My Family Reflections

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. However, there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life and in change there is power." is a very pertinent, but at the same time very true quote by Alan Cohen that puts the realization to many about the tiniest reason why the German Russians moved to the Americas. With so many German­ Russians moving, it is hard to understand the complexity of their situations pertaining to property, belongings, friendships, family, religious keepsakes, and animals. Each person, family, guardian, and sibling faced many hardships while moving and settling so that they could lead a better life and so that kids and generations to come could know the wonderful power of pride, land, and family; topics lessened in value in today's society. For my family, these beliefs started out with Michael and Monica Aberle who emigrated from Odessa, South Russia.

The year was 1884. Michael and Monica moved, along with an influx of German Russians, with their son Nicholas to Zeeland, North Dakota. Shortly thereafter Monica died and Michael remarried to Regina. They had twelve children together, but this is where the term "evil step-mother" comes into play. Although a very good mother and caring wife, she never really accepted Nicholas into the family and because of this, he was never allowed in any family photos that were taken. In spite of this small problem, one of the children born to Regina and Michael was Andrew Aberle, born June 1900. He, alongside his family had to work long and hard to provide a suitable lifestyle for himself and his family. This, however, was normal for any family to have many children, as the homestead could not take care of itself.

At the age of 19, Andrew was looking for a family of his own, so he went to his brother Peter Aberle's farm just southwest of Trail City, South Dakota, because there was no more available land in the Zeeland area. While there, he met Frances Bollinger, daughter of Joseph and Margaret Bollinger. The attraction was soon publicly tied when they married in November of 1926. Shortly after this, they moved to Landeau, now a ghost town north of Trail City, until the Great Depression compelled them to move to Timber Lake. Eventually in 1937 they purchased 800 acres of land a little over two miles from Trail City. They, while managing to survive economic slumps, blazing summers, bitter winters, and drought, among others, had twelve children. These trials in their lives were testaments for all of us as to how hard working the ancestors of time's past were, even though some of their moves were not quite as long distanced as moving from Russia to the US.

Change, for many, can be difficult and emotionally demanding. For instance, when new leaders come to power in a democratic atmosphere, there are oftentimes many questions about the responsibility that should be designated to that person or what kind of job they will do for the population, but the people generally support and know what their government is doing. In accordance with this, trust, knowledge, and skill are all things that a country needs to.stay strong. The same can be said for the Russian Germans who moved to the United States and formed close-knit communities. Everyone relied on one another. Everyone trusted one another. Everyone learned from one another. If someone was late for church on Sunday, then everyone knew about it by lunchtime that same day. They, as our ancestors, were pointing us in the right direction because they knew and experienced what we eventually learn, whether by their example or our action. 

History is full of times when example should have been a lesson enough, but it was not. Take the plan of Russification that was put into action by the Soviets in Russia. This plan called for everyone living there to speak Russian and to become Eastern Orthodox Christians. The Soviets could have learned from Ferdinand and Isabella's disastrous attempt at converting everyone to Catholicism in the Spanish Inquisition. Instead of criticizing the wrong decisions made by people's past, we have infinite opportunities to learn from their tragedies and triumphs. Our ancestors' examples were that of deeply religious people, not because they had a proven formula for their lives, but because that is what their ancestors taught them to do. They would risk everything for their God, and it can be pretty well said that they would not risk everything they possessed if they did not have 100 percent certainty that He exists. We too should take our example from them because they are our monuments of courage and wisdom.

Crossing the ocean to reach a new land must have been a difficult and long journey for everyone. Understandably, they were not allowed many things on their voyage to a new land. Michael and Monica, because of their deep devotion to religion, smuggled into the US two pictures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary. The pictures, which now reside in my Grandpa Andrew Aberle's kitchen, have been passed down through the generations from Michael Aberle to Andrew Aberle the First to Andrew Aberle the Second, my grandfather. The pictures were so important to them that it is a huge testimony to their faith, but also to their courage and determination to take the pictures with them when they emigrated.

In conclusion, the German Russians who immigrated to the United States had daring, perseverance, and skill. They worked hard to achieve what we now know as cities, towns, and farms. Even though they were faced with many obstacles such as drought, blizzards, and Depression, they worked through it all and started a legacy now known as the Dakotas. They worked through it for us, our kids, and for our freedoms. I cannot ever even begin to thank, repay, or convey my thanks for that which I now call home.

 Works Cited

Aberle, Andrew. "German Russian Influence." 19 March 2008. Written for the Historical Society at Timber Lake, South Dakota.

Michael Aberle. In Timber Lake History Book in the Timber Lake Museum.

 Monica Aberle. In the Timber Lake History Book in the Timber Lake Museum.