For the story behind these photos, see Nicholas J. Fehderau's published memoir, "A Mennonite Estate Family in Southern Ukraine, 1904-1924," translated by Margaret Harder and Elenore Fehderau-Fast, and edited by Anne Konrad (Pandora Press, 2013). Many of these photos appear in this book.
See also NP152, the Nicholas J. Fehderau Photo Collection, which contains the remainder of the 2017 deposition of Lillian L. Fehderau-Dyck's photos (Acc. No. 2017-21), those not part of the Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. Lillian is Nicholas's daughter (see Note #1). https://archives.mhsc.ca/nicholas-j-fehderau-photograph-collection
See also [Nicholas J. Fehderau Personal Papers collection](http://cmbs.mennonitebrethren.ca/personal_papers/fehderau-nicholas-j-1904-1989/). The file list itemizes the Fehderau documents held at the CMBS archives.
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The collection contains photographs depicting aspects of Nicholas J. Fehderau's family's life in the city of Halbstadt (Ukraine) and on his family's farming estate up to 1924, when he immigrated to Canada.
The Nicholas J. Fehderau photo collection includes more than the 83 scanned images in this collection (see also NP152 for more photographs).
The collection documents the assumptions, motivation, vision, and everyday life of one Mennonite estate family, the Fehderau family.
In 2017, James VanDyck deposited a collection of photo albums and documents related to the Fehderau family. He did this on behalf of Lillian L. Fehderau-Dyck, his mother.
Many of these Fehderau photos had already been scanned by Linda Huebert Hecht for the Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004, which also provided the organizational structure of this CMBS collection (NP164-04). See CA MAO M2004F for scans of many of these same photos.
In cases where the CMBS images are taken from the 2004 Huebert-Hecht scans, they are marked as "digital." All other images in this collection are scans from original photographs now in the CMBS collection, thanks to the James VanDyck deposition (Acc. No. 2017-21).
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This photo is of the Jakob and Maria Fehderau family in 1913-1914.
Back row: Peter, Marie (Manja), Jakob (Jascha)
Front row: Papa, Nickolai (Kolja), Mama, Elizabeth (Liese), Katharina (Tina).
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This photo is of Peter and Marie (Martens) Bahnmann, grandparents of Nicholas J. Fehderau.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 2.
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This photo is of Peter Bahnmann, grandfather of Nicholas J. Fehderau.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 3.
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This photo is of Peter Bahnmann, grandfather of Nicholas J. Fehderau, with his two daughters, Maria (standing), mother of Nicholas J. Fehderau, and Katharina.
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This photo is of Peter Bahnmann's Brodsky estate showing the main gate. Workers are shown in the foreground. In 1904, Nicholas Fehderau was born in the house to the right.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 5.
CA CMBS NP152-02-02
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This photo is of the Brodsky estate with the grandparents of Nicholas J. Fehderau, Peter and Marie Bahnmann, in the foreground to the right and workers from the estate behind them.
(This photo was published in John D. Rempel and Paul Tiessen, eds., "Forever Summer, Forever Sunday, Peter Gerhard Rempel's Photographs of Mennonites in Russia 1890-1917.")
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 6.
CA CMBS NP152-02-01
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This photo is of the grandfather of Nicholas J. Fehderau, Peter Bahnmann, standing to the right with his breeding stallion.
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This photo is a portrait of four young women.
L-R: Maria Bahnmann (mother of Nicholas J. Fehderau), Tina Martens, Katharina Bahnmann, and Maria Martens.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 8.
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This photo is a wedding photo of Maria Bahnmann and Jakob Fehderau, parents of Nocholas J. Fehderau.
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This photo is a wedding invitation for the marriage of Maria Bahnmann and Jakob Fehderau, parents of Nicholas J. Fehderau.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 10.
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This photo is of Tina, Liese, and Manja (older sisters of Nicholas J. Fehderau) in their playhouse with their dolls at the Brodsky estate. Their grandfather, Peter Bahnmann, teased them by calling them the "troika"
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 11.
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This photo is of Nicholas J. Fehderau and his two older brothers, Peter (standing) and Jascha. (Nicholas is the youngest boy in the picture.)
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This photo is of Nocholas J. Fehderau's second oldest sister, Tina. As a young woman, Tina spent a year in Plauen (Vogtland, Germany) at Housekeeping School (ca. 1915). While there she learned about photography. On her return to the Ukraine, Tina took great pleasure in taking and developing her own pictures. Some of the following casual family poses were likely taken by her. See: From the Heights into the Depths, p. 69.
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This photo is of Manja Fehderau with her friends, Suse and Lena Dick.
L-R: Manja, Suse, and Lena.
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This photo is of Manja Fehderau, sister of Nocholas J. Fehderau, standing to the right in the photo with her friends, Suse and Lena Dick.
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This photo is of Nicholas J. Fehderau on his toy horse.
(This photo was published in: John D. Rempel and Paul Tiessen, eds., "Forever Summer, Forever Sunday, Peter Gerhard Rempel's Photographs of Mennonites in Russia, 1890-1917.")
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This photo is of Nicholas J. Fehderau with his mother, Maria (Bahnmann) Fehderau and his two sisters, Liese and Tina. (Nicholas was about 6 years of age in this photo.)
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This photo is of the house of Nicholas J. Fehderau's parents, on the corner of Poststrasse and Zentraljnana in Halbstadt, Ukraine. Nicholai is standing in front of the house.
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This photo is of Nicholas J. Fehderau's mother, Maria, and Nicholai's brother, Jascha, with his bicycle at the back of their house.
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This photo is the back view of the house of Maria and Jakob Fehderau. The family would often sit on the green benches. The well for drinking is to the right of the photo, and on the veranda there seems to be a young boy holding a guitar.
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This photo is of part of the Fehderau family on the green benches behind their home.
L-R: Tina, Liese, Mrs. Fehderau (mother), Jascha, Mr. Fehderau (father), and Manja.
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This photo is of part of the Fehderau family on the veranda.
L-R: Mrs. Fehderau, Jascha, Mr. Fehderau, Manja, and Liese.
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This photo is of Nicholas J. Fehderau with his sister, Tina, in the garden, facing Zentraljnana Strasse. An iron fence surrounded the property. The family pet dog, "Scharik," is on Tina's lap.
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This photo is of Nicholas J. Fehderau with a friend and his older brother, Jascha.
L-R: Friend, Nicholas, Jascha
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 25.
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This photo is of the Fehderau's servant, Pavel, with their Chestnut Bay, "Granit," in front of their stable in Halbstadt.
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This photo is of some of the Fehderau family in their 7-seater Opel automobile.
L-R: Manja, Father Fehderau, Peter (behind the wheel), Nicholas J. Fehderau, and Jascha.
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This photo is of Nicholas J. Fehderau mounted on his beloved pony, "Krolik," with the coach house in the background. "Krolik" means "pet rabbit."
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This photo is of a cycling party on the Fehderau property. On the left is Nocholas J. Fehderau's brother-in-law, Jakob Dyck; second from the right Ernest Gosemann. The family's summer kitchen is in the background.
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This photo is of 5 young people cycling in front of the Fehderau family stable.
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This photo is of Jascha and Tina, brother and sister to Nicholas J. Fehderau, with their bicycles.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 31.
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This photo is of an outdoor social gathering at the Fehderau home. Eating a meal outside.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 32.
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This photo is of women engaged in dressmaking.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 33.
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This photo from Nicholas J. Fehderau's album is of young women doing handwork and having a "cozy chat."
From the left: Sara Dyck, Liese, Kaete Dyck (Ediger), and Tina.
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This photo is of Nicholas J. Fehderau's sister, Manja, sitting in front of the large window in the piano room of their home, surrounded by the Myrth plants.
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This photo is of Tina Fehderau (second from right) with friends (& bicycles).
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 36.
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This photo is of Tina Fehderau, sister of Nicholas J. Fehderau, holding a pail.
Photo was taken while attending Housekeeping School in Germany.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 37.
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This photo is of Nicholas J. Fehderau's sisters: Manja, Tina, and Liese sitting on a bench wearing fur-lined winter coats.
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This photo is of Peter, the oldest brother of Nicholas J. Fehderau, with his horse, "Kosak," in front of the family stable.
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This photo is of Peter Fehderau, brother of Nicholas J. Fehderau, who chauffeured this automobile during World War I.
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This photo is of Jasch Dyck (brother-in-law to Nicholas J. Fehderau) and Peter Fehderau (brother) posing with their medic designations on their jacket sleeves. L-R: Jasch Dyck, Peter Fehderau.
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This photo is of the home of the estate Seljonoje which the mother of Nicholas J. Fehderau, Maria Bahnmann, had inherited. The veranda in front is where they often sat during the evenings. Part of the estate administration buildings can be seen to the left.
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This photo is a view of the Seljonoje house taken from the garden in the back. Seljonoje had large gardens with many trees.
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This photo is of the breeding stallion "Bojez" held by a servant in front of the Fehderau home on Seljonoje Estate.
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This photo is of Maria Fehderau, mother of Nicholas J. Fehderau, and her daughters during the fruit canning season on the Seljonoje estate. The family often sat outside in the shade at the back of the house.
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This photo is of Tina, sister of Nicholas J. Fehderau, with a young boy on the Seljonoje estate.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 46.
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This photo is of the boat dock on the river "Stovok" in Seljonoje. Jascha, brother of Nicholas J. Fehderau, is in the boat.
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This photo is of the Seljonoje estate manager, Walter Epp (standing on the left), in the cherry orchard on Seljonoje Estate. The sister of Nicholas J. Fehderau, Liese, is sitting under the tree on the right.
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This photo is of the long, shaded path running through the fruit orchard on the Seljonoje estate. Nicholas J. Fehderau's mother is standing on the right with two of his sisters in the background.
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This photo is of Tina and Jascha, sister and brother of Nicholas J. Fehderau, with horses on the Seljonoje estate.
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This photo is of the horses returning from the pasture to the enclosure of the Seljonoje estate. The estate manager's house is in the background. Nicholas J. Fehderau's father had between 80-100 horses, some breeding. The military regularly bought their horses. All the horses and cows at Seljonoje were branded with the Russian initial for "F".
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This photo is of Nicholas J. Fehderau's father, Jacob (left), with son, Peter, beside the steam engine of the threshing machine on the Seljonoje estate.
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This photo is of threshing at Seljonoje estate. The straw was blown away along the long pipe and used as animal feed.
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This photo is of Threshing at the Seljonoje estate. Women help in background.
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This photo is of the house of Nicholas J. Fehderau's aunt and uncle, Katharina (Bahnman) and Peter Wiebe. Katharina and Nicholas's mother were sisters. The entire family is on the veranda.
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This photo is of Jakob Dyck (right), brother-in-law to Nicholas J. Fehderau, greeting a friend on Dyck's property.
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This photo is of a group of young people at the home of Jakob and Sara (Reimer) Dyck. Their son, Jacob, became brother-in-law to Nicholas J. Fehderau, marrying Nicholas's sister, Tina.
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This photo is of Franz Isaak (GR# 1028783) with his aunt, Sara Dyck, (GR# 225751) at the sewing machine, and Mrs. Jakob (Sara) Dyck to the right.
See copy at MAO (M2004F 58)
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This photo is of The Christian Soldier's Society.
Middle row seated from left: Jakob Dyck and his wife, Tina (sister and brother-in-law to Nicholas J. Fehderau).
Jakob and Tina were missionaries in the Tent Mission and this is a group of soldiers among whom they ministered.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 59.
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This photo is of Jakob and Tina Dyck, sister and brother-in-law to Nicholas J. Fehderau, who were missionaries, evangelizing in Russian villages. Their vision was to begin a Tent Mission. This photo is of people gathered for the dedication of the first tent.
See pp. 105-107 in Nicholas Fehderau's biography, A Mennonite Estate Family, for a description of his friendship with Evgeny.
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This photo is of Eugen Rimorenko, a Russian friend of Nicholas J. Fehderau.
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This photo is of the street leading from Neu-Halbstadt to Alt-Halbstadt.
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This is a photo of the Municipal Office Building, which until the Revolution and Civil War, served the western portion of the Molotschna Colony. The building was then used as a store. See Rudy Friesen, Building on the Past (Raduga, 2004), 296.
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This photo is a general view of Bethania Mental Hospital where Jascha, brother of Nicholas J. Fehderau, spent the last years of his life.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 64.
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This photo is of the women's building of Bethania Mental Hospital (Bethel).
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 65.
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This photo is of the Girls' School attended by the sisters of Nicholas J. Fehderau.
See article in the Mennonite Historian, vol.43, no. 3 (September 2017) on the "Halbstadt tunnels," describing the network of tunnels leading to the Credit Union building from various homes and factories in Halbstadt.
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This photo is of the Mennonite Credit Union.
From GAMEO: The Muntau Hospital, located in the Molotschna Mennonite settlement, Ukraine, was established as a private enterprise in 1880 (or 1889?) by Franz Wall. After the death of the founder in 1906, his son Franz Wall, Jr., continued the work, assisted by his sister Elisabeth, a nurse. Before World War I it was enlarged to a 60-bed capacity. Franz Wall was exiled after the Revolution, and his sister came to Canada. The leading doctor was Erich Tavonius, who served the hospital as physician 1900-1927. In 1909 Morija, a deaconess institution closely connected with the Muntau Hospital, was established to train nurses. In 1913 Dr. Tavonius headed the hospital, assisted by Dr. Seiler as oculist and Dr. Büttner. After the Revolution the hospital was nationalized.
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This photo is of the Muntauer Hospital with 60 beds.
See description of this building in Rudy Friesen, Building on the Past (2004), pp. 285-305.
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This photo is of the Mennonite Church that Nichoals J. Fehderau attended from 1905-1917. The photo is a postcard in his photo album.
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This photo is of young people socializing (playing a game) in the foreground, The church cemetery is in the background. Nicholas J. Fehderau's father, nephew, sister Tina's son Jakob (Jaschinka), and his aunt, Sara, were buried there.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 70.
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This photo is of the interior of the Mennonite Brethren meeting house decorated with various displays of fruit.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 71.
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This photo is of a picnic on the Kuruschan estate (Molotschna) of Katharina and Peter Wiebe, aunt and uncle of Nocholas J. Fehderau.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 72.
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This photo is of a social outing at the mill, from Nicholas J. Fehderau's photo album.
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This photo is of the vehicles which guests used to come to Katharina and Peter Wiebe's Kuruschan Estate for a picnic.
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This photo is of a picnic on the Kuruschan Estate of Katharina and Peter Wiebe, N.J. Fehderau's uncle.
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This photo is of a Mennonite Central Committee delivery notice of aid ($10) for widow Fehderau and her family from Mr. Jonas A. Stucky of Kansas. This was during the time of famine in Ukraine. Jacoab Fehderau died in 1922. Note that Nickolai signed the certificate, indicating reception of the aid.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 76.
Compare with another certificate pictured at NP164-04-76.
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This photo is of a Mennonite Central Committee delivery notice of aid ($20) for widow Fehderau and her family from Mr. John Goering of Kansas. This was during the time of famine in Ukraine. Jacoab Fehderau died in 1922. Note that Nickolai signed the certificate, indicating reception of the aid.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 77.
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This photo is of a house and yard plan of Jakob Fehderau's house at 7 Poststrasse Neu-Halbstadt, Taurien.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 78.
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This photo is of the yard plan for the Jakob Fehderau estate, Zelyonoye (Seljonoje).
(near Veseloye, Ukraine)
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 79.
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This photo is of an Orientation Map for Zelyonoye (Seljonoje), showing the distances of Halbstadt and Melitopol from the town of Veseloye.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 80.
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This photo is of the front of a 25 ruble bill of money from the time period.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 81.
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This photo is the reverse side of a 25 ruble bill of money from the time period. On the right hand side the czar is pictured. The left hand side looks blank, however, when the bill is held up to the light, the same picture of the czar becomes visible.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 82.
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This photo is of the Russian market of Tokmak situated 10 Werst from Halbstadt. The Fehderau family walked there to sell clothing every week during the famine period 1922-1923.
Digital scan from Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. See CA MAO M2004F 83.
From GAMEO: Morija Deaconess Home, located at Neu-Halbstadt, South Russia, was the first and only Mennonite deaconess home to be established in Russia, opened on 3 December 1909. A 3-year course offered theoretical as well as practical instruction to Mennonite girls, who offered to dedicate their lives as Christian nurses in Mennonite charitable institutions. The deaconess home also served as a mother house, keeping and caring for the nurses in sickness and old age. The institution was organized as a private charitable organization, all Mennonite churches participating, the initiators being Franz Wall, head of the Muntau Hospital, Peter Schmidt, a rich landowner, and Dr. Erich A. Tavonius, the father of Dr. Erica Tavonius at Fernheim, Paraguay. The home accepted up to 40 nursing students every year. After the Revolution first the religious aspect of the school was changed and in 1927 the last Mennonite head nurse was removed and the deaconess home turned into a medical institute under a Communist leader.
This photo is not in the Molotschna Bicentennial Photo Project 2004. It is from the Nicholas Fehderau collection and scanned for publication in the book "The Russian Mennonite Story: The Heritage Cruise Lectures by Paul Toews" edited by Aileen Friesen.
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This is a photo of staff at the "Deaconess home" called Morija in New Halbstadt, including Sister Vera (4th from left, sitting), then Manager J. Friesen, Dr. Hausknecht, Minister David Klassen, Minister Jacob Loewen, and behind them Manager Franz Wall from Muntanu hospital.