Winnipeg Manitoba

March 26, 2025

My spring trip away is to Winnipeg where my cousin and I have decided to have our own one week writing retreat. Winnipeg in March, cousins have said “no need for boots” and indeed upon arrival it was a sunny day, ice here and there and only remnants of snow with a high of 10 degrees. By 4pm the situation changed, here comes the snow, I have no boots!

March 27

The next day, after settling in at my cousins lovely 10th floor condo in the city, we went to the Canadian Mennonite University. We explored the book store and had a latte at the coffee house. From what I can determine this is the only Mennonite University in Canada, fully accredited with a focus on the liberal arts and social sciences. It is a lovely campus of old stone buildings and newer buildings. I found a couple of books to read that will help me with my exploration of my Mennonite heritage. This university houses the Mennonite historical archives where my great grandfathers letters were discovered.

The university is open to all students, people watching at the coffee house proved that point. I saw a group of young Hutterite women amongst young people that you would see in any university setting. Laptops were out writing, studying and discussing. It was a progressive, inclusive atmosphere. If I was a young person, I could imagine attending school here, learning the finer points of writing instead of stumbling through on my own.

March 28

A visit to “The Leaf” was a nice break from snowy Winnipeg. It is an exhibit at the Assiniboine Zoo and Park. The Leaf is an indoor horticultural exhibit with distinct biomes, tropical, Mediterranean, and a butterfly section. The scent of rosemary in the Mediterranean biome took me right back to our time in Italy. The Leaf includes 30 outside acres of 6 gardens including indigenous plants, kitchen gardens, sensory gardens and more. They were of course frozen and covered with snow, to be discovered on a not winter time visit.

We can see the dome of the Leaf from Joc’s balcony window.

Enjoy the tropical gardens, mmmm, inspires me for our own gardens soon!!

The butterfly garden was not as active as it is on a sunny day but still magical.

March 29

I was so glad that the sun came out and the highways cleared so that we could do the drive to Steinbach to visit the Gerhard Ens Mennonite Heritage Village & Museum. This was definitely on my list of to do’s and did not disappoint.

The outside village does not open until May because of the weather but I was still able to walk around the buildings and get a sense of the traditional village setup of the Mennonites. The grounds are 60 acres which of course was covered in snow, the Canada geese were the only inhabitants.

I found the Mennonite house barn fascinating, the building style was what the people had back in Russia/Ukraine and suited the Manitoba prairie environment perfectly. What a smart thing to do, animals still need to be cared for in a blizzard and the heat from the animals in the barn helped to heat the house. There was also a covered breeze way to the summer kitchen where all the hot cooking and preserving could be done without heating the house in the summer.

My cousin told me that her mother had grown up in a house barn, back then unless you lived in town this is the style of home most had. She remembers going to visit her grandparents there. She also told me a story about her mother, my Auntie Kay. Auntie Kay’s best friend had lived next door, also in a house barn. She had been visiting her friend and stayed too late so that it was dark when she went home. She had to walk through her barn to get into her house, there were no lights so pitch black, she walked right into the back end of a horse. She would laugh and laugh when telling this story in later years.

The museum and galleries were well worth spending time in. I learned more about the women’s role and contributions to art and to settling in the prairies. There was a style of art that reminded me of the Metis bead work, I assumed they had been inspired by the bead work but what I discovered was an example of this art called Fractur painted by a Mennonite in 1830 in Russia. The Mennonites did not arrive in Canada until 1874, so my assumption must then be the opposite..

The hand work of these women was so fine, I can’t imagine when they had time to such work but they did.

There was a display for the book and movie ‘Woman Talking’. Menonnite women had been consulted in many aspects of the story in the effort to be authentic. This is the dress and shoes that Rooney Mara wore in the movie.

There was a strong acknowledgement of the fact that Mennonites settled on the land of the indigenous people and the Metis. The Canadian government told them that the land was empty but that was not the truth. The Metis were instrumental in their success, helping them to plan and survey the villages and move their belongings in their Red River Carts.

There was also a strong honoring of the Mennonite women, who are rarely mentioned in written history other than around births, marriages and deaths. But we know that they worked side by side with the men settling their new land, they were usually pregnant, there were no daycares. There is a monument that I found outside, dedicated to their contribution that moved me. It is big and solid, reminding me of a loaf of sourdough bread, it can’t be overlooked like those pioneer women.

March 31

Today was a trip back 50 years to where I lived with my family during Junior and Highschool days in Winnipeg. There is something about revisiting in person, a place held only by photo albums for so many years. There was a flood of long forgotten memories. My cousin Joc had been a part of our family life in those days and we had fun reminiscing.

This was our house on the Air Base. All the homes are there but no longer military housing, they are civilian homes now. I wonder if the tree in front yard is the same one or a new one, it has been 50 years..

We drove to both my junior high and senior high schools. I only attended grade 10 at the high school as we were transferred that summer. It was a very progressive school for it’s time, offering the full academics program as well as daily vocational classes. Students could graduate grade 12 with their first year apprentice designation for many skilled jobs, welding, mechanics, hairstyling. I took graphic design, learning to type set for the big printing presses and developing photography in the dark room. These skills would progress through the high school years saving students so much in tuition. I had a look at their current list of vocational courses and it has grown and evolved with the times.

When I was 15, I got my first real job, doing laundry at a seniors home that was just down the road from our house. It I think would be illegal to hire a 15 year old for this job these days but one the weekends there I was, going room to room collecting soiled sheets and operating the big commercial washing machines. I remember being sad for a little lady that would show me all her family photos on their wall, telling me her family was coming to visit, but every week, no family came.

The highlight of this day was finding the skating rink. So many hours of my life were spent on that rink’s ice. Several times a week I would catch an early bus on bitter cold mornings, have an hour practice skate with my skating friends with music blaring from the rinks speakers, we would then get changed and bus from the rink directly to school. After school I would teach the kids group skating program to pay for ice time.

April 1

This last day in Winnipeg we spent the afternoon at the Canadian Human Rights Museum. The exhibit that I was expecting to be my focus was only a small display. We found many exhibits to explore and contemplate about, but the one most memorable, was the first nations cedar blanket. The artist is Coast Salish, Carey Newman, from Vancouver Island. I have never seen a piece of art or writing that has portrayed the Residential School experience in such a tragic but beautiful way.

This poem by an Innu woman resonated. The last two lines speak of the strength of hope and determination.

It’s been a good trip filled with writing, cousin time and exploration of what Winnipeg has to offer, even in March without my boots!