PEOPLE OF THE VALLEY
A
bbotsford has long welcomed individuals from around the world who search for a better life. It is a
multi-cultural community consisting of a colourful tapestry of ethnicity and language. This diversity has existed for generations and continues to contribute to the rich economic and social fabric of the
region.
Special thanks to:
The University of the Fraser Valley
Diane Grant, UFV History 401 student for her assistance in researching and preparing People of the
Valley: Mennonite and Japanese content
Jean and Walter Kamimura, for sharing their family stories and memories of the painful events of WWII
THE JAPANESE COMMUNITY
COMING TO CANADA
I
n 1894 Japan had concluded The Treaty of Commerce
and Navigation with Britain wherein “Subjects of either
power were granted “full liberty to enter, travel or reside
in any part of the dominions and possessions of the
other contracting party.”1 Many of the first generation
of Japanese in Canada, the Issei, came in the early 20th
century. These immigrants, mostly young men, worked
in various industries such as logging and fishing before
moving into farming. These men brought wives to Canada
and began raising families and creating extended Japanese
communities. There were Japanese communities in
Abbotsford in the Mount Lehman, Clayburn and Coghlan
areas. Their children, the first born on Canadian soil, were
the Nisei who would be challenged by living in both the
Japanese world of their parents, and the English world of
their peers.
Riichi and Misako Sasaki with oldest son, Nobuo, near the time they settled
in Abbotsford, 1922.. The Reach P9318
Misako Sasaki was born in Japan in 1901. She married
Riichi Sasaki in 1919 and followed him to Canada in August
1920. She arrived in Canada still wearing her Japanese
kimono but Riichi met her in Victoria and took her shopping
for a complete new outfit to wear the rest of her journey.
The couple took the ferry to Vancouver and made their
way to the BC Electric Railway station. The tram took them
to the Clayburn station. It was 8pm and nearly dark when
the couple began their way two miles up a wagon trail
overgrown with weeds and stinging nettles.
Mr. and Mrs. Kamimura senior with their family, Aug. 6, 1938. Photo courtesy Mr. and Mrs. Walter Kamimura
ANTI-ASIAN SENTIMENTS
A
s can happen in many places, when the ethnic make-up of a community begins to change, there are often feelings of
distrust, unrest, fear and prejudice among the people involved. In the case of the Japanese and Asian peoples this
unease was magnified because there were visual cues which highlighted the perceived and actual cultural differences.
There was a general animosity of the working classes toward the Japanese immigrants throughout British Columbia.
The Anglo-Japanese Trade Treaty allowed free entry of Japanese into Canada with no immigration limits. In 1907 more
Japanese than ever arrived in Canada thus increasing agitation among the people already here.
On September 7, 1907 the Asiatic Exclusion League organized the “largest anti-Asiatic demonstration in the history of
the coast.”2 This peaceful demonstration became a riot when it turned into an uncontrollable mob. After the 1907 riot in
Vancouver, the Asiatic Exclusion League held meetings demanding the “complete cessation to immigration.” They stated
“We feel very sorry that the mob broke loose…but the authorities will now…be
forced to recognize that B.C. people will not permit this country to be made the
dumping ground of yellow cheap labour.” (Vancouver Province, September 9, 1907)
Some of the anti-Asian rhetoric and feelings were strong enough that in the 1908 election, BC seats were lost unless the
politicians were against Asiatic immigration.3 Not everyone agreed with this sentiment, but those who were the most
vocal held the anti-immigration views.
The 1907 riot had far reaching effects when Japan voluntarily agreed to restrict the number of passports for male
labourers and domestic servant to 400 per year. There were still four classes of Japanese allowed to enter Canada and
the restrictions only applied to those two groups. The four classes of Japanese who were allowed to enter Canada were:
1. returning residents and their wives, children and parents, 2. emigrants engaged by Japanese residents in Canada for
personal and domestic service, 3. labourers under specially worded contracts, and 4. agricultural labourers contracted
by Japanese resident agricultural holders in Canada (limit 10/100 acres of land owned).
Therefore, it often seemed that a far greater number of Japanese immigrants were still entering Canada than had been
publicly announced. This rule was difficult to enforce as many did not understand the specifics and details.
Another result of the 1907 riot was the change in the structure of the Japanese communities. Where once there were
many Japanese men because of the unlimited entry, now more and more women were entering Canada as brides and
wives. There was an increase in the number of families, the birth rate, and children. Because these people worked hard,
set up homes and raised families, they were seen as a threat to some of the existing, non-Japanese, community.
Even though these events occurred in Vancouver, the anti-Asian feeling was noticed in the Fraser Valley as well.
COMMUNITY
I
n his January 2008 interview, the late John A. “Spud” Murphy, lifelong resident of Abbotsford, shared his experience of
growing up in the multi-cultural community of Clayburn:
“We had a lot of Japanese kids that lived on Downes Road. There were only about
three white families. The rest were Japanese; all my playmates were Japanese.
I still keep in contact with them. Most of them down east now. We played
basketball kinda thing; we just grew up where colour didn’t mean a thing, or race
or anything else. We were just kids. We fought like cats and dogs. In our own
group we’ d call each other, ‘ you God damn Jap,’ and ‘bloody Scotsman,’ and so on
but if somebody on the outside said or did anything to any one of us, Japanese or
white, or whatever, I tell you they had a swarm on their back right now. We didn’t
tolerate anybody else using the race card; we used it amongst ourselves. If we
happened to be at one of the Japanese houses when it was dinnertime we just
stayed there and ate whatever they had; rice or sushi or whatever it was; you just
partook. If they were at our house they ate what we had; meat and potatoes. In
later years we formed our own basketball team.
They were all well-received in the community. They were good people, the
Japanese; they were hardworking. At that time they were all farmers. Strawberry
farmers and that. They worked really hard. In the spring they would get straw and
put it under the strawberry plants so the berries didn’t get into the dirt; they were
clean and dry and it was hard work. The berries ripened early so the Japanese had
early strawberries to ship back to the prairies, which they got premium price for”.
JAPANESE EDUCATION
E
ducation was very important to the Japanese community. Academic success was seen to uphold the honour of the
family and the community as a whole. Education in both the Japanese language and traditions and the English
system was necessary. Integration in the local English school system allowed the Nisei to learn and socialize with the
white children. The Japanese language was required at home because most of the Issei did not speak English. The
Nisei were also sent to Japanese language schools to maintain the language and culture and serve as a “buffer against
public education, which, it was feared, might adversely affect Nisei attitudes.”3 The Japanese language schools were an
organized activity which created links within the community while simultaneously reinforcing ethnicity.
The Japanese population of the Clayburn area was small so the children went to language training in Mission on
Saturdays. Mission, with its larger Japanese population, had a permanent language school with paid teachers. If
students were able, they took language training from grade one to grade twelve.
1 Ken Adachi, The Enemy That Never Was: A History of the Japanese Canadians, (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1976), 41.
2 Ken Adachi, The Enemy That Never Was: A History of the Japanese Canadians, (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1976), 72.
3 Ken Adachi, The Enemy That Never Was: A History of the Japanese Canadians, (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1976), 78.
JAPANESE INVOLVEMENT IN SPORTS
J
apanese boys, but not girls, participated in baseball and judo outside of school. Both sports had been familiar to
their fathers in Japan prior to coming to Canada. Judo was the only sport in Japan which was open to all classes of
people and was therefore brought along
when Japanese people migrated to other
countries. The general perception of the
Canadian community was that baseball
was North American and Judo was
Japanese. Participation in these sports
fulfilled two primary goals. It allowed
the maintenance of Japanese culture
and traditions as well as the ability to
gain acceptance and opportunity within
the mainstream Canadian society. These
sports were based on the agricultural
seasons of the Japanese farming families
of the Fraser Valley. Judo season ran
from fall to spring and ended just as
Philip Sheffield High School boys’ basketball team, 1941. The Reach P11595
spring planting begun and practices
occurred in the local Japanese hall.
Baseball season ran through the planting, growing and harvesting season which took priority, but sons were allowed,
even encouraged, to join teams and play. Practices and games took place in the general community mixing the white
and Japanese communities.1 “For the
Nisei, participation in baseball was
optimistically but naively seen as a
step toward full inclusion in Canadian
life” and “baseball provided one of
first public sites of Nisei assimilation
outside of the public school system.”2
NOKAI
The Nokai literally means “agricultural
society” and is a complex social
and economic association and an
“institutional defender of cultural
integrity”. There were small, loosely
structured Nokai in the Japanese
communities of Mount Lehman,
Clayburn and Coghlan.
1939 - 40 Grade 11 Philip Sheffield High School class seated/standing on school steps.
The Reach P45
The Nokai played two distinct roles in
the Fraser Valley:
1. As an economic grower cooperative regulating berry prices, a central depot for picked berries, a place to buy
supplies and rent equipment, a meeting place for farmers and as a financial lending institution for members who paid
10% of their annual income to the association.
2. As a benevolent society.
The Nokai promoted Japanese language while at the same time many members spoke enough English to be able to
communicate with the White community. They were able to address the concerns of the White community while
maintaining Japanese traditions and resisting radical cultural change. The Nokai halls were also used for entertainment,
folk singing (naniwabushi), Japanese films and dance (odori), festivals and celebrations.
The Nokai provided community support and some connection to the White community but also isolated the Japanese
community.
The Clayburn Japanese community just prior to wartime relocation, 1942. The Reach P9320
WORSHIP
T
he Japanese community was predominantly Buddhist. The Japanese communities around Abbotsford were
too small to have their own temples so they worshipped in homes and other buildings. In the early 1930s
a “church” was built on land donated by Mr. Kamimura. Although this was not an official temple, it served the
purpose and the whole community of Clayburn gathered there. Although not weekly, Reverends came from New
Westminster to perform services whenever possible. Over time, many of the Buddhist services took on some
Christian flavour with hymnbooks, pews and organs. This building was also used as a Japanese Language School.
Members of the Clayburn Japanese community at the side of the Buddhist Church on
the Kamimura property, 1930. The Reach P9319
Current view of the building used as a church on the Kamimura
property.. Photo courtesy of Mr. And Mrs. Walter Kamimura.
FARMING
M
any Japanese who came to the Fraser Valley initially had come from farming families in Japan. Options for
other types of employment were limited because the provincial government had abolished the Japanese right
to vote in 1895. Even though they were denied many rights of citizenship, they were still expected to pay Income
Tax. They were also affected by the Dominion Militia Act which regulated the conscription of all British male subjects
between the ages of 18 and 45. Without being on the voters list certain occupations, such as hand logging, law and the
pharmaceutical trade were closed to them. There were also barred from working in such civil service fields as police,
forestry, the post office and public health nursing. The denial of the vote came to symbolize being a second class
citizen to the Japanese, especially those born in Canada. For many Japanese immigrants at the beginning of the 20th
century this was not a problem as they did not intend to stay in Canada anyway. For those who planned to stay this
was particularly galling.4
Japanese settlers decided it was better to
work for themselves and purchased “wild
brush land,” considered waste land, that
had to be slowly cleared with backbreaking
labour. The first crops they planted were
strawberries as they grew well with the
intensive, careful cultivation of small areas
of land. Focussing on farming allowed the
Japanese community to preserve their ethnic
identity and traditions while remaining
somewhat isolated from the larger English
community.
Japanese farmers added different berries and
hot house grown rhubarb to their produce.
These crops required less equipment and
initial financial outlay. Initially farming families, such as the Sasakis, transported their harvested crops to the growers
association in Mission by horse and wagon. Later they were able to purchase a Model T Ford truck which they used for
many years. Hard work and production led to Fraser Valley berries being present in large cities as far east as Toronto
and even as far as England. Rhubarb was the first to be shipped across Canada in January. By 1934 Japanese farmers
were producing between 85% and 90% of the berries grown in the Fraser Valley. By this date 75% of the members of
the Pacific Cooperative Union (PCU) were from the Japanese community.
Strawberry field at the back of the Sasaki farm on Downes Road, 1940. The Reach P9314
Mr. Kamimura was the first Japanese
farmer in the area to invest in a tractor.
He realized that you only needed to fuel
a tractor when you needed it to use it,
whereas you had to feed a horse whether
it worked or not.
Riichi Sasaki and his Model T Ford truck, at the Ishihara’s,
Mill Lake Road, 1940. The Reach P9315
COOPERATIVES
T
he need to effectively deal with new crops and farming methods, overproduction and marketing led to the creation of
Associations and Cooperatives in which the farmers, White and Japanese, worked together to regulate the marketing
of berries and soft fruits. There were also smaller farmers associations in other areas such as Mt. Lehman and Coghlan.
The integration of the Issei into commercial agriculture and the cooperatives may have led to better relationships
between the Japanese and the White communities in the Fraser Valley.5
1 Anne Doré, Japanese-Canadian Sport History in the Fraser Valley: Judo and Baseball in the Interwar Years in Journal of Sport History, Volume 29, Number
3, edited by Melvin L. Adelman, (The North American Society for Sport History, 2002), 440-443.
2 Anne Doré, “Japanese-Canadian Sport History in the Fraser Valley: Judo and Baseball in the Interwar Years, in Journal of Sport History, Volume 29, Number
3, edited by Melvin L. Adelman, (The North American Society for Sport History, 2002), 451,452.
3 Anne Doré, Transnational Communities: Japanese Canadians of the Fraser Valley, 1904-1942, BC Studies no. 134 (Summer2002): 48. Academic
Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed March 30, 2013).
4 Ken Adachi, The Enemy That Never Was: A History of the Japanese Canadians, (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1976), 52,53.
5 Anne Doré, Transnational Communities: Japanese Canadians of the Fraser Valley, 1904-1942, BC Studies no. 134 (Summer2002): 60. Academic
Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed March 30, 2013).
WWII, RELOCATION, INTERNMENT AND DEPORTATION
T
he Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, USA on December 7, 1941 changed the world of the Japanese
communities in British Columbia forever. On January 14, 1942 the Canadian government made a decision to
“remove male Japanese nationals from the coast.” This action evolved into confiscating property and relocating whole
families to internment camps, other locations in Canada
and even deporting families back to Japan. “On 26
February 1942 expulsion began along the north coast
and Vancouver Island. No special consideration was
to be given to Fraser Valley farmers as landowners,
as an important link in the food production system of
British Columbia, or as agricultural entrepreneurs in
cooperative partnerships with Whites. No exception
was made for them out of consideration for their
distance from the coast: the regulations applied to
all. The expulsion of most Fraser Valley farmers was
delayed until between April and June, by which time
they had planted their crops.”[1] The Kamimura family
was uprooted from the land he cherished under the
War Measures Act and relocated to Southern Alberta
to a chicken coop house slaving on the sugar beet farm
for someone else. In June authorization was given
to purchase farms owned by the Japanese without
consultation or permission. Many of these farms were
sold to the Veterans Land Administration for much less
than their true value.
In her article, Anne Doré notes that “The degree of
tolerance and cohesiveness achieved between the
Japanese Canadian and White populations in the Fraser
Valley appears to have exceeded that achieved between
their counterparts in coastal and urban areas.”[2]
Back row: Riichi Sasaki, Misako Sasaki, Kathleen Murphy, John Murphy
Regardless, on June 23, 1943, the Abbotsford, Sumas and Matsqui News reported, “Vets to Get Former Jap Lands in
Valley.” 769 parcels of land in the Fraser Valley formerly owned by Japanese were sold to the director of the Veterans’
Land Act for future disposition to BC men serving in the armed forces. Proceeds of the sale were to be credited to the
accounts of the former Japanese owners.
Some, like the Murphy family, tried to help their relocated Japanese friends by holding their property and goods for them
until they were able to return. In many cases the government confiscated and eventually liquidated these goods also.
Land, property and savings, which many in the Japanese community had worked so hard to gain, were wiped out in a very
short time.
Many Japanese who were forcibly removed from the Fraser Valley never returned except to visit. They had lost
everything except themselves, and it was easier to begin a new life where they had been relocated. Few returned from
Japan. The growing Japanese communities in the Abbotsford area had been all but wiped out.
All restrictions applying to Japanese Canadians’ movement were finally lifted on March 31, 1949. Some people longing
to get back to their former neighbourhood and livelihood came back to the west coast. Most Japanese families who had
been forcibly removed from the Fraser Valley never returned. For some it made more sense to build a new life where
they were. Of those “voluntarily repatriated,” given no alternative but to return to Japan with Canadian-born children,
many never returned. Many municipalities did not welcome relocated Japanese back.
Under pressure to do so, the Canadian government examined the issue of compensation for confiscated property. By
1950, $1.3 million had been awarded in claims to 1,434 Japanese Canadians basing claims on loss of property, refusing
to compensate for wrongdoing in terms of civil rights, damages due to loss of earnings, disruption of education or other
considerations.
In 1988, the Canadian government announced a compensation package for interned Japanese Canadians that included
$21,000 to each surviving internee and the re-instatement of Canadian citizenship to those who were deported to Japan.
“Mr. Speaker, I know I speak for members of all sides of the House in offering
to Japanese Canadians the formal and sincere apology of this Parliament for
those past injustices against them, their families, and their heritage, and our
solemn commitment to Canadians of every origin that they will never again be
countenanced or repeated.” Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, September 22, 1988
References:
Adachi, Ken. The Enemy That Never Was: A History of the Japanese Canadians. Toronto, ON., McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1976.
Bangarth, Stephanie. Voices Raised in Protest: Defending North American Citizens of Japanese Ancestry, 1942-49. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2008.
Doré, Anne. Japanese-Canadian Sport History in the Fraser Valley: Judo and Baseball in the Interwar Years. In Journal of Sport History, Volume 29, Number
3, edited by Melvin L. Adelman, 439-456. The North American Society for Sport History, 2002.
Doré, Anne. Transnational Communities: Japanese Canadians of the Fraser Valley, 1904-1942. BC Studies no. 134 (Summer 2002): 35-70. Academic
Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed March 30, 2013).
Kamimura, Walter and Jean. Interview with Dian Grant. University of the Fraser Valley History Department and The Reach Gallery Museum
Abbotsford; March 15, 2013.
Murphy, John “Spud”. Interview with Samantha Allison; January 3, 2008; The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford
Sasaki, Riichi. Interview; date unknown.
Sasaki, Misako. Interview based upon Recollections of her life in Clayburn; date unknown.
W. Peter Ward. The Japanese in Canada, Booklet No. 3. Ottawa, Canadian Historical Association and Multiculturalism Program, Government of
Canada, 1982.
THE MENNONITE COMMUNITY
THE MENNONITE COMMUNITY
T
he Mennonite community is composed of Swiss/
South German/Pennsylvania and Dutch/North
German/Russian backgrounds. In the 1780s many
Mennonites from Prussia moved to Russia because they
were being persecuted by the Prussian government. The
Tsarina, Catherine the Great, promised them cheap land,
guaranteed exemption from military duty, the freedom
to worship, the right to speak German and govern their
own affairs. This proved to be enticing and Mennonite
communities were established in Russia along the Volga
River. The arrangement worked well until the 1870s when
the Russian government began whittling away at these
agreements. The rights of the Mennonites were continually
being reduced, resulting in some choosing to leave Russia
for other countries including Canada. The situation
continued to deteriorate culminating in many more
Mennonites immigrating to Canada after the Bolshevik
Revolution of 1917.
Man in tobacco field, bending to pick the bottom leaves from the plant. The
Reach P6232
Clearbrook Mennonite Church, on Clearbrook Road. The Reach P5725
The Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is an
international relief organization which was established in
1920 to help the approximately 110,000 Mennonites in
Russia who had been caught in the middle of the Bolshevik
Revolution. Today, along with their international relief
work, the MCC works with mentally disabled people in
residential work and recreational programs.
HOW MENNONITES SEE THEMSELVES TODAY
T
he Mennonite story in Canada is one of struggle during early settlement, a hope for faithful Christian community,
a willingness to contribute its resources to a larger society – in short, a concern to express beliefs in a practical and
concrete manner.
To believe and do
To confess and obey
To reconcile and forgive
To love and serve
To sacrifice and give
To love and work together
To demonstrate that there is another way.
Statement from the Mennonite Central Committee, Joanne Flint, The Mennonite Canadians: Agricultural Canada
Series. (Van Nostrand Reinhold Ltd. Toronto: 1980), 67.
Once in The Fraser Valley, the Mennonite people created a community in which their values governed how they lived.
They worked, worshipped and farmed together. When Canada went to war, as pacifists, they chose to support the effort
in non-violent ways as Conscientious Objectors. Their need to remain a somewhat isolated community led to their
establishing their own private school system.
The Mennonite Community remains a vital part of The Fraser Valley and the Abbotsford region to this day.
BECOMING MENNONITE
Y
ou are considered a Mennonite if you are born into a Mennonite family, however you must also choose to be baptised,
as an adult, into the Mennonite religion. Being a Mennonite has both ethnic and religious connotations.
LANGUAGES: Low and High German
Upon their arrival in Canada the basic language of the Mennonite people was German. This was broken down into Low
and High German. High German was the “regular” form and was used in the bible. It was also spoken in the upper floor(s)
of the church where it was thought that God would be listening. The “low” dialect was virtually untranslatable, had
no formal grammar and no agreed upon spelling. It was spelled phonetically so there was the option of spellings being
different every time it was written. Low German was a casual and dynamic language which was spoken at home and
below stairs in the churches. Unfortunately Low German has been all but lost as the younger generations of Mennonites,
after the 1950s, began to speak English and some High German but little Low German. The initial losses of Low German
occurred when parents would speak to their children in Low German and the children would respond in English.
ISOLATION OF MENNONITE COMMUNITIES
When many Mennonites came to British Columbia they tended to settle in the same areas. They had not yet built
churches so they worshipped in people’s homes. Living, worshipping and working together was easy as most of
Mennonites spoke German as their primary language. German was also the chosen language in church preaching and
Sunday school. Members of the community rented space once a month in the Farmer’s Institute Hall on Clearbrook road
for combined fellowship. The Mennonite services were in German and the services for the English speaking community
were in English. Because of the different languages used, there were no joint services. (interview with Abraham J. Stobbe,
August 5, 1977.) The Mennonite people’s choice to speak German, rather than the English spoken by the surrounding
community, increased their isolation.
ARRIVING IN CANADA
1870s
Many of the first wave of Northern European Mennonite immigrants came to Canada from the Russian controlled
Ukraine. These immigrants were called Kanadier or Early Kanadier. They sought to homestead in Manitoba. These
people often travelled as an entire village and maintained their existing civic structure throughout the voyage and upon
arrival. Their villages were recreated as they had been in Europe, with a central town which consisted of individual
homes, a church and other buildings with communal or shared grazing land all around. This village set up worked well in
Russia and Europe but was not as successful in Canada. Canada’s laws were based on individual rather than communal
ownership. On the whole, the Kanadier Mennonites were “far from being Canadian” and had little sense of patriotism to
Canada or any need for “anglo-conformity.”1
1920s
This wave of Mennonite immigrants were called Russlaender because they came to Canada from Russia. Culturally
they were basically German even though they also spoke Russian. Their ties to Russia had been broken because of
the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. These people became “Canadian” in their hearts more quickly than the Kanadiers
although they were reluctant to learn and use the English language.
In February 1928 the Crain and Eckert Company began selling 10 acre parcels of land for about $150.00/acre. The
land was located between the Vedder River and Vedder Mountain in the Yarrow area. The purchaser had to pay
approximately $200.00 down with the balance owing at $20.00 per acre yearly at 6% interest. By 1930, 46 families had
bought property for homes on the Eckert block with 20 more families on adjoining half-acre plots. When all of the land
had been purchased, Eckert directed those looking to buy more land to the Stamersley Valley in Agassiz. Eventually 22
families went to Agassiz where they built a church in 1930. However land proved to be too costly and within 5 years the
Agassiz settlement was gone. There was still land available, in the South Sumas district near Yarrow, which was owned by
the Northern Construction Company. They were selling 20 acre packages at $115.00 per acre. Buyers paid a 5% down
payment with the balance payable in 20 years at 7% interest. In Abbotsford the Abbotsford Logging Company began
selling off land on which logging had been completed. The land was sold in 20, 30 & 40 acre parcels at $10.00 per acre
with 25% down. This land had been cleared of timber but not of stumps which proved tough to remove. Although the
stumps looked terrible, cattle could be grazed and strawberries grown between them so the land was useable. Eventually
the stumps were removed by blasting.
1930s
During the Depression many Mennonites on the Canadian Prairies moved to the fruit lands of BC. By the end of WWII
farming was more mechanical and expensive. Some Mennonites chose to move to urban centres and cities. There were
more Mennonites in cities in Canada than in many other places in the US.
Abraham Fast moved, with his family, to Greendale, B.C. on March 8, 1938. They came by train and the trip took about
20 hours. Once here, he found odd jobs by bicycling around the community looking for work. “The first I got in B.C.
hoeing vegetable ah… field for a chinaman. And he paid us fifteen cents an hour. From seven to six. And when we finished
that day, we had a dollar fifty in the pocket.” He was able to purchase 20 acres on Sumas Prairie in the fall of 1938 for
$1200.00 with an $80.00 downpayment. They bought a few cows, created pasture and grew hay. However, he also
needed to work for John Kovacs on his tobacco farm in order to make enough money. He worked as part of a crew which
moved from farm to farm for one day each week. (interview with Abrahm Fast, August 17, 1977).
Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Mamm standing in front of their Huntingdon Road house.(1937). Photo credit: Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Mamm.
THE GREAT WAR
I
n 1914, many Mennonites were suspected of being German sympathizers or spies because they were new to Canada
and spoke German. Their mail was suspect, their newspapers were banned and Mennonite schools in Manitoba were
closed or amalgamated with English schools. Even with this suspicion, many Mennonites, non-violent, and against war,
raised over $500,000.00 for the Patriotic Fund, Victory Loans and the Red Cross. Newspapers labelled them “dirtyshirkers” and “of no asset to the country”. In 1917 the Canadian government took away their right to vote and by 1919
government Orders in Council barred any new Mennonites from coming to Canada stating that they were “undesirable,
owing to their peculiar customs, habits, modes of living, and methods of holding property, and because of their probable
inability…to assume the duties and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship within a reasonable time after entry.”2 Many
Mennonites could not forget this treatment and, even after regaining the vote, emigrated to Mexico, Central America and
Paraguay. Prior to emigrating, a delegation had left for South America on July 15, 1919. Its purpose was to determine
if settlement there was feasible or not. By 1921 Mexico was seen as a viable location for new Mennonite communities.
Within 5 years approximately 4,500 Mennonites had moved there with the first trainload having left Canada on March
1, 1922. In 1926 the first group left to settle in Paraguay because of continued government pressure on the Mennonite
communities.
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS and WWII
Many Mennonites were pacifists and formally applied to be recognized as Conscientious Objectors during WWII. While
the Mennonite people were against carrying arms and participating in active military service, many were patriotic and
wanted to help Canada in other ways. In some cases young men could not be spared from work on the family farms. If
this was the case, a fee of $25.00 per month was paid by the family to the government. During the early war years much
of the Alternative Service Work (ASW) was performed in Forestry camps on the BC mainland and Vancouver Island.
While working in the ASW camps they were paid $.50 per day which was less than ½ what they would have earned
working in the military camps. Work in the camps was hard but there were some perks such as being able to further your
education by correspondence. After the war some of these young men carried on to become doctors and engineers.
By 1943 there were other ASW options such as hospitals, mental health institutions, industries, and food processing
plants. Many men were allowed to work on farms during the summer and at other services during the rest of the year.
In December of 1943, men who deemed themselves to be COs but had been conscripted could be discharged from the
military and then apply for Alternative Service.
John H. Enns noted that “In 1943-44 some of our Christian young men who were called into service, chose either the
Medical Corps or other non-combatant services. They found this more meaningful and served their country in a more
worthwhile manner. Best of all, they could witness to men right where the action was, and where the witness was most
needed.” (Goerzen, Loewen and Unger, 1998, p68).
NOT ALL MENNONTIES WERE PART OF THE COMMUNITY
I
n “Walking in a Child’s Footsteps: Growing Up in the Abbotsford Area 1941-1956,” Irvin Redekopp wrote about his
childhood years in Abbotsford. He didn’t write about going to church, speaking German or interacting with others in
the Mennonite community. His family were not farmers or business owners. His father worked at the Pacific Milk Plant
on Riverside Road during the day and at the Atangard Hotel beer parlor at night. In 1952, when he was approximately
11 years old his father and mother managed the “auto-court” (precursor to a motel) on Delair Road. While there they ran
the “general store” and lived behind it in meagre living quarters consisting of a kitchen, bedroom, and toilet. Eventually
an un-insulated, back bedroom was added for the children. Redekopp’s experiences appear to be very different than
those of the general Mennonite community.
1 Epp, Frank H. Mennonites in Canada 1920 – 1940: A People’s Struggle for Survival. (Macmillan of Canada, A Division of Gage Publishing Ltd.,
Toronto, 1982), 243.
2 Joanne Flint, The Mennonite Canadians: Agricultural Canada Series. (Van Nostrand Reinhold Ltd. Toronto: 1980), 53.
FARMING
M
any of the Mennonites who came to the Abbotsford region bought land and began farming. Most commonly they
chose to raise dairy cattle, chickens and various berries such as strawberries and raspberries. Before becoming
established with their own farms, many immigrants worked in the hop, tobacco and berry fields as labourers. They also
worked in logging camps and brickyards. If dairy farmers were within reach or transport distance, of Vancouver, they
would be able to make a living selling table cream, milk and butterfat.
Two cows, one adult and one older calf, standing beside barb-wire fence with
shed in background, on right. Tilled field or tilled strips for lines of crops in
background, far right, on other side of fence (c. 1920). The Reach P4929
Many of the Mennonites became such successful
farmers that they created a consumers’ and fruit
growers’ co-op in Yarrow. This included a general store,
a feed and grain buying business and a berry picking and
preserving plant. Epp notes that “over 2000 barrels
of raspberries, each containing 400 pounds, were
being processed, trucked to Vancouver, then shipped
by railway to eastern Canada and by boat to overseas
markets.” Success led to founding of a “credit union, a
co-operative egg-grading and -marketing plant, a feedmixing and –grinding mill, a creamery and cheese factory,
and a jam factory.” (Epp, “Mennonites in Canada,” p.361)
Sixteen men in hop field, working field. Houses in far background, to left, and mountains with snow-covered tops in far background at
centre and on right. On back: “Planting hops, Spring 1941(April 1, 1941). The Reach P5493
WORKING TOGETHER
T
he people in the Mennonite communities pulled together to help each other. Initially many people bought partially
cleared land which had been logged and was being sold by the logging companies. It was very difficult to manually
clear the large stumps from the fields. In 1942 a group of Mennonite men formed a co-operative to purchase a used
bulldozer to clear land. During the War years machinery was frozen for military use but they hoped the government
would let a group, rather than a single person, purchase the machine. Each of the twenty-nine men paid $100.00 for
membership which was then used for the down payment on a machine. This purchase became a turning point in the
economy of the community with a small charge to run the bulldozer and pay the operator. With steady use much of the
land was cleared within four to five years and thus useable for farming raspberries, strawberries, hay and seed clover.
MENNONITE SCHOOLS
T
he Mennonite community wanted to control the education of their children, at least in part. “Our heritage was
valuable to us and we felt we should have our own instruction in our, in Bible and church related subjects” (Abraham
J. Stobbe). The original vision was to preserve the Mennonite faith, culture and German language. During the late 1930s
a bible school was established in the South Abbotsford Mennonite Brethren Church. By 1944 it had been decided to
approach the provincial government in Victoria regarding creating a private high school. The Provincial Ministry of
Education agreed as long as the provincial curriculum was followed. The Mennonite Educational Institute (MEI) high
school was built in 1946 and 1947 at the corner of Old Yale Road and Clearbrook Road and was the first private school
in the region. The school was always open to students from groups other than just Mennonites, but since much of the
early teaching was in German, non-German speaking student did not apply. There were just under 200 students when
it opened. Today MEI has expanded to include K-12 and has been rebuilt just down the road at the corner of Clearbrook
Road and Downes Road.
MEI grew from the vision of several leading men in the community. They had no complaints about the provincial school
system but wanted to include instruction in religion. The new school was built in 1945 at the corner of Clearbrook Road
and Old Yale Road. Much of the work was done by volunteers. In fact some of the classes were halted and students
helped with such jobs as “cementing the floor in the auditorium.” Beyond the expected academic program, emphasis was
placed on music, drama and religious instruction. While MEI is financially supported by eight (8) Mennonite churches and
the majority of the students are from Mennonite families, there is no prerequisite that students must be Mennonite.
References
Dyck, Cornelius J. Editor. An Introduction to Mennonite History: A Popular History of the Anabaptists and the Mennonites. Herald Press: Scottdale,
Pennsylvania: 1981.
Epp, Frank H. Mennonites in Canada 1920 – 1940: A People’s Struggle for Survival. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, A Division of Gage Publishing Ltd.,
1982.
Fast, Abrahm H. Interview AH32. MSA Museum, Abbotsford, B.C. August 17, 1977.
Flint, Joanne. The Mennonite Canadians: Agricultural Canada Series. Series Consultant: Daniel Hill. Van Nostrand Reinhold Ltd. Toronto: 1980.
Albrecht, H., Goerzen, H.D., Loewen, D., Unger, P.A . “Telling Their Alternative Service Stories: A Home for CO Fellowship.” In Alternative Serivice for Peace in
Canada during World War II 1941-1946, 1st ed., edited by A.J. Klassen, 32-220. Abbotsford: Mennonite Central Committee (B.C.) Seniors for Peace,
1998.
Nickel, Rev. H.H. Interview AH34. MSA Museum, Abbotsford, B.C. August 25, 1977.
Ratzlaff, John. “Supported by eight churches: Important role played by MEI in our community”. ASM News. March 2, 1966.
Redekopp, Irvin. “Walking in a Child’s Footsteps: Growing Up in the Abbotsford Area 1941-1956”. Binder located in the reach Gallery Museum.
Stobbe, Abraham J. Interview AH27. MSA Museum, Abbotsford, B.C. August 05, 1977.