Religion was a high pnonty among these recent arrivals and church services among the German Lutherans of Rosenfeld, Plum Coulee and Gretna were originally held in private homes. These ser vices were overseen by Rev. Willing of Gretna until he left for Eben wald, Saskatchewan in 1896. The area then came under the care of Rev. Berthold of Langenburg. By 1897 a Lutheran Church had been built in Gretna and shortly thereafter the settlers of Rosenfeld organized the St. John's Congregation (March 2, 1900) with 34 charter members. Al though it was part of the same parish as Gretna, this congregation immediately set about building a permanent home. Under the leader ship of trustees: Ferdinand Pokrant, M. Recksiedler, and G. Dreger, a new church was built in less than six weeks at a cost of $800.
Agricultural Expansion
The coming of the railway to the West Reserve in 1882 led to a quantum leap in commercial grain farming in the area. Between 1884 and 1900 the amount of cultivated acreage increased every year. Be tween 1884 and 1890 alone, cultivated acreage in both the R.M. of Rhineland and Douglas more than doubled.
Table 7 Agricultural Statistics 1884 and 1890
Source: Assessment Rolls.
1890 4281 648 41596 2212 294 1444
821 1708
1890 4281
773 52833 2278 467 1703 664 1448
The number of farms also increased steadily as farmers moved into the wetter areas in the northern part of the municipality.
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