“In all of us there is a hunger, marrow deep, to know our heritage - to know who we are and where we came from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness.” These words of Alex Haley truly expressed to me personally the imperative need and importance of my family history and heritage. As I believe, family is a gift often cherished, but few take the time to discover and thank those who planted the roots from which a family grows. To express gratitude to my ancestors who planted such roots I have travelled back to discover the past and configure the life of my great grandfather, August Baier.
During the early 1900’s, the teddy bear was introduced, the first silent movie was presented, Kellogg’s started selling cornflakes, the first electric washing machine was invented, and plastic was created. Around the world the Russo-Japanese War was in motion, Queen Victoria died, and troops fired on a defenseless group of demonstrators during the Russian Revolution. At the same time, my great-great grandfather was born. Born abroad sea in the year of 1907, my great-great-grandfather emigrated from Russia to the little town of Spring Butte, North Dakota.
Life in Russia during the early 1900’s was exceedingly repulsive, especially for the peasants, of which my ancestors presumably were. The conditions my ancestors lived in can be described as arduous, burdensome, poor, and unhygienic. The house of which peasants lived were cramped and lacked insulation. This made the peasants, moreover my ancestors, prone to diseases such as pneumonia, which was immensely lethal at the time. For those of the lowest social class...
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... Nearly 50 years later, in the year of 1985, March 22, at the age of 77, my grandfather August Baier passed away.
In reconciliation, my grandfather August Baier can be accredited the deed of planting the base of our family in which we grow and prosper today. As Russell M. Nielson once said, “When our hearts turn towards to our ancestors, something changes inside of us.” My grandfather August Baier, although in existence nearly 30 years ago, truly has an impact on me today. With every shadow, there is light. With every tear, there is a smile. Even though my grandfather is passed, with death I know there is still life, of which our family is today.
Works Cited
Ancestry.com. www.ancestry.com. n.d. 14 December 2013.
Harvey, James. Humanities 360. 13 March 2012. 14 December 2013.
Tysdial, Damian. Travel Insurance Review. 22 April 2010. Article. 15 December 2013.
One of the first and most vital sources utilized was Not By Bread Alone by Barbara Engel. This article comes from Barbara Alpern Engel who is a historian who has wrote several books on Russian women and specifically Russian women during the early 1900s. The book appears in the larger journal The Journal of Modern History. The purpose of this article is to expound on the subsistence riots in WWI era Russia and the ones that lead to the Russian Revolution. A value of this source is her specialization, it seems, in Russian history from 1700 onwards. She has wrote several other books on Russian history and thus she has a greater knowledge than most on the subject. A limitation of this article maybe since she
On the night of Saturday, February 1, 2014, I sat down with my grandfather, David Latta, to conduct an interview with him. He currently lives in Clarkston, Michigan, in the newly refurbished basement in my mother's house, along with my step-father, sister, and her son. One could say that my mother's household is quite the crowded nest, with four generation living under one roof. The perspective my grandfather obtains from living in such an atmosphere, is not only something I kept in mind while conducting this interview, but something that guided my questions.
Engel, B., 1997. Not by Bread Alone: Subsistence Riots in Russia during World War I*. The Journal of Modern History, 69(4), pp.696--721.
In this reflective piece I am going to answer the questions “why is it important to know the beliefs and tradition of those who came before us?” And “what could happen if we ignore the past?” I am going to answer these questions using the following passages Freedom Walkers, Jo Ann Robinson and I am a Native North American. I am also going to talk about how if we don't study the past, we can miss a big turning point in our lives.
“The Life of the Times 1919 – 29.” Great Events of the 20th Century. Ed. Richard
After the heavy stresses of WWI, many young soldiers returned home with a need to feel alive again. With the war over and the American economy growing, many US citizens found themselves with money, time, and new ways of expressing themselves. Over one long, prosperous decade, United States grew and changed drastically. The younger generations turned the societal norms of their forefathers on their heads and women began to take large steps away from their stereotyped lifestyle. There were movements in art, music, writing, and politics, as well as an introduction of new cars and machines. With changes in constitutional laws, public ideas, and everyday ideals, the 1920s are considered some of the most pivotal times in the history of the United States.
In 1918 when World War I ended, American society and culture changed immediately after. World War I resulted in the death of nine million soldiers and twenty one million wounded. Families were left mourning the loss of their relatives and people titled World War I as a “war to end all war.” With the nation going through such tragedy, change was bound to happen. During the 1920s there was a change in consumer culture, art, music and literature. So much changed happened during the 1920s that it’s referred to as the roaring twenties. Entertainment was on a rise and the way that Americans were used to living started to change. Along with that came immigration laws that changed American culture as well.
The period following World War One was a very exciting time in American history. It was a time to finally let loose, have fun, celebrate, and enjoy all the wonderful things and “modern conveniences” that had become accessible to a wider variety of people. Since there were so many changes in life style, women’s rights, movies, automobiles, radio and fashion, America was transformed after World War One.
I have found my connection to my ancestors. It is neither language, nor country, nor family title. For more than three centuries, my predecessors have been striving, yearning, and devoting their lives in the hope of achieving something better for themselves and for future generations. To this day, it has not been realized. I plan to rectify that.
...e situation, to portray many different ways in which serf liberation affected the peasant class. Many contemporary writers criticized emancipation adducing it did not bring any change in peasant’s lives. For example, Nikolai Nekrasov’s ‘Who Lives Well In Russia?’ may be considered a critic of the emancipation. This book is about seven peasants who met after the emancipation and ask each other if they are living well. The answers are negative and the villages were they come from have names that reflect their feelings: “Patched”, “Holey”, “Barefoot”, “Shivering”, “Burned”, “Hungry” and “Harvestless”.
Regretfully, though readers can see how Mama has had a difficult time in being a single mother and raising two daughters, Dee, the oldest daughter, refuses to acknowledge this. For she instead hold the misconception that heritage is simply material or rather artificial and does not lie in ones heart. However, from Mama’s narrations, readers are aware that this cultural tradition does lie within ones heart, especially those of Mama’s and Maggie’s, and that it is the pure foundation over any external definition.
Finding out about antiques, relics, and customs through narrating has formed who I am. These three things have inhabited of all societies to realize who they are. Family customs demonstrate how individuals experience their lives and cooperate with others. They additionally indicate how individuals respond when a relative weds into a group of an alternate ethnic foundation. Relics are great cases of material things that can instruct about one 's family history. Antiquities show who individuals are. This is valid for every single ethnic foundation.
Nikki Giovanni and Linda Hogan both wrote poems in the 1970s about their grandmothers that seem totally different to the unaware reader. In actuality, they are very similar. These two poems, Legacies and Heritage, express the poet’s value of knowledge passed down from grandmother to granddaughter, from generation to generation. Even though the poems are composed and read very differently, the underlying message conveyed is the same, and each are valid first-hand accounts of legacies and heritages.
Carlisle, Rodney P. Handbook To Life In America. Volume VI, The Roaring Twenties, 1920 To 1929. Facts on File, 2009. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 30 May 2012
These tenements lacked in many ways, including space and sanitation. Due to the packed conditions, diseases spread rapidly. Overall, the housing of the working class was unpleasant and many fell ill to diseases because the risk of developing a disease in a cramped environment was higher. In Document 2, it is evident that the tenements were not an ideal living space. Document 6 portrays that factories were ideally designed for the machines and not for the workers, and as a result the working conditions were also harsh.