Stories
Stories are a window and connection into our past and also provide insights that help us understand the present and future.
A list of stories about the colony of Norka and the people who lived there is shown in sidebar on the right side of this page.
Please contribute your stories about Norka to help preserve the memory of our ancestors and the place they called home.
A page from the book Wolgadeutsche Volkslieder (Volga German Folk Songs) by Georg Dinges, published 1932 in Berlin.
The Center for Volga German Studies publishes its trilogy of books: The Volga Flows Forever by Sigrid Weidenweber
Following the successful release of Catherine in August 2009, the CVGS has now made available the last two books in this trilogy; The Volga Germans and From Gulag to Freedom. The series follows the lives of the fictional Meininger family and their friends who settled in Norka and later move to Schaffhausen.
Departing for the New World a time of sadness by Milton Bauer
Konrädchen (Little Konrad) A story of a boy from the Volga German Colony of Norka, Russia
Jerry Schleining remembers the old Volga Geman neigborhood in NE Portland (139MB mp3 file)
A Most Unusual Discovery by Joanne Krieger
Interviews with Henry Krieger - MP3 audio
Interview with Rachel Oswald (nee George) - MP3 audio
Colorado State University Interviews - MP3 audio
Interview with Christine Lehl - MP3 audio
Memoirs of Johann-Georg Schleuning
The Fate of a Schreiber Family from Norka
The Story of the Alexander Schreiber Family from Norka
Little Russia in Portland, Oregon
Recollections of Ellen Johnson Bauer
German Pioneer: Johannes Schleuning 1879-1962 (German language article)
Successful Research: "Like Finding A Needle In A Haystack" by Rachel (Krieger) Holmes
Memories of Norka by Conrad Brill
Story of Konrädchen by Roy Conrad Derring
Biography of My Father, Alexander Schreiber by Marie Schreiber Baker
A History of the Henry Krieger Family in Norka, Russia by Amelia Werre
A Tribute to Grandma Weitzel by Marven Weitzel
Remembering Grandpa by Marven Weitzel
A History of the Johann Helzer Family
The Yost Family Names by Virginia Less
Helzers of Norka by Ellen Campbell
The Dick Family from Norka to North Dakota
The Green Family Tree by Sally Braich
My Remembrance of Grandpa Pfenning
Military Service by Joanne Krieger
Read interviews of Norka immigrants to the United States from Norka at the Library of Congress American Life Histories website. Search for interviews with Henry Hahn, Elizabeth Kildow, Catherine Bauer, Henry Schwindt, and Margaret Sauer. Their place of birth is shown as "Norgia, Russia".