Kleefeld, Manitoba

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1 Introduction
2 History
3 Welcome to Kleefeld
4 Population
5 Kleefelders
6 External links

[edit] Introduction

Kleefeld, a small village in the Canadian province of Manitoba was settled in the 1870's where the Boreal forest changes to prairie and was originally called Gruenfeld. Satellite Map

[edit] History

Bilingual plaques in the community park, proudly proclaim that the original village of Gruenfeld was the first Mennonite settlement in Western Canada. The original settlers of Gruenfeld, neighboring Steinbach and Blumenort where all Mennonites of the Kleine Gemeinde denomination, fleeing religious persecution in Russia. The community grew in fits and starts for the first 50 years, experiencing several large exoduses as groups of Mennonites left for economic or religious reasons. The community of Gruenfeld originally existed one mile north of Kleefeld’s present location in what is now a farmer’s field. The original cemetery and several buildings, most notably an old gas station still stand on the original roadway but most of the original community has disappeared beneath the dirt. The community moved for one rather pragmatic reason, J.R. Schellenberg opened a store and the first community post office at his home which just happened to be one mile south of Gruenfeld. As time passed and houses were built and abandoned it just became easier to live near the community store and so the community moved. The name of the community also changed complements of J.R Schellenberg. He was given the responsibility, by Canada Post of naming the post office location and for reasons unknown chose Kleefeld, and the rest, as they say is history.

[edit] Welcome to Kleefeld

When entering the small town of 203 homes and approximately 1000 residents, you will be greeted by a sign saying, "Welcome to Kleefeld, the land of Milk and Honey". The sign pays tribute to Kleefeld’s two main agricultural interests, Dairy and Beekeeping. A large concentration of Manitoba’s Beekeepers called Kleefeld their home base and the community is still considered Manitoba’s Honey Capital.

[edit] Population

Exact population counts for the community were never developed as Canadian census information was and is limited to the Rural Municipality of Hanover and not individual communities within the Municipality. Secondly the boundaries of the community are not clearly defined. Finally, the area around the community is dotted with small rural developments of anywhere from 5 to 40 homes which confuse population estimates based on school enrolment. Population estimates and growth are therefore best described by home count. In the mid 70’s the community consisted of 3 streets, and approximately 64 homes. Using the average family size at the time this would provide an approximate population in the community of 320 persons. By 2006 the community itself had grown to 203 homes with the corresponding increase in population.

[edit] Kleefelders

Kleefeld was and is home to a mainly Mennonite population, although the recent population growth has brought in many families of other ethnic or religious backgrounds. Due to its proximity to Winnipeg and Steinbach a large part of the population commutes to work. It has a grocery store and a hardware/convenience store. They are both named "Schellenberg's" and both operated by the descendants of J.R. Schellenberg. Woodworking and cabinetry, farming, hot tub sales, sauna sales, large diesel repair are some of the main, yet small industries. The community has a central park, which includes tennis courts, playground, baseball and soccer fields, as well as a hockey rink and large skating oval in the winter. There is a K-9 public school (437 students, 2006) with students bused from neighboring countryside. There is a very professional local volunteer fire department. The community is surrounded by farms, oak and aspen forests, and open prarie just west of the village, which provides residents with stunning sunset views. On the last weekend of August, Kleefeld holds its annual 3 day Honey festival.

[edit] External links

	Manitoba
Regions	Winnipeg Capital Region - Central Plains - Eastman - Interlake - Northern - Parkland - Pembina Valley - Westman
Census divisions	1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23
Cities	Brandon - Dauphin - Flin Flon - Portage la Prairie - Selkirk - Steinbach - Thompson - Winkler - Winnipeg
	List of communities in Manitoba - List of rural municipalities in Manitoba