An 86-year-old organist who fled the Nazis writes his story for the first time

“Gerrit’s Notes.”
Gerrit Lamain's “Gerrit’s Notes.”
Courtesy of publisher

If you’ve been gathering with family over the past few weeks, you may have heard some familiar family stories that always get worked into the conversation. But maybe your elders are also remembering personal stories that are brand-new to you.

Gerrit Lamain is an 86-year-old Dutch immigrant in Rosemount, Minn., who is sharing his stories — some of them for the first time — in a collection of essays about his life called “Gerrit’s Notes.” Lamain and his daughter, Carla Laetham, joined host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the project.

Lamain reflected on fleeing his hometown Rotterdam when the Nazis were bombing the city, coming to the U.S. in 1947, teaching at the Native American-controlled Red School House in St. Paul and playing music at venues around Europe.

You can find a copy of “Gerrit’s Notes” on Amazon. Lamain and his family plan to donate proceeds from sales of the book to charity.

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If you have a family story you’d like to share, we’d love to hear it. Please send a voice message to minnesotanow@mpr.org.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

In this interview, Lamain uses the term “Indians” to refer to the Indigenous people of North America. Many people use different language to refer to these peoples, such as “Indigenous,” “Native or Native American” or “American Indian.”

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