Mennonite Heritage Village

Winter is Coming

November 7, 2024

By Nathan Dyck

Like most Manitobans, I look toward the inevitable coming of winter with trepidation and muted anticipation. Are we going to have any exceptional cold spells? Will the roads be perpetually icy? Will we have enough snow to get out and ski, slide or sleigh in the beauty of nature? One clear sign of the upcoming winter is the MHV Christmas Market on this Saturday, Nov. 9 from 10am-4pm!

With the changing season in mind, I want to think back to the experience of the Mennonite families who arrived in 1874, to imagine how they might have experienced their first winter. We know from documentary evidence that they found their first winter exceedingly difficult. Arriving in Manitoba in late August or early September, they had little time to prepare for a winter unlike any they had experienced before. The Ukrainian cities of Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia, in the region of several of the Mennonite colonies, show historic temperature averages from the mid to late-1800s for December and January to be between +5°C and -5°C, with a few exceptionally cold years in 1855 and 1889 reaching averages of -10°C (data for the 1860s & 70s is missing). By contrast, historical data from St. John’s College in Winnipeg shows average temperatures from December 1874 at -16°C (Av. High: -9°C, Low: -22°C) and January 1875 at a frigid -27°C (Av. High: -20°C, Low: -33°C)! Averages never really tell the whole story, as the low temperatures for Christmas Eve and Dec. 28, 29, and 31st were below -30°C, with the 28th being -38°C. January 1875 only had two days with highs above -16°C, with New Year’s Day at -7°C and the 31st at -4°C.

Heavy coats were packed in the Tjist (travel chest) to weather the harsh winter. Credit: Mennonite Heritage Village.

The Mennonite migrants did their best to prepare for the long and bitter winter in Canada. Many packed heavy coats in their travel cases, and before disembarking at the confluence of the Red and Rat rivers, families purchased stoves, among other goods, in Winnipeg. The land they arrived on was either bush, swamp, or open grassland. Most had spent their capital on other supplies and transatlantic travel, so they did not have the finances or time to establish wooden homes in the first winter. Semlins (sod-houses) were built, which when heated would leak from the melting snow on the roof. While these homes provided much needed insulation, due to the harsh temperatures families had to share the space with their livestock. Several families in Steinbach lost their oxen due to the inability to feed them through that first long winter. It is hard for us today to imagine the hardship of surviving that first winter. Moving from a place where you have established homes, to starting from scratch, from a climate with milder, shorter winters to one with winters that stretch on and average temperatures twenty degrees colder than you are used to is difficult for many Manitobans to imagine.

Sleighs line Winnipeg’s Main St. at Lombard Ave. looking north toward the first city hall, c. 1882. Credit: Archives of Manitoba Winnipeg-Streets-Main 1882 Collection Item 1 Negative ID N16067 c/o Virtual Heritage Winnipeg.

Making comparisons about the experience of winter in different places is difficult. Having spent several winters in New Zealand, experiencing 0°C with 100% humidity and no meaningful way to heat your home is a bone-chilling experience. Those who have spent time on the BC coast will have had similar experiences. That aside, there is no real comparison with the breath-taking cold like the -43°C experienced by our Mennonite ancestors on January 8, 1875. Reflecting on this early Mennonite experience can give us perspective to be grateful for the amenities that will make our lives comfortable through the coming season. Let us be mindful of the unhoused in our community and our newcomer neighbours for whom this winter might be a difficult experience. I encourage you to reach out and do something that might warm up someone’s winter!

MHV is seeking to make your winter more enjoyable, and we encourage you to come and see the village lights, skate on our rink and hop on a sleigh ride with Winter in the Village, December through February.


Upcoming Events:

MHV Christmas Market, November 9, 10am-4pm. Peruse a variety of vendors in the MHV Auditorium and stock up on local gifts for Christmas. Admission is a Tin for the Bin for Southeast Helping Hands or cash donation. MHV Christmas Café with a hot lunch available onsite. There will be a children’s craft and wagon rides available for purchase and a special Village Books and Gifts door prize!

Secret Treaty Book Launch, November 17, 2PM (*New Time*). Join the MHV in launching Jonathan Dyck and Elder Dave Scott’s book, The Secret Treaty: A Lost Story of Ojibwe and Mennonite Neighbours. Share stories of the West Reserve before Mennonite Settlement and first encounters between Ojibway and latecomers. How do we forge a different way of sharing this land?To purchase tickets, please visit www.mhv.ca or mennochurch.mb.ca.  

Where the Cottonwoods Grow viewing, Dec. 1, 2:30pm. Hosted by the Christian Mennonite Church, 479 Hanover St. Experience the story of Mennonite migration to Canada in 1874 and the difficult decisions and experiences of our Mennonite ancestors.

Winter in the Village, begins December 3! Visit the village and enjoy the light displays, kicksleds, skating, snowshoeing and more. Join the MHV on Dec. 5 for the 150th Choral Celebration with Eastman Male Chorus. Stay tuned to www.mhv.ca for workshops hosted throughout the winter.