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Unique in its topic and methodology, Echoes of the Old Country reveals purpose and power in childhood memory for the Germans from Russia who survived and prospered on the northern Great Plains. Historian Jessica Clark’s study draws on nearly two hundred oral interviews collected during the Dakota Memories Oral History Project, conducted from 2005 to 2010. Clark and a team of oral historians and videographers recorded the voices and memories of participants as they responded to various memory prompts—browsing scrapbooks and diaries or walking through towns and cemeteries where familiar storefronts and headstones stirred vivid recollections. No history of childhood draws from such a rich oral history source. Clark reveals that second-and third-generation German-Russians adhered to a collective identity rooted in the struggles and hardships experienced by their immigrant forebears. Yet, they simultaneously forged a new identity—one that found sport in chores and responsibilities and joy in pranks and play. Their evolving self-image contrasts with narratives of toil and deprivation often associated with growing up in rural and agricultural environments.

The Germans from Russia—an agricultural people who settled, survived, and prospered—formed strong ethnic communities where farmers still plant and harvest, the faithful still gather for worship, and the cooks still feed their families from the garden. This is a story of German-Russian persistence on the northern plains and its emergent consciousness—a sort of heritage husbandry—in the late twentieth century.

“Tough but Fair originated from my twenty-eight years of experience working with troubled juveniles and convicted felons. On December 1, 1972, I was appointed Deputy Warden of the North Dakota State Penitentiary. The prison was on the verge of being out of control daily…inadequately funded and staffed by untrained, aging correctional officers; uneducated managerial staff; and one qualified social worker. The combination of these factors led to assaults on staff, improper discipline, a rapid decline in the facility structure, and extreme disrepair of the utilities and services. A new warden was appointed, and he began to organize a plan to regain control of the inmate population, institute programs that would divert the inmates away from criminal behavior within the prison, and build respect for the staff. These challenges led me on a journey that was intellectually, physically, and spiritually transformative. It was the greatest challenge of my life.” - Winston E. Satran