I feel like Christmas wasn’t that long ago. Over the holidays, I missed time with family (because pandemic). And, I notice it’s been little while since I’ve posted about a cemetery. So, today I’m combining both these thoughts, in a post about family AND a visit to a cemetery.
On a Sunday afternoon of September of 2019 (yes, I hang onto pictures for a minute) Andrew and I treated his parents to a bit of an East Reserve historical tour. A highlight was our stop at the original Blumenort site. Fun fact, the village of Blumenort has moved twice since its inception in 1874. All that remains of the original village is its cemetery in the middle of a field, marked by a tree.
We’ve been here once before and were thrilled at the chance, because it’s on private property so it seems more difficult to access… until I realized who owned it, and I texted their daughter-in-law to quickly obtain permission/instructions/advice.
After our first visit, Andrew told his parents all about it, because we both have family roots in this cemetery. (And yes, okay, we are related… but not in this way.)
Jacob Barkman is buried here, and I’ve previously blogged about how I’m descended from him in two different ways… because at one point second cousins married each other, as good Mennos do. So it’s amazing to me to visit this site.
Now I must tell you about Andrew’s connection. He’s descended from Abram Fuela Reimer, in two different ways… because at one point second cousins married each other. (See? It was such a thing.) Abram Reimer spent much of his time writing, and that’s why he earned the nickname “Lazy Reimer”, and is kind of famous in local Mennonite history circles (um, just me and Andrew maybe) and he’s laid to rest here in this cemetery as well.
Andrew’s parents were fascinated!
Here is Abram Reimer’s name at the top of this side of the cairn:
I’m grateful that this cairn was built and this site continues to be respected.
You can read more about this site and Abram Reimer, here: