John and Joe Gindele attended St. Cloud State together twice and now have co-authored a book on their childhoods growing up as first-generation Americans in New York. Submitted photo
The brothers have always lived together, with the exception of a year spent apart during college, and currently reside in Crystal. They both twice attended St. Cloud State University and enjoyed long teaching careers, both employed in the Robbinsdale School District before a joint retirement devoted to travel, writing and speaking engagements. And now have co-authored the book “Yorkville Twins: Hilarious Adventures Growing Up in New York City, 1944-1962,” which is receiving a lot of Midwest attention.
‘Yorkville Twins’ remember
Memories of St. Cloud State 1964-68
– Atwood Memorial Center opened with the Garvey Commons dining room.
– Robert H. Wick was inaugurated president, succeeding George F. Budd.
– U.S. Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, Glen Yarbrough, Henry Mancini, The Lettermen, Louis Armstrong, The Glenn Miller Orchestra and The Vienna Boys Choir visited campus.
– Severe winter weather closed campus because of 56-inches of snowfall in the first three weeks of March.
– “We took an unauthorized ride in vice presidential candidate William Millers motorcade to St. John’s University,” Joe recalled. Miller was Goldwater’s runningmate. “We cut class with a friend and snuck into his police motorcade with our 1960 Chevy, which we floored, but could hardly keep up.”
The brothers combined history and humor in their book in hopes that it will help readers renew their own childhood memories as well as understand how vital and important immigration is to the growth of the country. The book also explores the special bonds and predictive abilities many twins and other multiples have.
College years
Joe and John Gindele earned degrees in the same programs at St. Cloud State. John earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial arts in 1967. Joe earned bachelor’s degrees in industrial arts and math. Twenty years later, both returned to St. Cloud State for educational specialist degrees in information media.
John decided to become a teacher before Joe did. “I was planning to go into engineering, but once I saw how much fun John was having with industrial arts, I changed my mind,” said Joe.
John also taught in New York (Long Island) and they both taught at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where they completed doctorate degrees.
The Gindele’s moved to Minnesota from New York after visiting their uncle Hugo, who emigrated from Germany, and aunt Lillian on their farm on Pelican Lake near Albertville in 1951. Their New York family of seven visited by automobile.
“We had fond memories of the family, farm, area and state and decided Minnesota would be a good place to go to college; a place where we could be independent and yet live in and learn about a culture and way of life different from the one we had growing up in Manhattan,” Joe said.
They experienced many benefits of attending school together.
“We were able to help each other with class assignments and clue each other into what classes and professors we should take,” Joe said.
Communication (mail, telephone and travel) between them and their families in New York and Minnesota was easier and more efficient and they could also share the same car.
“At times we lived together in one of the dorms, but usually we lived with other students from various small towns in order to learn from them and the culture they were raised in,” John said.
They have many memories and stories from their college years, such as Joe being president of Shoemaker Hall, which housed 400 men and 200 women, and going on outings to Garrison on Mille Lacs Lake to initiate members each spring for their Chi Sigma Chi industrial arts honor fraternity. But some of their most memorable stories are from their childhoods growing up in New York City.
‘Yorkville Twins’
Joe’s and John’s homespun storytelling in “Yorkville Twins” earned them a silver finalist award in the 23rd annual Midwest Book Awards and a nomination in the 25th annual Minnesota Book Awards.
The book is currently required reading for several classes at Mercy College in New York. Freshman- and junior-level students in “Critical Inquiry” seminar courses called “The Immigration Experience in New York City” and “History of the Hudson,” respectively, are reading it.
The Gindeles co-authored the book to document their childhood experiences as first-generation Americans. Their German father was a baker and their Czech mother was “gregarious,” the brothers said, and loved and trusted everyone.
“She even trusted newspapers. She would say to us, ‘Newspapers don’t print lies,’” Joe said.
The twins left Yorkville more than 50 years ago, but their memories of growing up in a railroad flat on New York’s Upper East Side remain fresh.
Preserving heritage
“One of the reasons we wrote this memoir is to preserve our heritage and culture,” said John. “And to honor our parents,” added Joe. “We wrote it to also teach our nieces and nephews what life was like for us and their parents and their great grandparents.”
Initially a family memoir, the book evolved into a meticulously detailed historical account. While most of the content comes from personal experiences, the Gindeles carefully researched the time period to bolster their memories of popular culture and world events.
“We are especially proud of the 200 interactive Internet search terms and websites in Appendix C that complement each chapter,” said Joe. “We are teachers. I figure one day we’re going to be gone. As long as our book is out there we’re still going to be teaching. The world is our classroom.”
The book includes more than 100 photographs, annotated resources and a glossary to help readers explore a colorful neighborhood from the past.
“We did this out of a burning desire to tell our story and to honor our parents and the immigrants who were searching for a better life,” John said.
