G-Rs still in mind

 With the Germans from Russia convention still in mind, I think of Grandma Bueling’s history and her journey to the United States. Still a very young lady, she traveled with her family to escape the harsh life. According to the ship’s manifest, the family arrived with $11 and luggage. The dollar amount is very similar to that of many other families who had to use most of their funds for travel expenses. Couple the shortage of money with the language barrier and you’d have a hardscrabble life until you could become established somewhere. Eventually they made their way to the Sheldon area where she met up with her husband, a full-blooded Swede. They built a nice farmstead and they were able to live out their lives in relative security. But true to form, Grandma never talked about her experiences much. We’ve learned the reticence she exhibited was common among other German immigrants. They’d learned not to say much for fear of being overheard and sent to the labor camps in Siberia. 

At the convention one presenter told of how adamant her father was to not speak of the past for fear of Stalin. He’d become separated from his wife and two children in the old country, so he made his way to the U.S., remarried, and started a new family. He would never speak of past life, that is until he lay on his deathbed. He called his children in and told them of his previous life. Given this information, a couple of his now-grown children began a search to see if they could find their half-siblings. They found success after much work and luck and could re-unite as a whole family. It was only when on his deathbed did he open up. Before that he would become angry for anyone asking. He feared harm could find him or his family.