Mennonites on the move

Friday, December 5, 2014

A CBC Morning North radio story reports that Mennonites are reversing the trend of out-migration in the north, moving from southern to northern Ontario and reworking old abandoned farmland.

With rising land prices and an encroaching urban population in southern Ontario, some Mennonites who have spent their whole lives there are being forced to relocate to areas near Powassan, Matheson and the North Shore of Lake Huron.

The town of Massey, now home to about 20 Mennonite families, has been welcoming for the most part, setting up hitching posts downtown for the characteristic horse-and-buggy. But some locals, says cattle farmer and local town councillor Charlie Smith, complain about issues such as manure on the streets. "I'd say the rain deals with it," says Smith. He, for one, is happy to see disused farms and rundown houses rebuilt and restored. "It does my heart good to see it," he said. "It's a blessing." BF