Herman the German, a legendary hero, could help us get along better as Americans – Paris Post Intelligencer

Herman the German still stands defiantly atop his domed pedestal in New Ulm, Minn.

The legendary German hero, whose actual history is somewhat obscure, is the mascot of New Ulm, a German settlement since before Minnesota was a state.

Were here this week because my 84-year-old brother-in-law has been diagnosed with cancer.

So what could I do but tell her that if she wanted to come up and see him, Id bring her?

Actually, were in the small town of Hanska, about nine miles out in the county, where the Nelson family settled.

Hanksa is a Norwegian settlement. Although the sign at the city limit says the population is 402, Im told that it actually consists of 449 Norwegians and one Swede.

The Swede is master of ceremonies at the annual celebration of Norwegian Independence Day on May 17.

Whats he doing in Hanska? Well, he married a Norwegian. Unlike me, he stayed and assimilated.

And from whom, youre sure to ask, did Norway win its independence? The answer is Sweden.

In the upper Midwest, you catch glimpses of the glorious history of this nation that were largely missing in the almost uniformly Scots-Irish South where I was born and reared.

When I lived in North Dakota, we had people of both German and Scandinavian descent, along with other groups.

There is a state park there which commemorates the coming of people from Iceland. Before I went there, I never knew that Icelanders migrated to America.

These people from northern Europe were a sturdy breed, who had learned to face bitter winters in the old countries.

In America, they were the first to break the sod of the prairie grass and discover the deep, rich, alluvial soil of the Red River Valley (yes, the one in the song).

There were miles of open grassland with scarcely any trees, definitely not enough to provide lumber for building barns or homes.

They used blocks of sod as bricks for raising small houses that lacked any of the comforts we have come to expect, but which served as homes for the first generation of children reared on the seemingly endless expanse of open space.

They were quite at home with the deadly temperatures of the northern winters and the long summer days that brought forth crops abundantly.

They prospered, and realized the American dream.

When the railroads came, towns were planted, territories became states, crops could be moved to market quickly and cultural institutions were founded.

No sod houses remain, except the few on exhibit in museums.

Exhausting hand labor was replaced by big old iron steam machines, which have now been replaced by diesel-powered ones and have also become museum displays.

This progress has not been without continuing difficulties, and changing times have brought global markets, corporate land ownership, unheard-of government regulation and other factors that have squeezed many a small farmer off the prairie.

There is nothing like travel or, better still, taking up continuing residence in different parts of the country to develop a real appreciation for all the different national groups that have come to America and become part of our nation, e pluribus unum.

Currently, we have many problems with illegal entry into our boundaries, conflict over border policies and even basic law enforcement.

Battle lines are drawn between political parties, and we have reached the point at which disagreements become personal hatred, which makes civil debate impossible.

I believe it would help greatly if more people traveled and took time to listen to the stories of the many different kinds of folks who make up this great nation.

Our present debates could be conducted far more successfully if we entered them, remembering the long, glorious history behind us.

Getting acquainted with Herman the German would be a good place to start.

THE REV. C. ERNEST WILLIAMS is a Paris native and retired Presbyterian pastor now living in Washington State. He can be reached by email at erniewil@msn.com.

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Herman the German, a legendary hero, could help us get along better as Americans - Paris Post Intelligencer