©Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba. (Last updated January 31, 2003)

David W. Friesen fonds. -- 1883-1950; predominant 1929-1950. -- 1.76 m of textual records.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

David W. Friesen (1879-1951), founder of the internationally renowned printing company, D.W. Friesen and Sons of Altona, Manitoba was born on June 12, 1879 to David Friesen (1856-1893) and Anna Wiens (1857-1883) in the village of Schoensee in Manitoba's Mennonite East Reserve. In 1883 his mother died, and his father remarried to Anna Klassen some time later. His father David Friesen died on June 8, 1893 and a little later his stepmother remarried to Cornelius Bergman and moved to the village of Lichtfeld in the Mennonite West Reserve.

On June 3, 1900 David was baptized into the Sommerfeld Mennonite church and a year later, July 23, 1901, he married Maria Kroeker (1882-1907). After farming for a few years, David taught in the village of Gnadenfeld from 1903 to 1905. After the teaching experience they moved to Altona where David began an implement dealership.

In 1907 his wife died, he remarried to Sarah Striemer, joined the Bergthaler Mennonite church in Altona, bought a small confectionery store and became the postmaster and an agent for the Manitoba Government Telephones.

He was elected as a deacon in the Bergthaler church in 1912 and ordained in 1914. Throughout the rest of his life he was deeply involvement in church life. His responsibilities first included dispensing aid to the needy through the Armenkasse (fund for the poor) and after 1927 through the Wohltaetigkeitskomitee (welfare committee). He was also involved in collecting money for the Red Cross and other relief projects to which the Bergthaler church contributed. In 1929 he was chosen to work on a committee that was to draw up a constitution for the Bergthaler church. In 1939 he was chosen to act as Canadian treasurer for the General Conference Mennonite Church's Board of Missions, a position held until 1950. He also served as treasurer of the Manitoba Mennonite Insurance Organization from 1922 to 1949.

David W. Friesen's business expanded in 1924 to include book sales. Eventually this enterprise expanded into an important distribution center for school textbooks and other school supplies. In 1930 Friesen expanded his business to include a print shop and wholesale stationary department. The printing business grew steadily throughout the 1930s. In 1946 Friesen began to give up some his responsibilities -- the telephone agency as well as some church responsibilities. In 1948 his three sons -- Dave, Ray, and Ted bought all his business interests. In 1949 he gave up the position of postmaster. He died in 1951 the age of 72.

CUSTODIAL HISTORY:

The material in this collection came in two deposits.. The first set of material was donated by the Friesen family shortly after Friesen died in 1951. It was most likely housed vertical file at the Canadian Mennonite Bible College and moved to the college's new location on Shaftesbury Boulevard, Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1955. Around 1974 a partial listing of the materials was made by Brian Petkau. In May of 1976 Marg Franz, college librarian, catalogued the papers and placed some of the books into the College library. In 1985 Jake Peters went through the papers in November of 1985 while preparing a guide to the holding of the Mennonite Heritage Centre. Jake Peters also spoke with Ted Friesen, son of David W. Friesen, and pieced together some of the early custodial history of this collection.

Found in the Friesen material is a collection of J.N. Hoeppner correspondence. Hoeppner was a Bergthaler minister who had a good relationship with Friesen. Hoeppner passed away in April 1950 at the early age of 49. Some of his material some how ended up in Friesen's possession.

The second portion of the collection was received in 1993. David Glen Friesen (CEO of Friesen Printers) wrote a memo to Ted Friesen on September 3, 1991 stating that there were some D.W. Friesen papers "gathering dust" and wanted advice what to do with them. Ted Friesen wrote back stating that archivist Lawrence Klippenstein would come for the papers.

SCOPE AND CONTENT:

This collection contains seven series: 1) Correspondence and church matters 2) Bergthaler Mennonite Church Records 3) Newspaper clippings 4) Conference 5) Business financial records 6) Published pamphlets 7) J.N. Hoeppner correspondence. The majority of the material is correspondence relating to D.W. Friesen's personal life, church work (both local and on a conference level) and business. A significant portion of the collection also includes the correspondence of Reverend J.N. Hoeppner.

NOTES:

Described by Conrad Stoesz August 9, 1999.

Accession nos. pre 1974, 93-142

Related material:

D.W. Friesen file in volume 4475

Bergthaler Mennonite Church fonds.

SERIES DESCRIPTION:

Correspondence and church matters. - 1883-1950; predominant 1929-1950. -- 62 cm of textual records.

This series contains personal correspondence in his role as postmaster as well as his various church roles. His life as a member of the Bergthaler Mennonite church and his personal life were intertwined as can be seen by the material in this series. This series also includes the many letters which David and his wife wrote to family and friends while on their California trip in 1929 and 1930.

Notes

Most of the material is in handwritten gothic German and some English.

Location: Volume 595 #1,3; 596; 597:2,4,5: 598; 599; 601:3,4; 604:1; 2850.

Bergthaler Mennonite church records. - 1928-1951. - 27 cm of textual records.

This series contains material such as minutes, reports, correspondence and financial records Friesen collected in his role as a deacon and as a member of the Armenkasse (fund for the poor) committee and the Wohltaetigkeitskomitee (welfare committee).

Notes

Most of the material is in German.

Location: Volume 597: File #1,3; 600; 601:5; 602:1,2; 604:5.

Newspaper clippings. - 1925-1951. - 14 cm of textual records.

This series consists of material that Friesen cut out of newspapers and magazines such as the Red River Valley Echo, Steinbach Post, Mennonite Weekly Review, and The Winnipeg Free Press. The clippings deal with religious issues and issues pertaining to the history of Mennonite in Canada and Latin America. Many of the history clippings deal with the emigration of Mennonites to Paraguay in 1948. Of special interest is the file that evolves around Mennonite Contentious Objector (CO) status in Canada. There is also a file related the Echo Verlag series of Historical books.

Notes

The material is in German and English.

Location: Volume 601 File #1,2; 604 # 2-4,6; 4421

General Conference Mennonite Church records. - 1945-1950. - 15 cm of textual

records.

This series of material was collected by Friesen in his capacity as Canadian Treasurer for the General Conference Mennonite Church's Board of Missions. There is some correspondence but most of the information is financial in nature including receipts and cancelled cheques.

Notes

Most of the material is in English, and some German.

Location: Volume 602 File #3; 603:1-3

Business financial records. - 1907-1943. - 14 cm of textual records.

This series contains records relating to the business that D.W. Friesen operated for many years. The collection includes selected material related to the telephone business, postmaster, and the store he owned. Correspondence and financial material such as lists, cancelled cheques and receipts can be found in these files.

Notes

The material is in German and English.

Note: Scattered in the Correspondence and Church Matters series is also material relating to his involvement as postmaster.

Location: Volume 595 File #2; 4419:1,2.

Published Pamphlets. - 1883,1888,1893,1895,1898,1900,1901,1903,1907,1908,1911-1916,1918-1938,1940-1944,1950,1952,1962,1963,1964. - 22 cm of textual records.

This series contains approximately seventy-five published booklets and pamphlets that deal with a wide range of issues in Canada, the U.S.A. and Russia. Some of the items cover issues such as Contentious Objector status, Sommerfeld church private schools, catechisms, song books, Brandordnung, church membership questions, and Krimmer Mennonites. Some of the Mennonite authors include Heinrich Ewert, Benjamin Ewert and John Horsch. A few of the items are dated after D.W. Friesen died, indicating someone else added to this collection before it was donated to the archives. Some of the items are undated.

Notes

The material is predominately in German with some English.

Location: Volume 605.

J.N. Hoeppner correspondence. -- 1942-1949. -- 22 cm of textual records.

This series of material was produced and collected by Reverend J.N. Hoeppner, minister of the Bergthaler Mennonite church of Manitoba. He served on many committees such as the Canadian Conference Home Mission Committee, Mennonite Pioneer Mission, Board of Colonization, Manitoba Youth Organization and various music committees. The correspondence in this series reflects these commitments, as there are files that related to these committees. Other correspondence with individuals and institutions include Benjamin Ewert, J.J. Thiessen, P. Vogt, D.H. Loewen, Henry Giesbrecht (regarding pacifism) and Grace Bible Institute.

Notes

Most of the material is in German with some in English.

Location: Volume 593; 594.