Berger

Berger, Thomas, 1924-, American novelist, b. Cincinnati. He is known for bitterly comic novels that often deal with the chasm between the American dream and middle-class reality. His novelistic series Crazy in Berlin (1958), Reinhart in Love (1962), Vital Parts (1970), and Reinhart's Women (1981) follows a picaresque, sometime title character through the vagaries of four decades of 20th-century American life. Berger has also satirized several literary genres—the Western in Little Big Man (1964), perhaps his best known work, and its sequel, The Return of Little Big Man (1999); the detective story in Who Is Teddy Villanova? (1977); and the spy tale in Nowhere (1985). His other novels include The Feud (1983), Orrie's Story (1990), Meeting Evil (1992), Robert Crews (1994), Best Friends (2003), and Adventures of the Artificial Woman (2004).

Berger, Victor Louis, 1860-1929, American Socialist leader and congressman, b. Austria-Hungary. After studying at the universities of Budapest and Vienna, he emigrated (1878) to the United States and settled in Milwaukee. After 1892 he devoted himself to Socialist politics and journalism, editing the Milwaukee Vorwärts! (1892-98) and a weekly that became (1911) the influential Milwaukee Leader. With Eugene V. Debs he pioneered in creating the American Socialist party. His leadership brought (1910) the Socialists control of Milwaukee for many years and made Berger the first Socialist member of Congress (1911-13). Reelected twice (1918, 1919), he was excluded by Congress on grounds of sedition, for which he was sentenced (1918-19) to a 20-year prison term. The decision was reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1921, and he was allowed to take his seat when reelected in 1922. Again elected in 1924 and 1926, he was defeated in 1928. Voice and Pen (1929) is a collection of his speeches and editorials.

Berger is a city in Franklin County, Missouri, United States south of the Missouri River. The population was 206 at the 2000 census. The first settlement in Berger was in 1818.

Berger is home to Bias Vineyards-Gruhlke's Microbrewery, and Bias Vineyards. It is within the Hermann American Viticultural Area, recognized in 1983 as a distinct wine region by the federal government. The seven wineries in the AVA produce one-third of the annual state total of wine.

Origin of name

The town is probably named after Joseph Berger, a hunter, or Pierre Berger, a St. Louis, Missouri merchant who died in 1787. Located on a railroad line, the town was also known as Berger Station. Franklin County was also home to a Berger Settlement, which was abandoned. Nearby streams were called Big Berger Creek and Little Berger Creek.

The town name is pronounced with a soft 'g' because of its French roots.

Geography

Berger is located at (38.674677, -91.338166).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²), all of it land.

The rural town is located on the Berger Bottom, a floodplain south of the Missouri River.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 206 people, 85 households, and 56 families residing in the city. The population density was 686.7 people per square mile (265.1/km²). There were 100 housing units at an average density of 333.4/sq mi (128.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.57% White, 0.49% African American, 0.49% Asian, and 1.46% from two or more races.

There were 85 households out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.1% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,083, and the median income for a family was $42,188. Males had a median income of $31,406 versus $21,667 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,460. About 3.5% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under the age of eighteen and 17.4% of those sixty five or over.

References

External links

• "Berger With Cheese" (newspaper)