Here is a video that shows the move of a barn to the Youth Farm Bible Camp.  February 4, 2014 was a great day when a Hip Roof barn was moved to our complex.  We would like to thank Neufeld Movers for doing a great job!  We were expecting it to arrive sometime in the middle of the afternoon, but instead, it was here at noon.

Now that the barn is here, we have a work project that will be going on at different times this summer.  We are bringing water to the barn, electricity, a tin roof, new siding, and building a lean-to on the side of the barn.  The lean-to will be heated throughout the winter and will house all of our smaller Petting Zoo animals.

When we put new wood siding on the barn, we are hoping to get some volunteers coming out and helping with the project.  Let us know if you are interested by commenting below!!

As well, we are accepting donations for the barn project and all of our other summer camp initiatives.  To donate online, click here.

The video has some old film footage from 1957.  There was a documentary called "God Giveth the Increase" that we found out about from an essay written by Walter Franz in December 1976.  Here is the paragraph that was written about "God Giveth the Increase":

The most unique method of promotion or publicity employed by the MYS was undoubtedly the production of a film, “God Giveth the Increase.”  This was basically documentary film depicting the work of the MYS and centering particularly on the Mennonite Youth Farm.  This color film was produced by Wm. Zehr of the United States in 1957 and at a cost of $4,500.  The premiere showing took place at the Canadian Conference sessions in Saskatoon in 1958.  This project for which money was borrowed, turned out to be a losing proposition.  The film appeared to be more popular outside the province of Sask. than among MYS supporters.  If a copy could be located today, it would be an interesting and valuable record of a dynamic organization that no longer exists.

When Jesse Doell and I (Mark Wurtz) discovered this, we went to work trying to find out where this film would be.  The $4500 that the film costed would be $35,0000 in todays funds!!  An internet search of William Zehr found the following information:

Zehr (1909-1993) turned his childhood interest in movies into a career, starting Better Films Library and Productions in 1946 and making mostly evangelical films. In 1953, the General Conference Mennonite Church (GCMC) appointed Zehr to its new Film Committee, for which the first project was The Call of the Cheyenne, completed in 1955.

By 1960, Zehr had made five more films about Mennonite missions in Japan, Taiwan and North America. In addition, he made 25 movies on other topics such as lumbering in the Pacific Northwest.

In 1970, Zehr donated his collection—consisting of films he made or had a part in making as well as inventory from his film library—to the GCMC archives, which are now housed in the Mennonite Library and Archives at Bethel College. He retired to Schowalter Villa in Hesston about 10 years later.


I contacted Bethel College and asked about it but they were not sure.  The next time I sent an email and got a positive response.  They shipped the film to CINEPOST in Marietta, Georgia where the film was digitalized, and we received the digital copy in the mail the same day that the barn arrived.

It was a great job by CINEPOST and the video is a valuable historical resource.  

The 2014 Premiere of the video "God Giveth the Increase" will take place on March 18 with showings at 5:45 and 6:30 at our annual Vereniki and Sausage Supper.  The supper will be at Rosthern Mennonite Church.

The Yard with many Barns!

On the day that the barn was to arrive at the Youth Farm Bible Camp, I (Mark Wurtz) was talking to someone very knowledgeable about the barns and farm program of the Mennonite Youth Farm Complex.  His name is Henry Goertzen.  Henry has been working at the farm since the 1950s.  He is in the shop daily making sure everything is put in place.  In the summer he is often seen doing landscaping work and fixing the fence lines.  He is a very important part of the complex, a link from the present to the past.

Henry was telling me that their were nine barns on the yard at one time.  A dairy barn, horse barn, pig barn, two chicken barns, and a few large barns used as granaries and pump houses.  After the chat we had, we received in our office a digitalized version of the documentary "God Giveth the Increase".  This was filmed in 1956 &1957 on 16mm Film.  I will have to share the story of how we found it and brought it "back to life".  Editing needs to be done in our office before it can be viewed, however, I was able to take some still shots from the video.  Here is one showing what the yard looked like in 1957.

In 1957, the farm provided milk for all of Rosthern.  Here is some shots off the horse and wagon that were used to haul the milk to town.  The video shows milk being delivered in the town of Rosthern.

Here are a few more stills captured from the video showcasing some of the buildings that use to be on the yard.

So you can imagine our thrill at having this video from the past arrive to the camp at the same time that the barn arrived.  It was very exciting.  We also have video of the barn moving down the highway and coming onto the site at the Youth Farm Bible Camp.  We are hoping to have this video done for viewing at our upcoming fundraiser - this Saturday - 10:00am at the Camp Quonset.

Here are some pictures from the move.

Moving a Barn to the Youth Farm Bible Camp

In 1941, a group of young people led by Henry W. Friesen, J C Scmidt and Isaac Epp had a retreat at the grounds of the Rosthern Experimental Station.  It was a great success with over 100 youth and young adults attending.  A vision for purchasing the farm yard from the Canadian Government was started and the three men spent time in prayer.

On February 9, 1943, J.C. Schmidt sent a letter to the Federal Agriculture Minister James Gardiner requesting sale of the Experimental Farm to the Youth Society. Henry W Friesen helped write the letter and met with the Agriculture Minister in person. By September 23, 1943, a price of $20,000 was decided and the youth society took possession of the property immediately. The prayers were answered!! A farmer was willing to pay much more then $20,000 for the land and buildings, however, James Gardiner was impressed by the group and pleased that they were planning to use the farm for humanitarian causes. The buildings alone would have cost $60,000 to build.

The farm had many barns.  There was a horse barn, pig barn, chicken coop and a large Hip Roof Dairy Barn that was 100 feet long.  Over the years, the barns started to disappear, the yard divested from pigs, tractors replaced work horses, and all that was left was the large Dairy Barn.  During the early years, retreat participants and campers used the haylofts of the barn to sleep in.  When cabins were built in the late 1960s campers were upset that they could no longer sleep in the barn.  It was a special place for many people.  When I first came to as a camper in 1985, the barn was a place to find some farm animals and a great place to explore.

THEN TRAGEDY STRUCK!

On June 7, 1988 the only barn left on the Mennonite Youth Farm Complex, the large Dairy Barn was struck by lightning and burnt down.  The farm was left without a barn.

In the 1990s, the Youth Farm Bible Camp Board looked into moving a Hip Roof barn back onto the yard, however plans fell through and the farm continued without a barn.

As the Camp continued to grow in the 2000s there was again a strong desire to bring a nostalgic Hip Roof Barn back to the farm.  We were in contact with Hertha Friesen and her son Kevin.  They had a barn that fit into our plans and were willing to make a donation to pay for a good portion of the moving costs.  There desire was for the project be done in the name of their late husband/father - Ervin Friesen.

The foundation for the barn was poured in October and now on February 3rd, we are one day away from a barn being moved to the farm.  It is exciting.  The barn is loaded on the moving truck and ready to go.

The farm will have a barn.