The Dakota Memories Heritage Tour is sponsored by

Germans from Russia Heritage CollectionNDSU Extension Service

Center for Community VitalityCenter for Heritage Renewal

Prairie PublicNDSU Libraries

Dakota Memories Heritage TourEducational Booklet

S E P t E m b E R 1 8 - 2 0 , 2 0 0 9

Experience the rich history of North Dakota

NorTH DakoTa STaTE UNivErSiTy

Hosted by Michael M. Miller

Germans from russia Heritage Collection

“Dedicated to the German-Russian people who have done pioneer work on the steppes, prairies and pampas of the world.”

– Joseph S. Height from “Homesteaders on the Steppe”

Whether you seek information on your family tree or the perfect kuchen recipe, the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection is a valuable resource. It is located in room 114

of the North Dakota State University Libraries, the state’s land-grant university. Since its inception in 1978 by michael m. miller, director and bibliographer, this privately funded, specialized archives has become one of the most comprehensive collections of German-Russian resources in the world. today, the focus of the GRHC is historic preservation.

Their focus includes: • Clothingandtextiles,culturaltraditions,folklore,

foodways, genealogy, oral history, publishing, research and translations

Special collections include: • Cookbooks;countyand

communityhistories;English,German, Russian and Ukrainianbooks;genealogyresearch;photographcollections;theology and hymnals

activities include: • JourneytotheHomelandTours • DakotaMemoriesHeritageTour • DakotaMemoriesOralHistoryProject

items available for purchase include: • Books,cookbooks,maps,CDsandDVDs

Michael M. Miller

Miller, director and bibliographer of the GRHC, is a native of Strasburg, N.D. He is compiler of Ò Researching the Germans from RussiaÓ and the Ò Peter Miller (MŸl ler) Genealogy,Ó and executive producer of the award-winning Germans from Russia Documentary Series for Prairie Public Television. Miller is tour director for the Journey to the Homeland Tours (1996-2009) where travelers visit the villages of their ancestors near Odessa, including the former Black Sea, Bessarabian and Crimean German villages. He was named North Dakota Librarian of the year in 2008.

Acacia (Jonas) Stuckle

Stuckle is the special collection associate for the GRHC. She has been with the GRHC since 2002. Her specialization is communication and organizing the outreach projects, including visits to rural communities giving presentations about the collection and its special projects. Stuckle also is the manager of the GRHC office. She was reared in the heartland of Germans from Russia in Fredonia, a small town in south-central North Dakota.

STrEETEr, N.D.Central Grasslands research Extension Center FactsEstablished in 1977, the center serves an area known as the missouri Coteau area of North Dakota, extending from Divide and burke counties in northwestern North Dakota in a southeasterly direction throughDickeyCounty.Majorresearchareasincluderangelandmanagement, natural resources sustainability, long-term ecological research, beef production, tourism and biofuels research. the center serves an area that contains 5 million acres (44 percent) of the state’s rangeland where 42 percent of the state’s livestock is raised on 38 percent of the state’s farms.

Allan AshworthAshworth is a paleoecologist in the Department of Geosciences at NDSU. His research involves the response of organisms to climate change.Hehas workedonprojectsthroughouttheworldandiscurrentlyinvolvedwithprojectsinAntarcticaandNorthAmerica.the Ashworth Glacier was named for his contributions to Antarctic climate history.

FrEDoNia, N.D.Martin Luther Lutheran Church Cemetery Factsthe church cemetery is located three miles north of Fredonia andoriginallywasforthe EvangelischLutherischJohannes

Church that closed in 1929. the members ofthatchurchthenjoinedMartinLutherLutheran Church that was built in Fredonia in1925.Othermembersdecidedtostarttheir own parish.

St.John’sMissouriSynodLutheranChurchhas burial plots with family plots set aside. the martin Luther Lutheran Church section of the cemetery has the deceased buried in order of their death. Children were buried on the south side of the cemetery.

Tour Information

Hunt for HistoryHunt for HistoryHunt for HistoryHow do you find research centers and collections?• Google search

> Topic search: example, Ò Germans from RussiaÓ• Regional universities, colleges, historical societies, archives, libraries

> Fargo: Institute for Regional Studies, North Dakota State University, Germans from Russia Heritage Collection

> Grand Forks: University of North Dakota> Bismarck: North Dakota State Historical Society

• Yellow Pages• NDSU Extension Service• Local museums

> North Dakota Museum Directory

How do you find rural cemeteries?• Research centers > North Dakota county atlases > Books, town and county history books, obituary databases > GRHS Web site• Local churches• Local historians• Staff of State Archives, State Historical Society of North Dakota• North Dakota Department of Health > Listing of cemeteries in North Dakota• County courthouses and auditor’s offices• Web pages: > North Dakota Cemetery Records, The Genealogy Register > Published Cemetery Books of North Dakota > Tombstone Transcription Project - North Dakota Cemeteries > North Dakota Cemeteries > North Dakota Cemeteries: I Dream of Genealogy Databases

*Locations note placement on National Historic Register of Historic Places.

LEHr, N.D.Lehr Tabernacle FactsGerman services at the Lehr tabernacle kept parishioners connected to their black Sea roots while living on the Dakota prairies. the tabernacle was a gathering place for summer camp meetings that helped relieve the isolation of long winters on distant farms.

the tabernacle, built in 1922, is southeast of Lehr in mcIntosh County, North Dakota. the land it is built on originally was from JacobNagel’streeclaim.Thebuildingisoctagonal.Theoriginalbuilding had dirt floors with straw and bench seating for 1,500.

Jessica ClarkClark, doctoral candidate at NDSU, specializes in rural history, in particular memory studies, ethnic identity and childhood. She is also the Germans from Russia History Doctoral Fellow, coordinator of theDakotaMemoriesOralHistoryProject,andadjunctfacultyintheDepartment of Social and behavioral Sciences at North Dakota State College of Science. Clark is finishing her Ph.D. dissertation on the reconstruction of German-Russian identity through oral histories.

ZEELaND, N.D.St. andrew’s Lutheran Church* (Sankt andreas Gemeinde) and Cemetery FactsSt. Andrew’s is located in mcIntosh County, North Dakota, and was built in 1893 by 15 families who used construction and architecture methods from Russia. the walls were constructed with 24-inch sandstone blocks held together with clay, straw and water mortar. the cemetery has a burial pattern similar to what was done in Russia: no family or burial plots. Adults and those confirmed were buried on the south side of the cemetery in order of their death. Infants and children (not confirmed) were buried on the north side of the cemetery in order of their death.

John the Baptist Cemetery* Factsthis cemetery is located five miles north of Zeeland in mcIntosh County, North Dakota. there are 45 wrought iron crosses adorning various graves. Some of the crosses have German inscriptions and were hand crafted or cast at iron foundries. the earliest cross was placed in 1889 and the latest cross was placed in 1922. there was a diphtheria epidemic from 1897 to 1899 that claimed the lives of 99 people.

Rural Churces

How do you find presentation venues?• City hall or city council; county libraries and museums; local

social organizations (American Legion, Knights of Columbus, etc.)• Local senior center or community center; local businesses

(banks, restaurants); schools and churches; city park district• National Register of Historic Places - North Dakota• Historical Museums of North Dakota - A History Guide• www.switchboard.com• NDSU Extension Service• NDSU Center for Heritage Renewal

How do you find rural churches?• Research centers > North Dakota county atlases > Town, county and history books > N.D. Biography Index• Local museum or library• Staff at a town church• Local historians or residents• Web sites: Rural Churches Database - North Dakota and Church

Locations in North Dakota

Architecture

HaGUE, N.D.St. Mary’s Catholic Church and Cemetery* FactsA fire on Feb. 13, 1929, destroyed the church leaving only a few pillars and bricks surviving. the damage was estimated to be

$70,000 with insurance covering only $28,000. Parishioners raised $65,000 to build a new church that wasdedicatedJune 19,1930.St.Mary’sseats 600 people, is 150 feet long and 50 feet wide. It features Goth and Romanesque architecture and a 114-foot bell tower. Four blacksmiths made the wrought iron crosses in the cemetery: Paul Keller, michael Schmidt,JacobSchneiderandDefortSchneider. the deceased were buried with their feet facing east.

LiNToN, N.D.Bob DambachDambach has been director of television at Prairie Public television since 1996. He is the voice you hear at the end of on-air promotions and has appeared on screen in more than 100 Prairie Public television membership drives. Some of his award winning productions include “the Germans from Russia: Children of the Steppe, Children of the Prairie,” “Schmeckfest: Food traditions of the Germans from Russia,” “Pyramids on the Prairie,” “NatureintheBalance”and“TheOldRed trail.”

How do you find historic buildings with unique architecture?• Preservation North Dakota• University architecture departments• Libraries and museums• Research centers

> Fargo: North Dakota State University, Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, Germans from Russia Heritage Society

> Bismarck: State Historical Society of North Dakota> Grand Forks: University of North Dakota

• Heritage Trails at Facebook• Books:

> Significant Sites: North Dakota Properties Listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the State Historic Sites Registry by Rolene R. Schliesman

How do you find lodging and eateries in rural North Dakota? • Google search town, lodging and restaurants• Business directory on the city Web site• Heritage Trails at Facebook• Yellow Pages: Lodging and Restaurants • www.switchboard.com• Visit the town > Local residents may have recommendations > Local businesses may have more information on lodging

and eateries• North Dakota Tourism• Research centers and collections: > Germans from Russia Heritage Collection > Center for Heritage Renewal• Local newspaper ads• North Dakota Hospitality Association

Memoris

STraSBUrG, N.D.Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church* Factsthe church was moved from tiraspol located northeast of Strasburg, toStrasburgOct.1,1906.AntonDohman was the architect who designed the church in the Romanesque style. the cost to build the church was $45,000. It is 128 feet long by 50 feet wide with a 70-foot transept and 85-foot tower. Paintings by German artist berthold Imhoff are featured on the ceiling of the church.

Schwab Sod House Factsthe sod house is located approximately five miles northeast of Strasburg, N.D. Lorenz and Regina (Wald) Schwab built it sometime in the early 1890s. Four generations of Schwabs have lived there. Its construction consists of German-Russian sun-dried adobe blocks.

Welk Homestead* FactsLudwig and Christina (Schwan) Welk immigrated to North Dakota in 1893, and the homestead has been carefully restored to its 1920’s condition. the house was made of mud and clay brick, a method of construction used by Ludwig Welk’s ancestors 85 years earlier on the steppes of South Russia.

the Welk Homestead is located northwest of Strasburg, N.D. this is the boyhood home of world famous “Champagne music maker” Lawrence Welk.

the groundbreaking for the homestead restoration took place onJune25,1990.Alongwith a reunion of the Welk family, the dedication was held June7,1992,andwasattendedby3,500people.LawrenceWelk died may 17, 1992, in Santa monica, Calif.

How do you find historic sites?• Research centers

> County atlases> Town and county history books

• Auditor’s office• County courthouses• Preservation North Dakota• North Dakota tourism brochures:

> Discover! Explore! Experience! North Dakota’s History> North Dakota’s Cultural and Heritage Guide> Passport to North Dakota History: A Traveler’s Guide

• Books:> Brevets’ North Dakota Historical Markers and Site> Known Historic Site Survey of 21 Western North Dakota Counties> North Dakota Day Trips: Discovering North Dakota’s

Hidden Treasures

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE INFORMATION

Please visit the GRHC’s Web site for additional resources, such as county and community histories, memoirs, historic photographs and external links.

www.ndsu.edu/grhc/dakotamemories

Memoris

LiNToN, N.D.St. anthony’s Catholic Church Factsthe original St. Anthony’s Catholic Church was built in 1911, measured 40 by 60 feet and was constructed of wood. the first masswasheldinJanuary1912.Anewchurchwasconstructedin1925andwasdedicatedOct.6,1926.Itcost$45,000toconstruct and measures 122 ½ by 46 feet. the bell from the original church was installed in the new church.

How do you find community and town events?• Research centers and collections

> Germans from Russia Heritage Collection> Center for Heritage Renewal

• North Dakota Tourism• Heritage Trails at Facebook• Staff at churches, schools and city hall• Town Web sites for community events• Local newspapers• NDSU Extension Service• Local organizations (Lion’s Club, Knights of Columbus, AmVets,

Ladies Aid, 4H clubs)• Bulletin boards at local establishments• County fair board

Referencesbarron, George. Published Cemetery Books of North Dakota. the USGenWebProject,www.usgwarchives.org/nd/state/cmscrpts/cemsurv.txt.

Brevet’s North Dakota Historical Markers and Sites. Sioux Falls, S.D.: brevet Press, 1975.

The Centennial of St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, Zeeland, N.D., and the Spiritual Heritage of St. John’s Catholic Church, Rural McIntosh County, North Dakota. Fargo, N.D.: North Dakota State University Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, 2005.

Coomber,JamesandGreen,Sheldon.Magnificent Churches on the Prairie: A Story of Immigrant Priests, Builders and Homesteaders. Fargo, N.D.: North Dakota State University Institute for Regional Studies, 1996.

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension.

Fredonia Will Shine Once More in 2004: Fredonia Centennial 1904-2004. Fredonia, N.D.: Fredonia Centennial book Committee, 2004.

Google. www.google.com.

Halverson,CarolJust.PaperpresentedattheGermansfromRussia Heritage Society Convention, Fargo, N.D., 1993.

History for Evangelisch Luterisch Johannes Church, Christus Parish, Martin Luther Lutheran Church. Fredonia, N.D.: Evangelisch LutherischJohannesChurch,2001.

History of St. Andrew Lutheran Church (Sankt Andreas Gemeinde) (1893-2000). In St. Luke Lutheran Church, Wishek, N.D.: 1905-2005: Here by the Grace of God. Wishek, N.D.: St. Luke Lutheran Church Centennial book Committee, 2005.

Institute for Regional Studies. North Dakota State University, www.library.ndsu.edu/archives/databases.

Isern, tom. Center for Heritage Renewal. North Dakota State University,www.ndsu.nodak.edu/heritage.

Klein,Jerry.E-mail,June 162009.

Lehr Diamond Jubilee: 1898-1973. Lehr, N.D.: Lehr Diamond JubileeCommittee,1973.

Lehr Golden Jubilee: 1898-1948.Lehr,N.D.:LehrGoldenJubileeCommittee, 1948.

The Lehr Tabernacle. bessarabian Newsletter, 2006, 4-5.

miller, michael m. Germans from Russia Heritage Collection. NorthDakotaStateUniversity,www.ndsu.edu/grhc.

MuseumsUSA.StoriesUSA,Inc.,www.museumsusa.org/museums.

Naylor, Cliff, and Hannan, monica. Dakota Day Trips: Discovering North Dakota’s Hidden Treasures. bismarck, N.D.: North Dakota tourism Department, 1999.

North Dakota Cemeteries. Germans from Russia Historical Society, http://grhs.org/vr/ch/nd_cemeteries.htm.

North Dakota Cemeteries. I Dream of Genealogy, www.idreamof.com/cemetery/nd.html.

NorthDakotaCemeteries.USGenWebTombstoneProject,usgwtombstones.org/northdakota/ndakota.html.

North Dakota Cemetery Records. Ursus Partners, LLC and AncestorGuide.com,genealogyregister.com/cemeterysearch/North_Dakota/index.html.

North Dakota: Church Locations. Lat-Long.com, www.lat-long.com/ListLocations-26-North_Dakota-Church.html.

North Dakota Department of Health. North Dakota Department of Health, www.ndhealth.gov.

North Dakota Legendary. North Dakota State Government, tourism, www.ndtourism.com.

Preservation North Dakota: Preserving Prairie. Preservation North Dakota, www.prairieplaces.org.

Research. North Dakota State University, College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources, www.ag.ndsu.edu.

Rural Churches Databases. steph9993.tripod.com.

Saints Peter and Paul’s Parish Centennial Book 1889-1989: Strasburg, N.D.: N.p., 1989.

Saints Peter and Paul Parish Golden Jubilee Book. Strasburg, N.D.: N.p.

Scattered Steeples Expanded: A Tribute to the Church in North Dakota through the Years and Also a Commemoration of the Fortieth Anniversary of the Dedication of Cardinal Muench Seminary. Edited byFr.WilliamSherman,Fr.LeoStelten,JeromeLambandJerryRuff. bismarck, N.D.: University of mary Press, 2006.

Schliesman, Rolene R. Significant Sites: North Dakota Properties Listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the State Historic Sites Registry. bismarck, N.D.: State Historical Society of North Dakota, 1995.

St. Andrews Lutheran Church 1892-1993. N.p., 1993. State Historical Society of North Dakota. North Dakota State Government, www.history.nd.gov.

St. Anthony Parish History. 1993 Commemorative Directory, St. Anthony Catholic Church.

Strasburg, Emmons Co., N.D.: Celebratory Publication (“Festschrift”) on the 25th Jubilee of St. Peter and Paul’s Oarusg. translated by Fr.JonathanFischer.Fargo,N.D.:NorthDakota StateUniversityGermans from Russia Heritage Collection, 2004.

Switchboard. Idearc media LLC, www.switchboard.com.

Tweeton,JeromeD.Known Historic Site Survey of 21 Western North Dakota Counties. bismarck, N.D.: North Dakota Regional Environmental Assessment Program, 1977.

University of North Dakota. www.und.nodak.edu.

Wald, Katie. Hague Area Book II: The Past 100 Years and Its People: N.p., n.d.

Wald, Katie. History of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and the Town of Hague, North Dakota: N.p., n.d.

Zeeland, North Dakota: 1902-1977. N.p., 1977.

Zeeland, North Dakota’s Golden Jubilee: 1902-1952. Zeeland, N.D.: Executive Committee, 1952.

Notes

Notes

The Dakota Memories Heritage Tour is sponsored by

librariescenter for

heritage renewal

This brochure is available in other formats on request.

North Dakota State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, disability, age, status as a U.S. veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, or public assistance status. Direct inquiries to the vice President for Equity, Diversity and Global outreach, 205 old Main, (701) 231-7708.

Germans from russia Heritage Collection NDSU Libraries1201 Albrecht boulevardDept2080,POBox6050Fargo, ND 58108-6050 USA

Phone: 701-231-6596Web:www.ndsu.edu/grhc

NDSU Extension ServiceCenter for Community vitality2718 Gateway Ave., #104bismarck, ND 58503 USA

Phone: 701-328-9718Web:www.ag.ndsu.edu/ccv