International Convention of Germans from Russia at Medicine Hat, Alberta

Heritage Hall

2009-07-04T14:11:00.000-07:00

Heritage Hall was the heartbeat of the convention...where everyone gathered to meet for dinner, re-unitied with friends, and discovered new village information.

Scenes of Jim Marshall...Medicine Hat artist

2009-07-04T13:58:00.001-07:00

You can't travel too far in Medicine Hat without seeing the extraordinary work of Jim Marshall. Marshall designed the artwork on the cover of the "Experience of a Life & Time," Convention program. He was visible through his work and in person as he continues to create his unique artistry throughout the city. Here are just a few of the photographs of Marshall and his work.

North Star Chapter highlights the convention at their web site

2009-07-04T13:56:00.000-07:00

Duane Stabler, President of the North Star Chapter, shares his photos and thoughts about the Medicine Hat convention on the North Star web site. Check out the links below to see his report.

http://northstarchapter.org/photo_gallery/AHSGR%20Convention%202009/AHSGR%20Convention%20for%20Web/AHSGRConvention2009MedicineHatAlbertaCanada/ahsgrconventionbanners.html

http://northstarchapter.org/photo_gallery/AHSGR%20Convention%202009/2009%20AHSGR%20Convention.htm

Our Speakers...special thanks to all who shared their expertise

2009-06-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

Here are some quick snapshots of some of the speakers at the International Convention last week.

2009 Storytelling Contest Winners....

2009-06-24T18:41:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, Ken Koehler announced the Annual Storytelling contest winners. Please congratulate all of the winners!

Youth Division

1st place ($50.00) My Great-great-great Grandma Justina Leppke by Bailey Penner (Silver Spring, MD)
2nd place ($30.00) Learning from Grandma by Evelyn Elaine Gaunt (Albertville, MN)
3rd place ($20.00) My Great-great-great Grandpa Loewen: Fishing and Frog Hunting by Gabriel Reume (Beaver, WA)

Adult Division

1st place ($100.00) Ode to Sauerkraut by Anne Stang (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)

2nd place ($75.00) The Girls of ’66 by Gwen Schock Cowherd (White Bear Lake, MN)

3rd place ($50.00) New Year in Saskatchewan 1946 by Anne Stang (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)

Honorable Mention

And It Was the End of the First Day by Gerald Bertsch (Sheboygan, WI) Farewell the Sea by Svetlana Mayer (Ponca City, OK) My Father’s Story by Polly Propp Pratt (Orcas, WA) Grandma Christina’s Letters by Pat Ramberg (White Bear Lake, MN) A Long Way From Home by Valentina Titarenko (Germany)

Saturday, June 20 Convention Update

2009-06-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

Convention attendees had a number of wonderful tours to choose from this week. Here’s a brief update on the tours not yet covered in the newsletter.

**Historic Clay District—Medicine Hat’s abundant natural resources of natural gas, coal, and clay helped to make it know as the “Pittsburgh of the West.” The clay industry boomed in the early 1900’s and Ron Mason, Education Coordinator, enthusiastically shared his knowledge of the historic Medalta Potteries site. From jiggerman skills to songs about the industry, Ron made the clay industry come to life.

**Cypress Hills Vineyard & Winery--What could be better than finding an oasis in the heart of the prairies? This tour wowed us with scenery and attention to detail. The light lunch of beef rouladen, red cabbage and dessert was a welcome accompaniment to the wine tasting.

**Elkwater Hutterite Colony—Tim Geiger was our gracious host and answered many questions as the bus drove to the Elkwater Hutterite Colony. Paul and Susie Hofer welcomed us and a 40 minute film explained much of the Hutterite history. Tours included walks through the church, kitchen, dining areas, laundromat, school, and greenhouse. And, yes, the bus did drive through the dairy barn. Thank goodness the rain held off until we were all boarded on the bus again. Be sure to see Paul and Susie on Saturday morning as they present, “Roots of the Hutterites.”

“A Celebration of Song” featuring the Corpus Christi Male Chorale of Calgary and the German Canadian Harmony Choir of Medicine Hat entertained all with their marvelous harmonies to bring our second day of the convention to a close.

Anyone with information about the missing books from the bookstore, please contact the registration desk.

Volunteers are the life blood of our organization. Please be sure to thank all of the hard-working individuals who make this convention possible.

**Speakers are reminded to submit their talks electronically to Gail Gingrich at gailg@ahsgr.org for publication in the Journal. We have already received many requests from attendees who are interested in reading more about your presentations.

Medalta building and volunteer photo used courtesy of Duane Stabler.

Be sure to view the updates with full color photos and videos online at http://medicinehatconvention2009.blogspot.com/.

Photos will be posted soon.

Convention Update...Opening General Session 40th International Convention

2009-06-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

Bonnie Laing, President, Calgary Chapter, opened the convention Thursday morning with the Presentation of the Flags as Joan Mayer led the National Anthem and O' Canada. Medicine Hat Mayor Norm Boucher and Provincial Representative Rob Renner, MLA welcome our association and convention to Canada.

Ed Hoak led the ASHGR Society Business Session and Dr. Don Schenk led the 40th International Appreciation Luncheon and International Board of Trustees Business meeting.

Dr. Harry Loewen who was born in Ukraine, Soviet Union, fled with his family west in 1943 and immigrated to Canada mesmerized the crowd with his scholarly presentation of "Unfulfilled Hopes of a Soviet-German Writer: Dominik Holmann (1899-1990).

The day wrapped up with the "Sing Song" of the Wendlin Stang Family from Macklin, Saskatchewan, who led us in song to celebrate our heritage.

BTW, our meeting rooms bear the name of Saamis. The origin of the word is contested however the name Medicine Hat is a the English translation of Saamis, the Blackfoot word for the eagle tail feather headdress worn by medicine men, aka Medicine Hat. Several legends are associated with the name from a mythical merman river serpent named Soy-yee-daa-bee, the creator, who appeared to a hunter and instructed him to sacrifice his wife to get mystical powers, which were manifest in a special hat. Another legend tells of a battle long ago between the Blackfeet and the Cree in which a retreating "Medicine Man" lost his headdress int he South Saskatchewan River.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the results of our Ninth Storytelling Contest.

Medicine Hat is much, much more than Tepees...

2009-06-16T22:11:00.000-07:00

Medicine Hat is known as the Gas City yet there is so much more to the city than meets the eye. Anumber of tour groups hae already explored the area.

Local historian Madeline Fischer led a group of convention attendees on a tour of the city Tuesday. Madeline, a former teacher, shared her expert knowledge of Medicine Hat as she guided the group through highlights of the city.

*First drive by was the Historic Clay District...beautiful brick and kilns which built the clay based industry which began at the turn of the century with the discovered of the clay in the cliffs. By 1888, bricks were manufactured in the Purmal Brick Company. From Alberta Clay to Medalta Potteries, the clay industry was key in Medicine Hat. Today The Friends of Medalta Society offers tours seven days a week including holidays. More details to come tomorrow about the afternoon tour.

*South Saskatchewan River and the CPR...in 1883 the railroad reached the river and a tent town sprang up in this area after a wooden trestle was built. In 1894 a steel trestle was built. The present brick CPR train station. was built in 1905. The River and Finlay Bridge were major trade routes to Western Canada.

*St. Patrick's Church began construction in 1912, replacing a wood building. The church stands as one of the finest examples of the Gothic architecture inspired by those of medieval Europe in plan, composition, and use of pointed openings, window tracery, buttresses, paired towers and rose windows.
*Stations of the Cross... near St. John's Senior home are a wonderful example of the creative talent of Jim Marshall whose artwork appears on the cover of our Convention program. Jim's work covers many churches and sites around Medicine Hat. Jim continues his work on busy streets in Medicine Hat.

*Hillside Cemetery has been in existence since 1886 and been under municipal operation since 1909. It comprises eight acres of sloping and level land of which fifty-seven acres are in active use. Located on Highway 3 and 10 Avenue SW, it is two blocks west of the Trans Canada Highway. Over 1600 trees of varying species make the cemetery appear to be a well-arranged forest. Many Germans from Russia are buried here.

*Esplanade is a large multi-purpose cultural centre which houses many archival records of Germans from Russia. Archivist Phil Pype led the group behind the scenes to area inaccessible to the public to share the multitude of records including:

Photographic images with over 300,000 prints, negatives and slides
Manuscript records from the public and private sector
Municipal, county, district, provincial and national maps
Audio/visual recordings, maps and drawings and along with an extensive library are stored there.

If the Esplanade does not have the information you seek, they will gladly direct you to someone who might. Visit them online at http://www.esplanade.ca/ or email Phil directly at phipyp@medicinehat.ca.

And, last but certainly not least, the Saamis Teepee, just south of the Trans Canada Highway overlooking the Blackfoot buffalo jump, is the world's tallest teepee. It was originally constructed for the Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics as a tribute to Canada's native heritage. It was moved to Medicine Hat in 1991 and reassembled on the crest of the hill overlooking the Seven Persons Coulee. At over twenty stories high, it is designed to withstand extreme temperatures and winds up to 240 km/h (150 mph). The tepee is ringed with ten large circular storyboards depicting aspects of native culture and history.

In the picture below, Ruth White and Madeline Fischer withstand the winds at the tepee.

Thanks again to Madeline Fischer, Medicine Hat historian, for sharing her extensive knowledge with us.

Wednesday evening was filled with stories and songs to welcome us to Canadian hospitality. Faye Reineberg Holt and Barry Luft alternated story and song to understand why our ancestors chose Canada and what life in was like for those settlers. We also learned a bit about hockey. Everyone joined in song, as Barry led us in with the words:

"It's forty below in the winter, it's twenty below in the fall, it rises to zero in springtime and we don't a summer at all."

The song reflects on the cold, but the bids are heating up as Ann Stang report there are fifty-seven items on the auction table. Check and double check your status as the numbers continue to climb to raise funds to support our heritage.

Be sure to check back to this blog/newsletter daily at http://medicinehatconvention2009.blogspot.com/ for updates.

Welcome to Medicine Hat...

2009-06-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

Attendees for the International Convention of Germans from Russia arrived over the past two days and more arrive every day. The registration, library, bookstore and computer rooms are up and running! Many volunteers made the setup of the convention possible.

Special thanks to Vern Kembal for helping put up the banners in the front lobby pictured above.

Register now for the International Convention of Germans from Russia

2009-05-01T18:26:00.000-07:00

For your convenience, forms are now available on line for your convenience to register for the convention in Medicine Hat this June. Plans are finalized for great workshops and the itinerary feature speakers and topics you won't want to miss.

This is the spot to share our common heritage. Medicine Hat is the place to re-connect with friends and relatives and discover many more.

Use the link below, or the link on the right to register now!

http://www.calgarychapterahsgr.ca/convregis.pdf

Welcome to International Convention of Germans from Russia

2009-04-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new blog to help you keep up to date on the latest news of our convention which is less than two months away. We will update this site with new, workshop information, speaker biographies and much, much more. Stay tuned!