Preserving history and reliving the past is the core of Pioneer Days and what volunteers say keeps them coming back year after year.

Al Hamm who has volunteered as a Miller at the Mennonite Heritage Village for the past fifteen years, says when the windmill was rebuilt after it caught fire in 2001, he attended the dedication ceremonies and afterward a thought came to mind. "Later on I figured, well who's going to run this beautiful windmill, and I said yea my grandfather was a Miller by trade in the old country. So now that I'm retired why don't I start giving some time to the museum specifically at the windmill and that's what motivated me to start volunteering here."

Hamm says his favorite part of the weekend is educating the public about how the windmill works and seeing their reaction as they watch the process happen right in front of them.

Tina Dyck, also known as the Schetje queen in the summer kitchen at the MHV, has volunteered her time there for the past fifteen years. She notes her interest in history runs in her family. "My grandfather was Friesen and he settled in Blumenort as a teacher when they came over from the Ukraine in 1874. He was very much into history and I enjoy it very much to see where my background comes from. I love to see how the Pioneers lived and this is what I love, to see what my great grandparents grew up with."

Dyck adds every year she looks forward to baking fresh homemade bread in the outdoor oven and showing visitors how cooking was done back in the early days here in Steinbach. 

The Blacksmith at the MHV says our past is not something to be left behind or forgotten. Daniel Wiens notes learning these skills is something that's close to home for him. 

"I think it's important to bring back our history because we all have ancestors who have been in these scenarios no matter where they're from and this is all where we came from so I think it's very important to keep that going. For me personally, my grandfather was a blacksmith so it puts me into a perspective of how he lived his life and what it was like for him."   

Wiens says he only recently started volunteering at the MHV but hopes to continue as he keeps learning more about the art of being a blacksmith.