NEW MEMBERS CORNER
Bonnie Black – Greeley, CO
Bryan Hein – Longmont, CO
Tammy Kohlert – Greeley, CO
Jack McGrew – Fort Collins, CO
Laurie McIntosh – Berthoud, CO
Join us for our December 2025 Luncheon Meeting via Zoom!
Please join us at the Eaton Rec Center. You can park on the north or south side. We are happy to be able to accommodate dietary
restrictions, such as gluten free. Please let us know your needs when you submit your required reservations. Meal will be served
family style, which will be turkey, stuffing, potatoes, green bean casserole, salad, rolls, dessert, and drinks.
We have a special treat for us all! The Suppes Kids are a Colorado-based five sibling singing group, who love to sing. They have a YouTube Channel to view and preview the treat you all will hear in December. On their channel, you will find: music videos, scripture
songs, podcast episodes, tutorials, and lots more. You can find them on https://www.youtube.com/@thesuppeskids.
For our Christmas Luncheon, the first song will be “Hallelujah”, with just the girls singing it (in German!!) Maizey 17, Selah 13, and Avonlea 6. The second song will be called “Light of the World” which will include all 5 of the Suppes children Maizey 17, Packy 14, Selah 13, Sully 11, and Avonlea 6.
Our presenter will be Ellen Laubhan. She grew up in Follett, Texas, a farming community with a large Volga German popu-
lation. Reading historical fiction throughout her life, Ellen believed an important story was missing—the exciting, tumultu-
ous story of the first Volga German pioneers in Russia, focusing on their unflinching resolve to make a better life for them-
selves and future generations. She developed the book’s story drawing upon her ancestral roots—which included original family documents as well as many additional historic sources. Ellen spent nearly ten years researching and writing The Empress’ Gift: The Volga Frontier, which was released in 2022 by Rowe Publishing.
It was through family histories—including the pioneers’ encounters with the wolves on the frozen Volga River—that made
her want to share this story as an historical novel. While the book’s characters are fictitious, she found inspiration in many
historic individuals, including relatives who arrived in Russia several years after the first pioneers. Ellen earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and communications from Texas A&M University, Canyon, and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Wyoming. Her career in journalism, marketing, and communications began in Greeley, where she was a reporter for the Greeley Tribune. Ellen is a member of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR) and Wyoming Writers, Inc. She and her husband have four children and five grandchildren. They divide their time between Laramie, Wyoming, and Canyon Lake, Texas.
Since this presentation will be on Zoom, we would like to run a zoom trial run. If you are interested in participat-
ing please contact Dawnette Ham for the zoom link before Dec. 13th. Zoom Links can not be shared. Depending on how this goes, the Board will discuss on maybe doing some hybrid meetings in the future to include those who can not travel to the luncheons.
Recent events/news
From an April 6, 2025 Colorado Sun article – Reflections on our beloved Kraut bieroks and more! Enjoy!
https://coloradosun.com/2025/04/06/krautburger-colorado-history-lauer-krauts-brighton/
The first dedication page of our Kuche Kochen cookbook says it all to whom we owe a debt of gratitude, and to all who carry forward our culinary history. Be sure to thank them for Mother’s Day!
One of my last batches, before baking! (Cheryl Glanz)
From Betsy Kellums with the City of Greeley:
I’m writing to share that we now have an online page about our Sunrise Neighborhood Historic Resource Survey project and a place to share your Sunrise Neighborhood stories! Click this link to the Sunrise Neighborhood Historic Survey SpeakUpGreeley page, which allows you to share your memories, stories, and photos of the neighborhood! We would love for you to share them directly on the page linked below, but if you prefer to email them to me, that would work well too. And if you would be interested in doing an in-person oral history interview, I would love to schedule a time and location to do that (starting in the new year).
https://speakupgreeley.com/sunrise-neighborhood-historic-survey
Please pass along to others you know who have stories and/or want to share. We will also be doing oral histories with anyone from Sunrise who is interested, so please let me know if you and/or anyone you know would be interested and willing to participate. The stories give us a more complete history of this wonderful neighborhood!
Thank you so much and I look forward to hearing your stories!
past Events
Donation to AHSGR International Heritage Center
A familiar family farm play set of wooden, lovingly hand carved toys was recently donated to AHSGR International Heritage Center by past northern Colorado Chapter member, Gail Meisner and her sister Shirley Lorenz. Some of our members might recognize Gail, who most recently helped lead the tours for the 2023 AHSGR International Convention in Greeley, CO. Shirley is an accomplished western artist for whom the play set was originally created. This colorful play set was also used in the AHSGR NOCO chapter contributions to the Global Village Museum exhibit in Fort Collins, “European Tales and Treasures” in 2016. Gail and Shirley are cousins to John Stencel (our chapter’s most recent Belsnickel and much more with his work for the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, Colorado State University’s Center for German Russian Studies) and Randy Meisner, cofounder of the Music Hall of Fame band, The Eagles. Gail also helped the AHSGR Heritage Center recognize Randy with a display honoring his musical achievements after his passing in 2023.
Fred Meisner, Jr. and Esther Miller Meisner farmed first in Brush, CO, then operated a dairy in Kersey, CO until they moved to a farm in Wellington, CO. Fred’s family was from Grimm, Russia and Esther’s was from Frank, Russia. Shirley was born in Brush, CO and Gail was born in Kersey. Both women were avid horseback riders, with Shirley predominantly in barrel-racing and Gail becoming a pioneer in women horse trainers, an equine educator at Colorado State University and serving on numerous board of directors’ roles, all of which is another story to share in the future!
Both the playsets and the hand carved animals Shirley once played with are now on exhibit in Lincoln, NE for all to see a glimpse of farm life many of our members grew up with while living in northern Colorado. The animals even have names now, thanks to the staff at the Heritage Center.
Submitted by Cheryl Glanz, AHSGR NOCO Publicity Chair
Fred Meisner, Jr. and Esther Miller Meisner farmed first in Brush, CO, then operated a dairy in Kersey, CO until they moved to a farm in Wellington, CO. Fred’s family was from Grimm, Russia and Esther’s was from Frank, Russia. Shirley was born in Brush, CO and Gail was born in Kersey. Both women were avid horseback riders, with Shirley predominantly in barrel-racing and Gail becoming a pioneer in women horse trainers, an equine educator at Colorado State University and serving on numerous board of directors’ roles, all of which is another story to share in the future!
Both the playsets and the hand carved animals Shirley once played with are now on exhibit in Lincoln, NE for all to see a glimpse of farm life many of our members grew up with while living in northern Colorado. The animals even have names now, thanks to the staff at the Heritage Center.