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By Joni Gross, Grade 9, Age 14
History of the Hutterites
The founders of the Hutterian Brethren were refugees from the Anabaptist movement in Switzerland, Germany, and Tirol who settled in Moravia. In 1528, Jacob Wiedemann became the leader of one of those refugee groups. In the same year, the group began a communal way of life. In 1529, Jacob Hutter, with a group of refugees from Tirol, visited the colonies in Moravia. Those two groups united and Hutter became the main missionary. In 1533, he forced the appearance of our church, which has been known since as the Hutterian Church. In 1874, Hutterites came to the United States, and finally to Canada in 1918. Hutterites were welcomed in these countries as they proved themselves to be good workers. In 1962, Iberville Colony branched and created Whiteshell Colony. We have since grown to 101 people, which is the largest we have ever been. At Whiteshell Colony we all share the same family name of Gross. Hutterites start a new community when there is no longer work for all colony members.
Community Life
Colony life is a very unique and simple lifestyle. I love and am proud to be a Hutterite. I feel these emotions not just because of the fact that everything in my life is taken care of, but I also get to live in peace and quiet, and feel loved everyday by the people around me, whom I also love. The fact that I am able to live in this environment of love and caring is incredible. All Hutterites try to do the very best they can to work together, laugh, talk, care for one another, respect our elders, love, and forgive one another. As Hutterites, we get to hear the Word of God everyday, without being disturbed. I think colony life is the way to live an obedient, God-fearing life. Sometimes it may seem that the whole world is upon your shoulders, and at other times you may feel that nobody wants to listen to what you have to say. It is during these times that you will find the trick to life is being strong in your faith toward God. God put each one of us here as part of the colony for a special reason, so let us let God control our lives. I cannot imagine a better way of living. Here on the colony we are like a very big family. It is a very enjoyable lifestyle, but you have to be born into it. We all share the attitude that nothing is mine or yours, but it is all ours. It is a lifestyle that we really think God appreciates because of the Christian values involved and because each one of us attempts to live by His commands. We are being taught the same things from the time we are born to the time we are taken to eternity where we hope to meet our Saviour Jesus Christ. Like any group of people we have our ups and downs, but most of the time we get them resolved with the help of each other. Our daily labour is for our neighbour, our fellowman, the needy, and the aged. It can be a very fun life, although you can make it difficult for yourself by wanting your own ways. This is not what community life is about. We have our German school, Sunday school, and church services which teach and explain to us how we should live a very humble, community lifestyle. We try to live in isolation from the world. Televisions are not allowed. We try not to be afraid of our tomorrows, for we know God has already been there.
All Things in Common
Since we all work together, all the profits we make go into one bank account. All material things are held in common. We believe that the community of goods is the highest command of all. All members of the colony are provided for equally. If we need anything from a toothbrush to a broom, to hockey equipment to shoes, we simply ask the colony boss and he will get it for us, or he might give us money to buy it ourselves. In every Hutterite colony the minister is also the chief management, and he, along with an advisory board, makes the day-to-day decisions which affect the colony. The advisory board is made up of the colony manager, the farm manager, and two or three other colony members. The colony manager, or “boss”, receives and pays all bills, does the banking, and pays attention to the needs of the colony. The farm manager, also known as the work distributor, supervises all field work. Under his hand are all the workers from fifteen years who have not been appointed specific jobs by the colony. The advisory board meets everyday at 7:40 in the morning to make the day-to-day decisions.
Women’s and Men’s Roles
The women’s role in the community involves house-keeping and caring for their families. Other roles given to the women are sewing, cooking, baking, laundry, gardening, and canning. Each family has their laundry days twice a week. A colony always has one female head cook, and two married or single women to assist her on a weekly basis. We have twelve cook weeks which means that every woman helping the head cook does so every twelve weeks. Baking is usually done by one woman on a weekly rotating basis. When something is baked, everything is equally distributed among all the families according to their size. Women start to cook and bake at the age of seventeen and do so until they are forty-five. All other activities are communal activities, where everybody pitches in and helps. Men are the decision makers, manufacturers, farm hands, office staff, and transporters since the women do not have any drivers’ licenses.
Getting Elected
Every job in the community has a supervisor. To get a certain job you have to be elected which is something only done by male members. The men have to have been baptized or married to be eligible to vote. When someone is elected for a certain job, it is expected that they will be respectful to everyone else and trying to do a good job so that the colony can prosper. When someone is voted into a new job they can always rely on other colony members to be very supportive, which makes everything about the new job a lot easier to do and accept.
Church
We go to church at 5:30 in the evening everyday, unless the preacher is not home or the men are very busy and want to get a chore done. Sunday we have a morning service at 9:30 until 10:45 and another short service in the evening. At Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving we have one or more morning services. We baptize every second year. We do not believe in infant baptism, because we believe that only those who want to fully commit themselves to Christ should be baptized. In church, everyone sits according to age, with men always sitting on the right and women on the left since God made the woman from the man’s rib on his right side.
Weddings
Before a boy and a girl can be engaged in marriage, they both have to be baptized. One must fully commit to Christ before the marriage can take place. Hutterites do not believe in divorce. What God has joined together, let no one ever part. Once two individuals are joined as one, no one can physically separate the one body. Only death can separate the marriage. When the wedding is to take place, the bride moves to the groom’s home, and there is a big celebration in the groom’s community. Weddings are usually held in the kitchen. We have our girls choir, ladies choir, and kids choir all sing. We all participate with the singing at weddings.
Special Events
Some days in summer all the able people will get together outside the communal kitchen. It is something we all enjoy. We sit and talk, having a great time with all our friends and family. When the harvest is done, we will do the same thing. We have a special meal, thanking God for the wonderful year. Weddings, graduations, picnics, Christmas time and Christmas concerts are considered special events.
Eating Order
Children between the ages five to fourteen eat in a room called “Essen Shule” or Kids’ Dining Room, where the German school teacher and his wife assist the kids. We serve ourselves buffet style. Children four and under eat at home. The children eat before the adults so there is always someone at home to look after the little children. Grace and thanks are said before and after every meal. Chattering and laughing is not allowed at the table. Women always sit to the right and the men to the left. When a girl or boy turns fifteen they are considered an adult. They then do everything with the adults, like eat, work, and worship.
School
We have the choice if we want to receive a grade 12 education, but it is not a must. Kids between the ages of 5 and 14 go to German school at 8:00 until 8:45 in the morning. Then we all have English school from 9:00 until 11:45. We then have a lunch break until 12:45. English school then proceeds until 3:30. Then we have a short half hour break until 4:00, when we have another session of German school which lasts until 5:00. On Sunday, we have Sunday school starting at 12:45, lasting for anywhere between 45 and 60 minutes. Sunday school is always run by the German school teacher. During the summer months, the kids who are between two and a half and four go to nursery school. The elderly women take turns assisting them every day. They teach them to pray, sing, share, play, and get along with each other.
Economy
Our economy is very traditional. We try to make our living by growing crops like canola, soy beans, wheat, oats, barley, and flax. Some crops like wheat, barley, and oats we use to feed the livestock we raise. The rest of the crops we sell off to grain elevators. The livestock we raise consist of laying chickens, frying chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese for our own consumption. We butcher 10 000 chickens every year at the end of April. It is a very tiring event, but when all the colony members pitch in and help, hard tasks become easy. We also produce pork. Some we use for our own food consumption, the balance we sell off, mostly to American markets. We have two hog operations. We call one of them the East Barn which has 1 200 sows and one the West Barn which has 900 sows. We produce our own garden. We try to be as self-sufficient as possible. We make our own buildings which can be used for housing, shops, or barns. We also try and repair our own vehicles and equipment. These undertakings require mechanical, welding, electrical, and plumbing knowledge. With the farming economy being as challenging as it is, we had to look for another source to create revenue to meet our financial requirements. So we started a manufacturing company called, “Whiteshell Chairs”, where we produce stacking chairs, kitchen chairs, bar stools, tables, picnic tables, bike racks, and coat racks, among other things. Like farming, this is also very challenging, but very interesting and enjoyable at the same time. Our business has been up and running for a few years now and we are growing rapidly. It is a business where style and durability meet. We have a big selection of material for the seats and backs, and a variety of powder coatings. So if you are ever in the area and wish to check it out, come on down. Our manager is Harry Gross. The men do all welding, bending, and anything else that needs to be done on the chairs. The girls do the upholstery. It is going quite well and with God’s protecting and loving Hand, we will keep producing. The Sabbath day, the day of rest, we take the day off from all work.
Family Life
My family consists of seven people. There is my mother, Rose, and my dad, Walter, who is the colony boss. There is my handsome, older brother, Derek. He is employed by “Whiteshell Chairs” and is one of the top welders working there. Then there are my three sisters: Donna, Loretta, and Kayla. We spend time together after breakfast, during afternoon coffee breaks and in the evenings. We try to spend as much time together as we possibly can doing things like singing songs, sitting, talking, playing board games, bringing up old memories, and making new ones. Some days on the colony we might have family supper, where we all eat at home with our families. Some of these days are Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, one Christmas holiday, and other events related to that.
Clothing
Our clothing is very distinctive from what people see in the outside world. The boys and men wear shirts, black pants and suspenders. The girls and women wear a black handkerchief on their heads because as it clearly states in 1. Corinthians 11:6 “But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonours her head…” Women also wear dresses, and white shirts. We are not allowed to wear make-up or jewellery, other than watches. Make-up is not allowed because God made us the way He wanted to, in His own image. Only dark coloured jackets, like those that are black or dark blue are allowed to be worn.
I am a Hutterite because I want to be a Hutterite.
Joni K. Gross, Grade 9, Age 14
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