My parents were Abram Rempel, born 1895 in Paulsheim, and Margarete Willms, born 1901 in Tiegenhagen, both in the Molotschna Colony, Ukraine. My Mom and Dad met when Dad taught school in Tiegenhagen.

My parents had two children, Mary Anne and Nick, when they came to Canada in 1925. The first English Dad learned was "Have you work?" They lived in Kitchener the first year where Dad got work at the B.F. Goodrich Rubber Company making boots during the winter. The family lived with Swiss Mennonites.

When Mr. Cruikshank came to Kitchener-Waterloo looking for Pelee Island tobacco farmers, my parents, who were not farmers, along with other Mennonites, made the move to the Island. They moved into a small house on Homeward Road - about 30 feet square - along with Uncle Jake and Aunt Lena Epp, daughter Elsie, Grandma and Uncle Peter Willms. It had a combination kitchen, living room, dining room and three bedrooms which housed nine people. That house is a cottage today. It has been renovated, complete with a breezeway and garage.

I was born in my parent's bedroom of that house in 1927. Mrs. Ben Konrad delivered me; Elsie Epp was upset because she wanted a brother too. I have no idea what I weighed; a scale was called a Basemar. I remember a thrashing machine coming one day; it was run by a steam engine.

Church services were held in the Bernhard Konrad home. While Gerhard Thiessen directed the choir, his son George sat on a stool before him and hugged his father's knees. Before church services the big boys played ball on Konrad's yard. I remember attending one wedding there. The tables were set up outside. When I spilled my milk, the young ladies nearby laughed at me. One Easter I got into Mrs. Konrad's pantry at church, noticed the Paska, and ate a few jelly beans. Uncle Peter Willms and Grandma moved to the mainland. The Epp family moved to Port Rowan after a short time.

Marianne and Nick were already in school when we moved to the Zion Sideroad in Wheatley in 1932. We cash rented an 80 acre farm from Erie Land's Company. Here we had cattle and grew corn, tomatoes, wheat and oats. We were the first people to grow soy beans. I started school on the Zion Sideroad where Miss Seath was my teacher until grade 7. Her boyfriend was Bob Reid of Reid's Funeral Home. I was the only student in grade 8 when Miss Hall was my teacher. We stayed on the farm for ten years.

United Mennonite Church services were held together with the Mennonite Brethren in Shotton Hall, located above Dixie Autoland on Erie Street North of Leamington. I remember Sunday School teachers Mr. Thielman, Miss Mary Dyck, Jake Barkovsky and Frank Tiessen. When the church was built on Oak Street in about 1933, I helped Dad put up the beams. The Mennonite Brethren worshippers built a church on Elliot Street of Leamington. My friends were cousin Fred Willms, Harry Tiessen, George Thiessen, Jake Konrad, George Tiessen, and George Janzen. Choir directors were Anna Hildebrand, Jake Hildebrand, Senior, Peter Driedger and John Enns. Practices were held every Saturday evening.

In the early 1940s we bought 100 acres from Bob Emerson, on the South side of #3 Highway, owned by Greg Dick in 2009. It cost $4,000. We had dairy cattle, and grew corn and beans. Because this soil was too sandy for tomatoes, Dad rented 80 acres east of Wheatley on which to grow ten acres of tomatoes, corn and beans. At that time, tomatoes grown on sand produced spot rot; today spot rot is controlled with spray.

My brothers all farmed except for Harold, the youngest. After our move, I attended Wheatley Continuation School on Erie Street North of Wheatley for three years. Then I took grade 12 at Ontario Bible School in Fort Erie. LUMC's Rev. David Dyck's father, Gerhard, taught there. Miss Sherk was my English teacher. Miss Hensel and Mr. Dirks also taught there. In September of 1944, we rented a small Bickford bus to transport the 10-12 students and luggage from Leamington to Fort Erie. Mr. Franz Bartel came along as chaperone. We sometimes hitch-hiked home and took a train or bus back. On one occasion an American truck picked me up and took me from Niagara directly to Leamington.

After I had finished grade 12, brother Art and I ran Dad's farm on shares. Dad was a pastor in our congregation and Peter Epp was youth leader. The youth presented one program and had one devotional meeting (Erbaungstunde) per month. By 1951, the old UMEI auditorium had been built and roller-skating became the rage. As many as 50 or 60 skaters came out weekly. Chuck Herzinger owned the Dairy Bar on Mill Street; here we'd treat ourselves with a half-brick of ice-cream.

Tina Unruh and I met in 1952 and we were married on my 26^th birthday in 1953 at the Oak Street Church. Reverend N.N. Driedger officiated. Tina and I lived in the little house on my parents' farm for two years, then bought the 50 acre Cecil Sumner farm east of Wheatley. Cecil was the father of Mrs.Lynn Baily, a member of the musical family. This was in January of 1955. Here we set up a Quebec heater which had no damper. This heater was in the room Tina's mother was sleeping in and she awoke because the stove was red hot. We were fortunate that our house had not burned to the ground that first night!

In 1978 we sold our dairy cows and built a new home. In 2001 we sold the house and moved into the town of Leamington. We still own the land. In 2009 we have three children and six grandchildren.

AK2009