North Harlem Colony hosts touring seniors from Chinook

Eighteen members from the Chinook Senior Center made a visit last week to the North Harlem Colony. Eli Hofer, minister for the North Harlem Colony and clerk for the North Harlem Colony School, led the group on a tour of some of the facilities that make up the complex five miles north of Harlem on the highway to Turner. Eli's daughter-in-law, Gail, also helped guide and answer the guests' questions.

The 45 people who live at the community are Hutterites, a branch of the Anabaptist movement that began in Europe in the 16th century. After years of persecution in Europe, Hutterites established a new home in North America with colonies in western Canada and the upper Great Plains in the U.S. They practice 'community of goods' sharing their resources, living as family units and eating meals together.

North Harlem Colony was settled in 1963 by a group from an existing colony in Lewistown. The original settlers included two brothers, two cousins and their families, all with the surname Hofer. Eli was 14 years old when the families arrived in Blaine County. "In 1983," Eli said, "about half the people in this colony left to begin the Loring Colony, about thirty miles east in Phillips County." He added that with 45 members the North Harlem Colony is one of the smaller colonies in the U.S.

Touring the North Harlem Colony's facilities

The original buildings at the colony were built in the 1960's and 70's. Eli said, "We are constantly updating, remodeling and replacing facilities. A building housing the kitchen, dining hall and laundromat is located at the center of the complex. Housing units are east and west of the central building with the school and church adjacent. The facilities related to the farm operation begin past the housing units. A new set of townhouses for families are nearly completed, located where one of the original structures was razed. The colony has its own water source and purifies drinking water using a reverse osmosis process.

First stop on the tour was the mechanical shop. It's visible from Highway 241 (Turner Road) and was completed about five years ago. The "tip up formed walls" were all poured using forms laid on the floor of the building. A leased crane then lifted the walls into place. The colony purchased a used special cement mixer that allowed them to do much of the work. On one end of the shop is a well- equipped woodworking shop. The other end houses a wash bay that can accommodate a semi and trailer. Eli said, "We mostly do woodworking for our own families, but do take custom orders from time to time."

The various colonies share inventions and Eli was eager to show a 'feather machine' acquired from another colony and installed in the shop. He explained, "When we butcher geese we like to save the feathers to use in bedding. This machine gently dries the feathers and

separates the ones that are too big." A bag of feathers ready for stuffing is produced in about an hour.

At every facility we visited, the seniors commented about "how clean everything is." Eli explained, "Keeping ourselves and our living space clean is part of our culture and belief system. To have a clean heart and soul you have to have clean surroundings." Later he told a story about how some of the ladies of the colony had helped a local family with household chores when the wife was ill. The husband coined the phrase "Hutterite clean" to denote something that had sparkle from rigorous cleaning.

Back in the center of things, the tour stopped at the kitchen/dining hall. Meals are eaten together by everyone in the colony. Gail Hofer explained how each week a different 'team' of women and girls prepare meals with some guidance by a head cook. At mealtime, men and women eat on separate sides of the dining hall. Gail said, "Because we have few children here, they eat at a separate table from the adults, but at the same time. In bigger colonies the children have a separate time they eat." The kitchen area includes both a walk-in freezer and a walk-in refrigerator, preparation areas and large pantries. A laundromat, where every family does laundry, is in a lower level of the central building.

The colony is basically self-sufficient as far as food, with a large vegetable garden, livestock and poultry raised for meat and milk from cows at the colony. Asked about types of meals, Gail Hofer said, "For lunch we usually have German-style food, like sauerkraut with sliced homemade sausage and a baked potato. For dinner, it's more 'Americanized' with casseroles and less traditional foods." Before and after every meal there is a prayer of thanks offered.

Just off the southwest corner of the central kitchen and housing area, is the church. It's a modern building with few religious symbols about. Asked about some old-style student desks at the front or the church, Eli said, "During the school year, we have one colony member who teaches German to the children-a session both before and after regular school. We teach German here so the children keep the languages they are speaking separate from school and home."

Eli explained that most conversations at the colony, among the members, are in a dialect of German called Austrian Tryolean. He added, "It's the same dialect Martin Luther spoke, as does Arnold Schwarzenegger." He added that written German can be read by most all German speakers.

As to the religious practices at the colony, Eli said, "I would say it's a mixture of Catholic, Lutheran and Baptist beliefs." The Anabaptist movement opposed infant baptism and advocated that religious commitments should be make in adulthood. A popular event, each year at the colony, is the Christmas program put on by the school children. The public is invited and the children play music, sing and perform Christmas related dramas.

The group went to the school at one edge of the housing area. Children complete the eighth grade, then do online studies until they are 16. Chateau Christensen, the new teacher, was at the school getting ready for the upcoming school year. She lives in Turner and taught a couple of years in the Lewistown area. Starting last year students from the Turner Colony come to North Harlem for school. Eli said, "So far it seems to be working very well." The school is a welcoming space with many modern aids, like digital blackboards and lots of computers, used in teaching. An outside music teacher is paid, by the colony, to teach piano and guitar to the students.

Hutterites have, historically, placed a lot of emphasis on education for their children. As early as the 1500's they had instituted kindergartens. Eli commented, "We believe an educated colony member can make a greater contribution to the colony and be a better person as well."

Leaving the school, we passed by the new 'townhouses' nearly completed for family housing. Gail Hofer, and her husband Jacob, have moved in to their townhouse though some outside work has been delayed while the men do harvest. She invited us in for a quick peak. It was a light and airy space with beautiful wood cabinets and floors, custom wood bannisters and a very attractive wood furniture. She explained that some of the wood pieces came from other colonies, but the bannisters were made at the Harlem colony. Since meals are communal, the kitchens where families live have minimal equipment for preparing meals. Gail said, "If a family member is sick or some other reason a person cannot go to the dining hall, we can prepare a meal at home."

From conversations on the way home the seniors were very impressed with what they saw and learned. It's always a good thing to better understand how our neighbors live and believe. And a stop at the senior center for a refreshing root beer float was also a good thing on a pleasant summer day.