October 2005

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU  

Thank you to Matt Hilger and his committee which consisted of Bob and Sharon Dilger, Wolfgang Erhardt, Bob Fleck, Patti Goepfrich, Virgil and Judy Gress, Dan and Kathy Gutgsell, Jim Gutgsell, Jan Hulsman, LaVerne Kieffner, Linus Lechner, and Scott Ortiz for organizing and presenting a great Fall Picnic.   Thanks to Father John Breidenbach for saying Mass and to Jim and Rita Corn, Martina Eckert, Rita Egler, Dolores Flannagan, and Kathy Wanninger for the help they gave during the Picnic.   And thanks goes to Bob Sunderman for his special refreshments.

German Heritage Day Program and German Heritage Award

The 7 th annual German American Day Program will be held on Thursday, October 6 th, at the Schnitzelbank Restaurant.   Social hour begins at 6:00 pm with the Program beginning at 6:30 pm.   The seventh annual German Heritage Award will be presented.   Cost for the German-style buffet dinner is $10.   For reservations, please call Patti Goepfrich at 482-4821 by September 30 th.

Julie Newton, JHS German Language Teacher, will give a presentation.   The winners of the Essay Contest will also present their essays.

Thank you to the German American Bank for again sponsoring an essay contest open to all seniors in the four county high schools.

Past recipients of the German Heritage Award are Mary Jo Meuser, Claude and Martina Eckert, Dave Buehler, Linus and Sally Lechner, Joe and Irene C. Eckerle, and Danny and Linda Wehr.

Upcoming Event –  Mark Your Calendars!

Date:     Thursday, November 17, 2005

Place:    VFW in Jasper

December Christmas Dinner

Date:   Thursday, December 15, 2005

Place:   VFW in Jasper

See upcoming newsletters for more details.

  Beneath the Cherry Sapling  
Legends from Franconia

Edited and Translated by Norbert Krapf

This book is in both German and English.   Copies of this interesting book will be available for sale at the German Heritage Dinner or by contacting Patti Goepfrich at 482-4821 or pmgoep@fullnet.com.

Cost is $12.

JHS German Club Fund Raiser

The JHS German Club will be selling Advent Calendars beginning in late October.  Please contact any German Club member or Julie Newton by phone at 482-6050 or email at jnewton@gjcs.k12.in.us if you are interested.

DeutscherVerein Website www.jaspergermanclub.org

Each month, the DeutscherVerein gets an update on the “hits” to the website.

As of the end of August, 2005, there have been 8,975 monthly hits to the website.   There have been 294 daily hits.   The average length someone has been viewing the website is 6.5 minutes.   We have had an average of 4.85% International Visitors, 8.13% Unknown Visitors, and 53.68% US Visitors.   One time visitors are 52.04%, Two time Visitors are 5.74%, and Three time visitors 2.31%.  

The website has been an excellent tool to let the world know of the DeutscherVerein, Jasper, Dubois County, and our proud German heritage.   Comments made in the Guest Book section of the website have been very positive.   Check it out!!!

Calendar of German Events in Indianapolis – October - December

Sunday, Oct. 2, 1:00 to 3:00 pm, Community Mixer hosted by Athenaeum Foundation and Indiana German Heritage Society at the Athenaeum, 401 E. Michigan St.,
Indianapolis.

Sunday, Oct. 2, 1:30 pm, Family Oktoberfest at the Athenaeum! Rain or Shine! "Family" celebration of music and song, ending Oktoberfest Weekend (317-630-4569
Ext. 1)

Oct. 2-8, National German Week will be celebrated in German classes. For info headquarters@aatg.org; http://www.aatg.org

Thursday, Oct. 6, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, German-American Day Celebration at the Indianapolis City Market with Die Doppel Adler and Die Fledermäuschen - Music, Dancing, Proclamations, Hand outs, Book sales, and more. (Buddy McCart 317-846-8613)

Wednesday, Oct. 12, 5:00 pm, Board Meeting; 6:30 pm, Stammtisch; 7:30 pm, Program: "Freude am deutschen Wein-The Delights of German Wine: An Intro to its
Appreciation" by Dr. Giles R. Hoyt, International Wine and Food Society--London-Indianapolis.  Charge: $5 for tasting. (317 630-4569 Ext. 1)

Saturday, Oct. 15, 7:30-11:30 pm, Oktoberfest at the Liederkranz with Die Freudemacher, 1417 E. Washington St., Indianapolis (317-266-9816)

Saturday, Oct. 15, 9 am, Palatines Genealogy Workshop at the Athenaeum. Registration Information: Nancy Meyer 765-675-2945.

Nov. 3-7, International Festival, West Pavilion, Indiana State Fairgrounds. Theme of our booths: "Year of Languages/Deutsch is Cool" (317-464-9004 or 812
988-2866)

Saturday, Nov. 5, 5:00-6:00 pm, St. Martin's Day Celebration in the Biergarten Tent followed by Children's Lantern Parade through Lockerbie Square
(317-630-4569 Ext. 1)

Saturday, Nov. 5, 8 pm-12:30, Liederkanz Damenchor Bunter Abend (Damenchor dinner/concert/dance) with the Freudemacher. Indianapolis Liederkranz Hall 1417 E. Washington St. (317-266-9816)

Wednesday, Nov. 9, no Board Meeting, 6:30 pm Stammtisch; 7:30 pm "Year of Language" with Claudia Grossmann, IUPUI German Program Director, and German language students, some who have worked and studied overseas (317 630-4569)
Saturday, Nov. 12, 2005, 1:30-4:00 pm, Spirit and Place: "Generations of Immigrant Experiences," Poetry Reading by Norbert Krapf, and a walking tour of
German-American sites in the vicinity, led by Prof. Giles Hoyt, Director of the IUPUI Max Kade German-American Center (317-630-4569 Ext. 1)

Saturday, Nov. 12, 6:00 pm, The Athenaeum Foundation Annual 1894 Society Dinner, honoring the founding of our building (317-630-4569 Ext. 1)

Saturday, Nov. 12, Night in Vienna at the German American Klub, 8602 S. Meridian (Hwy 135), Indianapolis.

Sunday, Nov. 13, 4 pm, Kirkin' O' Tha Tartans Celebration at Zion's Church, North and New Jersey Sts., Indianapolis. (317 257-0493 or 639-5411)

Saturday, Nov. 19, 8 pm-12:30 am; Liederkranz Men's concert and dance with Norman. Indianapolis Liederkranz Hall, 1417 E. Washington St., Indianapolis
(317-266-9816)

Dec. 2-4, Fri./Sat. Sunday Christkindl Market and St. Nikolaus Fest. Athenaeum, 401 E. Michigan St., Indianapolis (317-630-4569 Ext. 1)

Sunday, Dec. 4, 1-5:00 pm, St. Nikolausfest and Christkindl Market at the Athenaeum (317 630-4569 Ext. 1)

Sunday, Dec. 4, 2-4 pm, Children' Christmas Party at Liederkranz, 1417 E. Washington St., Indianapolis.

Sunday, Dec. 11, 3 pm, German Christmas Service at Zion's Church, North and New Jersey Sts., Indianapolis. Info: 317 257-0493 or 639-5411

Sunday, Dec. 11,  Liederkranz Weihnachtskonzert. Indianapolis Liederkranz Hall, 1417 E. Washington St., Indianapolis (317-266-9816)

Wednesday, Dec. 14, 5:00 pm, Board Meeting; 6:30 pm, Stammtisch; 7:30 pm, Program: Christmas Show & Tell! IGHS members with Jim Gould, Community Events
Coordinator of the Athenaeum Foundation and Secretary of IGHS (317-630-4569 Ext. 1)

Thursday, Dec. 15, Christmas Dance at German American Klub with Jay Fox band. 8602 S. Meridian (Hwy 135), Indianapolis.

Dec. 31, New Year's Eve Gala with Kunterbunt (Jeff Kunkel and Erica Kling), German American Klub, 8600 S. Meridian, Indianapolis (317-888-6940)

Dec. 31, New Year's Eve at the Liederkranz, 1417 E. Washington St., Indianapolis (317-266-9816)

Want a Coaster with that Beer?

The beer coaster is almost as old as the German beer-drinking tradition itself. In the past they were used to keep flies out of drinks, but today's link shows you why in recent decades they've become supa-fly.

The German tradition of beer coasters is as well respected as the country's beer purity laws. A tipple just wouldn't be same without a coaster resting beneath it. While one traditional function is to advertise a particular brand of ale, these days they serve a more useful function: to write down your phone number when you pick someone up at a bar. Today, our tip of the hat goes to Boing Boing, who have pointed us to a wonderful Flickr gallery of 1970s beer coasters.

Sing It Yourself 'Sound of Music'

Yodeling fans, amateurs, potential professionals and wannabes can now get their fill on a Web site called YodelCourse. Not only does the site propose ten yodeling lessons in six languages -- it offers a diploma (Certificate of Yodelology) for those brave enough to complete the courses. Also featured on the site are a fan section dedicated to yodel master Franzl Lang, and a yodeling "hot spots" column where practitioners post photos and descriptions their favorite mountainous singing points. But beware, the site's creator says in a disclaimer on the opening page: he takes no responsibility for the social consequences of yodeling in public.

The Color of Language

One would suppose that if an artist set out to point a full-color portrait of the English language, that said artist would go mad rather quickly. The phenomenonal complexity which language evokes and the intricate and convoluted connections which words employ, can often seem beyond the capacity of the human mind to imagine.

But now, using a baffling set of algorithms and coding, Jonathan Feinberg and Martin Wattenberg have created a visual map of the English language. Together they have created a means by which words can be assigned their own color and then be depicted in a portrait. Sound confusing? Well, 33,000 color-coded nouns make up their finished artwork, each in minute detail. Each noun is linked to a Yahoo image search, which comes up with an aggregate color for the word. Words are then grouped by association. You can delve down into the map, to see how words are linked, and which words share a common color association. It's almost impossible to describe, but fascinating to use and explore.

Should you tire of color associations, how about a three-dimensional thesaurus? The traditional book-bound thesaurus can seem intimidating to the uninitiated, and the myriad lists of words make spotting patterns and links a time-consuming and burdensome process. Well, not any more. This site is sadly not free forever, but you get plenty of goes to play around with an assortment of words before they ask you to pay up!

( Taken from Out of the German News magazine “Der Spiegel” Online)

German Festivals Around the State

Seymour Octoberfest – last week of September, 1 st week of October
Marion Octoberfest – 1 st weekend of October
Terre Haute Octoberfest – 1 st and 2 nd week of October
Ferdinand Christkindlmarkt – 3 rd weekend of November
Fort Wayne Christkindel Market – 4 th week of November
Jasper Tannenbaum Days – 1 st weekend of December

Thanks to Ralph Ruppel of Vincennes for gathering this information.   For more information on German Heritage in Indiana, contact the Indiana German Heritage Society at 317-464-9004 or www.ighs.org.

Potential New Club Members

If someone knows of a potential new club member and would like information about the Deutscher Verein forwarded, please contact Ruth Wibbels at 482-5403.

Erinnerst Du Dich?

From The Dubois County Daily Herald
Wednesday, October 18, 1950

HARK THE HERALD

As Others See Us Americans By A. T. Rumbach

The question one is asked most frequently upon returning from Europe is:   What are the prevailing conditions in Europe and what is the attitude of Europeans towards America?

As a casual observer, but interested enough to make inquires as one moves from place to place, we would say that economic conditions in Europe are greatly improved, thanks, primarily to the Marshall plan, the CROP, CARE, plus the individual efforts of thousands of Americans and to the Kind Providence which has just blessed most European countries with a bountiful harvest.

Turning first to the Marshall plan, we found that none named it, but to praise it.   Everyone whom we questioned, including citizens of France, Italy, Germany and England, gave full credit for the present state of progress in restoration of war-destroyed institutions, industries and establishments, and whatever measure of prosperity now prevails in their respective countries, to this American policy.

The people of Germany are well aware that the greater part of the destruction of their cities from bombing was the work of the American Air Forces.   But as far as one can learn from observation and inquiry there is no animosity or even resentment towards Americans.   They blame it all on the stubbornness and stupidity of Hitler and his advisors in their persistence in a policy of defying the allies long after it was apparent to everyone with common sense that theirs was a lost cause.  

The people of France as well as those of Western Germany look to the United States of American for leadership in building a strong, mobile and ever ready United Nations armed force to resist any further encroachment of Communism, specifically of the Soviet Russian government, upon Western Europe.   They are grateful towards, and filled with admiration for, the United States for the firm stand taken upon the invasion of South Korea by the Communist forces.   They followed every move in that campaign and were deeply concerned over the slow progress in the early stages and were highly elated over the later rapid strides made in driving back the Reds out of South Korea and following through in North Korea.

The reason for this is apparent.   All Europe was convinced that, had the aggression against South Korea remained unchallenged, the next step undertaken by the Reds would have been the invasion of Western Germany, with the Rhine, or even the Atlantic coast as their goal.   The result would have been a communist regime for all Europe, or else a bloody war necessitating the establishment of beachheads on the coast of France or on the Rhine with the completion of the destruction still visible from World War II in these countries.

There can be do doubt that Germany as well as the other democratic nations of Europe regard Russia as their natural foe, and that all are anxious to cooperate with the American program of maintaining preparedness against any aggressive move as the best means of preventing a third World War.   President Truman is held in high regard as the protagonist of such policy.

The people of Western Europe are sincerely grateful to the people of America for the assistance rendered them in the dark days of the post war years when they faced starvation and cold, for lack of food, clothes and shelter. The CROP program by which religious denominations cooperated in the collection of agricultural products in America and in the distribution of same in Europe in accordance with the needs of the suffering people was apparently carried out equitably and effectively.   The large number of CARE packages of food and clothing and individual shipments of such parcels by individual citizens of the USA to relatives and friends and to parties who were to the sender just a name of people in distress, were shared with neighbors and others in want.   These activities on the part of American citizens built up the morale of these people against the false promises held out by Communist propagandists.   They saved Western Europe from Communism gained the undying gratitude of the recipients and won for America the good will of these nations.

From The Dubois County Daily Herald
December 14, 1950

HARK THE HERALD

Swiss Alps, Chalets and Dialect By A. T. Rumbach

The ride of 103 Kilometers from the St. Gotthard tunnel to Lucerne was all too short for the passengers who were getting their first view of the Swiss Alps.   They took up every available inch of space at the windows of the train to watch the jagged mountains in their garb of dark greens pines and cap of lamb-wool snow, glistening in the bright moonlight.

Adding the human touch to the panorama were the solitary chalets and the chummy villages which dotted the mountain-sides and valleys.   And so, all too soon, the train came to a halt in the station of Lucerne.

The process of clearing the station from train to busses interrupted, but did not end the evening’s viewing of strange and beautiful sights.   For enroute to our hotels, the buses skirted the well-illuminated shores of Lake Lucerne, which for sheer beauty is not surpassed by any lake in the world.

We arrived at our hotel, the Carlton-Tivoli about ten o’clock tired and ready for a good night’s rest in the very attractive, spic and span rooms with twin beds, covers invitingly tucked back; and a feather-light but bulky feather-bed doubled up at the foot end to protect one against the crisp autumn mountain air.   So after a snack and a glass of brown beer, cellar-cold, we took to the covers to rest up for a full day of Alpine sight-seeing tomorrow.

The crossing over from Italy to Switzerland was, in a way, like a home-coming, for here, on every side, instead of an unfamiliar language, the Italian, or the forced tourist English, one heard spoken, that is, Swiss German which greatly resembles the dialect of Baden spoken by so many of the older citizens of Dubois county about a generation ago, and a trace of which is still to be found in what German is still spoken here.

I was surprised to hear this variety of German “slang” spoken not only by peasants and servants, but also by trades people and businessmen, in fact by people in general, as long as they were speaking among themselves.   But the moment they are approached by a “foreigner” addressing them in German, or by a government official or a clergyman, they invariably answered in “High-German,” or “schriftliches Deutsch” (German as it is written).   Needless to say they were surprised when we talked to them in their own Swiss dialect.

From The Dubois County Daily Herald
December 19, 1950

HARK THE HERALD

Freiburg and Reute by A. T. Rumbach

At last we were approaching Freiburg.   Although I have never been there and had never seen any of the people whom we were to meet there, I had somewhat of the feeling I have already described – when we steamed into the harbor at New York.   (Fred Rumbach had visited here in the summer of 1922.)

At least here we were to be met and greeted by someone who had more than a commercial interest in our arrival.   So, when we stepped from the train platform we were greeted heartily by our cousin (she called us “uncle”) Frau Klara Hettich (nee Rumbach).   The fact that she was there alone was soon accounted for.   Her auto, which stood nearby was a Mercedes of the midget variety so common in Europe, which barely accommodated me and our four pieces of baggage in the back seat, and Fred and our hostess in front.

The prevalence of the midget car is due, of course, to the scarcity and high price of gasoline and tires in Europe – purely an economy measure and aside from the limited room they afford, they give excellent service.

Here, for the first time, we saw the first evidence of pattern bombing.   Although Freiburg was hit only once by airmen, and then only for a period of about twenty minutes, the destruction to a considerable part of the city, was terrific.   The ruins were still quite apparent, although the industrious and thrifty burghers have availed themselves both of time since the end of the hostilities and of Marshall-plan dollars to rebuild and repair much of the damage.

The greatest progress was noted in the reconstruction of the great Freiburg hospital and clinic, a part of the Freiburg University School of Medicine, which was completely destroyed in the air-blitz.   The original hospital consisted of seven units.   Our first stop in Freiburg was at one of the four reconstructed units, where a cousin, George Rumbach, was presently a patient.   George is one of the best known men around the hospital, being attached to it as a professional blood donor.

George is the possessor of an abundance of a rare type of blood, adaptable to almost any need in transfusions.   When he told us the number of times he has given blood, we thought he was grossly exaggerating, but he later produced the records authenticated by hospital officials showing that he had shared the life-giving fluid 925 times.   He is now well advanced in years but expects to run his grand total over one thousand.   His case has been the subject of articles in medical journals and has frequently been written up in the public press.

After a snack of excellent cheese and brown beer (cellar cold) at the “Paradies” we left Freiburg for our final destination, Reute, about eight miles to the north.   As we glided over the well-paved highway, we viewed with interest the evergreen clad hills of the Black Forest (the Schwarzwald) which girds the city on three sides.   Our hostess pointed out to us the well known peaks of the Schwarzwald, visible for miles and miles – the Feldberg, the Kendel, the Kaiserstuhl and others, landmarks for the surrounding countryside.

As so engrossed, we spun past the state forest and the Reute Sport Platz and the way-side crucifix into the old home-town of Reute itself with its quaint, red tile roofed houses that have accumulated seams of moss through the ages.   Here and there four-wheeled carts loaded with sacks of potatoes and a sheaf of green fodder for the cows which drew the vehicles, were returning from the nearby “acres” as the sun was sinking towards the horizon. The men and women, walking alongside the carts, waved a friendly greeting as we passed them.   A flock of geese fluttered out of the Dorfbach (the village stream) and single-filed with proud heads held high to their respective homes.

Just as we drew up in front of the picturesque home of our hostess, which also houses her bakery and store, the Dorf-Bote (town-crier) stepped from his bicycle, rang a hand-bell and read an announcement issued by the Burger-meister (mayor).   Here, indeed, time had stood still for three-quarters of a century – for everything seemed to be just as it was graphically described by the colony of Reuters who left their homes in the early eighties to make their home in far-away Indiana.

(Found in The Dubois County Daily Herald and written by A. T. Rumbach.)

Beer For The Sporty  

Sportsmen can also benefit from the healthy components of beer, not only people who are ill or recovering from an illness.   Beer quickly restores the fluids lost through sweating and enhances concentration and fitness because it supplies the sportsman with important minerals and trace elements. Another advantage of beer is its balance of carbohydrates and calories.   The German society far a healthy diet recommends a value of 60% for carbohydrates – exactly the amount we find in beer.   They include sugars, which are quickly absorbed by the body, and dextrins, which are absorbed a little slower.   Beer gives us energy for a short time as well as for a longer period.   It also increases the ventilation of the lungs, because it stimulates the heart and blood circulation and we take in more oxygen.

A test made with 20 sportsmen at the institute of sports medicine in Rome showed an interesting result.   After the sportsmen had drunk a litre of beer each day for one month (all other beverages, except water, were not allowed) their powers of reaction had increased enormously.   Beer can certainly be used as restorative drink for sportsmen, although preferably veer low in alcohol or alcohol-free beer.   Sportsmen are thirsty people and have to drink large amounts of liquids in order to balance what they have lost by sweating.   No-one would like to see their fitness impaired by large amounts of beer.   Beer can be used as a restorative food and to help heal various illnesses.   Its reputation as healing medicine has been increasingly emphasized over the last years, although it still suffers from quite a few prejudices.

(taken from Cooking and Healing with Beer – Secrets from Germany’s Famous Andechs Monastery)

Jasper Deutscher Verein (German Club) German Heritage Endowment

Recent Gift to the Jasper Deutscher Verein (German Club) German Heritage Endowment

Dan and Kathy Gutgsell in honor of  
Franz and Baerbel Hilger

 A gift to the Jasper Deutscher Verein (German Club) German Heritage Endowment of the Dubois County Community Foundation is a wonderful way to remember that special someone.   A gift in honor of someone or in memory of someone may be given.   The Dubois County Community Foundation will send a letter of acknowledgment to the individual being honored or to the family of someone being remembered.   Send your gift along with the information below to the Dubois County Community Foundation, P. O. Box 269, Jasper, IN   47547-0269.   Appropriate envelopes are also available at the greeting table at each club meeting.  

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Enclosed is my gift of $___________.   Please direct my gift to the Jasper Deutscher Verein (German Club) German Heritage Endowment.  

Name: _______________________________________

Address: _____________________________________

City/State/Zip: _________________________________

I want my gift to be in memory of/in honor of:

_____________________________________________

Please acknowledge gift:

Name: _______________________________________

Address:______________________________________

City/State/Zip:__________________________________

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