The Story of Maria Braun: Return to Schoenwiese
WEST RESERVE Not an email. Not a phone call. There was only one way for Karen Peters to tell me this story. We had to […]
West Reserve
Old Altona Cemetery is NOT in “Old Altona”
(Every time I post a title like that, someone corrects me. I heartily invite such corrections!) In August of 2019, Andrew and I spent a […]
A Glimpse at Village Life Through an Insider’s Lens
At one time, the Rural Municipalities of Hanover, Rhineland, and Stanley had been called the East and West Mennonite Reserves, riddled with Mennonite street villages. […]
Under Giant Trees: The Private Cemetery of Silberfeld
WEST RESERVE In early August, I received an intriguing email from Mary Loewen: “I would like to invite you to our farm cemetery.” I was […]
Jakob’s Final Resting Place (After Being Booted Out of Osterwick)
When I first read Peter Brown’s book The Brauns of Osterwick, I never expected to actually see the gravesite of my great-great-great-grandfather Jakob Braun. It […]