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In Our Own Words: Reflections on German American Life in Louisiana By Laura Westbrook Introduction
Introduction In January of 2007, Pastor Heinz Neumann, who directs the German Seamen's Mission (Deutsche Seemannsmission), told me, "Germans have quietly assimilated in Louisiana over such a long period of time that people are often surprised to learn how many of us there are." Pastor Neumann's observation points up both the deep history of Germans in Louisiana-at one point there were more than 50 German-language newspapers and journals published in the state-and the reluctance of Louisiana's Germans to advertise their heritage from the time of the wars until recent decades. How, then, can we begin to appreciate German contributions to Louisiana's culture and traditions? One way is to collect and listen to their stories. Germans in Louisiana tell stories of recent immigration, of transitions made in times of war and hardship, and also of growing up in German communities near the Mississippi River where one could purchase German ingredients in stores where the language could be heard along with Italian, Yiddish, and many other languages. Today's Germans tell stories filled with personal hopes, values, traditional wisdom, and insights into complex historical and social realities. In narrative reflection they have the opportunity to evaluate their own experience, place it within contexts meaningful to them, and voice commentary in their own terms.
For roughly nine months during 2006 and 2007, I interviewed and corresponded with about 20 Southeast Louisiana residents of German heritage, collecting hours of taped conversations and other material. Selection of interviewees for this project was not random, nor is it by any means complete. Interviews were conducted with people who were identified as actively maintaining aspects of German culture and arts. Many interview subjects provided referrals to others. Interviewees for this project represent a wide range of social, professional, and educational backgrounds; multiple generations; and a panorama of individual experience. To record voices from such a diverse population within one broad cultural group, a strategy of informal, semi-structured inquiry was employed. In each case, narrators were asked to explore certain themes while also being encouraged to develop their own accounts in directions they considered most relevant. This interview project was not an "oral history project" in that interviews (between 1 and 4 hours) were much too short to be considered full life histories. Questions concerning national origins and immigration, marriage and family, use of non-English languages, occupational history and customs, military experiences, and neighborhood/community links were explored. With regard to the personal histories of interviewees, particular attention was applied to the acquisition of traditional skills, knowledge, customs and art forms. Transmission of knowledge and skills from one generation to the next was a consistent theme of inquiry. In addition, narrators were asked to comment on major historical changes within their own life experience, the current state of their cultural community, and what might be needed to ensure the continuity of their important cultural traditions into the future. These interviews revealed a wealth of professional knowledge, from brewing to carpentry and beyond, as well as knowledge about traditional avocations such as hunting, boat-building and decoy-carving. Reminiscences touched on times of scarcity and adversity, on the challenges of maintaining contact with the home country and its traditions, and on often-hilarious recollections of family and neighborhood characters. Creative arts were discussed as of high importance, especially singing and cooking. Narrators expressed great involvement with their German communities, particularly in choirs and in the numerous German social, service, and community organizations, and also with larger public life in arenas such as government and environmental activism. Here is a collection of narratives edited from some of the taped interviews with Germans who live in southeast Louisiana. Not all participants are included because not all of the interviews were taped. Furthermore, there are many more people whose stories should be recorded-this collection should be viewed as a beginning, to be followed up by members of the community and others. This highly-rewarding interview project should not be considered as complete, but as part of a first wave of inquiry into the contemporary state of a rich cultural community and as an introduction to some of those who keep it alive in their daily activities.
The People Interviewed Frieda Awre: Mrs. Awre is one of the most highly-regarded non-professional traditional cooks in the German community. She participates in cooking demonstrations with Ingrid Schleh at the Jean Lafitte National Park facility on Decatur Street in New Orleans twice a year. Her German Advent wreaths are also widely admired. Mrs. Awre greets German seamen with Pastor Heinz Neumann, director of the Deutsche Seemannsmission, and occasionally serves as a tour guide for visitors from Germany. Her primary interests include German history in Louisiana, traditional singing, and the German language. Frank Ehret, Jr.: Frank John Ehret, Jr., the grandson of Gretna's first mayor, is a German-American preservationist and educator who has been dubbed "the father of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park" because of his pivotal role in safeguarding the Barataria wetlands. For more than thirty years, Frank carved award-winning decorative and hunting decoys, and he remains active in the craft today by serving as a judge for competitions of the Louisiana Wildfowl Carvers and Collectors Guild. Marietta Herr: Marietta Herr is an environmental activist whose parents came to New Orleans from the Black Forest region of Germany in the 1920s. Her father, Johann Schleh, was a popular and prominent barber who operated his business in the Irish Channel. Marietta grew up speaking German, learned traditional cooking from her mother, and developed a passion for German song. Today, she performs regularly with choirs at the Deutches Haus and the Deutsche Seemannsmission. Over the years, she has prepared traditional foods for activities at Deutches Haus such as Oktoberfest, and for other German organizations and functions. Alfons Kleindienst: Alfons Kleindienst, the son of a German diplomat, got started in the baking trade by apprenticing with relatives in Illinois and Pennsylvania. After serving in the Korean War, he moved to New Orleans, where German Baker Wilhelm Scheel taught him the art of making fancy cakes and pastries. In 1959, Alfons started his own business, the Metairie Bakery, and for the next twenty-one years, he kept a loyal clientele supplied with fresh rye bread and other German specialties. Now retired, Alfons has become an historian of Louisiana's beer industry and is also known as "Mr. Jax," because of his extensive collection of the brewery's memorabilia. Ruppert N. Kohlmaier, Jr.: Ruppert N. Kohlmaier, Jr. is a second-generation cabinetmaker who specializes in handcrafting and restoring period furniture. His father emigrated from Germany in the 1920s, seeking a warmer climate, and Ruppert Jr. developed a passion for the trade at his dad's workshop in New Orleans. Young Ruppert proved adept at carving and marquetry, and after high school he was accepted into the family business, which became Kohlmaier and Kohlmaier. The two Rupperts worked together for the next forty-eight years, until the elder passed away at age ninety-six. Ruppert Jr. shrugs off retirement. "And do what? I'll go just like my father." Albert Lips: The men of the Lips family, which emigrated here from Munich, Germany, have been glaziers in Louisiana for more than 150 years. Albert Henry Lips, Jr., born in 1957, represents the fourth generation in the trade. He grew up in the Irish Channel, where he began apprenticing in his father's shop at the age of seven. By the time that he was ten, Albert, Jr. was working side by side with his dad on commercial projects, and this relationship continued until the latter's death in 2002. Today, Albert Lips, Jr. proudly perpetuates the family's traditional specialties, which include meticulous stained-glass work and manually beveled glass doors. David Moore: David Moore learned a number of traditional German occupational crafts from his maternal grandfather, who was a home-brewer, an outdoorsman, and a notorious prankster. Like other members of his family, Mr. Moore has little use for idle time and is eager to add to his skills. He does home-canning and traditional baking, and during our interview he brewed a batch of beer from scratch to completion. He was drawn back to the Deutsches Haus, which he visited sporadically while growing up, after Hurricane Katrina, when the damaged structure was refurbished through volunteer labor provided by Mr. Moore and numerous others. Al Muller: Al Muller grew up hunting and fishing in the woods surrounding his New Orleans home. He taught himself to carve hunting decoys and duck calls "out of necessity," and walking sticks and decorative pieces "just to keep busy." After marriage, he and his wife Patsy became a fun-loving and adventurous couple who shared their love of nature with their children, danced regularly, and taught themselves to build pirogues for their own use. "Mr. Al" has been featured in several books, and he has represented Louisiana decoy-carving and boat-building traditions at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition, and at the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife. Ken Muller: Ken Muller grew up in the Metairie neighborhood of Indian Beach, on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain, hunting and fishing in what was then a wilderness area. Like his renowned father Al Muller, he has become an accomplished decoy carver. Interestingly, though his father was an inspiration, he is also self-taught. Ken and his wife Jackie also cook together, both traditional German dishes and recipes inspired by their wide-ranging travels. Wayne Mark Schexnayder: Wayne Schexnayder is chef, owner, and proprietor of Schexnayder's Acadian Foods. His family was among the earliest settlers of the German Coast, where he grew up in Hahnville. Wayne learned from an early age to cook German dishes, Cajun dishes, and meals that combine aspects of both cuisines; this history can be seen in the variety offered by his present business. He also enjoyed weekends at the family camp on Lake des Allemandes and idyllic summers with his uncles who lived on Oak Alley Plantation. After Hurricane Katrina, though he suffered extensive losses of his own, Chef Wayne invited others whose businesses also had setbacks to use his kitchens and resources until they could get back on their feet. Walter and Ingrid Schleh: Walter and Ingrid Schleh were interviewed together at their home in Harahan, Jefferson Parish. Walter is a woodcarver and a singer of traditional German music, and is a mainstay of the German community, helping out and participating in a variety of events. He grew up in the multi-cultural Irish Channel community, where his family lived on Magazine Street, and then in Metairie. Ingrid emigrated from the Munich/Dachau area in 1961, and met Walter in New Orleans that same year. She is highly regarded for her cooking and she sings with the Deutsches Haus Damenchor as well as with the Deutsche Seemannsmission. She also maintains some craft traditions, such as the woven-straw "Christmas stars" that ornament German Christmas trees. Blanca Volion: Mrs. Volion, who immigrated from Nüremburg as a young bride, cooks traditional German meals at her restaurant, Volio's in Lafitte (Jefferson Parish), which she operates with husband Norris, who is of German heritage and grew up in St. John the Baptist Parish. The restaurant is popular with local Germans, especially for gatherings and as a place to take visitors from Germany. It is often mentioned as one of the last places where one can order authentic German dishes cooked by an expert. Residents have expressed concern that, after Katrina, Volion's might close. With younger members of the family taking over the business, that is unlikely to happen any time soon. Karlheinz von Bargen: Mr. von Bargen sings in the Mäennerchor at the Deutsches Haus and takes an active part in many of the groups that meet there, and in German parades and processions. He travels with the Mäennerchor to national choral gatherings and competitions, such as the recent Sangerfest in Evansville, Indiana. He also tutors members and non-members in the German language. Resources For Further Research A good article about German culture in Louisiana can be found on the website for the University of Louisiana (Lafayette) Center for Cultural and Eco-tourism at http://ccet.louisiana.edu/tourism/cultural/The_People/german-american.html. Blume, Helmut. The German Coast during the Colonial Era, 1722-1803. Destrehan, La.: The German-Acadian Coast Historical and Genealogical Society, 1970. Brasseaux, Carl A., ed. A Refuge for All Ages: Immigration in Louisiana History. Volume 10 of the Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial Series. Lafayette, La.: Center for Louisiana Studies, 1996. Clark, Robert Thomas. The German Liberals in New Orleans (1840-1860). New Orleans: Louisiana Historical Society, 1937. Conrad, Glenn, comp. The First Families of Louisiana. Baton Rouge, La.: Claitor's Publishing Division, 1970. Deiler, John Hanno. The Settlement of the German Coast of Louisiana and the Creoles of German Descent. Philadelphia: American Germanica Press, 1909. Forsyth, Alice D. German 'Pest Ships,' 1720-1721. New Orleans: Genealogical Research Society, 1969. Greater New Orleans Educational Television Foundation. "German New Orleans: Highlighting German Heritage in New Orleans." 2004. Kondert, Reinhart. "The Germans of Acadia Parish," Louisiana Review, 6 (1977): 19-37. Kondert, Reinhart. The Germans of Colonial Louisiana, 1720-1803. Stuttgart: Academic Publishing House, 1990. Kondert, Reinhart. From Geilenkirchen to Acadia Parish: A History of the Germans of Roberts Cove, 1880-1987. Lafayette: Center for Louisiana Studies, 1988. Le Conte, René. "The Germans in Louisiana in the Eighteenth Century," Louisiana History, 8 (1967): 67-84. Merrill, Ellen C. Germans of Louisiana. Gretna, La.: Pelican Press, 2005. Nau, John F. "The German People of New Orleans, 1850-1900," Louisiana Historical Quarterly, 54 (1971): 30-45. Nau, John F. The German People of New Orleans, 1850-1900. Hattiesburg: University of Southern Mississippi, n.d.
Laura Westbrook is a folklorist in New Orleans and was formerly the Regional Folklorist at the University of New Orleans. |
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