Three siblings recorded a song on Father's Day weekend to commemorate 100 years since their great-grandparents fled Ukraine and arrived at Herbert Train Station in 1925 — fulfilling a decades-old request from their father to create a musical legacy project. Kelly Wiens and his sisters Tamara and Sonya will release "Plant Us in Freedom," as part of a project they've called Together With Him, this October 30 across streaming platforms, marking a century since their grandfather Jacob Wiens arrived in Saskatchewan as a 16-year-old with his parents and three siblings on September 1, 1925. The song tells the immigration story from the perspective of their teenage grandfather, exploring the losses, hopes, and dreams that accompanied the family's journey from the Odessa region of Ukraine to the Canadian prairies. "About a year and a half ago, my dad suggested that we have a family reunion to celebrate 100 years of gratitude since our great-grandparents and grandparents came from Ukraine," Tamara said. "With that came the reminder that dad had set aside some money after Grandma Wiens had passed away for a legacy project, a music recording of some sort that would reflect our musical heritage." The request had been on the family's list for approximately 20 years. Tamara lives on an acreage outside Moose Jaw with her husband Rod Braun, who photographed Herbert Train Station for the song's cover art. Kelly and Sonya both live in Winnipeg, where Kelly relocated after selling the family farm in Beechy in 2020. "When Sonya and I were looking at my schedule and going and looking at the producer's schedule, there's really only one time we can do this, and that's Father's Day weekend," Kelly said. "I thought that was interesting that that's when it worked to honor our father's request to get this recording done." The siblings grew up immersed in music, starting piano lessons at four or five years old with their mother as teacher, singing in children's choir at church, and playing recorders and flutes as a family ensemble. "Music was very important to our parents — mom was the piano teacher," Kelly said. "We played at Christian endeavors and different wedding receptions that our parents got invited to and invited to contribute something. Then Christmases on both sides of the family, there was always a recital of some sort." Tamara discovered a photograph from her parents' 60th wedding anniversary this year showing the "Wiens Family Band" — the siblings and cousins learning instruments and performing for their grandparents. The musical heritage extends to both sides of the family, with gathering often including spontaneous performances. "Plant Us in Freedom" blends elements of the family's Mennonite heritage with contemporary instrumentation, combining vocal harmonies, classical strings, and piano with bass, drums, and electric guitar. Josh Parkman of Exalt Recordings in Regina produced the track. "It's definitely a combination of the older history and our current style," Kelly said. The lyrics trace a journey beginning with loss and transition, acknowledging that Jacob Wiens' parents had 12 children but brought only four to Canada. "We wanted to highlight the loss of relationship, loss of livelihood, and wondering what this new land was going to be like, and the dreams that a 16-year-old young man had," Tamara said. "It's kind of from the point of view of my grandfather at age 16 and what that must have been like and his hopes and his dreams." The song also acknowledges historical context surrounding the family's settlement. "We talk about the joy of finding a place of safety, and also acknowledging that Canada was a place of safety for us, but the land that we farmed on was taken from the First Nations, and we are grateful that we were able to live on Treaty lands, away from all the conflict," Tamara said. The family's Mennonite heritage traces to the Anabaptist movement in Europe, where German-speaking Mennonites from Prussia were invited by Catherine the Great to settle the Ukrainian steppes near Odessa. From there, the family fled through Riga, Latvia, navigating challenges under Russian governance before Ukraine's independence. "We always talked about coming from Russia because we were dealing with the Russian government and they were the ones that opened the door for us to come in the early, I think late 1700s, early 1800s from Prussia, part of modern-day Poland," Kelly said. "It was only more recently that I'm realizing we came from Ukraine, not from Russia. We're definitely from Ukrainian land. The nation wasn't independent at that time, and it's of course in a battle for its independence again and dealing with Russia." The Anabaptist tradition emphasized peace and non-violence, creating challenges for finding places to live where pacifism was accepted. "The Anabaptist movement was a movement in Christianity in Europe that was different than others where it took things a little bit farther in the Reformation, saying we want to live in peace. We want to love our enemies. We don't want to take up arms," Kelly said. "That was always a challenge, to find a place to live where that was possible, so we're very grateful for Canada." Jacob Wiens established a legacy centered on faith, land stewardship, and community. He supported West Bank Bible Camp near Swift Current, once driving through mud to Lucky Lake and back to transport his daughters and two other girls to the camp. "He had a deep love for land, a deep love for God and his people. He had a love for children that always shone through," Tamara said. The family reunion and recording project center on a quote from Bishop Bronner: "Legacy is not about what you achieve. Rather, it's about what you set in motion." "Part of us doing this album is what we want to set in motion for our children and their children," Tamara said. "It's amazing what you can do together when you have a focus on a walk with God and walking together with Him." The collaborative process presented challenges balanced by shared responsibility across siblings. "I wouldn't say easy," Kelly said when asked about the experience. "But I say the benefit of doing it as a group, it all doesn't rest on your shoulders. So when the ball gets dropped, the other sibling is picking that ball up or saying, you should really pick that ball up and you got to keep moving this forward." Sonya took a leadership role in arrangement and musical flow, according to her siblings. "She's so gifted at putting things together and arranging and putting together how the flow of the different musical ideas that we created went together," Tamara said. "Without her expertise in that area, I don't know that we would have gotten this project off the ground completely without her gift. It was nice to step out of the leadership role as the oldest." The project arrives during a transitional period for all three siblings, with the last of their children graduating high school and each entering new life chapters. Kelly sold the family farm and now pursues music vocationally, while Tamara and her husband retired from farming in 2021 after 23 years. "It's certainly a new season for sure," Kelly said. "Moving forward with focusing on doing music is one of the main things that is my new vocational pursuit. So it's been fun to do this with my sisters and to do something synergistic." The song concludes with an anthem of gratitude reflecting the family's feelings about their ancestors' courage and the opportunities created through immigration. "I feel very, very grateful that our forefathers made the decision that they did and took a lot of courage to leave and all the things they went through, because it wasn't easy when they got here," Kelly said. "The '30s were not easy to be in the prairies as a farmer, nor was World War II. But it did get better, and thankfully, we were very blessed to have the heritage we do, the heritage of faith, the heritage of being a peace-loving church." "Together With Him" is available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and at firerunnermusic.com.