St. Olaf College and the Lutheran World Federation Service to Refugees

Ruta Kramins-Bly

By Sydney Hugdahl

Life Before America

Ruta Kramins was born on September 22, 1930 in Rezkne, Latvia.1 There she lived with her father Reverend Friedrichs Kramins, her mother Valda Kramins, and her siblings, younger sister Ilga and younger brother Andris Kramins.2 When the Red Army started to advance into Latvia, the Kramins family fled south and west into Germany.3

For a time they lived in a Displaced Persons (DP) camp in Nürnburg in southern Germany, before moving again in 1947 to the DP camp right outside of Berchtesgaden, called “Insula”, or island, by the Latvian DPs who lived there.4 At Insula Reverend Kramins became employed by the Lutheran World Federation, working as the Housefather for the Berchtesgaden DP camp Lutheran Study Center. Ruta was able to complete her high school education and gain a IRO professional certificate in technical drawing before coming to the United States.5 In 1950, with assistance from the Lutheran World Federation, the family immigrated to the United States, landing in Grafton, North Dakota.6 But Ruta did not stay in Grafton long, for she was accepted to attend St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.7

"Try and Stop This" theater production credits. The play was produced and performed by The Latvian Secondary School at Insula.
Housefather of the Lutheran Study Center at Berchtesgaden is Latvian Pastor Fr. Kramins

St. Olaf and Beyond

Ruta joined St. Olaf College in the 1950-1951 academic year to continue her education.8 She was an active member of the St. Olaf community, having joined the IRC Club and the Zeta Chi Omega academic honor society, and taking part in the evening dormitory devotion.9 Graduating with the class of 1952, Ruta proved to be an accomplished student.10 An article from the St. Olaf Messenger named Ruta as one of seven individuals who received various scholarships.11 Ruta was offered a laboratory assistantship at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she eventually completed a PhD in chemistry.12 There she met her husband, Robert Bly, who was also working on his PhD in chemistry.13

Once they graduated, they ultimately took faculty positions in the chemistry and biochemistry department of South Carolina University.14 During their time together Ruta and Robert travelled and published various research papers on their scientific work.15 Ruta retired from her faculty position in 2002.16 The pair continued to travel and patronize music until Robert Bly’s death on January 27, 2021.17 In her path from displaced person, to St. Olaf student, to PhD and faculty member in chemistry, Ruta Kramins Bly is among the alumnae to establish St. Olaf’s legacy of Women in STEM (Instagram: @stolafwstem).

Kramins family at Ruta and Ilga's confirmation at Berchtesgaden DP Camp church, pictured left to right: mother Valda Kramins, Ruta Kramins-Bly, brother Andris Kramins, sister Ilga Kramins-Himle, and father Rev. Friedrichs Kramins. Used with permission from Luther Seminary.

Sources

  1. V. Plūme, J. Plūme, V. Vīķe-Freiberga, H. V. Hong, and Lutheran World Federation Service to Refugees, Insula, Island of Hope: A Latvian Memoir, Revised and Enlarged edition, Morgan Hill, CA: Bookstand Publishing, 2013: 428, 445.
  2. V. Plūme et al., Insula, Island of Hope: A Latvian Memoir, 428; “To Return Body of Water Victim,” Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, North Dakota), May 1, 1962. Andris Kramins was born April 13, 1937 and he passed away on April 29th, 1962 at 25.
  3. Obituary of Ilga Himle, Ann Arbor News (Ann Arbor, Michigan), March 23, 2022.
  4. Obituary of Ilga Himle.
  5.  “ELC Home Correspondence,” June 1950, Luther Seminary Archives.
  6. Obituary of Ilga Himle.
  7. St. Olaf College, The Viking Yearbook, Northfield, (1951).
  8. St. Olaf College, The Viking Yearbook, Northfield, (1951).
  9. St. Olaf College, The Viking Yearbook, Northfield, (1951).
  10. St. Olaf College, The Viking Yearbook, Northfield, (1952).
  11. “Study Awards Determine Future Plans of Scholars,” The Manitou Messenger (1916-2020), 1952.
  12. “Study Awards Determine Future Plans of Scholars,” 1952.
  13. Obituary of Robert Bly, Dunbar Funeral Home (Columbia, South Carolina), January 27, 2021.
  14. Obituary of Robert Bly.
  15. Obituary of Robert Bly.
  16. “Two Faculty Members Retire in 2005,” USC Chemist: A Newsletter for Alumni and Friends of the Department, Fall 2005.
  17. Obituary of Robert Bly.
Full Bibliography

Images

  1. (Heading) Aerial view of “Insula”, the Displaced Persons Camp at Insula. John Plume collection, Hong Kierkegaard Library. Used with permission from John Plume.
  2. Rev. Kramins in front of the Lutheran World Federation Study Center at Berchtesgaden. Lutheran World Federation Service to Refugees 1947-1949 Photographic Section, used with permission of the Lutheran World Federation and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
  3.  “Try and Stop This” theater production program. Within the document Ruta Kramins is noted as one of the production treasurers. John Plume collection, used with permission from John Plume.
  4. Kramins family at Ruta and Ilga’s confirmation at Berchtesgaden DP Camp church, pictured left to right: mother Valda Kramins, Ruta Kramins-Bly, brother Andris Kramins, sister Ilga Kramins-Himle, and father Rev. Friedrichs Kramins. Used with permission from Luther Seminary.