100 spouses.
Their oldest Neumann offspring, a son, was named Henry. He was my grandpa.
In the past, when I was a little girl, these "dues" were held at a farm in Abbotsford. I remember them being casual affairs with lots of playing in haylofts, playing tag in fields and eating watermelon.
Today's gathering was slightly more formal. More informative in nature than social. One of the third generation cousins put together an awesome power point slide show.(Heinrich and Sarah were first generation, their children were second, their grandchildren; third and so on. I am the oldest person in the fourth generation. Clint is the oldest great, great grandchild in the fifth generation.)
We gathered in a grove of ancient maple trees and watched the presentation in the shade.
Notice the high tech equipment. A card table. A laptop. A projector. A really, really long extension cord,
and 5 teeny tiny computer speakers set up in the dirt.
Clint recorded the events of the entire day, and will edit them into a rockin' DVD for future generations to enjoy.
Above is my attempt at artistic composition. That's my son, live behind the camera, and his great grandfather immortalized on the screen.
(At least give me points for trying...)
After the slide presentation, we heard from Kay. The only child born in Russia that is still with us. She's 87 years old and witty. Sharp. Interesting. Funny. Her memoir was awesome.
After Kay, her youngest two sisters shared some thoughts. They were born in Jem, Alberta and raised in Greendale. Hilrey, on the left, was given the name Hilda when she came into this world. She was not impressed; and changed her name a number of years ago. My mom was named after her (also not thrilled to have been saddled with the name often associated with hippos and witches; now refers to herself as "Billie").
Anyway, their banter was easy to listen to and at times, entertaining.
The program portion of the event ended with Pete sharing his memories.
Pete has 4 daughters, the youngest one being Rhonda; who goes by the name "Gayle". Gayle Friesen. The Writer. Four books. All excellent.
She's one of those folks I put on a pedastal years ago. First she's gorgeous. Second, she married the youth pastor of my teenage years, making her holy. And now, she's written prize winning novels.
I was leaning on one of the maple trees taking random group photos when she said, "Hi, Jane! I've read your blog."
My body had an internal spaz attack. Even now, hours later, I'm having temperature surges.
We talked for a few minutes when I got my freak under control and she asked me why I blog and do I have someone in mind when I write. She talked abit about her writing and.. and.. all 'n all the conversation was just far too short.
The day ended with a mennonite potluck dinner. I brought 3 dozen Tim Horton donuts, a peach pie from IGA and a crock pot full of chili. All very 4th generation mennonite foods.
Three things I'm thankful for:
1. A highlight for me and my sappy emotions is when all of us sang "Praise God from whom all blessings flow..." before we ate. Loved hearing all the generations sing a song of thanksgiving to the God who brought us to this land.
2. Thankful that my kids were thrilled to find out that some of their camp friends are also their relatives.
3. Thankful that Heinrich and Sarah took the risk, endured the ridicule, overcame the hardship and emigrated to Canada.
Shalom,
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