What Bergfeld “Shtruck” farmer made loans at interest to pioneer Steinbach business people? Who was the first Mennonite to train as a medical doctor in America and open a practise in Winnipeg with his brother-in-law? (He later went to Rosthern.) Can pioneer East Reserve farmers be credited with starting Erdman Penner on the road to becoming a millionaire?

Which East Reserve Mennonite Aeltester went to Mountain Lake to organize the church there and to ordain their first Aeltester? Which former East Reserve resident helped elect Cornelius Hiebert to the first Alberta legislature? Who built the first windmill in Steinbach in 1877? Which church was moved in 1917 by a steam engine assisted by horses?

Answers to these and other questions can be found in Hanover Steinbach Historical Society’s recently released Historical Sketches of the East Reserve 1874–1910. The book consists of 720 pages of history written by eighteen researcher/writers and depicting a broad range of experiences of residents in the pioneer East Reserve community. The book is divided into four topical sections, each dealing with different aspects of the settlement. . . .