Difference between revisions of "Renata (British Columbia, Canada)"

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Renata is a small town on a stump peninsula on the Arrow Lakes, about 20 miles (35 km) northwest of Castlegar, [[British Columbia (Canada)|British Columbia]]. This settlement sprang up in the primeval forest in 1907, when Frank Siemens from Altona, Manitoba, representing the Western Land Company, attracted 20 families from Saskatchewan and Manitoba to take up land in the area. A number of families were ([[General Conference Mennonite Church (GCM)|General Conference Mennonite]]) families from the [[Rosenort Mennonite Church Group (Saskatchewan, Canada)|Rosenort Church]] near [[Rosthern (Saskatchewan, Canada)|Rosthern]], [[Saskatchewan (Canada)|Saskatchewan]]. Climatic and agriculture conditions were favorable and there were about 50 homes in this settlement. The main occupation of the settlers was fruit raising. Many Mennonites left Renata by the 1950s, leaving only about 10 Mennonite families. The first ministers to visit Renata were D. J. Unruh, Herbert, Saskatchewan, in the early 1920s, and C. F. Sawatzky from Laird, Saskatchewan. [[Hamm, Abraham A. (1869-1934)|Abraham Hamm]], an immigrant preacher, arrived in 1923. In 1938-1953 P. P. Dyck from Rosemary, [[Alberta (Canada)|Alberta]], preached here the six months of each year while he was living in Renata.
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Renata was a small town on a stump peninsula on the Arrow Lakes, about 20 miles (35 km) northwest of Castlegar, [[British Columbia (Canada)|British Columbia]]. The town was established in the 1880s as an ideal location for fruit growing, and it was extraordinary. It was located on a creek delta of rich soil and shielded from cold winds by the surrounding mountains. It was the ideal location for orchards in the region, and was known for cherries, apples, pears and peaches.
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The Mennonite settlement sprang up in 1907, when Frank Siemens from Altona, Manitoba, representing the Western Land Company, attracted 20 families from Saskatchewan and Manitoba to take up land in the area. A number of families were ([[General Conference Mennonite Church (GCM)|General Conference Mennonite]]) families from the [[Rosenort Mennonite Church Group (Saskatchewan, Canada)|Rosenort Church]] near [[Rosthern (Saskatchewan, Canada)|Rosthern]], [[Saskatchewan (Canada)|Saskatchewan]]. Climatic and agriculture conditions were favorable and there were about 50 homes in this settlement. The main occupation of the settlers was fruit raising. Many Mennonites left Renata by the 1950s, leaving only about 10 Mennonite families. The first ministers to visit Renata were D. J. Unruh, Herbert, Saskatchewan, in the early 1920s, and C. F. Sawatzky from Laird, Saskatchewan. [[Hamm, Abraham A. (1869-1934)|Abraham Hamm]], an immigrant preacher, arrived in 1923. In 1938-1953 P. P. Dyck from Rosemary, [[Alberta (Canada)|Alberta]], preached here the six months of each year while he was living in Renata.
  
 
In the mid-1960s the community was relocated when a nearby hydroelectric dam flooded the valley.
 
In the mid-1960s the community was relocated when a nearby hydroelectric dam flooded the valley.

Revision as of 23:01, 30 October 2014

Renata was a small town on a stump peninsula on the Arrow Lakes, about 20 miles (35 km) northwest of Castlegar, British Columbia. The town was established in the 1880s as an ideal location for fruit growing, and it was extraordinary. It was located on a creek delta of rich soil and shielded from cold winds by the surrounding mountains. It was the ideal location for orchards in the region, and was known for cherries, apples, pears and peaches.

The Mennonite settlement sprang up in 1907, when Frank Siemens from Altona, Manitoba, representing the Western Land Company, attracted 20 families from Saskatchewan and Manitoba to take up land in the area. A number of families were (General Conference Mennonite) families from the Rosenort Church near Rosthern, Saskatchewan. Climatic and agriculture conditions were favorable and there were about 50 homes in this settlement. The main occupation of the settlers was fruit raising. Many Mennonites left Renata by the 1950s, leaving only about 10 Mennonite families. The first ministers to visit Renata were D. J. Unruh, Herbert, Saskatchewan, in the early 1920s, and C. F. Sawatzky from Laird, Saskatchewan. Abraham Hamm, an immigrant preacher, arrived in 1923. In 1938-1953 P. P. Dyck from Rosemary, Alberta, preached here the six months of each year while he was living in Renata.

In the mid-1960s the community was relocated when a nearby hydroelectric dam flooded the valley.

Bibliography

Funk, Johann David. They Tell Each Other, They are Still Who They Were. The Struggle for Self Definition in Minority Cultures: The Case of the General Conference Mennonites in British Columbia. M.A. Thesis, Simon Fraser University, 1993.


Author(s) John G. Rempel
Sam Steiner
Date Published 2009

Cite This Article

MLA style

Rempel, John G. and Sam Steiner. "Renata (British Columbia, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 2009. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Renata_(British_Columbia,_Canada)&oldid=126713.

APA style

Rempel, John G. and Sam Steiner. (2009). Renata (British Columbia, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Renata_(British_Columbia,_Canada)&oldid=126713.




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Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 300. All rights reserved.


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