The Pretty Pink Dress

In 1921, in the middle of the civil war, 3-year-old Helen Dyck attended the wedding of her half-sister, Katerina (to Frank Thiessen.)  Helen’s ‘pretty pink dress’ was made over from a dress that had belonged to her father’s first wife, Susanna (Toews) Dyck.  The family had recently been evicted from their home across from the flour mill and now lived in a tiny workers’ cabin on the mill site with many other evicted relatives.

The original dress had a silk lining (from which Helen’s dress was made) topped by a mesh layer embroidered in pearls and beads, the material probably bought by Abraham Dyck for his first wife on one of his trips to Germany.

The wedding was held in the church in Schönwiese, and the reception in the granary.  Large assemblies were forbidden at the time, so guests arrived and left stealthily.  Even so, the authorities were notified.  They arrived the next day to search the premises but found nothing, not even the remains of the wedding torte hidden on a rafter.

The dress and photo were donated to the archives by Helen Dyck Klassen.