THE BERRY MEADOW ARCHIVE - Mountain Light School

where John Peter Ochs‟s melodic voice once across through the canyon. Perhaps in some way these
experiences make possible the hope Chamberlain expressed a century and a half ago, that “…generations
that know us not shall come to ponder and to dream and the power of the vision shall pass into their
souls.” Through so many of these testimonies—and certainly evident in the vibrant witness of Bill
Scheirman and Evelyn Reich, has been a dynamic Christian faith expressed in the creeds of the Lutheran,
Baptist, Congregational, Presbyterian, Methodist, and other churches. Bill and Evelyn were living
expressions of Christlike humility and goodwill toward others and devotion to their families. I think they
honored the knowledge and traditions of our elders in part because they understood the abiding relevance
of time-honored faith to the vitality of the next generation.
One small but special discovery while organizing these papers was a German poem that Evelyn
had carefully tucked into a hardboard Russian passport covering. It begins with the words, “From H. B.
Scheuerman”—Evelyn‟s grandfather, and my great-grandfather. I had seen business documents bearing
his signature before, but nothing more. The lines must have held special meaning to a man who had faced
so many challenges in body and spirit by traveling halfway around the world to establish a better life for
his family in America.
Finally have you overcome
Many long and difficult hours;
Many days and nights
Have followed you in pain.
Steadfast did you bear them,
Your trials, your worries;
Till your eyes close in death
Yet to awake in heaven.
Hard copies of this Berry Meadow Archive will be placed at the Center for Volga German
Studies at Concordia University in Portland, at WSU/MASC in Pullman, and in the Whitman County
libraries at Colfax, Endicott, and St. John. This collection also contains my papers related to Russian
history and culture, travels to Russia and Eastern Europe, and work with Deyneka Russian Ministries
since my heritage has significantly influenced my participation in these and related endeavors. I have
previously deposited at the Endicott School Library many copies of old Endicott newspapers I gathered
over the years along with publications of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia.
Richard D. Scheuerman
Seattle, Washington (2009)
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