A Tribute to Helen Krumm, by her granddaughter, Emme Hulm ‘Remembering mothers and grandmothers on Mother’s Day’

By Terri LangMother’s Day is a time to

appreciate and remember our mothers, our grandmothers – those special women in our lives who are still with us, and many of those who are not.

“If you would ask me now, and I have to tell you the truth, if I would do it again, what I did, I would say ‘yes.’ There’s not a thing I would change in my life. I just accept what I cannot change and go on, because that’s the only way you can make it.”

Those were words that Helen (Feist) Krumm, a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother, often shared with her family and friends. They were also quot-ed in Prairie Public’s 2012 award-winning documentary, “At Home in Russia, At Home on the Prairie.”

Emmanuelle (Emme) Hulm (daughter of Andy and Lisa Hulm of Hague) is a granddaughter of the late Helen Krumm. In March of 2017, Emme did something very special about her Grand-ma Helen. For a final project in her Broadcast Journalism Class at the University of Mary, Emme made a video, a video that would award her first place in the Emerging Filmmakers’ Competition at the Dakota Digital Film Festival in Bismarck.

Emme shares the story in that video with us, remember-ing and honoring her Grand-ma Helen. For Mother’s Day, we dedicate this article to all of those women in our lives who are special to us, and will always be.

By Emmanuelle HulmMy mom says I have my

grandma’s eyes. They are not quite blue, and not quite green - more of a stormy gray color.

After she passed away, I remember the whole family came to meet together in her house. Us kids were allowed to take something to remem-ber her by if we wanted. And I looked, but I couldn’t find anything I wanted. Nothing quite fit you know? And, I mean, how do you fit every-thing a person was inside one thing? And that’s my prob-lem I guess. I just, I wanted something we had together, something special that the two of us shared, and there wasn’t one thing inside that house that was ours.

But, um – I have her eyes…And I’m very, very proud of that.

I worry a lot about being strong enough or ambitious enough, or you know, just taking a plunge for better or for worse. In a sad ironic way, I suppose I could say I’m terrified of my timid heart.

And what I knew of my grandma, she was always really quiet. We would have these huge Christmas’s, and there would be like 30 people inside her house, kids and wrapping paper, and food would fly everywhere, and she would just sit in her rocking chair in the corner, just looking.

And I think, in a way, I’m kind of similar. I’m intro-verted and shy, and constantly ponder things. And it bothers me that I’m like that, maybe I’m too quiet or too weak, or don’t have this commanding presence or strength that will make me successful.

And what if I never go on an adventure? What if I am too afraid to do anything – nobody ever remembers the quiet ones.

But you know, when I think about my grandma, and the life she lead, her eyes aren’t timid. They’re not shy or weak or tired or anything like that at all. Grandma’s eyes aren’t thoughtful because of any weakness or fainthearted-ness. And they are not silent. They speak of a beautiful and strong woman. A woman who lost her father at the age of 15, and her husband before the birth of their daughter, Marie.

The war forced her and her mom and sisters to walk from Russia to Romania, to Hungary to Poland, and then to Germany. And when the Americans gained control and they were able to get care packages and one of those packages had a letter, asking whoever got it, to write back, grandma did. And every time they got a package, grandma would always write back, thank you.

After a couple years, a let-ter arrived asking something grandma didn’t expect. How would she like to come and stay in America?

(In grandma’s words) “I don’t know. It just hit me. I thought why should some-body across the ocean care so much for a person that they don’t even know and even see. My mom said,‘You should write back, that would be a good chance. If you stay here, you’re going to be a maid for the rest of your life. You have no money. You cannot get married here. You have nothing. You can-not send Marie to school or anything. You just go and go to America. I think that’s the best thing that can happen to you.’And I said, ‘But ma, then I have to leave everybody.’ And she said, ‘Yah, that isn’t the worst. If I know you are out there and you are safe and you’re taken care of, that’s worth it.’ Well, I thought and thought and thought. Then finally I said, ‘Well, I could try. Come over for a year and then see if I like it.’”

And those eyes, those eyes that I think are so quiet and weak, aren’t anything of the sort. They’re the eyes of a woman who’s made her mark on the world, who sat in a chair at family Christmas’s not because she was a timid woman, but because she was pondering this family that she helped create, the family she had to leave behind, and all the life she lived between.

And this woman’s courage refused to hide. And how could it? How could her eyes reveal anything less than the beauty and strength that was my Grandma Helen?

And I have those eyes.

Grandma Helen’s HistoryHelen (Feist) Krumm

passed away on Nov. 18, 2009, at the age of 89. She was born in Strassburg, South Russia, on Oct. 3, 1920, to Stephen and Mariann (Rohtecker) Feist. Helen mar-ried Eugene Feist, a young soldier, in 1943. In 1944, during World War II, Helen and her family, as well as all the other people from her village, were displaced from Russia into Poland,

then into Germany. Helen's husband, Eugene, was killed shortly before the birth of their daughter, Marie. Helen worked on a small orchard in Germany and raised her daughter with the help of her mother. After Germany fell to the Americans, Helen began receiving care packages from Joseph and Katherine Krumm of Hague, N.D., via the Catholic Charities Program. After a year of receiving care packages, the Krumms of-fered to pay for the passage of Helen and her daughter, Marie, to the United States.

On Oct. 10, 1951, Helen and Marie set sail from Bremerhaven, Germany, and caught their first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty on Nov. 1, 1951. On Nov. 5, they arrived in Hague and lived with Joseph and Katherine Krumm. Helen helped with milking and working on the farm, and Marie started school. Joseph’s wife, Kath-erine, passed away in 1954.

The following year, Helen and Joseph were married at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Hague. Joseph adopted Marie. In addition to Marie (James Feist, Zeeland), they had seven more children – David (Barb, Zeeland), Paul (Donna, Sandy, Utah), Cathy (passed away in 2000) (the late Gerald Hulm), Ann (Dave Hageman, Hoven, S.D.), Mona (Bill Franck, Casselton), Lisa (Andy Hulm, Hague) and Francis (Kelly, Hague). Joseph passed away in 1969.

Helen was a proud member of St. Mary’s Altar Society and enjoyed working at the church’s annual fall supper and decorating the church’s altar with flowers from her garden. She loved gardening and cultivated an array of vegetables and flowers, espe-cially marigolds. Among her greatest pleasures were being with her family, cooking, and telling stories about her early years in Russia and Germany, which are documented in the Germans from Russia Heri-tage Collection.

About Emme HulmBy Terri Lang

Over 65 years later, Em-manuelle (Emme) Hulm is crossing the same waters that her Grandma Helen (Feist) Krumm sailed on in October of 1951.

A day following her college graduation ceremony, Emme Hulm boarded an airplane on its way to England for three weeks. It is her first trip abroad.

Emme graduated from the University of Mary (U-Mary) with a Major in Mass Com-munications and a Minor in Public Relations. She is currently joining other U-Mary students and professor, Marek Dojs, who was born in England.

“I am so grateful that I am able to participate in this learning experience,” Emme said. “It is a study-abroad trip, but since I already graduated, it is more of a ‘learning for fun trip.’”

She will be gaining knowl-edge on many subjects, one of them, filmmaking. The addi-tional skills that she acquires on her journey may help her become more proficient at her job at D&N Cinematics, a professional video produc-

tion company in Bismarck.In her video, Emme didn’t

use the production equipment that her employer uses for their imagery.

She recorded the video with her own digital camera and the audio with her laptop. She balanced the camera on a window ledge for natural light but thought she needed more light so she turned the flashlight application on her phone and reflected it against a mirror.

“It was basically making do with what I had avail-able,” Emme said. “I didn’t have enough time to get all the usual equipment so I just made it work.”

But Emme struggled know-ing she only had five minutes for the video, which was a

college class assignment.“How can I squeeze grand-

ma’s life into five minutes and do her justice?” Emme questioned herself.

So, she sat down, and aware that the one way she can express herself, is through writing. The writing turned into a five-minute video that was obviously very well done. Emme captured first place in the Emerging Film-makers’ Competition at the Dakota Digital Film Festival on March 31, 2017, at the Belle Mehus Auditorium in Bismarck.

The Dakota Digital Film Festival is dedicated to sup-porting the work of emerging and talented filmmakers and video artists by promoting local video/film production

Emmanuelle (Emme) Hulm (daughter of Andy and Lisa Hulm of Hague and a 2013 Strasburg High School gradu-ate) is a granddaughter of the late Helen Krumm. In March of 2017, Emme made a video that awarded her first place and $500 in the Emerging Filmmakers’ Competition at the Dakota Digital Film Festival in Bismarck.

In 1944, during World War II, Helen and her family, as well as all the other people from her village, were displaced from Russia into Poland, then into Germany. In this photo, Helen was in her early 20s.

Helen Krumm loved gardening and cultivated an array of vegetables and flowers, especially marigolds. In 1995, Helen holds her granddaughter, Emme Hulm, in her flower garden.

Helen Krumm loved working in her garden and supplied many vegetables to her family and friends.

Helen was a proud member of St. Mary's Altar Society and enjoyed working at the church’s annual fall supper in the kitchen.

and by expanding aware-ness of professional careers within the industry. It is ad-ministered by Dakota Media Access (DMA) and managed by a volunteer steering com-mittee.

The video captures Grand-ma Helen Krumm’s courage, and Emme’s search for a gift that she can keep in memory of her grandma.

“When I watch and listen to the video, and I again see the photos and hear her voice, it just hits me,” Emme said. “There is just something about her voice.”

The voice of the woman who was so good to her family.

“And she baked the world’s best chocolate chip cookies, hands down!” Emme said. “And, the freezer was always full of Schwan’s ice cream!”

That, she said, was proba-bly why all the grandchildren went to Grandma Helen’s home. There were many grandchildren, but Grandma Helen did not mind that. She loved family and loved family gatherings.

“That is what I miss most about grandma, the family gatherings at her home, es-pecially at Christmas time,” she said.

While the families still get together, Emme said it’s just not the same as being in Grandma Helen’s home.

“There was something very special about grandma’s home. There was a magic to it when I was little,” Emme remembers.

But the magic of fam-ily being together and being there for one another, is still there. Emme is grateful to her mother, Lisa, for providing that same family-oriented atmosphere that her mother loved and treasured most.

Another trait that Emme feels her mom inherited from Grandma Helen is her ability to get things done.

“That is how grandma was, and you could rely on both of them for anything, for work or just when you need someone to be there for you,”

Emme said. Lisa tells Emme that she in-

herited grandma’s eyes – the eyes that tell her own coura-geous story – the eyes that show her independence, her joyfulness and her kindness.

One can only imagine how proud Grandma Helen would have been when her grand-daughter, Emme, crossed the stage on April 29, 2017.

“She would just smile

Emme graduated from the University of Mary on Sat., April 29, 2017. Here, she is with her mom, Lisa, after the gradu-ation ceremony. “Happy Mother’s Day, mom,” from Emme.

The Krumm family gathers every year around July 4 to shoot off a massive fireworks display for the public. They started doing that the year after Cathy Hulm (daughter of the late Joseph and Helen Krumm) was killed in a tragic motorcycle accident.

really sweetly, and I’d just know she was proud of me,” Emme said.

To view the video on-line, type https://vimeo.com/196688729 or go to the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection (GRHC)website, NDSU Libraries, library.ndsu.edu/grhc/links. On Facebook, like GRHC at https://www.facebook.com/ndsu.grhc.

In her video, Emme talks about the huge Christmas’s at Grandma Helen’s home. “That is what I miss most about grandma, the family gatherings at her home, especially at Christmas time,” Emme said. This photo was from Christmas 1995.

Emme’s mom, Lisa, always told Emme that she had her Grandma Helen’s eyes. This photo was taken at Christ-mas time, 2004.