On August 16, the Mennonite Heritage Village and Eden Foundation hosted a cycling fundraising event, the Peace Trek, which utilizes several points of historical interest for the early Mennonite settlers to southern Manitoba. Thanks to the dedication of a group of local historians, 10 sites have been developed to highlight significant places and events that were important in the first years of Mennonite settlement in Manitoba. For the purposes of our cycling event, we stopped at a few of these sites, as we cycled to raise money for the work of our two organizations.
Each of the historical sites is important and they each warrant a visit on some sunny afternoon with a carload of friends and explorers. Locations and details can be found at www.peacetrail.ca. However, for the purposes of our cycling event, we only stopped at a few of the sites, which are easily accessible for the average cyclist. As more of the Peace Trail is developed with all weather roads, the cycling route may be adjusted to include more of the way points in future years.
We began on Saturday, August 16, at Hespeler Park in Niverville. From there, cyclists traveled a few miles south to the location of the Shantz Immigration Shed Cairn, which marks location of the temporary shelters that were built for the first Mennonites before they were assigned their permanent residence locations. Travelling east, the cycling route took us through New Bothwell for a refreshment break, before continuing to Randolph to stop at the Chortitz Historical Church and Cemetery. This is the site of the first church built by Mennonites in the East Reserve in 1877. From there, the cycling route took us to Mennonite Heritage Village, to the Dirk Willems Peace Garden, where lunch will was served followed by a short awards program.
