'An incredible gesture': Memories of Queen Elizabeth II's visit to a Manitoba Hutterite colony
A Manitoba historian is reflecting on the Queen’s visit to a Hutterite colony during a Royal Tour in the province more than 50 years ago.
Milltown Hutterite Colony west of Winnipeg played host to Queen Elizabeth II in July 1970.
It’s a visit teacher Ian Kleinsasser, who studies Hutterite history, has been researching.
“The older I got and the more I learned about the Queen and her role in Canada, the more I was puzzled by why would she, of all the cultural groups and places she could’ve stopped, why did she choose to stop at a colony?” Kleinsasser recalled thinking.
He recently put out a call for information in a Hutterite history group in the wake of her death.
He said one of the stories that emerged was about a Hutterite woman from Rainbow Hutterite Colony who knitted two pairs of red mittens for the Queen one year before the visit, sent them to Buckingham Palace and got a letter in return which stated the Queen wanted to visit a Hutterite colony when she visited Manitoba.
“I can’t know for certain if it was the red mittens that brought her there, but what we do know is that she came,” Kleinsasser said. “The Queen came to a Hutterite colony and I think that by itself was an incredible gesture and I think it speaks to her humility.”
While the visit happened in Milltown, one of the people pictured with the Queen was Kleinsasser’s late uncle, long-time Hutterite leader Jacob Kleinsasser.
Jacob was born in Milltown but lived in Crystal Spring Colony near Ste. Agathe. Kleinsasser said his uncle was working with the Manitoba government on several key issues at the time and that’s likely why he was pictured with the Queen.
He thinks Milltown may have been chosen because of its proximity to Winnipeg and because it was near a train station.
A government news release issued at the time described it as “the province’s oldest Hutterite colony.”
Girls from the nearby James Valley Hutterite community reportedly sang for the Queen while Prince Philip joined two men singing a song in German.
“I think many Hutterites will remember her from that visit,” Kleinsasser said. “I think that’s a beautiful memory that we will cherish and carry forward.”
Kleinsasser said the whole visit was supposed to take about 20 minutes but instead lasted closer to 45 minutes. He sees that as a sign the Queen enjoyed herself.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
The pros and cons of discussing mental health issues in the workplace
A group of lawyers has written what they call a groundbreaking book about how mental health is perceived in the legal profession.
Explosion at train station leads to discovery of stolen car on Montreal's South Shore: police
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.