Village News

I love exploring new places on my own. You can’t go as deep or off the trail with a bus group. My most memorable tour moments have always been an unexpected connection with a local insider. Someone who knows their culture and history well and is ready to connect you with it in a personal way.

Touring Holland, my family and I stepped into a windmill that grinded paint dyes for other historic buildings around the world. On the wall hung a black and white photo of a Dutch miller examining some stone with a big pipe in his mouth. Minutes later, we heard the clacking of clogs coming towards us, it was the miller himself in living colour! When he found out we were Mennonites he immediately affirmed our identity, by talking about how his first wife was from ‘Frieslan’, an area that Mennonites originated from. ‘Good people up there’, he said. He then took us into his inner office and its rows of bottled dye. He explained how they were made with the windmill and where they are used around the world.

He then walked around the room, and looking in each of their eyes he spoke special encouragements for each of our children. He apologized for how his people had treated the Mennonites and told us that we were welcome here anytime. My artistic daughter left with a free sample of dye that she could use on a keepsake project and we all left with a memory that we will always hold dear.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw something similar happen at the Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV). There was a group visiting our new exhibit ‘Mennonites at War’ with our senior curator Andrea Klassen. A mom with two daughters walked in as they started. I whispered to her, ‘You can join them if you want’. They heard Andrea provide deeper connections to what was on display, ask thought-provoking questions and stir people’s minds about the complexity of this exhibit. This mother and daughter continued to follow the group around the exhibit, they had just found the best way to tour an exhibit.

On September 25th, MHV will provide you that same opportunity to tour the exhibit before it closes November 14th. Not only will you get a tour by its creators Andrea Klassen and/or Kara Suderman, but also a tour of the Chortitz housebarn. All proceeds will go to phase two of the Choritiz Housebarn restoration. Sign up today on our website!