Volga German Customs & Traditions 1763 - 1976

Lawrence A. Weigel

Produced and copyright by Larry Weigel, Crystal Clear Audio and Video, Inc., Manhattan, Kansas, Distributed by Sunflower Chapter, American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Hays, Kansas, 2005, CD

The Germans from Russia Heritage Collection is pleased to provide this CD of the well known Volga German folk singer, musician and humorist. This CD is the first in a series that are produced by Larry Weigel, son of Lawrence Weigel.

This recording was made in 1976 by Lawrence A. Weigel, to commemorate the centennial celebration of the arrival of the Volga German settlers in Ellis and Rush counties in 1876. Lawrence traces the migration of our ancestors from Germany to Russia in 1763 and tells of the hardships they endured for a century along the Volga River before finding their freedom in America.

He demonstrated how folk songs became an integral part of the culture, by singing and playing his Hammond organ throughout his presentation. You'll hear songs about the way Volga German boys were drafted into the Russian army in 1874, migration songs, wedding songs, and an old fashioned "Hochzeit" played on his keyboard organ.

He concludes with holiday and wedding traditions, and stories about the impact of the folk medicine doctors. This is a CD every Volga German descendant should have as part of their family history for generations to come.

Lawrence A. Weigel reads the commemorative plaque located on west 9th St. in Hays, Kansas, near the site where the first Volga German immigrants arrived by train in February of 1876. (Photo taken in 1998)

CD is $17 plus Shipping & Handling

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