EAST RESERVE
I had tried to find the cemetery of Neubergfeld two years ago. I figured that even though this is on private land, the road allowance leads almost up to the cemetery so I could probably see it from the car at least. But, the road allowance was more like a path which led to a gate. I stared through the gate but could not see any headstones. I felt weird being there, so we hopped back in the car and drove back down the road allowance, where a gentleman on an ATV was approaching, seemingly wanting to say something to us. Concerned that we had been doing something wrong, I urged Andrew to drive away very fast.
I now regret this hasty retreat.
Two years later I returned, hoping the gentleman on the ATV would emerge once more. I could ask him questions about the cemetery!
I did not find the gentleman… but I did find Neubergfeld.
This stone is remarkably easy to read!
There are two stones that are a sort of shape I have not seen before in local cemeteries. At least, not that I can recall.
The cemetery is a fenced-in square, with two sides hemmed in by a steep drop-off into a deep ravine. (You can also see this on the feature photo.) As the Joubert Creek winds its way through the southernmost part of the East Reserve, it cuts deeply and strangely into the rocky soil. It’s kind of a strange site, Neubergfeld.
You see the large tree above. Below you see the other half of the tree, reaching over the cemetery.
Neubergfeld is located in township 4-6E, just two miles from Pansy. But according to the Historical Atlas of the East Reserve, there was not a trail to link the two villages.
A sad story from the Atlas: in 1900, Peter F. and Maria Sawatzky of Neubergfeld lost six children within just eight days. This occurred while they were caring for their 3-week-old son, who survived the sweeping epidemic.
Apparently Neubergfeld was settled by the children of the settlers of Altbergfeld… which makes sense when you look at the names of the villages, old and new, ha.
Before I left, this time I took a picture of the road allowance leading to the cemetery. It was summer then, and it doesn’t seem so long ago…
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