I grew up on the farm across the highway from Danzig and attended grade school in Danzig. I heard my share of Danzig stories while living at home and always found them interesting.
My fascination with the town and its former residents became more intense after the Danzig reunion. Many of the people I visited with had questions and conflicting stories to tell. I went to the North Dakota State Historical Society and other libraries to check out these stories and found nothing was available in the archives about Danzig. I felt the need to check out some facts and put them into a book which would remain on the shelves for future generations to read.
I scanned over 7,000 copies of the Ashley and Wishek newspapers from 1906 to 2001 to gather the information about Danzig. I spent countless hours on the telephone locating people who had ancestors from the Danzig area. The project took over a year to complete and became an obsession for me.
Occasionally, I talked to someone who was not cooperative and suggested I might be a little touched in the head and should find something else to do with my time. However, overall, people were very cooperative which made this project so much fun.
Many of the stories told to me made me laugh and some required my "crying towel." I heard some of the hardships that our ancestors had to endure to get the Danzig area started. My roots are deep!
I wrote this book to satisfy my own curiosity and to make sure that the history of Danzig would be preserved forever.
The book contains information about the Germans from Russia settlers who came from the Black Sea area and settled in the Danzig, North Dakota, McIntosh County area.
The book is divide into the following subtitles: Businesses in Danzig, Education, which includes the names of the teachers and students who attended school in the area, Churches and Cemeteries with a current list of Baptisms, Confrimations, Weddings, etc., and photos and story of the Danzig Reunion. It includes more then 100 photos dating back to the early 1900's.
It includes family names such as; Bauman, Brinkman, Docter, Donner, Eszlinger, George, Gohl, Grosshans, Groszhans, Helmer, Hetzler, Joachim, Kemmet, Martz, Merkel, Olstad, Pudwill, Roth, Salzer, Stroh, Walz, Weber, and Wolff.
Danzig, North Dakota (1906-2000), "Gone, But Not Forgotten" is available for purchase. This soft-cover book, complied by Geneva Roth Olstad, is for sale for $25, plus $3 postage. Rates will be higher for shipments out of the United States. Send check or money order to:
Geneva Roth Olstad
5012 Co. Rd. 31
Fargo, ND 58102