My ancestors came to the States just after the US Civil War and homesteaded farms in northern Lower Michigan. I'm 4th generation, I guess. My family has always lived in Michigan. In fact, my parents still live in my hometown, which is the town that they grew up in and the town that their parents grew up in.
Home to me is a little town...4500 people...mostly people of German and Polish descent. In fact, I am half Polish and half German. Home to me is a town dominated by a Catholic Church on one end of town and a Luthern on the other. A Catholic Church that begrudgingly accepted Vatican II, for that matter. Home to me is homemade kielbasa from a tiny butcher shop in Polishtown (aka the neighborhood my mom grew up). Home to me is polka bands at every family wedding. Home to me is hard-working, and hard-drinking, loud, rowdy people. Home to me is having 33 first cousins on my mom's side because she had 10 brothers and sisters. Home to me is a bowling alley/restaurant that on Thursdays has pierogi, bigos, golabki, golonka, czernina (duck blood soup) on the buffet. All you can eat for $6, I might add.
On the German side, we were indoctrinated on my dad's side of the family...my grandparents grew up in households that spoke both English and German. I know a little German that I learned as a child. My grandparents traveled to Germany extensively after the war to find their roots. They would bring us little gifts and chocolates, I remember. At Christmas, my grandmother made the best stollen. And sauerkraut with every meal, it seemed.
The culture of both the Polish and German community is still very alive in my little hometown. There is a town festival every August that has element of both cultures.
Jake
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