Mennonites in the Fraser Valley today have a positive relationship with their non-Mennonite neighbours, and appear to have integrated into Canadian culture and society. However, this was not always the reality. Since their arrival in the 1920s, Mennonites have encountered discrimination in the Fraser Valley and have resisted assimilating into Canadian culture. However, tensions began to lessen toward the end of World War II, and cross cultural cooperation only grew moving into the 1950s.
Chilliwack Progress, May 27, 1953 (Chilliwack Museum and Archives)
On May 27, 1953, the Chilliwack Progress featured an article praising Mennonites for their contribution to building the community of Yarrow, as well as to the “rebirth to the upper and central sections of the valley.” The article says that a “ripple” was created by the original settlement of Mennonites, but that it has now “grown into a wave.” What was this “ripple,” and how did the initially tenuous and sometimes tense relationship between Mennonites and their non-Mennonite neighbors of the Fraser Valley transform into the praise that we see in this article?