Dr. Terwey Welcomes the Visitors to the 600th Anniversary
of the founding of the City of Nordhorn

My dear friends from Michigan.

 I am very glad to welcome you here in this part of Germany, where your forefathers lived. As much as I know, you belong to the first larger group of persons, to visit the old country, from where your forefathers emigrated 130 years ago.

 Most of you don't have any connections to persons of the Grafschaft anymore, but I an very pleased to hear, that many of you still speak the old dialect, which is known as "plattdeutsch". I have to thank Mrs. Harger for all she has done to make this pleasant journey possible for all, of you.

In 1847 we registered the first group of emigrants, seven pioneers, to go to the United States. But soon after them another group of seventy persons went to America, too. One was Jannes Rutgers and I am very glad to hear, that his greatgrandson is among us now. In 1865 another group of sjxty-eight persons (seven from Wietmarschen, thirty-she from Neuenhaus and twenty-five from Uelsen) emigrated to the United States of America). One year later sjxty-one more people emigrated and in 1867 I have registered forty-she and in 1868 another eighteen to go to America. But, what was the background for all these people to leave this country? From 1844 until 1848 we had bad years of famine in the Netherlands and in Germany, where your forefathers lived. That time these pe_ple lived in the Kingdom of Hanover and in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During that time, the county of Bentheim had also very good and close contact with Holland, even better than with the other part of the Kingdom of Hanover and Munster, as the inhabitants of these areas mostly belonged to the Catholic church.

At this time, the members of the Old Reformed Church were very often persecuted by the government and other authorities. But, there was also another background for the emigration. Half a sack of rye (45 pounds) costs in 1847 at Neuenhaus ten marks, a little maid earned only six guilders a year! At that time nettle soup and soup of beans leaf was very often found on the tables at dinner.

There was also only one street from Neuenhaus to Bentheim via Nordhorn, a sandy road. The river Vechte was the only boulevard. In 1896 we had the first railway and exactly a hundred years ago the first connection to the Ems - Vechte canal. This was also the beginning of the industrialization. The county of Bentheim had 30,500 inhabitants in 1872, Nordhorn only 1470. 

As chief government - director of the county of Bentheim I like to give you a short representation of this area, as you will find it now: We live in the most southwest part of lower Saxony and the northern part of this shire stretches far into the Netherlands. The situation of the Landkreis is very satisfactory. It is only two hundred kilometers to go to AmsterdamlRotterdam in Holland: to the Ruhr area and to Bremen or Hanover. Three­fifths of the borders are also the borders of the Federal Republic of Germany. The over-regional transport system is not very good. It is about seventy-five kilometers to get to the nearest motor highway, but in the near future we will have two motor highways here, the Emsland highway and the Europe highway, which are crossing between Schuttorf and Nordhorn. This will give us more commercial connections and European integration. 

District president Hermann Maatmann, who is here, is a deputy of the diet and is a farmer himself, will tell you all about those houses, where your forefathers lived in the County of Bentheim. 

Until 1970 the county of Bentheim was divided in sixty-five communities. After the reforming until 1977 twenty-six communities were left into seven administrations. The District Council was chosen for the last on 23, October 1977. The District Council has forty-seven deputies, twenty-five belong to the Christian Democratic party, eighteen to Labor, two to Liberal, one to Communist party and one deputy is independent. 

The movement of population was mostly after the Second World War by the displaced persons of the eastern refugees. From 1939 until 1950 more than 27,000 persons come into the county of Bentheim, the population increased from 66,000 up to 94,000 people. The rate of increase was more than forty percent. 

At the moment 'the county of Bentheim has a population of 115,000 persons, Nordhorn as county town, the largest one, has a population from nearly fifty thousand. The density of population is hundred and eighteen persons one square kilometer, that means, hundred and eighteen persons on zero point thirty-eight, square miles. This is less than the average of Lower Saxony, where we have 152 persons on zero point thirty-eight square miles to live. The agriculture in the county of Bentheim took a long time to change in structure. The smaller and medium farmers don't remain any longer and become larger unities. In 1971 we have counted 4052 independent farmers, in 1979 only 3067 were left in the county of Bentheim. This is a downward movement of about seven percent. In this downward movement we notify mostly smaller and medium sized farms with about twenty-five until forty-five acres. In this time we also notified an increase of larger farming unities. 

In spite of this fact, the independent farming is still one of the most important line of business in this county. Water engineering and more cultivation make the farmers capable of existence and also able to marketable. The western part of Lower Saxony is not strong on economical and industrial basis. But the county of Bentheim is an exception in this western part of the country. The industrialization of the county of Bentheim is far' ahead of the

standard in Lower Saxony and even the Federal Republic of Germany. Natural treasures of the soil, the crude oil and the natural gas production are responsible for this economic increase.  

In former times it were sandstone, peat, potter's earth and iron ore to make the most of. Big constructions of crude oil and natural gas production you'll find all over the whole area of the county of Bentheim, in particular in the northern part. But the most important economical section in this county is still the textile industry. Nearly sixty-five percent of all employees are working in this branch. But the development in this branch is recessive, so it must be an important political aim, in closing this gap. 

In the nineteenth century the county of Bentheim had many elementary and secondary schools. The first grammar school was founded in 1922 the monastery Bardel by Franciscan monks. In 1925 the first modern grammar school in the county of Bentheim was founded at Nordhorn. At the present we have grammar schools at Nordhorn, Bentheim, Neuenhaus and at Emlichheim. In the other communities of the county of Bentheim you will find all other types of elementary and secondary schools. Especially at Nordhorn, the county of Bentheim provides a center of different kinds of continuation schools. With the exception of the grammar school at Bardel we do not have any other confessional school in the county of Bentheim. 

On the cultural sector the county of Bentheim has financed the most important meeting "Kloster Frenswegen", which is open for all kind of Christian people. After my speech we will go to the former monastery of Frenswegen for sightseeing. 

At Nordhorn we also have a theatre with twenty-four arrangements a year, there are also tour - theatres at Emlichheim, Neuenhaus, Schuttorf and Uelsen. 

Very well known is also the open-air theatre at Bentheim, the Brazil - museum and museum for stamps with Christian motives, both domiciled at the monastery at Bardel. At Nordhorn, the county of Bentheim acquired the ownership of a patrician house with preservation of ancient monuments, which is a music school now. In 1977 we opened the so called "Heimat museum" at Bentheim, a very well known place of interest for competent persons. 

In 1948 nearly fifty percent of all houses were joined to the public water supply. In connection with the crude oil in the northern part of the county of Bentheim the first Waterworks was founded at Osterwald in the circuit of Neuenhaus in 1953. At the present more than ninety percent of the population is supplied with water. The rest of the population in the more rural areas of the county of Bentheim has namely a good quality of drinking water, but it will take a long time to link them with the public water supply. 

In former times nearly all households were heated with peat. This was also done after the second World War, as there was enough peat in the areas of the county of Bentheim. But now almost of all households are heated with gas or oil.

A great deal of our work now is also to take care of a better protection of our environment. In the County of Bentheim we have already taken 12,500 acres as preserved areas in eight different communities. Another 4,500 acres will be taken as nature reserves soon. Also we have to perfect refuse pits, one at the Isterberg for the southern part of the county of Bentheim and one for the northern part of our county. 

Well: this for the first! My dear ladies and gentlemen! On the now following journey we will try to give you an insight into that part of the county of Bentheim, where your forefathers lived. Mr. Maatmann, who is very acquainted with the locality and who knows many people personally is going to show you later the houses, the farms and the villages, from where your forefathers emigrated to the United States of America. 

Our region has changed on fundamental basic especially in farming. Although we like to show you in an historical retrospect, how your forefathers lived. We will show you the marshy soils and heathy-grounds, on which your forefathers could not exist. 

Please give me the opportunity to say one more thing: emigration will always take place, when there are economical difficulties, political and confessional pressures as is happened when your forefathers lived here. Today there are hardly emigrants from the Federal Republic of Germany. But we know by history about the rough fatality of your forefathers. Therefore we are lucky to have you here with this group for the first time in Germany. We are happy to get first contacts with you and hope, that these will continue. 

I would be very grateful, if one group of the county of Bentheim could come to visit you in America and fasten the contacts for the future between you and us. 

You are our guests today and on Tuesday, 9 October 1979. I have to thank you for the attention you've given me during my explanations. I thank you very much!