By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
As Ellis County continues to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the Volga Germans, a new community production aims to tell their story through history, music and family traditions.
Josie's Gift, an original play written by local playwright Cheryl Glassman, is set for Aug. 6 at Hays High School Auditorium.
Glassman said the project, developed in collaboration with the Ellis County Historical Society, began when Ellis County Historical Society Executive Director Amanda Rupp asked her to write a play honoring the Volga German experience.
The production combines historical research with personal stories collected from local families whose ancestors helped shape the region.
"I did a lot of research," Glassman said. "Not just paper research where I looked things up or read books or did things of that nature, but I also talked to individuals from Ellis County who had family members who had come over or had some history that they could share with me that I could share within the show itself."
Glassman said the play opens with a recounting of the difficult journey Volga German immigrants made from Russia to Ellis County beginning in 1876. It then shifts to 1982, centering on Josie, a woman in her 70s recovering from a stroke while her family debates moving her into a nursing home.
As family members sort through a trunk filled with treasured keepsakes, each artifact sparks flashbacks that reveal moments from generations of Volga German life in Kansas.
Among the featured scenes are traditional weddings from both the late 1800s and the 1970s, highlighting customs that remained remarkably unchanged across generations. Authentic costumes, including traditional black wedding attire and babushkas, help recreate the era.
"They did things in the 1800s that they still did in the 1970s, and sometimes they still do them today at Volga German weddings, and so the fun part of that is costuming," Glassman said. "We have people in babushkas. The ladies are wearing the scarves, the babushkas, and the black outfits that they wore back in the day."
The production also explores everyday life, from Christmas celebrations to childhood games played before modern toys were available.
Cast member Jerry Braun contributed one such family game — a set of cow bones his father used as toys.
"A traditional Volga German game that was played was called Bunnack, which is basically like yard bowling with bones," Braun said. "So we were able to incorporate some of the historical games with relics that we could have, which would be like these bones that we will find in the trunk."
Music plays a central role throughout the production. Glassman adapted melodies from historic Volga German song collections, supplemented with original compositions. A live orchestra featuring Hays High School students on strings, along with guitar, accordion and piano accompaniment, will perform during the show.
For Braun, participating in the production became a personal journey.
"I've known a lot of my history, but in doing this play, it's made me ask questions I hadn't even thought about asking," Braun said. "It really does stir that kind of inquiry into the past, making me want to learn more about the things that make us who we are."
While the production celebrates traditions, it also acknowledges the hardships endured by Volga Germans, from persecution in Russia to deaths during the voyage to America and the challenges of building new lives on the Kansas prairie.
"There are some very sad things, but some very joyful things that have happened throughout the 150 years that the Volga Germans have lived here in Ellis County," Glassman said.
The production has brought together numerous community organizations, including the Ellis County Historical Society, local theater volunteers, Hays USD 489, musicians and members of the Volga German community.
"It really does take a village to do something of this nature," Glassman said. "There was no way that they could have survived without one another, and there's no way we could have done this show without all of the people who are helping us."
"I'm hoping that people will just come and embrace it and see it and enjoy what we have put together," Glassman said.
The performance will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, at Hays High School Auditorium. A traditional bierock meal will be served in the school cafeteria beginning at 5:45 p.m. Admission and the meal are both available on a freewill donation basis.
Because seating is first come, first served, organizers encourage attendees to arrive early.