Noteworthy Moments at the Mennonite Heritage Museum - Fall Festival 2022

This year, as a special treat during my birthday month, I made the trip to Steinbach and visited the Mennonite Heritage Village Museum. I had only been there one other time, as a young child on a school field trip. I imagine I am not alone in mostly only remembering the sod house and little shop full of candies. These were definitely highlights of my more recent visit, but I also had a few unexpected experiences, some of which I’d like to share.

To set the scene, I’ll need to fill you in on some details about my life. I live with a few chronic illnesses and for a day trip such as this I needed to use my wheelchair and have a support person accompany me. I also wear a mask at indoor or crowded events such as these, and my support person that day was a First Nations man. Despite my dressing modestly including a full length skirt, buttoned collar, hair in a bun, and no make-up, the two of us stuck out in the crowd of locals and traditional Mennonite visitors.

One of the more innocent experiences was how many children stared at me. Now, I’m used to children looking at me in my wheelchair. Most children are not accustomed to mobility aids or visible illness, and if they are it is usually associated with elderly people. Some inquisitiveness is expected when seeing something new. But these children stared with unabashed confusion, and I thought it was noteworthy. Disability awareness is a fairly low priority in mainstream society and can be even less so in smaller communities. I know in my own experience growing up in the Mennonite community, the sick or disabled were often segregated and othered, even if unintentionally. Expectations to present as hard working, dependable, or productive as a Mennonite in the community have also had the unfortunate effect of some people segregating themselves preemptively, lest they be judged for their “laziness”.

Another experience that highlighted disability awareness, or maybe just basic courtesy, was during our visit to the Chortitz Housebarn. I love these old buildings, but not all of them are wheelchair accessible, for obvious reasons. The Chortitz Housebarn is accessible through a ramp from the barn to the house, but also happened to be particularly busy with multiple families. Although there were two other doors in and out of the house side, most of the families chose to exit down the ramp into the barn. We waited patiently for several minutes while families made their way down the ramp, and during this time another family stood beside us intending to walk up the ramp as well. As the last person was stepping off the ramp, before we had a chance to move, the husband/father of this family slid in and went ahead of us. As his young son ran after him, the wife/mother spoke Plautdietsch in a scathing tone and the son immediately stopped and moved out of the way. I thought this was noteworthy. Whether this man did not respect us because of disability discrimination, racial prejudice, simple rudeness, or because we were outsiders, I can’t say. But I can tell you that his son was learning from his behavior, and his wife and daughter showed embarrassment because of it. I am discouraged when I see parents modelling poor behavior towards vulnerable people in front of their children. The next generation deserves to know better and be treated better.

Near the end of our visit, I wanted to see the pond and garden area that is a bit secluded from the rest of the museum grounds. There were some benches to sit and rest, find some quiet, and enjoy the view. Close by there was a metal statue of a man pulling another man from the water, and I recognized it from the personal research I have been doing on my heritage. There exists a copper etching from the book “Martyr’s Mirror” that depicts the story of Dirk Willems, in which he escapes from imprisonment for religious persecution, only to see his pursuer has fallen into icy water and will surely die without help. Due to his faith, for which he was imprisoned, he is compelled to turn back and save the man’s life. Despite this act of goodwill, he is still martyred. It is that story and copper etching which has been made into a statue in the garden. To ensure I hadn’t remembered incorrectly, I went up to the statue and read the plaque. Not five minutes later a Mennonite man was walking by with a woman and child loudly calling to them about how “that statue honors Menno Simons and how he saved the life of…” I had to laugh out loud. Although Menno Simons is (obviously) an important figure in Mennonite history, he is not one of the many martyrs of that time period. I have a lot of memories of men, Mennonite and otherwise, confidently "educating" me on topics they haven't properly educated themselves on. I'm so grateful I know how to fact check now.

I wanted to end on a some of the more positive aspects of the day. The absolute highlight of my day was visiting the Livery Barn restaurant for the first time. Of course, on such a busy day there was a pretty long line that ran along the side of the building. While standing in line for The Livery Barn, the man waiting in front of us began chatting with us. He told us he was a magician and asked if he could do a trick for us. He did a card trick where he moved a mark on the card to the palm of my closed fist! When the rest of his group joined him in line, he introduced us to them as well. It was pleasant interaction and one of the few instances where we were treated with openness by other visitors, rather than standoffishness.

Despite the awkward reactions of some visitors, I felt that the staff made a concentrated effort to make all visitors feel welcome, regardless of background. The women and girls serving at The Livery Barn were a delight, as were the women hosting the butchery demonstrations. I also visited the ancestry hub where a very kind man he was able to provide me with more of my ancestry than I could have hoped for. I love learning about my ancestry and our history, and I’m glad they are working to cultivate a welcoming environment for all to do so.

The museum itself was a delight to visit and I hope to go again many times in the coming years. The Livery Barn served up traditional Mennonite cooking I have been missing for years, and it filled my heart with joy. My favorite buildings to visit are the dwellings, particularly The Semlin (Sod House), The Hochfeld House, and the Chortitz Housebarn. As a disabled and chronically ill person who desires to live closer to the land, the layouts and amenities in these dwellings make sense to me and inspire me in my own housing dreams. Growing up Mennonite, but alongside capitalism and wealth, it was also refreshing to visit the Old Colony Worship House, free of ornaments, distractions, and unnecessary flourishes. When I visit the school buildings I am reminded of both my childhood aspirations of becoming a teacher, and my father’s stories of his own schooldays growing up in Manitoba. I was able to see bits of the past and find inspiration for the future, which feels exactly like what a museum should do.

 Looking forward to my next visit!

[Embedded Links: https://mennoniteheritagevillage.com/, https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Martyrs%27_Mirror, https://mla.bethelks.edu/holdings/scans/martyrsmirror/mm%20bk2%20p387%20willems.jpg]