Johann Gerhard Fast, born April 25, 1860, in Petershagen, Molotschna (Russia), and Helene Warkentin, born Jan. 25, 1859, in Rueckenau, Molotschna, were married on the Warkentin parental estate of Gruenhof, in the Schoenfeld district, Ekaterinoslav province, Feb. 10, 1883. Helene inherited the larger part of the estate. The couple settled in Gruenhof where their family of six sons was born: Jakob (Jasch), Johann (Hans), Gerhard, Heinrich, David, and Peter. In 1898 Johann was elected minister of the Schoenfeld congregation. He had a preference for village life, and a keen business sense. In 1907 he sold the property in Gruenhof and bought two farms, with numerous large buildings, in Memrik. They were spared the trauma of the Stalinist era: Johann died June 16, 1915, from a series of strokes, and Helene from typhoid fever, Jan. 11, 1920.
1930-1988, predominantly 1930-1934