Bethel College - Graymaroon Yearbook (North Newton, KS)

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1,--1, -511.7 le , 1-K f rv- ,lr- Tia? Y Sri' ' t A YY - .5 --A W ' - .. 544: lf! ! 'i' -' .9yg,f1i , , . ,- TT 'Y-if Qin. T f I ', A' p.AflfdW1PNl'ill.yAAHP l.-,fhsrwl 41 ,, ,!l If lldftllw If 'gl l. , f' 10 f Intl! 1 X 'ff' -L ' A .M 1 7 fm- ,S .f 1 ,G I IJ.. fl,,,40 11,7 , lt,-I ,f ff 1, ' Wy.. Q V l ll, . Z ff J ' Q pt Q , ' f i4ff!', 'w '? f f V fi' - 1 D ' ,iLf1..'x H' ff, , ..,, f K .a B .A I . - E, I f 'f If f I i Z Up from the Soil Kansas, but there is one specific The Mennonite character has remained essentially the same for three hundred years and more. Primarily they are farmers- tillers of the soil-and that is what they are still doing in Kansas. Some of them, however, have gone into business, and there the same qualities of rugged honesty, perseverance and willingness to labor, have won them rewards. The communities in which the Menno- nites have settled are among the most prosperous in the state. Bankers and merchants alike are happy to welcome them. The same idealism which has carried them through centuries of oppression and persecution, has induced them to establish numer- ous schools, hospitals, and other institutions of a similar nature. These are the general contributions of the Mennonites to contribution, credit for which belongs to them and them alone, which has meant so much in the development not only of Kansas but all the surrounding states, that it is difficult to estimate its full value. That contribution is the introduction of the famous Tur- key Red wheat, the hard wheat which has made Kansas the premier wheat-producing country in the world. More than any other man, the name of Bernhard Warkentin is associated with this priceless contribution. Before the coming of hard wheat, Minnesota was the chief wheat-growing state in the Union, and the soft spring wheat was considered to be the best. Efforts to grow spring wheat in Kansas had not been too successful, and millers had been in the habit of paying less money for Kansas wheat than they did for wheat from the northwest. It was Bernhard Warkentinis early life on the Russian steppes which suggested to him the idea of bringing to this country the type of wheat which he knew from experience grew so success- fully on the plains of Turkestan, a country which was in many respects the same as Kansas. Mr. W'arkentin's plan was to experiment with the wheat here. He imported some seed and his fellow Mennonites cooperated with him in planting it and watching its growth. The results astounded even the Mennonites themselves. Instead of planting it in the spring, they planted this Turkestan wheat. according to Asiatic custom, in the preceding fall. The wheat drew its nourishment from the winter Old flour and grist mill at Halstead. I I

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g- +3575-33.3.5 e - economic greatness of Kansas. The committee found the smiling -I prairies ready to welcome them. With thanksgiving in their hearts they returned with the good news to Russia. f T -I Ti, ,mu lf ' In the meantime steps were taken by Kansas and Kansans to in E A 1- facilitate the Mennonite movement to this state. Among the leaders . A E in this activity was the Santa Fe Railroad Company, which quickly . E recognized the value to its territory in having these frugal, hard- , 74, l '.. gg ' -' working, intelligent people as settlers. In a large measure through y A its influence, a law was passed exempting the Mennonites from ,S 1 3 . . . . I l the state militia service. C. B. Schmidt, a Santa Fe agent, visited Russia to present the Schools and Churches were claims and advantages of the Sunflower State. The company even built upon the level prairies. chartered a Red Star liner which was sent to the Black Sea for a shipload of Mennonite household goods and farm implements. These goods were brought to New York and thence shipped by rail to Kansas without charge to the immigrants. The first Mennonite immigrants to Kansas disembarked at Newton and at once were taken to the luxuriant prairies north of that city where they established their homes and formed the nucleus of the settlements that were to follow. Vast stretches of Kansas railroad land were offered to the newcomers at from two to five dollars an acre. Groups of immigrants as they arrived in the east, were carried across the continent in special trains. Hundreds came during the summer of 1874, settling chiefly in Marion, Harvey, McPherson, and Reno counties. Today the Mennonites of Kansas constitute one of the pillars of the state's wealth and prosperity. TI-IE CONTRIBUTION TO KANSAS They have brought out bleeding Kansas with flying colorsg they have made it the banner wheat state ..... They have made their section a garden of affluence and contentment. They have built a college in Kansas and missions among the Indians in the Indian Territory.-C. B. Schmidt, Reminiscences of Foreign Immi- gration Work for Kansas. From the moment of their first arrival, the Kansas Mennonites have been a beneficial addition to the population of the state. They have shown themselves to be constantly industrious, thoroughly honest and dependable, self-reliant and progressive. When they first came to this country, many brought with them the crude agricultural imple- ments of the Russia from which they came. But they were quick to see and take advantage of scien- tific farm equipment and methods and today are not outdone by any in modern efficient management. IO

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. -.riff-in 4. lb -big? 'jf sJT3'f2,,,:i.b.49 if nvalgssfgl f' P ?'Yv L , Thhfb 2 . c i 1 j if 1 tif'-5 TT , ' ' i'J ':a'?, IQ, 2-- . ' - QHHJ MTY ' :Fi - -ff M lil' . ul X - J Q, f ' l lu X If ' O ' f . , Y ' av ' 1 -- A I I ' f-i 'N-A .-.., .- --5 ' 'ie ,p ' - ' ' - A' ,ni t 0 ., . 3 ,JK A-Wm . , V .s Malia-W my .lzohffm ..,- I .A .X a- I , t Y, 1 I LLEH ' I Q SHP QR. ' - .f'.'k-F ,-f .a f I i I ni. -4 .U 9 111, a .J 1 .I The characteristic feature of the American Mennonite remains, as a half century ago. farming, but now the sickle, flail, and threshing stone have been replaced by the combine. snows. It developed as soon as the cold weather departed, and showed amazing vitality in resisting drouth, wind, and other detri- mental climate factors. Soon the Mennonites were growing it everywhere. It was harder than spring wheat and different in other respects and at first the millers were loath to buy it. They penalized it with low prices and discouraged its growth. But by now the Mennonites knew what they were doing. The wheat, they knew, had every quality which was necessary to make good flour. Moreover, many of them believed, as has since been proved, that this Turkestan wheat had superior qualities to the American wheat. They continued with the patient perseverance which has always characterized them, to grow the new wheat and market it in spite of all discouragements, sure that in the end its high quality would win a place for itself. Their faith was amply rewarded. The millers were not long in discovering that the so-called Turkey Red wheat, in addition to growing better and assuring substantially better crops in Kansas, had superior protein content and other qualities which made it the ideal flour for bread making. That discovery made, the pendulum swung the other way. Today every Kansas farmer who grows wheat, grows the wheat which was brought to Kansas by the Mennonites. And that wheat has caused the entire western third of the state which had been 7 thought of as little more than a desert, to become one of the most productive areas in the nation. It has made Kansas the greatest wheat-producing state in the United States. It has added millions of dollars yearly to the state's economic production. It has helped indirectly in the building of colleges and universities, V - ' in the construction of roads, in the growth of cities, in the general happiness and contentment of the whole state. That is what the Mennonites have done for Kansas. I2 i 1 'i' MPN i' , .E 4 . f ' ,S T -' ,---- '- 1? 1, . .. E, Q .5 - ,,' 1,53 lt.-1 i.- E if 1HJLf u Wffs 5. J 4 if il :YQ 1 . 'E 5: ' X iv iii' .- ' HJ: YF gl :, x If E -If - r ' 1' 1' i , -irit rt sua N f as E ' - e f ' flx 'h9.Q ' M-' -N '-il, f ' -- 1U1.QL11g ' Q i ig,1Z.L..-u ' - - 1 : 1 ,I A ij X - 1.f 1 A ii, - x ni lg 1-T .lf '-:df f Za. X9 -'.,,, M051 'Gr'-W 1127 l- 3 Typical characteristics of early N home life among the Mennonites were simplicity, frugality, and integrity through faith in God.