Translator regales audience with German immigrant stories

The Kaffeeklatsche—a charming German term that evokes the warmth of social gatherings over coffee and conversation— provided the perfect backdrop for the highly anticipated release of “History of De-Witt County 1899,” a book originally written in German by immigrant C.H. Waltersdorf.

Dr. James C. Kearney, a renowned historian, author, and professor of Germanic Studies at the University of Texas, translated the book and talked about its significance.

“I recognized immediately that this is a very interesting document, not only because it tells the story of common people,” Kearney said, “but extraordinary common people -- the kind of people that most histories tend to neglect.”