Low German Mennonite students trace their history with high school mural

The path of low German Mennonites to Southwestern Ontario – driven from Canada in the early 19th century to Mexico, and back again to become a presence in many rural pockets across the region – is captured by a student-made mural at a local high school.

Article content

Inspired by traditional Mennonite quilts, the large, wooden mural at East Elgin Secondary School in Aylmer depicts the Mennonites leaving Russia to first settle in Canada and then, fearing the loss of the culture, on to Mexico, and then back to Canada.

It was created by students enrolled in the school’s Aspire program, which is designed to help low German teens learn English and learn “to be part of the Canadian experience,” said visual arts teacher Robert Ponzio.

“This is a way of reaching out to them,” he said. “It’s like a school within a school.”

Ponzio said the academic program also “accounts for their need to be on the farm” several months a year when other teens would otherwise still be in class.

“It’s facing the reality of who these people are – it works pretty well for them,” he said. “The main thing is to get them speaking English well, reading and writing. All the things they need to do to be successful in Canada.”

Article content

In the 1870s, thousands of Mennonites arrived from Europe in Manitoba, after a long and arduous journey, where they had been promised religious freedom. A second wave followed in the 1930s.

Feeling a threat to their culture after new laws were passed requiring all schools to teach English, thousands of Mennonites moved to Mexico, with many settling in Chihuahua and continuing their agricultural lifestyle.

When land became scarce in Mexico, Mennonite families returned to Canada starting in the 1950s. Many settled in Southwestern Ontario.

Notoriously private, many Low German Mennonites don’t like having photos taken of them because it might encourage vanity.

Production began on the mural in January and Ponzio worked with the students through conversations and sketches, as well as classes on perspective and how to use a brush, he said.

Article content

Images for the mural came from the students’ study of their heritage in their history class, he said.

“People take for granted their culture,” he said. “It was good for them to appreciate who they are and where they came from.”

The mural came together through drawn and projected sketches and maps, and even some artificial intelligence was used to generate images of old-fashioned trucks and cars, Ponzio said.

About 50 students, including one visually impaired student, worked together to finish the mural that now hangs in a newly renovated lounge for Aspire students.

For students, the mural opened their eyes to history and helped them learn new skills.

“History has never really been my thing. “I’ve always found it boring and have never been very interested in the past,” said one Aspire student who did not want their name published. “But art has been my favourite class of this school year and combining art and history, especially because it was Mennonite history, it made history more interesting.”

[email protected]
@HeatheratLFP

Article content