Altona, Manitoba
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Altona (2006 population 3,709.)() is a predominantly Mennonite community in southern Manitoba about 100 km south-west of Winnipeg and 133 km north of Grand Forks, North Dakota.
It is called "The Sunflower Capital Of Canada", and is host to the annual Sunflower Festival.
Altona was the site of the Rhineland Consumers Co-operative (founded 1931), the Altona Service Co-op (founded 1937) and the Altona Credit Union (founded 1939). These co-operative enterprises were a highly effective local response to the devastating impact of the Great Depression on local farmers' incomes. Jake Siemens played an important role in their development, and the growth of the co-operative movement in southern Manitoba.
The first Mennonite Central Committee Thrift Shop was founded in Altona in 1972. Staffed by volunteers, MCC Thrift stores now contribute about $4M annually to MCC projects.
[edit] References
Robert Meyers. Spirit of the Post Road, Federation of Southern Manitoba Co-operatives (1955).
Esther Epp-Thiessen. "Altona: The Story of a Prairie Town" an on-line resource at Our Roots
[edit] External links
 Subdivisions of Manitoba |
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| Regions | Winnipeg Capital Region · Central Plains · Eastman · Interlake · Northern · Parkland · Pembina Valley · Westman |
| Census divisions | 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 21 · 22 · 23 |
| Cities | Brandon · Dauphin · Flin Flon (part) · Portage la Prairie · Selkirk · Steinbach · Thompson · Winkler · Winnipeg |
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