Latvian couple finds their 1950 immigrant sponsor in farm country

Jul. 6—Pennsylvanian Andris Grunde's recent vacation included a celebration of Latvian culture in St. Paul and a day trip to St. Peter.

Grunde found his drive recently through the Minnesota River Valley beautiful but unfamiliar. He has only sketchy memories of his arrival in the state in 1950 when he was 4 years old.

"I remember the 'cold' feel — it was February."

Grunde's wife, Inta, accompanied him to Peter. The town played a part in the resettlement of his family who fled Latvia near the end of World War II.

The Grundes visited Gustavus Adolphus College and the Treaty Site History Center. Earlier this year, Andris donated to the center a traveling trunk used by his refugee parents.

"Gustavus Adolphus" and "St. Peter" and the Latvian name "V. Gutmaris" are stamped on the wooden chest that had been shipped ahead of the family's arrival in Minnesota.

His parents, Otto and Erika Grunde, had been among the thousands who'd fled Latvia around 1944. Requirements had to be met before the young couple and their two sons could enter the United States. They needed a sponsor and income.

Andris donated the trunk to the center after a serendipitous internet search for St. Peter-related information resulted in the discovery of an exhibit at the center about immigrants from the northeastern region of Europe known as the Baltic states. While making advance plans for attending the Latvian Song and Dance Festival USA at St. Paul, Andris also began to actively search for information about the people who'd provided shelter for him when he was a small child.

Until recently, he did not know his sponsors' names or where they farmed.

"Unfortunately, my parents were not good chroniclers," Andris said during an interview earlier this year.

He does know it was a relatively short time before his family moved on to St. Paul. Eventually, they resettled on the East Coast.

"They were traumatized," Inta said, acknowledging how difficult it must had been for her in-laws to leave a country they loved.

Inta's heritage also is Latvian. She feels fortunate that her parents revealed some information about their immigrant experience before they resettled in Pennsylvania.

"They told us stories about what it was like in the resettlement camps and how they traveled here."

Inta said she and Andris are happy in the country they now call home, the United States. They're also grateful to have the privilege of continuing to practice their native country's culture.

"We can speak our language and not be persecuted."

The Grundes expressed empathy for present-day refugees, especially the people of Ukraine. They participate in their church's project to provides camouflage netting to the war-torn country about 600 miles from Latvia.

Andris made little progress in his search for the Minnesota connection until about four months ago. His daughter, Tara Grunde-McLaughlin, who, after finding out the 1950 Census was released April 1, volunteered to help with online research.

"It's A.I. is remarkable," said Grunde-McLaughlin, who needed only a relatively short period of time to find the names her father had been seeking.

Her success came after she "noodled" around the website via a wide range of data searches.

"I tried all the back doors and window ways..it took hours...but it was fun."

Results of her research "filled in holes" in her family's history, Grunde-McLaughlin said.

Her paternal grandparents' names showed up as being counted in 1950 as residents of Clifton Township in Lyon County. The names of their sponsors also were listed. Vernon and Berniece Christianson farmed in rural Milroy for many years.

Grunde-McLaughlin found a specific address for the Christiansons in Clifton Township after examining old plat maps that listed property owners' names.

Her next step was to coordinate her Clifton Township results with a Google Maps search.

"Lo and behold, there was the farm place."

The image she found shows a chained gate that blocks the entrance to the Christianson property. Its buildings appear to be abandoned.

Andris and Inta opted to not travel to the Milroy area during their Minnesota vacation this week.

They did meet in person two women Andris has been in touch with since he found out about the exhibit "Welcome New Neighbors: Refugee Resettlement in Southwest Minnesota, 1948-1952." The display's coordinator Pamela Conners met the Grundes on the Gustavus Adolphus campus, where she is an associate professor of communication studies.

The couple also spent some time at the treaty site with its research coordinator. Andris said Ruth Einstein had been helpful in providing information about the exhibit that concluded in late March.

Before the Grundes left on their trip to Minnesota, Andris penned some words of gratitude to the Christiansons' son, whose name and age were revealed by the 1950 Census.

Here's an excerpt from the letter he mailed to Milroy:

"My parents fled their home in Latvia when it was invaded by Stalin's army and secret police, and were refugees in Germany, looking for a permanent home. I was born in Lubeck when my parents were living in a Displaced Persons camp...

Your parents' generosity as sponsors enabled my family to start a new life in the United States, eventually becoming citizens. For that I will be eternally grateful."

Andris has not yet had a response.

Note: Because of a 72-year restriction on access to the records, 1950 is the most recent census year available. Users can access census information for free through a dedicated website at: 1950census.archives.gov. The website is searchable.