116 Years of Volga Germans in FresnoTranscripts of a speech given by Diana Bell at the 1997 AHSGR convention IN THE BEGINNING, there were 10 families of Germans from Russia, who arrived in Fresno, CA on June 19, 1887. On May 8, along with 219 other immigrants, they had left the villages of Straub and Stahl am Tarlyk, on the Wiesenseite of the Volga River, journeying westward traveling by wagon, train, and boat through Poland, East Prussia, and Brandenburg to Bremen, Germany, the port of embarkation. When they docked in New York, they intended to go to Lincoln, Nebraska. 52 days later, on June 19th, 31 of these pioneers arrived at the old Southern Pacific Railroad Depot in Fresno, California. They brought their families to this great San Joaquin Valley to seek a better life for themselves and scouting for other families in their home villages in Russia. According to Alex C. Nilmeier, of Fresno, his grandfather Philip Nilmeier had become acquainted with a Jewish salesman on board ship. He was a man of the world who believed the San Joaquin Valley had great potential as an agricultural area. Philip Nilmeier was able to convince ten families to change their destination from Lincoln, NE to Fresno. In 1919, he said that certain articles in a little booklet, setting forth the attractions of Fresno County, for working people, also induced him to break away from the homeland. From the village of Straub came: In the San Joaquin Valley and Fresno, CA area, these are well known names even today. These people started the population growth of Fresno and the surrounding area by leading some 35,000 Germans from Russia to immigrate here. As reports filtered around the world, momentum reached the peak years during 1909-1920 While many thousands of Volga-Germans had migrated to the United States prior to 1887, few had reached the Pacific Coast or the San Joaquin Valley. According to John Conrad Metzler, one of the first, he and a number of the prospective settlers had been in communication with an agent, Missler by name, of the Nord-Deutsche-Lloyd Steamship Company, from Bremen, Germany, who recommended the "fertile lands" of the San Joaquin Valley of California. Whether the agent actually knew of conditions in California or merely booked the immigrants across the US for the added revenue, may never be known. The steamship line arranged for all details and made Fresno the destination. Most of them arrived with very little in goods or money but with a willingness to work hard, to achieve a home and a living for their families by honest means. They came with the clothes on their backs, a few rubles in their pockets, a Bible, the German Wolga-Gesangbuch, Starck's Prayer Book, and a few other items of importance. Also, owing a debit to someone back in Russia for advancing the ship fare, which was about $200. Their great faith in God gave them the courage to face a strange land, unknown language, to start all over. These hardy German immigrants had but one resolve- to be independent, to own land, practice their chosen religion and to raise their families to be good citizens. Upon arriving in Fresno, with no previous arrangements having been made, they were very lucky to be met by a Mr. Zumkeller, Mr. Green and Mr. Goldstein. These three early-day Germans operated small businesses and went out to greet them and see if they could help with lodging and work for our 10 families. Imagine their delight to be greeted by the German language in this strange land. The three men helped feed the hungry immigrants and found them lodging for the night. Mr. Goldstein had a two-story rent house for some of them to live in and helped find jobs for the menfolk in the country. Philip Nilmeier started to work for him the next morning, carrying brick and hod. From a transcript of an interview with John Conrad Metzler: Another immigrant, John Carl Kerner, had been planing to leave Straub even before May of 1887. At a meeting of the community in Straub, in March, the members of the Colony, gave permission for John Carl and his family, to go abroad. Fresno County had a real estate boom going in 1887 and it may have been copies of one of the two newspapers then in existence, or one of their real state propaganda publications which reached the hands of people on the Volga, or, more probably fell to the offices of the steamship lines. The Southern Pacific Railway Company was also a strong influence in offering exceptionally low fares for immigrants and operating cars of a special type for migrating homeseekers. They needed railroad workers, also. Tragedy struck within the first month after their arrival. Many of the children were stricken with a virulent type of measles. Seven of the children died. Dr. Chester Rowell, who played an important role in the development of Fresno, became the friends of the Volga-Germans, although he had a limited knowledge of German. He took care of the funeral and burial arrangements. Due to a fire that destroyed the registry office, the families were not able to later place monuments over the graves in Potter's Field. Thus, the first Volga-German immigrants lie in nameless graves. Only 2 adults of the original band were alive in 1947, and only one remained in 1948. Although Fresno was having a real estate boom, our Germans were poor and were unable to buy lots at this time. Work was plentiful in construction, viticulture and fruit packing. They followed the crops around, the whole family working at picking, cutting and drying apricots, then on to the peach harvest, finally came the grape harvest. While mother picked grapes, often the smallest children slept under the grapevines. The type of work was not important so long as they could make a living. The first spare money went back to Russia to pay for their passage over; the next to buy a home of their own and eventually to buy farms. A major trait of thrift helped them to get ahead. The depression of 1893-1895 saw a decline in real estate values. Hundreds of farms were lost through foreclosures but because they were very frugal, the Germans were able to buy or lease property at deflated prices. Laborers became land owners. The first immigrants moved into a poor section of Fresno, in the southwest part of town. Attracted by their countrymen, subsequent immigrants quite naturally gravitated to this same area. Since they were Germans from Russia, other townsmen referred to this area as "Roosian or GermanTown". This area was bound by other ethnic groups; Italian, Armenian, Chinese. Regardless of how dilapidated the area you had to drive through, suddenly, south of Ventura Ave, there was a distinct change which was noticeable to even a casual observer. Homes were painted and in good repair, lawns and yards were neat and clean, driveways swept. Clean, honest and hardworking people. It was joked that if a leaf fell, they took turns rushing out to pick it up. (Some say that was their evening entertainment) The pattern of living in Fresno was vastly different from that of the Volga River country. Lumber was plentiful and cheap, the climate mild. As soon as land was purchased, homes were built. Usually a small frame house which was added to, as the family increased and money became available. Whether all their time was spent farming or they worked in the City and farmed out in the countryside, they came into close contact with other ethnic and native-born people. A huge step in the direction of assimilation was taken. Most parents wanted their families to become "Americanized" and to speak English, as soon as possible. Other changes in the family life style came into being. Where the son used to bring his bride home and all lived under the same roof, within a generation, young people who desired to follow the American pattern, established homes of their own immediately after marriage. While living in Russia, they kept to themselves. But here in Fresno, they learned English and became citizens of the US. The 1st & 2nd generations seldom married outside their ethnic group, but the following generations inter-married with other nationalities. Of sports distinctly Russian-German brought to this country, only one, pigeon-fancying has survived. John Conrad Metzler, one of the first immigrants, arrived with a cage of prized pigeons. Later immigrants thought enough of their birds to bring them to America. For 60 years, the sport has been avidly followed by German-Russians and their descendants. At the 1948 Fresno County Fair, pigeons of German-Russians won 7 of the first 8 places. Peter Bitter, who died just this year, was an avid pigeon fancier. Of course, you all have heard similar stories about your own home towns in the early days. Roy Spomer, of Madera, CA, has written about the German Influence in the History of Fresno County and many articles have been printed in the AHSGR Journals and newsletters and the Cross Church Anniversary book is a major source of information to many in Fresno. Our great country and towns were built on the sweat and labor of immigrants from many countries. Our ancestors worked very hard so that we could live in this modern world of today. From time eternal, parents have always wanted a better life for their children than they had. As with most villages or towns, Fresno was nothing much to start with. It took far sighted men to dream and invent and put into reality the means to build the San Joaquin Valley into the Bread Basket that it is. Located in the heart of the Great Central Valley, very near the center of California, Fresno is a window into the heartland, the richest agricultural region of the state. Transformed from aridity by large scale irrigation, this water-dependent landscape has been the fastest growing region of California. John C. Fremont first came through this area in 1844. California became a state in 1850. The first religious service was recorded in Fresno County at Fort Miller, on Oct 21, 1855. The California State Legislature, in April of 1856, created a new county, to be called Fresno. On June 9, 1856, the first board of supervisors was elected by 319 votes out of a total of 500 residents in the county. In 1860, a German syndicate, which became known as the San Joaquin Valley Land Association, headed by William S. Chapman, acquired 80,000 acres at $1.80 per acre, between the San Joaquin and Kings Rivers. In 1868, one member of the syndicate, A Y Easterby took possession of a large portion of this land, which became the city of Fresno. Fresno was the "Child" of Easterby. He had the honor and credit for being the "Father of Modern Irrigation". The members of this German organization left a giant imprint in the history of Fresno City and County.
In the 1875 census, there were 400 whites and 200 chinese in the city. Until the mid 1880's there was no organized government, no sanitary facilities, no street improvements and no public services. Into this small city, came our ancestors in 1887. Even though John Eastwood was born in Scott County, Minnesota, in 1857 of Dutch parents, without his heritage of engineering and water, he might not have heeded the call "to go west, young man" and move to Fresno, which the Southern Pacific Railroad was touting as the "garden spot" of the West. At first, his skills were utilized in building logging railroads, flumes and log ponds for the emerging timber industry around Shaver Lake. When Fresno became a city, he became it's first city engineer, and surveyed roads and supervised construction of streets. He was appointed chairman of the "100,000 Club, whose goal was to boost Fresno's population to that number from the 10,000 citizens it had at the time. ONLY ONE PROBLEM - FRESNO NEEDED WATER TO
PROSPER. There was ample underground water but it had to pumped and there was no available source of power, except for ineffective hand and steam pumps of the day. Fresno needed more than the small, gas-fired, steam-generating electric plant, which could not even power all the city's street lights. He organized the San Joaquin Electric Co and refined his ideas for power development-- a Hydro-electric plan generating 1,400 horsepower. On April 14, 1896, Eastwood silenced his critics when his wife pressed the magic button and the San Joaquin Electric Co made history and began generating power, years ahead of any other power plant, with the longest transmission line in the world. In its day, it was a project rivaled only by the construction of the Panama Canal. Fresno was electrified, long before many other major California cities. "He is the unsung hero of hydroelectric development in Central California" said Ed Steen of Fresno, a retired National Forest Service Employee and historical adviser to the great historians, Will and Ariel Durant. The history of Fresno in the San Joaquin Valley is the history of water. Massive statewide water systems and irrigation-dependent farming, draining and reclaiming of Tulare Lake and Basin, construction of major dams and canals, "making the desert bloom", and on-going "water wars" have transformed Fresno and the area, leaving almost no evidence of what was once a semi-arid environment. This "man-made" environment has given this region the distinction of being the richest agricultural county in the nation. the Central California Valley is the most productive agricultural area in the nation. HEAT, SMOG AND VALLEY FOG Life was lived according to the weather, sometimes cold, wet with fog, oft-times very warm, which made for good growing of crops. We are more comfortable now, with air conditioning, etc. but smog is the downside of living in this great valley. Living is not always easy even in these modern times. Another important invention that greatly influenced the shape of agriculture in the Fresno area was the small earth-moving device invented in Selma, in 1872, by Abijah McCall and Frank Dusy. In June 1885, a patent was issued for this scraper and it was developed to its full potential by Fresno blacksmith, James Porteous. The Fresno scraper was used for digging the first canals in the valley and later, was used in land and railroad construction. Soon it was used all over the world. It was used extensively in the building of the Panama Canal, France used it for railroads in Syria, the Russians in the Far East and the British in South Africa and India. James Porteous was credited with 46 inventions, most of which had to do with farming equipment that was very important to the farmers of the Fresno area. The history of Fresno is dotted with enterprising men and women, many German names amongst the list. Large land holders in the early days were: MILLER & LUX, BERNARD MARKS, OTTO FROELICH, ISAAC FREIDLANDER, M. THEO KEARNEY, S A MILLER, GUSTAV HERMINGHOUS, HENRY ROEDING, THOMAS FOWLER, AND A Y ESTERBY. M. Theo Kearney, known as the "Prince of Fresno" and the "Raisin King of Fresno", was an agent for the German syndicate, and had his headquarters on 6,000 acres on the west side of Fresno. His home still remains and is the headquarters for the Fresno Historical Society of Fresno, and is set in the midst of Kearney Park where many people enjoy the space and peacefulness of the country. The first notice of raisins, in California history, was in 1863 at the State Fair. The pioneer vineyardist in the Fresno area, was F T Eisen. He first planted grapes in 1872 and in 1873 he planted his first raisin vineyard of 25 acres. His first dried raisin crop in 1876 was by accident, caused by extreme heat. He sold them in San Francisco as a "Peruvian Delicacy". In 1878, Miss M F Austin, a school teacher from San Jose, bought a young vineyard from Bernard Marks, a Central Colony founder, and extended it into a 100 acre parcel. She originated the first fancy raisin pack and made her first shipment of 10 boxes, in 1878. Other prominent names during that time, that added to the promotion and growth of the grape and raisin industry were: Robert Barton, a German born nobleman, August Weibe, H. Voorman, W. S. Chapman, Minnie Eshleman, A. B. Butler, George Malter, Joseph Goodman, George Eggers, Frederick Roeding, W. H. Zoothout, William Forsyth. In 1874, the farmers out-numbered the cattlemen, so the courts passed the
"no fence law" which required the cattlemen to fence his own
pastures instead of the farmer fencing his crop land. As a result of this
law, the growing of wheat made tremendous gains, and made California the
largest wheat growing state in our country, for several years, around 1875.
The Russian Germans had brought the Turkey "Red" wheat seeds with
them. That wheat was used to great effect and benefit to the USA and the
nation's farmers. Water and the "no fence law" made all this
possible. Currently, Fresno county agribusiness generates 20 million
dollars a year. All these things took place just a few short years before the arrival of the Germans from Russia, on June 19, 1887. Ten families, 10 men, 9 women, 12 children. All the men were farmers except one, a carpenter. At the time, Fresno was considered a desert fit only for pasture and worthless for agriculture. Water made the difference! These first Germans and the many thousands that followed them, were bound to prosper with hard work and honesty. They would work at anything. Many worked in the raisin and fruit packing houses, in construction of streets, sewer lines, sidewalks, cellars, etc. Many worked for the railroads. They were the "wetbacks" of their day. To start, Fresno was more primitive than the villages they came from, the extreme heat caused some fruit to bake before they ripened. The desert heat sometimes reached 130 degrees in the shade. Today, we only have 110 degrees for about a week or two during the summer. Through their prudence and perseverance, they ushered in the wine, fruit, and raisin industries. When the depression came in the 1890's, the frugal Germans who had been saving, could buy good land cheap because the large land owner was willing to sell. Many of the Germans now moved out of "Rooshin Town" to their new 20 acres. This all happened because of three factors: the colony system of land development, the establishment of surface water for irrigation, and the arrival of frugal hard working Germans from Russia. By 1900, the population of Fresno was about 12,000 and many moved out into Biola, Kerman, Sanger, Reedley, Selma, Dinuba, Fowler, thereby building the Greater San Joaquin Valley agriculture system of California. It was established there was an excess of 100,000 Germans from Russia living in the close vicinity of Fresno in 1970. Businesses still in operation in 1997 are: Fresno Ag Hardware, established in 1876, by James Porteus, owner-inventor; Penny Newman Grain Co, which began as Kutner-Goldstein in 1878; the Warner Jewelry Co, still run by the founding family since 1880; the Stephens & Bean Funeral Home of the 1880's (they had the first motorized hearse in the US); Hobbs Parsons Produce of 1892; Twining Laboratory established by Dr. Frederich Twining in 1897; and the Danish Creamery Co of 1895. The city population in 1989 was 350,000 and the metropolitan area was 500,000. In 1924, California produced 90% of the US production of raisins -- Fresno County produced 81% of that total. The original raisin packing was done by the larger farms, mostly with the labor of Germans from Russia who were extremely tough and strong. The Rosenberg Brothers became the king pin of the raisin packing industry, followed by Guggenheim and Bonner Packing. During the early 1920's, the raisin acreage reached 600,000 acres. Sun Maid Growers Association reached 90% of the San Joaquin Valley production. THEN came the prohibition law of 1918 to 1934. THEN came the depression. Foreclosures were the norm and the population of Fresno dropped from 80,000 to 50,000 from 1920 to 1928, because of the one crop economy of the area. Bonner Packing Co is the oldest existing raisin packing plant in California. Charles G Bonner's maternal grandfather was C. J. Wolters, a German from Bremen and his stepfather, Mr. Locan, was of German origin also. We must also mention the raisin industry's modern method of advertising: The Dancing Raisins. TV brought these dancing raisins to the world RELIGION: They were free to practice their religion and in doing so created a goodly number of churches, here in the Fresno area: The FREE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CROSS CHURCH (NOW KNOWN AS THE CROSS CHURCH , ------- ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, ---- 1890-EMMANUEL LUTHERAN CHURCH -- SALEM EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH, ------- 1900- ZION CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH,------- THIRD CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, -------- EV. LUTHERAN WARTBERG CHURCH ------- 1921-BIOLA CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST , -------- AND MANY OTHER CHURCHS FOR DIFFERENT GROUPS OF PEOPLE. The Cross Church was the first one organized on March 15, 1892, with 85 members. In 1895, the first brick church was built, expanding in 1914 to a new building and was moved three blocks, on giant rollers, taking 6 months to move, just to make room for a highway on-ramp. That building still stands in what was "Roosian Town" and is now used as an African- American Church The current Cross Church was built in 1968, in northwest Fresno. This church has lasted, in one form or another, for 105 years. Their anniversary books are great genealogical resources for the Fresno area The Cross Church also founded a Senior Citizen's facility
called "Twilight Haven". It houses regular apartments, minimum care
beds and nursing care. Many of our senior members have used and are still
living in this facility. Names such as: SCHWABENLAND, RAU, SCHARTON, KRUM, HARTMAN, GRILL, RUDY, GLEIM, BUSICK, STEITZ, PRIES, HERDT, WEIGANDT, STEIGLITZ, RUPPEL, BOPP, AXT, PEARLMAN, ROTH, SCHMALL, GERINGER, WAGNER, HYDE, KEMMER, MARTIN, MARKS, SCHNEIDER, DIEL, KISTER, NILMEIER, KERNER. With all types of businesses: We seemed to have had the food and drink businesses covered. Of course, most of the other professions were covered also: FARMERS, RANCHERS, DOCTORS, LAWYERS, TEACHERS, ACCOUNTANTS, CLERKS, BANKERS, COLLEGE PROFESSORS, ETC. FRESNO PACIFIC UNIVERSITY IS A MINNONITE COLLEGE WITH A GREAT GENEALOGY LIBRARY. FRESNO STATE UNIVERSITY NAMED "BIEDEN FIELD" AFTER PETE BEIDEN, A BASEBALL COACH. We also have German representatives of the People in all levels of government: City
and County councilmen such as Ken Steitz. In 1987, when the Central California Chapter celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the arrival of the first Germans from Russia in Fresno, those members who were born in Russia, had lived through the building and growth of Fresno and into the modern life style we now enjoy. They had seen it all -- it is mind boggling to think what they have lived through. The Honor Roll reads as: AMALIE KRELL BISCHEL, GOTTLIEB BORGARDT (celebrated his 100th birthday in Dec of 1997-now deceased) , ALEXANDER DUPPER, HENRY DEIS, JR, MARIE GERINGER FLEMING (still present), RUDY GERINGER ( still here), HENRY HAAS, HENRY A HAAR, FRED HEPPNER, EMILIE HEPPNER, ETTA HUNTLEY, JAKE JANZEN, PETER LEHMAN, MARIE HEIZENREDER LEHR (still with us) , ROSALIE GERINGER MEISNER, HEINRICH MARTIN, MARIE CHRISTINE OSTERGARD, DAVID PFISTER JR , FRED ROTH, LINDA HAAS SMITH ,MARIE BITTER SCHNEIDER, MOLLIE SCHIEBELHUT, HENRY BAUER, ANNA HAUPT AXT, MOLLIE BRASE HENDERSON (still present), KATHERINE SCHILLING FREHLING and DOROTHY YADA HEINRICH . THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA CHAPTER OF AHSGR was started July 13, 1971, in the home of Ray and Christine Schwabenland in Fresno. Also attending were Norman and Joyce Bitter, Emma Shepard, JoAnn Kelim and Ralph Hoff. By the end of 1971, we had 38 paid members and these were designated Charter members.
Our Chapter was Chartered at the convention in Boulder, Colorado in 1972, two or three years after AHSGR was organized in Lincoln, NE. Our chapter hosted the 1974 International Convention in Fresno. In October of 1975, we began fundraising to purchase a permanent home for our chapter. Our first annual Oktoberfest or Heritage Day, was held in 1976. This great yearly event is our main fund raiser and has kept our Library\Museum open for the public. We have had attendance, as high as 2,000, most tickets sold in advance. Just like other home chapters, we held "broda dinners", bake sales, made noodles and more noodles, garage sales, made Berocks, etc. We are still making noodles every other month and make and sell around 6,000 Berocks, twice a year. All of this is done with the same people and perseverance as when our ancestors first arrived. We participated in the Bi-Centennial Parade and Pageant in Fresno and parades in outlying towns, winning 7 trophies with our 8 x 30 foot trailer float, promoting the Germans from Russia. Our chapter was incorporated on 30 June, 1977. We were proceeding in our goal of collecting genealogy, maps, church records, books, etc. Our members, under the direction of Selma Wulf, spent 3 years copying the Fresno City and County records on birth, deaths and marriages. Declarations for citizenship were copied and bound into books. These are a very valuable resource for our genealogy research. We began collecting quite a few items of museum quality, Adam Meisner built some beautiful display cases, and the Legler family donated many pieces of furniture and artifacts for our museum. In 1981, we were 10 years old and held festivities to celebrate the event. We continued to write family histories, making village maps of Lauwe, Stahl am Tarlyk and Warenburg and the German Chorus was in great demand entertaining various groups. In 1982, the Investment Committee reported that it was time to look for land and a building to house our fast growing collections of genealogy information and museum items. In December, we held the key to our new home : an old firehouse that we purchased from the City of Fresno, on West and Shields Avenues. Of course, as with any recycled building, business or home, you start with a renovation program: plumbing, painting, carpeting, office furniture, telephones, etc. Many of these items and many hours of labor were donated to us by our very generous members. Dedication of the Central California Chapter of AHSGR Library and Museum was held August 14, 1983. Proud describes how our members were. Our new American Flag came from Congressman Richard Lehman and had flown over the nation's capitol. Those also in attendance: Fresno City Mayor, Daniel K Whitehurst, Fresno City Councilman, Ted C Wills and AHSGR Board member, Alex Dupper. We have over 100 books and manuscripts that were donated to our Library by Emma Schwabenland Haynes. In 1986, a Life Membership was purchased from AHSGR, for our Chapter Library, so we continue to receive all the Journals and Clues to stock our shelves. Our members continue to donate time and labor to keep us open. We do not charge an entrance fee and our members volunteer on a weekly basis to show visitors around. With a permanent building, we store supplies for the annual Oktoberfest, make our noodles, hold garage sales, collect papers and cans for recycling, and show visitors through our Museum to promote our Heritage. In 1988, our Chapter helped host the Sacramento International Convention, as we helped at the 1997 San Jose Convention. Of course, being a modern, upbeat, active Chapter, we now have 2 computers to contain our growing collections of over 340 family trees and Fresno City and County vital statistics, funeral home records, and more. Our member, Betty Muradian wrote and we sell, a book on the village of Kukkus. Other members, such as Ruth Diel Jensen, also have written family histories and various works of interest to all Germans from Russia. In 1995, we became the AHSGR West Coast Repository, housing the duplicate collection of obituaries and family group cards that Art Flegel had gathered in his home. Our second computer, is for internet research. With our Fax machine, e-mail and of course, snail mail, we can process research requests from all over the country. You may come in and do your own search of our files or contact us to look for a particular bit of information for you SO, IF YOU COME THRU
FRESNO, OR NEED A BIT OF INFORMATION, CONTACT US FOR HELP. THAT'S WHAT WE ARE
HERE FOR. IF YOU WANT TO SEND US A COPY OF YOUR GENEALOGY, WE WOULD BE HAPPY
TO PUT IT INTO OUR COMPUTER. SEND VIA GED.COM, IF YOU HAVE A COMPUTER OR SEND
PAPER COPIES AND WE WILL KEY INTO THE COMPUTER FOR YOU.
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