Mennonite Girls' Home (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada)
With the immigration of Mennonites from Russia to Canada in 1923-1930, many girls worked in Saskatoon to aid their parents, who had lost their possessions during the Revolution in Russia, in establishing new homes and in repaying the transportation debt to the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. The Home Mission Board (General Conference Mennonite Church) was interested in the spiritual welfare of the girls in the city and on the recommendation of David Toews of Rosthern established the Mennonite Girls' Home (dedicated on 29 January 1931), with the following aims: (a) to provide the girls with a home as a substitute for their parental home; (b) to find suitable employment for the girls and, where necessary, to protect them from exploitation; (c) to give them the necessary spiritual guidance. J. J. Thiessen and Katherine Thiessen were in charge of the home from the beginning until its closing in 1956.
On Thursday afternoon and evening, when the girls were off duty, they gathered in the Girls' Home for relaxation, recreation, and fellowship. Whenever possible the girls attended the church services in the First Mennonite Church of Saskatoon. During their association with the Mennonite Girls' Home and the church many of the girls were received into the church by baptism.
The largest attendance was registered in the depression years. During World War II many girls went home to the parental farms to replace their brothers who were drafted. At the close of the war and the following years, with the coming of the Mennonite refugees to Canada, the number of Mennonite girls working in the city again increased. Since the establishment of the home over 500 girls of various denominations availed themselves of the services of the Mennonite Girls' Home in Saskatoon. The twenty-fifth anniversary of the home was celebrated on 29 January 1956.
The Home was located at 443 Third Avenue North, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
| Author(s) | J. J Thiessen |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Thiessen, J. J. "Mennonite Girls' Home (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mennonite_Girls%27_Home_(Saskatoon,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=166578.
APA style
Thiessen, J. J. (1957). Mennonite Girls' Home (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mennonite_Girls%27_Home_(Saskatoon,_Saskatchewan,_Canada)&oldid=166578.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 623. All rights reserved.
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