The program will air on Friday, July 3, at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. and features stories about community celebrations, firecrackers, foot races and accidents from narrators of the Dakota Memories Oral History Project. The narrators grew up on the Northern Plains including agricultural regions of South Dakota, North Dakota and Saskatchewan.

Jessica Clark, child historian and project coordinator, has added scholarly commentary. She discusses the childhood memories of holiday traditions in a larger historical framework.

Public interest in documenting and preserving German-Russian ethnic identity inspired the launch of the project in 2005. Since then, organizers have been traveling the Northern Plains, gathering stories and documenting family relationships and childhood memories of second and third generation Germans from Russia. Jessica Clark, recipient of the Germans from Russia History Doctoral Fellowship, coordinates the project and Michael Miller serves as director of the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection and the project.

The Germans from Russia Heritage Collection and Prairie Public provide major funding for the program. A CD of the radio program will be available for $15. To pre-order the CD, contact Acacia Stuckle, special collections associate, at 1-6596 or acacia.stuckle@ndsu.edu.

The program can be heard on 90.5 FM in Bismarck, 89.9 FM in Dickinson, 91.5 FM in Devils Lake, 91.9 FM in Fargo, 89.3 FM in Grand Forks, 91.5 FM in Jamestown, 88.9 FM in Minot and 89.5 FM in Williston.

The Dakota Memories Oral History Project is a privately funded project sponsored by the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection at the NDSU Libraries. For more information, contact the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection at 1-6596 or visit www.ndsu.edu/grhc/dakotamemories.

Click here to view some of the information in the educational handouts and comments from workshop participants.

Andrea Mott training participants on equipment during the oral history workshop circuit training session.

Participants registering for the oral history workshop  in Richardton, ND.

Acacia (Jonas) Stuckle, special collections associate, will provide information about the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection as well as the Dakota Memories Oral History Project.

Jessica Clark, project coordinator and recipient of the Germans from Russia History Doctoral Fellowship, will present the methodology of oral history from literature to application. She will teach participants how to find materials, narrators and places and how to manage oral histories. The workshops also will provide circuit training on digital recording devices, digital processing equipment and interviewing techniques.

Andrea Mott, 2009 Dakota Memories Oral History project interviewer, will assist with the workshops.

Public interest in documenting and preserving German-Russian ethnic identity inspired the launch of the oral history project in 2005. Since then, organizers have been traveling the Northern Plains, gathering stories and documenting family relationships and childhood memories of second and third generation Germans from Russia. Michael Miller serves as director of the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection and the project.

“Our project only focuses on Germans from Russia, yet there are plenty of other groups out there with rich histories – histories that should be documented and preserved,” Clark said. “So, we are hoping by sharing our techniques and our methodology, individuals will be able to conduct their own histories regardless of their ethnicity.”

Workshops are free and open to the public. Cookies and refreshments will be provided. Lunch is not included in the cost, but it will be available on-site for a fee. If you wish to register for lunch on-site, call Stuckle by May 25.

The workshop is sponsored by the Dakota Memories Oral History Project, Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, NDSU Libraries, NDSU Extension Service and NDSU Extension Service Center for Community Vitality.

The Dakota Memories Oral History Project is a privately funded project sponsored by the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection at the NDSU Libraries. For more information on the collection or the project, contact the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection at (701) 231-6596 or www.ndsu.edu/grhc/dakotamemories.

Acacia (Jonas) Stuckle, special collections associate, will provide information about the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection as well as the Dakota Memories Oral History Project.

Jessica Clark, project coordinator and recipient of the Germans from Russia History Doctoral Fellowship, will present the methodology of oral history from literature to application. She will teach participants how to find materials, narrators and places and how to manage oral histories. The workshops also will provide circuit training on digital recording devices, digital processing equipment and interviewing techniques.

Andrea Mott, 2009 Dakota Memories Oral History project interviewer, will assist with the workshops.

Public interest in documenting and preserving German-Russian ethnic identity inspired the launch of the oral history project in 2005. Since then, organizers have been traveling the Northern Plains, gathering stories and documenting family relationships and childhood memories of second and third generation Germans from Russia. Michael Miller serves as director of the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection and the project.

“Our project only focuses on Germans from Russia, yet there are plenty of other groups out there with rich histories – histories that should be documented and preserved,” Clark said. “So, we are hoping by sharing our techniques and our methodology, individuals will be able to conduct their own histories regardless of their ethnicity.”

Workshops are free and open to the public. Cookies and refreshments will be provided. Lunch is not included in the cost, but it will be available on-site for a fee. If you wish to register for lunch on-site, call Stuckle by May 11.

The workshop is sponsored by the Dakota Memories Oral History Project, Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, NDSU Libraries, NDSU Extension Service and NDSU Extension Service Center for Community Vitality.

The Dakota Memories Oral History Project is a privately funded project sponsored by the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection at the NDSU Libraries. For more information on the collection or the project, contact the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection at (701) 231-6596 or www.ndsu.edu/grhc/dakotamemories.

Public interest in documenting and preserving German-Russian ethnic identity inspired the launch of the project in 2005. Since then, organizers have been traveling the Northern Plains, gathering stories and documenting family relationships and childhood memories of second and third generation Germans from Russia. Jessica Clark, North Dakota State University doctoral candidate and recipient of the Germans from Russia History Doctoral Fellowship, coordinates the project and Michael Miller serves as director of the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection and the project.

The Christian holiday special includes interviews from each season of the project and scholarly commentary from Clark. The program features 21 narrators from the Northern Plains. Listeners will learn about memories such as William Adam Merkel Jr.’s recollection of real candles on Christmas trees and Elda (Schultz) Rasch’s first experience with Christmas lights.

The Germans from Russia Heritage Collection and Prairie Public provide major funding for the program. A CD of the holiday special is available for $20. Contact Acacia Stuckle at (701) 231-6596 or acacia.stuckle@ndsu.edu to order the CD.

The program can be heard on 90.5 FM in Bismarck, 89.9 FM in Dickinson, 91.5 FM in Devils Lake, 91.9 FM in Fargo, 89.3 FM in Grand Forks, 91.5 FM in Jamestown, 88.9 FM in Minot and 89.5 FM in Williston.

Click here to view a complete listing of narrators featured on the radio program.

The title of Clark’s paper is ‘Beauty on the Plains’: Germans from Russia Remember Growing up on the Northern Plains.

Abstract:
Growing up as a German-Russian near Streeter, North Dakota, Alice Ruth (Miller) Buck recalls “beauty on the plains.” She remembers the environment as both serene and terrifying. She has fond memories of “roaming the tops of hills” and exploring the fields during the 1930s and 1940s. Nevertheless, Alice also has terrifying memories of the environment, such as a prairie fire. She remembers her family digging a trench around the house, and watching as the fire approached. For a small child this was a scary experience. In other words, for the second- and third-generation Germans from Russia on the Northern Plains the environment served a dual-purpose. Not only did it provide children with enjoyment, but it also contributed to their identity preservation. The plains environment provided children with entertainment opportunities, such as roaming fields, climbing trees, picking berries, hunting deer, or trapping gophers. Then again, it was also harsh at times. Children experienced prairie fires, dust storms, grasshopper plagues, blizzards, extreme heat and cold, and much more. These memories of the environment – the tranquil memories, as well as the terrifying memories – allow these generations of Germans from Russia to maintain their identity – an identity of survivors.

This past spring, David graduated from NDSU with a BS in Computer Science. Although we were fortunate that David stayed for the summer, it is now time for us to say goodbye and good luck. David has been awarded an internship with NDSU’s Campus Crusades, and will no longer be an official part of the GRHC. However, he will always have a special place at the GRHC.

We wish David the best in his future endeavors, and thank him sincerely for all of his hard work and commitment to the GRHC. Don’t be a stranger, David!

A Special Thanks,
The GRHC Staff

Focusing on memories from German-Russians living on the Northern Plains, the radio series is a collection of narratives from participants of the Dakota Memories Oral History Project. The CD set also includes commentaries by Jessica Clark, Dr. Gordon Iseminger, Dr. Tom Isern, Marvin Hartman, Michael Miller, Cassie Ptacek, and Dr. Kimberly Porter.

Public interest in documenting and preserving German-Russian ethnic identity inspired the launch of the project in 2005. Since then, organizers have been gathering stories and documenting family relationships and childhood memories of second and third generation Germans from Russia. Jessica Clark, recipient of the Germans from Russia History Doctoral Fellowship at NDSU, coordinates the project.

The CD costs $30 and is available by contacting Acacia Stuckle, special collections associate, at (701) 231-6596 or acacia.stuckle@ndsu.edu.

Click here to view a listing of clips.

“The presentation will inform the public on what the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection has to offer along with information about the Dakota Memories Oral History Project,” Stuckle said.

According to Stuckle, many Germans from Russia left North Dakota in the early 1900s to settle in central and southern Saskatchewan including the Leader area. “I plan on sharing sample video clips from interviews we have conducted and audio clips from our three radio series. The collection is an archival repository, and we are seeking historic photographs, textiles, cookbooks and family histories,” she said.

Sponsored by the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection located at the NDSU Library, the Dakota Memories Oral History Project is an effort to document and preserve German-Russian ethnic identity. Since 2005, organizers have traveled the Northern Plains, gathering stories and documenting family relationships and childhood memories of second- and third-generation Germans from Russia.

For more information, contact Stuckle at (701) 231-6596 or acacia.stuckle@ndsu.edu. Additional information about the German Russian Cultural Festival 2008 is available at http://grfest.googlepages.com/index.htm.