The photos in this collection are of descendants of Jacob D. Reimer, an early Mennonite Brethren leader and their journey to the Ukraine to visit the areas where Jacob Reimer, and his family once lived. Jacob D. Reimer is the 3rd great-grandfather to Agnes Pauls and her brother Ed Pauls. The location of the village and the Jacob Reimer Tombstone was re discovered in 2006. In 2008 the stone was moved to the Molochansk Mennonite Centre in the former Mennonite village of Halbstadt in the Molotschna colony. In 2009, the stone was shipped to Canada and erected at the Mennonite Village Museum in Steinbach, Manitoba. Wiesenfeld was founded in 1880 and abandoned in 1925. It is 50 km east of Dnepropetrovsk and 15 km west of Pavlograd. ( N48, 30.930; E35, 36.691) For more information see: Katherine Martens "They came From Wiesenfeld Ukraine to Canada; Family Stories," (Winnipeg: Katherine Martens, 2005). Katherine Martens "They Sleep in Silence; Far away Their Stone Reminds us of Them Here," (Winnipeg; Katherine Martens, 2013).
http://www.mennonitehistorian.ca/38.2.MHJun12.pdfhttp://www.mennonitehistorian.ca/36.3.MHSep10.pdf
This photo is of the former clock factory owned by the Kroeger family. The one and a half story building is surrounded with a metal fence. a white car is parked in the drive on the right.
This photo is of Jay Reimer kneeling beside a tombstone, placing mud on the faded inscription to improve its readability. A cedar bush is in the background. The tombstone is for Geertuda Reimer born September 3, 1828 and died July 7, 1915.
This photo is of Reg Reimer (left) watching as three younger men from the area work at unloading the Jacob Reimer tombstone from a van to its new location on the grounds of the Molochansk Mennonite Centre.
This photo is of 2 granite plaques on a wall between a wooden door and window. The top is in Russian and the bottom in German. "Mennonitische Fabrik. Als Fabrikanten und Müller spielten die Mennoniten eine stastegische Rolle Inder Industrialisierung der Sudukraine. Die I. J. Neufeld Landwirtschaftliche Geratschaftsfabrik wurde an diesem Ort im Jahr 1890 gegrundet und wurde Grosslieferant modernen landwirtschaftlicher Geratschaften im ganzen Zaristischen Russland. Diese Tafel wurde 2004 von sem Dorfsrat, der Neufeld Familie, und dem Mennonitischen Gedachtniskomitee angebracht." The I.J. Neufeld and Company, was located in Waldheim, Molotschna colony, founded by Isaak Johann Neufeld and one of the biggest agricultural manufacturers in Russia.
This photo is of a pond in Wiesenfeld, Ukraine. In the foreground are thistles and bull rushes. When the Mennonite Brethren church was active here, this pond was used for baptisms.
This photo is of Reg Reimer (left) seated pointing at the Jacob Reimer tombstone that was found in the Ukraine and used as part of a fence. Russ Froese (right) holds a camera, watching Reimer.
This photo is of a abandoned brick building in a field with tall grasses and weeds. The building is the former Mennonite Brethren church in Alexanderthal.
