JASPER DEUTSCHERVEREIN CHRISTMAS DINNER PROGRAM

Jasper Deutscherverein met Thursday, Dec. 15 at the VFW for their annual Christmas dinner program.  President Bob Dilger had a very short business meeting during which Rosie Woolsey invited club members to attend a performance of the IU Singing Hoosiers at the Jasper Community Arts Center on Saturday, February 4th.   Fr. John Breidenbach then gave a blessing before a delicious chicken dinner enjoyed by the members present.  President Dilger and Club members thanked Fran Johnson and the VFW staff who had prepared an excellent meal.

Ron Flick, who co-wrote the book about Jasper and Huntingburg had copies available for purchase.  He also asked members to share old photos for a second book currently being written.  If you have pictures from olden times available to be used, please contact him for possible inclusion in the new book.

Attendance prizes of beautiful poinsettias were won by:  Fr. John Breidenbach, Rita Corn, Rita Egler, Margie Jeffries, Laverne Kieffner, Elfrieda Oeding, Dorothy Schnaus, Paul Singer, Ed Wening and Sharon Dilger. Special prizes went to Jane Luebbehusen and Pat Wibbels.

Present Dilger thanked Barb and Ruth Wibbels, Sharon Dilger, Judy Gress and Julie Newton, who greeted the guests as they arrived. Entertainment for the evening was provided by the JHS Student Choir (including Singers & Dancers and Violin Players) of the Performing Arts Club under direction by Stephanie Burns and Tina Luebbehusen.  Members were also reminded of the upcoming Annual Wine & Beer Judging Contest and Cheese Party scheduled for January 19th at the VFW.  Indy Polka Motion from Indianapolis will also perform during this evening. Members were also reminded to purchase their tickets for the JHS German Exchange Program's annual Chili supper before the JHS Homecoming Basketball game on Friday, January 27th.  Members spent the remainder of the evening socializing.

Ruth Wibbels
Secretary

Upcoming Events –  Mark Your Calendars!

January Deutscher Verein Meeting

The January meeting will be our annual beer and wine tasting/judging gathering. The categories remain unchanged as follows:

• Grape Wine
• Non-Grape / Other Wines
• Beer

Members will be allowed one entry in each category and certificates will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the grape wine category and 1st and 2nd place in the non-grape / other wine and beer categories.

The club will provide cheese, beer and soft drinks.  The VFW can provide mixed drinks and sandwiches for a nominal cost for those wishing to purchase any of these items.

The program will feature Indy Polka Motion...direct from Indianapolis, Indiana!  These folks are "high-energy" accordion players playing a variety of music all the way from Polkas to Waltzes to Country.  What better way to enjoy your wine and cheese?  

Look forward to a great time at the January meeting!

February Deutscher Verein Meeting

Date:    Thursday, February 16, 2006
Place:    VFW in Jasper

The program will feature a special post-Valentine's Day performance by Freddie, Ray J, and Boys.  Stay tuned for more details in the next newsletter! 

March Deutscher Verein Meeting

Date:   Thursday, March 16, 2006
Place:   VFW in Jasper

The program will feature members of St. Joseph’s Choir presenting information on their June, 2005 visit to Pfaffenweiler.  

Annual Chili Soup Dinner

The annual Chili Soup Dinner benefiting the JHS Student Exchange Program will take place on Friday, January 27 th, from 5:30pm to 8:00pm.   Presale tickets are $5.00 and tickets at the door will be $6.00.

Presale tickets will be sold at the January club meeting and tickets will be available the night of the dinner at the door.

Sister Cities International 50 th Anniversary
Local Government Leadership Circle and Circle of Distinguished Volunteers

Sister Cities International will celebrate their 50 th Anniversary with a Celebration Conference in Washington, D.C. on July 13 – July 15, 2006.   This Conference will honor the notable contributions of Sister City volunteers and local government leaders over the last 50 years.  

Each sister city organization had the opportunity to nominate individuals for the Local Government Leadership Circle and the 50 th Anniversary Circle of DistinguishedVolunteers.

Thru Sister Cities of Jasper, Mayor Bill Schmitt has nominated Buergermeister Fritz Gutgsell of Pfaffenweiler and Vic Knies of Jasper for the 50 th Anniversary Local Government Leadership Circle and Sister Cities of Jasper, Inc. has nominated Dave Buehler, Martina Eckert, Matthias Hilger, Mary Jo Meuser, Ruth Reichmann, and Danny Wehr for the 50 th Anniversary Circle of DistinguishedVolunteers.

Each nominee has been notified by Sister Cities International and has received an invitation to attend the Celebration Conference.   Each will also be recognized in the Sister Cities International newsletter, annual membership directory, 50 th anniversary commemorative book and in the 50 th anniversary conference program.

Our thanks go to these individuals for their time, efforts, and resources in establishing and maintaining the Sister City relationship with Pfaffenweiler.   Please congratulate them on their nominations.

Invited speakers to the Celebration Conference include President George W. Bush, Former President Bill Clinton, Norman Mineta, Dina Habib Powell, Dianne Feinstein, Richard G. Lugar, Mitch McConnell, Jim Kolbe, Jerry Lewis, Frank Wolf, and Anthony A. Williams.   If anyone would like additional information on the Celebration Conference, please contact Jim Gutgsell or Matthias Hilger or visit www.sister-cities.org.

Indiana University Singing Hoosiers

The I.U. Singing Hoosiers, under the direction of Dr. Michael Schwartzkoff, will be performing at the Jasper Community Arts Center on Saturday, February 4 th.   The performance will begin at 7:00pm.  

The program will consist of a combination of solos, choral and swing with a jazz ensemble and A-Cappella.   This is a high energy group.

Two local students are a part of the group and will be performing. They are Natalie Woolsey, daughter of Marlon and Rosemary Woolsey and Lauren Ellis, daughter of Dr. Michael and Mary Helen Ellis.  

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children.   They may be purchased by calling the JCAC ticket office at 482-3070.

SCHNITZELBANK RESTAURANT
 FRANKENMUTH , MICHIGAN TRIP
JUNE 8 - JUNE 11 2006

$750.00 per couple
$375.00 a person

To make reservations, please call Alan Hanselman at the Schnitzelbank at 482-2640  

  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 are available for sale at Club Meetings at the greeting table or by contacting Patti Goepfrich at 482-4821 or pmgoep@fullnet.com.

Cost is $12.

Look forward to the Indiana Univ. Press publication in April of Norb’s collaboration with Indiana photographer Darryl Jones, Invisible Presence, and is grateful for the chance to collaborate with singer-songwriters Kriss Luckett and Greg Ziesemer.

 Indiana German Heritage Society

The IGHS Annual Meeting will be held in Terre Haute on March 24 and 25.  The meeting and symposium will be coordinated by Prof. Ronald W. Dunbar, Chair of the Department of Languages and Literatures at Indiana State University. It will showcase the Terre Haute area’s German history and heritage.

For more information, contact Prof. Dunbar at 812-237-2367.

For more information on what is happening around the state concerning German heritage, contact the IGHS 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
Monday, November 15, 1954

HARK THE HERALD

Let’s Take A Trip To Europe By A. T. Rumbach

Ever since the Great Adventure of 1950, an extended trip through Europe, which I had the pleasure of sharing with the readers of this column, I had been wondering whether there would ever be a repeat performance of that experience.

That many of the readers were thinking of the same thing, I was convinced by frequent inquiries throughout the intervening years until I considered it a mandate on their part to risk an encore. When I divulged my intentions to my brother, Fred, who was my traveling companion on the previous trip, he also succumbed to the urge to relive those pleasant days.   We started negotiations at once with our travel agent, Howard Yenowine, representative of the American Express Co.

In the meantime, that veteran globe-trotter, Virgil Gramelspacher, who had planned a trip earlier in the year, but had cancelled his arrangement due to unforeseen circumstances, decided to cast his lot with us to make it a threesome, just the right number for a cabin on the good ship Nieuw Amsterdam of the Holland-American line on which we had decided to make the journey.   When the rumor of the proposed jaunt reached the ears of Alphonse A. Sermersheim, he too was fired with a desire, long suppressed, to make a voyage to the home of our ancestors, in Baden, Germany; so we made it a foursome when a single cabin just next to ours was found available on the September 7, 1954 (Tuesday) sailing of the Nieuw Amsterdam.

Since we had a common purpose, to visit the homes of our ancestors and that of a large portion of Dubois County citizens, we decided to make our own itinerary, rather than to go in a standard conducted tour.   Many spare hours during the intervening months were spent in poring over old records and over maps, and interviews with many local people who requested us to look up the home towns of their grandfathers or great-grandfathers, and in laying out a convenient and economical route to enable us to visit as many places as possible.

The reader may get some idea about how heavy the transatlantic travel was during the past summer from the fact that we applied early in June (1954) for accommodations, and had to accept the September (1954) sailing date as the first one available on an eastbound ship.   The earliest westbound opening was on the same ship scheduled to leave Rotterdam, Holland on October 29, 1954, (Friday) with a November 6, 1954 (Saturday) landing dated in New York harbor.   I would therefore, advise anyone intending to go on a trip to Europe, to make arrangements at least four months in advance of the contemplated sail date.

Since our return, we have been frequently asked about conditions in Europe.   I speak for myself, and I dare to say for my companions, that we do not make any pretense to be experts on the European situation as the result of our brief sojourn there.   We frequently discussed the things we saw and heard.   It will be my earnest endeavor during the next days, perhaps weeks, to give you a true picture of our experience in the lands beyond the sea and the peoples whose future, hopes and aspirations are so intimately connected with our own.  

I hope it will afford you as much pleasure reading as it gives me in writing about our adventure.   We shall begin our journey tomorrow.   You are invited to join us on the first leg of our trip – Washington, Indiana via B & O to New York.

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

Sauerkraut Pie

Ingredients:

Preparation:

Peel the onions, finely chop and fry in the oil until transparent.   Fluff the sauerkraut, add to the saucepan together with the juniper berries, bay leaf, caraway seeds, paprika and tomato puree and fry them briskly.   Pour in the beer, season with salt and pepper and braise for 20 minutes.  

Dice the meat.   Boil the potatoes, peal and dice.

Fry the diced meat briskly in hot oil.   Grease an oven-proof dish, fill it with layers of meat, potatoes and sauerkraut and top with the finely chopped cucumbers and the bread crumbs; garnish with knobs of butter.   Bake in the oven at 200 degrees C for 30 minutes.

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

Jasper Deutscher Verein (German Club) German Heritage Endowment  

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 appropriate  information  to the Dubois County Community Foundation, P. O. Box 269, Jasper, IN   47547-0269.   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:__________________________________

Membership Dues

It's that time of year again! Please submit your dues for 2006 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.