Sorry Ted but your email address must be out of order.

Replying to your letter of 1/Nov/2007.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my pictures of the Mennonites from Elmira and St.Jacobs area of Ontario.
There is indeed a very large population of Mennonites in that area. Mostly farmers although some of the younger generation have started up businesses of their own attached to the farms. Such as woodworking, metal fabrication,buggy building ,etc.

They are a very hard working people and work together and help each other should a house or barn burn down. Its not uncommon to see 100 or more men at one homestead building a new barn or helping out in the fields. the women would be making meals for the men. Their farms are the best in that area and most of them still use horses for all farm work, although some of the younger ones have mobilized.

You ask if they marry outside their sect. Very rarely would this happen. They have their own schools and churches. By the way as you have seen in the pictures. The men come out of church at one end and then go and get their horses and buggies and drive them to the other end of the church to pick up their wife and kids. Costums are very plain and mostly black, no bright colours.

To another topic Ted.
Are you any connection to the Rooneys of Ravarnet road area.? I think there was a Wallace Rooney. Also did you go to Brownlee School.?
Any friend of Edna Rooney who lives in Bramalea Ontario.?
I have been in Canada almost 60 years and my mind is not as sharp as it once was.I do keep reading the Lisburn Forum and enjoy the Craik.

I remain John B. Dunlop

Ted, With all this talk about our diet causing illness. Does the Mennonites way of life make them more healthy ?

John Thank you very much for enlightening me on the Mennonites we have a lot to learn from them,even your photo's suggest a great sence of order I noticed the ladys all sitting in the back of the buggies while the men took up the front, they all look imaculate coming out of there church, and all the buggies are in great order, your pictures really capture the caracter of the people,Regarding myself we come from the Low Rd my granparents came from Gregg St they lived directly facing a Ted Dunlop who now resides in Canada any relation, I worked for Felix Elmore in the town from 1948 to 1954 and then different jobs in England I am now retired, I remember Wallace Rooney faintly but we are no relation, John thanks again for the information I found it very interesting.
Kind Regards Ted._

Hi Margaret I can't answer your question but studing John's photo's there dosen't seem to much obesity in the pictures, and I dont know what there diet is but I think a year of it would do wonders for me or maybe its there work ethic, however they seem to have got it right, Margaret in the meantime if you here anything let us know, Kindest Regards Ted