Namaka-Carseland-Strathmore Mennonite District Committee fonds
Accession 2002.019
Title and Physical Description
Namaka-Carseland-Strathmore Mennonite District Committee fonds. — 1937-1971. — 3.5 cm of textual records. – 24 photographs
Administrative/Biographical History
The Namaka-Carseland-Strathmore Mennonite District Committee was one of many local committees of the Vertreterversammlung (Representative Association of Mennonite Settlers in Alberta). It included Mennonite Brethren and General Conference Mennonites who had migrated from a variety of places and churches in the Soviet Union in the 1920s. Some had settled on Namaka Farm, an 8 square mile tract of land southeast of Strathmore, Alberta, and others on area farms. Repayment of the transportation debt incurred by the immigrants was the most urgent concern of the Vertreterversammlung, but various inter-Mennonite mutual aid social, healthcare, cultural and economic programs were also established. Members were assessed a modest levy to cover operating costs of the Vertreterversammlung. The Namaka-Carseland-Strathmore district committee also established its own cemetery and burial society and negotiated contracts with a doctor and the hospital in Rosemary whereby membership fees covered part of the doctor’s fees or the hospital operating costs in return for very significantly lower fees for services received. During and after World War II overseas aid and relief programs were created. In 1963 the some of the programs were merged to form Mennonite Central Committee, Alberta, while others were closed or spun off as stand-alone agencies.
Custodial History
The records were transferred to the Conference of Mennonites in Alberta.
Scope & Content
The fonds consists of minutes, membership and financial records.
Source of Acquisition
Gift by Conference of Mennonites in Alberta through Henry Goerzen, CMA Archivist.
Access restrictions
Access to personal information in church registers & financial records is subject to MHSA privacy policy
Finding Aids
See Files Inventory
Associated Materials
Associated records may be found at the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies
Related Materials
For records related to the Namaka Mennonite Church fonds, see:
- Namaka Mennonite Brethren Church fonds, MHSA
- Goerzen, Henry D. (2000). Namaka, 1925-2000: Celebrating God’s Faithfulness from Generation to Generation. Didsbury, AB: Mennonite Historical Society of Alberta
- Namaka Community Historical Committeer. (1993). Trails to Little Corner: Namaka & District – Blackfoot: West End, Cairnhill: East Side, Crowfoot, Elwood, Hammer Hill, Harwood, Namaka, Namaka Farm, Orange Valley: East Side in Alberta, Canada. Strathmore, AB: Namaka Community Historical Committee
Notes
Accession 2002.019
Language – German and English
Source: Namaka 1925-2000: Celebrating God’s Faithfulness from Generation to Generation by Henry D. Goerzen (MHSA Library)
Last updated 04 May 2010 – Judith Rempel
Revised March 2012.
Files Inventory
1- 1 Kassenbuch – Carseland – Namaka – Strathmore – 1937-1971
1- 2 Kontrolbuch – Carseland – Namaka – Strathmore – 1937-1971 PP
1- 3 Minutes – 1946-1971
24 photographs of individuals, groups, the Namaka farms, copies of some Glenbow Alberta photos, the July 28-30, 2000 Namaka reunion and the Namaka cemetery – stored in MHSA Images Box 1, Accession 2002.019.001-2002.019.024.