In February 1928, the first trainload of Mennonite farmers from the Prairies arrived in Yarrow, British Columbia, with prospects of farming the newly accessible land in the Fraser Valley. The introduction of raspberry and strawberry farming in the early 1930s increased the viability of these farms. The photo shows Len Doerksen (b. 1936) with his little brother Dan (b. 1947) hauling strawberries behind the family’s Willys sedan at their 2.5-hectare farm on Clayburn Road near Abbotsford in the late 1940s. Agricultural innovation and land usage issues continue to be matters of high interest among both urban and rural Mennonites. What matters are most pressing for you?
For more historical photos in the Mennonite Archival Image Database (MAID), see archives.mhsc.ca.
Photo: Jacob J. Doerksen Family Photo Collection / Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies
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