Homer Rudolf, professor emeritus of music at the University of Richmond, Va., and native of Wishek, N.D., has been working at the NDSU Libraries in the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection (GRHC) since June processing and inventorying the Glueckstal Colonies Research Association Archives that were donated to the GRHC.
The collection includes extensive family records, books, maps and family histories. The purpose of the Glueckstal Colonies Research Association is two-fold. The first is to coordinate efforts of individuals researching descendants of the Glueckstal Colonies (a group of villages established from 1808 by German colonists in what was then known as South Russia). The second is to locate, gather, organize and access all sources pertaining to researching the villages of Glueckstal, Neudorf, Bergdorf and Kassel and their daughter colonies. The organization publishes two newsletters yearly.
Rudolf, coordinator of the Glueckstal Colonies Research Association, is working with local volunteers in consultation with the GRHC staff on processing and housing the collection. There are more than 1,600 pounds of records and books that will be stored in the lower level of the library.