The Volga German immigration to Kansas will be the topic of the last meeting of the Kinsley Library’s, “The Kansas Mosaic” discussion series.  The meeting will held at the Ellis County Historical Society Museum on Sunday, April 10. Participants should arrive shortly before 2 p.m. and the event will end at 5 p.m. New series participants will need to pay a $5 registration fee to cover entrance to the museum that day.      
“Ellis County was settled by many Volga Germans in the latter part of the 19th century,” said Kinsley Library Director Joan Weaver. “We are excited to be holding this meeting among the artifacts of these settlers and with the two scholars who will be speaking.”
Eminent German language scholar, Dr. William D. Keel, will be the featured speaker. Keel’s primary teaching and research interests are in German dialectology, Germanic philology, the structure of Modern German, and German-American studies. He is internationally recognized as an expert in these areas.  
Keel’s publications include co-edited books, German Emigration from Bukovina to the Americas (1996) with Kurt Rein (University of Munich) and German Language Varieties Worldwide: Internal and External Perspectives (2003) with Klaus Mattheier (University of Heidelberg) as well as and a number of articles treating Hannoverian Low German, German-Bohemian and Mennonite Low German dialects in Kansas and Missouri as well as the settlement history of Pennsylvania Germans in Kansas. His edited work on The Volga Germans of West Central Kansas was published in 2004.
Next on the afternoon’s agenda will be an historical reenactment, “The Immigrant Woman,” presented by Norma Pipkin. This German hausfrau character is based on Pipkin’s own great, great grandmother. Pipkin developed and completed the character in 2002 as part of her Master’s of Liberal Studies, English as a Second Language degree from Fort Hays State University. She has been presenting the program since 2005. She is a Lifetime member of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia and program chairman for their local Sunflower Chapter.  
During the last hour of the afternoon, participants will have time to explore the museum exhibits and building. Guided tours will show how the Germans from Russia adapted to living on the High Plains of Kansas. Of special interest on the grounds is the Volga German Haus, a replica of a traditional limestone home of the Volga German settlers in Ellis County.  
More information and suggested readings for the series are available at the library, 208 E. 8th St.; by telephone (620-659-3341); and online at www.kinsleylibrary.info .  
“The Kansas Humanities Council is a nonprofit organization that supports community- based cultural programs, serves as a financial resource through an active grant-making program, and encourages Kansans to engage in the civic and cultural life of their communities. For more information, visit www.kansashumanities.org.