There’s much I don’t understand about my family’s history, but I know the one thing we always do is take pictures. There are pictures of every close family member and each one tells a story. The part of my family that I know came directly from Germany. My grandmother keeps a picture of my great-great-grandfather on her fireplace. She described him to me and told me about how he and I were similar. She said, “He didn’t speak much, but when he did the whole room was listening.” He came from Germany to America and served in the military. More pictures in our family show my uncles, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers also enlisting in the military. The picture of my great-great-grandfather is especially important to me because it makes me feel connected to someone so far in the past that impacted my family so much. Our European roots affected traditions within our family when it came to food and religion. For example, my grandmother learned a recipe passed down from her father called German goulash and a lot of people in the family have Christian beliefs. 

– Aminah Larsen

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more