A Special Homecoming The Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) in Steinbach has received a donation that’s more than just an old artifact; it’s a piece of its own housebarn’s original history. A massive cast-iron caldron, called a Miagrope, has been reunited with the Chortitz Housebarn, where it was first used in the late 1800s. “It’s a reuniting of this object with this house, because it used to be in this kitchen,” says curator Garth Doerksen, standing beside the caldron inside the barn. “At the time, this Miagrope could have also heated the house. However, the family didn’t typically use it for that purpose. They also used it for laundry, heating water, and for rendering fat on hog butchering day.” What Is a Miagrope? Doerksen explains that the heavy cauldron was an essential tool for Mennonite families more than a century ago. “This is a Miagrope, which is a cauldron that was used for a variety of purposes back in the day. People would most associate it with rendering lard when they slaughtered pigs in the fall. Now, to clarify, the "Mia" part means bricks in Low-German, which is what most Miagrope would be surrounded by. This one here is surrounded by steel.” This particular caldron dates back to the late 1800s, when Mennonite settlers first arrived in Manitoba. “Families would have used these for many generations,” Doerksen says. “This one was last used about 42 years ago.” A Journey Across Canada What makes this artifact unique is its long and well-travelled story. “It’s a coming-home story, which is wonderful,” Doerksen explains. “This Miagrope actually came from this Chortitz housebarn when it was built in the late 1800s, around 1890. Jacob and Justina Teichroeb bought it when they built their housebarn, and that’s the very housebarn we’re standing in today.” From there, the caldron followed the Teichroeb family through multiple moves: from Manitoba to Saskatchewan, back to Manitoba, then again to Saskatchewan, and later to British Columbia. Along the way, it was passed down through generations, always making the trip despite weighing more than 200 pounds. “With 19 children in one generation alone, you can imagine how important something like this was for cooking, laundry, and butchering,” says Doerksen. “The fact that they kept hauling it along tells you how valuable it was to the family.” Most recently, Del and Bev Teichroeb, who inherited it, decided to return it to its original home. “They put it on the back of a pickup truck and drove it from Enderby, BC, all the way to Steinbach so it could be reunited here with the Chortitz Housebarn,” Doerksen says. Still in Good Shape The Miagrope consists of a large cast-iron pot that rests in a steel frame, designed so that a fire could be lit underneath. “It certainly has rust,” admits Doerksen, “but really it’s in pretty good shape. A person could make use of it today.” Preserving the Story Doerksen notes that for the museum, the artifact is much more than an old cooking pot. “Like I said, we have a few Miagrope, but this particular one has this unique story, this homecoming. I would really love to create a label that tells the story and place it here in the housebarn for visitors.” He adds that donations like this mean a great deal. “It is so fantastic, especially something with such a unique story. We are so grateful for people to share their artifacts with us, so we can preserve them and continue to tell the story of the Mennonites in this country.” A Rare Reunion Moving the Miagrope is no small task; it takes several people to shift its 200-plus pounds. But Doerksen says it’s worth the effort. “It’s just such a neat story; the homecoming of a Miagrope. What are the odds of that happening? We’re so grateful to the Teichroeb family for making all that effort to bring it from British Columbia back to Steinbach.” Now that the Miagrope has made its way back to its original home in the kitchen of the Chortitz Housebarn, ideas are being discussed as to how to integrate the large artifact into the current housebarn kitchen. Doerksen is excited to make that happen, however it won't be this year.