Agnes Klassen-My Life

This was written by Agnes around 2005.

Agnes Klassen-My Life

I was born on April 25, 1919 in the small Mennonite village of Blumstein, South Russia (now Ukraine) on the banks of the Molotschna River, which flows into the Sea of Azov. My parents were Heinrich and Susanna Klassen. Heinz (Henry) was the son of Heinrich Abraham Klassen and his first wife Anna Friesen who was the daughter of Julius and Aganetha Friesen. They belonged to the Mennonite faith. Their language was German and Plattdeutsch (low German).

When I was two years old, I had a mild form of poliomyelitis that left me with a permanent limp. My right foot and leg did not develop normally. When I was 8-years-old, the Red Cross (in Canada) paid for corrective surgery on my right foot. I was still limping but my foot was now in better alignment. Because of this benevolence, the Red Cross has been a favorite charity of mine for many years.

The years after the October Revolution in 1917 and the end of World War 1 were turbulent times in Russia. Landowners were dispossessed and the Communists took over government. Bandits roamed the countryside. My mother described one invasion into our home when things of value were removed and loaded onto a horse-drawn vehicle, topped off with my mother’s preserves. By the time the vehicle had left the premises were spilling their contents over linens and the other looted objects. In one of my father’s writings, he describes the beautiful jewelry he gave my mother at the time of their engagement in 1911. None of those items made it to Canada when we emigrated in 1924.

In 1922, there was a severe famine in the land and our family did not always have enough to eat. In later years, when we children didn’t want to eat what was put in front of us we were always told to “remember the famine.”

With the help of the Mennonite Board of Colonization, we were able to emigrate to Canada in 1924. By this time we were a family of seven: our parents, Margaret and Dietrich, born on the estate Widnaya, Erica born in Ohrloff when as a wartime requirement our father served as an orderly in a hospital there, myself and baby brother Henry. Two children were predeceased: Alice, Erica’s twin died in 1918 of influenza and Anny died of dysentery when she was very young.

We went by train from Lichtenau in southern Russia to Riga in Latvia, where we boarded a ship for Southampton. There we spent five days being processed for immigration to Canada*. I remember one excursion to see the city of Southampton and being impressed by the many beautiful roses in front of people’s homes. From there we boarded the Empress of France and sailed across the Atlantic, landing in Quebec City on August 8, 1924. Our aunt (mother’s sister) and uncle and their family had come to Canada the year before and they were in Alberta, so we took the train to Calgary. They were in a place called Swalwell, not far from Calgary.

*My brother Bill Klassen said that when aunt Agnes was in her late 90’s, she confessed that some subterfuge had been employed by her parents to get Agnes through the medical exam. Fearing that her polio foot would disqualify her from entry into Canada, her parents arranged that her slightly older sister, Erica, would dress like Agnes and pose as her for the exam. It worked.

Before long, land became available near Dundurn, Saskatchewan. A wealthy farmer had two established farms that he offered for sale to Mennonite immigrants. Each individual farm would have a ¾ section of land. There was enough acreage to accommodate seven families on each farm. Our family moved there and initially we shared the big farmhouse with our aunt and uncle and their family (they had moved from Alberta as well).

Soon we children went to school: a one room schoolhouse in the country accommodating all eight elementary grades. I don’t recall learning English. It must have been done by osmosis. Later, we transferred to a four-room school in the village of Dundurn that included senior matriculation as well. I loved school and I loved to read. I still do.

We moved from the big farm house to a small new house located where our farmland was situated. We planted trees and a garden, and there were chickens, ducks and animals. Initially, the weather allowed us to produce good crops and we were able to repay the cost of our trip to Canada. However, in the mid-1930's western canada experienced a severe drought and as a result there were crop failures. Dust storms lifted the top soil and we searched the sky for any cloud that might bring some rain.

In 1937, my mother died. She had never been robust. She had asthma and a heart problem and in the end she had pneumonia. I missed her greatly. It was also my last year at school. I had finished high school but there was no money for further education. My sisters and oldest brother went to the city (Dundurn) to earn money. I tried to keep house for my father and younger brother (my Dad).

In 1939, we gave up the farm and moved to Ontario. Initially my sisters and I did house work in people’s homes. I took a short course in typing and shorthand and eventually got a job with the Ontario government. I had a very happy career as secretary and administrative assistant to a number of excellent bosses who became my personal friends. I started out in the Department of lands and Forests that later became the Ministry of Natural Resources. Because I have a real interest in nature, this was a natural fit for me.

My love of nature was part of a family tradition. And the prairies of Saskatchewan really nurtured that natural bent. I list here some of the beauty of the prairie that I remember with such pleasure:

-the great big sky, its flamboyant sunsets, the northern lights and the stars at night

-the flowers of the prairie: crocuses, tiger lilies, shooting stars, anemones, violets

-the birds of the prairie: meadowlarks and other songbirds, shorebirds and waterfowl, sandhill cranes

-the animals of the prairies: gophers, foxes, skunks, coyotes

-the wind patterns in a ripening field of wheat and wind designs in snow drifts after a blizzard

-hoarfrost on bushes and grasses

I became a bird watcher and amateur naturalist. Often I combined this interest with travel. In this connection, I have traveled to Trinidad-Tobago, Mexico, Cuba, Australia, East Africa, Hawaii, Alaska, England and Scotland and many areas of Canada and the United States.

General interest and interest in art have taken me to England, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Paris, Amsterdam, Spain, Greece, the Holy Land, Scandinavia, St. Petersburg (Russia), Mexico, Riga, Tallinn, Gdansk and many areas of Canada and the United States.

I did most of my traveling after I retired but I got a real taste for it the year I turned 40-years-of-age when I went on my first European trip. I spent all the money I had at the time and never regretted it. Before her marriage, my sister Erica and I made many trips by motorcar. She has the same appreciation for nature that I have. And I have also been fortunate in having friends with the same interests.

I was baptized into the Mennonite Church in 1937 and later joined the United Church of Canada. I am a member of Jubilee United church. Over the years I have had a number of functions there. I was newsletter editor for a number of years, a leader of a small women’s group and associate librarian. The fellowship and communion with fellow believers has been a source of great joy. Fortunately the church is next door to where I live.

Some members of my family are no longer with us. My father died in 1972. Brother Dietrich (Dick) died in 1993 and sister Margaret passed away in 1999. Erica and her husband are in a retirement home in Waterloo, Ontario.

My brother Harry and his wife Doreen live in my neighborhood, which is a source of happiness for me. I am in contact with nephews and nieces as well. What a joy it is to have family and friends. I have lived in the same apartment for 22 years.