Fonds 162 - Yarrow Research Committee fonds

First Nations and Settlers conference First Nations and Settlers conference First Nations and Settlers conference First Nations and Settlers conference First Nations and Settlers conference Elementary school Abraham and Justina (Epp) Harder Orphanage in Grossweide, Russia Poetry collection Poetry Collection First Settlers Post Office Carl Wilson Elementary School

Identity area

Reference code

CA MHSBC 162

Title

Yarrow Research Committee fonds

Date(s)

  • 1907-2004 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

48 cm of textual records
CD of 1,448 birth records
2 maps of the region

Context area

Name of creator

(1998-2010)

Administrative history

The Yarrow Research Committee 1998-2010

The Yarrow Research Committee, an international group of researchers and writers, began as a hopeful concept in 1998 when Jacob A. Loewen approached Harvey Neufeldt about establishing a group, consisting mainly of individuals with strong ties to the Mennonite community of Yarrow, to write and publish one or more volumes on the history of Yarrow from its founding to the 1960s. In March of 1999 such a group had been formed, Jacob Loewen and Harvey Neufeldt had assumed the directorship as co-coordinators, and the Committee conducted its first plenary meeting at the home of Jacob Loewen. By the fall of 1999 the rough outlines of a volume were agreed to, Leonard Neufeldt was appointed editor-in-chief, and Lora Sawatsky was appointed managing editor.
The initial volume soon became a brace of volumes under the title of Yarrow, British Columbia: Mennonite Promise (with volume titles Before We Were the Land’s and Village of Unsettled Yearnings), and Robert Martens came aboard as Assistant Editor. These volumes were published late in 2002 by Horsdal & Shubart under their TouchWood Editions imprint. The success of these books led to three additional related studies. In 2004, First Nations and First Settlers in the Fraser Valley (1890-1960), edited by Harvey Neufeldt, Ruth Derksen Siemens and Robert Martens, was published by Pandora Press. Three years later Pandora Press published Windows to a Village: Life Studies of Yarrow Pioneers, edited by Robert Martens, Maryann Tjart Jantzen and Harvey Neufeldt. Theodore D. Regehr authored the final volume, A Generation of Vigilance: The Lives and Work of Johannes and Tina Harder. This study was published by CMU Press in 2009. The Committee concluded its business in 2010 and officially dissolved in 2011.
Full-term members of the Yarrow Research Committee include the following: Harold Dyck, David Giesbrecht, Esther Epp Harder, Agatha Klassen, Jacob Loewen, Robert Martens, Harvey Neufeldt, Leonard Neufeldt, Peter Penner, Chuck Regehr, T.D. Regehr, Lora Neufeldt Sawatsky and Ruth Derksen Siemens. Maryann Tjart Jantzen and Bill Loewen served on the Committee for the latter volumes.
Substantial financial contributions to the projects of the Yarrow Research Committee were provided by the Jacob H. Enns Estate, Jacob A. and Anne Loewen, the Henry and Margaret Neufeldt Fund, the Peter and Helen Neufeldt Fund, the Quiring-Loewen Trust, the Vine and Branch Foundation (Arthur Block), and the Gerhard Lohrenz Publication Fund.

Archival history

Ted Regehr
Lora Sawatsky
Marlene Epp

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Fonds consists of the following series:
1) History of the General Conference Church in Yarrow and town of Yarrow - 1951, 1959 - (2 files) - Box 361
2) Yarrow Settlement - 1928 - (1 file) - Box 361
3) Minutes - 1999- 200 - (1 file) - Box 361
4) Correspondence - 1937-2001 - (9 files) - Box 361
5) Finances - 2000-2010 - (3 files) - Box 361
6) Draft - Johannes Harder Story by Jacob Loewen & Leonard Neufeldt - (3 files) Box 361
7) Research Material - 1933-1966 - (13 files) - Box 362
8) Tribute to Yarrow - Jacob Loewen - (1 file) - Box 362
9) Family Registers and Profiles of Yarrow Residents - (1 file) - Box 362
10) Genealogy - Epp Harder - (1 file) - Box 362
11) Aboriginal - 1999 - (1 file) - Box 362
12) Boer War - Majuba Hill - 1979, 1999 - (1 file) - Box 362
13) Education of Yarrow Community - Harvey Neufeldt - 1928-1960 - (1 file) - Box 362
14) Yarrow Co-op - 1974 - (1 file) - Box 362
15) Casualities WWI - Yarrow Connection - (1 file) - Box 362
16) Diary of Emma Mollmann Recorded by Janet Boldt -1974 - (1 file) - Box 362
17) Biographical - Vivian Siddon 2006 & C C Peters 1973 - (3 files) - Box 362
18) Chilliwack Museum - Understanding with the Historical Society - 2000 - (1 file) - Box 362
19) Yarrow Questionaire - 1999 - (1 file) - Box 362
20) Photographs & Catalogue of CD - (1 file) - Box 362
21) Clippings - (1 file) - (1 file) - Box 362
22) Ephemera - 2003 - (1 file) - Box 362
23) Teaching Materials to Accompany Birth Records - 1909-1941 - Sara Dekker Thielman - Box 2 (includes CD of 1,448 birth records) - (1 file) - Box 362
24) Maps
25) Cultural and Business Life in Yarrow - (1 file) - Box 362

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

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Language of material

Script of material

Language and script notes

English and German

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

The Blumstein Legacy - A Six Gerneration Family Saga - Leland and Samuel Harder Call # REF FH Harder
Harder Family Review - Indexes - compiled by Ron Isaak - Call # R 077 HAR
Harder Family Review - Issues 1-30 compiled by Ron Isaak - Call # R 077 HAR V.1
Harder Family Review - Issues 31-64 compiled by Ron Isaak - Call # R 077 HAR V.2
Before We Were The Land's - Yarrow, British Columbia: Mennonite Promise - Edited by Leonard N Neufeldt - Call # R 971.137 NEU
Village of Unsettled Yearnings - Yarrow, British Columbia: Mennonite Promise - Edited by Leonard N Neufeldt -Call # R 971.137 NEU
A Generation of Vigilance - the Lives and Work of Johannes and Tina Harder - author T D Regehr - Call #289.709 REG

Related descriptions

Notes area

Note

Title is based on contents of the fonds.

Note

Poetry - 1907-1938

Note

Sara Dekker Thielman (GM #78005) was a mid wife who presided over 1,448 births between 1909 and 1941

Alternative identifier(s)

InMagic Description ID

432

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Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Record created November 07, 2013
Record modified March 27, 2014
Record modified April 22, 2019 LJK

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Accession area