AN IMMIGRANT’S S

TORY

The journey from Germany to rural Spencer

By Valorie Brecht Tribune Record Gleaner

America is a nation of immigrants. Motivated by a dream, Inge Hawks’ parents left their home country to seek a new nation. Along the way, they learned that God would provide the land and community they needed to flourish. They discovered that a simple, rural life — in which you take care of the land and the land takes care of you —is one worth cultivating and sharing.

Inge Hawks lives in an old two-story farmhouse on a dead-end gravel road east of Spencer, surrounded by the fields her father used to plow. In her memory she often goes back to the days when her home was full of cheerful voices and laughter of friends and neighbors, come to visit or enjoy a taste of Mutti’s delicious German cooking. Then, her memory takes her back further to the beginning of her life on a small potato farm in West Germany. However, the story actually starts sooner than that, with Inge’s parents, born in Pommerania (Pommern), a region of eastern Germany now part of Poland.

Inge’s mother, Marichen Beduhn, was born Aug. 5, 1921, in Grosze Karzenburg, Pommern (known today as Sępolno Wielkie, Poland). Her father, Bruno G. Fuhrman, was born Sept. 7, 1919, about 7.5 miles away in Porst, Kreis Bublitz, Pommern. The two were married on Aug. 7, 1943.

Inge’s parents both attended school through eighth grade and then learned a trade. Her mother was trained as a baker and her father as a meat cutter and farmer. He also was a soldier, as all able-bodied men were required to serve in the army during World War II. To his dying day, he carried dozens of pieces of shrapnel in his body as well as unseen wounds from the things he witnessed and experienced.

In early 1945, Marichen fled Pommern by ship, forced to leave because of the war. Bruno, still in the military at that point, was also given the chance to leave by train.

“They had a picture from when they were engaged, and Mutti carried that folded in half under her soles of her shoes when she ran for her life, her and her Opa and three sisters. The Russians were coming,” said Inge.

Marichen’s mother stayed behind because she had two foster children at the time and “she believed this war would surely stop. …She just thought that’s what would be, and it didn’t happen. And they never saw their mother again,” said Inge.

Bruno and Marichen reunited and began living in Reddereitz-Golefanz, West Germany. The war ended less than a year later, on Sept. 2, 1945. However, although the war ended, its effects lingered. Germany’s infrastructure and economy had been devastated. Inge’s parents had only the few possessions they were able to carry with them when they hastily fled. Their first living space in West Germany was a drafty attic. Inge was born, prematurely, on Oct. 7, 1946, weighing barely three pounds. The See HAWKS/ Page 21

A LONG-STANDING RELIC - Shown is the original barn at the Fuhrman farm, built sometime in the 1930s with the addition built in the 1960s. When the Fuhrman family arrived in 1952, there were 22 cows. Eventually they expanded to 54 stanchions so they could milk up to that many cows. Hawks

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landlady said the “bratwurst,” as she called Inge, wouldn’t last the night. Inge’s mother wrapped her in a dishtowel and warmed her with her body heat.

Inge of course did survive and “fortunately, the owners of a potato farm heard about our situation and welcomed us with a secure place to live,” said Inge.

Inge’s parents worked on the farm and ate rabbit when available, as well as herring and vegetables from the landlord’s garden. However, there wasn’t always enough and sometimes the family went hungry. A brother, Helmut, came along on July 24, 1949, meaning another mouth to feed.

The family was helped by U.S. aid in the form of food boxes dropped from planes. Because Inge’s parents were displaced persons with two young children, they qualified to pick up the food.

“The boxes of food made possible by the U.S.A. were partly how my parents, grandfather, younger brother and I had food security. The chocolate pudding was especially delicious,” wrote Inge in a short story about her life.

As time went on, Bruno longed to give his family a better life. He knew he couldn’t return to Pommern, not after having served five years as a German soldier. He kept thinking of his dream to bring his family to America, a place where he imagined the streets being paved with gold. That dream was first implanted by Bruno’s uncle, Richard. Richard had moved to Chicago, Ill., and returned to tell his family about the land of opportunity. He encouraged them to leave Germany before another war arose to disrupt their lives.

Bruno began to save money for the ship fare to travel to America. His aunt and uncle served as sponsors, assisting with the payment, but the Fuhrmans still had to come up with half the fare themselves. Bruno’s family in the U.S. would send him packages with clothing and one-pound cans of black coffee. He resold the coffee on the black market for five times its value and that’s how he came up with the $300 needed for the ship fare.

In September 1951, the family prepared to embark on an Italian ship to cross the Atlantic, but they almost didn’t make it.

“The agent was going to board us across the gangplank, and my father hands them the passports. But they (my parents) could not find the boarding passes. And their whole life they wondered what happened to them, but I pointed and said (in German), ‘Look, there goes our trunk!’ And the agent said to the interpreter, who had taken 20 marcs from my parents to try to discover their boarding passes, ‘Well, if that’s their trunk going, board.’ You’d never get on a ship today without a boarding pass, even if you had your passports.”

So on board they went, making the 11-day journey to America. Five-year-old Inge experienced many new things on the ship, including meeting the ship’s chef, the first black person she had ever seen, and trying new foods like “cooked worms,” which she found out was spaghetti.

Bruno spent time contemplating what lay ahead of him. He and his wife prayed from the top deck of the ship that God would guide them to a good neighborhood and a body of believers to have fellowship with. Despite all the uncertainty of the future, Bruno remained confident God would provide. “Gott mit uns!” (God is with us) he wrote in his palm-sized journal, the pages now yellowed and worn with time as Inge flipped through them.

“My mother and father’s journey was totally faith-based,” said Inge.

The Fuhrmans arrived in New York Harbor on Sept. 25, 1951, to the cheers of fellow passengers and the throwing of confetti. Relatives of Bruno’s aunt took them to the train depot and gave them sandwiches and juice for the train ride to Chicago. Due to the interpreter fee when boarding the boat, Inge’s parents had only 13 pfennigs to their name, equivalent to about 7 cents. Therefore, they had to wait until the train arrived in Chicago two days later for another meal.

Upon arriving in Oak Park, Ill., Inge attempted to learn English as she attended kindergarten. Her father found work for room and board near Elgin.

“But being harassed and taken advantage of wasn’t why he’d come to America. This was the land of the free and the brave, the place with liberty and justice for all,” wrote Inge.

Bruno and his uncle decided to go investigate several farms for sale in central Wisconsin, including in the Edgar, Abbotsford and Marshfield areas. While in Abbotsford, Harold Christensen told them that Herman Schwantes’ farm in rural Spencer was for sale, which they became interested in.

On March 8, 1952, Richard called back home to Illinois to say that Bruno had found a farm. A cousin drove Inge, her mother and brother the five hours from Chicago to the farm on the end of Hanson Road, now known as Back Country Road.

“The owner of the farm (Herman Schwantes) at rural Spencer wanted to sell. The family who had been renting no longer wished to continue. A farewell party was to be taking place and that’s when my father and uncle could investigate the options,” wrote Inge.

“The farmhouse was crowded with friends and neighbors. The table was loaded with food, we were told. Several German speaking men and women who my father could communicate with. So welcoming. No prejudice or racist remarks. So when Uncle had spoken about financial details of the possible purchase, he asked my father, ‘Bruno, would you like to buy this farm?’ My father replied, ‘Why not? I’ve got at least 7 cents to put towards it!’” That was that. Herman sold the 160-acre farm to Richard, who in turn hired Bruno to operate the farm and paid him wages for nine months. After that, Bruno worked for his uncle on a 50-50 basis for five years, purchasing the farm from his uncle in 1957.

After arriving, the Fuhrmans quickly settled into life on the farm. Everyone helped with chores and farm work, including Inge’s children when they got old enough.

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A TIMELESS TREASURE - Inge (Fuhrman) Hawks plays the Emerson piano her father Bruno bought her for $10 when she was 10 years old.

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It was a good life, if a simple life, said Inge. Although they didn’t have much in material possessions, they had everything they needed.

“The cookstove was in the house using wood. The pump provided water. An outhouse was not too far from the back door. Cows in the barn for milking by hand. Chickens in the shed. And beds, to crawl under our feather comforters… Freedom of wide open spaces. My mother was an excellent cook and could concoct wonders of delicious meals. What more could we want? We’d found a home in Amerika,” wrote Inge.

Whatever the family lacked was made up for by the generosity of neighbors, who gave without expecting anything in return. Early that first spring, a neighbor arrived to plow a garden space. Another sprinkled lime to help the crops grow. Other neighbors brought packets of vegetable seeds, each sharing what they could. The area farmers would help each other if one’s equipment broke down or they needed extra help with fieldwork.

The Fuhrmans also shared out of what they had. Whenever someone like the veterinarian or milkman came to the farm, they would stop in the house to visit and Marichen would make sure they did not leave empty-handed, sharing food or some small gift.

“It didn’t matter who you were or what church you went to; everybody welcomed everybody. It’s hospitality; you’re part of a larger community. It’s Gemütlichkeit (German for a sense of warmth, friendliness and good cheer). Our home was a gathering place,” said Inge.

Although they certainly missed their homeland and family there, they became part of a church family and developed close friendships that felt more like family. The Hazel and William Rohloff family in particular faithfully walked alongside the Fuhrmans as they adjusted to life in a new land. Another couple became like adopted grandparents for Inge, Helmut and Martin (the youngest sibling born in 1953).

Over time, the family continued to make developments to the farm, including more modern conveniences. When Inge was a junior in high school, her family got an indoor faucet and sink.

The farm doubled in size from 160 acres to 320 acres, as Bruno purchased 80 acres of land from Richard Gray (previously owned by Martin Below) and another 80 acres of land from the John Pauline farm. He also rented land from William Rohloff.

Bruno also worked in the Karau Slaughterhouse across the field, a mile away from their farm, in the evenings to make extra money. He would come home with pockets full of 50-cent pieces and dollar coins, and that’s how he made enough money to purchase more land.

With the help of the entire family, friends and neighbors, the Fuhrmans’ “itty-bitty piece of God’s creation,” as Bruno called it, flourished. Inge said her family’s farm was an example of a truly organic farm, with no pesticides used. Her father believed that if you treated the land well, it would supply a harvest.

“Bruno believes in liming and fertilizing the land so that it will produce very good crops. No one can tell him that you can not make money in this country. Many times he would say to close neighbors, ‘This year I made lots of money,’” a record from the Spencer Historical Society states.

As time went on, the family also learned new ways of doing things in a new country, like driving a car, as there had been no need to drive in Europe. After 10 years in the U.S. and having to register at the post office every year, they decided that since they were definitely staying in America, they ought to become citizens.

The Fuhrmans studied diligently to prepare for the citizenship test, having to memorize the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and demonstrate a working knowledge of U.S. government. Inge asked her high school teacher for help, and he sent home materials for her to study with her parents. Finally, the testing day came.

“My father was terrified driving to Wausau to the Marathon County Courthouse, that he wouldn’t pass. Because you first had to be interviewed; somebody came here and interviewed you to make sure you were working, you were self-sufficient, you had no record and all these things. Then you qualified to go to the courthouse,” she said.

“So on the way there, my father was saying, ‘This is worse than World War II.’ And my mother was saying, ‘Kids, pray for Papa’ because he was driving us crazy on the way to Wausau because he was so terrified. He was going to be asked all the final questions and he knew he would be asked to write in English. So we got there and my mother went in and she came out and said, ‘It’s fine.’ And when my father came out, I’ll never forget the look on his face. He was just beaming. He’s 42 years old at this time. And the lady taps him on his shoulder and he says, ‘Yeah, she just asked me to write, “I buy groceries at the grocery store” and I forgot to change the y to i but she said it was OK, so I made it!’” Inge’s parents became naturalized U.S. citizens that day in 1962, as well as their son Helmut, who was 13. Martin was already a citizen, having been born in the U.S. Because Inge was 16 at the time, she had to become a citizen on her own, which she did in April 1967, before graduating from UW-Stevens Point in 1968.

The family’s hard work and determination represent an American success story, going from only 7 cents to their name and not knowing a soul in central Wisconsin to developing a community, identity and livelihood.

Much has changed since the Fuhrmans first set foot on American soil. Mariechen passed away in 1998, Bruno in 1999. Inge’s siblings have since passed as well. The land has been rented out to nearby farmers. Gone for several years, Inge returned to her childhood home in 2015 and lives in the farmhouse. The property is largely quiet now except for the whistle of the wind and occasional chatter of birds in the trees. But if you listen closely, one can almost hear Bruno’s voice as he heartily sings out “Hallelujah!” while spreading manure on the farm fields, or the sizzle of meat on the griddle interspersed with the clatter of dishes and snatches of German as Mariechen whips up a meal for some newfound friends.

Inge reminisces fondly about her parents who embarked on a new adventure more than 70 years ago. With a firm reliance on their faith, family and community, they created a life they loved and could be proud of.

“When we would help plow, my father would say, ‘Don’t plow a crooked furrow,’” said Inge. “Sometimes it’s good not to look back… That was a saying my father reminded us of, because my parents never held a grudge. Their faith journey to me was an example that I hope God will help me follow.”

A GATHERING PLACE - The Fuhrman farm served as a gathering place for friends and neighbors, as this photo from October 1961 shows. Pictured are (front) Martin Fuhrman, (middle) Addie George, Helmut Fuhrman, Marichen Fuhrman, (back) Hazel and William Rohloff, Harvey Cartwright, Bruno Fuhrman, Inge (Fuhrman) Hawks and Christa Rohloff.