February Meeting in Review

Jasper Deutscher Verein Learns About Crane Division Naval Surface Warfare Center

The Jasper Deutscher Verein held their monthly meeting at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 673 on Thursday, February 19. Over 75 members and guests were in attendance.

Sharon Dilger, Rita Egler, and Ruth Wibbels greeted members and guests as they arrived.

Dan Gutgsell, president of the Jasper Deutscher Verein, welcomed all present and led the group in prayer before the meal consisting of sauerkraut and hot dogs with chips.

President Gutgsell then read a letter from Marilyn Rumbach Weisheit of the Dubois County Community Foundation thanking the club for its recent contribution to the Jasper Deutscher Verein (German Club) German Heritage Endowment. Mr. Gutgsell encouraged all club members to contribute to the Endowment established by the Jasper Deutscher Verein to benefit generations in ensuring that the German heritage is preserved and enriched in Jasper and Dubois County. Gifts may be made in honor of or in memory of a special person or occasion.

Guest present was Michael Jahn. Rich and Betty Schmitt were recognized for celebrating their 50 th Wedding Anniversary. Membership is $5 for a single membership and couple membership is $10. Dues may be sent to Jasper DeutscherVerein, Attn: Rita Egler, P. O. Box 15, Jasper, IN 47547-0015.

Bob Dilger, Vice President, recognized those with February birthdays. They included Bob Stemle, Dave Kluemper, Nancy Prechtel, Leo Eckerle, and Lora Lou Eckerle. Those with a February wedding anniversary, in addition to Mr. and Mrs. Schmitt, were Ed and Nancy Kreilein and Bernice Sermersheim.

Mr. Dilger then introduced the speaker for the evening. Tony Haag, Division Manager at NSWC Crane, gave a very interesting presentation on Crane Division - Naval Surface Warfare Center. Mr. Haag is the third generation of his family to work at Crane.

In the 1930's, the government bought between 30,000 and 40,000 acres of land in southern Indiana. There is a 600-acre lake on the premises. Crane was commissioned in 1941.

Crane is the third largest Navy installation in the world. It is the second largest employer in Southwest Indiana. There are 3,200 Navy employees and 555 Army employees. Another 5,000 jobs are indirectly generated by Crane activities. These jobs create $38,000,000 in sate/local revenue. Crane looks at Indiana manufacturers when procuring products needed at Crane. Employees at Crane will host over 240 high school students from Dubois County in March. These students will "job shadow" engineers and other employees at Crane.

Employees of Crane provide much support through electronic warfare, electronics, and ordnance. They work with night vision and electro-optics products. Efforts of Crane employees were instrumental in the capture of Jessica Lynch at the Iraq hospital.

After his presentation, Mr. Haag answered questions from club members.

Mr. Dilger then announced that the March meeting will be held at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #673 on Thursday, March 18. Alan Welsh of The Clock Shop will give a presentation on clocks and their inner workings. In April, the club will be entertained by Hilary Begle and Friends. There will be more information in the club newsletter.

Attendance prizes were won by Vera Renner and Michael Jahn. Leroy Oser won the ½ pot attendance prize. The remainder of the evening was spent socializing.

Anyone wishing to learn more about the Deutscher Verein, especially parents of students taking the German language in area schools, are encouraged to attend any activities.

Upcoming Events - Mark Your Calendars!

March Meeting

 Alan Welsh from The Clock Shop will present the program this month. Alan will display several different clock movements and describe how clocks were made in days long ago and compare that to more recent times. Come prepared for a very interesting presentation and for an opportunity to view the "inner workings" of these fascinating timepieces!

The club will provide beer and soft drinks. Members are asked to bring a snack or appetizer to share.

April Meeting

Date: Thursday, April 15th at the VFW

The Program will be a performance by "Hilary & Friends". This is a group of local folks who enjoy playing "down home" music like folks did years ago. They play old German waltzes and a few other toe-tapping tunes. The group consists of the following folks:

 Make your plans now to welcome this group and have some fun!

Annual Fall Picnic

Date: Saturday, September 25th at the Schnellville Community Center

Matt Hilger and his group are busy making plans for another great picnic! Mark your calendars now for the date and location!

Spring 2004 Palatines to America Meeting

The Palatines to America will present a workshop on March 20, 2004 focusing on Basic German Genealogical Research and Genealogical Research of Alsaece-Lorraine. The speaker will be Robert Rau, from Cincinnati. Robert spoke to the Indiana Palatines two years ago, and he spoke at a workshop for Indiana Historical Society, in 2003. He is a very organized and knowledgeable speaker. His own family research has led him to acquire excellent research skills. He will share his techniques and expertise by his lectures and slides.

The program will be at the Athenaeum / Das Deutsche Haus 401 East Michigan Street. The first lecture will begin at 9:30 A.M. and the program will end at 12:30 P.M. There will be no cost for members of Palatines to America, and only $5 for nonmembers.

For further information or reservations contact:

jrfeit@aol.com or 317/875-7210

James Feit, President Indiana Chapter Palatines to America

INTERNATIONAL COFFEE HOUSE

March 20, 2004
Dale Parish Center

Sponsored by the Guadalupe Center
317 N. Washington St.
Huntingburg, IN 47542
812-683-5212

For the Benefit of Our Children and Youth Programs

We would greatly appreciate some German desserts.  Please bring them to the Guadalupe Center by March 20th.

For additional information, please contact Dave Prechtel at 367-1411 ext. 2638.

GENEALOGY WORKSHOP AT THE GASTHOF IN MONTGOMERY

June 4-6, 2004, the Gasthof at Montgomery is offering a weekend German-American Genealogy workshop with Genealogist Robert C. Rau and Drs. Eberhard and Ruth

Reichmann. The program will explore tracing family roots, locating ancestral places of origin, and discovering the resources that will help genealogical search. Participants learn to read Fraktur und Handschrift, --older forms of German printing and handwriting--and receive help with reading their own documents. Learning about the German-Americans and touring an Amish settlement nearby are part of the program. The Gasthof, ideally located in the heart of Southern Indiana's Amish Community, offers home-cooked meals and features Amish specialties.

Cost for the program is $190.00 for double occupancy in the Gasthof Inn, $250.00 for single occupancy, and $120.00 for commuters. This includes cost of the workshop, materials, meals, and overnight accommodations, where applicable.

Further information: Jocelyn Burger at 812-486-4900 or send an e-mail to gasthof@rtccom.ne t. Information is also available at the Gasthof Web site: www.gasthofamishvillage.com

Society for German-American Studies Symposium

22-25 April 2004 in New Ulm, Minnesota

The 28 th Annual Symposium of the Society for German-American Studies will be held in New Ulm, Minnesota this year. New Ulm is celebrating the 150 th anniversary of its founding in 1854. It began as a commune organized by the German immigrants belonging to the "Chicago Land Society." The city has a colorful German-American history, and is the site of the large Hermann monument.

The Symposium will begin with the first evening get-together, the Gemuetliches Beisammensein on Thursday 7-9 pm. Friday scholarly papers will be presented during the day, and a banquet will be held in the evening. SGAS members will also present results of their research on Saturday morning. During the afternoon tours to various sites of German-American interest will be available. That evening there will be a German Buffet banquet at the Turnverein Hall. The after-dinner program will include The Concord Singers, sponsored by the city's Chamber of Commerce. On Sunday morning at 9am there will be a "Waldler Messe" presented in German at the New Ulm Cathedral, which will include Martin Luther College musicians.

Membership in SGAS is not required for attendance at the Symposium. Everyone interested in exploring German-American Studies and the German-American heritage of New Ulm is invited to attend. The conference hotel will be the Holiday Inn, New Ulm, Minnesota. For information on local details, registration, etc., contact Jenny Eckstein, Visitor's Bureau, New Ulm, phone: (507) 354-4217; fax: (507) 354-1504; email: jeckstein@newulmtel.net

The Glory of Baroque Dresden

I am writing as a representative of The Mississippi Commission for International Cultural Exchange, Inc., a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit cultural and educational organization which is organizing the upcoming exhibition entitled The Glory of Baroque Dresden .  The exhibition will include over 400 artworks from Dresden, and is exclusively appearing in Jackson, Mississippi, from March 1 - September 6, 2004.  Organized in conjunction with the State Art Collections Dresden, this is the first major exhibition of Dresden's treasures in North America since the reunification of Germany.  It is a brilliant opportunity for anyone wishing to enjoy the spring and summer in the southland to experience a taste of the magnificent art collections from Dresden. 

Part of MCICE's goal is to promote tourism in Mississippi and the south, and since we are promoting the exhibition all over the globe, we would appreciate the support of the wonderful network of arts and cultural organizations, especially those which focus on German culture, around North America.   The Goethe Institute in Atlanta features the exhibition in its latest newsletter and the New York Goethe Institute is featuring us on their website and print materials. 

Our most recent news is that His Excellency Chancellor Gerhard Schröder will open the exhibition with a special visit to Jackson on February 27.  We are both honored and excited about his upcoming visit. 

To give you a preview of some of the masterpieces that will be here in Jackson, we are pleased to offer news media, through exceptional copyright, the use of high-resolution photos for coverage of the exhibition. These photos may be downloaded at http://www.germany.info/photos. Copyright Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden; use of the images is allowed for articles on the exhibition and copyright is to be included. The German Embassy would appreciate clips of published articles and press coverage of the exhibition.

Thank you very much for your time and assistance. 

Kindest regards,

Vicy

Vicy L. Wilkinson
Staff Writer/Editor
601.960.9927 (phone)
601.960.9950 (fax)
vicywilkinson@bellsouth.net
www.gloryofdresden.com

Erinnerst Du Dich?

By Patti Goepfrich

Strassenfest Quilt will be displayed

The Deutscher Verein (German Club) of Jasper will have a quilt on display. The quilt will be on display at the Strassenfest and will be used to help defray the expense of hosting 66 members of the German Band coming from Pfaffenweiler to entertain at the Strassenfest.

The German guests will arrive in Jasper on Tuesday, July 28, and leave Tuesday, August 4.

Sally Lechner is chairman of the quilt committee. Martina Eckert and other club members helped in making the Hearts Delight quilt.

The quilt will be on display before the Strassenfest at Country Lady, Mr. and Mrs. Wardrobe, Lechner Tile, Ben Franklin, Boeckman's Furniture, the Schnitzelbank, Buehler Food Market in Germantown, Dubois County Bank, German American Bank, Springs Valley Bank and Trust, and Jasper State Bank.

(found in The Deutscher Verein Records - March, 1987)

German-American Flags

In 2003, the German and American Flags were embroidered on tote bags and hats and sold in the souvenir booth.  These same items may be embroidered on chambray shirts, golf shirts, afghans, etc. 

A sample of a chambray shirt with the German and American Flag embroidered on it will be on display at the March meeting.

Stop by Jasper Embroidery and see what items you can have embroidered with the German and American Flags.

High School German Program Notes

Thank you to the Deutscher Verein for your ongoing support of the Jasper High School German Exchange Program and the German Program. Your attendance at our events such as the recent Chili Supper and your assistance with planning for the exchange are sincerely appreciated.

Julie Newton

Lost and Found

A number of items have turned up after club meetings - a glass crock pot lid, umbrella, George Foreman drip pan, etc. There will be a lost and found table at the February and March meetings to view / claim the items.

Membership Dues

It's that time of year again! Please submit your dues for 2004 as soon as possible by completing and sending in the following form. Thanks!

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please contact Matthias Hilger or Patti Goepfrich.