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Book notes

by Adolf Ens

John J. Bergen, Edmonton, has published the literary output of his late wife, Hilda Lohrenz Bergen. Hilda’s Pilgrimage (200 pages, $12) contains well over a hundred items, over half of them brief poetic compositions. Most of them were written for family and out of family experiences. Mennonite history buffs will appreciate the glimpses into Gerhard Lohrenz’ character (Hilda’s father) provided in a number of the selections.

Kane – The Spirit Lives On is a generously illustrated history, published on the occasion of the official closing of the Kane Community Centre. The Rose Farm – Kane area received much of the overflow of the Mennonite West Reserve of southern Manitoba beginning in the late 1890s. The committee headed by Dora Hildebrand has created an interesting and informative monument in this substantial (8.5 x 11, 366-page hardcover) book. The section on World War II, for example, includes coverage not only of active military and CO involvement, but also shorter sections on German prisoners of war and Japanese-Canadian internees.

Some readers will remember Ab Douglas from his broadcast journalism beginning in the 1950s, first with CTV and then CBC. No Dancing God: Mennonite Stories (Kelowna: Rutgers Publications, 143 pages, $14.95) is a collection of stories hovering “in the twilight zone between reality and fiction” according to author Ab Douglas Driediger. They show the writing skill of an experienced journalist and the fascinating insights of a Saskatchewan Mennonite boy experiencing the world and describing it to the Canadian public.

My Old Order Heritage is Mary Ann Horst’s updated and expanded (to 44 pages) popular booklet (now in its 11th printing) first published in 1970. Horst, from the Kitchener area, is a popular author who has also written on Pennsylvania Dutch folklore, the Kithener Farmers’ Market, and similar topics.

Esther Patkau has compiled a brief (16-page) 50th anniversary booklet of CMBC’s first graduating class (Class of 1950). Photographs and brief biographies of the twelve graduates and their families are included.

Sociologist Leo Driedger’s Mennonites in the Global Village (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000, 264 pages, $24.95 pb) analyses the impact of modern and postmodern influences on North American Mennonites, who now represent only 39% of global Mennonite membership. Driedger has followed demographic changes among Canadian Mennonites for some time and has participated keenly in much of the recent Mennonite identity debate. Together with fellow sociolgists Kaufmann and Harder, he has published two volumes (1975 and 1991) tracking trends among members of several Canadian and USA Mennonite conferences. This study looks at the impact of phenomena such as urbanism, professionalism, individualism, cultural changes, and the media. The global Mennonite spectrum is briefly surveyed as an introductory backdrop.

Annie Goertz, a descendant of the Waldheim (Manitoba) Heppners, later Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, has published her autobiography under the title Miss Annie: God sent a 3 cent stamp and more . . . (Abbotsford, B. C., 256 pages). The title, “Miss Annie,” comes from her local name in over 30 years in India with the Evangelical Alliance Mission.

Some other recent books received by the Mennonite Heritage Centre include: Jacob A. Loewen, The Bible in Cross-Cultural Perspective (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 2000, 334 pages, pb) and Jakob J. Martens, Ein langer Weg in die Freiheit: Gefangener der UdSSR (Asunción-Filadelfia: im Eigenverlag, 2000, 360 pages, hc).

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Last modified October 30, 2000.

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