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Isaak Sawatsky and Anna Dick Gossen Sawatsky (she was married 2 times), paternal step-grandfather and grandmother of Elfrieda (Gossen) Dyck. Elfrieda remembers him fondly as a good grandfather.

Funeral of four men and one woman who were killed by the bandits. The woman died with the men because she threw himself in front of her father. Likely they were relatives of Olga’s family.

The wedding of Gerhard Enns’ sister (paternal aunt to Olga Enns) to Abram Baerg. The bride wears a black dress and a white veil. Earlier it was the custom to wear black for weddings. The label of the photo is “Cabinet Portrait” indicating the photographer could have been Mennonite or German.

Heinrich Enns and Sara Enns on horseback. They were siblings of Olga Enns’ father, Gerhard Enns. Heinrich was an evangelist. Perhaps this photo was taken on his travels as an evangelist.

The Gerhard Neufeld family. The background of this photo is interesting with its view of the forest. See M2004E-6 for a picture of Gerhard when he was younger. On this photo he could be 7 years old. His sister Katja (Katie) stands behind him. Imprinted on the bottom right hand corner of this photo is the date 1904.
In 1924 when Olga Enns was 7 years old, her family emigrated to Canada. But she was not allowed to come to Canada in July with the rest of her family. Her parents asked a different Neufeld family to look after 7 year old Olga and Gerhard Neufeld who by this time was in his late teens and an orphan. Gerhard and Olga arrived in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada in September 1924. Gerhard later married a daughter of Bishop (Ältester) Janzen of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Heinrich Enns, brother to Olga Enns’ father Gerhard Enns is with another man in the forest. Heinrich is probably the one standing behind the other man, to the right of the man holding the horse. This photo could be related to his Alternative Service during WW I, or, his work as an evangelist. Heinrich Enns worked as an evangelist during the chaotic times of the 1920s when preaching was forbidden. Because of this he was hunted down by the Bolsheviks, suffering severely because of this to the point of death. The Mennonites asked the Bolsheviks to finally leave him alone. He was brought to a house where he could die in peace. He died in the late 1920s when Olga’s family was already living in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

Jakob Enns family in an outdoor setting. Jakob was likely a paternal uncle of Olga Enns. Again, the label of the photo is “Cabinet Portrait” indicating the photographer could have been Mennonite or German.

Family and friends pose outside in front of a house at Blumenort, Molotschna Colony. To the left of the center are the parents of Elvera, Lydia and Jakob Bergen. Elvera’s oldest sister Hedwig is on her mother’s lap. On the right is the Martin Duerksen family and their 5 children: Martin Duerksen is seated to the right of Jakob Bergen, his son Gerhard stands to his right. (This boy had health problems as a result of the measles and consequently the Canadian government would not let the family come to Canada.) To the right of her son Gerhard is Mathilda Duerksen, sister to Lydia and aunt of Elvera (Bergen) Goerz. To the right of Mathilda is their son Peter and seated in front of him at the small table are their daughters Anna (called Njuta) at the right and Lydia to the left. In the middle is Martha, youngest daughter of the Duerksens (she has a white bow in her hair). David Duerksen, unmarried, stands behind his brother Martin. The family at the left may be another Duerksen family with Lisa, Gerhard? and their child. Standing behind Lydia Bergen is Mariechen Duerksen with her husband.

Jakob Bergen, father of Elvera (Bergen) Goerz, helped build roads and railway tracks during WW I in the Ukraine as Alternative Service. In this photo there is a large building under construction at the right and others that are completed at the left with logs in the foreground.

Jakob Bergen, father of Elvera (Bergen) Goerz, helped build roads and railway tracks during WW I in the Ukraine as Alternative Service. In this photo a railway track is at the left and 3 buildings on the right with logs to the right of the tracks.

Jakob Bergen, father of Elvera (Bergen) Goerz, helped build roads and railway tracks during WW I in the Ukraine as Alternative Service. In this photo the buildings under construction are in the distance while forest trees and stumps of trees are visible in the foreground.

Jakob Bergen, Elvera (Bergen) Goerz’s father, worked as bookkeeper, buyer and sales clerk at the Blumenort General Store. The store was owned by Gerhard Klassen and managed by Jakob’s brother-in-law, Martin Duerksen. In this photo Jakob Bergen is on a business trip for the store. He stands at the front of the sleigh, holding the horses’ reins and behind him sit two of his colleagues. The sleigh stands in front of a Russian style wooden house with a woman looking out of the window. A man in uniform stands beside the sleigh and salutes. The words on the back of the photo: “Gruss aus Gostovskaya” (Greetings from Gostovskaya) indicate that Jakob Bergen sent it to his family in Blumenort.

The words written on the back of photo #7: “Gruss aus” meaning “Greetings from” and the place name written in Russian. Gostovskaya is the way it might be written in English. Jakob Bergen sent this photo to his family in Blumenort while on a business trip for the store worked he worked in Blumenort.

A women's spa called Eupatoria in Maynaki (name of the local place). Women came here for mud baths to improve their health. This postcard was sent to "Gatchen" (Agatha Barkowsky, mother of Rita (Krahn) Reimer, in 1921 for her tenth birthday. The writer encourages "Gatchen" not to give up but continue to be a support to her parents in these difficult times.

The front of this postcard shows separators made or sold by a company named Alpha-Laval. A young woman in traditional dress demonstrates their use.