The Tale of Dieter Von Stein

            Slowly, Dieter von Stein opened his tired eyes.  Within merely a few fractions of a second, the deep red hues of the infantile sunrise let loose a barrage of light into his pupils.  He groaned, quickly squinting his eyes to delay the inevitable flood of light.  In a last, futile attempt, he pressed a sweat-drenched hand to his brow, barely shielding his hazel eyes from that morning glow. Reluctantly, Dieter rolled over in bed and rose to his feet.  His mind, already alert and functioning completely, quickly ran through all of his daily chores.

            Dieter's family based their income and their lives upon farming.  They lived in a small town known as Austadt by its residents.  Austadt, or “Meadow Town”, was called such due to the abundance of good farmland, which, through the monitored, careful reaping of its harvest, had survived the test of time with little damage.  Austadt's founder, Jakob Werner, would have built Austadt directly upon the route between Lübeck and Hamburg, which would have made it a prime trade location, but he decided he wanted peace and quiet.  Werner was a former city watchman from Hamburg, but he had disliked the bustle and constant noise of his home, and, in 1712, had departed with his wife to erect a small farm out in the countryside, about 20 miles to the west of the trade route, to be precise.  Soon, those who preferred to farm and live in peace joined him.

            Despite its slow growth, Austadt had always prospered thanks to its hard-working residents.  Through farming, they had managed to keep a steady income, and the constant flow of traders and diplomats and adventurers who traveled between Lübeck and Hamburg mostly kept to their route and didn't bother them.  Through the reaping of the harvest and the selling of their crops at the local markets, those who dwelt in Austadt developed a routine, simple, and effective way of life. But all that was about to change that warm Oktober morning in 1762.

            Dieter first left their small home and went outside to take care of the livestock.  The first order of business was milking his two cows, which were a result of the extreme generosity of Austadt's current mayor, Hans Werner.  Hans was a short, pudgy man in his late 50s, who's kindness knew no bounds.  Always helping out with work in the fields and aiding the families of Austadt that were in dire need of funds, Hans had gained a great reputation within the limits of Austadt.  It was in part to Hans' great generosity that the general portrayal of the traders who journeyed to Hamburg was quite negative, due to the extreme contrast.  In fact, several of the citizens of Austadt thought it quite despicable that these merchants knew nothing of Hans generosity.  Of course, Hans discredited such accounts and was far too humble to admit to them.

            When he was finished, Dieter set aside the milk and let the rest of the livestock free to roam the meadows, smiling at the joy he knew they must have been feeling.  Besides a relationship with the land, the citizens of Austadt had grown strong connections with nature and its many varieties of animals.  When a young calf was born, it was a celebration in the small town, and despite any events or chores, they would always throw a small party in the town square, and the many families of Austadt never failed to show up and congratulate the lucky family that would soon have another strong young animal to help lighten the workload around the farm.

            After completing his outdoor chores, Dieter made sure their house was in good shape, checking the weakest points of its structure to see if there was any danger should a sudden storm brew up.  Usually these checks didn't prove useful, and Dieter found nothing to discredit the original ideas for the designs of their thatched huts.  He turned upon hearing the sound of running feet, and noticed his son Wolfe had awoken, just in time to help with the morning harvest.  Wolfe was a boy of 14 years, and he was already showing signs that he would be a great farmer one day.  Together the two of them gathered what they could of their harvest, and set it aside in buckets outside their home.

            After they had finished, Dieter was glad to see the expected arrival of the “Crop Runners” as they were called. This designation of farmers of Austadt, originally given such a name by the first Crop Runner, Axel Schweis, were those who owned horses and wagons in the town, who would take the crops that the families had harvested and bear them to the crossroad market to sell.  Axel soon became the official horse caretaker of Austadt.  However, by now, Axel was nearly 80, and was hardly able to continue making the twenty-mile trek every day.  So, his daughter Anna Schweis had taken over his job, and had always completed it right on time.  To the slight annoyance of Axel, a rather cranky man in his old age, she was generally regarded to take care of the job better than her father ever had.

            The Runners loaded up Dieter and Wolfe's harvest, and all but one cart departed within a few minutes.  This cart belonged to Anna herself, and she looked at Dieter, then her gaze darted around his home and crop fields.

            “Where is your other son, Dieter?” She asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

            Dieter was not surprised by the question, and had nearly been expecting it from the somewhat-inquisitive daughter of Axel.

            “Manfred?  He's been a bit sick, and I thought I'd give the poor lad a break and let him get his sleep today.”

            “That's too bad!  Wish him a swift recovery for me, Dieter!” She called, already beginning to follow the other Runners.

            Manfred, Dieter's other son, was only 10, but he was named such due to his tendency to say very little, and, of course, sleep quite a lot.  Manfred, which was usually translated as “Man of Peace”, seemed to fit Dieter's quiet son quite well.  This idea of naming a son or daughter based on their behavior had never been customary, but when Dieter mentioned it to several of his friends during a party for the birth of one of the mayor's calves, the idea had been accepted.  In fact, it had provoked quite an uproar from several of the more energetic men at the party, who had thought the idea much more hilarious then the rest of Austadt.  A little shocked by this, Dieter debated naming his son as such with his wife.  Dieter's wife, Hannah, always supportive of her husband, had told him to do whatever he felt was best, and go with what his heart told him.  With this advice in mind, Dieter decided there was nothing socially wrong with naming his son such, and thus Manfred had been named.

            Until this point, Dieter's day had been somewhat humdrum and not incredibly varied from his normal routine. However, the frantic, running footsteps of a man Dieter did not recognize already signaled a significant change.

            “Citizens of Austadt!  Catherine's issued a manifesto!  She wants us to come to Russia, and look at all of the things she's promising!” The man shouted at the top of his voice, and would have startled most and annoyed many were it not for the paper he held in his hand.

            When the people of Austadt began to journey out of their homes and stop their chores to see what all the ruckus was about, the stranger advanced into the town square and began to show them the paper he held.  From what Dieter gathered from the urgent voices of those who had read it already, it was an invitation issued by Catherine the Great of Russia, inviting Germans and Europeans everywhere to travel to Russia and cultivate the land there.  Dieter would not have been open to the idea of moving from his cozy home were it not for the seemingly infinite amount of gifts promised to those who accepted.  Catherine was offering, for those who accepted and made the trip, a number of wonderful things. Exemptions from taxes, no military service requirements, large amounts of free land, and religious freedom, among other things.

            Dieter could not quite come to a decision in his mind, but his heart already knew the answer.  The von Steins would be traveling to Russia, to seek whatever glories and wonders awaited there.  And so it was that over the next several days they packed up their belongings, and left in an inhumanly swift manner.  Coming along with them were Hans and his family, Axel and Anna, and several other families.  Hans left a man by the name of Lance Bauer in charge of Austadt.  Lance had always been a promising young man, and his knowledge of farming techniques was unmatched.  Lance also possessed a lot of potential for good leadership, and Hans had seen this, thus placing him as the new mayor of Austadt.

            On the day of their departure, which Dieter guessed was about the 3^rd of November, the relatives and friends of those leaving cried enough to fill the Rhine ten times over.  But it was for the best, they knew in their hearts, and thus finally Hans, Axel, and Dieter led their group out of Austadt for what would be the journey of a lifetime. 

            They drove their wagons North for several hours before stopping to make camp at nightfall.  Though the sounds of the night were innumerable and unreal, they failed to unnerve the men and women of Austadt.  Crickets chirped, wolves howled, and the rustling of leaves and branches in the cold night wind was like the howling of a thousand tortured phantoms.  And yet, the powerful friendship developed by these hard-working families made them oblivious to the most treacherous hours of the night.  By nothing but the simple chatter of old friends and the comforting, warm glow of the fire they survived days on the road.

            When they found berries or fruits they could eat, they harvested what would not damage nature in all of its glory.  The various streams along their path quenched their thirst, and it was as if fate had laid out their journey perfectly for them.  In this manner, they moved at a quick pace, and disease did not touch them.  Soon they reached Kiel, their last German stop.  They found lodging at an inn there, and set out the next day for their next destination, Denmark.

            After days on end of following northbound roads, they reached one of the southernmost cities of Denmark, Kolding.  In Kolding they received many a strange glance, but the citizens of Kolding were quite reassured by Hans' ever-present dimpled smile.  Hans was not a rich man, but he was well-off enough to pay for their lodging at all their planned stops on their way to Russia.  That night the travelers from Austadt slept soundly.  In fact, Dieter found himself deep in a dream upon falling under sleeps calming spell.

            Dieter could not see himself, but only the misty, lighted outline of some sort of unknown land. In moments, however, the view in his dream cleared up, and Dieter realized what he saw were plains, great expanses of grassland.  Dieter asked himself if this was perhaps Russia, but he was unsure.  In the end, he realized it mattered not where this land was, but it greatly pleased him to see such infinite amounts of crops ready to be harvested.  Though the dream had been a good one, Dieter woke up covered from head to toe in sweat.  However, Dieter shook it off, and packed up his bags.  Manfred still lay sleeping, so Dieter carried him out to the wagon and softly laid him upon some bags.  With this, he, Hannah, and Wolfe piled into the wagon and set off, with Hans and Axel's wagons following closely behind.  The other families followed moments later.  And thus, they set out into the rising sun, toward the center of Denmark, where they could restock.

            Finally, after more weeks of travel, they made it to Viborg, one of the largest cities in Denmark and a place that reminded Dieter somewhat of the hustle and bustle of Hamburg and Lübeck.  When they finally arrived at the gates of the city, which were much larger than they had appeared, they were questioned somewhat harshly by the guards.

            “Who are you?  You look like Germans!  What business have you in Denmark?”

            Hans was quick to answer with a smiling face and a friendly tone.

            “My friend, we are Germans from Austadt!”

            “Austadt?  Where on Earth is that?!”

            The harsh tone of the guard still did not trouble Hans, and he replied calmly once more.

            “It's a small town between Hamburg and Lubeck.”

            “So?!  What business have you here?” The guard advanced, placing both hands on his spear.

            “Please, good sir.  We received a manifesto from Catherine the Great of Russia.  She has invited us to journey to Russia and help cultivate the land there!”

            “Oh, really now?” Mocked the guard.  “Fine then, hurry and do what you must in Viborg, then be on your way.”

            “Thank you, sir!”

            Hans ushered the rest of the caravan into the city.  They left their wagons outside, so as not to disturb the city more than they already might as visitors from another country.  Quickly Hans bought some supplies, and Axel made sure the horses and wagons were taken care of.  Within hours, they were prepared, and set out from Viborg.

            Traveling north to the ports of Denmark, they sailed for days on end, through disease and starvation.  With the rest of the German travelers, they fought hard against these terrors and prepared for the trials ahead.  Most of them didn't survive.  But Dieter von Stein and the citizens of Austadt made it to Russia on January 6^th, 1764.  There, they founded the town of Newaustadt.  Within months, thanks to the abundance of supplies and material and the hard work of Dieter, Axel and Hans, the town was completed.

            Under the leadership of Hans, Newaustadt thrived upon the great lands of Russia, and the untouched crops there were perfect for harvesting.  They enjoyed religious freedom, and found that the Russians never bothered them, simply allowing them to farm as they wished.  Axel Shweis passed away peacefully at the age of 90 in 1774.  By 1850, those who had originally traveled to Russia had all passed on.  Newaustadt lived on, as it always had, until a fateful day in 1917.

            After the Russian defeat in World War I, Russia was in turmoil.  Due to the dangers this posed, Roderick von Stein and his wife, Maria, a descendant of Anna Schweis, fled from their Russian home in Newaustadt.  With the recent Russian Revolution, they had no choice but to head to North America.  Traveling to the western edge of Russia, Roderick and Maria arrived at Vladivostok.  Sneaking onto a ship, they found their way to Canada by 1918.  Following the train of settlers, Roderick desperately needed a place to stay, thus, instead of continuing on to the Great Plains, they left to travel to Michigan.  Maria and Roderick had a daughter, who they named Katherine, in reference to their thanks to the peace their ancestors had enjoyed thanks to Catherine the Great.