JOURNEYS Mennonite Stories of Faith and Survival in Stalins Russia, John B. Toews, 1998

ed an axe, some spades and nails made out of coarse wire (regular nails were not available) and together with Anna left for our new settlement. Our elderly father accompanied us. A new settlement, impoverished circumstances, small children to look after — if you haven’t experienced this you have no idea of the difficulty of such an undertaking. After we had unloaded the logs Mama and I, with father’s help, began to dig a hole five me¬ ters by two and a half meters, to a depth of one and a half meters. We framed a roof over it, laid sticks and tall weeds over it and spread a layer of earth over it. The ends of the roof became our door and window respectively. By the time we re-enforced the roof against wind and rain, father had finished constructing the chimney. Next day we loaded some old items of furniture, beds, a table and other things. With mixed feelings we placed our chil¬ dren on the wagon and, accompanied by the goodbye waves of our parents and siblings, left for our new home. We lived there all alone for the next fourteen days. The other prospective settlers had lived in Neuhoffnung for a longer time and were better off. They were reluctant to leave a normal and regulated life. We on the other hand were quite used to a gypsy life and adjusted rather easily. We worked very hard during that summer, especially when I was all alone with the horses. Watering the many horses and cat¬ tle three times daily from an old fashion well was a difficult task. Later, together with others, I made bricks for the construction of our homes as well as the common buildings which we wanted to erect during the winter. We not only needed shelter for ourselves but for some two hundred cattle. We worked day and night. We possessed new courage for we had the necessary documents, the MEMOIRS OF ARON WARKENTIN 173 right to vote, and were not being watched. Somehow it didn’t matter if we always enjoyed seven or eight hours sleep. We managed to get ready for winter. Our house had four rooms with real gables. We obtained building materials from a village some ten to twelve kilometers away by buying houses for demolition. . . . We thirteen families had a very good chairman. He and others helped to raise the living standard of the inhabitants of this horse breeding farm. The grasslands, which had lain fallow for so long, grew vegeta¬ bles, watermelons and cantaloupe in great abundance. We had every¬ thing we needed. I was the accountant for our collective from the very beginning. It was hard work, but also very satisfying. Something very special... happened that fall. Our last daughter Hilda was born. We were among the poorest people in the village although we personally did not feel that way. . . . Some people won¬ dered about us adding a fifth child to our family but what of it... . Once the little one was there it had an innate right to life and all the privileges of childhood. She brought much happiness to us an