Maria Ratzlaff Penner Immigration Story

Maria Ratzlaff Penner (1898-1984; Mrs. Peter P Penner) was my dad's great aunt. She was also my step-great grandmother.  In 1981 she gave a talk at Hoffnungsau Mennonite Church, Inman, KS, in which she told about her recollections from her immigration trip to USA when she was a little girl. 

By 1981, Maria was in something of a unique position as by that date she was one of few Mennonites in the area who actually remembered coming to United States. And she is a very interesting link in that she remembered living in a housebarn in Volhynia. She remembered the storks building nests on top of the houses. She remembered the herdsman bringing the cattle back to the village in the evenings. She remembered all these things about village life in Ukraine and the audio of her remembrances, for that reason, is very important to Low German Mennonite culture. 

Maria's remembrances are told from the perspective of a 9-year-old girl at the turn of the 20th century. Obviously there are some things she says that are incorrect historically; she made the recording when she was 83 years old, a full 74 years after the childhood experience. As a child, she would have had limited knowledge about the events around her so we have to keep this in mind as we listen to her. Further, we need to remember that here in 2025, many perspectives in the world have changed and we need to take her in context. As you listen, don't let your 21st century sensibilities judge Maria. 

The Maria Ratzlaff Penner Immigration Story