Al Hamburg was born in Gering, Nebraska in 1932 to German Russian immigrants, Conrad and Margaret Hamburg, one of 18 siblings. Growing up in Nebraska during the Great Depression was a struggle for his family. The family farmed outside of Huntley, Wyoming and lost the family farm during that time. They returned back to Gering to continue to live impoverished and hungry. The family house Hamburg was born was built by Heinrich Hamburg which was located on 4th street in Gering, just Cati cornered from the Lutheran Church, which was also built by Great Grandpa. Heinrich and his family came to America in 1903, including his wife, Mary; two older sons, Heinrich, Jr., and John; daughters, Margaret, Mary, and baby Lidia; in which they traveled from Ellis Island to Winnipeg, Canada, from there they traveled by train, south, to Hastings, Nebraska. By 1910, the family had grown to include, Ester and Victor. Grandma, (Margaret), worked at the cigar factory, until she became pregnant, at the age of 13, by the owner of the company. In those days, there were no child labor laws and people took advantage of the poor immigrants which had no rights. Her first son, Henry was born in 1915 and she married her first cousin, Conrad, to keep him in the country. By 1920, the family moved to Gering, to be closer to Margaret's parents, whom lived in Gering. Her father, by trade, was a carpenter, he built the Lutheran Church, the three houses on fourth street, and a wide variety of furniture for the German community. Some say he made money off the other German Russian immigrants in which he would sponsor friends and relatives to come to the US for a price.
Memories are like waves, which come go, as the water reaches the shores and dissipates with the tide. The first memories Al has is looking into the coffin of his grandmother, Mary. She had been sick for a long time and passed away in her home. The mourners from the community came to the house and viewed her body, before she was sent to the Fairview Cemetery. He was only two years old and his mother was holding as she made her peace with her mother. He often refers to this as his first memory, and wishes for the love only a grandmother can give. In '37, he overheard a heated argument with his mother and grandfather. He was upset that Conrad, (his father), had cheated the church. Using old paint and only coated the church with out priming it. Once the minister confronted Conrad, he then assaulted the priest. "I told you not to marry him," great grandpa stated. Margaret was up set and could not answer her father. A five year old listening to this could only imagine the worst. In the conversation, he also referred to the child as the devil.
The ghost of yesteryear always bring back the times of his grandpa, pitting Al against cousin Marvin. He'd remember the times of being hit by his cousin as the grown ups watched. Heinrich, (Grandpa Hamburg), would yell, "hit him Marvin.' He was also his grandson, why didn't he feel as much for Al as he did for Marvin. I guess, because, Marvin was the only true Hamburg in his eyes. Conrad was the son of his brother. The brother that went to war with the Russian Army fighting the Japanese in 1905, held captive and escaped the POW camps, however died from starvation and the cold Russian Winter.
Winter in Gering was blistery cold. Not much to do except get into trouble. He and his cousins would always hang out downtown, or head over to the North Platte River. In winter the water would freeze and become a skating park for the local children. Toward the beginning of March the ice began to thaw. The locals would still be trying to get out on the ice. Al and Marvin still wanted to feel the ice beneath their feet; however, Al fell through. He could hear the ice crack and he went under. Bobbing up and down, he went under the icy shelf. He looked through the sheer ice and thought he saw his cousin laughing. Panic stricken, he did not know what to do. However, Uncle Vic came to the rescue, pulling him out from under the ice.
Rooshian (Russian) Town is what Gering was known. Most of the residents were poor German Russians whom were discriminated against by the town folk of Scottsbluff. It was as if these two communities were separate countries. The people of Scottsbluff never ventured over the bridge to Gering and the Gering residents were not welcome on the other side. The Town of Gering had it's own businesses for the residents, a bakery, the local grocer, movie house, a newspaper (The Gering Courier) and taverns. It wasn't until the 1950's that the mix of people became evident. Most of the residents whom made it to the Scottsbluff side of the river lost their identities and never associated with their Gering Brothers. Indoor plumbing and electricity was only available to the Scottsbluff side, too. Cousin Velma Ruth told how she still used the outhouse in the cold winter, while her cousin across the river had an indoor toilet and a large bath tub to bath. Her nights were spent by the coal burning stove and read by candle light.
After Uncle Vic moved away in '45, Al had lost his support of any family members. Conrad was abusive and his mother Margaret was in denial. He then turned into the local thug, robbing and stealing what he could to survive. He was sent to Boys Town, Nebraska, to serve his time in a correctional institution for young boys. There he was abused by the Nuns, whom ran the facility. Every night, they would come and beat the boys, saying it was what God wanted. Lashings from whips, rulers, and the occasional paddle would keep the boys in line. One Sister beat one boy for having too many pimples on his face, she stated, "pimples were the cause of masturbation." After doing his time in Boys Town, he returned to Gering, where he started where he picked up. The judge asked if he wanted to be sent to the big house in Lincoln or join the army. He then enlisted to fight the Koreans and Chinese; where he earned several medals including a purple heart.
The thoughts of his other family never strayed from his mind.
The news of Vietnam was all the headlines. Al wanted to feel the glory he once had in Korea; however he was over the age of enlistment. He then enlisted as his brother, Howard. Howard lived in Minnesota with his family and never knew any of this occurred. During the conflict, Al had saved his platoon from annihilation. The news hit every newspaper in the U.S. The Star-Herald reported that Howard Hamburg fought bravely and aided in the troops in victory in the skirmish. Mrs. Hamburg read the paper and knew that it was not Howard, but Albert over in Vietnam. She reported this to the Army. Al never forgave his mother. After he finished the tour, he returned home and the Army imprisoned him for impersonating his brother.
After he served his time, he returned home to Torrington, Wyoming to his wife and two children. There he lead a life as a house painter and father. He would then have three more boys, Michael, Raymond and Russell.
During the 1970's, he began a campaign to run for office. He ran for Wyoming Senate and Congress. He would blast candidates in articles he would write to every newspaper in the state, stating that the elected officials were corrupt and on the take from corporations. He would attack these constituents with every word he could muster. One such representative was Dick Cheney. Cheney had become Hamburg's arch nemesis. Cheney wrote a paragraph about him in his autobiography. I remember meeting Cheney and his family in the 70's. They were at a 'meet a candidate' picnic on a rainy Sunday in Goshen County. I remember being locked in an outhouse by Mary as we played hide-n-seek that morning.
The Ronald Regan era came into play. I remember watching Ronald Regan on TV. Americans were losing jobs and all the President was concerned about was the "Star Wars" project. He wanted to have a missile defense that would thwart off an atomic attack from the Russians or was it Aliens. It seemed the presidency was run by the big corporations. We all learned later he had Alzheimer's and could not run his own brain or even the country. The Air Force had come to Torrington to inform the county that Minute Man Missiles would be installed all over Wyoming. Hamburg was upset about the idea that Wyoming would be the target of any missiles coming from the Soviet Union. In protest, he attended the meeting. When the Air Force representative would speak he would blow a duck call. He was escorted from the conference, however, the news of this reached every newspaper, making him a hero to Americans who didn't want a missile in their back yard.
Dad has run for office many times, but never won.
He always said bad publicity was good publicity; people will always remember. An article came out in the "National Enquirer"; about Cars for Stars. The article was about how a man in Wyoming was suing a woman for not completing the required amount of stars. That story was about Al, he had made a contract with a woman for a car. She would have to do so many sexual favors for the title of the car. She did not finish and so he took her to court. The court ruled that she did not need to finish this contract and it was null and void. She got the car. This story reached across the country and many were amused by these antics.
During the 1990's a letter from Belgium was received in the mail. It was from a soldier from Belgium whom served with Hamburg in the Korean War. He sent a letter, telling him that he recently found Hamburg and wanted to give him a medal he received from the Belgium Government for Valor during the conflict. He had saved not only his platoon, but the lives of other soldiers from other countries. The Medal was sent to him as well as the letter of heroism. His friend had accepted the honor and vowed to find him to give him the medal.
Dad turned 80 this year. He has had a heart attack, lived through two wars, and is still kicking. He is running for Senate again this year. He says he made it to eighty and that is just gravy on the whole thing called life. He never thought he'd make it this far, but life keeps him going. He sits outside his house in Torrington thinking about yesteryear. At night he sits in front of his old manual typewriter and plucks out articles to send to the newspapers in hopes, maybe, they will be published.
