2024 and 2025 marked the 150th anniversaries of Mennonite communities in Manitoba and in this season of Still Speaking, host Conrad Stoesz from the Mennonite Heritage Archives is sharing true historical stories around this theme.
The final episode of Still Speaking season three talks about the importance of Mennonite midwifery in the late 1800's, how it was actually outlawed, the story of most well-known midwife in the area Katharina Thiessen, her prosecution and more...
"When the Mennonites began moving to Manitoba in 1874, their midwives came along. After a difficult start, the community began to flourish on the Mennonite west reserve in the Altona Winkler area. There were 884 births in the three years between 1881 and 1883. 31 midwives served their communities by attending at three or more births. Some midwives served at 128 births in three years. By the 1890s, new midwives needed to take up the task. The male leadership of the Chortitz or Mennonite Church invited renowned midwife Justina Bergen from Mountain Lake, Minnesota to provide a six-week midwife training course. But, the midwives were operating on thin ice. The province of Manitoba had outlawed midwifery for economic gain, leaving university trained male doctors to operate in the province without competition."
Listen to the rest of the story on Episode 11 of Sill Speaking, season three:
Thanks to host Conrad Stoesz from the Mennonite Heritage Archives for another great season of Still Speaking! The stories shared over the past 11 weeks have been intensely interesting and have painted a more vivid picture of our history and what life looked like when Mennonites first arrived in Manitoba 150 years ago.