If you're a regular reader of this column, you should have come to one conclusion, "Latzke" is a very German name.

My ancestors came from the homeland and settled in a very strong German community in central Kansas. I grew up with names like Gugler, Oesterrich (pronounced "A-Strike") and Staatz as neighbors. I'm proud of my family's heritage.

But, for one day a year, March 17, I like to pretend I'm Irish. And, I know I'm not alone.

St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays. Perhaps it's because of my formative years attending a school of Irish decendents with a fighting leprechaun as our team mascot. I've got an affinity for emeralds, shamrocks and lilting Irish voices singing sad songs. I especially enjoy St. Patrick's Day when I can dress in Kelly Green, eat potato soup and drink beverages that have been dyed some shade of green. If I have enough green beverages I may even break into a German version of Riverdance. A sight to be sure.

But, there has always been a more solemn side to St. Patrick's Day for me. You see, I find it sadly ironic that we firmly grasp the joy and mirth associated with the day's celebration in this modern age, while only a few generations ago the Irish immigrants who came to this country were mocked and scorned for their alien ways. They talked differently, they practiced a different religion, and they were taking what little jobs to be found--choose from any number of excuses. Bottom line, they were foreign and didn't belong here with "real Americans."

Just imagine, though, what our world would be like today, if there were no immigrant laborers a century ago. They built our railroads, they worked in our factories and they put their blood and sweat into creating an infrastructure that could support a growing nation. They gave us writers and poets, singers and musicians. They brought their work ethic and their dreams to make a new life for their families in the land of opportunity.

And, in the end, the O'Malleys, Flanigans and Learys put their mark on our country just like every other ethnic group since the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock--Germans included.

There's a lesson to be learned from the Irish of the past and we can apply it today. I recently heard Ed Barlow of the consulting firm Creating the Future, Inc., talk about the changing climate of agriculture and rural America. He may not have been the favorite speaker of the day for most of the listeners, but he had a message for them all the same--acceptance of other cultures is key to the future survival of small town America.

The immigrants coming to our shores today will be the health care professionals who work in our nursing homes and small town emergency rooms tomorrow. Their children will be our scientists and researchers looking for cures for disease and developing technologies to enhance our living. They will bring new art and music to our culture, opening the doors to great creativity. Our neighbors 10 years from now may not look like us or talk like us but they will be working and living alongside us. So, we'd better change our attitudes because we need the Garcias and Hidalgos and their investments of capital and resources if our small rural towns have any chance of survival.

It's a sensitive subject, but one that I've been mulling over for a long time. I know that we've got a lot of challenges to overcome, but who knows, maybe the next generation of rural Americans--whatever their last name--will celebrate May 5, Cinco de Mayo, with as much enthusiasm as I have now for St. Patrick's Day and Oktoberfest. One could only hope.

Jennifer Latzke can be reached by phone at 620-227-1807, or by e-mail at jlatzke@hpj.com.

Date: 3/8/05

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