Pioneer Days are in full swing at the Mennonite Heritage Village this weekend and they wouldn’t be possible without many volunteer hours.

Volunteers bring the MHV to life demonstrating many of the activities that early Mennonite immigrants would have done when they first came to Canada.

Al Hamm has been volunteering at the MHV for the last 18 years. He runs the iconic windmill, noting it is one of the most unique jobs in the country.

"I run the windmill and in my case, it is kind of a unique situation because I am the operator of the only operational wind-driven mill in Canada. When I tell people that, it kind of catches their attention and they say, what? Is that true? Then away we go and we talk about the windmill."

Hamm says he has five or six guys who help him at the windmill and he is hoping to train of few of them to run it themselves so they can one day take over his post. He notes Pioneer Days are always a lot of fun because he gets to meet people from all over.

"I get to meet so many people and when I tell them about the windmill, they ask questions, they want to know more about it and we get to talking as to why the windmill happens to be a symbol for Russian Mennonite history and once we get into that then we talk about Mennonite history and it is fun to do that."

According to the Mennonite Heritage Village, a highlight this year is the operational sawmill behind the windmill. That sawmill was used by conscientious objectors in Riding Mountain National Park during World War. It has been at the MHV for many years now, however, it has been out of commission since 2017. Thanks to a dedicated team of sawmill volunteers, restoration is complete and the mill is being used in demonstrations all weekend long.