In 1926, members of a Neufeld family travelled from Canada to Paraguay during the mass migration of Mennonites over the school question. The matriarch of the family, Maria, wrote letters to keep in contact with the adult children she left behind in Canada. These letters offer a portrait of early Mennonite life in Paraguay and depict the significance of letter-writing to maintaining family connections.

Maria Kroeker was born in 1870 in the Chortitza colony in the southern steppe of the Russian empire (present-day Ukraine). As a six-year-old she was part of the long voyage to Manitoba in 1876 along with her parents, Jacob Kroeker (1836–1914) and Anna Zacharias (1836–1883), and six siblings. The Kroeker family settled in the village of Schoenwiese on the Mennonite West Reserve, as members of the Reinlaender Mennonite Church. Staying first in a semlin (sod house), the family soon built a regular house. They grew their farming operation quicker than most others in the village, increasing their livestock, and the acres cultivated, as well as improving their machinery.¹ Likely this advancement was possible because the children were old enough to contribute to the farm, though not old enough to have farms of their own.

The family was dealt a blow when Anna and two of her children died in November 1883; in December 1884, another two children succumbed to halskrankheit (diphtheria).² Shortly after Anna’s death, Jacob married widow Helena Dyck (nee Helena Fehr), on March 18, 1884, and she brought several Dyck children into the family. Jacob held an auction sale and the new family moved to the nearby village of Reinland.³ Maria Kroeker was part of this blended family.

On July 13, 1890, Maria married Johann A. Neufeld. The couple was part of what became known as the Sommerfeld Mennonite Church. Johann was born to Abraham Neufeld (1830–1877) and Margaretha Bergen (1831–1913) in the village of Heuboden, Bergthal colony, in imperial Russia, on August 15, 1869. The Neufeld family moved to the Mennonite East Reserve in 1875, and sometime after the death of Abraham in 1877, Johann moved to the West Reserve. In 1910 Johann filed an application for a homestead in Saskatchewan (section SW 30-49-16 W2), and in the spring of 1911 he and Maria moved their family to Lost River.⁴ Maria’s now-blind father, Jacob Kroeker, joined them in 1912.⁵ Their first shelter was a log granary measuring ten feet by twelve feet. By the second winter they had built a sixteen by twenty-four foot log house and a barn of equal size attached to the house.⁶

Money for staples could be hard to come by. In the winter of 1912 or 1913, Johann walked to Star City, some thirty miles, to try to find work for a few hours so he could buy salt, flour, and sugar. The large garden supplied a good source of food, and the root cellar kept the food long into the winter. In 1913, with funds from Maria’s father, the couple built a new two-story framed house. This meant no more dirt floors that had to be wetted to keep the dust down. In Lost River, Johann was known as the community blacksmith. During the summer he was kept very busy sharpening plows and fixing harrows, discers, and seed drills. In 1915, Johann spearheaded the construction of the Bergthal church building in the Lost River area. In the winter, logs were dragged to the Peter Brown yard where they were milled into boards for construction.⁷

Just when the family was feeling established, Johann and Maria made the decision to move and start life over once again in Paraguay due to the school question. But the family was not unified in the decision to emigrate. The oldest children, Jacob (1891–1972) and Maria (1892–1982), and youngest child, Nicholas (Klaus) (1913–1996), moved to Menno Colony in Paraguay, leaving behind Margaretha (1897–1984), Johann B. (1902–?), Helena (1904–1997), and Cornelius (1907–1937). The letters Maria wrote, contained in a collection at Mennonite Heritage Archives in Winnipeg, were the ties that kept this family together. At times the letters are ascribed to Johann and Maria, but often it is clear that Maria is writing them.⁸

The Neufeld family left from Plum Coulee, Manitoba, on a cold December day in 1926, and on December 24, at three in the afternoon, they began their ocean voyage. On Christmas Day many on board were sick.⁹ When they were feeling well enough, they encouraged each other by singing hymns. On board the weather was a comfortable twenty-one degrees.¹⁰ Maria wrote: “The long trip from Canada to Paraguay was not a pleasure to me, even though we saw many impressive sights. It felt like we were fugitives, in flight from one city to another . . . two days [on the] train to New York.” Their first stop was Barbados, where the ship sent and took on mail, and then sailed on to the Brazilian port of Rio de Janeiro, where they stayed for two days, followed by a stop in Montevideo, Uruguay.¹¹

Once in Paraguay, families lived in Puerto Casado for many months under difficult conditions. Of the 1,700 immigrants, about 10 percent died, and another 323 returned to Canada.¹² Here the enormity of the decision to leave was emphasized. As Maria wrote, five weeks after leaving Plum Coulee: “Beloved, five long weeks’ ride now separate us from each other.”¹³ In addition to the emotions of separation, money was quickly running out for the Neufeld family. In a letter likely written in 1927, Johann encouraged the family members that remained in Canada to pool their resources and send two hundred dollars. Neufeld was not only a farmer but also a blacksmith – something hard to do if your tools had been stolen: “I gather from your letter that prospects for payment are not good. I have an idea that if all of you ‘posted’ together, to send us $200, we could get by. Our money is practically gone. By the time we buy a cow it will be gone except for a few dollars. We must have a cow as soon as we get to our land. In any case, when we get to the Chaco, I need to borrow some money if possible. The blacksmith tools are very expensive; the cost will be over $100. The thread-cutting equipment and drill bits were stolen on our journey.”¹⁴ By April 28, son Klaus wrote in English that they “ordered blacksmith outfit, saddle, 22 rifle, gauge 12 Texas range full choke single barrel shotgun. Flour is $7, for 154 pounds of flour.”¹⁵

Living in a hot and cramped tent city, drinking dirty water, and eating unfamiliar food was a recipe for disaster. Maria reported that her son Jacob was ill and in his delirium hallucinated about his brother Cornelius coming to visit.¹⁶ Maria’s fourteen-year-old granddaughter Maria Bergen died on February 17, 1928, in Paraguay.¹⁷ Gertrude Wiebe, the wife of Jacob Neufeld, Johann and Maria’s oldest son, died on May 23, 1927, a victim of a cholera outbreak. Jacob poured out his grief in a letter to his siblings back in Canada: “My sad heart is aching for my dear loved one. Many a time I sit and cry to my heart’s content. When I look up I am still at the same place as before. I go out to look but return – there is no heart to hold my bosom.” Maria believed moving to Paraguay was God’s will for them even through these difficulties, writing, “It appears that our dear God has given us a difficult test in this separation to find out if we as a family can pass it, in sickness or in death. Many tears have flowed – many prayers prayed with sighs and sobs – dear God, only you know!”¹⁸

In November 1927, Maria provided an update to the family in Canada. After offering encouragement to her daughter Helena, recovering from the birth of a new baby, she asked for prayers for herself as she struggled to let go of the home she had left behind. She wrote: “Dear children . . . we are glad to hear that after so many depressing days you are restored to health along with baby girl. . . . You have had lots of moisture which I wish we could have, the earth here would take a lot! The weather, in general, is very warm. When the temperature reaches 30 degrees or more I find it very oppressive. . . . Some nights I cannot sleep because of the heat. . . . We keep the tent wide open at night so everything is free to come in at will. . . . We have left the bed fleas behind in Canada. People are still sick and dying. . . . There have been many partings from loved ones whom they hope to meet again. . . . Please intercede for us; you all know how short my patience is; so I find myself standing on a battlefield between patience and frustration. When I allow my thoughts to dwell on the home we left behind I have to concentrate on the words of Jesus: ‘Do not love this world, nor the things of this world.’”¹⁹

While living in their tents, the Mennonites prepared to establish their communities. Delegates like Johann were elected to organize the move. He wrote: “In Puerto Casado . . . we had to make communal plans and organize, regulate, and assign people to various positions of leadership. . . . From each church group four men were selected, amounting to twelve. Regrettably, none of our first choices went out with those who made forays into our promised land. . . . In the Saskatchewan group were John Penner, Henry Dyck, John Wall from the East Reserve; John Hiebert, John Harder, Peter Doerksen, and John Doerksen from the West Reserve; Isaak Funk, Peter Reimer, Peter Friesen and David Peters. . . . The piece of land we have selected, we also divided. By means of casting lots we established ownership. . . . Our lot turned out to be on the eastern end.”²⁰

Relocating to their new farmland was a large task and interfered with letter-writing. On April 23, 1928, Maria apologized for the long delay in writing but reported that they were now on their own land in Bergthal, Paraguay: “We are settled on the new settlement called Bergthal. There is a lot of work ahead of us. . . . We have made a metal-roofed shelter and catch rainwater for our use. So far we have had rain each week. . . . Jacob and Klaus are preparing to go to the end of the railroad this afternoon to pick up some of our belongings that we were to bring with us when we first came. There are still our boxes with the good bedding, and many other things left at the end of the rail. Which causes me some anxiety. . . . We have already dug the soil for a garden and have planted a variety of seeds. Not all are growing, possibly because they are too old. Beans, peas, sweet potatoes and manioca, melons and peanuts are all growing. . . . Till now we have bartered with the native Indians, but by the time you come we will have our own supplies. Most of all the natives want our clothes of which we have only enough for ourselves. Many products are scarce. We have had meat once. . . . Many of the villagers here have lacked lard for a long time. . . . The older people tell us that when they first came to Canada, conditions were even worse. We are hoping for better times ahead.”²¹

The family in Canada encouraged Johann and Maria to return to Canada. Maria acknowledged it had been very difficult on her physically and emotionally: “Father’s eyes are sore . . . although he eats well, he is losing weight. . . . I had sore hands so I could not do laundry or knead dough. . . . All these difficulties, especially the loneliness, depresses me to disinterest in everything. I have said to father that being a mother and raising children has often been hard, but has brought us many joys and pleasures, but being ripped apart from you, our beloved, is much harder. Until the last hour we were always ‘so together.’ Suddenly we were torn apart. Seeing each other again seems impossible. However, with God nothing is impossible. He can change these hardships for good.”²²

But she said returning was not possible – it would be against their conscience, and they did not have the funds to do so. As she wrote: “You are wishing that we would return to Canada? When we consider the reason we cited for making this move, namely for the sake of our faith, our conscience will not let us return. Also, we don’t have the means to start over again. We still hope, God willing, to see you all again. . . . My main work is food preparation and mending clothes. We seem to eat a lot of bread. . . . Back in Canada, we had too much on the table to choose from.”²³ Later in 1928, Maria reported on more departures: “Here in our village, three large families are preparing to go back to Canada. It is scary when those whom we trusted are leaving us, such as old Mrs. Bergen. Where is faithfulness in our day? Immigrants before us have remained truer than these people.”²⁴

Maria continued: “I don’t want to downplay the creation as it is here. For this country, it is as good as anywhere else. God said, ‘Everything is good,’ after he made everything. However, for us, it is so different and we don’t get used to it. Everything we have learned from childhood has to be relearned, and a new beginning made. . . . I regret I can’t be what I should be. And this leads to heavy inner struggles. When trials come people want to go home . . . and more are going home. . . . There are many things I like better in Canada, but now that we are here we have to adapt to things like heat, etc. Flour [usually has] tiny bugs in it . . . and then there are also tiny worms. With a very fine sieve, we can remove them. . . . Most of the time our cooking is unsatisfactory because of the saltwater here in the village, but the wells in the grazing pasture produce much good water. . . . We cannot say how life will turn out for us – we have nothing to boast about, and we cannot speak of comforts. Everything is still bothersome. . . . I feel blest when I can lie down to sleep and forget! Yes, dear loved one, you are grieving because we have all these difficulties to deal with. We ourselves are not always pleased with the way we have chosen to take this cumbersome pilgrimage, but we cannot undo what has been done. Therefore, remember us with love. It is not your fault that we have made this choice. If we can walk this road in faithfulness and patience it will pay in the end.”²⁵

While some of Johann and Maria’s children remained in Saskatchewan, others joined them in Paraguay, including their daughter Maria (1892–1982), who had married Abram R. Bergen (1890–1859) in 1913. Abram was elected as a minister of the Mennonite church in the newly formed community. In the archival collection containing Maria’s letters, there are two files of letters from the Bergens. On September 30, 1928, Bergen wrote: “Today was a specially good day for harvesting. Memories frequently take us back to Canada. Our crops are different: some of our citrus trees are bearing fruit, like oranges and grapefruit, which grow very large.” With some hyperbole, Bergen observed, “regarding languages we use: Henry and Abram speak primarily German; then also Spanish, English, and native Indian. It seems that many children here now speak Indian better than German.”²⁶ Throughout the letters there are references to connections with the Indigenous peoples of Paraguay, whom Bergen and Neufeld call “Indians.”²⁷

The family circulated letters from family and friends and kept in contact through the Steinbach Post weekly newspaper. Through these letters families exchanged thoughts, feelings, photos, encouragements, reflections, and mementos such as dried leaves and flowers. At times Maria used the letters to parent her children: “Dear son in your catechism for church membership – I wish for you to have the right attitude and that God’s holy spirit will renew, lead, and direct you in all your ways. We also wish you success in your work so you can make an honest living. We greet you and remain your loving parents.”²⁸

In the early years of starting life in Paraguay, the letters refer to “the company” or “the corporation,” referencing the Intercontinental Company that banker Samuel McRoberts established to help in the settlement process.²⁹ Maria reported in a 1928 letter: “The corporation has lent us oxen to plough the land but because of the hard dry soil it didn’t work. Then on October 10, we had a soaker rain after which ploughing worked better. . . . October 15, a strong warm north wind is blowing. It is the warmest it has been since April. Most nights we have slept comfortably in the tents. Tents cool down better at night than the tin roof houses. Roofing grass is not available now. . . . We spent two days making bricks and one day I did the laundry. We now have Sara Penner and Maria Harder helping us make bricks. We have done one thousand, one hundred, but we need five hundred more. . . . Regrettably I can help very little – I am weak. Father also finds work hard because he is in his sixties and is sickly. He sees poorly but can distinguish light from dark. . . . Today we received a variety of garden seeds from the company. We have to plough more land before we can seed. . . . The company is helping us buy flour. . . . Much ripe grain is standing in water and cannot be harvested.”³⁰

Over time the community changed, and the letters revealed internal disagreements. On July 3, 1937, Bergen wrote, “Our little village is deeply saddened because 14 families have left us and gone over (another church perhaps) so we are alone again.”³¹ Progress was also noted: moving from the tent cities and into villages, and the shift from oxen to horses. Maria wrote in January 1938, “I now weigh 105 pounds, working with horses is a big improvement over oxen, all four of ours are well trained obedient and ‘no nonsense.’”³² Maria was also coming to terms with the likelihood that she would never see her children in Canada again: “Our hopes to see you here are growing dim but I am firm in my faith to be reunited with all of you in the presence of Jesus.”³³

1. Old Colony tax assessment for the village of Schoenwiese 1880–1883, Mennonite Heritage Archives (MHA), Winnipeg, MB, microfilm #654. ↩︎
2. Glen R. Klassen and Conrad Stoesz, “Diphtheria Epidemics of the 1880s in the Mennonite West Reserve in Manitoba,” Preservings, no. 31 (2011): 41–42. ↩︎
3. William Rempel, Mennonitische Rundschau, Apr. 9, 1884, 1. ↩︎
4. Newfield School and District History Book Committee, Search for Yesteryears: A History of Newfield School and Districts of Elkhorn, Little Bridge, Murphy Creek, Newfield and Teddington (Codette, SK: self-pub, 1984), 355. ↩︎
5. Conrad Stoesz, “Genealogy of Conrad Dwayne Stoesz: Volume I of III, Essays” (independent study, Canadian Mennonite Bible College, 1993), 74. ↩︎
6. Newfield Committee, Search for Yesteryears, 355. ↩︎
7. Ibid., 356–357. ↩︎
8. These letters were saved and later some were translated by Mary (Enns) Epp in 2007 in a compilation entitled “Waiting for the North Wind: Letters from South America 1926–1979.” The original letters, including letters not translated, can be found at MHA, vol. 5732. ↩︎
9. Letter from Maria Neufeld letter, Dec. 1926, in “Waiting for the North Wind,” 4. All further references to letters are to translations in this compilation. ↩︎
10. Letter from Jacob and Gertrude Neufeld, Dec. 28, 1926, 5. Throughout the letters Maria and Johann report the temperature in Celsius, not Fahrenheit or Réamur. ↩︎
11. Letter from Johann and Maria Neufeld, Aug. 18, 1927, 23. ↩︎
12. Abram B. Giesbrecht, Die Ersten Mennonitischen Einwanderer in Paraguay (Kolonie Menno, Paraguay, 2019), 85–95 ↩︎
13. Ibid., 25. ↩︎
14. Letter from Johann A. Neufeld, presumably 1927, 5. ↩︎
15. Letter from Nicholas Neufeld, Apr. 28, 1927, 14. ↩︎
16. Letter from Maria Neufeld, ca. 1927, 21. ↩︎
17. Giesbrecht, Mennonitischen Einwanderer, 90. ↩︎
18. Letter from Maria Neufeld, Aug. 18, 1927, 23. ↩︎
19. Letter from Maria Neufeld, Nov. 17, 1927, 27–30. ↩︎
20. Letter from Maria Neufeld, Aug. 18, 1927, 23. ↩︎
21. Letter from Johann and Maria Neufeld, Apr. 23, 1928, 30. ↩︎
22. Letter from Maria Neufeld, July 29, 1928, 32. ↩︎
23. Letter from Maria Neufeld, Apr. 23, 1928, 30. ↩︎
24. Letter from Maria Neufeld, Oct. 14, 1928, 40–41. ↩︎
25. Letter from Maria Neufeld, Oct. 14, 1928, 38–43. ↩︎
26. Letter from Abram R. Bergen, Sept. 30, 1928, 36. ↩︎
27. For an Indigenous perspective, see Don’t Cry: The Enlhet History of the Chaco War, ed. Hannes Kalisch and Ernesto Unruh, trans. Nicholas Regan (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2022). ↩︎
28. Letter from Maria Neufeld, Nov. 17, 1927, 27. ↩︎
29. See Conrad Stoesz, “General Samuel McRoberts’ photos of Mennonites in Paraguay, 1926–1929,” Preservings, no. 34 (2014), 57–61. ↩︎
30. Letter from Maria Neufeld, Oct. 14, 1928, 40. ↩︎
31. Letter from Abram R. Bergen, July 3, 1937, 51. ↩︎
32. Letter from Maria Neufeld, Jan. 9, 1938, 53. ↩︎
33. Letter from Maria Neufeld, Aug. 27, 1939, 55. ↩︎