ALEXANDERKRONE

1914

ARON MATTHIES

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• Although we left our home in Alexanderkrone in the Ukraine in the spring of 1926 when I was 9½ years old, my mind is full of memories of that place, things I can never forget and which should be fairly accurate ...

Alexanderkrone is one of the villages in the Molotschna, a part of the Ukraine named after the Molotschna (Milk) River and in close proximity to Kleefeld on one end and Lichtfelde, just across the Juschanlee (yoo shan lay) on the other. This small river, a tributary of the Molotschna, runs parallel to all three villages. It was on the average about 20 feet wide and two to five feet deep, with some deeper water-holes in places. In flood stage it widened considerably where the banks were shallow, towards Kleefeld. However, it was the swimming holes which made that part of the world very exciting, about which I shall say more later.

The Ukraine was about 75 verst north of the Sea of Azov. Melitopol, which is on most maps, was easily reached by horse and wagon in one day. Consequently we were not far away from the Crimea and the Black Sea. A pre-Soviet Russian verst is .6629 of a mile, slightly more than a kilometer ...

Between the village and the river was the common pasture where the village herdsman would watch the community’s herd of cattle. Beyond the river was the forest (planted trees I believe) in which every farmer had his lot. On the other side of the village were fairly wide fields, extending as strips of land of about 160 acres ...

I remember how on one occasion we were careful to get out of the water before some students from the nearby high school (Zentralschule) charged towards the river ...

Ukrainian men from the nearby villages were hired to protect the fields from the ravaging by scaring the ravens away with noisy rattles or with guns. This was required during most of the summer. Each farmer had his Bistaunwachta (that’s Low German or Plautdietsch for melon field watcher). He lived in a wigwam-kind of thing, made of poles and canvas, I believe ...

We had Sunday School in the Nebengebaude (extra house) of a large farm ...

• http://www.mennonitehistory.org/projects/newsletters/newsletter_11-02.pdf - "Childhood Memories of Alexanderkrone, Russia" by Paul Poetker in Newsletter, Mennonite Historical Society of Alberta, Volume XI, No.2 September 2008.

• But, in the opposite direction, at the end of our village, towards Lichtfelde, was a windmill of brick construction, three stories high. Above the loading deck, it had a round cap which could turn the wings in the direction of the wind as needed. Those wings were long, and I remember sensing the power as they swept down above my head and back into the sky.

There was another mill in our village – a steam-driven mill, built of red brick with a tall smoke stack beside it ...

As you may know, the Russian Mennonite villages were all quite similar, with about 20 farm sites on each side of a wide street. Each frontage may have been about 180 feet wide and the lots about 600 feet deep.

I remember the streets were lined with large, beautiful trees, and each property had an even brick fence along the street. I remember one farmstead which had a gate with a large bricked ends – perhaps 2’ x 2’ or more and additional width for a door at one end. It seems to me it had an archway as well and figures of lions on the posts. I recall such gates were uncommon. However, much of each farm site was planted with decorative trees, and towards the back was the orchard. We had a monstrous oak near the tiled patio on one side of the house, but the tree did not shade the house because, like all the rest of the houses, it had a steep, high, tiled roof ...

Besides the house which was my home from 1918, I’ll describe the various buildings of the yard. The rectangular shaped house with the gable end toward the street, the passageway and barn were all under one continuous tile roof. It was central on the yard. Some had the storage for carriage and farm tools plus loft built at right angles to the house and barn. Large latticed doors of the storage area faced the street – very pretty. We had a separate machine shed. Except for the loft all construction was of brick Next to the left there was often a stationary threshing machine. Quite importantly, many farmsteads had an extra house in the yard with fewer rooms and attached storage, a garage-like area at one end. This must have been intended for parents, relatives or children. Our neighbour used his extra house for storage and milling grain, using his steam engine for power. I was thrilled by this engine and used to sit and watch it. We also had a bake-house and fruit drying set-up in our yard. None of the farm sites had indoor plumbing. Oh there was a toilet, the biffy – ours was on one side or the other of a large lilac clump. I also remember an arbour, a latticed construction overgrown with vines – a good place to hide when the sun was hot. Who knows how it was used – to drink prips (malted coffee) or whatever.

The house itself was built of brick with the outside walls about 15” thick. The ceilings were supported by heavy beams, because upstairs was the storage area for grain. The plan was something like the drawing above.

As you will notice one could enter the house from either side or from the barn. One entered into a door leading to the Vorhaus, an open tiled space sometimes also used for eating. In hot weather it might provide extra bed accommodation. This opened also directly to the kitchen which was central and had a vaulted ceiling with a square vent hole at the top. On one side of the kitchen all the way along the wall, was the stove built of brick and with caldron or two on one end. At the end of this room was the door to the heater built between the centre walls of the house to heat the walls and thus the entire building ...

Here Dad often sat with his visitors or clients doodling or drumming his fingers as they discussed ways of getting them out of Russia. Papa made many trips on behalf of others to obtain passports for them. He was also the village secretary. Someone has said he was a mayor, but I wonder if it’s true ...

And so I was born in the city of Millerovo, on the Don River just before the Revolution broke in 1917. Dad bought the farm with about 160 acres in Alexanderkrone where I grew up ...

In Russia, the women did the thinking; I suppose men had enough to do, feeding stock, cleaning the barn, and working the fields ...

• http://www.mennonitehistory.org/projects/newsletters/newsletter_12-01.pdf "Childhood Memories of Alexanderkrone, Russia" by Paul Poetker in Newsletter, Mennonite Historical Society of Alberta, Volume XII, No. 1 May 2009