American Historical Society of Germans from Russia N e w s l e t t e r

Number 12 631 D Street, Lincoln, Nebraska 68502-1199 Summer 2006

Adam Seibel family taken just before he left for the USA in 1912 Brunnental/Brunnenthal, Samara, Volga, Russia Sherrie (Gettman) Stahl sherriestahl@comcast.netVillage Coordinator I would like to tell you a little bit about myself and what being a VC means to me. I first got interested in genealogy when my father died in 1990. Before that I was interested, but thought I'd forever have my

parents there to tell me about my roots. With the death of both my parents, there was no longer that option; so I began a search for my GR roots. All we knew is that they were German and lived in Russia, but there seemed to be a "cloak of secrecy" around their origin. I just think that stemmed from the fact that they didn't want to talk about the "hard times in the old country." (continued on page 27)

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Headquarters News

AHSGR Society President Jerome Siebert and IFAHSGR Foundation President

Sam Dreith Report Summer is now upon us and we hope that you are making plans to attend the annual meeting and convention here in Lincoln, August 14-20. The program for the convention promises to be both informative and entertaining. The Lincoln chapter, as usual, has done an excellent job in organizing this year’s event assisted by the chairs of the Archives, Folklore, Genealogy, and Historical Research committees. In addition, the campus is getting spruced up to receive visitors during the convention. Here is a great chance not only to participate in a well-organized program, but also to visit the Headquarters campus and take advantage of the many attributes found there. We have some good news to report on the membership front. Member numbers have increased! While the increase is not spectacular, it is headed in the right direction. The Membership Committee has been working with the trustees to develop a campaign to contact those who either in the past have had an interest in AHSGR or potentially could have an interest. We need your help in this effort in referring people who may have an interest in AHSGR’s programs, services, and products. In the recent past, AHSGR launched a junior membership program. This program has realized some success but needs your help in enrolling youth as members. It will provide those in your family a background and understanding of their heritage at an early age and prepare them to develop their search for more information on their family history. The SOAR on-line project is continuing to progress. If you have not visited or taken advantage of this new product that (continued on page 3)

INTERNATIONAL

American Historical Society

of Germans from Russia

631 D Street Lincoln, NE 68502-1199

402·474·3363 (phone) 402·474·7229 (fax)

ahsgr@ahsgr.org (e-mail) www.ahsgr.org

MISSION STATEMENTS

The American Historical Society of

Germans from Russia is an international organization dedicated to the discovery,

collection, preservation, and the dissemination of information related to the history, cultural heritage, and genealogy of

Germanic settlers in the Russian Empire and their descendants.

The International Foundation of American Historical Society of Germans from Russia

is responsible for exercising financial stewardship to generate, manage, and

allocate resources which advance the mission and assist in securing the future of AHSGR.

Newsletter Editor

Gladys Wyatt

AHSGR Staff

Diane White Office Manager

dianew@ahsgr.org

Gail Gingrich Editorial & Publications

Coordinator gailg@ahsgr.org

Delores Schwartz

Bookstore Coordinator dschwartz@ahsgr.org

Kathy Shepard

Accounting Clerk kathys@ahsgr.org

Pam Wurst

Reference Librarian pamw@ahsgr.org

Yulia Tsymbal

Research Assistant yuliat@ahsgr.org

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Headquarters News (Presidents Report continued from page 2) is being offered by AHSGR, please do so. We would also like your feed-back on your experience and how we can make this service better meet your needs. As we look beyond the convention and into the latter part of 2006 and early 2007, AHSGR is strategically evaluating its priorities and developing products and services that can better meet your needs. Please help us in this effort by providing us with information on what you would like to see AHSGR do to better meet your needs and provide value to your membership. In previous newsletters, we have described some very exciting new initiatives. We hope these prove to be beneficial to your interests in the long run and that you feel your membership in AHSGR is valuable to you. In the meantime, both of us hope to see you at the annual meeting and convention in Lincoln in August and talk about your interests in AHSGR. Jerome Siebert Sam Dreith Society President Foundation President

Highlighted Book of the Season

Gone without a Trace: German-Russian Women in Exile T Nelly Däs. Compiler and Editor. Translated, with additional materials, by Nancy Bernhardt Holland, Lincoln, Nebraska, 2000. A compilation of memoirs and memorials based on the recollections of German-Russian women who experienced the terrors of Stalinism first hand—from the “dekulakization” of 1929 through the years of Siberian exile. The volume traces the horrific consequences for ethnic Germans—even those who had been living in Russia for generations—after the outbreak of war between Germany and Russia. Condemned to forced labor in the snow, ice, and bitter cold of Siberia without adequate clothing, always at the brink of starvation, and subject to the brutalities of sadistic overseers, German-Russian women describe their valiant efforts to survive. The shattering scenes are recreated in highly detailed prose that reads like fiction and in several examples of vivid verse. PB. AHSGR members--$27.00, Non-members--$32.00.

Submission of Articles to the AHSGR Journal and Newsletter

Articles proposed for publication in the AHSGR Newsletter or AHSGR Journal should be submitted to the AHSGR Publications Coordinator, Gail Gingrich (gailg@ahsgr.org). While paper copies will be considered, an electronic copy in MS Word format is preferred. Any questions should be directed to the AHSGR Publications Coordinator.

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Headquarters News Publications Update Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet Volume 3 Igor R. Pleve, Compiler. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet 1764-1767. Edited by Dr. Alfred Eisfeld. These detailed lists of the first settlers who responded to the Manifesto of Catherine the Great include information about their ages, occupations, families, and PLACE OF ORIGIN in the German states. The series lists the colonies in alphabetical order. Volume One covers the twenty-two villages from A-F (Anton-Franzosen). Volume Two covers the villages from G-K (Galka-Kutter). Volume Three covers the villages L-P (Laub-Preuss) HB. AHSGR Members $65.00

Non-members $85.00 History of the Volga German Colonists by Jacob E. Dietz Jacob E. Dietz (1864-1917). History of the Volga German Colonists is now available. Originally written in Russian, it has been translated into German, and now, English. The author, a German-Russian himself, gives the reader an insight into how the colonists lived and the many challenges they faced. This book is a fascinating documentation of the history, lives, economics and politics of their times. It will undoubtedly attract the attention of the professional historian and ethnic researcher alike, as well as academics and sociologists, descendants of Volga Germans in Russia and abroad, and simply the reader who is not indifferent to the fate of these people. Historians have long known of the existence of the manuscript of Jacob Dietz, which has been included in a series of bibliographic guides, but its location was long unknown. It was found only a few years ago in the Engels branch of the State Archive of the Saratov Oblast. HB AHSGR Members $38.00 Non-members $48.00

Volunteer Spotlight

Susan White-Blaine– a Volunteer Translator

Introduction by Yulia Tsymbal

Susan White-Blaine, who lives in Minnesota, is one of our volunteer translators and provides the “translation services” available to our members. Susan was a volunteer when I joined the Headquarters staff and had been for a while before my time. I found her to be highly efficient, extremely reliable, and truly professional. Not only can she read “German script” which is a real stumbling stone for everybody who has ever seen it, but her translations do not need to be edited because she is completely bilingual. Susan has done numerous translations for AHSGR including family letters, records, and newspaper articles. The most important translations she completed over the last two years were “Father Beratz Stories” and “Heimat Articles” that will be published at a later date. At the moment Susan is involved in a huge project that she insisted on undertaking. Since December 2005 she has been translating a complete family archive on 4 CDs which have about 400 pages of letters and newspaper clippings on the Grambihler family. Susan is now on the third CD, having brought to AHSGR more than $2000 so far. Susan is a very humble person who hates to be the center of attention. She keeps saying she enjoys working and that it is not difficult for her, but I feel the Society should recognize people like Susan and let them know how much they are needed and appreciated. This is what Susan wrote about herself: My full name is Susanne Helga, and my maiden name was Küster. I was born on March 10, 1925, in Leisnig, state of Saxony in Germany. I entered grade school at age six. During the next (continued on page 5)

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(Spotlight continued from page 4) three years we used the German script. It was announced at this time that we would learn “Latin” writing which is what we use today. Script was no longer taught. I entered Gymnasium at age of 10; this was a combination of high school and junior college. Parents made a choice for their children. If they were studious, Gymnasium was the schooling for them; but if they were mechanically inclined, a trade school was chosen along with a practical internship. The curriculum was the same for all students at the Gymnasium: two foreign languages, history, religion, math, physics, chemistry, etc. French was changed to Latin, since boys needed Latin to become doctors, etc. There were lots of sports in school and in Girl Scouts. The end of the war found me in Würzburg an der Oder. After the Americans pushed toward the South and I had no information about my parents in Munich since it was heavily bombed, I decided to walk home. I arrived in eight days to find my parents had just been evacuated from their home. Jobs were impossible to find. I became a guide for Americans in the famous Munich Zoo. After one year I was hired as interpreter for an American engineering company rebuilding the BMW works in Munich. My next employment was as an interpreter for an American military unit stationed in Munich. All these employments were arranged by the German government. In 1950 I immigrated to the United States and after five years became an American citizen; but my homeland will always be dearest to me.

Headquarters News

South American Convention In the Spring Newsletter, I described a meeting that will be held in South America (Argentina, Entre Rios, Parana Province) September 7-10, 2006. Please refer to that article for further details. A number of people informed me that they were interested in going and would like more details. Jan Siebert and I will be going to Buenos Aires for a conference in June 2006 and hope to meet with Isabel Kessler to get more details on the meeting. While we are there, we are also going to be meeting with a travel agent to see about setting up some tours in Buenos Aires and other places in connection with the meeting. If you have an interest in joining a group to go to the meetings in Argentina, please contact me so I can keep you informed as plans are made. I may be contacted at this email address: siebert@are.berkeley.edu. An expression of interest is not a commitment to join a group. Since we will not have an AHSGR Newsletter until after the Argentina meeting is concluded, contacting me in the near future will enable me to keep you informed as plans are made. Also, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Hopefully, we can have a number of people join Jan and me for this conference. Best wishes, Jerry Siebert

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Headquarters News

RESULTS OF THE 2005 TELEPHONE SURVEY

J. Paul Hile, Chair, Membership/Public Affairs Committee First of all, the Society wishes to thank all those who took time to participate in the telephone survey conducted last October and November. In total, over 150 telephone interviews were completed. This number of interviews allows AHSGR to have confidence in the conclusions that are drawn regarding the most important questions asked as part of the survey. The primary purpose of the survey was to determine whether a reduced dues annual membership with commensurate reduced benefits would be attractive to former members as an inducement for them to renew their memberships. A business proposal made to AHSGR in the summer of 2004 suggested such memberships could be a primary source of income for the Society. In the business proposal, the benefits to be retained were: reduced prices on AHSGR store items; access to research and translation services; participation in local chapter activities; and, participation in the annual convention. In undertaking the survey, the Board of Directors concluded it was not only important to determine whether former members were interested in a reduced annual dues membership, but to also know the attitude of current members in this regard. As a result, both current and former members were included in the survey. Tables of random numbers were used to identify those persons to be called, thus assuring the results of the survey would be unbiased. The findings of the survey can be summarized as follows. The Importance of Membership Benefits: The Society’s periodicals:

• When asked if they read and enjoyed the AHSGR Journal, 86% of former members and 96% of current members replied “Yes.” When the same question

was asked about the AHSGR Newsletter, 82% of the former members and 95% of the current members replied “Yes.”

• Of those doing genealogical research, 56% of former members and 78% of the current members stated the publication Clues was helpful to them.

Membership Discount Privileges:

• The survey revealed 52% of former members and 60% of current members feel the membership discounts on purchases from the AHSGR Bookstore are important to them. Although not overwhelming, the figures represent a majority of those interviewed in both categories.

• On the other hand, only 18% of former members and 20% of current members felt the discounted registration fees for members helped them attend conventions. Interestingly, when these percentages are applied to the total membership figures, it represents on an average, the number of members that regularly attend conventions.

The Value of Research and Translation Services (genealogical research was used as an indicator):

• Sixty-four percent of former members and 77% of current members responded they are now, or had been conducting genealogical research.

• Of those involved in genealogical research, 86% of former members and 74% of current members found the records available from AHSGR helpful in their research.

Benefits of Chapter Membership: In compiling the answers to the questions regarding chapter membership, it became clear the questions may have been confusing. Responding to questions regarding chapter activities was complicated by two primary factors: (1) for a number of those interviewed, there is no chapter in the area, and (2) because there are sufficient differences among the (continued on page 7)

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(Telephone Survey continued from page 6) chapters in the way they conduct their activities the responses were not uniform question to question. However, the following generalizations can be made:

• When there is a chapter nearby, most annual members belong to the chapter.

• Most chapter members enjoy their social relationships with other GRs.

Interest in a Reduced Dues Annual Membership Program with Reduced Benefits: Both the former and current members interviewed were asked the direct question whether they would be interested in a reduced dues annual membership with reduced benefits. The results are as follows:

• Of the former members: 11% responded positively they would be interested in the reduced dues membership; 26% responded they were not sure; and, 63% responded they were not at all interested. Because of the small numbers involved, no firm conclusions could be drawn regarding what benefits those who were interested in the reduced dues membership were willing to give up, and there were no definite patterns to the answers.

• Interviews of current members had the following results: 16% responded positively they would be interested, and 84% responded they were not interested in giving up any benefits even if it meant their dues would be reduced.

Conclusions Regarding a Reduced Dues Annual Membership with Reduced Benefits: Based on the Telephone Survey results, it has been concluded the overall administrative and financial costs to the Society of developing and maintaining a new level of annual membership with reduced dues and reduced benefits would not be off-set by commensurate increases in membership. Therefore, the Membership/Public Affairs Committee recommends a reduced dues

Headquarters News annual membership not be established at this time. Other Valuable Information Gained From the 2005 Telephone Survey:

• The current annual dues rate is not a matter of concern for either a majority of former or current members.

• Sixty-five percent of those holding AHSGR annual memberships are 66 years of age or older; 89% are 56 years of age or older.

• Thirty-two percent of those holding annual memberships in AHSGR have been members for 16 years or more. However, 59% of the former members had held their memberships for less than five years.

• A large majority of both former and current annual members have a computer with access to the internet (82% former members and 83% of current members).

The above highlights are based on an initial review of the 2005 Telephone Survey findings. As the Membership/Public Affairs Committee continues to analyze the data, the results of these analyses will be applied, as appropriate, to the activities of the Committee or form the basis for recommendations for change to other committees or the Board of Directors.

Correction: The name “Joan Reb” in the last line on page 24 of the Fall 2005 Newsletter should have been John Reb. We sincerely apologize for the error.

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Headquarters News

LIFE MEMBERSHIP FEES TO CHANGE

EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2007 For an organization like AHSGR, life memberships provide reservoirs of members and moneys that help bring long-term stability to its activities. This year the Society celebrates its 38th anniversary and, therefore, is proud to report one-third of its current memberships are life memberships. This high figure reflects, in part at least, that the Life Membership Program has been in place since the early 1970s, and has been actively promoted and accepted by the membership as an outstanding way to support the mission of AHSGR. Two major factors must be kept in mind for a life membership program to be successful over the years. First, there is a natural attrition rate that affects the number of persons holding life memberships at any one time which requires an active, ongoing recruitment program; and second, the projected earning power of the fees must attempt to keep pace with the projected life-long member support costs. From the beginning, the Society has applied the one fee fits all approach to its program. The initial fee of $500 remained in place for some long time, and it is only in recent years that it was raised to $750. Meanwhile, life expectancy has increased; inflation has continued to steadily increase expenses; and, as is historically the case, the earning power of the life membership fees has fluctuated from unbelievable highs to unbelievable lows and everywhere in between. With these factors in mind, the Membership/Public Affairs Committee has been studying whether changes need to be made in the Society’s Life Membership Program fee schedule. Earlier this year, after studying actuarial tables and several earning projection scenarios, the Committee concluded changes are needed. Based on this conclusion, recommendations were made to the Board of Directors at its Spring Meeting in March to: (1)

implement a tiered approach to establishing the fees; and, (2) to establish a new fee schedule based primarily on actuarial tables and earnings projections. As a result of the Board’s deliberations, the following new Life Membership Program fee schedule will go into effect January 1, 2007.

• For persons age 40 years and younger: $1050.

• For persons age 41 to 55: $900. • For persons age 56 and older: $750.

For Family Life Memberships, the determining age will be that of the younger of the two spouses, and the five-year payment plan option will remain in effect: five annual payments of $210 for the $1050 fee; five annual payments of $180 for the $900 fee; and, five annual payments of $150 for the $750 fee. The current Life Membership fee of $750 regardless of age remains in effect until December 31, 2006. Author Seeking First World War Immigrant Stories I am writing a book about the American immigrant experience in the First World War (1914-1918) and I’m looking for stories of immigrant families who sent sons to fight in France or whose sons were drafted but refused to fight on religious grounds. I’m also eager to find stories about German-speaking families who suffered persecution during the war years. I’m especially interested in stories of soldiers and families whose attitudes toward America changed as a result of the war. Please contact: David Laskin, 18757 Ridgefield Rd. NW, Seattle, WA 98177, tel. 206-546-8856, e-mail d.laskin@verizon.net. Thank you.

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A Sneak Preview: Historical Research Symposium

By Patti Sellenrick, Chair, Historical Research

Committee

Plans for the 2006 International Convention of Germans from Russia are well underway. This convention will provide an excellent opportunity to learn more about your German-Russian heritage and to conduct your own personal research. The Historical Research Symposium on Saturday, August 19, will be a reflection of the goals and priorities outlined by the Historical Research Committee for 2006. Topics highlighting Russian research opportunities include "Researching the Engels Archives: Exploring Your German-Russian Heritage” presented by Elizabeth Erina, Director of the Engels Archives. Opportunities to learn more about the resources in Russia and the opportunity to visit the adopted homeland of the Germans from Russia are almost always where researchers tend to begin their search, and they are certainly at the top of the priority list for the Historical Research Committee. In the afternoon, Alexander Rupp, Chairman of the Berlin Brandenburg regional organization of the Landsmannschaft, and his daughter Dina will be speaking about the work of the Landsmannschaft and the integration of the Germans from Russia into German society. Their lifestyles and struggles to fit into a new society are areas of great interest since many of the families of our German-Russian ancestors have returned to Germany. The interested researcher can visit the website of the Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Russland at http://www.deutscheausrussland.de/ to learn more about this organization. Online translation programs are available for those individuals who do not read German.

Dr. Kerstin Somerholter, Assistant Professor of European Languages at St. Edward's University

Headquarters News

in Austin, Texas, will also be a guest speaker. Her dissertation on “Language Contact and Shift in the Soviet German Speech Community” has given her a unique insight into the influences of the Russian culture and language upon Germans from Russia who are recent immigrants to the Federal Republic of Germany from Siberia and Kazakhstan. A copy of her dissertation is available through the AHSGR bookstore for those who would like to learn more. In addition, Dr. Somerholter has been working with the Historical Research Committee and the University of Texas at Austin on the Aussiedler Tape project and she will be able to give an update on that project during the convention. An open forum will follow both the morning and afternoon sessions on Saturday, giving convention participants an opportunity to meet Elizabeth Erina, Alexander Rupp and his daughter Dina, and Dr. Somerholter. During this time convention participants can meet the speakers, ask questions, and learn more about their work.

The afternoon will conclude with a preview of the film, “Norka: A Passage in Time.” This documentary film offers an inside look at the village of Norka. In addition, Mr. Robert Benson has added information shared by former residents and descendents of Norka that makes this film an excellent resource for individuals interested not only in the village of Norka, but many of the surrounding villages. Work on the film is nearing completion, and it is anticipated that the film project will be completed either in time for the convention or shortly thereafter.

The AHSGR bookstore will sell copies of the film when it is completed. For those who pre-purchased the film in 2002-2003, your order will be filled as soon as the project is finished.

In one day you can learn about research opportunities in Russia, the work of the Landsmannschaft and the Aussiedler program in (continued on page 10)

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Headquarters News

(Sneak Preview continued from page 9) Germany, the study of dialects, and the history and continued research of the village of Norka. You won’t want to miss a single minute of these opportunities, so Mark your Calendar and Pack your Bags--Destination Lincoln, Nebraska. We’ll see you there!!!

To Obtain Your SOAR Member ID and Password…. Send an e-mail message with your name and address (for verification purposes) to soarlogin@ahsgrsoar.org. The SOAR (Saving Our Ancestral Records) web site www.ahsgrsoar.org was launched on 16 January. Using the site for searching is a free resource but your member ID and password will allow you to take advantage of the reduced fees for members when you decide to purchase and download one or more pages of the records. Remember that the keywords are for all names contained in an obituary. This means if you search for a particular surname, an obituary may be returned for a deceased person with a different name–but your search keyword is included somewhere within that obituary! For example, a search for Zitterkopf will include a return for Rogelio Nicacio Wilhelm because the maiden name of his wife was Zitterkopf (published 15 May 1946). Dennis Zitterkopf

AHSGR VISA CARD:

An Exclusive Invitation!

This is not "just another credit card offer." By responding to this invitation, you can acquire an AHSGR VISA card that shows your support for the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia in a very tangible way. In fact, you will demonstrate pride in your heritage every time you use the card. The AHSGR VISA card helps to generate vital funding for your Society. First International Bank and Trust will donate a royalty to AHSGR every time the card is used to make a purchase. These funds will be used to offset the Society’s general operating expenses. The AHSGR VISA card is designed to help you save money and time while making life simpler and giving you peace of mind, whether at home or when you travel. Of course, the benefit to AHSGR is also very important. All these benefits are in a credit card that carries no annual fee. To receive additional information on this exciting program and to applay for your card contact one of the following: AHSGR at 402-474-3363 or e-mail: ahsgr@ahsgr.org; or call First International Bank and Trust at 1-888-484-3428 and ask a representative to assist you in applying for an AHSGR VISA card. It is just that easy!

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Headquarters News

Glückstal Colonies

Research Association

By Margaret Freeman Margaret Freeman and Carolyn Wheeler started the Glückstal Colonies Research Association in 1988, in consultation with Arthur Flegel and Gwen Pritzkau. Much data of interest to our families was not published or accessible to the wider group of descendants from our colonies. Many of us had completed family histories, some quite extensive, and in the days before Glasnost and the St. Petersburg records, there were only limited opportunities for further research. We recognized that our families had lived together in North America, in the Glückstal villages,

and in various European regions before migrating east. The interrelationships were extensive and it seemed desirable to get them documented. It was time to move beyond visiting about our ancestors to seek out sources of information, and thus plans for the GCRA organization and GCRA Newsletter developed. For the first years, the Freemans supplemented the group's finances, as memberships were few and membership payment was inconsistent. When the group was put on a more businesslike footing, finances began to improve and income covered such costs as duplication, mailing and supplies. Initially, Arthur Flegel gave much help by translating from the Odessa Kalender and other German-language sources in his library. GCRA published “Declarations of Intent for US Citizenship” for Germans from Russia in various counties of main Glückstal settlement a decade before this data was digitized and placed on US Genweb or web sites of the state archives. When the GCRA Newsletter reached twenty pages in length and we were mailing to several hundred people, Michael M. Miller of North Dakota State University offered to duplicate and mail it as part of the university outreach. He continues to do that, and has also assisted in publishing our various books and annual reports. Today our twice-yearly GCRA Newsletter goes out to 400-500 recipients, along with various archives and libraries. The availability of the St. Petersburg records, filmed by the Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints was a huge research breakthrough. Early on, prodded by member Jeannie Whites compilation of all marriage records in this source, GCRA decided to translate all records from the Glückstal parishes and publish them. Thus, Glückstal Colonies Births and Marriages, 1833-1900, and Glückstal Colonies Deaths, 1833-1900, came into being. Later, responding to interest among the returnees to Germany, through the hard work of GCRA member Gerda Fadden, the books were translated into German, and Glückstal Kolonien Geburten und Eheschlieungen, 1833-1900, and Glückstal Kolonien Todesflle, 1833-1900, are now available. For all of these volumes, Harold Ehrman managed the desktop publishing. AHSGR sent GCRA a copy of the history of a Glückstal daughter colony, Marienberg, written by Johann Bollinger, at about the same time that Jan Stangl obtained a copy from her relatives in Germany. That was translated. At the same time, Tom Stangl was working with the Einwandererzentralstelle Liste [EWZ], the records made when the South Russians went to Poland with the German Army in 1944. Discovered and confiscated by the U.S. military at the end of WW II, microfilm copies have been retained in the US National Archives in Maryland, and he was finding much genealogy data. Jan happened on microfilms of

(continued on page 12)

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Headquarters News (Glückstal continued from page 11) the German language newspapers in the Dakotas, in which letters to and from South Russia were published. All of this was published in English and German in one volume, Marienberg, Fate of a Village, or Marienberg, Schicksal eines Dorfes, with Johann Bollinger and Janice Huber Stangl as the authors. Once again, the book was compiled and edited by Harold Ehrman; and, once again, the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection at North Dakota State University was the publisher. After Glasnost, groups began to visit Odessa and the villages of Glückstal, Neudorf, Bergdorf and Kassel, and the daughter colonies, mainly through Michael Millers tours, Journey to the Homeland, starting in 1996. This led to the establishment of a monument in the village of Glückstal, which compares to a county seat in the United States, in 2002. The monument, in German, Russian and English, is dedicated to all who lived, worked and died in the Glückstal colonies of Glückstal, Neudorf, Bergdorf, and Kassel over the years. With visits to Odessa, the groups members made contacts with the Odessa Regional Archives, and over time they have purchased over $10,000 worth of information in files relating to our group of colonies. Much of this has been translated and published in the GCRA Newsletter, and our various books. The documents on the relocation of the village of Kassel were translated and published in the Heritage Review of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society. Along the way, it was recognized that the Glückstal Colonies were founded nearly two hundred years ago. In order to celebrate this historic happening, a group consisting of Allyn Brosz, Harold Ehrman, Margaret (Aman) Freeman, Barbara (Geiger) Horn, James D. Klein, Gwen Pritzkau, Penny Raile, Homer Rudolf, Sally (Gross) Sologuk, Janice (Huber) Stangl, and Thomas A. Stangl met, planned and wrote an 800 page book, The Glückstalers of New Russia and North America: A Collection of History, Genealogy and Folklore, with Homer Rudolf as editor and Harold Ehrman as desktop publisher. With additional help from Connie Dahlke (women’s handwork and German-Russian clothing), Carol Just (Brauche and other healing practices), Rose Ketterling (midwifery), Richard Sandmeier (formatting preparation of the Points of Origin list), and Herb Tabert (assembling of several hundred thousand connected names from the Glückstal District villages), the book included another two thousand pages of information and pictures (donated by GCRA members and others) on two CDs, bundled with the book. Simultaneously with the book production, the group worked on a documentary, Heaven Is Our Homeland, The Glückstalers of New Russia and North America, written by Homer Rudolf, Janice (Huber) Stangl, Thomas A. Stangl, Allyn R. Brosz, Barbara (Geiger) Horn and James D. Klein, based on a written text by Ron Vossler. Allyn R. Brosz was narrator, Ryan Schumacher did the graphic design, executive producers were Bob Dambach and Homer Rudolf, and the documentary was produced by Roadshow Productions for the Glückstal Colonies Research Association. The documentary has been shown on Public Broadcasting stations in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Idaho, Utah, California, Kentucky, and Washington State, among others. Responding to the need for solid research information, Duane Stabler, Selma (Job) Lapp, and Keenan L. Stoecker, published The Researchers Guide to McPherson County, South Dakota Cemeteries, again by the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection of North Dakota State University in 2005. GCRA provided some financial help. The book includes a county history by GCRA member Bruce Mehlhaff, a listing of all cemeteries and their burials in the county, maps of cemetery locations, and color photos of each cemetery. A supplement has a surname index of burials, including female surnames, an alphabetical list of cemeteries with township locations, and an extensive list of additions or corrections, many of which include cause of death, and various bits of genealogical information. In conjunction with the Germans (continued on page 13)

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Headquarters News (Glückstal continued from page 12) from Russia Heritage Collection, GCRA maintains a Listserve at North Dakota State University. Today, in 2006, a group in conjunction with longtime Neudorf Village Coordinator Greg Dockter, is planning further publications, including information on the village of Neudorf, not widely available up to this time. It will also include updates on passenger lists, the inhabitants database, pictures of the descendants of Glückstal inhabitants, and any items that were not included in the 2004 book. It is scheduled for publication in 2008. As GCRA plans for future publications, and continues with the GCRA Newsletter of 64 pages annually, one can only marvel at the power of volunteers. GCRA has never had employees. GCRA achievements are a result of individuals donating time, skills, talents and wherewithal to get the job done. Many members have been with us for our eighteen years of existence, many pay their dues regularly, and many send a bit extra, to continue our work. Gratitude is owed to each who helped in any way to accomplish. these goals.

New Items for Sale in the AHSGR Bookstore

Jacob E. Dietz, History of the Volga German Colonists HB Members: $38.00; Non-members: $48.00 Dr. Igor R. Pleve, Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet (in German and Russian), Volume 3 HB Members $65.00; Non-members $85.00 Arthur E. Flegel, Extended Relationships of the Kulm, Leipzig, Tarutino Communities HB Members and Non-members $65.00 Life Story of Dr. Karl Stumpp, as told to Arthur E. Flegel PB Members $7.50; Non-members $9.50 James Leiker, The Changing Village: A History of Antonino, Kansas, 1905-2005 PB Members and Non-members $20.00 Ronald J. Vossler & Joshua J. Vossler, The Old God Still Lives: German Villagers in Czarist and Soviet Ukraine Write Their American Relatives, 1915-1924 HB Members and Non-members $35.00

Adolph Lesser, Polka Varieties CD Members $15.00; Non-members $20.00 Eva Jacobs, History and Songs of the Volga Germans, Volume I CD Members and Non-members $12.00 Eva Jacobs, History and Songs of the Volga Germans, Volume II CD Members and Non-members $12.00 Lawrence A. Weigel, Volga German Customs and Traditions, 1763-1976 CD Members and Non-members $17.00 Lawrence A. Weigel, Volga German Folk Humor CD Members and Non-members $15.00 Lawrence A. Weigel, Volga German Customs and Traditions, 1763-1976 CD Members and Non-members $17.00 Lawrence A. Weigel, Volga German Folk Humor CD Members and Non-members $15.00

13

Headquarters News

Convention Update

The 37th Annual International Convention of AHSGR in Lincoln, Nebraska, August 14-20, 2006, is an event not to miss. Guest speakers are: Elizabeth Barker, Tecumseh, OK; Robert Benson, Sacramento, CA; Dr. Patricia Cox Crews, UNL Lincoln, NE; Dr. med. Alexander Eichhorn, Bornheim, Germany; Dr. Jacob Eichhorn, Midland, MI; Elizabeth Erina, Russia; Ed Gaither, Lincoln, NE; Kenneth Leffler, Sonora, CA; Gwen K. Meister, Lincoln, NE; Alexander Rupp, Germany; John Schleicher, Omaha, NE; Eleanor Sissell, Orangevale, CA; Larry Weigel, Jr., Manhattan, KS. Music! Music! Music! Music is being featured throughout the convention so plan to bring your singing voice. A fun treat will be the Traveling Road Show on Friday night. Bring your treasures to share and find out what they are worth! The convention site will be the Embassy Hotel in downtown Lincoln. The rate is $109 per night and rooms can be reserved by calling 1-800-362-2779. A full breakfast and a Happy Hour each evening complete with appetizers are included for each guest. Be sure to tell them you are attending the AHSGR Convention. Be sure to

tell them you are attending the ASHGR Convention. You won’t want to miss the genealogical, folklore and historical symposiums. We’ll be waiting for all of you with a hearty welcome!

Author Seeking First World War Immigrant Stories I am writing a book about the American immigrant experience in the First World War (1914-1918) and I’m looking for stories of immigrant families who sent sons to fight in France or whose sons were drafted but refused to fight on religious grounds. I’m also eager to find stories about German-speaking families who suffered persecution during the war years. I’m especially interested in stories of soldiers and families whose attitudes toward America changed as a result of the war. Please contact: David Laskin, 18757 Ridgefield Rd. NW, Seattle, WA 98177, tel. 206-546-8856, e-mail d.laskin@verizon.net. Thank you.

Heritage Center, Lincoln, Nebraska

14

Headquarters News

ACHTUNG! ACHTUNG! STATE OF KANSAS, CITY OF HAYS,

SELECTED TO HOST 2007 INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION The American Historical Society of Germans from Russia has announced that the state of Kansas and the city of Hays have been chosen to host their 2007 International Convention. Upon hearing word that Hays, Kansas, submitted a bid for the event, Calgary, Canada, also in the running, deferred their bid and plan to host the 2009 Convention. The prestigious event is predicted to bring nearly 1,000 visitors to Hays. “The Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau is delighted that Hays was selected to host this event. Being the German Capital of Kansas, we feel like Ellis County is the ideal place for an event of this caliber,” said Janet Kuhn of the Hays CVB. Volga German settlers began arriving in Ellis County in the mid-1870's. They were so named because prior to coming to the United States they had settled along the Volga River in Russia. Coming from a harsh climate, the Volga Germans were able to adapt and thrive in the region. These very religious people expressed creativity in the construction of beautiful churches, many of which are still in use in the communities surrounding Hays. The most famous of the churches is St. Fidelis Church, more commonly referred to as "the Cathedral of the Plains," which stands today as a monument to the Volga German immigrants and their enduring lifestyle.

“Germans from Russia all around the world have heard of Ellis County, but many have never actually had a chance to visit the area. This will be a homecoming for some and a new experience for others. Having been to several international conventions myself, I can’t wait to be a part of this one on our soil,” said Leona Pfeifer, Convention Co-chairman.

The International Convention, slated to take place June 10-17, will host visitors from all across the U.S. as well as foreign countries. The gathering consists of organizational business, a variety of notable speakers, musicians, dancing troupes, folklore, genealogy, and various socials. The organization has 3,217 members and is headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. On the local level, AHSGR has chapters in Hays, Russell, Salina, Topeka, Kansas City, Wichita, and Dodge City. All local chapters will be assisting the Sunflower Chapter of Hays with organizing and over-seeing the convention.

The Convention is coordinated under the direction of the International Board of Directors of AHSGR and a Steering Committee which includes: Leonard Schoenberger, Ellis, Kansas; Leona Pfeifer, Hays; Karen Penner, Newton; Carol Riffel, Wichita; Jeremy Dannebohm, Hays; Jean Carr; Wichita; Denise Grau, Topeka; Sister Alice Ann Pfeifer, Hays; Betty Pfannenstiel, Munjor; Dennis Zitterkopf, Wichita; Evelynn Huggins, Topeka; Kevin Rupp, Hays; and Diane White, Lincoln, Nebraska.

While planning and preparing for an event of this magnitude may seem like an overwhelming task, Leonard Schoenberger, Co-chairman of the event, is no stranger to organizing AHSGR gatherings. Along with attending several previous conventions, this is the second International Convention Schoenberger has helped organize.

“Visitors can expect a good show. One thing we promised the International Board is that Ellis County will go down in history as hosting one of the great conventions. With all of our area heritage, we are really anticipating a good local representation. Along with the local flavor, we are going to usher in some great speakers, many of whom are publicly known international figures,” Schoenberger said.

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Headquarters News On October 21, 2006, the Sunflower Chapter of Hays will also be hosting the Sunflower Round-Up, a state-wide convention of AHSGR. Along with the normal schedule of events, the Round-up will serve as a time to plan and prepare for the international visitors. The Holiday Inn Convention Center has been selected as the venue for both the 2006 Sunflower Round-Up and the 2007 International Convention. During both events, the Convention and Visitors Bureau will be providing tours of several famous Ellis County landmarks. Members of the staff at both the Hays CVB and the Holiday Inn will accompany Schoenberger, Pfeifer, Rupp, and Dannebohm as they travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, in August for the 2006 International Convention. During their stay in Lincoln, the group hopes to generate enthusiasm and distribute information on the state of Kansas and the city of Hays “It’s a very good time to be a German from Russia and call Hays home,” said Jeremy Dannebohm, Publicity Director for the event. “Our heritage and our history is so rich; we are proud to have an international organization dedicated to its preservation. It is my hope Unsere Leute (our people) will take ownership of this historic gathering and join the local chapter to assist with the International Convention.” Individuals wishing to join the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia can do so by contacting Kevin Rupp, President of the Sunflower Chapter in Hays, Kansas. Rupp will help potential members contact their local chapters. Rupp can be reached at 785.625.6638. For more information regarding the 2006 Sunflower Round-Up or the 2007 International Convention log on to www.volgagerman.net.

Newest Additions to the Library

Kraus Reunion July 17-20, 2003. Handbook and Gazetteer. Dick Kraus, Editor. Lutherische Kirche in der Welt. Folge 53 2006. The Old God Still Lives: Ethnic Germans in Czarist and Soviet Ukraine Write Their American Relatives 1915-1924. Translated, edited and with an introduction by Ronald J. Vossler and Joshua J. Vossler. Illustrated by Joshua J. Vossler.

Immigration, The American West and the Twentieth Century German From Russia, Omaha Indian and Vietnamese Urban Villagers in Lincoln, Nebraska, A Dissertation By Kurt Kinbacher under the supervision of Professor John R. Wunder, History Department, University of Nebraska. Donated by Kurt Kinbacher, PH.D. 25th Anniversay—Harvest of Memories Ernte der Erinnerungen. Calgary Chapter, AHSGR. Jornada, Romance sobre a emigracao alema para a Russia (1762-1782), By Sergio Neville Holzmann. Portuguese text. Russo-Nemetskye Kulturnye Svyazi Istoriya i Sovremennost. Materially Dokladov I Vystupleniy Uchastnikov ezhdunarodnoi Natchno-Prakticheskoi Konferentsil i Dnei Nemetskoi Kultury na Volge. Samara, 14-15 July 1994. (continued on page 20)

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To All Past Attendees of the German-Russian Cultural Festival in Leader, SK

German-Russian Cultural Festival October 13, 14, 15, 2006, Leader, Saskatchewan

We will be limiting the number attending to 300. Register early if you plan to attend! If you register and subsequently cannot attend, you will be reimbursed the registration fee, less a processing fee of $10 per person. There will be no refunds after October 1, 2006. Registration begins on Friday, October 13, at 6:00 PM and will be followed by the Opening Address at 7:45 PM. Pork ribs and sauerkraut, smoked pork hocks, homemade sausage and homemade potato and cabbage salads will be served at the Saturday evening banquet. Book displays will be accessible all weekend. A blacksmithing display featuring iron crosses will be available on Saturday. The Sunday Church Service at 10:00 AM will conclude the festival. Speakers and presenters are as follows:

Joe and Linda Elder…..An account of their recent trip to Russia Betty Lang…………....Home Remedies Merv Weiss…………...His search for his German-Russian relations Dr. Peter Penner Ted Becker………........”dem Cherman Rooshans” Ron Vossler…………..German-Russian Humor Val Wangler………….Genealogical info found in Staats-Anzeiger newspapers Sandra Steltes………... “Doing Things Right” Bob Schneider………..Organizing tours to Russia Klementina Hoffer……Her life story in Russia

REGISTRATION FORM. Please Print. Please include the names of all registrants. Name(s): _________________________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Phone: _________________ Email or Fax: ______________________________

Cost per person

Number required Total

Registration (INCLUDES ALL WORKSHOPS, SESSIONS, SATURDAY EVENING BANQUET) $40.00

Total Enclosed

Make Cheques (Cdn $) Payable to German Russian Cultural Festival. Send the completed form and payment to:

German Russian Cultural Festival C/o Tim Geiger

Box 624 Leader, SK S0N 1H0

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT TIM GEIGER AT 306.628.4335 or tgeiger@sasktel.net or

visit www.leader.ca

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2nd Annual AHSGR Membership Campaign

starts with a Cowboy “Hoot and Holler” at the

Oklahoma City Convention!

New members are critical to the continued success of AHSGR! You can make a difference - talk to family and friends!

Buy a gift membership! This campaign is designed to reward both new, and referring members who recommend new members or purchase gift memberships. It will begin August 15, 2005 and will end with the Grand Prize drawing at the 2006 Lincoln Convention. Pick up an application at convention or on-line at http://www.ahsgr.org As an additional benefit, both new and referring members will receive discounts on a vast array of books from the AHSGR Bookstore. A Membership Campaign Booklist will be posted in the Convention Bookstore or will be attached to your Discount Certificate.

• The first 25 people who join AHSGR will receive a 50% discount on any one book on the Membership Campaign Booklist. (The referring member for the first 25 people who join will receive the same discount.)

• Thereafter, new members will receive a 25% discount on one book on the Membership Campaign Booklist. (The referring member will receive the same discount.)

For AHSGR members who take up the challenge to refer family and friends to AHSGR membership, the rewards can be even greater. For 10 new member referrals, you will receive one free book on the Membership Campaign Booklist.

“GEWALTIG PREIS” (Grand Prize) All New and Referring Members will be entered in the drawing for the grand prize - a one-week vacation at one of the 22 available Fairfield Resorts. The 2 bedroom deluxe

condo sleeps 6-8, includes full kitchen and many other luxury amenities. Your only cost would be food and transportation.

As the old adage says in ten, two letter words:

I f it is to be, it is up to me!

FOR EACH OF YOU - THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO ASSURE THE FUTURE OF AHSGR!

18

Headquarters News

Requests from Abroad 1) Jerzy Polzenius is searching for information on his great-great-great-grandfather Samuel Polzenius born in 1782. He

might have moved to Ozorkow, Poland in 1830. Jerzy Polzenius, a_jo@wp.pl

7) Wilhelm Thommy has been looking for a long time for his uncle Anton Wolf who was born in the 1890’s in Zaporozhye, Ukraine. In 1918 Anton left his family and went to Germany with his brother Josef.

2) German Araya from Argentina is asking for information about his great-grandparents from Saratov. Andreas Kloster, born 1885-1890, son of Cristian Kloster and Barbara Tiel, and Catalina Holzman, whose parents were Jose Holzman and Margarita Klain. The couple got married in Argentina. German Araya, germaraya@hotmail.com 3) Alexander Wilhelm needs help in his family research. His grandfather Wilhelm Peter, son of Wilhelm Philip was born 1887-1888 in Pobochnoe. He was married twice: to Sofia Knack, and Anna Maria, daughter of Egor, and had 5 children. In 1920 he moved to Khutor Druzhinin. Alexander Wilhelm, Windthorststr. 15, 67436 Speyer, Germany

Anton Wolf's son with his family While Josef got married and stayed in Munich, Anton immigrated to America. A picture of Anton’s son with his family is available. Wilhelm Thommy, Pfarrer-Vogg-Str 14, 89358 Kammeltal, Germany

4) Alexander Eberz is interested in information about Eber(ts)z family from Rastadt, Odessa area. Alexander Eberz, Sonnenweg 82, 38518 Gifhorn, Germany 5) Maria Kramer is looking for the descendants of her great uncle Philipp Hopfauf, born 1887, son of Peter Hopfauf and Franziska Butsch, from Karlsruhe/ Ukraine. In 1914 he immigrated to the USA and settled in the Chicago area. Maria Kramer, Neckarstr 75, 70806 Kornwestheim, Germany; jurgenk2000@web.de

8) Wladimir Kopusow is trying to find Elenberger family members. They came from Langenfeld in the Volga area. Jacob Elenberger, Wladimir’s great-grandfather, was born in the 1870’s and married Kniss Wesskreit. He came to America at the beginning of the 20th century. Wladimir Kopusow, Hauptstr 39, 66953 Pirmaseus, Germany; WladimirKopusow@freenet.de 9) Nelly Meissner wishes to find descendants of her great-great-grandfather Karl Meissner born in 1858 in Grimm and married to Katarina Sott. The village nickname for the family was “rotkoepfiche Michels” as Michels Meissner, born in 1824, had red hair. In 1912-1914, Karl’s daughter Scharlotta Meissner, born in 1882, immigrated to America with her husband. They received money and parcels until 1937 when the contact was broken. Nelly Meissner, Nichtenberger Str 8, 38120 Braunschweig, Germany

6) Paulina Kusmin is hoping to hear from those who knew her mother’s [Anna (Anastasia)] brother Alexander Weht from Brabander, Volga area. He was born about 1883. He came over and lived not far from Los Angeles. Last contact was in 1928. Paulina Kusmin, Gogginger Str 63, 86159 Augsburg, Germany

(continued on page 20)

19

Headquarters News

(Requests continued from page 19) 10) Juri Hegwald is searching for his uncle and his descendants. The Hegwald (Gegwald, Heichwald, Haichwald) family is from Rosenfeld on the Volga. Juri’s grandfather, Egor Hegwald, was married to Tilmann Katerina, and there were 7 children. Egor tried to flee Russia with all the family in 1915-1923 but only the eldest son whose first name might have been Johanes Hegwald (1895-1900) emigrated. His wife and child stayed behind, but later died from typhoid. For some time the family received letters and packets from Canada. Yuri Hegwald, juri.h@superkabel.de (New additions continued from page 16) Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet 1764-1761 Band 3. Kolonien Laub-Preuss. By Igor Pleve hrsg von Alfred Eisfeld. My Grandparents. A Collection of Stories, History, Photos and Genealogy of the Gottlieb and Lydia Klauser Hardt Family. By Jon Hardt. Donated by Jon Hardt A Thumbnail Sketch of the Kuks. By Montford Cook. A History or Genealogy of the Bleth-Freed Families. By Jessie Taylor-Zehr. Wetzstein, Judt and Related Families. Volume II. By Sister Mary Leo Bleth. Donated by Arthur Flegel. A History of the Michael Wetzstein Margaretha Judat and Related Families Volume I. By Sister Mary Leo Bleth. Donated by Arthur Flegel.

The Linenberger Genealogy. By Amy Topler and Agnes Dreiling. Donated by Arthur Flegel. A Wagner Family Odyssey. By Fonda D. Baselt A Wagner Family Odyssey. From Germany to Russia to America. A Supplement to the Wagner, Wilhelm, Rudy, Lamm and Kiel. By Fonda D. Baselt. Wanderers Between Two Worlds. German Rebels in the American West 1830-1860. By Douglas Hale. Die„ deutsche Frage” im Schwarzmeergebiet und in Wolhynien. Politik, Wirtschaft, Mentalitaten und Alltag im Spannungsfeld von Nationalizmus und Modernisierung (1856-1914). By Dietmar Neutatz . German text. History of the Volga German Colonists. By Jacob Dietz. English Text. CD’s ADDED: Dutch Hop. Music of the Germans from Russian performed by Adolph Lesser and his Polka Band and Paul Weingardt and his Polka Band. On Location With Adolph & Friends. By Adolph Lesser. Polka Varieties. By Adolph Lesser.

$$$ WORTH MONEY!

Save Inkjet/Laser cartridges and cell phones.Don’t throw them away. A recycling company

will forward the money to AHSGR. For mailing envelopes call 1·800·368·5881

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Germans from Russia Oral History Project Continues in North Dakota and Saskatchewan In the spring of 2005 the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, NDSU Libraries, launched the Dakota Memories Oral History Project in order to document and preserve the history and heritage of Germans from Russia on the Northern Plains. During the first field season, Jessica Clark, Project Coordinator, and Will Clark, videographer, collected more than thirty interviews, primarily in Gackle, Wishek, Streeter, Ashley, and Berlin, North Dakota. For the 2006 field season we will continue this landmark project by adding more than fifty interviews to the collection. The interest in and support of this project has prompted us to employ a second interviewer, Sarah Lacher, and videographer Craig Johnson who will be conducting interviews in Linton and Strasburg from May 13-19 and in Linton, Strasburg, Hague, and Venturia from May 24-31. In July the Clarks will be conducting interviews in the Rugby area for one week and in Saskatchewan

Headquarters News (Tramping Lake, Regina, Saskatoon, and Allan areas) for three weeks. From August 5-13, Lacher and Johnson will be conducting more interviews in the Lehr/Kulm area. This project is sponsored primarily by the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, NDSU Libraries, Center for Heritage Renewal, and Theresa Mack Germans from Russia History Doctoral Fellowship. We have also received a grant from the Canadian Embassy for interviews in Saskatchewan. This project has received additional funding from the NDSU Development Foundation, North Dakota Humanities Council, Germans from Russia Cultural Preservation Foundation, Glueckstal Colonies Research Association, and a number of private donors. For more information, please contact Jessica Clark at 701-231-8419 or Jessica.Clark@ndsu.edu, or Michael Miller at 701-231-8416 or Michael.Miller@ndsu.edu. The Dakota Memories Oral History Project website is: www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/grhc/history_culture/oral/interviews/project.htm

New Pleve Charts Surname: Reichenborn Villages: Schuck, Koehler Donated by: Raymond Reigenborn Special Instructions: Notify submitter Surname: Salwasser Village: Stahl am Tarlyk Donated by: Gene Lehman Special Instructions: Notify submitter Surname: Unruh Villages: Sabara, Ostrog, Karlswald Donated by: (C1) Mark Dirks, 8735 West Lane, Winton, CA 95388 Special Instructions: Notify submitter. Purchase from AHSGR, 631 D Street, Lincoln, NE 68502

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Headquarters News Welcome to our newest Members! If someone lives close to you give them a call and personally welcome them to AHSGR. Don’t forget to invite them to your Chapter meeting! Paul Acouaviva 207 Rue Republique La Farlede 83210 France Ostrock, Schultz Stanely G. Andersen 830 West Street Taylors Falls, MN 55084 stannandersen@frontiernet.net Don & Virginia Anderson 5744 Zane Avenue N Crystal, MN 55429-2737 Davacrystal@aol.com Kutter James & Jeanette Anderson 2224 27th Avenue Greeley, CO 80634 Sharlyne Anderson 1119 Lassen View Drive Lake Almanor, CA 96137 realake@thegrid.net Allan D. Angus 6209 S. 184th Street Omaha, NE 68135-1770 adangus@mac.com Graf, Herzog, Leichtling, Seewald Kathy Archibald 17753 114th Street Hettinger, ND 58639 kathyarc@ndsupernet.com Koch Kolb Julia Ashby 3036 Palo Alto NE Albuquerque, NM 87111 ASHBYJULIA@aol.com John & Kay Baird 3880 Garden Valley Road Roseburg, OR 97470 bairdrvfts@mcsi.net Bergdorf, Marienberg, Neudorf

Renae V. Barnett 11857 W. Driftwood Ct Boise, ID 83713 renaebarnett@hotmail.com Joann Baroh 725 161st Street South Spanaway, WA 98387 Siekert Lillian M. Bauer 842 Foxcroft Court #148 Lincoln, NE 68510 Jerry J. Bender 307 Randolph Sq. Pkwy. Richmond, VA 23238 jerryjbender@comcast.net Eugene Beye, Jr. 702 Owens Street Rockville, MD 20850 beyee@gao.gov Kauk, Klein, Ochsner, Oberlander, Ficks, Knobel, Roemmich, Walther, Trautman Worms, Peterstal Irene Boam 2781 W. Celeste #1 Fresno, CA 93711-2226 Caroline Bouterse 2935 Memory Lane Kalamazoo, MI 49007 rjbout@kalamazoo.net Walter Darryl W. Boyd 1019 Stimel Drive Concord, CA 94518-3948 leichtling@boydhouse.com Paulette Breaks 24881 - 8th Avenue Aldergrove, BC V4W 2G5 Canada schroh@telus.net Jerold & Dorothy Brethauer 330 N. 44th Avenue Greeley, CO 80634

Gregory & Mary Bruning 7100 N. 176th Street Waverly, NE 68462 JS93504@alltel.net Arnold A. Burgemeister 3660 S. Pleasant Valley Rd American Falls, ID 83211 Vonburgie@aol.com Selz, Freudental Joseph & Marlene Cady 9209 Long Peak Drive Henderson, CO 80640 Geis Frank, Walter, Donhof Vonnie C'debaca 8685 Aspen Circle Parker, CO 80134 Gillig, Hadicke (Haekicke) Grimm Lise Christiansen 790 W. 640 N Orem, UT 84057-3666 lisec@xmission.com Lyle A. Christman 3027 S. 204th Street #61 Seatac, WA 98198 salty55@hotmail.com Erker John & Flora Debacker 3221 NW Topeka Blvd. Topeka, KS 66617 Eichler Dorothy J. Dermer 40 Madison Street #104 Denver, CO 80206 Don M. Derruisseaux 550 County Road Pawnee, OK 74058-5057 Mark Dreith 7818 Capri Cirels Houston, TX 77095 Corinne Fenley 7 Westover Court Orinda, CA 94563

Michele T. Flaherty 898 N. Cindy Avenue Clovis, CA 93611-6762 flahertyt@sbcglobal.net Schroh, Jungheim Volmer, Neu-Colonie, Seewald, Saratov Daniel Froehlich 634 SW 7th Street Corvallis, OR 97333-4319 defro@preaxis.com Zackery Gay 723 Elm Street #5 Hancock, MI 49930 zbgay@mtu.edu Koch Huck, Norka James R. Glick 1428 Montose Avenue Royal Oak, MI 48073 jglick1428@comcast.net Burgemeister, Blotzke, Radke, Gutsche, Alt Elft, Denewitz, Krasna, Katzbach, Cogealac, Kulm Susan Becker Graham 1561 Chutney Court Colorado Springs, CO 80907 SKbecker@adelphia.net Prof. Diether Haenicke 3019 Waldo Library Kalamazoo, MI 49009 diether.haenicke@wmich.edu Margaret Hafner 4685 Park Nicollet Avenue #113 Prior Lake, MN 55372 Julie N. Hawbaker PO Box 625 Golden, CO 80402

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Headquarters News Donald & Sharron Heidinger-Steffen 960 Brickner Road College Place, WA 99324 tnthings@my180.net Kenneth D. Herr Box 1874 Atikokan, ON, Canada kdherr@sympatico.ca Ray & Clara Herr 2889 San Pasqual #A37 Pasadena, CA 91107 Marge Hoeng 281 Chapman Hill Road #1 Bigfork, MT 59911 turktrot@centurytel.net Dreith, Roth Beideck Ellen L. Honoroff 2839 Ruth Court Cameron Park, CA 95682 EHonoroff@hotmail.com Irvene K. Hughes 994 Greenview Des Plaines, IL 60016 ihughes@facs.org Kerner, Flaherty Janice Hunter 500 17th Avenue Waseca, MN 56093 hunterja@hickoryteck.net Peter C. Isaak 463 Yokuts Drive Lodi, CA 95240 Krenz, Schneider Saratov Fred Isernhagen 5347 S. Telluride Way Centennial, CO 80015 fisernhage@aol.com Roth, Leisle Warenburg, Bloomenfeld R. Lewis Kiehn 1856 Itasca Avenue Sacramento, CA 95835

Mr. & Mrs. Harry Koch 909 Colony Lane Lincoln, NE 68505 JS93504@alltel.net Robert L. Koch 2724 Knollwood Drive Indianapolis, IN 462286 arlkay4519@sccglobal.net Rosemary La Parta 4902 W. Oxford Avenue Denver, CO 80236 Mrs. Norma Lamont 94 Hallbrook Drive SW Calgary, AB T2V 3H6 lamontn@gkti.com Bessarabia Gary & Sharon Lobe W 13 Roloff Road Box 459 Lind, WA 99341 lobes@ritzcom.net Schwab Charles J. Meisinger 207 Taylor Park Drive Lincoln, NE 68510 Lorenz Mielke 2484 W. Houston Waring Cir Littleton, CO 80120 mielkelo@juno.com Lipp, Fisher Ilzas, Strausberg Everett & Joanne Mill 5517 Hacker Circle Cheyenne, WY 82009 Claus, Eurich(k) Balzer Louise Miller c/o Sheri Reiswig Touchet, WA 99360-9570 Sharon Fox Minarovic 4654 S. Lake Road Colgate, WI 53017-9726 sfoxm@hotmail.com Janice Maire Muday 957 East John Beers Road Saint Joseph, MI 49085 JAN@muday.com Hoffnungstal

Linda & Joseph Newbry c/o Mrs. Erik Woodhouse Oakley, ID 83346 jlnewbry@yahoo.com Jim Osborne 5601 W. Berenice Chicago, IL 60634 kentucky_colonel_jimosborn@yahoo.com Koch, Wacher (Walker) Huck, Norka Oshkosh Public Library 106 Washington Avenue Oshkosh, WI 54901 Stephanie Parli 545 Dovewood Court Coalinga, CA 93210-2533 charlynn31@sbcglobal.net Chisholm Michael Pelletier 6066 Highland Gardens Dr N Las Vegas, NV 89031 Lobe, Humbert, Hoffmeyer Erdmannsweiler, Soest, Westfalen, Prussi Kulm, Akkeman, Bessarabia Henrietta K. Perry 46094 WCR 29 Nunn, CO 80648 Christie E. Phelps 1719 Maiden Lane Wenatchee, WA 98801 Dorothy L. Plato 217 N. Lailani Street Las Vegas, NV 89110-5114 Wolf, Ruff, Stahley Danny L. Pool 802 Bowman Drive Reno, NV 89503 dannypool@charter.net

Kathy Priester 902 Frazier Drive Walla Walla, WA 99362 Fox/Fuchs Norka Erwin & Jane Rall 1401 Cardinal Street Lodi, CA 95242 erall@softcom.net K. Dean Ray PO Box 1325 Soldotna, AK 99669 Abt, Bondank, Führ, Kern, Wett, Blein, Böchner, Schwartz Brabander, Dehler, Rothammel, Lauwe Scott & Linda Read PO Box 2064 Beaumont, CA 92223 Lawrence J. Reichert 341 210th Avenue Hays, KS 67601 lreichert@webtv.net Ahlenslager Stahl Robert Reincke 925 ½ Westbourne Drive West Hollywood, CA 90069 robertreincke@sbcglobal.net Peter, Stoltz Alexefuskoe, Stauropolskoi, Blagoparshinklovo Dick & Susan Rippen 1504 Nebraska Street Mound City, MO 64470 Emma Robbins 2219 Walnut Bellingham, WA 98225 Seefried Richard & Kathleen Schaffer 632 Agate Court Fort Collins, CO 80525 Ralph & Marilyn Schleiger 639 Scott Avenue Salina , KS 67401 mschleiger@cox.net

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Headquarters News

Don Schmidt 309 - 916 Cloudel Drive Winnipeg, MB R3V 1W9 Galen Schmidtberger 109 Carrie Street Gorham, KS 67640 Bergreen Theodore & Lydia Schreiber 4020 Carr Street Wheat Ridge, CO 80033-4419 Edward W. Schultz, Jr. 15450 - 18 Mile Road C316 Clinton Township, MI 48038 Schroenchen,Obermonjou Karen Scribner 7732 Erin Court Lincoln, NE 68507 kkscrib@neb.rr.com Hardt, Riedel Kutter, Beideck, Gnadendorf Ephriam & Hilda Sieler 122 Texas Street Rapid City, SD 57701 ehsieler@rushmore.com Frank & Helen Smith 1117 Claremont Street Lincoln, NE 68508 Jeannine Stake 2034 Crown View Street Henderson, NV 89052 Norka JEAN-9@cox.net

James & Martha Ann Stockert 7942 Fair Oaks Avenue Dallas, TX 75231 jimstock@flash.net Katherine Stone 803 S. Superior Street #106 Albion, MI 49224 bossnack@yahoo.com Herzog John & Barbara Stumpf 407 Arlington Avenue Elmhurst, IL 60126 stumpfarl@comcast.net John & Barbara Stumpf 407 Arlington Avenue Elmhurst, IL 60126 stumpfarl@comcast.net Krieger, Orbach Carol Talbot 9 Bowley Road Hailsham, East Sussex BN27 2DB caroltalbot@mac.com Donald & Doris Taylor 2535 S. 20th Street Lincoln, NE 68502 John & Diana Templefeld 1012 Basin Court Windsor, CO 80550 Kauk, Klein, Ochsner, Oberlander, Ficks, Knobel, Roemmich, Walther, Trautman Worms, Peterstal

Mr. Larry D. Thomas 10184 Grove Goop Unit B Westminster, CO 80031 Denise Toriani 2543 Elm Street River Grove, IL 60171-1616 dentori@aol.com Ostwald Town of Windsor Windsor, CO 80550 Esther (Beltz) Trekell 7400 Clarewood Drive #717 Houston, TX 77036 esther@clarewoodhouse.com Kate Van Fleet 3721 Green Avenue #2 Los Alamitos, CA 90720 Eirich Schwed Frank Veninga 1020 University Street #102 Seattle, WA 98101 Charles Wacher 10525 Northgate Drive Palo Cedro, CA 96073 patrichas@shasta.com

David Wagner 25318 Wind Dance Ranch Road Custer, SD 57730 gmawag@yahoo.com Freudental, Alexanderhilf, Hoffnengstal, Teptilz Eugene & Sharon Wardwell 5567 Fernbrook Court S Salem, OR 97306 wardwelljr@cs.com Larry Weigel 1011 Poyntz Avenue Manhattan, KS 66502 larryw@keatinginc.com Wagner, Reisdorfer, Forster Harold Wiest 851 Sicamore Drive Kam Loops, BC Canada V2B 6S1 hwiest@telus.net Weigel Hertzog Corrections: Karen Day Email: day.karen@comcast.net Marcella Kettmann PO Box 591473 Houston, TX 77259 rmkett@ev1.net Schneider, Anker, Schwerdt, Graf, Roth Kutter, Kohler, Kamenka

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Village Coordinator News Schilling and Dobrinka Gary Martens, Village Coordinator I started working on genealogy about 25 years ago, when my wife urged me to work on her family’s history. We were able to get to Tennessee once a year and started gathering information from various sources. On the maternal side of the family, her one great-grandmother emigrated from Finland in 1902. My wife always thought it would be great to travel to Finland. In 1995 that dream became a reality when I went to work for Nokia, a Finnish company, and we spent six months living in Finland. In April 1995 we traveled on the Finland-to-Sweden ferry to the Aland Islands, an autonomous part of Finland, where my wife’s great-grandmother had grown up. We met an archivist at the Aland Provincial Archives. She became interested in the family because one of my wife’s ancestors was an important Aland architect in the early 1800’s. We got some of the family history while we were there; but when we returned home in July 1995, there was a package waiting for us from the archivist with the family history going back to the 1600’s. My Martens family has lived in Nebraska since the late 1800’s. I’ve done extensive collection of data on the Martens and related families. I became interested in the USGenWeb Project during this research. When the county coordinator position became open for Lincoln County, I took that position, and now am also county coordinator for Polk and Seward Counties in Nebraska. My mother’s parents were German-Russians. Until the mid-1990’s, I had no idea that her family had lived in Russia since 1764. We had been led to believe that our grandmother was a German who worked in Moscow. When I found out they were German-Russians, there was very little information available. My mother and her brothers and sisters had passed away. The only information to go on was a birthplace listed on

my uncle’s application for a delayed birth certificate, which I figured out to be Dobrinka. I don’t recall how I found out that my grandfather was from Schilling. When Sam Sinner started his graduate studies and gave up being a VC for Schilling, I immediately knew I wanted the position. I have since added all the Schilling villages (six) except Alexandertal. I started with no database for Schilling, but have built it to 6300 people with extensive data on a number of families from Schilling. I have a Pleve chart of my grandmother’s Weimer family, and I enjoy sharing that information with the few people in this country that have Weimer from Dobrinka connections. Using census records, I obtained information on most of my grandfather’s Worster family from Schilling. I hope to have details on the family as soon as I receive a Worster chart. Thanks to the previous Dobrinka VC, Arliss Hoskins, I have a Dobrinka database of approximately 2000 people. I will continue to add to that database, helping people with Dobrinka and Schilling connections. I will continue to disseminate my database information as people request it and as I find family connections.

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Village Coordinator News

Alt-Danzig, Guldendorf, Hoffnungstal, Neu-Danzig Curt Renz, Village Coordinator Asking questions about family and heritage while visiting with my grandfather in 1952, I found his stories so fascinating that I was "hooked" for life and wanted to know more. Eventually running out of living sources for my own family research, I decided to collect data on anyone who came from my four ancestral villages in Russia through live interviews, letters, cemetery searches, etc. Joining AHSGR and attending the 1972 convention, I began meeting people with the same village connections through the surname exchange. Shortly thereafter, I joined a small group of individuals who at AHSGR conventions, under the leadership of Gerda Walker, were known as Village Coordinators. It was there that I learned that what I'd been doing fit perfectly under the VC profile. I collect, extract, and organize family groupings associated with the villages and continue to work on verification of points of origin in Germanic States. I also continue to collect and extract letters from American German-language newspapers sent from the villages to family or friends in America. In addition to possessing an 1848 history for each village, I also do or have the following:

Hoffnungstal-Bessarabia collection: Possess various Personnalbuchs for the years 1847-1879, 1861-1900, and 1900-1920. Possess a village map. Current collection contains letters from 1909-1939. Collect and extract obituaries for those born in this village from various newspapers. Guldendorf-Odessa collection: Purchased the 1829-1849 Personnalbuch der Gemeinde Güldendorf. Purchased the Güldendorf birth records for 1833-1889, 1899, 1902-1913, and1915. Obtained the marriage records for the same years as the birth records. Purchased the Güldendorf death records for 1833-1891, 1899, 1902-1913, and 1915. Current collection contains letters from 1905-1932. Collect and extract obituaries for those born in this village from various newspapers. Translated the 1858 Revision List for the village. Purchased a variety of documents from the Odessa Regional State Archive that pertains to individuals who eventually settled in the village. Continue to extract Einwandererzentralstelle (EWZ) records. Possess a village map. Alt Danzig-Kirovograd collection: Possess birth, marriage and death records for 1833-1841, 1843-1848, 1850-1858, 1860, and 1865. Supplemental records for 1858-1864, 1866-1869, and 1871-1885. Current collection contains letters from 1903-1926. Continue to extract Einwandererzentralstelle (EWZ) records. Neu Danzig-Nikolayev collection: Possess birth, marriage and death records for 1847-1848, 1850-1872, and 1874-1885. Supplemental records for 1847, 1850-1855, 1857-1869, 1871-1874, and 1876-1885. Current collection contains letters from 1903-1926. Obtained various village documents from the Nikolayev Regional Archive. Continue to extract Einwandererzentralstelle (EWZ) records. Possess a Village map.

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Village Coordinator News

Brunnental/Brunnenthal, Samara, Volga, Russia Sherrie (Gettman) Stahl sherriestahl@comcast.netVillage Coordinator (Brunnental continued from front cover) After months of searching through libraries, I found some old Journals in a genealogy library in Portland, Oregon, which mentioned a George Gettmann from Brunnental. I asked my father's cousin if anything about this village sounded familiar, and she remembered that it was indeed the name of the village in Russia where my great-grandparents had lived. They were both born in Frank, Russia in 1855, but their respective families had moved to Brunnental/Brunnenthal when it was formed. So I checked out books and met a wonderful woman in Portland, Marie (Greenwald) Bandey. Her father was a Greenwald and so was my great-grandmother. She got me in touch with the Portland Chapter of AHSGR; and before I knew it, I was involved heavily in AHSGR, and even served for several terms on the national Board. While researching my family in the Portland area, I kept finding more and more families from Brunnental, so I started researching them, too, as everyone seemed to be related in some way. This genealogy thing had a "life of its own," so I decided to become a Village Coordinator and started researching every family from Brunnental. My database today has over 37,000 names (that includes descendants and ancestors) and is growing daily. I owe the start of my database to Barbara Clausen, who was the original Frank Village Coordinator, and to others like Doris (Eckhardt) Evans, the current Frank VC, Norman Dudek, who was the VC for Kolb at that time, and Jean Roth, who was the VC for Walter. These people all shared their data and helped me start my Brunnental database. The fact that I have taken each family name from Brunnental and researched each one has helped in getting these families together, such as the case of the SEIBEL family descendants. Of

course it has happened because of the "clues" left behind by some pretty amazing people before me. 1) There was 89-year-old Marie (Greenwald) Bandey (still living) who did some incredible interviews with a Mrs. Marie (Lebsack) Becker back in the 1980's. These interviews (posted on my Brunnental website) talk about so many different families and how they were related. Together they also produced the map that AHSGR has for sale of Brunnental (1908). It was drawn by me from their taped interviews. Marie Becker had a wealth of information because her father had been the mayor of Brunnental; and since she went around with him to collect taxes, she knew where everyone lived and how they were related. 2) Irma (Greenwald) Waggoner, who now lives in Lincoln, has always been a "treasure trove" of information. She doesn't forget anything; and whenever I'm stuck, she helps me figure it out. She has done a majority of the early research on these families, and has been an incredible inspiration to me over the years! 3) Rev. Elias Hergert wrote a 1923 poem about Brunnental during the terrible famines in Russia. In this poem he mentioned everyone (males) he could think of who was living in the U.S. and Canada, grouping them by their proximity (he put the Wyoming group together and the Canadian ones in another stanza). This gave us amazing clues on who had left Russia and where they lived in 1923. 4) Die Welt Post articles (many written by Rev. Hergert and others about the village and people of Brunnental) provided information on relationships and reported what was happening in Brunnental and what was happening in the USA. Those notes gave us more clues about families. We have to thank Gerda (Stroh) Walker, the first Brunnental VC who translated many of these articles and indexed them by village, for her fine work and her many contributions. (continued on page 28)

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Village Coordinator News (Brunnental continued from page 27) 5) Records such as obituaries, funeral records, memory folders, passports, bible records, photographs of families, sermons and personal journals, histories of Brunnental, and family histories were shared by the various families and individuals who had kept them. All of these helped in the production of the Brunnental Village Newsletter which was produced for a number of years. 6) Public records here in the U.S. such as census records, death indexes, cemetery records, WWI draft registrations, Social Security records (death and application), alien voter registrations, naturalization records, and passenger lists, etc., have all been searched and have given us more clues about our families. 7) The Surname Charts done by Dr. Pleve, the "Brunnental Re-Settlement List" provided by Vlad Soshnikov, and the village census and church records have given us more information on our people and their relationships. Through all of those sources we have put together a very detailed and well-documented database on our ancestors from Brunnenthal and our descendants who now live all over the world. We have linked up so many families. In the 1990's, we ran an article in a German news-paper and we heard from many Brunnentalers and were able to link up many families from that one advertisement. We've also found families in South America and Canada and many still living in Kazachstan or the Ural Mountain regions. Just recently we found the relatives of the SEIBEL family from Brunnental (living in Oregon, Washington, and Massachusetts) for a Viktor Seibel living at 120 Kushnov Street, Miass Chelyubinsk region 456394, Russia.

Viktor's grandfather, Adam Seibel, came to the U.S. in 1912 with two younger brothers, Jakob and Heinrich Seibel. Viktor's grandfather left his wife and children (son Adam Seibel who is Viktor's dad) behind in Brunnental because they had eye disease. Adam was planning to send for his family later, but it never happened. He ended up living his life alone in the U.S. with his wife and children in Brunnental. Rev. Elias Hergert even talks about Adam Seibel being “alone in this country with his wife so far away in Brunnental” in his 1923 poem of Brunnental. We found that Adam Seibel, who lived in Washington and Oregon, spent time in a Washington state prison. I actually sent for the prison records for Viktor. The other two younger Seibel brothers (Jakob and Henry) married here in the U.S. and had families, and now they are all reunited. They live in Washington and Oregon. The one brother who went to Massachusetts worked for GE. His youngest son, Robert Seibel, is a comedian in Boston. The brothers who were in Portland never kept touch with the brother in Massachusetts so the younger generations had no idea they had cousins. I was able to find them all, and now they are all corresponding with Viktor in Russia. They have exchanged photos, genealogy, etc., and the best part of this story is that Viktor has found a friend in Russia who can translate for him so we are able to e-mail him in English and get correspondence back in English. What a treat! And this has all been done on the internet! These are the stories that keep me going! "It is a revered thing to see an ancient castle not in decay, but how much more it is, to behold an ancient family which has stood against the waves and weathers of time.” --Francis Bacon Brunnenta lWebsite: http://www.brunnental.us/brunnental/index.html

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Arizona Sun Chapter The first two meetings of the Arizona Sun Chapter were held at the Foothills Chapter of the Glendale Public Library. The meeting usually starts with a business session followed by a break for snacks and coffee. This also gives us a chance to visit with one another, which we can’t do often, because our members are scattered across the state of Arizona.

Our speaker at the February meeting was Sigmund Ziebart from Stuttgart, Germany. He is the cousin of one of our members, Elvera Reuer, and happened to be visiting her at the time. He told how the GRs emigrated from Germany to Poland or Hungary and then finally to Bessarabia. Sigmund explained the circumstances that made them leave those countries to go to Bessarbia and then the tragedies that caused them to return to Germany. He said, “They came full circle.”

One of our own members, Ed Babitzke, was the speaker for our April meeting. Ed gave us several examples of the kind of information that can be found in various state and local archives. He told of some of the difficulties he has had at some archives and how helpful the clerks were at others. He gave us several ideas for furthering our own research.

April was our last meeting for the spring. Summer is coming when the temperatures begin to climb toward the 100 degree mark and above, and many of our members leave for cooler climates, so our next meeting will be our Oktoberfest next fall.

Hildegard Wasnick, Newsletter Editor. Central California Chapter Our Chapter will be celebrating our 35th anniversary on July 9, 2006, with a luncheon at Smuggler’s Inn in Fresno. The program will feature speakers, remembering the early day stories, and a German sing-a-long. We continue to make noodles and bierocks as we have for many years. Our annual Oktoberfest is always great fun.

Chapter News California District Council 2006 Heritage Fest The CDC Heritage Fest—California’s annual celebration of Russian-German history and culture—was organized this year by the Lodi Chapter, with the support of the five other California chapters. Lodi has been a West Coast center for South-Russian and Bessarabian Germans for the last 109 years, ever since the first Germans made the “third migration” from the Dakotas to California’s Central Valley in 1897. The day-long event was held on April 22 at First Baptist Church, which originally was the German Baptist Church. Speakers included Arthur Flegel (“History of Lodi”), Pastor Horst Gutsche (“Thirty Years of Experiences with German Parishioners”), Alton Sissell (“Contemporary Genealogy Resources”), Margaret Freeman (“Development of the Glückstal Colonies”), and Victor Goehring (“Journey to Russia and Ukraine in 2005”). The dinner session featured singing little-known songs of exile sung by Agnes Litfin Dillon; Russian-German folksongs arranged for a women’s trio performed by Ms. Dillon, her daughter Christina and Gigi Cobb; and a lively sing-along of Russian-German favorites with Richard Kisling at the piano and John Kreutzer on bass. The event was capped by Dr. Jerome Siebert, President of AHSGR, who spoke about the multi-faceted successes our organization is experiencing, including successful ongoing work with Russian archives, the recent launch of SOAR online, availability of newly-published books and plans for continuing publication, and establishment of communications with Russian-German organizations in Argentina. According to chapter president, Ken Isaak, there were numerous new-comers among the 122 people who attended the fest. Participants eagerly bought the books and other materials sold by GCRA and the Sacramento Valley Chapter. (continued on page 30)

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Chapter News (CDC continued from page 29) Many thanks to members of the Lodi Chapter for their efforts in organizing this activity, and congratulations on a successful day! Next year’s fest will be hosted by the Southern California Chapter, under the leadership of chapter president Ray Heer. Golden Gate Chapter For the past year, a geographical theme has been woven through the content of the bi-monthly meetings of the Golden Gate Chapter. In July, 2005, the speaker was Adam Wolff, a graduate student at Stanford University, whose talk might have been titled “Adventures in Kazakhstan,” because he presented an engaging and fresh view of life in contemporary Kazakhstan as he experienced it while traveling throughout the country on his motorcycle during the year he lived there. In September, excerpts from Ron Vossler’s book of famine letters, We’ll Meet Again in Heaven, were introduced and read by Richard Kisling, Irma Eichhorn, Rudy Dyck, Elaine Hatfield, Jackie Mattison, James Horn, and Hathalle Monfort. The November meeting featured Pastor Horst Gutsche whose subject was “German Russians in Western Canada.” Pastor Gutsche delivered a fascinating personal tour of the German communities and churches in Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. In January, 2006, Alan Peters presented “Vagabonds in Paradise: the Story of Mennonites in California”—historical and contemporary perspectives on Russian-German Mennonites with special emphasis on Mennonite communities and institutions in California.

“German-Russians in South America” was the topic of the March meeting which was organized and introduced by Sue Nakaji, who completed extensive research. Participants included Irma Eichhorn, who spoke about her father’s relationship in Berlin in the 1920s with Jakob Riffel who later lived in Argentina and wrote an

important history; Jerry Siebert, who spoke about his recent visits to Argentina and the contact he has made with Isabel Kessler; Elaine Hatfield, who shared correspondence she has received from relatives who settled in Brazil; Ann Franz, who talked about her life when she lived in a Mennonite community in Paraguay; Rudy Dyck, who spoke about the 1998 trip he made to the “el Chaco” region of Paraguay; and Arthur Flegel, who described the visit a North American delegation made through the region in 1978 on the hundredth anniversary of the founding of the first German colonies in Argentina.

The Bessarabian colonies were the focus of our May meeting. Arthur Flegel brought his maps of Bessarabia and described some of the origins and emigration routes of the people who settled there. Sue Nakaji gave a brief history of the colonies and introduced the video You, Land of my Forefathers’ Choice: History of the Bessarabian Germans, copyright by Dr. Erwin Ziebart and Dwayne Janke. The geographical thread will be picked up again in the fall, when the chapter revisits central Asia with Back to Kazakhstan, an excellent 30-minute video sourced from Deutsche Welle TV in Berlin, about four Russian-German men who recently have returned to Kazakhstan and are making their fortune with ideas and skills they acquired while they were in Germany! The Golden Gate Chapter also is working with the California State Genealogy Library-Sutro to maintain a bound set of the complete output of AHSGR Work Papers, Journals and Clues. Golden Wheat Chapter The Chapter held their annual genealogy meeting on Sunday, April 23, 2006. The members and a number of guests enjoyed the delicious potluck dinner. Ellen Chuksina displayed a number of Russian foods from her shop, Euro Taste in Old Town. She presented information regarding her shop, and expressed thanks again for helping her and her daughter, who escaped from Russia, to (continued on page 31)

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(Golden Wheat continued from page 30) remain in the United States. After the dinner, everyone proceeded to the AHSGR library room. The program was presented by knowledgeable members explaining the use of the Index of Resources, location and explanation of research books, family histories, German-Russian and local literature, story tales, Pleve charts, maps, videos covering chapter meetings and Kansas Roundup, scrapbooks containing pictures of meetings over many years, CD's, Journals, and items received of special interest. Amanda Bartel presented a program on quilts from Passing On the Comfort written by Ann-Kuening-Tichelaar and Lynn-Kaplanian-Buller, and also how she prepared her books on her family history. The attendants asked questions and contributed their stories. Passing On the Comfort has been donated to the library. Several members gathered for another noon lunch of German foods at the Imbiss on May 11, 2006. While these delicious foods are not of our ancestors’ cooking, the foods are German, and we always enjoy partaking of something different. Also, several visited the Euro Taste to obtain German and Russian foods. The annual Chapter picnic will be Saturday, August 5, 2006, from 12 noon to 4 p.m. at the Hyde Park Shelter, 201 South Greenwood, Wichita, Kansas. You need not worry about the weather; the shelter is enclosed and air-conditioned. Members from other chapters and guests are always welcome. Bring a salad, vegetable or a dessert. Fried chicken will be furnished by the Chapter. A program will be presented. Members are planning to attend the AHSGR International Convention in Lincoln, Nebraska, August 14-20, 2006. Also plans are being made for the AHSGR International Convention in Hays, Kansas, in 2007. The communities and cities surrounding Hays, Kansas, are populated with the descendants of Germans from Russia, and this heritage is practiced. This portion of Kansas is where many of our ancestors settled

Chapter News upon their arrival in the United States. We are proud of our heritage. Wichita, Kansas Rachel Smith, Reporter PRESS CONFERENCE HELD IN KANSAS On April 19, members of the Kansas Round-Up Board of Directors and Dennis Zitterkopf, member of the AHSGR International Board of Directors, were in Hays to visit with members of the media and those interested in the 2007 AHSGR International Convention to be held in Hays. Kevin Rupp, our Chapter President, has already received e-mails from across the United States and even Argentina! News spread quickly, and people are excited. The group began the day early with a live interview on the Mike Cooper Show at 8:45 a.m. One of the things I launched two months ago was a monthly “AHSGR Update” on the Cooper Show. It lasts about ten minutes and has proven to be successful as from only two broadcasts we have recruited members. The entire program is funded by donations. Following the visit with Mike Cooper, the group enjoyed a tour of Hays, a business meeting, and various interviews for local television and radio. Members of the regional media, newspapers, local businessmen, and journalism and German students from regional schools were invited to a press conference. During the press conference, the panel answered questions as well as explained the selection process of how Hays was chosen to host the convention, what convention goers can expect, and a little history of the organization. We hope to make this the largest convention ever! During the convention, Hays can expect dynamic internationally known speakers, great entertainment, and a week packed with events and education celebrating our heritage. Contact: Jeremy Dannebohm, Publicity Director, phone: 785-365-7777 or Janet Kuhn, CVB Liaison, phone: 785-628-8202

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Chapter News Mount Diablo Chapter The Mount Diablo Chapter was well represented at the CDC Heritage Fest in Lodi on April 22, 2006, with at least seven of our members using about 8 gallons of gasoline per car to make the trip. Art Flegel gave the first talk on the Germans from Russia families living in the Lodi area in the early days, where he lived while working in Stockton when he first moved to California. The rest of the speakers presented interesting topics that were enjoyed by all. The lunch and supper were primarily very good German foods. Jerry Siebert made some very interesting comments concerning the preservation and distribution of information contained in the archives in the German-Russian villages. Our next chapter meeting on June 4, 2006, will be a SOAR and Genealogy workshop at the Hillcrest Congregational Church in Pleasant Hill. Bob and Marge Benson from Sacramento will present the SOAR project, explaining what it is and how it works and providing attendees with some hands-on help in using it. The Genealogy workshop will provide information on how to use the various internet programs available in tracing your family history. The last hour of the meeting is reserved for participating and in consuming all of the good German-Russian dishes brought for the potluck supper. We have what has become an annual picnic early in August where those who want to can swim, play Bannock, consume some of that dark-colored, somewhat fizzy beverage sometimes called German beer, and engage in some conversation and storytelling, all of which is followed by our usual potluck supper. On September 16, 2006, we have scheduled a trip to the archives of the Family History Centerin Oakland. Alton Sissel of Sacramento will lead the class at the Oakland LDS Family History Library, demonstrating what he covered in his talk at the CDC Heritage Fest in Lodi. This will be of great interest to those who were not able to attend the Heritage Fest and of greater interest to those like the editor who, being of

advanced years, learn the use of computer programs by making many errors. Our Chapter President, Bruce Cropper, has been making numerous trips there to get familiar with what they have and how it is used so that he can assist chapter members in doing research. We amateurs should keep in mind that we should never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark and a large group of professionals built the Titanic. Harvey Culbertson

Nebraska Panhandle Chapter The Nebraska Panhandle Chapter of AHSGR has recently converted its video cassette, The Beet Tenders’ Destiny, to CD. Filmed in western Nebraska, this 25-minute video details the development of the beet industry in the North Platte Valley. Chapter members recreated the thinning and topping of beets for the filming. In this industrialized world, the hard hand labor of working beets is a thing of the past. The determination and efforts of our German-Russian ancestors to build a better life is remembered and appreciated in this video and it helps to preserve this segment of our history for future generations. Copies of both the cassette and CD are available for $15 each (includes shipping and handling) and may be ordered prepaid from Gladys Wyatt, 2600 Road 35, Harrisburg, NE 69345. Our Chapter generally meets monthly except in the summer. Our recent programs have concentrated on members sharing their memories. The discussion usually starts out slowly, but builds quickly and gets very animated and fun with everyone chiming in. In December, Christmas memories were shared. At the annual soup supper in January, everyone told about their favorite food made by their mothers. In February, members shared confirmation experiences and pictures and family Easter customs were shared at our annual Schmeckfest in March. Everyone is encouraged to share these (continued on page 33)

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(Nebraska Panhandle continued from page 32) recollections with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Chapter officers for the year are Shirley Flack, president; Joyce Kautz, vice President; Gladys Wyatt, secretary; and Helen Doshier, Treasurer. New Mexico Chapter The big excitement now for New Mexico Chapter is the creation of bright turquoise chapter vests; we hope to stand out at conventions and other activities representing the chapter. In March Velma Jesser (AHSGR/GRHS) shared a variety of tips and tricks in doing genealogy, including samples of unique situations she had encountered while doing her own family research. In April Christina Flegel (AHSGR) presented a program about the foods, life styles, and culture of the German-Russians followed by foods made from her grandmother’s recipes. Members are finding new family information during the third hour of our meeting, the Resource Hour, to which members bring primary sources to share; in April we looked at maps from yesteryear. We have heightened publicity and are making some contacts with Germans from Russia located in New Mexico, thanks primarily to efforts of Vince Humann (AHSGR/GRHS), as we continue to value the support of out-of-state AHSGR/GRHS members for the success of our Chapter. Velma Jesser, President Northern Colorado Chapter Northern Colorado Chapter has recently purchased a portable covered booth for participation in the summer and fall town celebrations and the fall Octoberfests in the area. Officers take turns manning the booth which offers a selection of the most popular Germans-from-Russia publications and cookbooks as well as membership applications and other information. We use these opportunities as part of our overall publicity and recruiting efforts. We are also going to spend time over the

Chapter News summer developing a PowerPoint presentation which will be used by officers or members who are speaking about AHSGR to area genealogy societies and other organizations. Our President, Mary Lauck, has recently done interviews for two newspapers on Germans from Russia and AHSGR. Our Chapter has maintained a relationship with Dr. Peter Kastner, a German language professor from the University of Northern Colorado, and the German Club from UNC over the past several years. Dr. Kastner has offered to teach a series of German language classes for our members and we are in the beginning stage of scheduling them. Our Publicity Chair, Barbara Stromberger, has worked with a Family Reunion subcommittee to put together packets about AHSGR. Our current dinner-meeting reservation form has a check-off to request this packet. Those folks who have family reunions over the summer can request a packet and we will send them one. The packets contain a variety of materials including AHSGR membership forms and a SOAR flyer. A group of volunteers is being formed to help separate multiple images of obituaries, etc., from one of the SOAR projects. When we did the original database of our chapter scrapbooks, some of us got a lot of practice doing that. We value information from other chapters about resources they offer. Our newsletter promotes research aids, census lists, and other kinds of publications offered by other chapters and individuals doing GR research. Please contact us if you have something you would like to have our readers know. The April newsletter featured a 1976 German-language interview of Maria Emmert Fritzler who was then 86 years old. The tape was translated by Dr. Lyudmila Ivanovna Koretnikova when she was at the University of Wyoming. It offered our readership a view of Alt Messer from before World War I and the genocide, persecution, and final banishment of (continued on page 34)

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Chapter News (Northern Colorado continued from page 33) 1941. Maria gave a concise history of her German Reformed Church and a good view of life in her village almost 100 years ago. We also gave special thanks to all of the volunteers who have been clipping articles about weddings, obituaries, birthday parties, and special-interest stories about Germans from Russia from the area newspapers over the 35+ years of our Chapter history. Currently there are about six people who are actively clipping. The clippings are scanned for inclusion in SOAR and then put into scrapbooks. Our May dinner speaker will be AHSGR life member Harold Felte who went to Russia with a farm organization in November 2005. Harold is a gifted photographer and we look forward to seeing his pictures. Louis Eberhard will lead us in singing traditional German-Russian songs. Northern Colorado has a dedicated group of officers and hard-working members. Our Book Chair, Betty Hoffner, sells a good volume of books from her home and at the Chapter dinner meetings. Net profits from book sales over the first three months of the year earned almost $300.00 for our treasury. Our Genealogy Chair, Laura Strong, will be offering a SOAR class at our September meeting to provide an opportunity for our members to learn how to use the SOAR database. We rent the computer lab at the Aims Corporate Center where our meetings take place. Our Finance Chair, Sue Buxmann, works to find creative ways to generate money for the treasury during our meetings. Our membership Chair, Violet Stromberger, works especially hard the first three months of the year on contacting members who do not renew. The officers for 2006 are a repeat of officers from 2005. Lauren Brantner VP and Newsletter Editor

Southern Nevada Chapter The German Consul General of Los Angeles addressed the Southern Nevada Chapter of AHSGR recently in Las Vegas. Speaking on the repatriation of Ausland Deutsche (ethnic Germans living in foreign lands) following World War II and the collapse of the Soviet Empire, Dr. Christian Stock described the plight of these unwanted peoples, many of whom were grossly mistreated.

Dr. Christian Stock, Ms. Sigrid Sommer, Larrie Schmidt

A career diplomat, Dr. Stock described his own personal relationships with some of the German-Russians he encountered in his native land, recalling their tales of fear and degradation following Germany’s defeat in World War II. Although the repatriation of millions of ethnic Germans was a huge financial burden on the Federal Republic of Germany and encountered much hostile reaction from native Germans, the government persevered. Tens of thousands of those who were repatriated were German-Russians who survived Stalin’s deadly Gulags. Many of these later joined family members in America. A question and answer period followed the Consul-General’s speech, with Dr. Stock giving a brilliant assessment of the contemporary Berlin-Washington, D.C. relations. Some 40 German-Russians attended the event with food provided by Cafe Heidelberg. Organized by Chapter President Larrie Schmidt, the event was a huge success according to those who attended, including Ms. Sigrid Sommer, the Honorary German Consul in Las Vegas. (continued on page 35)

Chapter News (Southern Nevada continued from 34)

Mr. Schmidt said such events are crucial if local chapters are to generate ongoing enthusiasm among members. He said future events would

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hopefully include a University of Nevada, Las Vegas, history professor addressing the reasons Germans left their homeland for Russia between 1767-1770. Also a Russian diplomat describing the present conditions for those Germans who chose to remain in Russia will be a possible speaker. The event produced five new members for the 18-month-old Southern Nevada Chapter, bringing its total to 31 members. Sunflower Chapter The Sunflower Chapter gathered on Sunday, May 7, 2006, in Munjor, Kansas for their spring meeting. The local area high school students were invited to participate in the meeting. Leona Pfeifer conducted an interaction program with the students and the members of the chapter. The German language in comparison to the local dialect and the high German taught in the schools proved to be both entertaining and fun for the group. Galen Schmidtberger and Kevin Rupp lead the group in singing “Du, Du, liegst mir in Herzen” and also “Wir Sitzen So Froelich Beisammen”. The high school students then entertained the chapter with a German song of their own which they use to learn language structure in the classroom. Kevin Rupp presented a brief talk on the Pleve charts

showing an assortment of these charts and the different sizes and the quality of material on each chart. The chapter also conducted a press conference on April 19 at City Hall to officially announce to the city the selection of Hays as the site for the 2007 A.H.S.G.R International Convention. The chapter is now in full swing preparing for the Kansas Round-Up that is scheduled for October 21, 2006, at the Holiday Inn in Hays and the International Convention which is scheduled for June 10-17, 2007, also at the Holiday Inn at Hays. Fund raising has begun as well as publicity for these events. Sunflower board members attend a radio show on KAYS Radio (which also host the SOAR project) on the third Wednesday of the month at 8:45 a.m. Topics range from chapter events to traditions, customs, Lawrence Weigel CD and much more. Leona Pfeifer and Kevin Rupp will be the guests on June 21 speaking about the wedding customs and the upcoming events. We have received e-mails on these events from California to Argentina and from Canada to Florida! The next chapter meeting is set for August 6 and it will be a picnic for the members. Our annual “All You Can Eat Breakfast” will follow that on September 10. See you in Lincoln Nebraska!!!

Help Wanted! Have some spare time? We are in need of volunteers to help with the processing of obituaries. This involves typing (or using your computer) headings on 5x8 cards and cutting and pasting the newspaper articles to the cards. An Obit Kit will be sent with the supplies you will need along with the clippings. For more information contact headquarters at 1-402-474-3363 or e-mail us at ahsgr@ahsgr.org. This would be a good Chapter project and would be a tremendous help as the obituary cards are very valuable to our members who are doing research. Thank you for your assistance!

valuable to our members who are doing research. Thank you for your assistance!

Cookbook Corner

Guidelines for Processing Obituaries When submitting obituaries please provide the source of the obit, (name and location of newspaper, etc.) and the date on which it appeared in the source. Date of death should not be used as the source date. Computer generated obituaries may be submitted using the following settings: Paper sizes: 8x5 or 8.5 x 11 Suggested margin settings: Top: 0.50” Bottom: 0.10”

Left: 0.50” Right: 0.50”

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Enjoying our traditional German foods brings back memories of our mothers and the days of our youth. Cooking and serving these foods perpetuates our heritage and traditions. It also provides an opportunity for discussion with family members of the unique history of the Germans from Russia. With these thoughts in mind, we plan to feature recipes you may wish to try. The first recipe is from Küche Kochen, one of the cookbooks available in the AHSGR bookstore. Recipes from other cookbooks will be featured in following editions of the Newsletter. Summer is garden salad time. If you have cucumbers in your garden, the following recipe is a wonderful way to use them. There are many variations of cucumber salad, but if you have never tried a cucumber salad with the addition of hard-boiled eggs, you are in for a treat. Try it. If you don’t have a garden, you can always patronize the grocery store or a farmers’ market. Enjoy! Gurke Salat (Cucumber Salad)

3 medium crisp cucumbers 2 eggs, hard boiled 1 medium onion Salt 1cup sour cream Bit of parsley Peel cucumbers. With tines of silver fork score lengthwise and then slice into bowl, layering with thin slivers of onion and sprinkles of salt. Cover. Refrigerate one hour. Drain well. Add sour cream. Mix lightly. Put into serving bowl. Top with eggs that have been pressed through coarse sieve. Sprinkle with parsley flakes. Delicious with Kartoffel and Kloes called “Heinz” favorite dish. Mrs. Theodore E. Heinz, Greeley, Colorado. AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF GERMANS FROM RUSSIA (Please type or print.) MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION Name(s): ______________________________________________________________________ Address/Country: ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Telephone Number: _____________________ Email Address: _________________________ Villages: ______________________________________________________________________ Surnames: ____________________________________________________________________ A gift from: ___________________________________________________________________ ( ) Individual $50.00. ( ) Family $50.00. ( ) Student $15.00. ( ) Youth $8.00 ( ) Life Membership $750.00. ( ) Life Membership, first installment $150.00 ( ) My check or money order is enclosed. ( ) Charge my: VISA MasterCard Discover Card Number: ______________________________________ Expiration Date: ___________ Signature: _____________________________________________________________________

Please fill in the correct credit card information if charging your payment. Your signature is required to process the payment. Payment in U.S. funds only. Mail to: AHSGR, 631 D Street, Lincoln, NE 68502-1199

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