Colony Life
We eat together, work together and worship together.
Since 1935, this farm has fed, housed and employed every family at Lakeside.
What the land produces has built more than one community. As Lakeside grew, it helped start new colonies at Pine Hill in 1948, Spring Creek in 1956 and Starland in 1972. Closer to home, our trucks haul livestock, grain, feed and hay around the region, and when a storm or an accident hits a neighbour, our people and machinery go to help.
How We Live
The Community Kitchen
The women of the colony take turns cooking and baking for everyone. Adults eat together in the dining hall, and the bread, noodles and preserves are all made here.
Everyone Has a Job
The cattle man, the field boss, the mechanic, the head cook, the gardener. Each person has a role, and every role matters to the whole colony.
Family Homes
Every family has its own home in the colony yard. What the colony owns, it owns together, and it looks after every member from birth to old age.
School & Church
Children go to school on the colony, where they learn English and German. Church services are held daily in the evening, with a longer service on Sunday.
Growing Up Here
Kids learn by doing. They help in the garden, the kitchen and the barns, and they grow into the work the colony needs.
Making Our Own
Much of what the colony eats is grown or raised here. Sewing, woodworking and repairs are done here too.
A Day on the Colony
The day starts early. The cooks are in the kitchen before sunrise, the field crew heads out after breakfast, and the children walk to school down the lane.
At noon the bell calls everyone to dinner. Afternoons are for work, there is a short church service in the evening, then supper and time with family. Tomorrow it starts all over again.
“Neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.”
Acts 4:32