In 1976, Jake and Trudy Unrau bought a home at 171 Walnut Street in Winnipeg and opened it up for Indigenous people visiting Winnipeg for medical appointments. In 1977, the Conference of Mennonites in Canada bought the home, and the Walnut Receiving Home became part of its ministry.
From 1979 to 1983 Elijah and Jeannette McKay were the managers. In 1983, Willie and Maria Guenther became house parents (pictured, front row right side, with staff, ca. 1993). The Guenthers befriended visitors by listening, trying to understand their concerns and building trust.
In 1992, the home’s two directors and eight staff served 1,190 individuals from 53 communities.
The home closed in 2000 because new government regulations stipulated that homes must be “at least 51 percent Native-owned-and-operated.”
For more historical photos in the Mennonite Archival Image Database, see archives.mhsc.ca.
More moments from yesterday:
Menno House
Mennonite Men of Canada
Pauingassi Trading Post
Bernhard Schellenberg
Vineland List
(Photo: Conference of Mennonites in Canada, Native Ministries)
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