Minkwitz, Clara G and Bonell, Harold C

File

Identifier: RG-1238

Staff Only

Dates

Creation: 1903-1932

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and copyright holder. Staff may refuse copying of fragile or at-risk materials.

Materials may be accessed by request at the American Baptist Historical Society. For more information on accessing collections or obtaining copies, visit http://abhsarchives.org.

Biographical / Historical

From donor:

Classmates of Elsie Root, who served in Burma. Clara was a teacher and Harold a pastor. Unrest prevented them from going to Burma, but they served 13 years at Central Square Baptist in Portland, Maine. Harold was appointed Administrative Secretary for Refugee Services at the World Council of Churches in Geneva, in the late 1940s.

They set up Freedom Farm in Kennebunkport, Maine. From the Freedom Farm Facebook page:

There was a farm in Kennebunkport that for a time in the 1950s was a haven for World War II refugees from Europe. It was located on the corner of Lester Wildes Road and Gravelly Brook Road. The farm was known as Freedom Farm, it was one of two farms owned by Ethar Milliken.

The idea for Freedom Farm started in 1948 when Ethar read about the plight of the refugees in Europe. Desperate families living in overcrowded camps with a lack of food and basic necessities all waiting to make a life for themselves in a new country. So moved by the stories, he decided to donate one of his two farms. The United Baptist Church of Maine accepted his generous offer and readied the farm for displaced families.

Extent

3 Files

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Appraisal

Acquired by Jill Sweetapple, Head of Archives and Special Collections, who also made appraisal decisions.

Processing Information

Arranged and described at the file level by Jill Sweetapple, July 2020. Donor Miriam Bonell Malkasian packed the collection for mailing. Sweetapple retained that order with the exception of foldering like items.