Just a mile south of Dravland Cemetery is Sonnenfeld Cemetery, a Jewish pioneer cemetery.
Looks smart with its white-painted steel fence and sign.
Attached to the fence beside the gate is the history of Sonnenfeld Colony.
I grew up only twenty-five miles from here but didn't even know of its existence until researching the area in the fall of 2017.
The spruce trees planted here have almost covered the graves.
It's unusual to see graves in a cemetery that face both east/west and north/south.
The headstones here are in a Jewish dialect with some English surnames.
Photographed near Oungre, Saskatchewan on October 29, 2017.
Never knew about this one.
ReplyDeleteIt's a rare thing to find a Jewish Cemetery on the prairies.
DeleteHave you been to the Lipton Hebrew Cemetery? It is on my list to visit.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen that one but will add it to my list. Thank you. But...I have seen the Hirsch Community Jewish Cemetery near Bienfait.
DeleteInteresting to see the different directions of the graves. Wonder if they were attempting to squeeze in another family member.
ReplyDeleteAnother chapter in the history of Jewish people on the prairies.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this page. It should be noted that this cemetery has room for hundreds of graves but only has about 10. My father grew up on a farm just west of Ratcliffe. His stepfather's first wife, Sarah Kessler is buried here. Hers is your 5th picture and also in your 4th. The concrete base must have been added recently and it covers the word "KESSLER" in English that is on the stone. For comparison, I have a picture that I took in 1987 of that gravestone on my Family Research page at: www.lkessler.com/myfamily.shtml
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information. The headstone looks much better without the grave cover...it's a shame the "Kessler" name was covered up. Any idea why the grave is situated north/south instead of east/west?
Delete... make that your 6th picture and also in your 5th.
ReplyDeleteMichael. You're right. Most Jewish cemeteries in Western Canada have the head of the grave to the West with the feet to the East. Not sure the reason why in this case. They did have a lot of room and choice where to put the graves. I found this article that says that Jewish law does not require all graves to face any particular direction: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1672031/jewish/Do-Jews-Bury-the-Dead-in-a-Specific-Direction.htm
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link Louis. The "Sarah Kessler" grave seems to be tucked in at the foot of the other graves directly west of it. Most likely a plot size issue as mentioned by MA above.
DeleteI've seen other cemeteries (usually Catholic) where the graves are positioned both east/west and north/south.