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With digital objects
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Villagers' location

A sketch of a map showing the locations of families and buildings in the village of Chortitz, Manitoba (West Reserve) in the 1920s and 1930s. Includes one copy.

Goertzen-Armin, Marta, 1923-2009

Manure pressing

Sketch of a family pressing manure into bricks in front of their housebarn, circa 1933.
"Manure Pressing in Spring. Chortitz by Winkler, Manitoba circa 1933"

Goertzen-Armin, Marta, 1923-2009

Barefoot

Sketches of children playing barefoot outside their houses.
"We dash home: "Daddy, Daddy, may we go barefoot this afternoon (too)? The other children do!" "You don't say! What nonsense! The earth isn't even thoroughly thawed out yet!" "Who goes barefoot?" asks Greet. "Well...!" "Don't tell me you want to become such snotpots too!" Not even "barefoot-in-the-shoes", not yet..."

Goertzen-Armin, Marta, 1923-2009

Mother dies

Sketches of the funeral of Marta's mother.
"Our mother dies March 6, 1928. The aunts want to divide us among them, but father says no. "I'll keep them together..." Those village women who do that, have washed mother and put on her white dying-dress. The aunts have put mother's own red, pink, and white geraniums 'round her."

Goertzen-Armin, Marta, 1923-2009

Greta gathers hops

Sketches of a woman making yeast by hand in her yard
"Greet makes yeast: swirl honey and hops+ and flour in a crock with warm water and hang it in the back boxelder for fermenting. Every day she checks, swirls and smells until it is 'ripe'. Then she takes it down and uses a bit of it each time to set the yeast sponge for bread-making. Lisa and I have to upend manure sod (mennonite coal) for further drying...
+rather the water from boiling hops..."

Goertzen-Armin, Marta, 1923-2009

small Sunday afternoon

Sketch of a group of children playing in the woods by the cowfence in their rural village in Manitoba
"On Sunday afternoons there's time to go to the woods or play in the cowfence. When the big girls ask us to go with them it's a special occasion. This time they're showing us how to hold dandelions under our chins to see if we like butter. They turn and nudge us away from and into the sun, each in turn. Annie and Helen, Agnes, Susie and Margaret; Abe, Betty and me, themselves Mary Tina and Tina who all like butter!

Goertzen-Armin, Marta, 1923-2009

Russian Mennonite Borscht

Sketch of a woman and her children gathering ingredients and preparing borscht
"Russian Mennonite Borscht (from the oral tradition): Simmer about 4 lbs. beef, mutton, or pork, with lots of bone until almost done, salt to taste, of course. Add a head of cabbage and about 4 onions, all medium sliced or chopped, three long stems dill, and a small handful of parsley. When done, add about twelve or so juicy ripe tomatoes and keep simmering until these are done. Served with sweet or sour cream: Umm-hmm!"

Goertzen-Armin, Marta, 1923-2009

When the sun is two hands high

Sketch of a girl judging the time of day in order to bring the cows in from the fields
"When the sun is two hands high it's time to bring the cows home."

Goertzen-Armin, Marta, 1923-2009

October school

Sketches of children having lessons in a schoolhouse, and leaving when the day is over
"October 10, 1930 I turn seven. On the 11th I start school. The first half hour we have German Primer and the last half Bible stories... in between 9:00 and 3:30 we do everything the government requires. By Bible story time we're getting very sleepy. Miss Warkentin (the boys say forkentine) rads about Abraham and Sara. I force my eyes open to stay awake in the third grade. I wave my hand up. "Yes, Martha?" "Will we be in the Bible too one day?""

Goertzen-Armin, Marta, 1923-2009

Old Colony church

Sketch of the outside of an old colony Mennonite church in Chortitz, Manitoba

"OLD COLONY MENNONITE CHURCH
CHORTITZ BY WINKLER MANITOBA
NOW: MENNONITE MUSEUM, STEINBACH
1) Men's entrance from north with collection box inside lobby 2) Women's, Minister's, Foresänger entrance with Stäftjes (small rooms) 3) and 4) for their use."

Goertzen-Armin, Marta, 1923-2009

Semlin sketch fragments

Fragments of sketches of a semlin, probably based on the one Marta's grandmother's family lived in once

Goertzen-Armin, Marta, 1923-2009

The funeral

Sketches of the burial and funeral of Marta's mother.
"At the cemetery we wing, pray, and the minster "thanks off". Then he scatters the first handful of earth on the coffin... Village women brought butter and milk together yesterday to make the rolldough. This they carried to other women and took some themselves for baking. While we are at the cemetery, they set the coffee table: rolls, coffee and sugar cubes. The men eat first, then the women and the children."

Goertzen-Armin, Marta, 1923-2009

Flea methodology

Sketches of Marta and her siblings dealing with fleas in their bedclothes.
""Look how the beasts hide themselves in the seams! There - you must be quicker than they - get 'em between your thumbnails and squish them before they hop away!" says Greet. No one seems to know where these fleas come from that spread through the village now and then. Some say from the hay, some say from Mexico. We chuckle at those who still wear old-fashioned clothes. We call their high collars flea collars because they hide the telltale red dot flea bites!"

Goertzen-Armin, Marta, 1923-2009

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