Brubacher House is visited by hundreds of tourists and travellers in any given year. Local residents who may not be familiar with the museum also stop by to inquire about it. Dozens of hooks line each room of the museum and if you are able to find a place to put your hat then you are welcome to stay. Brubacher House hosts reflected on their most memorable visitors, as well as some of the questions they were asked during some other visits.
Celebrities and Brubacher
family descendants
“Seniors who had the time (and generally the most interest) to engage questions and conversation deeply. Some came in tour groups. Some were Elderhostel groups (through Grebel).
"But we must also say that many persons dropped in hoping to see a 'Mennonite.' When we acknowledged ourselves as such, it either created great disappointment or further curiosity. On occasion, we unexpectedly received visitors who had a personal history with the House - e.g. grew up in it as a child (post-Brubachers), a descendant of the Brubachers, etc. These were rich conversations - enlightening and engaging.”
“One of our favourite visits was from the children of William and Caroline Schmidt. Their family was the last to own the house before the University of Waterloo purchased it in the 1950s. They never lived in it, as their parents had rented it out while continuing to farm the land, but they lived over by Herrle’s and would walk over regularly to do farm work. They regaled us with stories of their childhood, and their memories of the house before it became a museum. They seemed to remember that the location of the rooms had been reversed, with the kitchen and sitting room originally being on the south side of the house, and the pantry and master bedroom on the north side. They also remembered how inexpensive it had been for their parents to buy the house and rent it out. They said that the house was also very cold in winter, and a family that lived there had moved elsewhere temporarily when they had a baby, just to keep warm.”
“Ron Sexsmith was the headliner for the Canada Day 2007 University of Waterloo celebrations. He stopped by for a tour of the Brubacher House before joining the crowd in the field. It was a great performance!”
“We hosted a busload of German tourists, none of which spoke English! It depended on our non-verbal communication skills and limited German language skills but we got through the tour. It would be interesting to hear their side of things!
"It was also fun whenever friends would visit for the first time and we would give them the free tour, including our apartment. We always let them ring the bell!”
“On occasion, we unexpectedly received visitors who had a personal history with the House - e.g. grew up in it as a child (post-Brubachers), a descendant of the Brubachers, etc. These were rich conversations - enlightening and engaging.”
“Laura...really enjoyed giving tours to groups from Renison University College’s English Language Institute. Students came from all over the world, and engaged with the house from diverse perspectives. Some students, like those from Mexico or Chile, were familiar with Mennonite groups from their home contexts, but others from countries like Japan and China were not. They always asked great questions, and one of her favourite memories was surprising a group with a maple sugaring demonstration at the maple tree out back! Everyone enjoyed tasting maple sap straight from the tree. Another interesting tour was with a group of Old Order Mennonites. Laura learned so much from them, because they were familiar with so many of the artifacts from their own experience. They basically gave her the tour!”
The Hunsbergers hosted a tea party in recognition of donors and Reg Good’s book on the Brubachers. The guest list included Dorothy Elliot and invitations to 12 other Brubacher descendants.
“Jennie remembers opening the door for a visitor once, and the first words out of their mouth were a very gruff, 'I want to see a Mennonite.' So Jennie gestured to herself, held out her hands, smiled and said, 'Taa Daa!' The visitor scoffed at her, turned on their heels and walked away without ever coming inside.”
“Every Wednesday Dennis came to golf even though the golf course was no longer there. There was also an open air art group who came to paint and draw the house and surrounding area. We were given one of the paintings. David Johnston toured through the house on Canada Day 2007 and my mom had a good chat with him. One of our last visitors before moving out of the museum was to a group of friends. The surprising and memorable part is that when we moved into our new home two of the visitors ended up being our next door neighbours!”
“Girl Guide groups earning their heritage / history badge - they asked the best questions.”
“A lot of the best tours were people who came from Europe and had long, mid week tours. Sometimes, in spite of our limited French skills we attempted to give tours, at least somewhat in French.
"Mark also really enjoyed giving tours to some Mennonite history night classes from UW.”
”Justin Trudeau came a few months before he was elected (the election hadn’t started yet, but he, Bardish Chagger and other KW candidates were visiting UW Canada Day events).” The only photo that they have from the visit is a completely blurry image of 3 people standing outside the house. Jacquie shared that Karl was going to take a photo of Jacquie and Trudeau, but at the last minute Trudeau told his team to take Jacquie’s camera so that the three of them could be in the photo. Jacquie tried to tell them that they wouldn’t know how to use it, but they did not listen and then they left. Karl and Jacquie always thought it was a hilarious story, but sad that they didn’t get a good shot.”
“Lots of interesting conversations that brought out people’s connections to the artifacts or the history of the house. One that comes to mind was with an elderly woman who, when [Josh] started talking about the grandfather clock, got really excited. When [he] asked her why she found it interesting, she said that her late husband had been a clockmaker. When [Josh] showed her the label of the last person to service it on the front panel - it turned out that it was her husband’s shop. What an unexpected and meaningful connection.”
“In May 2008, we were honoured by the visit of Dorothy Schweitzer Elliot, a descendant of the Brubacher House family. She was born and lived in the Brubacher House prior to it becoming a museum. Dorothy had also made and donated the Brubacher crest wall-hanging that still hangs at the Brubacher House."
Click here to read an article about this visit.
Questions???
"'Can I see a Mennonite?' People narrowly understood Mennonites to all be 'Old Order.' They were usually surprised to learn that we were Mennonites as well. It was often important to contextualize the Brubachers of the 19th century - all other residents, at the time, also stooked their harvest, drove horse-and-buggy, etc. The Old Order split of the 1890s post-dated the early decades of BH."
"'What is the difference between Old Order Mennonite and Old Order Amish?'"
"Re the House: 'Is this the university president's residence? Is it open to visitors? How thick are the walls? How were the large stones lifted to the top of the house?'"
“The most common question we remember is more of a comment: very often, someone on the tour would exclaim 'wow, I can’t believe Mennonites live like this!' This comment would always come well after explaining the house is a representation of how the original family might have lived in 1850. Most of the time the guests would clue in to what they just said, but occasionally we had to remind them that this was a museum!”
“How did they manage with so many children?”
“Are you Mennonite?
Why aren't you dressed like a Mennonite?
Is Mennonite the same as Amish?
How old is the house?
Did the Brubachers really live here?
Was this house moved here?”
