For further information contact Mary Chrastil, 260-982-0672
nmhistory@cinergymetro.net
Historical Society Program On German Immigrants
On Monday, September 10, the NM Historical Society is very
pleased to present a program by Rosemarie Felts, a Huntington woman who
immigrated to the United States in 1954.
The program will be held in the Assembly Room at
Timbercrest Retirement Center, 2201 East Street, at 6:30 p.m.
It is open to the public at no cost and will be enjoyable for
audiences of all ages.
Felts was born in Berlin one year after Hitler became
Chancellor. She attended grade
school in Berlin and cooking school in Berlin and England, graduating with a
Culinary Arts degree. She met her
husband in 1952 at Tempelhof Airport, the headquarters of the Air Force in
Berlin. They were married the next
year, and Felts came to the United States in December, 1954.
When she landed in the United States, she says, “It was very special.
When we entered the United States, we felt the feeling of freedom, and
that’s not something to be taken for granted.”
Felts continued her education by taking classes at several
U.S. universities. She worked in
numerous offices in the Huntington Court House, and even opened a successful
German Restaurant for a short time.
After her husband was called to become a minister, they served as missionaries
in India, where she taught ESL in New Delhi.
She now tutors immigrants in English at the Huntington Library.
During her program, Felts will talk about the German
School, a local center for German education, culture and worship in the 1880’s.
She will include the experiences of those who immigrated to America in
search of new opportunities, touching upon on the difficulties they faced and
what motivated them to come here.
Says Felts, “None of us would be here without immigration.
All of our ancestors brought something to the country that is very
important and made this country what it is.”
All are welcome to attend this program and to reflect on
their own family’s immigration story.