AHSGR FOLKLORE
& LINGUISTICS
COMMITTEE
Annual
Report for
2006-2007
Members of the 2006-2007
Folklore and Linguistics Committee include: Nancy Borrell of Lincoln, Nebraska;
Irmgard Ellingson of Grafton, Iowa; Shirley Flack of Scottsbluff, Nebraska;
Brother Placid Gross of Richardton, North Dakota; Howard Guenthner of
Laurel, Montana; Mabel Kiessling of Calgary, Alberta; Gwen Meister of
Lincoln, Nebraska; Mary Ann Wilhelm of Wheatland, Wyoming; Gladys Wyatt of
Harrisburg, Nebraska; Ken Koehler (Vice Chair) of Arvada, Colorado; and Timothy
J. Kloberdanz (Chair) of Fargo, North Dakota.
Our Committee met in
Lincoln, Nebraska in the Fall (October 27, 2006) and again in Lincoln in the
Spring (March 23, 2007). We also
plan to meet during the annual convention in Hays, Kansas, on June 12, 2007.
In addition, we communicate via e-mail, postal mail, or telephone.
We had another very busy and
successful year. The following is
but a brief sampling of our recent
activities and accomplishments:
1.
The biggest achievement of the year was the completion of Volume I of the
Germans from Russia storytelling anthology.
This project was years in the making and took hundreds of hours to
complete. The book WE REMEMBER:
STORIES OF THE GERMANS FROM RUSSIA was released less than a year ago.
It includes nearly eighty German-Russian stories– stories that now are
preserved for posterity and are shared with all interested members of our
Society. The book has been a good seller at Headquarters and a number of AHSGR
Chapters have featured the book at meetings and chapter get-togethers.
It is hoped that Volume II will be ready in time for the 2008 Convention
in Casper, Wyoming.
2.
The Winter 2006 issue of the AHSGR Journal was devoted entirely to
the folklore and stories of the Germans from Russia.
The eleven articles and stories dealt with a wide range of topics:
quilts, folklore education, folk music and folk song, Kansas Mennonites, Volga
Germans in present-day Siberia, German-Russian discrimination and segregation in
Colorado, traditional foodways and sausage-making, old barns, family stories,
character anecdotes, and favorite Christmas customs.
3.
We have another informative and entertaining Folklore Symposium planned
for the morning of June 15. The 2007
presenters include: D. Chris Johnson of Lawrence, Kansas (German-Russian
dialects of Kansas); Leona Wasinger Pfeifer of Hays, Kansas (life histories of
pioneering women in Russia); and Larry Weigel, Jr., of Manhattan, Kansas (Volga
German folk songs and folk music). Larry
Weigel is back by popular demand, as he was a tremendous hit at last year’s
Folklore Symposium. We are so very
pleased that Larry is continuing his father’s tradition of preserving and
sharing the beautiful folk music of our ancestors.
4.
There will also be another “special” folklore presentation during our
2007 convention in Hays, Kansas. Tatjana
Schell of Munich, Germany, will speak to us about the importance of preserving
our folklore and cultural heritage. Tatjana’s
perspective will be truly international, as she was born in the Volga region of
Russia and now makes her home in Bavaria, Germany.
5.
The 2007 AHSGR Storytelling Contest drew about twenty entries.
These entries came from many different parts of the country: Arizona,
California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Texas,
Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming. There
was even an entry from Helsinki, Finland! The
2007 winners include a First Place Winner, a Second Place Winner, a Third Place
Winner, and five Honorable Mentions. The
winning entries will be announced at the Storytelling Session during the
Convention on the afternoon of June 15. Three
of the top winners will share their stories at that time.
Many thanks to this year’s readers who had the difficult task of
scoring the entries: Irmgard Ellingson of Iowa; Shirley Flack of Nebraska; and
Corinne Koehler of Colorado. Our
Committee is so pleased at the number of people who sent in stories and who
obviously want to preserve a part of our people’s fragile history and culture.
To us, every single story that is entered in the Storytelling Contest is
a winner!
If any AHSGR members wish to
provide our Committee members with ideas regarding new folklore projects or
future folklore speakers, please feel free to contact us.
We appreciate and welcome your suggestions!
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Timothy J. Kloberdanz,
Chair
AHSGR Folklore &
Linguistics Committee