Visiting the Molochna colony - part 1

We had arranged for Victor Penner, a Ukrainian with Mennonite roots, to take us around the former Mennonite colonies of Molochna and Chortitza. I can't imagine a more knowledgeable or enthusiastic guide then Victor.

The first day we visited the Molochna colony. We left our apartment around 9 am and didn't get back until 10 pm.

Sign at the city limits of Molochansk (Halbstadt)

Former Mennonite church in Petershagen not far from Halbstadt. It was restored in 1999 and is now again used as a church and is also home to some elderly people from the surrounding village.

The former Girls' School in Halbstadt, now home to the Mennonite Centre.

Entryway at the Mennonite Centre

Dining room at the Mennonite Centre.

This picture of the orphanage in Grossweide was hanging on the wall.

The former Mennonite secondary school in Halbstadt

H. H. Willms flour mill in Halbstadt. The building is not in use now.

The driveway to the Lichtenau train station. It was from this station that my maternal grandparents left for Canada on June 23, 1924.

Lichtenau train station

A memorial bench at the front of the Lichtenau train station

Lichtenau train station