Caprock Chronicles: Mennonites in West Texas: Part 1

Editor’s Note: Caprock Chronicles are edited by Jack Becker a Librarian at Texas Tech University Libraries. He can be reached at jack.becker@ttu.edu. This is the first of three articles by Tina Siemens on the Mennonite community that lives near Seminole, Texas. Siemens is the author of “Seminole: Some People Never Give Up.”

West Texas and the Llano Estacado have always been home to many interesting people and animals. But what many people don’t know is that the Llano has connections to Switzerland, Poland, Ukraine, and Canada. Thanks to these connections, reporters from all over the country flocked to an international scene, which took place on the Llano in the late 1970s.

The story the reporters were following began in the 1500s with a Roman Catholic Priest named Menno Simons. After rejecting some of the practices and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church, Menno Simons joined a group of Anabaptists. He soon had his own following in the Netherlands called the Mennonites, the name taken from his first name. Chased from place to place, his group moved to Prussia (present-day Poland), Southern Russia (present-day Ukraine), and then to Canada.

At each place, the government promised them autonomy in exchange for land they could work and develop. They lived up to their end of the bargain so successfully that their population grew to the point they needed more land. But often, privileges were taken away or changed and Mennonites were threatened or killed. Eventually, they moved on to new places.

In 1922, 5,000 plus Mennonites left Canada for Mexico in six long trains, bringing with them animals, furniture, tools, and grain. The journey ended at a large piece of land in the Bustillos Valley near Cuauhtémoc. Like the countries they lived in before, the President of Mexico signed a document guaranteeing them religious freedom, their own monetary system, and exemption from service in the military. For the Mennonites, being left alone in their closed society was as close to heaven on Earth as they could get.

It took many years to turn the rocky desert into a land that could sustain them. At first starvation and death were ever-present, but eventually, they turned a corner. The Bustillos Valley was a hard place, but their success meant not going hungry. There was little money for extravagances, which was perfect because the Mennonites believed that suffering brought them closer to God.

Over the years, their population exploded. Forbidden birth control, many women had twelve to eighteen children. Some babies died from disease because the Mennonites had only self-taught laymen, they called village doctors, for healthcare. One sick child passed the calamity to another simply by visiting the common water pump.

The extremely frugal Mennonites even reused names. If their child John died, the next boy born was named John. Nothing went to waste. Yet despite the deaths, families of ten living children were very common.

With more living children came more adult marriages, which in turn, brought on more children. As newlyweds started their own families, they searched for land. Unfortunately, the local citizens weren’t willing to sell any. The government began to regret the special deal they had made with the Mennonites and no longer needed their help to develop the now-fruitful Bustillos Valley. This led to friction between the Mexicans and Mennonites. For the Mennonites, their entire life was in this land. They had little savings— money kept hidden in their bedroom walls. Something had to give.

One man saw a different way out of all this: escape. His name was Jacob Rempel. He silently questioned everything, including the thin educational system of the Mennonites.

Mennonites were taught to read through a simple primer. After mastering that, they were given a booklet of the catechism. Then came the Bible and the New Testament. The math taught was basic and primitive, no doubt to the joy of many students who never knew the horrors of algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. A Mennonite could add up figures, but that was it.

Jacob knew he lacked knowledge. The Mennonites had no way of understanding or negotiating complex contracts. Instead, they shook hands and hoped for the best. It was a terrible way to make a living.

As Jacob grew older and had children, his oldest son became a preacher. Even though his son had bought in to the system, Jacob could not understand the reason behind the harsh rules. One such rule required the burning of all rubber tractor tires. Instead, the Mennonites welded metal spokes onto the wheels. This caused the tractor to go slow. Jacob could not plow much land with the tractor. But that was the point.

Suffering is good. Brings you closer to God. Eliminates your free time, where so many men get into trouble.

When his son had a son, Jacob secretly lifted the newborn, named David, to his lips and whispered, “You will leave this place. I will help you find a way.”

Next week in Part 2 the move to Seminole.