Folks who are interested in Deitsch history and the history of Berks County, in particular, may want to check out the journal of the Historical Society of Berks County, Historical Review of Berks County.
I recently came into possession of some of the back issues of this excellent journal, and I came across an article titled Pennsylvania Germans a tenacious folk by David Fooks. This article echoes William T. Parsons' 1976 Pennsylvania Dutch: A Persistent Minority and reflects several recent discussions on the various Urglaawe forums online.
The doom of the Deitsch language and culture has been predicted for hundreds of years, yet it survives. We are currently enjoying a resurgence of interest and reinvigoration of all aspects of the culture, and the Urglaawe community is playing an active role in going beyond mere "preservation" in order to achieve "advancement." Ideas are beginning to bear fruit that allow for folks in the Diaspora to access more information and to take part in the advancement efforts.
The Deitsch culture survives because something about it resonates with many people, regardless of location, origin or background. It is time to amp up the efforts a bit in order to make the acquisition process easier and more consistent. Folks who are interested in helping to advance the efforts of the Urglaawe community are welcomed to join us on our primary Facebook group.
The article linked above was scanned in and shared with the permission of the Historical Society of Berks County.
No comments:
Post a Comment