Calvin Wall Redekop

Title:  Calvin Redekop fonds

Dates of creation: 1949-1989

Physical description: 40 cm of textual records

Biographical sketch: Calvin Wall Redekop (1925-2022) was born in Volt, Montana, the son of Jacob K. Redekop and Katherine Wall. He married Freda Pellman (1930- ) on 20 August 1955. They had three sons. Redekop received his B.A. from Goshen College in 1949, his M.A. at the University of Minnesota in 1955, and his Ph.D. in Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Chicago in 1959. He taught at Hesston College (1955-1962); Earlham College (1962-1967); Goshen College (1967-1976); Tabor College (Vice-President, 1976-1978); and Conrad Grebel College (1979-1990). Following retirement he and Freda moved to Harrisonburg, VA, where he continued his academic endeavors.

Redekop was a prolific writer. His most significant monographs included Anabaptist/Mennonite faith and economics edited with Victor A. Krahn and Samuel J. Steiner; Creation & the environment : an Anabaptist perspective on a sustainable world (edited); Entrepreneurs in the faith community : profiles of Mennonites in business edited with Benjamin W. Redekop; The free church and seductive culture; Kingdom, cross, and community : essays on Mennonite themes in honor of Guy F. Hershberger edited with John Richard Burkholder; Leaving Anabaptism : from Evangelical Mennonite Brethren to Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches ; Mennonite entrepreneurs withStephen C. Ainlay and Robert Siemens; Mennonite identity : historical and contemporary perspectives edited with Samuel J. Steiner; Mennonite society; The Old Colony Mennonites: dilemmas of ethnic minority life; The Pax story : service in the name of Christ, 1951-1976; A Reader in sociology : Christian perspectives edited with Calvin Redekop and William L. Smith-Hinds; Strangers become neighbors : Mennonite and indigenous relations in the Paraguayan Chaco; Who am I? what am I? : searching for meaning in your work with Urie A. Bender.

Redekop also was involved in the work of the church. He served with Mennonite Central Committee in Europe following World War II and served for many years with the Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) and its predecessors, and edited its journal, Marketplace, until 1985.

Custodial history: Donated to the Mennonite Archives of Ontario by Calvin Redekop in the 1980s, with the exception of the Koinonia file, which came as a transfer from the Archives of the Mennonite Church in 2013.

Scope and content: The fonds includes correspondence, research documents, and a variety of unpublished papers. A list of materials withdrawn from the fonds during processing is located at the beginning of the fonds.

Series 1: Correspondence

1. Mennonite Research Fellowship correspondence, notes, minutes, 1955-1970
2. Mennonite Cultural Conference correspondence, notes, minutes, 1955-1962
3. Inter-Seminary faculty consultation correspondence and literature, 1963-1966
4. Center for Discipleship (Goshen, Ind.) correspondence, 1971-1974
5. Correspondence between Guy F. Hershberger and Christian Living, 1973-1980 (received because Redekop was member of Mennonite Community Association)
6. Correspondence, report on "Mennonites from Mexico" writing project of Mennonite Central Committee Ontario, 1980-1982 (Redekop was member of Committee of Inquiry)
7. Anabaptist Faith and Economics: Breaking the Silence. [Conference held at Conrad Grebel University College, 24-29 May 1990.]
8. Mennonite Farmers Association, predominantly 1983-1985
9. The Mennonites: The Sociology of Separation and Integration. [Conference held at Conrad Grebel College, 28-31 December 1981.]

Series 2: Research Materials

1. "Report on a Preachers' Conference held at the Ibate Community of the Society of Brothers, 1950
2. Minutes, reports, correspondence of Indian Settlement Committee of Mennonites in Paraguay, 1962-1970
3. Minutes, reports, correspondence of Indian Settlement Committee of Mennonites in Paraguay, 1969-1978
4. Materials on Koinonia Farms, including transcript of interview with Clarence Jordan (1969), with a draft chapter for a book about the farm, 1966-197?
   Note: A second folder was transferred from the Archives of the Mennonite Church in 2013. Issues of the Koinonia newsletter found in this folder are located in the Milton Good Library. The following article was removed:
   Jordan, Clarence. "Christian Community in the South." Journal of Religious Thought 14 no. 1, (1956-57): 27-36.
5. Minutes, correspondence, pamphlets for Commission on 1975-76 Celebrations, (serving under Mennonite Board of Congregational Ministries of Mennonite Church), 1973-1976
6. Land Use Task Force Research
   Note: Calvin Redekop was research director for phase one this project initiated by the MCC (Ontario) Land Use Task Force. Redekop was the administrative director and Susan Shantz was the study director for phase two. 
   See also "Farming Practices and Ecological Perceptions Among the Old Order of Waterloo County" / by David A. Neufeld in the CGUC Library. File includes: 
   Phase I: Mennonite Farming Practices and Perceptions survey, 1981. Note: This pilot project surveyed the Wilmot, Woolich and Wellesley districts and a sample of Old Order Mennonites. 
   Phase II:Mennonite Farming Practices and Views survey, 1982. Note: Includes survey results from the Hillcrest, Nith Valley and Steinman congregations.
   Correspondence
   Research paper on method and findings, [author unknown], [198-?]
7. Volunteering for Service interview project
   Note: These interviews took place approximately between 1989 and 1995. The interviewers were Cal Redekop, Henry Regehr, Marc Gelinas and Victor Krahn. Cassette tapes of these interviews can be found in Hist.Mss.22.12. File includes:
   Research notes and correspondence
   Transcripts for interviews C1-C2, C6-C8
   Research paper on methods and findings, [author unknown], 1 May 1990
8. Old Colony, Belize
   Note: This file contains unpublished papers on Mennonites in Belize.
   The Spirit and the corn : [Maya Indian and Mennonites in Belize] / [author unknown], [197-?]
   Historical vignette : 3-way correspondence between H.A. Flinn of British Hondurans and Norman B. Bauman of Ontario, and Peter F. Wiens of Honduras, 1958-59 / [author unknown], [19--]
   Intercommunity Relationships in West-Central Belize / by Carl R. Janzen, [198-?]
9. Chaco Census Statistics, Indian and Mennonite 
   1928-1979, predominantly 1940-1971
10. Census of Old Colony Mennonites in Mexico, 1966-1968
    Note: File consists of transcripts and interview summaries by Calvin Redekop and Ken Barkman
11. Transcripts of interviews with Mennonite entrepreneurs, 1985-1986. 
    Note: Location of interview is listed, if known. 

    Addy, Edwin, Tuscon, Arizona
    Bartel, Gerhard, Calgary, Alberta
    Bingeman, Jonas, Kitchener, Ontario 
    Benner, Richard. Pheonix, Arizona
    Bergen, Marten, Winnipeg, Man
    Bochman, Leland, Lilendale, Alberta
    Braun, George, Mt. Lehman, B.C.
    Buhler, Peter and Susie, Cochrane, Alberta
    Buhr, John, Calgary, Alberta
    Chupp, Sam, Pheonix, Arizona
    Defehr, A.A., Winnipeg
    DeFehr, Cornelius, Fresno, California
    Dueck, Jack, Goshen, Indiana
    Dyck, John van
    Dyck, Rudolf
    Ediger, Herman, Dallas, Oregon 
    Enns, Peter A, Kingsburg, California
    Enns, Peter W., Winkler, Manitoba
    Epp, David, Winnipeg, Manitoba
    Erb, Vernon, New Hamburg
    Esbenshad, Wilmer
    Friesen, David, Winnipeg, Man
    Friesen, DK
    Friesen, Menno
    Friesen, Ted, Altona, Man.
    Glick, Vernon, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
    Goertzen, Walter, Calgary, Alberta
    Good, Merle & Phyllis    
    Graber, Merle, Pheonix, Arizona
    Hallman, J.C., Kitchener, On
    Hartman, Dwight, Vancouver, British Columbia 
    Hernley, Ralph H, Scottdale, Pennsylvania
    Hochstedler, John S.
    Holler [i.e. Hallman], Lyle, Kitchener, Ontario 
    Hudson, Marg 
    Janzen, Jake, Lethbridge, Alberta
    Janzen, Vic, Winnipeg, Man
    Jost, Art, Reedley, California
    Klassen, Ernest, Winnepeg, Man
    Klassen, Hilda and George, Calgary, Alberta
    Krahn, Victor, Abbotsford, British Columbia 
    Krause, Peter , Richmond, British Columbia 
    Kropf, James, Pheonix, Arizona
    Lehman, Jan, Jr. 
    Lemons, Gene, Albany Ontario
    Letkeman, Peter L., Clearbrook, British Columbia 
    Lewis, Gene, Fresno, California
    Loewen, Jake, Altona, Manitoba
    Loewen, Peter, Abbostford British Columbia 
    Martens, Clarence [Corny], Winnipeg, Manitoba
    Martens, Willie, Winnipeg, Manitoba
    Miller, Bert
    Mullett, Emanuel, Berlin, Ohio
    Mullet, Roy
    Neufeld, Isaac, Lethbridge, Alberta 
    Neufeld, Jacob
    Pellman, Ruth and Bill 
    Penner, John, Calgary, Alberta
    Penner, Peter, Reedley, California
    Pletz, Vernon, Fresno, California
    Poetker, Bernie, Kitchener Ontario
    Redekop, Henry W., Winnipeg, Manitoba
    Redekop, John, Abbotsford, British Columbia 
    Reimer, Frank, Winnipeg, Manitoba
    Regehr, Robert, Dr. 
    Rempel, Henry, Abbotsford, British Columbia 
    Remple, Jake
    Sauder, Erie, Drenchhold, Ohio
    Schantz [i.e. Shantz], Elmer, Cambridge, On.
    Schlegel, Ron
    Schrock, Ammon
    Sensernig, Titus, Ephrata, Pennsylvania
    Shantz, Milo, St. Jacobs Ontario 
    Smucker, Paul
    Steiner, Richard
    Strumpski, Fred, Abbotsford B.C.
    Thiessen, A.J., Winnipeg, Man. 
    Voth, Waldo, Goessel, Kansas
    Weaver, Martin, Bareville, Pennsylvania
    Wiebe, Art, Frenso, California
    Wiebe, Hugh, Clearbrook, BC
    Wogner, Doug   
    Yost, Art
    Yost, Lyle
    Zinker, Jeanne Hartman

12. Free Church
    Note: Contains unpublished academic papers from various authors on the "free church" tradition
13. Communal Societies, 1970-1977 
    Note: Contains various periodical and unpublished materials collected or witten by Redekop on the topic of communal societies.
14. Mennonites in Paraguay
    Note: Contains various reports and unpublished materials collected by Redekop on Mennonites and indigenous peoples in Paraguay.
15. Latin America
    Note: Contains unpublished academic papers collected by Redekop.
16. Revolution
    Note: Contains unpublished papers on the topic of social revolution. Includes papers given at Goshen College in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and writings of the Radical Mennonite Union.
17. Plain People
    Note: Contains unpublished sociology papers on the Amish, Old Order Mennonite, and other "plain" sectarian groups.

Series 3: Unpublished Papers

1. Bibliography of Mennonites in Waterloo County and Ontario 1st and 2nd editions published by IAMS in 1988 and 1989
2. Sociology of Mennonites correspondence course notes and readings, 1980s
3. Sociology of Mennonite correspondence course cassette tapes (10 tapes), 1980s
4. "The Mennonite Community and Entrepreneurs / by Calvin Redekop [unpublished manuscript], 1990
5. "Going the second mile" / by Calvin Redekop and Henry Regehr. Presented at the Learneds, 1987
6. "Going the second mile : Voluntary service and the Christian calling" / by Calvin Redekop, Victor Krahn and Henry Regehr, 1994
7. "Service in the Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition" / by Calvin Redekop, Victor Krahn and Henry Regehr, [199-?] 
8. Papers from "The Mennonites: The Sociology of Separation and Integration." [Conference held at Conrad Grebel College, 28-31 December 1981.]:
   A contribution to the study of ethnicity / Calvin Redekop
   The Mennonites : an atypical prototype for the study of ethnic groups / E.K. Francis
   Sociological implications of sectarian distinctions in a Saskatchewan Mennonite colony / Alan B. Anderson
   Brotherhood economics in the corn belt / Victor Stoltzfus
9. "A success/failure counter culture" / Calvin Redekop. - Chapel address at Goshen College, 6 Nov 1972.