We will return to Alexanderwohl shortly, with a substantive post on the historicity, or lack thereof, of the story about how the village received its name. In the meantime, we take a brief detour to discuss a newly discovered resource that should interest all Buller Time readers.
A recent search for information on one or another Mennonite-related topic whose details now escape my memory uncovered a 1953 master’s thesis submitted to the Municipal University of Omaha, what is now known as the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The thesis title is simple and straightforward: “A Brief History of the Mennonites in Nebraska.” The thesis abstract offers more detail:
The Mennonites who settled in Nebraska originated in the Anabaptist movement of the Reformation period and took their name from the noted Dutch leader Menno Simons. Being persecuted for their faith, they moved from country to country until many found a haven in the United States. Of these a considerable number came to the prairies, some by way of the East, while others came directly from Germany and Russia. Essentially the Mennonites were [not] a racial group but a religious association of men of like or similar faith. Today only five of some nineteen branches of the Mennonite church are represented in Nebraska. The story of their beginnings, the account of their coming, the growth of their settlements, the nature of their religious and social life, and the contributions which they have made to the development of this state make a thrilling chapter in the history of Nebraska.
What is most noteworthy about this resource is that UNO has made the thesis available online in their library’s digital commons. Thus anyone connected to the web can download and read this sixty-five-year-old work of scholarship—and I highly recommend that Buller Time readers do so (see here).
The thesis begins in chapter 1 (1–11) by offering historical background to the Mennonite movement, with particular attention on the three Mennonite groups who settled in Nebraska: those who moved to Nebraska from the eastern states, those who came from Russia, and those who traveled from Prussia. Chapter 2 (12–22) then details these groups’ entrance into Nebraska: the Mennonites from the eastern states to Seward County; those from Russia to Jefferson, York, and Hamilton Counties; and those from Prussia to Gage County. Chapters 3–7 then offer brief histories of individual congregations in the five Mennonite branches represented in Nebraska: General Conference Mennonite churches (23–53), “Old” Mennonite churches (54–78), Mennonite Brethren churchs (79–89), Evangelical Mennonite Brethren churches (90–96), and United Missionary churches (formerly Mennonite Brethren in Christ; 97–110). Chapter 8 (111–13) briefly discusses the United Mennonite Church, which was an Omaha congregation established for Grace Bible Institute students. Chapter 9 (114–34) provides histories of various Nebraska Mennonite institutions, including the Henderson Community Hospital, Grace Children’s Home, the Back to the Bible broadcast, and Grace Bible Institute. A final chapter (135–45) offers insightful conclusions about Mennonite life in Nebraska.
The subject matter of the work is not all that interests us; the author of the thesis also merits attention. The title page identifies the author as Paul Kuhlmann, which happens to be the name, according to Wikipedia (here) and the thesis itself (1953, 130), of one of the founders of Grace Bible Institute (J. R. Barkman, well known to many of us, was another founder). The Grace University website notes that Paul Kuhlmann was acting president in 1943, and someone with that name also wrote the history of Grace, titled The Story of Grace: A Brief History of the Founding and Growth of Grace College of the Bible, 1943–1978 (see here). If this is all the same person and not a father and son who share a name, then the author of the UNO thesis was personally acquainted with a number of the groups and people whose history he told. I highly commend his master’s thesis as an informative, accessible read for anyone interested in the history of Mennonites in Nebraska.
Postscript: while conducting research for this post, I discovered that Grace University, after seventy-five years, will cease operations this very month (see here). All is not lost, however, since alumni of Grace are launching Charis University in the fall of this year to take its place (here). The new school bears an appropriate name, since the Greek word χάρις (charis) means “grace.”
Works Cited
The thesis begins in chapter 1 (1–11) by offering historical background to the Mennonite movement, with particular attention on the three Mennonite groups who settled in Nebraska: those who moved to Nebraska from the eastern states, those who came from Russia, and those who traveled from Prussia. Chapter 2 (12–22) then details these groups’ entrance into Nebraska: the Mennonites from the eastern states to Seward County; those from Russia to Jefferson, York, and Hamilton Counties; and those from Prussia to Gage County. Chapters 3–7 then offer brief histories of individual congregations in the five Mennonite branches represented in Nebraska: General Conference Mennonite churches (23–53), “Old” Mennonite churches (54–78), Mennonite Brethren churchs (79–89), Evangelical Mennonite Brethren churches (90–96), and United Missionary churches (formerly Mennonite Brethren in Christ; 97–110). Chapter 8 (111–13) briefly discusses the United Mennonite Church, which was an Omaha congregation established for Grace Bible Institute students. Chapter 9 (114–34) provides histories of various Nebraska Mennonite institutions, including the Henderson Community Hospital, Grace Children’s Home, the Back to the Bible broadcast, and Grace Bible Institute. A final chapter (135–45) offers insightful conclusions about Mennonite life in Nebraska.
The subject matter of the work is not all that interests us; the author of the thesis also merits attention. The title page identifies the author as Paul Kuhlmann, which happens to be the name, according to Wikipedia (here) and the thesis itself (1953, 130), of one of the founders of Grace Bible Institute (J. R. Barkman, well known to many of us, was another founder). The Grace University website notes that Paul Kuhlmann was acting president in 1943, and someone with that name also wrote the history of Grace, titled The Story of Grace: A Brief History of the Founding and Growth of Grace College of the Bible, 1943–1978 (see here). If this is all the same person and not a father and son who share a name, then the author of the UNO thesis was personally acquainted with a number of the groups and people whose history he told. I highly commend his master’s thesis as an informative, accessible read for anyone interested in the history of Mennonites in Nebraska.
Postscript: while conducting research for this post, I discovered that Grace University, after seventy-five years, will cease operations this very month (see here). All is not lost, however, since alumni of Grace are launching Charis University in the fall of this year to take its place (here). The new school bears an appropriate name, since the Greek word χάρις (charis) means “grace.”
Works Cited
Kuhlmann, Paul. 1953. A Brief History of the Mennonites in Nebraska (1953). Student Work. 357. Available online here.
———. 1980. The Story of Grace: A Brief History of the Founding and Growth of Grace College of the Bible, 1943–1978. Omaha: Grace College of the Bible.
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