Worldwide Wendish Connection
The Iowa Wendish Heritage Society
The last 15 years saw a spark of interest by the descendents of the “Iowa Wends” rise gradually and come together to create a group that is involved both in furthering historical research and social events to educate, honor, and preserve the original culture of their Wendish ancestors.
Genealogical
One massive and ambitious project involved receiving, from Germany, copies of the first 85 remaining years of historical records from the church in Drachhausen, the village that most Iowa Wends came from. Over a three year period, these records were completely translated and recorded in the LDS church PAF program, linking all the marriages into a giant family tree with data that has grown to over 14,000 descendents from Drachhausen. This data base allows us to accurately connect Iowa Wendish descendents with Drachhausen descendents.
Activities
The Iowa Wendish Heritage Society has events known as 'Wenden Fests', to date there have been two, both of which have occured in the Iowa Autumn to coincide with the best time for many of the local farmers to attend. The Wenden Fests span two days of socializing, as well as learning and preserving Wendish culture.
In 2004, 126 people attended at the Mehlisch Farm, in Zearing, Iowa; recreating the kind of gatherings that might have occurred in the mid 1800 and early 1900’s.
By 2006, with growing numbers, 225 attendees met at the Zearing Community Center, where activities included a costumed Cemetery Tour, a historical power point presentation, a dinner and church service as well as production of the play “Gone With the Wends,” which illustrates with humor, the experiences of the early pioneers.
The I.W.H.S. has sponsored two trips to Drachhausen Germany, one in 2005 in which 16 people attended and the other in 2008 where33 people where in attendance. Each trip involved an extensive itinerary which allowed Wendish descendents to learn about their ancestors’ previous lives and customs in the bioreserve Spreewald. Many family connections were made to reunite families with distant cousins.
2004 saw the creation of a museum quality signature quilt, which involved 27 families contributing embroidered squares; the copying and digitally storing of historical church records from three churches that were preciously attended by Wends.
That same year, the play “Gone With the Wends” was written and produced in the first Wenden Fest, illustrating with humor the experiences of the early pioneers.
In 2005, the I.W.H.S. presented a display to the State Center Museum, which ran as a year long exhibit of Wendish Heritage in Iowa, including family relics and story boards. This would mark the initial attempt at organizing all the Wendish Iowa family histories into a time line.
In 2006, a Cemetery Tour, involving 11 period costumed descendents of Wends, playing their direct relatives; was written and put on. A caravan of about 100 people, traveled between 3 cemeteries, to see the stories of these people come to life.
The “Iowa Wends Cookbook” which included recipes and biographies of Iowa Wends contributed by the group, as well as the historical book “Iowa Wends,” representing a time line of biographies concerning the numerous Iowa Wend families, were also both produced in 2006
In 2008, the I.W.H.S. donated to the city of Drachhausen Germany’s Folk museum, a gift of a new computer, flat screen and scanner, with the completed PAF data, enabling anyone in the village the ability to research their family, and perhaps find their relatives in the USA.
As a group without formal membership or dues by the members, such projects would not have been possible without the efforts of its volunteers and members such as Cathy Peterson, Eloda Hanson and Barb Cordes who contributed an immense amount of time and personal resources to raise the funds. Without the members to purchase the 2006 Iowa Wends Cookbook and unique commemorative patches, the group as a whole would have had a much more difficult time.
An on going project has included copying the records of 3 Iowa churches to date, where Wends were in attendance, digitally scanning these records, and following up with a report of all Wends that are found in the records. With several more churches to be completed these projects will take an army of volunteers and many more hours of labor to complete.
Another long term goal is to turn the growing “Iowa Wends” history book into a hardcover, high quality published book. It has grown from some 80 pages to over 200. In this newer version, family biographies, which were previously limited to 1 page each, are being expanded to 4 and 5 pages, to include more detailed data on each family.
A third book, a children’s story, has been written by Roxanne Mehlisch, to not only tell a charming Wendish story, but create a medium to teach children and grand children about the Wends. It is presently awaiting illustration.