BLUMENORT, MB

Grandma Penner’s VHS copy of the Siberian epic film Dr. Zhivago has been rewinding in her VCR since the late 1980s and her grandchildren, now grown with children of their own, are excited to hear it’s now nearing completion.

“Just wait now children,” said Grandma Penner back at a Christmas ’88 get-together. “As soon as tape 2 is done rewinding, we’ll all sit down, munch on some , and watch this film as a family.”

Forcing young people to watch ‘Dr. Zhivago’ has long been a Mennonite tradition, as the story offers many parallels to the Russian Mennonite experience.

“All my uncles and aunts were sent to the Siberia during the Revolution,” explained Grandma Penner in the spring 1992, as the tape continued to rewind. “Julie Christie’s character is the closest thing to a Mennon

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