So, what is the story behind this trunk? Why is it of interest to Buller Time blog? The placard to the left (too small to read in the photo above) tells us all that we need to know. It reads:
TRUNK
BELONGED TO
GRANDPARENTS
PETER P & MARGARETHA EPP
WHO LAST USED IT ON
A TRIP BY BOAT
TO HAWAII IN 1940
PURCHASED FROM
AUNT SARA P & MARIA P
BULLER SALE
ON LOAN FROM
ABE & ALICE BULLER
So much can be gleaned from these few lines.
First, we now know that the trunk on display was (and still is!) a Buller trunk, last used by Grandpa Chris’s father and mother: Peter P and Margaretha Epp Buller. The current contents of the trunk were not theirs, but the trunk itself was.
Second, those of us who did not previously know learn that Peter P and Margaretha took a cruise to Hawaii in 1940. Although one might think it odd for two older Mennonites to sail to the Hawaiian Islands (not yet a state), they no doubt went there to visit Peter’s younger brother Jacob, who served as a school principal on the island of Oahu (see further here).
Third, we also learn that at some point the trunk was passed on to Aunts Sara and Maria, whom we should all recognize by now as Grandpa’s sisters.
Fourth and last, Abe and Alice Buller (Abe is the son of Grandpa’s older brother Benjamin) are to be thanked for sharing this artifact of Buller history not only with us but with everyone who visits the Mennonite Heritage Park.
This is not the only piece of Buller history on display at the park, but the other one must wait until we can secure a picture of it.
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