AA Women's Edition #2

Petra Prag Crutchfield tells Her Story
Mom Margot, brother
Walter & Petra
Petra with Claudia
Catholic Easter Parade
Petra’s favorite park in Ludwigshafen, called Ebert Park and
named after Fredrich Ebert the first President of Germany from
1919 until his death in office in 1925. The park also features a
small zoo, waterslide and playground.
Petra with aunt, uncle and
cousins at the pool
Petra in 70’s
I was born in Heidelberg, Germany to a single mother, who found the challenge of raising
a bi-racial child too much to handle. Her parents, my beloved grandparents(show on left), whom
I called Mutter and Vater (Mom and Dad) raised me as their own. This was quite a challenge for
them in the 1950’s, but they persevered and provided me with a great childhood! I was loved by my
family, had aunts, uncles and cousins and friends. Some of those
childhood friends I am still in touch with today, thanks to modern
technology! I attended Kindergarten, Elementary, High school
and College in Germany. I obtained an Associates in Business degree
while working as Legal Secretary apprentice at a law firm for
3 years. I passed my exam, received my diploma and continued to
work at that firm for a little while longer. On a friend’s tip, I was
lucky enough to land a Foreign Language Secretary job at an International
Engineering Firm. I thrived at that firm and climbed the
ladder all the way to the President’s Executive Assistant.
I met my then-husband, the father of my only daughter,
Iris, we started dating and later married. He finished his tour
in Germany and decided move to the US. He had a son from a
previous marriage, Wallace, which I helped raise. I realize now
how hard it must have been for my parents to see me go! We’ve
always been a tight knit family, and I looked at my cousins more
like brothers and sisters.
We traveled to Mayfield KY to meet my husband’s family,
bought a home, and relocated in June of 1980. At the time I did not realize the significance
Standing in front of the and trauma of such a major step! When you are young you feel that you can conquer the world!
Goethe Schule in Ludwingshafen
who you are, and my new family acted so different from when I first met them. I was very
I soon found out the harsh reality of such a move, you lose your identity! No one knows
unhappy. Life was pretty tough and lonely. Did I mentioned that the house my then-husband
purchased was located in Wingo? I went from an urban to a rural environment, I was used to sidewalks, public
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