Grossweide Orphanage Source: Herta Janzen, Winnipeg, MB.

Grossweide, a Mennonite village in the Halbstadt district of the Molotschna, Ukraine, with 51 farms and 2,700 acres. In 1927 the village had a population of 316, most of whom belonged to the Rudnerweide Mennonite Church. A small part belonged to the Mennonite Brethren, who held services in a private home. In the primary school all the village children were taught. The inhabitants engaged almost exclusively in agriculture and cattle raising; the latter received more attention after the Revolution, since the farms had been radically reduced in size. Though generally thriving the villages experienced some crop failures, as in 1833, 1848, and 1920. On 16 June 1926 the grain was almost completely destroyed by hail. In Grossweide there was for a long time an orphanage founded by A. A. Harder, in which 50-80 orphans found a home, care, and education. After the Revolution it was taken over by the government. Little is known about the final disintegration of the village under the Soviets.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, pp. 600-601. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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