Kloberdanz speaks at iron cross dedication

It's Happening at State weekly publication of the Office of the President/University Relations, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, September 15, 1999, page 5.

Timothy J. Kloberdanz, Associate Professor of Sociology-Anthropology, recently was the main speaker at the dedication of a new "millennium" iron cross monument in Strasburg, North Dakota.

The September 4 afternoon event drew approximately two hundred fifty people from throughout North and South Dakota, including guests and visitors from as far away as Panama. Bishop Paul Zipfel of Bismarck presided over the blessing of the 18-foot high iron cross following Professor Kloberdanz's public address. His presentation was co-sponsored by the Strasburg Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society and the North Dakota Humanities Council.

The iron cross monument in Strasburg was inspired by the many hand-crafted iron grave crosses made by German-Russian blacksmiths in the early part of this century. Strasburg is in an area where some of North Dakota's oldest and most numerous iron crosses can be found.

Kloberdanz has studied the iron cross tradition for nearly thirty years and is considered an international expert on the subject. His scholarly research on iron crosses has taken him all over the Great Plains region and to Mexico, Germany, Austria, Russia, and other foreign countries as well.

In his September 4 address, Professor Kloberdanz noted that some of the oldest-known iron grave crosses can be found in Germany. These crosses were made by blacksmiths in the 1500s and 1600s and often were painted black and gold. Kloberdanz pointed out that the new millennium iron cross is also black in color, with gold symbols. "Now, five hundred years later, it appears we have come full circle. The ancient black and gold crosses in Germany have their modern-day counterpart in this new millennium iron cross in Strasburg, North Dakota."

Kloberdanz emphasized that the German-Russian iron cross tradition of the Great Plains is not dead. "There are talented individuals still making iron crosses," he said. "And the interest in this distinctive form of folk art continues to grow. Iron crosses are not relics of the past. They are not history. They are among a number of German-Russian traditions that are still very much alive."

At the conclusion of his address, Professor Kloberdanz read a poem that he had written about a German-Russian family in North Dakota who suffered the loss of seven children in a diphtheria epidemic during the spring of 1898. Seven identical iron grave crosses later were erected at the children's prairie gravesite. Kloberdanz paid tribute to the early German-Russian settlers, whose religious faith and pride in their cultural heritage helped them through extremely difficult times. "There is a story behind every iron cross out on the prairie," Kloberdanz said, "and each iron cross stands as a silent witness. Thus, it is always gratifying for scholars like myself to be able to associate names and faces and events with the old iron crosses."

Shortly after Professor Kloberdanz's address, a woman approached him and showed him an old family portrait of the German-Russian couple who had lost so many children in the 1898 diphtheria epidemic. Kloberdanz had been looking for just such a picture for years. Not only was he able to finally see an actual likeness, the woman who showed him the photograph indicated she was a relative. She turned out to be a granddaughter of Michael and Louisa Feist, the pioneer couple who constantly had to return to the same prairie cemetery, and bury seven of their children. "The entire afternoon in Strasburg was inspiring and uplifting," remarked Kloberdanz, "but that chance encounter made it all the more memorable."