As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
I was reading recently in a book I found at the thrift store about Germans who had lived in Russia and immigrated to America. In reading their interactions in Russia, I started noticing patterns in American culture which stemmed from the Rights the Czar afforded all Germans who came to Russia to revolutionize their agriculture.
The Czar promised them fairs and bazaars. Across America one finds the yearly state and county fairs, and these are related to the Germans settling in America and holding fairs for gatherings of their own people.
As for bazaars, I remember as a child a small town where "Wednesday Night" was when everyone came to town. Traditionally this was when the farmers brought eggs and cream to market, there was also a drawing for a prize, and I remember this community scheduled even their basketball games in high school for Wednesday. That all reflected the German traditions as Rights in Russia.
I always wondered about the lines which were never crossed in these communities. They were small, but the Lutherans NEVER married outside their group and never had anything to do with Baptists, Methodists or Catholics. That is all from the Russian German colonies. These people all lived separate social lives. It was not that they shunned other groups as they did do business, but when it came to working, religion and social interaction, they stayed within their group.
Russia actually had a quite American melting pot in the Dnieper, the Crimea and the Volga. Here is a list of the different nationalities and how they came to market.
Germans: Grain, flour, butter, eggs (Just as in America)
Bulgarians: Sheep, wool, sheep cheese, peppers, egg plants, paprika, watermelons
Moldavans: Cherries, apricots, plums, apples.
Gypsies: Horses, fortune telling.
Russian and Ukraines: Wooden items in spoons, buckets, forks, shovels with woven baskets and brooms.
Jews: Peddlers who brought political intrigue.
No one ever gives credit to Russian reforms from the 19th century which imprinted upon the American culture as mainstays in social interaction. That includes the tolerance which these diverse communities became in America. Honestly growing up I never knew prejudice as people all had to get along to survive and if someone needed help, you helped them. For those who do not think the White race has any differences, there are vast differences between the Dutch, the Scots, the Germans, the Russians and whatever other breed there is of human. There was necessary tolerance though from reach group as the community required it to survive. That is why in most places in rural America, no one knew what the hell the 1960's civil rights movement was about, as people were judged on being honest and not what their color was.
Those facts need to be brought to the attention of all, in how Germans who developed Russia, brought to America the Rights that Russia granted these Germans and they became traditions in America which are ingrained in society today.
Celebrating 75 years of the Sacramento County Fair | Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.
75 years and California is from 1849. You are witnessing the German Rights in Russia becoming American Tradition for the betterment of the entire nation and people.agtG
