LANG PHOTOS
LANG Documents
August and Emma (Hehn) Lang
JUNE 15, 2019 TRIBUTE | Lang Family Reunion | Walla Walla | Tribute to Lonnie’s maternal grandparents
We share a common legacy.
As family, we also share a common responsibility to pass on the best of this legacy to benefit future generations. Family legacy begins with understanding family history.
1763
Our family’s Russian-German roots go back to the year 1763.
Catherine the Great signed her manifesto inviting foreigners, and especially Germans, to settle in Russia.
That Manifesto promised immigrants several incentives like exemption from military service, self-governance, tax breaks and 75 acres of land per settler family…and most importantly, "The free and unrestricted practice of their religion according to the precepts and usage of their Church.”
Many were anxious to be free from the religious wars of Europe, so the deciding factor that pushed them to leave their homeland was this wonderful notion of religious freedom.
Mid 1800’s
By the mid 1800’s, the number of Germans who migrated to Russia had risen to more than half a million.
A two of those family clans were the ancestors of Grandpa and Grandma, August and Emma Lang that we honor here today.
These German settlers were progressive farmers, hardworking craftspeople and efficient entrepreneurs. So they quickly achieved great prosperity in Russia.
1874
But by 1874, all of the provisions of the manifesto of Catherine the Great had been revoked.
And in that year the Russian Government began forcing military service for the German colonists.
Frederick Lang
And this is where we pick up on the story of August’s Dad, Frederick Lang. It was in South Russia where Frederick Lang married Christina Wahl.
Frederick was forced to serve in the Russian military for six years.
And when he was out, he made the courageous decision to uproot his family and immigrate to America. Why? So their sons wouldn’t be forced to serve in the Russian Army and so their decedents…that’s us…could enjoy freedom to worship God as they chose.
The significant tensions at that time between Russians and Germans and Jews made travel outside the country a perilous proposition…unsure and unsafe. A few of relatives had already made it to America but many relatives and friends were afraid to even think of migrating.
Henry and Gertrude Hehn
Emma’s parents, Henry and Gertrude Hehn also lived in S. Russia when they made the decision to start a new life in America.
In 1905 they started their journey to America and were detained at the Libou Russia military line for three weeks. They finally boarded a small old rusty oxen steamer that was used to transport livestock and goods and barely survived a three-day trip through a perilous storm to Holland…then 13 more days to New York on a nicer ship.
1903
August’s parents, Frederick and Christina left Odessa, Russia on this actual ship, the Kaiser Wilhelm and arrived in NY Harbor on March 5, 1903. This long trip couldn’t have been easy with three young boys, an 8-year-old, a 5-year-old, and 3-year-old August Lang who had been born in the year 1900 on August 1.
1923
August’s parents settled in Gackle, ND because Frederick’s brothers had already come to that area. They Homesteaded a farm a few miles from Gackle.
In 1923 they retired and moved to the big city of Gackle and where their friends were and where they were active members of Gackle SDA church.
Imagine what Frederick must have thought as shortly after his wife died in 1940, in his early 70’s, he heard the news about a decree issued by the Soviet Union, that all Russian Germans were to be deported to Siberia in the summer of 1941. If it wasn’t for Great Grandpa’s foresight and courage to move to America, we could all be living in Siberia or more likely, many of us never even been born.
Henry and Gertrude Hehn
Emma’s parents settled in S. Dakota where her dad Henry was able to get hired as a farm hand for the fabulous sum of $200 a year.
Those first two years, he worked hard and saved most of his money to buy farm land of his own. And on that land he started to fulfill his dream with determination, sacrifice, hard work and his trust in God.
I found this quote from Great Grandpa Henry (Emma’s dad), “Live your life so when you look back you can be sure of a clean heart and mind. And if tomorrow doesn’t come you can face God and be ready.”
1926
August and Emma met at the Gackle SDA church when Emma was in the area helping out on her uncle’s farm and went to church with his family. After a whirlwind romance dating only a few months, August Lang married Emma Hehn on June 14, 1926.
August and Emma Lang
August and Emma had their honeymoon at Camp Meeting in a tent next to their parents. And right away they began working together on the Lang family farm in the Gackle area. And they focused on raising these amazing five children to carry on their legacy—Rella, LaVira, Melvin, Allegra and Dallas.
In the mid 1920’s they purchased the Lang family homestead from Frederick. And in 1949 they built a new home in town because they closed the country school and had no bus service to the school in town. So they began to live in town during the winter each year. But they continued farming until his retirement in 1966.
August served actively in township affairs, on the school board, and on the assessor and township boards. In the community and in their church grandpa and grandma August and Emma had a sterling reputation of integrity and honor.
Enduring Values
We all benefit from the legacy of these lives well lived before us. And today in particular, we honor the legacy of Grandpa and Grandma, mom and dad, August and Emma Lang.
The common dictionary definition of legacy usually refers to the amount of money left to someone after you die. But I’m sure you’d agree that your legacy is not just about the quantity of resources of your future generations. It’s actually more about the quality of relationships. The legacy we really care about is not just about the size of our great-grand-kids portfolio but the soundness of the principles by which they live their lives. And that defines the richness of the legacy that we all enjoy from August and Emma…the legacy of the principles by which they lived their lives and the values they wove tightly into the fabric of this family.
I asked their sons and daughters to share some of the most prominent values August and Emma built into their lives and felt like I was discovering hidden clues as to the source of the character and ethos that defines much of what this family stands for today. I wish I had time to share everything I learned from the five siblings, but I’ll share some of the highlights in hope that this not only informs us of our roots, but also inspires us to continue to see these core values thrive for many generations.
Work Ethic and Productivity
The most common value theme I heard was that August and Emma valued a Work Ethic and Productivity.
Uncle Melvin said, “I don’t remember many, if any, days that Dad would sit very long. I was amazed how every day he would keep busy and expected me to do so as well. He was not just busy but always wanted to be productive.” Melvin said “Often when dad was fixing something he would ask me to get a tool and I remember him loudly saying “Sprin” or “Schnell” which in German meant run or run.
As a young child, I recall leaving the Gackle farm after one of our summer trips, getting in the car and asking my parents, “Why does Grandpa always run from the tractor to the shop, doesn’t he know how to walk?”
Financial Responsibility
Another core value they demonstrated is Financial Responsibility.
The mantra by which they lived their lives was, never spend more than you can afford and don’t spend what you haven’t earned.
During the dust bowel times of the Dirty Thirties, the kids remember money being extremely short and most farmers going out of business or moving out of area. Most everyone else survived by living on government subsidies. But not August and Emma. They found a way to survive only on what they could earn. Dallas told me, “Dad was proud of the fact that they were one of two families in the entire Griffin township that didn’t take welfare.”
Melvin said, “I remember being in grade-school during that time seeing most of the students eating large welfare oranges for lunch but we had the small one that dad paid for. Rella said that one day she went home and complained about it and dad said, “I tell you what, we paid for our oranges and they didn’t pay for theirs…but we helped pay for theirs.” And the Rella added, “From that point on my oranges weren’t so small any more…and I learned not to like welfare.”
During those dirty 1930’s the government allowed everyone in that area to get behind on taxes. In 1940-41 August and Emma had their first good crop year. Grandpa went in to pay his taxes and said “I want to pay all my land taxes current.” And they said, “You can pay it off over time, you don’t have to pay it all off in one year.” But Grandpa August said, “I have the money so I’m going to pay it all off in full because I don’t like to owe anything to anyone.”
The siblings remember that when their dad needed a new tractor, rather than spending more than he could afford and financing it like most were doing, he sold his favorite, prime horse so he could pay cash for the tractor.
Strong Family Reputation and Respect in the Community
They also valued having a Strong Family Reputation and Respect in the Community.
Allegra said, “My parents were my heroes for what it means to live in such a way that the community respects and trusts you. When I was a teenager, my dad said something like this, ‘Remember, everything you do will affect the value of our family name.’ And I knew that he expected me to never disgrace the family name that he had worked hard to merit respect among the community.”
In 1959, Dallas was with his dad when he bought a new 1959 green Ford Fairlane 500. It was late Friday afternoon at the dealership of a successful business leader in the community…Amil Shafer…a man that August respected. August wrote Amil a check for over $2000 which would be the equivalent of over $30k today. Amil signed the car over to him, put the check in his desk drawer and gave him the keys. And August said, “The banks are already closed so you won’t be able to deposit the check until Monday. Aren’t you worried about turning the car over to me before you have the money?” Amil reached into his drawer and pulled out a couple other checks that were $50-$100 each and said, “These two I worry about, but yours I don’t worry about.” Dallas remembers his dad telling that story to his mom as soon as they got home before he even told her about the new car. That new car wasn’t as important to August as the words he received from this successful business leader as a statement of respect to the Lang family.
The siblings talk about how clear it was to them that their family was very important to August and Emma and that they were very proud of their kids. Dallas said, “To be respected and trusted was important to dad. It wasn’t about being respected for the money or land anyone had. It was about being respected for the fact that his kids were good people and were respected. It was about the fact that they were family people and community people. And Dad and Mom really respected the type of people that their kids were.”
The siblings also remember their dad and mom often having them work for neighbors to help them out and doing so without getting paid. But the pay was the good report they got from their community about them and their family. “Mom and Dad were always looking for a good report.”
Doing Whatever it Takes Without Complaining
The siblings remember that Mom worked tirelessly doing all the household and motherly functions. Plus she’d help Dad on the farm, making hay, feeding livestock and milking cows. She carried all the water they used in the house and in the garden from the well, about a block away. She carried every bit of water they used for taking baths, washing dishes, drinking, and cooking. Dallas says, “I never heard mom complain about anything being too hard.” And Dallas added, “I see that in others in our family. For example, Rella paints her house while using a walker and says, ‘It’s nothing’.” Despite painful arthritis, Grandma Emma continued to design and stitch award winning quilts as if it was her greatest joy to make these works of art that would bless others. She set the bar high for doing whatever has to be done and doing it without complaining.
Intentionally Building Relationship with God
The siblings remember how their mom, in particular, embedded the value of intentionally building relationship with God with weekly practices that made memories and taught them the Bible. In the Gackle home, they only used the living room as a family on Friday nights. They would all gather around the piano and sing their hearts out. (Maybe Emma picked that up from her dad Henry who loved music and played the violin and accordion.) Then Emma would have all of five kids sit around the kitchen table and study the Sabbath school lesson, looking up and discussing the Bible texts. This left a pattern of intentionality in building relationship with God that so many of us are still inspired by today.
Enduring Values
August and Emma would be so grateful, that even though they haven’t been with us for years, this extended family still values gathering together. And I think we all know they would be even more grateful to see how some of the values that were dear to them are being lived out in so many different ways throughout this family. And the greatest honor, the greatest tribute we can give them is to intentionally pass on their legacy of enduring values to our future generations.
