Anna (Loewen) Barg, born on June 16, 1920, in Pretoria, Orenburg, was the youngest of 13 children. She was only six years old when her family emigrated from Russia in the fall of 1926, so her recall of life there is sketchy. She had no grandparents (they died in 1914 and 1915), so she picked her own in Orenburg where she was born. “Of course, it was the ladies that gave me sweets, and my sister, Lena, said I had a lot of dolls in Russia. I also had a few in Canada.”

     Anna recalls her school experiences at Eagle School, a small one-room school house, where she and her younger siblings attended school in Simons Valley. Her formal education ended with grade 8, notwithstanding the encouragement of older sister Lena for her parents to allow Anna and Tina to continue into the higher grades.

     She did attend the Rosemary Bible School, where she met her life’s partner, Bernhard Barg. He too had been born in Russia (1914), and immigrated to Canada in 1925, settling in Brooks, Alberta. Anna and Bernhard spent two winters at Bible School, under the instruction of Rev. Peter P. Dyck at whose home they both boarded. Peter P. Dyck was the leader of the group that included the Loewens, emigrating from Orenburg in 1926, and his son David, would become the husband to Mary, Anna’s older sister.

     Anna describes those two years at Bible School as “spiritually-rich” years, and she enjoyed participating in the choir. She writes, “choir singing was special. We had a very good director. Two car loads of young people made a trip to Banff and Jasper in 1937. That was a highlight.”

     On June 4, 1939, Anna and Bernhard were married in Simons Valley, Alberta, and moved to Brooks, Alberta, where they lived with Bernhard’s parents and worked on the family farm. In 1941, they moved to their own farm nearby. In 1946, Ben and Anna moved to Chilliwack, B.C., along with their four children. For a short while they lived in a small house on Bernhard’s parents’ farm, until they bought their own farm on Prest Road, where four more children joined the family. They loved the fruit, the green trees and the mountains. Life was busy, taking care of their family of eight, farming, and working in the church.

     Bernhard Barg was born to Bernhard and Elizabeth (Warkentin) Barg in the village of Tiegerweide, Ukraine, on November 5, 1914. Ben was a life-long farmer. In Alberta, he grew grain, and in Chilliwack, he was occupied primarily with dairy farming. He supplemented the farm income raising chickens and shipping eggs for a number of years. He also engaged in commercial spraying and contracting to York Farms, and even tried wheat at one point. He loved using heavy equipment, clearing bushland and volunteering time with his Caterpillar in the establishment of the newly-acquired Camp Squeah, the children’s camp of Mennonite Church B.C.

     In his retirement  years, he purchased and drove a school bus, transporting Chilliwack students to the Mennonite Educational Institute in Clearbrook, and he also completed a stint as bus driver for the Sunshine Drive School. He also became involved in the construction of two church-related retirement homes.

     Even though their life appeared to be filled with farming and church, there had always been time for family and travel. Favourite family trips included Mt. Baker, Manning Park, Butchart and Minter Gardens. More extensive trips included Russia, Germany, Britain, Ottawa, Bella Bella and Bella Coola (BC Coast). In addition, they enjoyed traveling to the various locations where the Mennonite Church conferences took place.

     In 1966, Ben and Anna built a home at Ryder Lake, on the mountain south of the farm, where he kept a herd of Black Angus cattle. Son, Dan, took the farm over, and farmed it until his retirement (his son is now on the farm). It was on that mountain property where a lake, originally created to supply water for the cattle, and aptly named, “Ben-Anna Lake”, became the focal point of many happy gatherings for family and friends. After ten years, they sold and built a home just below that one. ‘M.S.’ made life very difficult for Anna. She and Ben learned to work together, and thereby managed the work. “The Lord gave strength!”

     After ten years at this location, they moved to Elmwood Terrace in Chilliwack, which they enjoyed very much, and it was here that Anna became physically stronger. Soon after (1990), Ben suffered a stroke,  and now Anna was able to take care of him. They moved to Redwood Villa in 1994, so that they would be closer to church. Family and friends dropped in, and Anna was able to continue growing some flowers, which brought her much enjoyment.

     In November, 1999, Ben moved into the Menno Hospital in Abbotsford, and Anna took an apartment in the Menno Pavilion nearby.  Ben died on December 11, 2000. Anna continued to enjoy independent living at this location until her passing in 2017.   

     Ben and Anna’s direct descendants number 53 (2023).