Jewish Journal Archives

Jewish Journal Archives: "In 1905, a group of Lithuanian Jews sat around a table in Cape Town, South Africa, their home of five years. They left their native lands to escape rampant anti-Semitism, inspired by dreams of owning and working a land where they could practice their religion untormented. Contrary to expectations, however, they found themselves working in retail in Wynberg, a suburb of the Cape, when they stumbled across a pamphlet that would change their lives forever. Issued by the Canadian Department of Immigration, it promised prospective immigrants 160 acres of land for $10. These intrepid few long harbored the desire to farm a land of their own, and well recalled how they were denied this opportunity by the governments of Eastern Europe. The offer of land ownership in a country of equal opportunity was one they could not refuse. They formed an 'on-to-the-land' movement, gathered fellow enthusiasts and soon embarked on a journey that would take them into the heart of northern Saskatchewan.
In the years that followed, these peripatetic people built their homes alongside the banks of the Carrot River, a land located 20 miles from the nearest village, Star City, and one rich in forests and water. In 1907, a bridge was constructed over the river's rushing waters, providing employment for most of the new settlers, who welcomed the opportunity to earn direly needed cash. With the opening of the post office a year later, the new settlement needed a name. Canadian officials were intent on avoiding names designating ethnicity or religious affiliation, and refused to permit 'Jewish Bridge' or 'Israel Villa,' the pioneers' first choices. Eventually they allowed the name 'Edenbridge' to represent the colony, unaware that it was a subtle version of 'Yiddenbridge', a bridge of Jews. It was a bridge of shared Jewish heritage and"