Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Germanic-American Institute

"More Minnesotans claim Germanic descent than any other European ethnicity...Today, after two hundred years in the Midwest, Americans of Germanic heritage have assimilated into and helped shape a regional culture that values education, demands high standards for healthcare and public service, and promotes tolerance and inclusion... The early Volksfest held club meetings and events in various locations in the Twin Cities, until they acquired the former George Gardner home at 301 Summit Avenue," shown above. This group serves families and people of all ages with many different programs. To learn more about them and their history, check their website here (The Germanic-American, St. Paul website).

21 comments:

  1. Nice house, and they certainly have a way with flowers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just a couple of days ago I was reading a very interesting article about religion/diversity/Germans in the Midwest. Did you know about "The German triangle"? It's the region of the Midwest anchored by Cincinnati, St. Louis and Milwaukee; the heartland of German America. Ohio is the state with the most people of German ancestry (2.8 million) followed closely by Illinois (2.5 million) and Wisconsin (2.3 million).

    ReplyDelete
  3. fenix, you added a fascinating article to this post of mine. Thank you. I wonder if it is a doctoral dissertation?

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's an essay by a professor emeritus of History. Read about him here. He has a book coming next year, a "history of Irish America." It's already on my wish list :).

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very nice building.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kate, what a beautiful building. My late husband was from German/Italian descent. I've sent the kids a copy of your link. I also found fenix's article interesting...great diversity in our country when we pause and think about it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. interesting -- most around here are English/Irish or Native American. (and you have many like me -- a mix of all of them. :) )

    ReplyDelete
  8. belle architecture, cela ressemble beaucoup à un temple.


    beautiful architecture, that resembles a temple much.

    ReplyDelete
  9. ... and the Swedish immigrants were number two? Many Olsons around?

    This building is really nice!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous5:34 AM

    That is a very nice building. And I was curious that fenix mentioned Cincinnati -- south of us a bit. We have a lot of German people in our area as well. I assume we are in that triangle.

    I added some computer generated art to my blog today. Some people like it and some do not. You can see it at my blog. Brookville Daily Photo

    ReplyDelete
  11. just wondering, do you have any german blood in you? :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. thanks for your greetings.

    hmmm I think I should find out from grandparents what my ancestry is! but i doubt there'll be any german in it :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lovely stately home that has been turned into an institute. A nice way to learn about ones heritage.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Don't forget the Pennsylvania Dutch!
    What a graceful building.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm one quarter-German. A real American mongrel :)
    I always thought the Scandinavians settled in that area & the Germans around Milwaukee.
    Thanks for the info!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for your long answer - on my blog - to my questions!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Here is the comment I made to Peter on his blog. I don't want you to misread my post. Germanic predominance is for the entire state of MN--not necessarily the Twin Cities.
    ******My response follows:
    Re. my post today (8/6), the predominate German population is for the ENTIRE state of MN. Mpls has a very high percentage of Scandinavians (yes, many Olsons, Olsens), but St. Paul is very Irish. I do not want to mislead because I really do not know the EXACT ethnic background of either city, which I'll need to discover at the History Center in downtown St. Paul. When I get around researching there, which I'll do soon since I want to trace our family's Irish roots, I'll definitely let you know.

    ReplyDelete
  19. The building has strength that the community can to be proud of.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I recall reading somewhere that at one stage in America's early history that it was a toss-up as to whether English or German should be adopted as the official language.
    Consider yourself fortunate that it went the way it did - German's a swine to learn...

    ReplyDelete
  21. Great architecture and land scaping.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting my blog; I appreciate it! Come back often!!