CONTENTS:
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Kronsfeld Cemetery
STATUS OF THE MEMORIAL PROJECT
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UPDATE FOR 31-Oct-2008!!!
More below.... |
On this page:
How It Started...
The Kronsfeld Cemetery Project has been in progress since 2002. The current landowners, John and Anne Peters, realized there was an abandoned cemetery on their property. John posed the question to neighbour Alan Warkentin, "What do you want to do about it?"
Alan's ancestors are among those buried in Kronsfeld cemetery. So Alan recruited cousin Art Warkentine and they hired a grader in 2002 to remove a sufficient amount of accumulated topsoil to positively identify where some of the cemetery graves are located. Since then the following research has been done to find the names of people buried at Kronsfeld:
- RM (rural municipality) records searched;
- Vital statistics records searched;
- Southern Shopper newpaper articles requesting information (twice);
- Mennonite Historian article requesting information;
- CFAM (radio) announcement requesting information;
- Internet article requesting information;
- Questions asked of people knowledgeable with Kronsfeld.
By summer 2007 the list was up to 41 persons buried in the Kronsfeld Cemetery. We located direct descendants for about half of them. These and other interested people were invited to help raise funds for the cost and erection of a memorial plaque recording the names of burials.
Current News...
Update 31-Oct-2008: The bronze plaque arrived 25-Sep-2008 and was installed the same weekend!!! More below... The memorial dedication service was held 05-Oct-2008.
By June 14, 2008 we received the final confirmation data for which we were waiting to hear from Vital Statistics Manitoba. The final production draft of the bronze plaque was approved July 30/08, and order deposits submitted for both the plaque and the granite cairn. During the last week of August 2008 the granite cairn was installed at the cemetery site. The bronze plaque shipped mid-September from the foundry. On 25-Sep-2008 we were advised that the plaque had arrived and on 27-Sep-2008 it was installed on the cairn.
The memorial dedication service is now history!!! It took place October 5, 2008 at the site of the actual Kronsfeld Village Cemetery. Despite blustery, chilly weather approximately 100 people arrived for the 2:30 p.m. service at the cemetery site one mile northwest of Haskett on the property of John and Anne Peters, Land No. NW 7-1-4 West (northwest quarter of Section 7, Township 1, Range 4, west of the Prime Meridian).
After the service, a coffee/fellowshop/visiting time took place on the yard of Alan and Helen Warkentin, just a half mile west of the cemetery on land no. NE 12-1-4 W. (A sign at the lane identifies their property as a Century Farm site and the home of Wake Robin Bed & Breakfast). This yard is the homestead of one of the original Kronsfeld residents, Jacob Warkentin, son of Jakob and Helena Warkentin, and the Kronsfeld School was also situated on his quarter section before it was relocated to Haskett.
Please contact the Kronsfeld Cemetery Committee (see contact page) if you are interested in more information or if you are able to contribute further information or photos. Thank you!
| PLEASE NOTE: If you are planning to visit the cemetery and view the cairn, please contact property owners John and Anne Peters ahead of time and make arrangements to come. They welcome visitors, but the site is on private property and your courtesy on their behalf is appreciated. Their phone number can be found in the Winkler directory. The property is situated at NW 7-1-4 W, approximately 1 mile northwest of Haskett. |
Directions: From Winkler at junction of Highway #32 and #14, go 10 miles (16 km) south. Go west on Road 3 North for two miles (3.2 km). Go one mile (1.6 km) south. Go 1/2 mile (.8 km) west, and then 1/2 mile south into John and Anne Peters yard and cemetery site.
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| Alternate route: From Winkler at the junction of Highway #14 and #32, take Highway #32 south for 12 miles (19.3 km), then at the curve in the highway turn west on the grid road to Haskett. Go west 3 miles (4.8 km), then north 1 mile (1.6 km) (this takes you past Alan and Helen Warkentin's farmyard, which is on the west side of the road on the N.E. quarter of section 12). At the mile section-line (Mile 2) turn east, and not quite at the mid-section line turn south onto the farmyard lane. It's a long lane, over 1/4 mile (>0.4 km), into the farmyard (the lane is the former main street of the Kronsfeld village). |
With the property owner's consent we have taken steps to have a caveat placed on the property. That caveat is now in place. The purpose of such a document is so that the cemetery site will have some legal protection and so that future landowners must be made aware of the cemetery existence. Some cost was incurred for legal fees to have this document drawn up.
Memorial...
The following are the components and dimensions for the cairn and plaque installation. Actual photos of the installed monument are also below (click on the images for a larger view):
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The last week of August 2008 saw the granite cairn installed at the cemetery site. On 25-Sep-2008 we were notified that the bronze plaque had arrived, and it was installed on the cairn that same weekend. On Oct. 5 the memorial dedication service was held. Click on the photos for a larger view!
CONTRIBUTIONS...
The donations tally as of Oct. 4, 2008 stands at $5290.88 for this cemetery plaque project, less the amount withdrawn for payment on the cairn, order deposit on the plaque and related expenses to date. NOTE: This figure does not include contributions made at the memorial service. A big "thank you" to those donors who have generously taken the time to contribute!
A separate bank account was formed to collect funds for the plaque. Having a separate account allows donors to contribute directly the project by making contributions payable to Kronsfeld Cemetery.
The Next Level...
We are grateful for those who have rallied to support this historic project. We are not able to issue tax receipts (that is, we are not a charitable organization), but any donors who would like a receipt or wish to receive a financial report are welcome to contact the secretary/treasurer.
Excess funds over the immediate project costs and expenses of the Oct. 5/08 memorial dedication are being put toward costs of bringing the project to a close with respect to: a)cover the costs of miscellaneous expenses; b)submitting documention of this project and our research to the Menonite Historical Archives; c)make available video recordings and other presentation material from the dedication event for those who could not attend; d)place a small marker at Winkler Cemetery to indicate the original location of the headstones that originally came from Kronsfeld Cemetery. We have no plans to return those headstones to Kronsfeld because we cannot identify the correct grave locations, the headstones have declined in readability, and we do not want the responsibility of upkeep around random headstones.
If you should be able to supply missing information or can assist in any way our efforts to complete the final stage of this project, we would welcome you to contact us!
Kronsfeld Cemetery Project Donor List...
| NAME: | PLACE: | NOTES: |
|---|---|---|
| Baer, Alice & Max | Surrey BC | |
| Benjamin, Viola (Harold); Stobbe, Ken | Saskatoon SK | |
| Black, Leona & Neil | Comox BC | Donated in memory of and in honor of Cornelius & Agnes (nee Knelsen) Unrau and their four children: Eldon, Norman, Gordon and Leona. |
| Braun, Carl & Evelyn | Calgary AB | |
| Braun, Norman & Johanna | Winkler MB | |
| Brown, Elsie | Winkler MB | |
| Dyck, Gregory | Winnipeg MB | |
| Dyck, John A. & Betty L. | Winnipeg MB | |
| Elias, George B | Winnipeg MB | |
| Elias, John & Dorothy | Winkler MB | |
| Fehr, Bill & Susan | Zhoda MB | |
| Fehr, Peter & Mary | Sanford MB | |
| Giesbrecht, Edna | Langley BC | |
| Heinrichs, Delbert & Inez | Henderson NE | |
| Heinrichs, Elvis & Nancy | Omaha NE | |
| Kehler, Irene & Frank | Altona MB | |
| Klassen, Peter & Linda; Klassen, George & Anne | Haskett MB | |
| Peters, Isaac I. | Winkler MB | |
| Reddekopp, Dennis | Saskatoon SK | |
| Reddekopp, Dennis | Saskatoon SK | |
| Reed, Doris | Waterloo, ON | |
| Rodgers, Almeda & John | MacGregor MB | |
| Stobbe, A.V. | Rabbit Lake SK | |
| Thiessen (Sawatzky) Family | Manitoba | Donated in memory of Jacob and Agatha (Sawatzky) Thiessen |
| Unrau - Ernest, Wayne, Debbie Panchuk, Lorraine Carpenter, Mark | Manitoba | Children of Clive and Margaret, respectively of Morden, MacGregor, Killarney, Winnipeg, and Pratt district (Austin/MacGregor area). |
| Unrau, Clive & Margaret | Austin MB | |
| Unrau, Gary & Linda | Nanoose Bay BC | |
| Unrau, Helen | MacGregor MB | |
| Warkentin, Alan & Helen | Morden MB (Kronsfeld/Haskett district) | |
| Warkentin, Alan & Helen | Winkler MB (Kronsfeld/Haskett district) | |
| Warkentin, Conn & Gertie | Scarborough ON | |
| Warkentin, John C. & Jacqueline | Halifax, Nova Scotia | |
| Warkentin, John H. & Germaine / Warkentin, Juliet | Toronto ON / London, England | |
| Warkentin, Ken & Linda | Morden MB | |
| Warkentin, Richard & Agnes | Winkler MB | |
| Warkentin, Ron | Morden MB | |
| Warkentin, Tina | Morden MB | |
| Warkentin, Walter & Doris | Morden MB | |
| Warkentin, Winnifred | Winnipeg | |
| Warkentine, Art & Mary | Winkler MB | |
| Warkentine, Randy & Nancy; Warkentine, Kevin & Colleen | Maple Creek Dairy, Winkler MB | |
| Unknown contributors (Cash contributions) | Kronsfeld Memorial Dedication | (Contributions made at the fellowship time following the memorial service) |
Meetings...
A meeting of the Kronsfeld Cemetery Committee was held on March 3, at which a general information meeting was set for March 29. Click the following links to read the proceedings of those meetings:
- Minutes of March 3, 2008 - a committee meeting to review progress and plan a general information meeting.
- Minutes of March 29, 2008, a general information meeting to update interested people on the background and status of the project.
A couple of committee meetings were held since the above dates for the purpose of organizing and validating cemetery research findings.
Please click on the content links at upper left to browse the information available.