The Heidel family has another special reason to celebrate America's 250th birthday because of the opportunities America gave both sets of their parents (Harold and Emma Sack, and Conrad and Katherine Heidel) and their grandparents (Alex and Amalia Miller, and Conrad and Elizabeth Heidel). Debbie Heidel shares, “Both my husband and I had German parents and grandparents. My husband and I are 100% German, and so are our two children. My mother’s parents were sent to Russia and escaped out of communist Russia around 1921 via a horse-drawn wagon. They entered the United States through Ellis Island. My father’s family came in through Baltimore.”
She continued, “They left their families in Russia to pursue a better life for their children and for the freedom to worship as they wanted. They were considered Volga Germans from Russia because their community in Russia was along the Volga River.”
Living in America was her grandparents’ dream. They made their first home in Wisconsin, where a family sponsored them. After a start in agriculture, they moved to the Flint area, where a large contingent of Volga Germans had settled and worked for General Motors.
Deb said, “Our grandparents had known each other in Russia and met again in Flint where they started a church. Flint was where Mark and I eventually met.”
Deb asserted, “No one was prouder to be an American than my maternal grandfather! He even wrote a book about it, describing their escape from Russia and their travels…My mother was their first child born in the USA…He was my hero.”
The Heidels’ son is in the military and could not be with them for July 4 last year, but he is coming this year and joining them for the neighborhood parade. His 6-month-old son Alex will be the youngest parade participant. All this adds joy to the family’s celebration of America's 250th.
