This is a site of memories from my Fastball career. I was born Cornelius Friesen,in the Village of Neuanlage,Sask,Canada ,near Hague. Actually the birth certificate says;Sec,23.T40, R4 W.3 .We had a mixed farm,and besides chores,school and church,we enjoyed sports and music. The sports we played were ball,soccer,hockey. We all had our own little hobbies,wood carving,perhaps whittling would more aptly describe it. We also made our own things to do ,like tire riding,have our own play farm and grew our own little crops!I also had a passion for hammers and axes,to help mom with the plants! The teachers I had ,or remember were:Mr.John Pauls,Mr.&Mrs.Harry Neufeld and Mr.Henry Wiebe,we then moved to Warman, Neuanlage was a short home for me,but it always willbe home to me,and very greatfull for it !!Many seeds were planted,like Sunday School,singing,poetry,prose,sports,kindness,honesty,sharing,chores,obedience,for respect for all people,especially the elder,creativity,teasing,and laughter,sadness,crying and Godliness!The village was a typical one street setup,as in Russia,with family houses on both sides. The village was always very clean and people took very good care of their yards,all was neat and tidy with lots of trees,shrubs and and peaceful atmosphere which we enjoyed very much. It was a good place to be born and raised!
Our community; rich in Mennonite heritage, was settled and developed in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The fertile land that our area had to offer made ideal conditions for farming. To this day, there are many large dairy, poultry, hog and mixed farming operations in the area.
The Town of
As a prosperous and thriving community, our local businesses and organizations offer many convenient services. From a K-12 school to suit our children’s needs to easily accessible businesses to suit our seniors' needs, Hague has a lot to offer for a small, but growing community. As our symbol and a historical site, the railroad water tower is one of the few left standing. Located in the heart of Hague, the
Hague is a recreational community offering one of the best sporting complexes in the Valley area. Three sheets of artificial ice provide excellent curling conditions, and some of the best hockey games originate in Hague. We are home of the Hague Royals, winners of the Provincial Finals title in 1983. For everyone's enjoyment, Hague also offers an outdoor arena in the winter, and excellent ball diamonds and a tennis court in the summer.
With a warm welcome from the Town of
Growing up was atuff chore for most of us ,yet pleasant as well,I remember some incidents of sigificant consequences,I believe each one was supported by a real good lickin from papa !Iwas 5 years old ,we recieved the Free Press and the Western Producer in the mail,Ford had an ad in there pushing their new 1949 Ford cars and I said,one day I will own one,till then my Red Flyer wagon would do!The wagon was in good shape ,except for one wheel,was bent,John Zacharias said he had an xtra wheel and we would install,he went home to get it ,then we had to remove a cutter pin/nail from the axle,we got our axe and we decided to hammer and fix,boom!!! I had my head too close to Johns strikes,and he hit me on the head,between the left eye and temple,I must have been out cold,all I remember John hi-tailing it ,to tell my mom and he was outa there.
THE DRAG:We had some distance to walk to school and it was fun,except in the cold,cold winters we had!The blizzard of 1952 was horrific,tons of snow and the area was closed in .the school had a one horse cutter caboose to transport kids ,a wood heater to keep warm,the caboose was waiting and loaded up the kids ,all the youngest in first,it so happened there was no room for me ,so the driver operator asked me to walk with Nellie the horse and hang on to the halter,so I would not get lost,it was blowing ,zero visibilty,as we slowly walked we had to cross the dugout excavtion site,suddenly ,The horse stepped on my coat and I slipped under neath the cutter,it had long bolts stiking out and my coat caught on and I was dragged over the rough ,bumpy dugout soil and was not enjoying the close up view of cattle and horse hoofprints ,frozen solid,finally the cutter stopped to unload 2 children,and I was crying and screaming,for my dear life,the operator heard and got me out and carried me home about 2 houses down,I was ok ,but lots of scraps and scratches all over my body ,once more DR Mom came to the rescue ,I was out of school a week and back at it ,feelin good !!! 1952
NEAR DROWNING: we had a good mudhole to go splashing around ,but the Sawatzkys had a real olimpic sized dugout ,which was used by the bigger boys to swim and so on,Dad always told me not to go there ,it was to deep and had very sharp dropoff edges ,so stay away boy,one day temptation took over and I jumped in to try and swim ,I had been watching the senoir boys for weeks and it looked pretty easy!As I approached the edge I fell in and really had to swim,to no avail,I could not keep going,Pete Zacharias was a good swimmer ,he was there and saw I was goin gone ,I remember Pete jumping in and he and John Klassen pulled me out and saved my life,Pete and I would later on in life be pitching partners and opponents for years to come,now the story gets muddy,Petes dad and my dad worked together in Saskatoon,and Mr.Zacharias told my dad what had happened,when dad came home and we had finished supper,dad said,I want to see you at the woodpile,so I went,he quized me and gave oppotunity to tell my story,he went and got a harness strap and asked me to bend over the wood chuck,and I recieved the hardest lashing for the disobedience,Dad was not mad,only stern and the message was clear,=-=obey boy obey,so I did,and was glad for it !!! 1954 
RING OF FIRE: Love is a burning thing,except when you burn down the chiken koop!!!! We had a sloppy looking chicken shelter ,Ill call it,it was not an entirely closed koop,3 walls ,some chicken wire and a quater roof for shade and protection from the elements,I was getting instructions on how to smoke,roll a Daily Mail,matches and light it and smoke it ,no inhaling ,what a site,however I dropped my butt on the gound and thought we had put it out ,not the case ,we went away for a walk ,looked back and saw smoke ,we ran back,and by" golly nacn ah mole eint",fire ,we got pails of water and got it out ,however,KFC had begun,several chickens died and the koop was half gone,when mom and dad came home from Watrous,Dad delivered another one of his belt wavin spankings,Iwas a nice boy ,dont you ever forget it,just so darn inquisitive and daring ,we had some chicken to eat and ,actually,mom said it was time to build a real koop ,thats what my oldest brother came and did ,a nice koop for a good pupose,I also recieved many spankings in school,I dont know why,or what for ,I was a good boy !!!1954 
reduction plant. 
A note here to thank someone ,who gave of herself,a lot of loneliness,being with and growing up a young family! I speak,of course,of wife 
ahams SURE You can be sure God has forgiven you, and that someday you will go to be with Him inheaven through all eternity. And God wants you tohave this assurance, because Hedoesn't want you to be filled with doubt and insecurity. The key is to realize thatyour salvation doesn't depend on you and what you have done; it depends only onChrist and what He has done for you.
http://The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after and influenced by the teachings and tradition of Menno Simons (1496-1561). As one of the historic peace churches, Mennonites are committed to nonviolence, nonresistance, and pacifism.