Launched in 2005, the Dakota Memories Oral History Project preserves the childhood memories of second and third generation Germans from Russia. The Dakota Memories Oral History Project is sponsored by Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, North Dakota State University Libraries, Fargo. Michael M. Miller (project director) and Jessica Clark (project coordinator), in cooperation with Dr. Tom Isern (project advisor), designed this project to preserve the history and heritage of Germans from Russia on the Northern Plains.

The first field season proved successful, as Jessica and Will Clark (videographer), NDSU doctoral students, collected more than thirty interviews in south-central North Dakota. The 2005 family names included: Aberle, Boschee, Brosy, Buck, Dewald, Dockter, Fercho, Fischer, Hartmann, Herman, Heyne, Haerter, Janke, Kaseman, Kauk, Kleingartner, Klundt, Long, Meidinger, Mueller, Miller, Presler, Schaffer, Schlecht, Schott, and Zimmerman.

In 2006, we expanded this project by sending out two interview teams. The first team, Sarah Lacher (interviewer) and Jennifer Wilkie (videographer), NDSU history graduate students, conducted more than thirty interviews in south-central North Dakota. The narrator family names included: Bender, Boschee, Dahl, Dobler, Eberle, Eckroth, Engelhart, Eslinger, Herr, Glatt, Ketterling, Klein, Kraft, Kocher, Konrad, Mitzel, Presler, Pressler, Rost, Sehn, Schell, Schumacher, Schwab, Schwahn, Vetter, Wagner, Wald, Weber, Welder, and Zimmerman. Lacher felt this project was a great learning experience, as “the memories kept pouring out” during each interview.

The second team, the Clarks, conducted more than thirty-five interviews in north-central North Dakota and Saskatchewan. The narrator family names included: Axtman, Bertsch, Black, Boechler, Brossart, Degenstein, Dukart, Ebach, Ell, Ferner, Frehlich, Herauf, Hoffart, Jahner, Johner, Keen, Kohlman, Kraft, Krismer, Kuntz, Lang, Laturnus, Leippi, Miere, Riehl, Rissling, Schall, Schneider, Sellinger, Senger, Wetstein, and Zeiler.

The Clarks found their trip north both entertaining and educational. Jessica Clark recalls that “everyone was truly excited about participating in this project. They welcomed us into their homes with open arms, and candidly shared their memories of growing up German Russian on the Northern Plains. And, like Sarah and Jen’s narrators, our narrators invited us to eat some tasty German meals and partake in the occasional shot of red eye or burnt whiskey.”

To purchase a DVD copy of an interview visit: http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/grhc/dakotamemories/order/index.html. For more information on the Dakota Memories Oral History Project visit:
http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/grhc/dakotamemories/index.html.

For the 2006 field season, we received a grant from the Canadian Embassy to conduct interviews in Saskatchewan. This project is largely funded by private donations. For more information on how to make a donation to the Dakota Memories Oral History Project, contact Jessica Clark at Jessica.Clark@ndsu.edu (701-231-8419) or Michael M. Miller at Michael.Miller@ndsu.edu (701-231-8416).