Staff writer
A play depicting Mennonites’ 1874 move from Russia to Goessel, presented Friday at Goessel High School auditorium, drew a packed house of eager viewers.
“From Russia To Kansas: A Story of the 1874 Mennonite Immigration,” was written over months by Mennonite Heritage and Agricultural Museum volunteer Nancy Stucky.
Stucky said she meticulously researched records, both of things that happened in Russia and things that happened in America.
After writing the play, she continued to tweak the script up until it was presented.
Portrayers presented events in Russia that provoked the Mennonites to leave and uncertainty of coming to America.
Families split, with some deciding not to go and others having to bid them farewell.
Travis Duerksen and Gayle Voth were narrators for the play. Other portrayers stepped out from behind the curtains to give life to the scene.
Laura Unrau opened the play by taking the stage with a cell phone in her hand and saying, “Hello. I was just looking at — oh well.”
Putting the phone in her pocket, she said, “Things change in 150 years.”
For about 50 years, the Mennonites were prosperous in southern Russia, John Fast told the audience while portraying Cornelius Krahn.
In 1873, things changed. The government decided to change the way Mennonites would be treated, including forced military service,
Twelve delegates were chosen to explore other places the Mennonite farmers might go.
The delegates traveled throughout Canada and several states.
They spent a year and a half visiting Kansas before returning to Russia with recommendations.
Russian officials tried to get their best citizens to stay, but one-third of the Mennonites were not persuaded.
They began dispersing their farms and household items. Then, there was the difficult process of saying goodbye to family members.
They prepared food for the long trip.
They took a train to Homburg, then took two ships to New York. After that, they made their way to Lincoln, Nebraska, where they had to wait. Finally, they reached their new home.
Settling here, the group drew a lot of attention from newspapers in the state.
Snippets of newspaper articles were read during the play, including one from the fledgling Marion County Record.
Panning for Friday’s event began a year ago as organizers had mapped out several events for this year’s 150th centennial celebration.
“We always thought that the one at Threshing Days should be the one to tell the story of the immigration,” Stucky said.
An immigrant house pilgrimage will be Sept. 22.
A Goessel Harvest Festival will be Oct. 5.