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Generally 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Monday to Friday. An appointment in advance is recommended.
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Mennonite Archives of OntarioConrad Grebel University College
140 Westmount Road North
Waterloo, ON N2L 3G6
Phone: 519-885-0220 x24238
Title: Dorothy Swartzentruber Sauder fonds
Dates of creation: 1916-2012, predominant 1949-1954
Physical description: 8 cm of textual records, ca. 400 photographs
Biographical sketch: Dorothy Mae Swartzentruber (1924-2012) was the daughter of Edwin and Katie (Leis) Schwartzentruber. She was born in Kitchener and spent her growing up years primarily in Wellesley. Following 8th grade, she worked as a domestic while attending Ontario Mennonite Bible School. From 1944-45, she worked at the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Clothing Depot. After taking time to train as a secretary, she returned to the MCC office in Kitchener until 1949 when she went to work for MCC in Frankfurt, Germany. In addition to secretarial work, she assisted the local Mennonite congregation. She was secretary to C.F. Klassen, MCC director in Europe, at the time of his death in 1954. Swartzentruber decided to return to Kitchener where she took a job at the Golden Rule bookstore and convinced the manager to let her set up the Golden Rule Secretarial Service. This service provided secretarial support to Mennonite congregations. Her many other involvements included becoming the first female editor of the Ontario Mennonite Evangel and the first archivist of the Mennonite Archives of Ontario. In the 1960s, she was secretary to Frank C. Peters, the president of Wilfrid Laurier University. At age 47, she married widower Stanley Sauder.
Custodial history: Fonds was donated to the Mennonite Archives of Ontario in 2016 by Shirley (Sauder) Morrison.
Scope and content: Fonds consists primarily of correspondence from Dorothy Swartzentruber to her parents during her time in Germany, as well as photograph albums documenting her time in Germany and travels in western Europe, 1949-1954. A few photographs, some correspondence, writings, clippings and genealogical notes from outside that time period are also included.
Notes: For photographs related to Dorothy Swartzentruber search the Mennonite Archival Image Database.
Further materials related to Dorothy Swartzentruber may be found by searching the Archives.
See also Huebert Hecht, Linda. "Legacy of service: Dorothy M. Swartzentruber Sauder's career in church work at home and abroad." Ontario Mennonite History XIX no. 2 (Nov 2001).
Original archival description created 2016 by Laureen Harder-Gissing.
File list:
Generally 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Monday to Friday. An appointment in advance is recommended.
Phone: 519-885-0220 x24238
Conrad Grebel University College
140 Westmount Road North
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G6
519-885-0220
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Conrad Grebel University College is situated on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron (Neutral), Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Read Grebel's full territorial acknowledgement.