Memories – Experiences – Reactions

John and Clara Schmidt touched the lives of many people, including family, friends, and patients, as well as those who supported their mission work through voluntary service and donations. In addition to the 740 written sources of material unitlized in writing this book, we heard numerous anecdotes about the Schmidts. For example:

“My mother said that the young nurses in Fernheim looked at John Schmidt longer than discretion would have allowed in the early 1940s.”
— Gundolf Niebuhr, archivist, Fernheim Colony, Paraguay (5/19/16)

“John was very stubborn and got more so as he aged. He wanted to do everything his way. Someone who had worked at Km. 81 said he didn’t want the Schmidts to retire in Fernheim in 1989 because John would get his nose into too many things – for example, even getting into how things should be done in the kitchen.”
— Dr. Rudolf Dyck, Fernheim Colony, Paraguay (5/20/16)

“John made a lot of waves…and Clara came along behind him and smoothed things over.”
— Edgar Stoesz, former MCC representative in Paraguay and former chair of the ALM board, Akron, PA (2/16/21)

We’d love to hear your stories, anecdotes, and comments about CALLED and the extraordinary people found within its pages. Share your personal experience below. We hope you’ll also engage with other readers!