Documentary to focus on area’s Mennonite heritage
Staff writer
A newly completed documentary, “Grains of Glory, The Kansas Mennonite Story,” features Marion County residents.
The documentary tells of Mennonite migration to central Kansas and their vital role in making Kansas “the breadbasket of the world” by transforming Kansas agriculture with Turkey Red wheat.
Jim Grawe, documentarian for KPTS-TV in Wichita, is executive producer.
Among local people featured are Goessel residents Dwight Flaming, Brian Stucky, and Matt Voth.
Flaming was interviewed twice.
In the documentary trailer, he is seen walking along a driveway at a farmhouse where he and his wife, Tammy, raised two daughters.
“I anticipated it was going to be a discussion about wheat and wheat farming,” Flaming said.
Although wheat was discussed, that was far from the only direction the interview ended up going.
Flaming also spoke about the history of his farm and the original Hochfeld settlement, where the farm stands.
“For 150 years, it’s been in our family,” Flaming said.
The interview ventured into what that history means, and the legacy of the land and the people who lived there.
A sign at the south edge of the settlement marks where the original was.
“It was divided out into where each family still has their own land,” Flaming said. “Some of the first buildings are still here on our farmstead.”
His house was built in 1906 after his family immigrated in 1874.
It passed down through the Schmidt side of the family.
“In the early ’50s to the early ’60s, that’s when it changed to the Flamings,” he said.
Flaming now grows wheat, corn, and soybeans.
“We used to have a dairy operation here,” he added.
After interviewing Flaming, Grawe went to Voth’s farm. There, they filmed planting and harvesting of wheat.
Brian Stucky also interviewed twice for the documentary, talking about the history of Alexanderwohl Church.
“We have an international footprint,” Stucky said. “We get international scholars here once in a while.”
One interview took place near the original church. It was vastly remodeled in 1928, adding rooms but keeping the original character of the building.
“The second time, he came to interview me about the history of the church,” Stucky said.
Stucky has been church chairman and was a deacon for nine years.
“I’ve been in on the internal workings of the church,” Stucky said. “I’m not one of the official historians but am often called upon to give talks to tour buses and I’m one of the tour guides at the museum.”
He feels for Grawe.
“To tell a sweeping story like this is really difficult,” he said. “My wife, Nancy, was involved in a story like this a year ago.”
Telling the story was helped by the immigrants themselves.
“People kept diaries like crazy back then,” Stucky said.
“I started it after the wheat harvest because I wanted to get the wheat harvest,” Grawe said.
He is still putting final touches on the documentary.
He says it is the most interesting documentary he has produced and the first for which he has done everything on his own.
“It’s going to share the story with people beyond the Mennonites,” he said.
The film will be screened Nov. 6 at Bethel College. People can register for the screening at https://www.kpts.org/programming/grains-of-glory/.
After the screening at Bethel, the documentary will air on KPTS in December.