speeches
Opening of Tarmstedt Agricultural Fair
Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr.
Tarmstedt
July 7, 2006
Minister-President Wulff,
Thank you very much for the invitation to join you here today at the opening of the Tarmstedt Agricultural Fair -- the largest agricultural show in the north of Germany.
As we say in the United States, Tarmstedt is my home town here in Germany, and this is a very special homecoming for me.
Back in 1838, my great-great-grandfather decided to take his family of six young children to America. He had just lost his wife. Times were hard. He decided to take his luck and follow the dream that inspired millions of Germans and Europeans to make a new life in America. Today, it is impossible to say exactly what motivated him or the millions of other European immigrants to set out for the new world. Maybe that is why Americans are such genealogical fans. They like to trace their roots in the American melting pot. People in my family have done detailed family trees and have traced the Timken family back hundreds of years; but one can only guess at the true stories and dramas of individual lives that are hidden in old archival records.
It is easier for me, however, to speculate what my great-grandfather, one of those six children who embarked from the busy port of Bremerhaven in 1838, would say about Tarmstedt today. He learned the craft of carriage building and built a very successful carriage business. He remained open to the need to accept change and meet new challenges and made the switch to horseless carriages, or automobiles, at the start of the 20th century. I am pretty sure that he also would have chosen the occasion of the Tarmstedt Agricultural Fair to visit his old home; and he would have loved it, especially the exhibits on renewable energy and advances in agricultural technology.
Today strong research, business and trade contacts are one of the mainstays of the German-American relationship. Over a quarter of all Americans can trace their ancestry back to German roots and German Americans, like Henry Timken, my great-grandfather, a member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame and a son of Tarmstedt, have enriched America with their industry, culture, and participation in public life. America's freedoms and opportunities drew the first German immigrants to our shores. Today, at the start of the 21st, we face the challenges of making the dream of a prosperous, just and peaceful life come true for people around the globe. Our shared experiences and values – entrepreneurship, an emphasis on innovation, respect for individuals’ freedoms – are essential in making that vision reality.
Again, this is a very special day for me – to return to the home of my ancestors as Ambassador of my country. Thank you very much for welcoming me here today.
As prepared for delivery.
