Finding Their Place in Canada
Upon their arrival in Winnipeg, Abraham Loewen was asked if they had any relatives or friends to whom they wished to go. As Abraham Loewen had no relatives to go to, he enquired as to where in Canada would be the best opportunity of getting farm work. He wanted to go where there was work so that he could earn money immediately. He was told that at Acme, Alberta, there were Mennonite people who were very anxious to have help harvesting their crops. An early snowfall had delayed the harvest, and now that the crop had dried, the farmers were in desperate need of help.
So, the Loewens were once again on the train and heading west to Calgary, some 900 miles away. When they reached Calgary, they were transferred to another train, which took them to Acme where they arrived Wednesday, October 13, 1926, on a sunny afternoon; the daytime temperatures were at the freezing mark. The train stopped in Acme at 1:00 p.m., where Holdeman farmers were waiting to take all the men to the field. Abraham and his three oldest sons, Abram, Martin, and Isaac were taken by these farmers, first to a store to purchase some appropriate clothes, and then directly to the fields to harvest the grain. By 3:00 p.m., they were pitching bundles.
The women and younger children were initially taken to the Abram Klassens at Swalwell, where they were served a light lunch. After that they (the Wiens, Froese, Redekop and Loewen family members) were taken to different families who provided food and shelter until after harvest. “My parents, Henry, myself, Dan, and Annie”, writes daughter, Tina, “were driven in a car (my first car ride) to D.D. Toews. Here we stayed one month. We lived in a little house in the Toews’ yard. The others worked for different people in the district. Mother helped the Toews family with milking.”
The Toews also helped the Loewens find a house to rent, about one-half mile out of Acme. They gave them a cow, so they had milk and butter, and there they lived during their first winter in Canada – Abraham and Maria Loewen and their five youngest children: Mary, Henry, Tina, Dan, and Anna.