This is a photo of the home of Bernhard Klippenstein (1880-1973) and Maria (nee Dyck) Klippenstein (1882-1956) in Waldheim, Northwest Territories. They moved from Altbergthal, near Altona, Man., to Waldheim around 1902. They returned to Altbergthal around 1907. I enjoy this photo with the thatched roof, the pole fence, the horse and buggy with top, the women’s hats, the wild flowers in the grass, and the photographer’s bright blue stamp on the left. The photo elicits questions: How did they thatch the roof? Where are they going? What plants did they use for food and medicine? Where did they get the windows from? Were the bricks in the chimney homemade? Why did they move to the N.W.T.? And why did they move back to Manitoba? Looking at the past is like visiting a foreign country; the first task is to understand it.
For more historical photos in the Mennonite Archival Image Database, see archives.mhsc.ca.
More moments from yesterday:
Harold Cardinal
Key 73
Dancing problems
Alternative service camps
Oakella Prison Farm
(Photo: Mennonite Heritage Archives / Lawrence Klippenstein Photo Collection)
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