|
 Germans
from Russia in the Yakima Valley, Prior to 1940
Compiled by Frieda Eichler Brulotte and Louise Elton Potter
Central Washington Chapter, American Historical Society of Germans
from Russia, Yakima, Washington, 1990, 219 pages, hardcover.
Originally intended as a Washington State Centennial project for
1989, this researched undertaking was extended to accurately glimpse
how Germans from Russia residents established themselves in the
Yakima Valley. They labored in sugar beet fields and malting hops
yards, pruning and harvesting fruit orchards, propagating tree seedlings
in nurseries, and recruited into various factories such as U & I
sugar refineries and Ca Pak (later Del Monte) canning of corn, peas,
asparagus and fruit.
The authors emphasize their purpose as a documentation for departing
Russia in search of more freedom in the New World, where they specifically
found this "better way of life" in the Yakima Valley. In an encyclopedic
order, these compelling family stories show how they adjusted to
the American experience of new opportunities, various hardships
and hope for a better life. Through their homes and churches, they
preserved their ethnic traditions valuable from their Russian and
German cultural memories.
This book captivates with an unvarnished truth of comparative
life-journey struggles and successes. While most family listings
are Volga German, surprisingly many Bessarabian (almost 25%) and
Liebental immigrants are also well-documented. The four chapters
are categorized as follows:
Chapter One provides a general history survey of Washington State,
and particularly The Yakima Valley;
Chapter two relates founding town histories in the Yakima Valley;
chapter three describes the various churches where they worshipped;
chapter four (continues after a twenty-six paged preface) lists
a 212 page encyclopedia of family surnames, elaborated with biographic
sketches and photographs; and the index provides cross-referencing
of historic Russian villages and ancestral family surnames.
This book features a "crown jewel" on pages 74-77. A blunt, yet
detailed, history in a tripartite essay as recited by members of
the John George (Han-Yerg) Kissler Family in "Some Recollections
of Life in Russia," high-lighting the Volga German experience in
comparative over-lay with later American immigrant experiences.
Book review by Jay Gage, Exhibits Curator, Germans from
Russia Heritage Collection, North Dakota State University Libraries,
Fargo.
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John and Caroline Koch Knopp
lived in Yakima, Washington. John was born in Frank, Russia,
on April 16, 1898. He was the son of Henry and Marie Barbara
Willman Knopp. He came to America with his parents in 1903,
arriving at Ellis Island, New York. Caroline was born on July
2, 1897 in Kolb, Russia. |
Photo of the Schelert family of Yakima,
Washington including (front row): Lydia, Mrs. Albertina and
Herbert Schelert; (back row): Adolph, Albert and Martha. Albert
Schelert farmed in North Dakota and Montana before moving to
the Yakima Valley where he farmed northwest of Toppenish, Washington.
Albert was born in Volhynia on April 23, 1895. He was the son
of Edward and Albertina (Lou) Schelert. He immigrated to the
United States in 1909 with his family. In 1924, he married Lydia
Fauth in North Dakota. Albert and Lydia Fauth Schelert had fourteen
children. |
Germans from Russia in the Yakima Valley Prior to 1940
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