Guten Morgen! FINAL EDITION Sunday, August 3, 2008

CASPER, WYOMING – The Ballroom was chock full last night (8/2) for the final banquet of the 2008 International Convention of Germans from Russia in Casper, Wyoming. Nearly 800 persons attended the weeklong joint gathering of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR) and the Germans from Russia Heritage Society (GRHS). The week was replete with workshops, sing-a-longs, international speakers and Kuchen breaks! Ed Hoak of Long Grove, Illinois, a Past-President of AHSGR, presided over the banquet festivities. Lewis R. Marquardt and Dona Reeves-Marquardt of Austin, Texas gave the special message, Our German-Russian Communities: A Common Heritage, An Uncommon History. Lew and Dona are both Life Members of both societies. Theirs was a wonderful concluding message for this first joint session of these two German-Russian societies. Editor’s Note: As expressed by Lew and Dona, let us not allow this to be our last joint convention! The Parkway did a wonderful job, and the food was outstanding – but what really made this a remarkable convention was “unser Leute,” kindred souls from two organizations, coming together to Celebrate Our Common Heritage, the theme of the convention. We depart with new friendships and many memorable experiences! Directors and Officers for both societies and their foundations were recognized, and the AHSGR Distinguished Service Award recipients, Mayo Flegel and the late Raymond Pfau, were honored. It was also an opportunity for Convention Co-Chairs Al Feist of Hebron, North Dakota, and Patti Sellenrick of Sheridan, Wyoming, to identify those many folks who worked on the Planning Committee for the convention.

The banquet concluded with the Passing of the Lantern. For AHSGR, it passed from Casper, Wyoming, to Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, where the 2009 convention will take place. For GRHS, the lantern passed from Casper to Rapid City, South Dakota, site of the next GRHS annual convention. About 200 persons attended the Non-Denominational Worship Service in the Ballroom Sunday morning. The service was led by Rev. Mr. Don Stewart of Casper. Corinne Koehler and Del Beck were Music Leaders.

A reminder that many random photographs of convention actitives are posted at a gallery we've named Casper Memories. That gallery will remain available indefinitely, and we encourage your "Comment," if you can identify a photo or wish to make a correction or comment. All photographs are being made available to AHSGR and GRHS headquarters. This convention web site will also remain active indefinitely, although there will be no new postings, except for any necessary corrections. Many thanks.

-- Larry Miller, Editor

Gott mit euch, bis wir uns wiedersh’n!

Celebrating our Common Heritage

The theme of the 2008 International Convention of Germans from Russia this week in Casper, Wyoming (July 28-August 3) is Celebrating our Common Heritage. And to underscore that theme, society officials have tapped two uniquely qualified persons as keynote speakers for the convention banquet on Saturday night (August 2).

Our German-Russian Communities: A Common Heritage, An Uncommon History will be the message delivered by Dona Reeves-Marquardt and Lewis Marquardt of Austin, Texas, when they address the joint convention of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia and the Germans from Russia Heritage Society at the Parkway Plaza Hotel and Convention Center. Members from both societies – perhaps a thousand in all – will be wrapping up a full week of workshops, business meetings, and festive celebrations.

The convention opens Monday, July 28th and runs through Sunday morning, August 3rd. Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal will greet attendees during the official Opening Ceremony at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, July 31st.

Dona Reeves-Marquardt holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and is Professor Emerita at Texas State University, San Marcos, where she taught German language and literature for many years. Primarily of Volga-German ancestry, she has published articles on the language, history and culture of Germans from Russia and has translated major works in that area, including Peter Sinner’s Germans in the Land of the Volga and Gottlieb Beratz’ The German Colonies on the Lower Volga with LaVern Rippley and Leona Pfeifer. Dona’s parents immigrated in 1876 from Volga villages to Russell county, Kansas. She was a Fulbright scholar at Johannes Gutenberg Universität in Mainz, Germany and has studied and traveled extensively in Germany, most recently with her husband, Lew Marquardt, to her ancestral villages in the Palatinate.

Lewis R. Marquardt was born and raised in North Dakota, the eldest son of a German-Russian father and an Irish mother. He grew up among Black Sea Germans and spent his early years teaching instrumental music in South Dakota, and Interdisciplinary Arts and Humanities at Arizona State University, Tempe. His grandparents immigrated in 1888 from Black-Sea-Kutschurgan villages to Emmons county North Dakota. After the death of his first wife, he married Dona Reeves-Marquardt, a Volga-German, with whom he has traveled extensively in Germany, France, and other European countries, exploring ancestral villages, art museums, Fachwerk, and the phenomenon of foreign culture. He is a charter member of AHSGR.

Dona and Lew are Life Members of both GRHS and AHSGR and have spoken frequently in a dual-lecture format using digital presentations.

As a part of the evening, the directors and officers of the organizations will be introduced, and the new GRHS directors and officers will be installed. AHSGR will also announce its Distinguished Service Award.

Several beautiful items have been contributed to the societies, and drawings for those prizes will also take place.

The evening will conclude with the Passing of the Lantern. Next year, AHSGR will convene in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. GRHS will meet in Rapid City, South Dakota.