by Margaret (Klassen) Neufeld (daughter)

Jakob and Katharina (nee Neufeld) Klassen immigrated to Canada from South Russia in 1891(1*). With them came their six children: Elizabeth (11), Abraham (7), Katharina (6), Jakob (4), Anna (2) and Martin (1). The Klassen family settled in Manitoba, and indications are that they farmed in the Plum Coulee area(2*). Poor living conditions, meager incomes, illness in the family, and death which were common in the lives of early settlers, did not escape the Klassen family. Sadness greeted them shortly after their arrival, when one-year-old Martin died(3*) of measles on Dec. 25, 1891 and Anna died(4*) of unknown causes in March, 1892 at the age of 4 years. Such circumstances forced people to think of ways in which they could help each other to survive those difficult years. Three more children(5*) were born to them here: Eva in 1893, Johan in 1895, and Franz in 1899.

It was likely here in Manitoba that Abraham received his elementary school education. He shared with his family that he had 3 years of schooling, which was taught in German. His text books consisted of the Bible, a 'Fibel' (ABC learning to read book), and a 'Lesebuch (reader). His ability to read English was self-taught. He had a keen mind, and many years later when he had his own farm he subscribed to the Western Producer, a beekeeper's magazine, and the German Mennonite periodical, Der Bote, all of which he read regularly.

In 1900 the Jakob Klassen family moved to Saskatchewan where the youngest child, Marie(6*), was born. According to the 1901 Census, the family lived on a homestead 3 miles southeast of Laird, in the Ebenfeld School District. Abraham, the oldest son, was 16 when the family moved to Saskatchewan, which meant that he would have taken on responsibilities on the farm as an adult. He worked on his father's farm and hired out as a farm laborer until he was 24 years old. Abraham acquired a homestead(7*) approximately 1-1/2 miles West of the Laird Ferry, near the Doukabour village of Petrofka. His nearest neighbors were a Ukrainian, a Doukabor and a Frenchman from whom he learned a smattering of these languages as he attempted to communicate with them. A little old log house which was probably the dwelling built by Abraham can still be seen on this land.

Meanwhile, he had become interested in a young woman, Anganetha Bergen, who was born in Gretna, Manitoba, in 1889 and had moved with her family to a farm two miles north of Waldheim, Saskatchewan at the age of nine. In June of 1908 Abraham and Anganetha were married, and settled on Abraham's homestead at Petrofka. A favourite story, which was repeated many times, and possibly altered in the process, told of their 'honeymoon' trip to this homestead on a wagon drawn by a horse and an ox, which Abraham owned at that time. When they came to the North Saskatchewan River to cross by ferry, the ox was thirsty. And as oxen do, he knelt down with his front feet to take a drink, which tilted the wagon so that the young bride, Anganetha, rolled off the seat on the wagon into the water. Apparently, she suffered no ill effects from this adventure.

At Petrofka, their first child, Helena, was born. By 1910, the year Peter, their first son, joined their family, they had moved to a farm southwest of Laird. At first they lived in a little shack on the yard of Anganetha's bother, Isaac Bergen. Eventually, they moved into their own house where, in 1911, Anganetha (Nettie) was born. When the farm was sold, Abraham and Anganetha with their family moved to Laird into a small new house. Their third daughter, Katharina (Tena), was born here in 1913.

In Laird, Abraham had a John Deere Dealership(8*) as well as the Security Lumber business. A Rosthern newspaper, The Enterprise, dated March 20, 1913, carries an advertisement for the sale of new Deere Gang Plows, with A.J. Klassen named as the agent in Laird. However, these businesses did not last more than a couple of years, during which time items such as machinery parts would be bought from the agent on credit, and money had to be collected from the farmers who were themselves struggling to survive.

The final residential change for Abraham and Anganetha Klassen and their family occurred when they moved their little house to a farm(9*) 3 miles north of Laird, which they purchased from Anganethas brother, Isaac Bergen, a man whose fondness for horses was well known. It is said that the down payment on the farm consisted of a horse and saddle. Although this land was virgin soil, which had to be broken, and much of it was bush land, they managed with a lot of hard labor to cultivate it, seed it and harvest crops. On occasion, woodcutters were hired to help Abraham clear the land. In a letter dated 1917 (read the letter) which Anganetha wrote to her sister at Waldheim, she says that due to the additional help she has time only for making meals and baking (9 loaves of white bread a day), aside from caring for their family, which now included Maria (Mary), born in 1915. Some years later a local farmer by the name of Gus Orth sold them a third quarter(10*) of land, which lay across the road to the South of the SW quarter section that they purchased earlier.

Abraham, with his brothers built a two story extension onto the little house, but before it was finished, and a week after their second son, Jacob (Jake), was born, Anganetha died of influenza when an epidemic swept through the country. She had reached the age of 29 years. Now Abraham was left with a farm to look after and six children to raise. We can only imagine the burden of loneliness and overwhelming responsibility which he carried at that time. With Grandmother Bergen taking care of the baby, and some hired help, he managed to get through that first year. Then, in October of 1919 he married Helena, the youngest sister of his first wife, who had just passed her 21st birthday. Helena brought one-year-old Jake back with her and very conscientiously treated her new family with love and care. When seven more children were born to Abraham and Helena on this farm in the ensuing years, she treated all of the children equally, so they grew up as one family. The oldest son, Peter, died of pleurisy at the age of 14.

Together Abraham and Helena farmed for 40 years. The early years were economically very difficult. Clothes for Helena and the children were made by hand and the children got used to wearing 'hand-me-downs'. Gardens were large and required many hours of labor to produce crops, and the food cooked for their large family came primarily from the farm products. Water for home use was heated on a wood stove, and electricity did not reach that area until about 1950. Modern plumbing did not exist, but in spite of the lack of modern conveniences, they were resourceful and learned to cope with life in these circumstances. Work was endless on the mixed farm, and the children learned to take responsibility for simple chores at an early age. Special times on the farm included sheep-shearing and seeding in spring, haying time in summer, and neighborhood butchering bees and wood cutting, after the harvest in the fall. In the winter time, men were occupied with repairing harnesses and barn chores, while the women patched a lot of clothes on long winter evenings by the light of kerosene lamps. By the time a tractor and car replaced horses, and a combine with one driver replaced a threshing machine with a whole crew, the older children had grown up and left home.

Abraham owned a violin which he played by ear. He also hand-carved another violin with the intent of having two instruments to play together. The children would beg him to play when they went to bed, so they could fall asleep to his music. However, in a farm accident, Abraham got his left hand caught in a machine ("haxel machine") and partially severed 2 of them, After this he could no longer play the violin as he had before, because his fingers were not long enough to press down on the strings, so the bedtime violin music also ceased. Helena sang with the children, and frequently could be heard singing as she worked. Eventually they owned the ornate pump organ which had been bought by Abraham's father. On occasions such as Christmas, family birthdays, or other celebrations which brought the family together in later years, a part of the event usually consisted of gathering around this organ and singing in four-part harmony.

Abraham and Helena were members in the Tiefengrund Mennonite Church which served the spiritual needs of the family, and their social life centered around this community of faith. Helena was an active member in the Sewing Circle, while Abraham served on the Board of Trustees for a number of years. All of their children attended Sunday School, received catechism instruction and in time were baptized and became members of this congregation. The children all attended the Hamburg School where Abraham served on the school board for 21 years.

The family's business transactions were handled in the town of Laird. When a decision was made in 1940 to organize 'The Laird Cooperative Association, Limited', Abraham was chosen to be a member of the provisional Board. It is said that the first meeting was held in the engine room of the Pool Elevator, and the first products cooperatively ordered were binder twine and apples. Abraham later also was a shareholder of this Association, and served as a director. With the acquisition of a telephone on their farm, Abraham Klassen became a shareholder in the Laird Telephone Co., purchasing his share from Henry Forler. For a number of years leading up to 1960, he served as director representing party line Number 11.

Abraham and Helena Klassen were privileged to celebrate both their 25th and 50th wedding anniversaries, sharing a total of 54 years of marriage. They moved from the farm to a house in Laird in 1958. When Abraham became ill in 1971 and they could no longer stay alone, they moved in with Helen in Saskatoon, where they lived for nearly two years. After several months in the Rosthern Mennonite Nursing home Abraham died in 1973 at the age of 90 years. As a widow, Helena eventually moved to the Westview Pioneer Lodge in Waldheim where she lived for over 20 years. She will be remembered for all the afghans, stuffed toys, and other crafts she made. Although the loneliness of old age accompanied her also, she had an inquisitive mind, generous spirit and a sense of humor to the end. In 1997. Helena died in the Rosthern Hospital at the age of 98 years.

FOOTNOTES

1. 1891— According to the Canadian Census of 1901.
2. Plum Coulee area — Records of land tax payments for 1895, 1897, and 1899 indicate that Jac. Klassen, farmer at Plum Coulee, owned 160 acres on the NE quarter of Section 27, Township 2, Range 3W, valued at 640 (960 in 1899).
3. Martin — A death certificate confirms that Martin Klassen, Mennonite farmers child from South Russia, died of measles on Dec 25, 1891, at the age of 1 year. The informant, Rev. Isaac Giesbrecht, who registered this information resided at Neuhoffnung, in the vicinity of Plum Coulee.
4. Anna— Further, a death certificate confirms that Anna Klassen, Mennonite farmers child, died of unknown causes on Mar 1, 1892 at the age of 4 years. The informant who registered this information was Cornelius Wiebe, a farmer at Reinfeld, which was the location of a Mennonite church in the vicinity of Plum Coulee at that time.
5. Three more children — Certificates of birth for Eva and Johann indicate that they were born in the Rural Municipality of Rhineland, in which the above farm land is located.
6. Marie — Marie was born at Rosthern, SK according to the Canadian Census of 1901.
7. homestead — Records at the Land Titles Office indicate that the homestead was located at: NW quarter of Section 34, Township 43, Range 6, West of the 3rd Meridian. The records also indicate that Abraham Klassen got title of the land on July 17, 1912. He would have had to apply for the homestead at least 3 years earlier. Since he lived there alone prior to his marriage in 1908 he may have applied as early as 5 years before he got the title.
8. John Deere Dealership — Records of 1913 indicate that Abraham had a John Deere dealership located on Lot 1 & 2, Block 10 in Laird, and at the same time he also had the Security Lumber business on Lot 1. Abraham also owned another building on Main Street for many years.
9. farm — The farm was located on the two south quarters of Sec. 1, Tp 44, Rge 5, W3rd.
10. quarter — NW Qtr. of Sec. 36, Tp 43.