The first of two Low-German programs hosted by the Neubergthal Heritage Foundation (NHF) is happening Saturday, April 6th at the Commons Barn. 

"The aim of the NHF is to maintain this historical buildings and artifacts to engage in the preservation of history, culture and language of the West Reserve to recognize the history of the original inhabitants of our area," explained Low-German programs committee member Joe Braun. 

There are two Low-German programs planned in April, on the 6th and 13th. In the past, the annual events have been tremendously popular, because Low-German is certainly very close to many people's hearts in the region.

The April 6th event will feature Joyce Kehler Friesen sharing stories and readings, as all as Hans Werner presenting "Sent dit onse Lied?" .

"The main speaker is Hans Verner, who taught at the University of Winnipeg," noted Braun. "He taught world history, and of course Mennonite history. He also taught Low-German. Now he will be talking about the importance of 2024, which is the 150th anniversary of people who came from Russia and Ukraine in the 1870s, and they were called the Kanadier, and then the Russlaender were the people who came in the 1920s and came to the West Reserve. His topic is "Sent dit onse Lied". There was great conflict between the Mennonites who were here from the 70s, and then those who stayed back and became quite educated and became very, very creative in the medical and education system. So when they came here, they were quite advanced, and there was an amount of conflict."

The April 13th event will feature music by the group "Enspire", a trio of sisters, two from the Winkler area and one from Gladstone. The presentation that afternoon will be by Ronn Plett of Mitchell. He will be reading selections from the book "Koop enn Bua" written by Arnold Dyck.

Both programs begin at 2pm at the Commons Barn. There is a $20 per person registration fee and that includes faspa.

You can listen to CFAM Radio 950 Morning Show Host Chris Sumner's conversation with Joe Braun, below