Irene Plett, Writer
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Community
  • About
  • Finding your roots
  • Contact

A Willing Warrior

11/18/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Errol Chenery with wife Lila in 1962

​William Errol Chenery (1899-1968) was a Canadian mechanic who remarkably chose to serve in both world wars. His family kindly allowed me to share his story for Remembrance Day.

Read More
0 Comments

Remembering Queen Elizabeth II

9/8/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Queen Elizabeth graces my historic Canadian $1 bill

Today we mourn and remember a great Queen. My late friend, Dr. Valerie Giles, researched the Queen in Canada and shared personal memories that I believe she would have been pleased to share here. We learn about Princess Elizabeth’s first visit to Canada in 1951, her 1953 coronation, and her 1994 visit to open the new University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George, B.C. 

Read More
0 Comments

Susanne's Story

3/5/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Susanne’s daughter Lena’s wedding to Kurt von Schmude in 1948.
​Susanne stands at the far left; my father beside the groom.

​My father’s aunt Susanne Plett Janzen was a courageous widow who sheltered my parents when they first escaped to West Germany in 1947. Her flight from Ukraine in 1943 also brings to mind so many fleeing today.

Read More
0 Comments

Remembering Valerie Giles

2/19/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Prince George Citizen announces Valerie's new column on Feb. 7, 1998.

A dear friend and excellent writer, with two newspaper columns and two published books, passed away suddenly last December. Valerie’s writing journey is explored in this blog post, along with some personal memories from my sister, Kathy Plett.​

Read More
0 Comments

Memorable Mennonite Obituaries

11/17/2021

2 Comments

 
Picture
Young Lutherans and a Mennonite veteran, ca. 1945
Krippendorf, East Germany (See Marianne Preisser Rempel below)

As I have been translating obituaries to learn more about families and history, some stood out for their touching writing. Others represented pivotal or representative moments in Mennonite history. Below are some of these memorable stories. All were also shared with Bethel College’s Biographical Wiki for each person named. 

Read More
2 Comments

Asia Trek Deaths 1880-1884

6/27/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Hermann Jantzen's inspiring memoirs

The amazing 1880-1881 trek of Mennonites from South Russia to Central Asia offers many life lessons. Some of those are in the lives lost along the way. It is my hope to honour the dear people who died while following their dream, or that of their family’s, to achieve freedom from military service. A short travelogue accompanies this list of all those found who died until 1884, when the first group left for America. 

Read More
0 Comments

Helena’s Asia Story

2/22/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Walter Ratliff’s excellent book discusses the journey Helena took

Helena Graewe Warkentin (1865-1942) shares her amazing story about how she travelled across deserts and mountains in a wagon train from South Russia to Turkestan, Central Asia in 1880. 


Read More
0 Comments

Letters From a War Zone

1/26/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
Dimitri and Agathe with children (in birth order):
Anna, Tina, Daniel, Willy, Liselotte and Peter in Romania, ca. 1950


My dad’s aunt Agathe Graewe wrote from Jena, Germany after the city was bombed in 1945. The family later wrote from another sort of war zone, after they were forced to move to communist Romania. I’ve also included my dad’s story of their legendary romance. 

Read More
0 Comments

Meet the Teskes

12/18/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Heinrich Plett (1853-1934) and Katharina Teske (1857-1918)

I was thrilled to find records that filled out the family tree of my great-grandmother, Katharina Teske Plett. Translated letters from Russia and Saskatchewan in the early 1900s are shared below, along with Teske and Plett family trees.   


Read More
0 Comments

John Boleak's Story

11/5/2020

6 Comments

 
Picture
John was sketched by an artist* in 1948.

My uncle John Boleak (1925-2008) was a charming man who made everyone laugh. He also survived five years of captivity in Russia. 

Read More
6 Comments
<<Previous

    Writer

    Irene Plett is a writer, poet and animal lover living in South Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. 

    Categories

    All
    Animals
    Bios/Obituaries
    Book Reviews
    Deutsche Sprache
    Filmmaking
    Food
    Genealogy
    Inspiration
    People
    Poetry
    Writing

    RSS Feed

      Stay Updated!

    Subscribe to Newsletter
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Community
  • About
  • Finding your roots
  • Contact