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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.

This photo of the Halbstaedter Musikverein (Halbstadt, Molotschna Colongy, Ukraine) was taken in Halbstadt circa 1908 and given to Alida Unruh’s grandmother, Frau Heinrich Unruh, on her birthday, January 14, 1914 by her brother David Schellenberg, a horn player who is wearing a light suit and is seated in the second row. This unique photo has survived two world wars and The Great Trek out of Russia in 1943.

The 18 year old Abraham Unruh, Alida’s maternal uncle, is seated with his guitar. Abraham was the brother of Anna Unruh, Alida’s mother. The photo was taken Aug. 22, 1943 and sent to Anna Unruh who was living in Leipzig, Germany at that time. Abraham changed his name to Adolf under the German occupation of the Ukraine.

Formal portrait of Anna and David Penner, a wealthy couple of Lindenau, Molotschna Colony, Ukraine. In 1891 they took Alida’s grandfather, Heinrich Unruh of Gnadental into their home as a foster child who could work for them. Heinrich was 11 years old at the time. His father had died two years earlier. His mother (Alida’s great-grandmother) and the three younger of Heinrich’s 10 siblings remained in Gnadental, some distance away. Heinrich probably did not see them often after coming to live with Anna and David Penner.

The young Unruh family in Tiegenhagen, Molotschna Colony, Ukraine. Heinrich and Maria Unruh, grandparents of Alida, are pictured with (left to right) Helene aged 3, baby Heinrich 6 months, and two year old Anna (mother of Alida). This photo was taken when grandfather had come home on leave from the medical corps during WW I.

A sewing class in the home of the instructor in Tiegenhagen, Molotschna Colony. Alida’s mother, Anna Unruh is seated at her sewing machine on the left. The other young women in the class are: (clockwise, left to right) Alice Hiller, ?Froescher, Herta Dause, Lena Suderman, the instructor, Irma Martens, ? Kasianj. The name of the young woman seated in the front is not known.

The Heinrich Unruh Family, parents and 8 children, their ages given in brackets. Seated (left to right): David (20); the mother, Maria (nee Schellenberg); the father, Heinrich (59); Abraham (14). Standing (left to right): Maria (11); Peter (16); Erna Neumann (wife of David); Anna (25), Alida’s mother; Helena (26); Heinrich (23); Kaethe (10). Alida’s grandfather, Heinrich Unruh, returned home to his family on Dec. 31, 1938 after enduring 6 years of hard labour in a prison camp (Gefangenschaft). The entire family had suffered serious consequences due to his imprisonment. The four oldest siblings had to work at manual labour however received only 50% of their wages because they were considered “enemies of the people”. Ten-year-old Kaethe has the distended belly of malnutrition. She was also quite ashamed of her underpants, which were her brother’s cut-off pants and are visible under the dress. This photo was published in: Harry Loewen, ed. Road to Freedom, Mennonites Escape the Land of Suffering (Kitchener (Ontario): Pandora Press, 2000), p.66.

The wedding of Elisabeth Stobbe and Dietrich Baerg in the 1930s at Schönau, Molotschna Colony. Dietrich’s sister Lena (Helena) Baerg stands to the left of the bride. On the far right is her sister, Agnes Baerg.
The two young women in the middle are not identified. Dietrich and Lena were Alida’s mother’s maternal cousins. The parents of Dietrich and Lena were Heinrich Baerg and Aganetha (Schellenberg) Baerg, formerly of Tiegenhagen.

Anni Rosen? a German friend of Anni Unruh, Alida’s mother, stands in front of the Medizinisches Tecknikum, the school for training nurses in Halbstadt. It was sent to Anni Unruh August 23, 1938 as a remembrance from Anni Rosen’s school days. Anni Unruh wanted to become a nurse but her parents couldn’t afford to pay for her education.

Parents of the Schoensee Mennonite Brethren Church choir members. In second row from top the man at the far left is Johann Bartels, leader of the choir and lay minister. In front of him is his wife Anna (Martens) Bartels. Beside him (to the right) are Anna Wall’s parents, Abraham Abram and Helena Wall. Anna is the only young child in the photo. She is sitting on her mother’s knee.

Choir of the Schoensee Mennonite Brethren Church. In second row from the bottom, 4th from the left (sitting) is Johann Bartels, leader of the choir and lay minister. To his right, 5th from the left is Jakob Brauer, a minister. Four of Anna Wall’s siblings, a brother-in-law and two cousins are on this photo. They are identified as follows:

Greta Bartels, daughter of Johann Bartels is 3rd from left in the front row.
Tina Wall, sister to Anna is 2nd from left in the 2nd row, up from the bottom of the photo. (Tina lives in St. Catharines as well and at present is 95 years of age.)
Lena Wall, sister to Anna is 1st at the left in the 3rd row, up from the bottom of the photo.
Sara Hamm, the oldest sister of Anna is the 6th from the left, in the 3rd row, up from the bottom of the photo.
Nicolas Hamm, husband of Sara is the 5th from the left in the 4th (top) row.
Abram Wall (Jr.), brother of Anna, is 7th from the left in the 4th (top) row. Kornelius Bartels, son of Johann Bartels, the choir leader is the 8th from the left in the 4th (top) row