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In Touch with Prairie Living
October 2007
By Michael M. Miller
Germans from Russia Heritage Collection
North Dakota State University Library, Fargo
In September, GRHC received valuable historical books donated from
Ashley, ND. Leona (Woeszner) Neu, local historian, donated German
language hymnals and Bibles she gathered from the former rural Lutheran
churches in McIntosh County, ND. Robert Wishek donated books from
his great-grandparents, John and Nina Farley Wishek. We invite you
to contact us if you have historical books in the German language
for the GRHC’s Special Collections: Music Archives & Theology
Archives.
Matthias Hofmann, majoring in English and American Studies at the
university in Chemnitz, Germany, has an internship at the GRHC until
Nov. 2, 2007. Matthias shared his thoughts on his time here in Fargo
and North Dakota State University:
“Working with the GRHC is becoming a very valuable experience
for me. My first contact to the life and history of Germans from Russia
was established through the interpretation work at the Amerika Haus
information tables at the Russlanddeutschen Bundestreffen, Wiesbaden,
Germany on May 26, 2007. I curiously listened to the various abstracts
of the life stories of the German Russians who were looking for lost
family members who might have immigrated to North America.”
Hofmann also said,“Since I started working at the GRHC in September
2007, I have been increasingly involved with the history, culture,
and heritage of the Germans from Russia, which before I was unaware
of. Working with the GRHC is an unbelievable adventure for me as I
have the opportunity to translate very interesting memoirs of German
Russians. I also get to know so many fantastic people who introduce
me to doing pleasurable things such as water-tubing, going to Bison
football games, and just having a great time.”
We are excited to announce the newest feature to our website. Visit
our new blog at www.ndsu.edu/grhc/blog. The blog is our way of staying
in touch with our faithful website visitors. Make sure you check back
often and leave comments, as we will frequently update.
Join us for the Pride of Dakota Holiday Showcase events where the
GRHC will have a booth: Alerus Center/Convention Hall, Grand Forks
(Saturday, 10 am - 5: pm & Sunday, 12 pm - pm, Nov. 3-4); Civic
Center/Centennial Hall, Fargo (Saturday,
10 am - 5 pm & Sunday, 12 pm - 5 pm, 17-18 November); Convention
Hall/Civic Center, Bismarck (Saturday, 10 - 5 pm & Sunday, 12
- 5 pm, Dec. 1-2). We will have many new items including more than
45 cookbooks.
We will also offer a special discount at the Women’s Showcase
and Pride of Dakota Holiday Showcase events. If you spend $50 or more,
you will receive a 10% discount on all items.
We have several new reprinted cookbooks available for purchase. These
cookbooks are from several areas in North Dakota including: Beulah,
Wishek, Lehr, Kulm, and Gackle. The cookbooks were originally published
in the 1960’s, 1970’s, and 1980’s, and include many
German-Russian recipes.
The dates for the 14th Journey to the Homeland Tour to Odessa, Ukraine
and Stuttgart, Germany is May 20-30, 2008. The tour includes four
days in Odessa visiting the former German villages and five days in
southern Germany including Alsace, France. For further information,
contact me or visit library.ndsu.edu/grhc/outreach/journey/index.html.
Janis Weisz Piotrowski, Tallahassee, FL, a member of the 2007 Journey
to the Homeland Tour writes, “I really enjoyed the trip. It
was a rewarding experience on many different levels — spending
time with other people with the same background and on the same quest,
learning more about the history and current situation in the Black
Sea area, as well as seeing, meeting, and talking to people from the
area were worth the trip.”
For further information about the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection,
Dakota Memories Oral History Project, Journey to the Homeland Tour
and donations to the GRHC such as family histories, contact Michael
M. Miller, NDSU Library, PO Box 5599, Fargo, ND 58105-5599 (Tel: 701-231-8416;
Email: Michael.Miller@ndsu.edu; GRHC website: www.ndsu.edu/grhc).
October 2007 column for North Dakota and South Dakota newspapers.
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Permission
to use any images from the GRHC website may be requested
by contacting Michael
M. Miller |
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