A Tale of Two Counties: German Speakers in Kansas
May 03 '05 (Updated May 10 '05)
The Bottom Line Lingustics plus History equals Social Studies. Right.
Anyway this is what I've been doing this semester.
American has been described as a melting pot. Different ethnic groups come and add flavoring by adding their culture and traditions to those of the population. As this happens they become part of American culture. Unfortunately, as they become more “American”, one of the first casualties is language. No group has had more assimilation than the Germans. In 1928 social commentator and second generation member born in America H. L. Mencken wrote "The melting pot has swallowed up the German-Americans as no other group, not even the Irish." (Adams, chapter 7 “German or English”)
The Germans who have come to Kansas are no different than there brethren in other states. In the past century they have gone from being bilingual or monolingual speaking German to monolingual speaking English. Four major factors are the cause of this including education, church, social influences, and the effects of WWII. From reports and observations, it does seem as if the Kansas Volga Germans have kept their culture and language much more than the Kansas Low Germans. In this paper, I hope to compare the influence of the above factors on the languages of the two counties.
HISTORY
Kansas was one of the interior states that were a major draw for the Germans. In fact, Kansas attracted more Germans than it did any other ethnic group. (Zornow, 180) From the mid-1850’s until the 1890s, many Germans arrived in Kansas. They were from four different religious groups: Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, and Mennonite, the latter being the largest group of settlers. Two counties that were settled by a good number of settlers were Ellis County and Marshall County. These two counties will be the focus of this paper.
ELLIS COUNTY
Ellis County was founded in 1867 two years after a fort was built in the area. Hays, the county seat, was founded as a railroad town. The first non-Native American settlers were English; unfortunately many left after a locust attack in 1874. They were soon replaced by Volga Germans. The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad sold the Volga Germans land for $2 an acre with an 11 year mortgage (Karlin, 1978, 65). With this Catherine and Herzog were founded. When the people settled the two cities, there was already rivalry based on the town they came from in Russia. From a diary of the time:
“Since the people of Herzog outnumbered us, they took the land closer to the railroad. We didn’t want to be together with them and had to take tracts further away from the railroad.” (Karlin, 1978, 66)
Soon each small village built by Volga Germans in Ellis County had a church and school. Homes were built in the old world style with the front door not facing the roads. (Dorzweiler 4/23/05) The majority of Volga Germans were Catholic farmers.
By 1910 Ellis County had a population of 12,710 and 53 school districts. (Blackmar, “Ellis County”) As of 2003 the population was 27,212. and were 3 school districts. Forty percent of people in Ellis County claim German heritage. (US Census Bureau)
MARSHALL COUNTY
In 1855 Marshall County was organized after Frank Marshall opened a trading post. It was crossed by eight major trails used by the pioneers including the Oregon Trail, the Pony Express Trail, the Military Trail, Overland (Stage) Trail, Mormon Trail, Otoe Trail, Pike's Peak-California Trail and St. Joseph-California Trail.. Three different train lines went through Marshall County.
By the time Low German settlers arrived in Marshall County there were already established settlements by other groups including Irish, Bohemians, English, and Danes.
Unlike the many articles available discussing the Volga Germans arrival to Kansas, there isn’t much regarding the Low German speakers arrival in Marshall County Most of were farmers and belonged to the Lutheran Church. In 1886, they founded the Bremen village which was located in Logan Township.
Not all of the settlers arrived in Bremen directly from Germany. Some of the families lived near Chicago before heading to Kansas for better farm land. (Linkugel, 1/26/05)
In 1910 Marshall County had a population of 23,880. (Blackmar, 1912, “Marshall County”) As of the 2000 census the population was 10,965 and 41.8 percent claimed German heritage. (US Census Bureau, 2005)
LANGUAGE USAGE
ELLIS COUNTY
For most Volga Germans who were born as late as the 1930’s, German was their first language. I did meet one person who said her parents taught her English first and then German as they were both teachers and felt English was very important to learn. However, she learned Volga German with grandparents who lived nearby who spoke no English. (Doe, 2005).
Many Volga Germans didn’t know any English before entering school and learned the first year of school. One individual remembers being told “You are in America, you speak English” (Doe, 2005). Students might have some things explained briefly in German in school if needed. However, in the playground German was used as a rule.
High German and Latin were used in the Catholic Church services. Most speakers said they didn’t feel that there was a large enough difference between Volga German and High German to cause major problems understanding the service. One speaker though said that the usage of High German and Latin in church gave him many restful Sunday mornings while in church. (Dorzweiler, 4/22/05) It wasn’t until the 1940’s that English was used for church services.
Depending on where the shopping was done, Volga German was used at least half of the time.
Today, not many of the children are fluent in Volga German; however those with grandparents and great-grandparents nearby still have exposure. One person said it that his son found knowing a little German helped him in his career as a Policeman in Hays. (Doe, 2005).
I observed that many people over the age of 55 would greet each other and do a bit of initial small talk in Volga German. When younger people were greeted in this manner, they either quickly replied with “Sorry, I don’t speak German” or “Guten Tag. I’m trying to learn a bit.”
One consultant said that to this day when she gets together with her aunts for a night of cards, they speak Volga German the whole night long. She and her spouse also enjoy playing “stump the spouse” where they will sit in the back yard and ask each other how to say a variety of things in Volga German. They stated that the love to trip each other up and it gives them a sense of pride to be the winner. (Doe, 2005)
MARSHALL COUNTY
The Germans in Marshall County were more multilingual. Most learned Low German as their first language. It wasn’t until they entered school that most learned English. A bit of English; however, was used on the farm to talk to the animals. One consultant reported the following:
“My elder brother (three years older) remembers my eldest sister(12 years older) pulling him aside a few months before school started and saying, “You will learn to speak English today. I don’t remember that happening. It just seemed to come naturally.” (Linkugel, 3/25/05)
He went on to say that occasionally they would have all English days while at play to help him learn to use English before going to school. School was in English while Low German was used while playing at recess.
As most of the store owners were not German, shopping and other errands were done all in English. Church services were in High German and the pastor could not speak the Low German dialect so all religious communications were learned in High German. This lasted until about 1943 when the services were switched from High German to English. One consultant said he was one of the unlucky ones. They had to spend to two years learning catechism. His first year he learned it in High German; the second English. He says that is why he remembers the switch to English well.
Neither of our Low German consultants married German speakers so they did not speak German with their spouses or children. One consultant said that he was able to use his Low German at a beer house in Germany without any problems. He mentioned that it was just like speaking to someone at home. (Kruse). The other mentioned that he used Low German on the phone with his sister and for humor with other Low German speakers. He said “Things just sound funnier in [low] German” (Linkugel 3/30/05). One example he gave was the ability to make understatements in Low German. While playing golf with a friend, the friend may slice the ball terribly. It would be considered humorous to say in Low German that the ball went “a bit crooked”. He added that the major reason he kept his language ability was that he and other friends took pride in their language ability.
EDUCATION
It may be surprising to learn that rural Kansas in the first half of this century had a variety of schools available to the children. Consultants spoke to attended one-room school houses, graded schools, public school, church schools.
It is a common perception that the one-room schools left the West with the covered wagons while in truth they lasted well into the 1970’s. As late as the 1940’s, half of schools in America were one room school houses. As a matter of fact, Ellis County still has a three room school house in Munjor. There are 27 students in the six grades.
The one-room schools would have anywhere from two to 40 students under the direction of one teacher. Often a male teacher would be hired for the winter term when the older boys could attend school. These schools were public and required by law to be built in each section. These small schools had a good academic record; in the 1930’s the states with the highest literacy rates were also the states with the most one-room school. (Fuller, 1993, 45)
As many students didn’t have a strong understanding of English upon entering school, the teachers also had to be ESL instructors. Many students learned by reading the beginning lessons over and over until it clicked. One reported trying to speak German in 1st grade and being told by a nun “You are in American. You must speak English.” (Staab, 2005)
In other classes the older students helped the students learn the new words. A former teacher remarked “German kids spoke correct English because they learned it correctly.” (Sr. Karlin, 2005) She explained they hadn’t picked up poor habits and could learn it from the text book. Most lessons were learned by rote and every former student of one-room school rooms said they learned more by listening to the older students recite. This was another way students picked up new English words. Teachers of this era were careful to choose writings that “Should be pure English in diction and structure.” (Crary, 1897, 462). Students would never be expected to memorize a poem from James Whicomb Riley when the Gettysburg Address was available.
All of the consultants spoken to Kansas all say they remember becoming completely bilingual within a year or two of starting school. In most cases parents weren’t involved with school; however, they did expect the students to behave.
Teachers would and could start teaching with as few as 9 college credit hours as one of our consultants did in the late 1940’s. Many teachers taught without any training in teaching or teaching ESL. A journal of the day mentions what one author felt was the most important trait in a teacher:
“Some asks, “Is it necessary to understand a foreign language in order to teach these people?” No, it is not necessary, though it is sometimes helpful, but a teacher does need a large supply of that virtue that St. Paul names when he says, “Though I speak with the tongue of men and of angels.” She needs boundless charity, broad sympathies, and a clear understand, and she must be natural and sincere.” (Thorngate, 1920, 128)
From everyone interviewed, that was the description they had of their teachers. The teachers were held with highest respect. If a teacher said “No German”, the students would stop speaking as much of their first language. If a teacher used a bit of German, the students definitely would know that their first language was worth something and continue to use it.
Church schools were free for members of the congregation. They were often had classes taught by religious leaders to prepare the students for confirmation. One major draw for parents was that the parochial school would help maintain the German culture and language by all the children being there and catechisms being taught in German. Often students would stop attending school once they were confirmed on Palm Sunday in the eighth grade. If they wanted to continue attending school till the end of the year and could pass the eighth grade examinations, students would receive a grammar school diploma. High school was optional for many students in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Often boys would stay in school longer than girls as higher education of girls wasn’t valued as much as it is today.
MARSHALL COUNTY
Bremen had an interesting system for elementary school. According to Dr. Linkugel first and second graders went to public school while the third to eighth graders went to the church schools. The students spent the first two years learning English before joining the one room church school. He added that when a farm went up for sale in Bremen they were very careful to make sure to only sell it to another Lutheran family. Otherwise this system would have been upset by a non-Lutheran family moving in and perhaps wanting their children to remain in the public school past second grade.
Different schools in the same county could use different educational materials. Even though Mr. Kruse lived no more than six miles from Bremen, he reported using a German reader until third grade. Dr. Linkugel started school at least seven years before him and never had a German reading class.
ELLIS COUNTY
By today’s standards, schools in Ellis County were a bit unusual. There were both parochial and public schools and nuns taught at both. At the current Kennedy Middle School (formerly Jefferson School 1-8), nuns were the only teachers until 1949. After which time, a few lay teachers were hired. The school didn’t have all lay teachers until 1949.
Stereotypes have their limits, but in Ellis County it seemed that if you had a nun as a teacher she was apt to be stricter than a teacher who wasn’t a nun regarding the speaking of German in the classroom. As the questioning never went that direction, it isn’t known how the nuns compared to other teachers on other matters of discipline Mrs. Doe’s husband said that he remembered having to stay after school and write sentences on the black board as punishment for speaking German in the classroom. Only one person remembered a physical punishment. However, Mrs. Doe said occasionally the teacher would explain a few things in German to aid in the class’ understanding.
German Holidays were observed and discussed in school. On December 5th, St. Nikolaus’s Day the older students would put up stockings and fill them with oranges and candy for the younger grades. This was not done in Marshall County.
CHURCH
For both groups the Church was the center of their families’ week. As with teachers, the priest and pastor held a high level of prestige in the community.
ELLIS COUNTY CATHOLICISM
Until the 1960’s part of the Mass was in Latin. Everyone interviewed, excluding the Sister, said they knew what to say, but they didn’t always know what they were saying. However, until the 1940’s the Priests would do the Homily (sermon) in High German until they switched over to English. As High German and Volga German have much in common, in this case the church was supporting the prestige of the dialect.
Unlike the conservative Missouri Synod Lutheran, the Catholic Church did not deem it sinful to dance, drink alcohol (both sexes), or play cards. Both of these activities are great for building community which in turn would support the language.
MARSHALL COUNTY LUTHERANISM
The Marshall County Lutherans were part of the Missouri Synod which according to Wikipedia started “Americanizaing” after WWI. As Marshall County was rural, they most likely were allowed to keep the language longer than urban congregations.
As with the Catholics, the church service switched from German to English in the 1940’s. However, the Pastor could not (or would not) speak Low German and in order to speak to the Pastor people would have to use High German. Even though the pastor never said anything against the Low German, just the fact that the people couldn’t use their dialect to speak to someone “higher”, it decreased the prestige of the Low German.
Even at holidays, the Germans in Bremen had adopted more “American” customs. St. Nicholas didn’t visit, Santa did. A week before Christmas stockings would be hung. Nights the children were very good they may receive one walnut or one orange. Children would receive one large present and parents usually none. In Bremen, Santa came while the children were at church The Christmas Eve program would feature the children would do recitations from the Gospel of Luke. Until the early 40’s these recitations were done in High German never Low German. After this time they were done in English. Christmas trees at the homes were decorated with store bought and home made decorations.
While Germans were the ones to introduce Christmas trees to America, that seemed to be the only “German” custom celebrated by Dr. Linkugel’s family. All the other customs reflected less “German” and more “American” celebration.
EFFECTS OF WORLD WARS
In the late 1800s there were so many German students in schools in the Midwest that many states had laws allowing public schools to teach all subjects in German. However with the coming of the Great War (WWI), restrictions were placed on schools teaching languages besides English.
After the First World War, there was a push for “Americanization” across the nation. The popular definition of this was “When an immigrant has adapted and adjusted himself to the American conditions and surroundings” (Speek, 1926, 241) while another was “When an immigrant has acquired the same standards of living as the natives have.” (IBID, 242)
Some authors point out that the “Americanization” movement was mainly against people of German ancestry. In 1915, German-Americans who defended (with their first amendment freedom of speech) the sinking of the Lusitania had their citizenship withdrawn because “they were judged to lack clear attachment to ‘the principles of the Constitution’” (Brimlow, 1997, 26) By 1919, Nebraska passed a law making it illegal to teach foreign language to non-High School students. This law was also aimed at German speakers. Indiana banned German by name. By 1920, Kansas had also called for English to “exclusively be the medium of instruction in all schools, public, private, or parochial, below the high school.” (Rider, 1920, 113)
The “Americanization” push considered non-English speakers to be un-American. A writer in the 1920’s reports hearing the following:
“Teach the foreigner the English language. There is no room in this country for more than one language.” (Frank, 1920, 221) Even though this author did state “There is no more virtue in talking English than talking Hottentot.” the former seems to represent the views of most publications of this time.
By the 1930’s Americanization was no longer emphasized, even though it remained “a vital factor in popular education”. (Hill, 1931, 164)
During World War II, German communities once again were under a microscope to prove their loyalty. It was even encouraged not to speak German on party lines. (Coburn, 1992, 151) Dr. Linkugel said that his family was extremely patriotic towards America and that led to more English being spoken. It was a way of showing pride in America.
On the other hand, German POW camps were located in Kansas during the war. Prisoners were allowed to work with local farmers due to the labor shortage. There were no camps near Marshall County however there were many around Ellis County. The prisoners were allowed to work almost anywhere except for the oil fields. Many POWs made close friends with the German farmers they were working for. The farmers were able to share pro-democracy, anti-fascism messages with the POWs in German. They were able to use their language to help “re-educate” the enemy and in a way help with the war effort. POWs with translation of books and movies that advocated democracy.
In order to get an idea how strong of an effect the war had on Kansas Germans, consider the fact that by the early 1950’s Dr. Linkugel’s younger elementary school students had no knowledge of the language that was being used in their churches a decade before. It had been extinguished both in public and in private.
SOCIAL IDENTIFICATION
In Ellis County rivalries existed between all the small towns. Each town had an unflattering nickname for one another. Catherine residents were called “Creekeschisser [creek sh it ters], Emmerman “porch pee-ers” and Victorians “Kürbiskopf” [pumpkin heads] Fist fights would crop up at picnics between the different towns or when an out-of-town gentleman would come call for a girl. From listening to the females of that generation, it was a great boost for self-esteem to have two males fighting over them. From listening to the males, the fights weren’t to the death; it was a way of blowing off steam and keeping unity and pride of their town.
As a contrast, violence was almost unheard of in Marshall County. According to one resident:
“There never were any fights. People from the other church might well be you cousins. There was quite a bit of inter-marrying as they got older.” (Linkugel, 2005).
They had strong rivalries for baseball games but nothing more than the rivalry between the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri. .
In Marshall County they were all related and spoke the same dialect while in Ellis County there were slight variations in the dialect from town to town. The Marshall County Low German speakers could have their rivalry at the baseball games in either German or English. It was the uniforms, not the language that made the difference
However, for the Ellis County Germans, their differences were their dialects. They needed to hold on to their language to be identified with their village. Perhaps this need for identification overrode other concerns and helped the Volga Germans keep their language. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be anything written on this by other researchers. This may be an interesting subject for further investigation.
In the last fifty years, police and society have had a more negative viewpoint concerning fighting. As fights diminished there became a less of a need to hold on to language for identification sake. Today, the sparring does continue but it seems to be verbal and good natured.
Realizing that I entered five or six Ellis County homes and only one home of a Low German speaker, I am making the following observation may or may not hold true over more observations. However, walking into Dr. Linkugel’s home one sees a neat and clean home filled with standard suburban décor. One could tell that he was well traveled with the little bits of international art and that a baseball fanatic lived there. However, in Ellis County all the homes were also neat and clean but they all had a bit of German in it. Mr. Dorzweiler’s home had been built by him (adding on to his childhood home) and there were little bits of Germany in every room be it clocks, calendar, or artifacts. Mrs. Doe’s home has Hummel characters and visitors to Mr. Dorzweiler’s son’s home are greeted by a German dressed accordion wooden statue. To this day, one can see the pride of heritage in the Kansas Volga German’s home.
MARSHALL
For the most part the Low German speakers were all farmers. When they went to town, English had to be spoken in the stores and post office. Family members might talk to one another in German. “…unless we thought someone from the outside world was listening in. We were really quite patriotic.” (Linkugel, 2005)
Also, as children who hadn’t grown up in Germany and knowing the difference between the high country and the low country, speakers in Marshall County had to put their own twist on the meanings of the two Germans. “We though High German meant High Class” said one.
ELLIS
It should be noted that until 1976 and the one hundredth anniversary of Volga Germans in Ellis County that the Volga Germans felt looked down upon by the non-Germans in the county. They reported being called “Nazis” and “Rooshians”. In many ways the Volga Germans were isolated both socially and geographically from their “American” neighbors.
After the celebration of the anniversary and declaring Ellis County the German capitol of Kansas (thus increasing tourism), did Volga German gain prestige with non-Germans.
FUTURE OF GERMAN DIALECTS IN KANSAS
MARSHALL COUNTY
Marshall County doesn’t currently have festivals or major activities centering on the German language. But that doesn’t imply that there isn’t interest. When University of Kansas graduate student Scott Seeger with the German Dialect Research Project held a meeting regarding Low German, 100 people attended. He estimated that 350 people speak it in the area.
Monthly classes have started to teach the language and culture in both Marshall and nearby Washington County. They have been funded through July 2006 by the Kansas Humanities Council.
Just this year the Low German Heritage Society in Bremen was formed.
ELLIS
Volga Germans in Ellis County do continue to celebrate their culture. The Ellis County Historical Society sponsors “German Heritage Days” in the spring featuring lectures, dancing, and language demonstrations.
.Ellis County is also home to the Midwest Deutsche Oktoberfest which is advertised as “celebrating local heritage with great German food, beverages, songs, dancing, crafts, games and old-time demonstrations.”
One survey of Ellis County Volga Germans taken in the mid-1990’s showed that 96 percent of those surveyed wish to keep their heritage alive and feel that language maintenance was important to do just that. However, there are neither classes nor organized efforts (Schmeller, 1995, 29)
As of spring 2005 there was talk of trying to create a video of a round table discussion between at least six speakers of different dialects in Ellis County. There are hopes of completing this video within the year.
CONCLUSION
The German languages have been declining rapidly due to the above reasons: education, church, social influences, and the effects of WWII. All of which can be boiled down to pride. In times of war, speaking English brought pride to the Marshall County Low German speakers and Dr. Linkugel continues to speak it today due to pride in his heritage. Ellis County speakers seem to be proud of everything related to their heritage.
The German language is stronger in Ellis County than in Marshall County, however, even there they aren’t really getting many new speakers to the language or passing it to their children.
There is no smoking gun to point to show why or how the languages have begun to disappear. With the push for “Americanization” and the anti-German attitudes of World War I, I am delighted that our consultants who were born after this time learned German at all. I do feel that since both communities were rural, they were insulated from the push but not immune.
I do wonder if World War II hadn’t happened (as the cries of “Americanization” died down) if more foreign languages would have been saved. As both Ellis County and Marshall County had church services in German until WWII, it is safe to assume that they may have had them longer and then perhaps the languages would have been passed one to at least another generation.
By the late 1940s, both locations had another previously unmentioned influence: electricity. With electricity becoming standard in both locations, radio came into the house and with it English could be heard from sunrise to sunset. If German had been able to come into the house, it could have reinforced the language. However, that wasn’t a possibility at that time. Even though on Sunday mornings Ellis County residents can listen to a polka show from Nebraska on their AM dial.
The social structure of the both the church and the schools played a large part. In both places, English was the language of the schools. However, German was slightly more accepted in Ellis County as both the teachers and students could speak the same dialect. In Marshall County the teachers spoke High German, the students Low. The only time Low German could be used was at recess. The same thing happened in the church except it was the priests in Ellis County that supported the German and it was the pastors in Marshall County didn’t know Low German. If the pastors or teachers had encouraged Low German or if the teachers in Ellis could have broken the law and taught the students to be completely bilingual, then maybe the languages would be stronger.
Pride was the key element that kept the language alive. Pride is what kept a Low German speaker speaking the language even when he couldn’t use it often as he married a non-speaker. Ellis County Germans had pride in their individual accents and their home village. They also had the advantage of often marrying inside the county and being able to have someone with whom they could talk daily. If this pride was contributed by the world at large and not just from their family groups, then perhaps the language would have been passed down to the children.
If America was more like most other nations and encouraged people to be bilingual or trilingual, then more folks may have felt like they could improve their English and continue the use of German at home. There are many “ifs” that cannot be changed. Both languages have eroded in the last sixty years. Volga Germans in Ellis County have had a slight advantage in all the categories than the Low German speakers in Marshall County. This slight advantage doesn’t translate to the difference between endangered and threatened. It’s more like severely endangered and strongly endangered.
Will the languages survive? At this point, I really don’t know. There was the interest to continue it in Marshall County, but how it will translate into people learning the language I have my doubts. I know that the Chinese children at the Chinese School of Greater Kansas City study Chinese every Sunday afternoon and even some students who study there and have parents that speak Chinese to them, still have troubles speaking more than a low level of Chinese. I really doubt that a monthly class will have any impact on creating new Low German speakers. If there becomes enough interest to create a weekly class in Low German, I would give it a fighting chance. However, at this time and interest level, I see Kansas Low German being extinct in the next twenty years. As the unique German culture has almost been lost in Marshall County, I think in the not too distant future only “American” culture will remain.
Ellis County has the advantage but I don’t know if that will be enough. There is the interest and the festivals; but there is not much passing on of the language. Since it is used for tourism, I do see the culture remaining but the language will die here too unless there is enough interest in the younger generations learning it before there is no one left that speaks the dialect. Unfortunately, the only way the next generation of college students will be able to study Kansas German is off of dusty tapes in libraries.
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