Journal of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia
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Journal Of the American Historical Society of Germans From Russia CONVENTION ISSUE Vol. 14, No. 3 Fall 1991 Published by American Historical Society of Germans from Russia 631 D Street • Lincoln, Nebraska 68502-1199 • Phone 402-474-3363 Edited by Headquarters Staff ©Copyright 1991 by the American Historical Society of Germans From Russia. All rights reserved. CONTENTS CATCH THE VISION ............................................…………………………………………………………..................1 Lee Kraft, AHSGR President RETURN TO BERRY MEADOW: EMERGING RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES IN SARATOV AND THE OLD VOLGA COLONIES ..................……………………………………………......... 3 Richard D. Scheuerman ANNUAL REPORT........................................……………………………………………………..........…........11 Annual Report of the International Foundation Report of the Executive Director USSR Germans-from-Russia Archives and Research Project Aussiedler Committee Chapter Organization Committee Addendum to the Chapter Organization Committee Report Editorial Committee Finance Committee Folklore Committee Genealogy Committee Historical Research Committee Library Committee Linguistics and Oral History Committee Membership Committee Nominations Committee Personnel Committee Translations Committee Ad Hoc Bylaws Review Committee Building Committee Lease Review Committee Ad Hoc Marketing Committee Presidents' Council Resolutions Committee PHOTO ALBUM I ................................................................... ………………………………………………………….28 REPORTS TO THE FOUNDATION ................................................... …………………………………………………31 REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TOGETHER WE CAN Joyce C. Demes FINANCIAL STATEMENTS MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARD .................................................…………………………………………………. 34 Lee Kraft, AHSGR President HANDING DOWN OUR HERITAGE ................................................…………………………………………………. 35 Carol J. Harless PHOTO ALBUM II .................................................................. ………………………………………………………….38 VOLHYNIAN LEGENDS ...........................................................………………………………………………………. 41 Leona Janke EVALUATING FAMILY HISTORIES AND TRADITIONS FOR EVIDENCE OF MEDICAL ILLNESS USING ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AS A MODEL ............... 49 Thomas D. Bird, M.D. THE BROTHERHOOD/BRÜDERSCHAFT ...........................................………………………………………………. 55 George Dorn WE HONOR OUR HERITAGE THROUGH FAITH ..................................... ………………………………………….57 Werner K. Wadewitz MEMORIAL ......................................................................... …………………………………………………………….58 Lydia Jesse CA TCH THE VISION Lee Kraft, AHSGR President Ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor and my great pleasure the vision that Adam projected, and we have to wonder why. to welcome you to the Twenty-second Annual Convention of Ruth Amen in her presidential keynote address at the annual the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. It's meeting in Lincoln in 1978 recognized the rapid growth of the also a pleasure to welcome you to this dynamic metropolitan society prior to 1978 and predicted that the society membership complex of Chicago, America's third largest urban area. would reach roughly 15,000 family memberships within a Chicago has long been a symbol of the melting pot that is period of 15 years. What happened? What went wrong? Why America. It has been here to this magnet of mid-America that was Ruth's dream never realized? Was she guilty of building an hundreds of thousands of immigrants have been attracted. Here unrealistic air castle? Did Dr. Giesinger and Ruth Amen they came to find out what the American Dream was all about. operate on the false premise that our society was offering a Here they came to toil and sweat to make better lives for "product" that wouldn't sell on a broad scale? themselves and their children. Indeed, this stream of By the most conservative estimate, there are, as Dr. immigrants included thousands of our Germans from Russia Giesinger said, at least a half million people on this continent descendants. that have a German-Russian heritage. At the end of last year, We have come a long way, and we have burned a few we had a total of 5,580 memberships. Stated another way, our bridges behind us since that significant day of September 8, society comprises about 10,000 individuals. That means we 1968, when the first organizational meeting of our society took have signed up as members only two percent of that 500,000 place at Windsor Gardens in Denver, at which time the forty- pool of Germans from Russia. two people present dreamed a dream and forged a vision that If we were in the business world, we would have to there might be a future for an organization that sought out and acknowledge that this two percent segment represents a collected "any and all material of whatsoever kind relating to mediocre market penetration. Our corporate strategy would the history of Germans from Russia." necessarily have to take into account how we could increase At the 1985 annual meeting at Yakima, then President Sally market share. We would consider such factors as to why there Hieb said, "Our society came into being in 1968 as the result of was not a greater demand for our product. Was our advertising the inspired dream of a few men and women who envisioned aggressive enough? Was there something intrinsically wrong an organization of some sort to record and preserve our with the product? Was there something unattractive about the precious Germans-from-Russia legacy." She gave special credit packaging? We simply could not sit back and be indifferent. to David and Lydia Miller, Alice Heinz, Gerda Walker, Adam We either grow and prosper, or we slowly wither and die. The Giesinger, Arthur Flegel, and Ruth Amen. I, too, take my hat challenge of the 90s—looking ahead to the next century—is to off to these pioneers and salute them for helping to create the develop an aggressive marketing strategy to tap a larger miracle that is AHSGR. We owe so much to these few who segment of that ethnic reservoir of Germans from Russia. A worked so uncommonly hard to lay the foundation for the large goal of at least five percent of that pool, or 25,000 members, and diverse family that our society has become. would appear to be attainable. A generous heaping of credit goes to David Miller who led I believe we are thinking too small. A more probing the society as president for the first five years and who helped analysis is needed. Perhaps it would be money well spent to to lay a firm foundation under the dream that became the engage the services of a professional marketing consultant to society. There is an old proverb that says that progress walks in analyze what we are doing right, what we're doing wrong, and Indian file behind a man willing to stick his neck out. David what we can do to more aggressively market our organization. Miller was such a man. He refused to accept defeat, and the There is some danger in going through such a process. It society survived and prospered. could challenge old ways of doing things. It might hurt some of In a keynote speech at Dearborn, Michigan, eleven years us to think big. However, I feel strongly that if this society is ago, then President Adam Giesinger mentioned that there were not to wither away, then we need to catch the vision to dream at least 500,000 descendants of Germans from Russia in the like David Miller and others did so many years ago. New ideas United States and Canada. Adam speculated that at least 5,000 and new visions, and yes, new leaders are desperately needed if additional families from this ethnic pool would be interested this organization is going to persevere and if it is to remain enough in the history of our forefathers to join our society. viable and if it is to remain relevant. Thus, I challenge you to Unfortunately, that didn't happen, and we have fallen woefully catch the vision of a new beginning of our society. short of AHSGR Journal/Fall 1991 Page I Thirteen years ago Ed Schwartzkopf at the Lincoln offense doesn't reach me." convention toasted our society by quoting Henry Ford, who Through the relatively short history of AHSGR when push said, "Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is came to shove we have demonstrated that we Germans from progress; and working together is success." Russia can work together effectively to get results. This has We have certainly "come together," and this I consider to included reaching into our pockets to come up with the money be Phase I of our evolution. I have already paid credit to the when the value of a project was clearly demonstrated. Millers, Ruth Amen, and the others who got our society off to Numerous examples could be cited. Suffice to say that raising a healthy start, "Keeping together," as Henry Ford said, is money years ago to translate and publish the Stumpp book and progress. Through the ups and downs of our early years, the the more recent effort to help Dr. Giesinger and others to trans- society thrived and matured. I call this Phase II of our late and publish the Beratz book are just two examples. The evolution. Now we are out of the teen years of our existence. donations so generously given for the Aussiedler Project in We have reached the mature adulthood of our twenty-third Germany and the most recent effort led by Timothy year, Now we are in Phase III of our evolution and into the Kloberdanz and Richard Scheuerman to get copies of valuable part that says, quoting Henry Ford again, "working together