From the Archives: Andale parish provides land, home for a family of WWII refugees

By Christopher M. Riggs

The faithful of the Diocese of Wichita sent soldiers and nurses to Europe during World War II. After the war, they sent tons of food and clothing to aid the millions trying to rebuild their lives.

St. Joseph Parish in Andale did something extraordinary, though. It brought a family to Kansas and gave them a new life.

The St. Joseph Society on May 11, 1949, purchased a six-room house and four and a half acres of ground on the western edge of Andale to provide a home for a refugee family from Europe, according to the June 10 “Advance Register.” “The house and plot of ground were purchased with $3,900 which was solicited from St. Joseph parishioners to provide the home. Besides the house and plot of ground…the St. Joseph Society has also arranged for a job for the head of the family at the Andale Farmers’ Co-Op at Andale.”

The article said a system of repayment by the refugee family would be worked out upon their arrival. “The furnishings of the house and other necessities will be contributed by organizations and individuals. No information as to the arrival of the refugee family is available at the present time.”

The Aug. 26, 1949, edition of the diocesan newspaper featured photos and an article about the family’s arrival in Wichita on Aug. 19.

Janis and Tamara Velde and their two children, Renata, 7, and Aristide, 5, were welcomed at Wichita’s Union Station by representatives of St. Joseph Parish, Andale.

“The Veldes came from Nuremberg, Germany, where they were registered as displaced persons originally from Latvia. They were invited to come to America and take up a home at Andale,” the article stated. “The St. Joseph Society and friends of the Andale community had arranged for the purchase of a six-room house and four acres of ground on the edge of town for the family. The home was completely remodeled, and furnished by the Young People’s Club, the St. Joseph Society, and generous friends in the Andale community.”

Originally from Riga, Latvia, the Valdes family was taken in 1944 to the Sudentenland as war laborers. After several years in Sudentenland, they were moved to Nuremberg and placed in a camp there. “It was at Nuremberg where they received the thrilling news that someone in America had invited them to a home. The family was overjoyed to see friends waiting for them at the depot. Aristide reached up to hug one of the priests and kissed him on his cheeks, mumbling exclamations of joy in his native Latvian language.”

The parents were happy to learn that several in the welcoming party could speak German, one of the languages they spoke. They told those welcoming them that the trip was very long and they thought they would never get to Kansas. They said they were most impressed by the lights in their new country. “It is just like the daytime. We have never seen anything like that and, of course, during the war years and later in Germany, everything was in darkness at night.”

Mrs. Velde said she was impressed by the United States. “When we were riding on the train, we were always thinking that if you were just take what is left over in America, it could feed all of Europe. You see, there is hardly enough over there to keep the people alive. Even if a person had money over there, you couldn’t buy enough to live like the people here, the stores don’t have the things to sell, and what they have only a very rich person could afford to buy.”

She said other travelers seemed to know they were foreigners, she added, perhaps because of the look on their faces, but probably because of their clothing. “Everyone has been friendly to us, but sometimes we were a little embarrassed when people would stare at us,” she said.

Mrs. Velde, who did most of the talking, asked about the climate and when she was told it snows in Kansas, she was happy. “My, that’s good. We’ll see snow. You see, we are a northern people and we always had snow at home.”

She apologized for her children who were frolicking, laughing, talking, and repeatedly, grasping the hands of their new American friends, the article stated. “You must understand,” she said, “those children have been cooped up in railroad cars and little rooms on a ship and in wire cages in the passport offices for almost 6 weeks and so it is difficult for us to make them sit quiet now and behave.”

isMrs. Velde explained that while in Germany, each family would have one corner of a room and if the room was large enough, a fifth family would be squeezed into the middle of the room. “That’s the way we have been living for the past five years. Aristide was just five months old when they took us from our home in Riga, Latvia.”

Mrs. Velde had been a librarian in one of the state libraries in Riga before the war. After being taken to the Sudetenland and Nuremberg in 1944, Mr. Velde worked as a farm laborer while the family stayed in a nearby camp.

Before leaving for Andale by car, the family stopped at the home of Bishop Mark K. Carroll. “After the visit with the bishop they asked if they might stop at the Cathedral for a visit,” the article stated. “As they left the church, they were wiping tears from their eyes. Again, they boarded the automobile and anxiously set out for the first view of their home in Andale.”

Riggs is editor emeritus of the Catholic Advance.