Culture

​Julius Herr: A life of learning

February 15th, 2024

By Michael M. Miller

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

Dwight Herr interviewed his father, Julius E. Herr of Wishek, North Dakota, in June 1979. Dwight provided a transcription and donated the “Life Story of Julius E. Herr” to the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection.

Julius Herr was born in Wishek on July 24, 1904. His parents were John and Christine Herr. Their ancestral village was Kassel, Glückstal District, South Russia.

Dwight Herr writes: “John Herr, dad’s father, was a…

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Christkindlein and Pelznickel: A GR Christmas

December 7th, 2023

By Michael M. Miller 

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

As the Holiday Season continues, I extend Yuletide Best Wishes and a special Fröhliche Weihnachten greeting to you and your family!

The December/January 1984-1985 issue of PRAIRIES Magazine published by the Ashley Tribune included this fascinating article authored by the editor, Warren Overlie, “A Russian Christmas: How was the grand holiday of Christmas…

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​Hydroponics Putting Down Its Roots in Moorhead

November 23rd, 2023

By John Showalter 

john.d.showalter@gmail.com

photo by Logan Macrae

Anyone who lives in the Fargo-Moorhead area knows that its yearly weather is a sequence of extremes. It feels like more often than not, springs and autumns are barely there while summers drag on with oppressive heat and stifling humidity and winters with bitter cold and copious amounts of snow. The ideal window for those with green thumbs to tend…

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Nina Farley Wishek, ‘A Story of McIntosh County’

July 25th, 2023

By Michael M. Miller 

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

One of the most important books published about the Germans from Russia in North Dakota is “Along the Trails of Yesterday: A Story of McIntosh County” by Nina Farley Wishek, published by the Ashley Tribune in 1941.

Nina Farley Wishek (1869-1957) arrived in 1887 with her family in McIntosh County, Dakota Territory, where her father filed a homestead. Nina became an educator, painter, historian, and poet. In 1889, with the establishment of…

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We’re Not Leaving. Despite Location Changes, FM Pride to Return.

July 16th, 2023

By Maddie Robinson 

maddierobi.mr@gmail.com

Fargo-Moorhead Pride, considered one of the biggest rural pride celebrations in the United States, is returning August 10-13 for a weekend of fun and festivities.

This year will be the 23rd official FM Pride celebration according to Chelsea Diederich, chair of the FM Pride Planning Committee. Similar to previous years, FM Pride 2023 is projected to draw thousands of people to its wide variety of…

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Rev. George Rath (1891-1977), Author of ‘Black Sea Germans in the Dakotas’

June 27th, 2023

By Michael M. Miller

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

One of the most important books I would recommend for our Germans from Russia community is “The Black Sea Germans in the Dakotas” by George Rath.

It is available at grhc-northdakotastate-ndus.nbsstore.net/black-sea-germans-in-the-dakotas.

George Rath was born in 1891 in Nesselrode (Kuyalnik), near Birsula, Province of Odessa, Ukraine. His father was Georg, born at Bergdorf (Glueckstal District). His mother was Katharine Reiser. He was…

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​We Are Family: Anna Johnson and the Human Family

May 20th, 2023

By John Showalter 

john.d.showalter@gmail.com

Human rights is a subject that often comes up in the media. One has only to tune in to any of the major news broadcasters to hear heated debate and discussion regarding the treatment of various groups in our society, whether it be racial or religious minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, or others from all varieties of pundit and talking head.

For many these concerns are in the abstract, of intellectuals and journalists that have no bearing on…

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NEW EXHIBIT OFFERS IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE OF NATIVE STORIES AND LANDSCAPES

May 12th, 2023

By Bree Hocking

bhocking@nd.gov

From the first step inside “On the Edge of the Wind: Native Storytellers & the Land” at the State Museum in Bismarck “you get the sense this truly is another world,” says Exhibitions Manager David Newell.

Produced by the North Dakota Council on the Arts in association with the State Historical Society, the new exhibition, which opens to the public Thursday, explores connections between cultural practices, regional landscapes, and tribal oral…

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The Lasting Legacy of Father William C. Sherman

April 25th, 2023

By Michael M. Miller

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

The Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, NDSU Libraries, premiered the new traveling exhibit, “Building Life and Home on the Prairie: German-Russian Homesteads of North Dakota” on April 18 at St. Paul’s Newman Center, Fargo, ND. This event also included a panel discussion about the exhibit and the life of Father William C. Sherman.

The images and documents in this exhibit are a result of the dedicated work of celebrated religious…

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Spring Gala Wonderland

April 20th, 2023

By Alicia Underlee Nelson

alicia@hpr1.com

The Spring Gala at the Plains Art Museum returns May 6. This annual fundraiser and silent art auction benefits museum programming, so it’s a very worthy cause. But the Spring Gala is also a scene, a vibe, a whole mood. The wonder, the revelry, the tiny touches of delicious, laugh-out-loud novelty keep people coming back for more, year after year.

It is the kind of party where couture and cosplay are equally appreciated, where aerialists twirl and…

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By Michael M. Millermichael.miller@ndsu.edu Dwight Herr interviewed his father, Julius E. Herr of Wishek, North Dakota, in June 1979. Dwight provided a transcription and donated the “Life Story of Julius E. Herr” to the Germans…

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