I have long been intrigued by this November 1946 photo in Gerald Wright’s book Steinbach. Is There Any Place Like It? It is a photo of the first Steinbach town council. Up til this point Steinbach had been part of the Hanover municipality and not a town in its own right.
The person fifth from the right is identified in the book as Mintie L Reimer. Mintie is an unusual name but more unusual is the fact that Mintie is the only woman in the photo. In a time when political governance was pretty much a man’s world what was a woman doing on the Steinbach town council?
Abe Warkentin’s book Reflections on Our Heritage offers us more information about Mintie. She was the granddaughter of Klaas Reimer and Katherina Willms who immigrated to Steinbach in 1874 from the Molotschna Colony in Ukraine.
Klaas Reimer, Mintie’s grandfather, opened a store in his Steinbach log house in 1877 and just eight years later he owned a flour mill, lumberyard, three general stores, four cheese factories and a saw mill. Later he added a greenhouse to his business empire.
So Mintie, who was born on April 3, 1904, came from a prominent and prosperous Steinbach family. She was the daughter of Klaas’ son Cornelius and his wife Anna Louise Helene Lehman.
Mintie was the sixth of their twelve children. She had three sisters and eight brothers. Her middle initial was L. I am thinking that might be for her mom’s maiden name Lehman.
Mintie received her elementary school education in Steinbach but she was ambitious and left Steinbach at age 15 to attend a business college in Winnipeg. Upon her graduation she returned to Steinbach where she worked for John Goossen, a notary public, insurance man and the Hanover municipal secretary. As his employee she learned all about the role of municipal secretary.
Mr. Goossen retired as secretary- treasurer of the Hanover municipality in 1944 after more than two decades in the position. It seemed logical to appoint Mintie to succeed him. She had worked for Mr. Goossen for 23 years by that time and probably knew more about the workings of the municipality than anyone else. In her new role she received a steady salary and was praised by municipal officials for her proficiency and hard work.
It would be interesting to learn whether she was given the same salary as her male predecessor Mr. Goossen received when he was the secretary treasurer.
This was not the first time Mintie would serve as the secretary of an organization however. In 1930 Steinbach had established a branch of the Women’s Institute, a community improvement group, and Mintie aged 26 at the time, took on the role of secretary-treasurer.
In 1954 Mintie retired as the municipal secretary to take a job as an assistant to Dick Filteau the local agricultural representative for the provincial government.
Mintie died in 1969.
Ralph Friesen, who I want to thank for providing me with some of the information for this post, says Mintie was a unique woman for her time. She was single, educated, independent, and assertive in a man’s world. Ralph suggests she served as a forerunner for a new kind of female identity in the Steinbach community.
I’d love to know more about Mintie and would welcome any other information or photos.
Note: I received a message after I published this from one of Mintie’s nieces, her younger brother’s daughter. Her niece remembers her aunt’s deep, throaty laugh. Mintie’s niece said her grandfather was much more forward-thinking than many of his generation and realized going to secretarial school would be good for his daughter Mintie.
Not long before Mintie died she was staying with her niece’s family for the weekend but had left her hat at home and wouldn’t go to church without it. So her niece got to stay home from church with her Aunt Mintie that Sunday morning who entertained her with many stories and of course some admonitions as well.
Other posts………
An Alphabet for Steinbach My Hometown
Miriam Toews Has A Complicated Relationship With Her Home Town
What Next? 