Clemens Olberding, Trip to Germany, 1895

OLBERDING

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 4/24/2007 at 19:51:10

I translated the following articles from Der Carroll Demokrat, a German-language newspaper published in Carroll, Iowa, between about 1874 and 1920. They were originally published on Friday, 3 May 1895 and Friday 24 May 1895. Any information in brackets or notes at the end are my own explanations. They read as follows:

[First Article, 3 May 1895]
We had the pleasure on Tuesday to speak with Mr. Clemens Olberding of Arcadia. He had been ill and, therefore, for recuperation he traveled last fall to Germany. He looks refreshed and healthy, and it appears that the trip had a beneficial influence. After he made the obligatory visit to his homeland (Oldenburg), he visited the Rhine region and southern Germany. But our friend could not acquire a liking for the railroads because the movement was so jostling, but he was full of praise for the fine, attractively built, and sometimes magnificent railroad stations. And the man is correct. When one sees the railroad buildings there, even in the smallest villages, they are true palaces in comparison to our board shacks, which mostly still look like they are intended for some completely different purpose. A real disgrace and an insult to the traveling public. It is no wonder that this would greatly attract the attention of a man visiting the old homeland after many years. Next to the train stations, there are also always attractive public grounds and gardens set with covered walks and grottos where the travelers can stroll. Indeed, what more could be desired? The railroad cars for passengers that they have in the old fatherland are, in contrast, the worst imaginable. They offer the traveler no comforts at all, and people are shut into little compartments as if they were prisoners. Also, in certain locations, people are treated quite rudely by railroad personnel. But on the whole, traveling in America is indeed more comfortable, even if we would rather close our eyes when passing by a rail station that looks like a pigsty.

[Second Article, 24 May 1895]
[From Arcadia]
Since we have submitted no correspondence in a long time, we must give a supplemental report that Mr. Clemens Olberding, who on New Years Day undertook a trip to Germany in company with Mr. Bernard Meyer and Mr. Emil Winker, arrived here again in good health on the Sunday after Easter. Since he did not write when he was arriving, it was a surprise when our postmaster was at the railroad station in the morning when the train arrived and saw the traveling trunk of Mr. Olberding had been unloaded, even though our Clemens was nowhere to be seen. Indeed, when we received the news, we knew that he would come on the afternoon train, which proved to be true, and he was received with open arms by 60 to 70 of his dear friends who had just come from afternoon church service. It is obvious that this trip did him good, and we hope that thereby he has fully recovered his health. Mr. Olberding reported that his relatives in Germany are of the opinion that we German-Americans here must have forgotten the German language. That is not so, however, as all over America there are German schools, newspapers, etc. To us Germans, the mother tongue is prized above all things.