Join us in Sunny Arizona to celebrate our heritage and learn more about Germans from Russia history. All winter visitors are welcome to attend.
Next meeting will be in Fall. See you at the Convention this summer!
Thank you for a wonderful and engaging session about the Top Ten Genealogy Gems for German Russian Descendants on April 6, 2025:
- Expert researchers Anna Dalhaimer Bartkowski and Timothy Geiger presented an insightful session sharing their top resources and strategies for discovering your German Russian roots. Based on their extensive Black Sea and Volga research, they guided the group through the best websites, archives, and tools to help trace family history with confidence.
- Everyone learned something new! The questions and follow-up discussion inspired us to retrace our genealogical steps.
What a Fantastic Meeting! Thank you all for your participation! Feb. 16, 2025
We tried some new things at this meeting and we appreciate your patience and your contributions as we worked through a hybrid meeting both in person and on Zoom. We learned a lot and, despite, an occasional unstable internet connection, we enjoyed everyone’s company.
Thank you to Bridgette Crosby who shared “Operation Mill Stones” with us!
Thanks to everyone who shared their personal stories in our Genealogy Roundtable and joined us at Haus Murphys for a fabulous German meal! I recommend the Jaeger Schnitzel and the Warsteiner Oktoberfest!
And, thanks to all who signed the card for Ludwig Schaaf’s family. He will be missed.
Christmas Holiday Potluck-What a Great Meeting! What Great Food!
- Welcome again to all our first time guests, it was a pleasure to meet you and learn of your ancestry.
- Special thanks to Judy Gareis for hosting the event at the Apache Junction Villa community center. Her awesome decorations added an incredibly festive touch to the occasion.
- Thanks to Wayne Garman and Anna Dalhaimer Bartkowski for recapping the summer conventions.
- Thanks to everyone for creating and sharing your fantastic holiday foods.
Celebrating 46 years of heritage!
- President- Wayne Garman
- Treasurer, Membership – Gwen Miller
- Historian/Archivist – Anna Dalhaimer Bartkowski
- Rodney Jerger
Convention Gathering 2024 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Arizona Sun Chapter attendees in Oklahoma City pose with Konrad the Kamel. From left to right, Wayne Garman, Anna Dalhaimer Bartkowski, Phyliss Alt, and Joe Alt. Both Wayne and Phyliss have been elected to serve on the AHSGR Board of Directors. Wayne serves as an international member and Phyliss represents California, but both spend considerable time in Arizona.
Wayne and Anna also participated as speakers during the gathering. Below are more Convention pictures. A good time was had by all.
Previous Meetings:
April Meeting
We had a fantastic meeting on Sunday, April 7 at 2 p.m., at the Tempe Library, 3500 S Rural Rd, Tempe, AZ 85282.
Ludwig “Louis” Schaff, presented his life story as he told to his granddaughter Jillian Fortin. Jillian assembled his memories in the book “The Story of Ludwig Schaaf.” Louis shared the details of his life in Russia, and his subsequent move to Canada. Special thanks to Arizona Sun Chapter President Wayne Garman who hosted the conversation and created a PowerPoint to tell Louis’s story.
Ludwig Schaaf was born in 1931 to a German farming family in a small village in what is now southern Ukraine. When the Bolsheviks invaded, it was his responsibility as a young child to lead his family out of the war to safety. They fled from Ukraine to Poland, then to Germany, and finally to Canada. Hearing first hand of his survival through Stalin’s reign, his escape from the Russian army, his work ethic from age 7, and how he saved money from logging in Ontario to bring his family to Canada, demonstrated his motto, “You can have anything you want in life if you want it bad enough.” Here are links to his book and his talk at the University of Alberta.
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February Meeting
On Sunday, February 4 at 2 p.m. we met at the main Glendale Library 5959 W. Brown Street, Glendale, Arizona.
Charles Weisser presented “Gottlieb Weisser, German-Russian Pioneer Settler on the Prairie.” Charles portrayed his great grandfather, Gottlieb Weisser, to share the story of the Germanic people who left their homeland and settled in the Volga and Black Sea areas. Charles vividly recalled a typical day in the life of a Black Sea colonist. Over time, the settlers lose some of the rights they were granted, and so they emigrated to America. Charles informed us how Gottlieb’s family and relatives homesteaded property in Dakota territory before the Dakotas became states. He detailed the hardships and lifestyle of the early settlers.
Ron Erbes shared a narrative of his background including a family tree going back to his ancestors’ arrival in the Volga region of Russia.
December Meeting
We celebrated our Holiday Potluck Social at Apache Villa in Apache Junction. Many thanks to our hostess, Judy Gareis, who welcomed us and created a festive and joyful holiday setting. Guests included Bob Ahlbrandt, AHSGR President, and Gary Fuchs, board member, who were visiting Arizona that day. Lots of good food, good times and great conversations!
November Meeting
Our most recent meeting of the Arizona Sun Chapter of Germans from Russia was on Saturday, November 11, 2023, at 2:00 PM.
We met in the Quail Room at the Foothills Library, 19055 N 57th Avenue, Glendale AZ 85308 at 2:00 PM.
Our guest speakers were Carolyn Schott, Sandy Schilling Payne, David Kilwien, Gayla Ohlhauser Aspenleiter, and Rich Aspenleiter. They are among the volunteers who support the Black Sea German Research on the website blackseagr.org. Their bios can be found on the website which list their interests and where their ancestors lived in the Black Sea area. Thanks so much for joining us!
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March Meeting
The Arizona Sun Chapter met at the Sunset Library where Sandy Schilling Payne shared her “Time Travel Using Historical Maps” presentation. Her website, Germans from Russia Settlement Locations, shows the German settlements in the Imperial Russian and Austria-Hungary empires that began in the 1700s and continued into the early 20th century just prior to WWII.