of these Mennonite villages. In fact most of the villages that have remained intact in Rhineland are those that were heavily populated by the Russian immigrants of the 1920 's. They came from Russia hoping to re-establish the Mennonite Commonwealth they had lost in Russia and while they were not successful, the strong tradition of village life they brought to Manitoba endured the abolition of the open field system. They genuinely liked the village life they found in Manitoba, thus, affording them a more gradual adjustment to Canadian society.
While some of the Russian immigrants settled in Rhineland towns most engaged in farming. More would settle in Winkler which showed the greatest gain from this most recent immigration. Russian immi grants made significant contributions to the growth of Winkler as a cultural center, founding a Bible school, establishing a choir and organizing a musical festival." Since the areas of Russian Mennonite settlement corresponded roughly to the area vacated by the Reinlaender and Sommerfelder, most new settlement occurred in the western portion of Rhineland and eastern Stanley.
| Fig. 22 |
Immigrant Settlements in Rhineland and Stanley |
Source: F. H. EppMennonites in Canada 1920-1940, pp. 208-209.
This allowed Gretna and Plum Coulee to regain some of the business they had lost because of the Mexico emigration, but not nearly all. Firstly, the new immigrants were very poor and saved most of their money to payoff their Reiseschuld and secondly the Russlaender who replaced the Reinlaender, had no established town loyalties and pa tronized the most convenient center." In most cases this was Winkler and in others it was Altona. Plum Coulee was further handicapped in
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