MEGAN LEE Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Friday, August 1, 2008 12:00 am
They're Germans. From Russia. In Casper.
More than 700 people - from all over the United States, Canada, Germany, Russia and Argentina - registered Thursday for an annual conference of Germans from Russia at Parkway Plaza Hotel and Convention Center.
The group is made up of people whose ancestors emigrated from Germany to Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of these families lived in Russia until the end of the 19th century, when they migrated to North and South America.
"This is a way to preserve the heritage that we have - our families, backgrounds, our history," said conference co-chairman Al Feist of Hebron, North Dakota.
The group is traditionally split into two divisions: The 7,000-member American Historical Society of Germans from Russia and the 2,400-member Germans from Russia Heritage Society. The 2008 convention marks the first time in history that the two groups are meeting jointly. Usually, they hold separate conventions in different states.
The AHSGR represents Germans from Russia in the Volga region, while the GRHS more closely represents those from the Black Sea region.
The groups chose to meet in Casper, Feist said, because "the spot has some history and is kind of a neutral spot" between the two groups' headquarters.
Next year, the groups will again separate for their conventions, but "it's a great way for us to compare and share our cultures," he said.
The convention, which kicked off with a speech from Governor Dave Freudenthal, will consist of workshops, group singing in both German and English, and German cooking classes.
Kuchen, a pastry unique to the group's heritage, will be served during breaks.
"We're going to have Volga kuchen and Black Sea kuchen, and they're very different," Feist said. "All the cooking classes, we're going to be making some of the Volga version and some of the Black Sea food counterparts."
Speakers will entertain and educate history buffs in attendance. Two libraries have been developed within the convention area so that interested people can research their lineage and Germans from Russia in general.
"There are a lot of records from Russia about our grandparents, our great grandparents, that are in the archives of Russia," Feist said. "Those are things that deal with both groups."
Many of the attendees find that they can be linked back to common ancestors, he said.
"Everybody seems to be related somehow," he said. "Everybody wants to know how they're related to you."
Contact reporter Megan Lee at (307) 266-0589 or megan.lee@trib.com
For more information on the Germans from Russia convention or on joining one of the Germans from Russia groups, visit www.germansfromrussia.net.