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In 1895, Klass R Reimer's store was visited by church leaders who were concerned his financial success was not conducive to Christian simplicity. Afraid of "big business," the church leaders of Steinbach stood steadfast against petitioning the railway to come through town. It never did. Others who pioneered the automobile business, also heard from the church. JR Friesen, one of the first to bring a car into Steinbach was promptly sanctioned by his church. Undaunted, Friesen was so excited about the possibilities of the car that he did not take the shunning too seriously. In fact, he, had the last laugh. On June 6, 1914 Friesen became the first Ford car dealer in western Canada. In the years to come, the same ministers that had confronted him, came to buy cars for themselves. Through the promotional work by people like AD Penner, Steinbach quickly became known as the automobile city, as Steinbach auto dealers became notable for their ingenuity in making car sales. On the west side of the Red River lies the west reserve and the richest farmland in southern Manitoba. Here the soil is 3 to 4 feet deep and the sun never stops shining. Over time regional service centres like Altona and Winkler emerged from the 70 villages that had once bloomed in the West Reserve. With agriculture as the original foundation these thriving towns have emerged as economic dynamos in their own right. Until the 1940s, the majority of Mennonites in Manitoba were farmers or worked in farm related occupations. After WW2 Mennonites began to leave the farm for a new life in the city. By 1971 half the Mennonite population had become urban.
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