The Peace Trail, which traces the route of the first Mennonites to settle in Manitoba, is described as a “pilgrimage across time” on its website.
The 55-kilometre trail runs from St. Agathe to Steinbach, marked by waypoints and historic sites that invite visitors to learn about another era while gaining a glimpse into what it might have felt like to be a part of it.
On August 16th, the Mennonite Heritage Village and Eden Foundation will team up to use this historic landscape and powerful experience for the community’s benefit through its Peace Trek.
Visiting the Mennonite legacy
The Mennonite Heritage Village, a 40-acre site that features a historic Russian Mennonite settlement in Steinbach, is partnering with Eden Foundation on its Peace Trek for a fourth year in a row.
The event raises funds for mental health with a cycling journey along the Peace Trail.
“We're just really happy that we can work together with the Eden Foundation to take care of the community as well as preserve history,” said Robert Goertzen, the executive director of the Mennonite Heritage Village.
“What we're doing is following approximately the Peace Trail, which commemorates when the Mennonites came to Manitoba in the early 1870s on the East Reserve,” he said.
Goertzen said the Mennonites stopped at the joining of the Rat River and Red River “a little bit west of Niverville,” where there is now a cairn to mark the historic event.
This early journey of the Mennonites will be honoured in the upcoming Peace Trek, which occurs 151 years after the group arrived.
“It’s really just remembering some of the relationships that were needed and developed through those years,” he said. “[It’s] also just a way to remember our history.”
Highlights on the trail
The first stop in the Peace Trek will be at Hespeler Park in Niverville, an area rich in significance in the Mennonite story.
The park is named after William Hespeler, an immigration agent for the Government of Canada and liaison for the Mennonites arriving in Manitoba.
The region is also important because it features the Crow Wing Trail, a route that the Métis community, essential to the early Mennonites as they arrived in a new land, frequented with Red River Carts.
A place for green arrivals to stay
Another stop along the Peace Trek is the Shantz Immigration Sheds Cairn, which offers a unique glimpse into the early accommodations of the Mennonites.
“They were meant to be temporary shelters where people could stay, the hope was, for a couple of weeks,” said Goertzen. “But sometimes I think they stayed quite a bit longer, and there are lots of stories that go with that.”
The sheds were commissioned by Ontario Businessman Jacob Y. Shantz, a Mennonite who employed members of the local Métis community to build the shelters for those who had just arrived in the region.
“We all have to realize that we're all migrants to Canada. The stories that we tell about our forefathers and foremothers who came to Manitoba are something that can be repeated and shared with our new neighbours ... who also have migration stories. Those stories continue to resonate with families in our neighbourhoods and in our communities.”
-David Goertzen on the value of remembering the past.
From the beginning to the end, Goertzen said the Peace Trail, complete with its markers and interpretive panels, is maintained by the Peace Trail Committee, a group comprised of local Mennonite historians and others with a vested interest in the region’s trails.
Increasing visibility
In addition to taking in the sights of the area’s ancestors, Goertzen said that the Peace Trek on August 16th will also involve a shared meal, a short presentation, and prizes for the top fundraisers.
For David Sawatsky, the director of development with Eden Foundation, the Peace Trek serves not only to breathe life into history but also to “make Eden more visible” beyond the Pembina Valley region.
“We offer most of our services in the Steinbach region as well, so we wanted to have events that highlight the fact that we are present,” he said.
Looking back to look forward
Sawatsky believes that, as a foundation committed to providing services in communities and strengthening them, Eden must maintain an awareness of the past, complete with the legacy of the community spirit of Mennonites and the Indigenous people who helped them survive.
“We know that the folks in southern Manitoba and Steinbach are very generous people and they are very community-minded,” he said. “They are very focused on building and sustaining their community. When they see issues in the community, they act, and that's been true time and time again, and so we want to recognize that.”
For Goertzen, remembering the past can help communities connect, too.
“We all have to realize that we're all migrants to Canada,” he said. “The stories that we tell about our forefathers and foremothers who came to Manitoba are something that can be repeated and shared with our new neighbours ... who also have migration stories. Those stories continue to resonate with families in our neighbourhoods and in our communities.”
Eden Foundation
Through the Peace Trek, Sawatsky also hopes to dispel some myths about Eden and the services it provides. He said that while most people might associate the centre as a place for psychiatric care (which is undoubtedly an important part of what it does), it also offers much more to the community.
“[Many] more people are served by our other services, including [sliding-scale] therapeutic counselling for individuals, families, and couples that need it,” he said. “We [also] have supportive housing in Steinbach as well as Winkler and Winnipeg.”
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Sawatsky said that Eden is especially interested in providing this service in Steinbach, where the foundation reports there is a growing need.
Details of the Peace Trek
As for the Peace Trek in support of Eden, Goertzen said that the trail this year has been updated to a gravel route, which is a change from 2024.
“It's well maintained, and so you don't have to be an expert cyclist,” he said. “There are so many stops along the way [that it’s] not an onerous task at all.”
Goertzen said that both those who wish to register as cyclists and those who wish to register as supporters can do so here.
On the day of the trek, August 16th, registration for the approximately 4-hour trek will be open between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.
With files from Jayme Giesbrecht