My Little Clock Story

I originally come from Paraguay, South America. Three generations of my family lived in Ukraine, in the former Soviet Union, which is where my grandparents got one of the Mennonite Kroeger clocks. It travelled with them all the way to Paraguay as refugees in 1930. This is amazing, since many of those people who tried to flee did not make it, including one of my grandfather’s brothers and his family.

Many of the people who moved to the Fernheim Colony in Paraguay brought their clock with them, including my grandparents. I was raised in their home off and on until the age of six, because there were so many babies at my parents’ house. But I loved being there and I loved the ticking of their clock. Especially at night it was a soothing sound for my soul when I missed my siblings or was lonely. The clock made me feel that time and life was still there, and so was my family. It was a comfort to me in my early childhood. Because of it, I learned Roman numerals before I started school. And even in my school years, at times when I was sent to my grandparents when they needed help, the Kroeger clock, my companion, was faithfully ticking. Abandonment never became an issue thanks to God and the Kroeger clock! 

Sadly, when my last grandparent died, it was sold at an auction and we are not able to trace it.

This story was submitted to us shortly after the exhibition opening of ‘The Art of Mennonite Clocks’ at the Mennonite Heritage Village in May 2018. The writer prefers to remain anonymous.