The popular understanding of the immigration of Mennonites from the Russian Empire to the Plains states in the 1870s has a rather weak relationship to the actual events of the 1870s. It is only natural that a popularized explanation of the story would be very abbreviated and rather formulaic, compared to a more in-depth examination. Many of the themes that usually appear in popular accounts are at best half-truths. The story of Mennonites bringing winter wheat is probably the most widely known stereotype. Others might include an exaggerated sense that the immigration process was unified and well-organized the lack of a sense of the context into which migration entered. Unpacking some of these stereotypes can broaden our understanding of the 1870s migration and identify other unexplored aspects of the story.