Grunthal was first settled in 1876 by Russian Mennonites who had come to Canada in what is referred to as the first major wave of Russian immigration. James Urry, in his book None But Saints, defines the three big immigration movements of Mennonites from Russia to America. The first was in the 1870's when Alexander II (then Czar) voided the charters that provided Russian Mennonites from Religious Freedoms and self-determination of their communities. From 1873 to 1884 about 8,000 Mennonites migrated to Manitoba, with another 13,000 settling in the mid-western United States. The second major wave of Russian Mennonites migrated to Canada soon after the Russian Revolution in 1919.
Store FrontThe UnionThe local union is the basic unit of the Building Trades. There are locals with only a dozen members and with 30,000 members. Regardless of size, the principle of the operation is the same. A local union is the people in it, and the people are the union. The Manufacturer, the businessman, the doctor, and just about every known group has its own organizationOur MandateIt being a self-evident fact, plainly demonstrated by past experience, that centralization and unity of action among the mechanics, specialists, skilled workers and all workers in the iron and steel industry of this country is necessary in order to successfully deal with the ever-growing encroachments of organized capital, and the many grievances to which our trade is subjected which require speedy adjustments, and upon the satisfactory settlement of which may hinge the welfare of all brothers and sisters in our craft, therefore, believing that this may best be obtained by united action and effort, thus forming a solid representative organization, each pledged to carry into effect the immortal injunction that 'an injury to one is the concern of all,' we pledge ourselves to make any reasonable sacrifice in order to uphold these principles and to advance and perpetuate the Union