The Mennonites are a group of people who have traveled across the world for centuries in order to find a place that they can feel at peace, and in sync with their beliefs. The Mennonites are a Christian group associated with the Anabaptist denomination which was named after Menno Simons, in the 1500s– where 12 provinces originated in the Netherlands.
Tina Siemens, currently lives in Siminole, Texas but she says that her family had quite a journey before settling there. The Mennonites have traveled from the Netherlands, to Russia, to Canada, to Mexico. In 1977 a group of 500 Mennonites were promised U.S. citizenship if they purchased farm land in Seminole, Texas.
Siemens was a young girl when her family moved, and she said that at first it was extremely hard to assimilate and that she spent long months working in the fields, and in the winters she would help her father build cabinets.
“We sold everything we had in Mexico, which wasn’t a whole lot, but what we had, and moved out here and worked, so hard, always have but those first couple years were so hard because we didn’t know the language, all of our learning was hands on.” said Siemens.
As time went on, Siemens said the assimilation got easier because members of the community made an effort to make the Mennonites feel welcomed, and even worked to help them gain citizenship- when it turned out that they were unable to buy farmland in exchange. Siemens said she remembers a specific school teacher who would look out for her when boys at school would tease Siemens for seeming different.
“Seminole has been my home, I just love being in Seminole, and have loved what Seminole has done for us. They just have embraced the Mennonite and German community so well and a lot of them have done so much to welcome us and help us to integrate.” said Siemens.