Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!
Low German
Low German Dialect of the Canadian Mennonites is still the mode of communication within the older generation. The dialect originated in German West Prussia and dates back to the end of the eighteenth century.  Due to Germany losing control of West Prussia in WWII and therefore its german population,, the Canadian prairies as well as part of the USA and Americas settled by the Mennonites are the only regions in which Low German can be found in daily use. For this reason Mennonite Low German is rapidly disappearing. The West- Prussian Low German is a living language,, in other words it adapts through changes,, and surprisingly exists without much borrowing from the English language.
A substantial percentage of the inhabitants of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are Mennonites. These two provinces are where they first homesteaded once they reached Canada.
Retired Mennonites generally take up pen and paper. They are considered to be great story tellers not only in telling of the facts but adding graphic details. By telling more of the life story then the cold facts and allowing us to see how daily life actually was we can learn alot about our ancestors.

Life in Russia
Many Mennonites in Russia lived under a roof that covered everything - stable, barn and the house itself. Houses were built mainly in one style, the residental section had one large room, a small room, and a kitchen. The kitchen was in the center of the house with a large brick oven fueled by straw, dung or wood. No more then one door separated the house from the stable. Houses built in Hague, Saskatchewan by the first settlers were also built in this fashion. Whenever a storm would approach,, day or night,, the whole family would gather fully dressed incase it was neccessary to run quickly from the house.
At least one person from each house had to attend church. Those who stayed behind were strictly forbidden to go outside as church goers went to and from the church.
The oldest child was always held responsible for the actions of the younger siblings. If for some reason a younger child did something that deserved punishment,, the oldest child would recieve the punishment for allowing them to do it in the first place. Children rarely had idle hands, there was always something to be done.

Chortitza Oaktree
In Chorititza, Russia there is an old oak tree that is said to be over 700 years old. It is under this tree the first Mennonite immigrants from Prussia pitched their tents, then started to build and settle on the land.
 
 

Source of reference :
Brednich, Rolf Wilh. The Bible and the Plough: The Lives of a Hutterite Minister and a Mennonite Farmer (Ottawa, Ont.: National Museums of Canada) 1981