Jasper German Club

I would like to sincerely thank Club members for a very enjoyable tenure as President for the last two years. My wife, Sharon, and I have found that these two years passed very quickly and were filled with many happy times. The camaraderie enjoyed by all of the members makes this organization a very special group.

I also wish to thank all members for the stein presented to me on your behalf at the January meeting. It will serve as a reminder of the times we have enjoyed. Please continue to volunteer your time and provide support to the new incoming President. It is this spirit of cooperation that makes our Club possible and successful. Sharon and I look forward to continuing our association with all of you! Thanks again for everything!

President Dilger introduce Stan Jochum and Julie Newton who had brought their pictures that they took when they went to Pfaffenweiler and watch the ceremonies introducing the new Burgermeister (Mayor) of the Pfaffenweiler community in the Snail Valley.

President Dilger let it be known that tickets for the JHS German Exchange Chili Supper are on sale. The Chili Supper will be February 2nd, 2007 5:30PM - 8:00 PM. Tickets are $5 in advance ($6 at the door). He also let the members of the German Club know that Kathy Hilger was selling her Silpada Jewelry of which 20% of sales went to help the German Exchange program.

President Bob Dilger than introduced the slate of officers for the next two years, which were as, follows:

President: Virgil Gress
Vice President: Al Bennett
Secretary: Ruth Wibbels
Treasure: Rita Egler

President Virgil Gress then presented past President Bob Dilger a large stein as a gift for his past 4 years as both Vice President & President of the German Club.

With the order of business taken care of, President Gress introduced Birnie Jeffries and the Recycled Teenagers who entertain the member with their songs from the 1960’s along with some very funny jokes. They kept everyone on the edges of their seats listening as well as dancing to the music that was sang by Birnie Jeffries and the Recycled Teenagers.

President Gress and the German Club members thanked them for the great performance that they put on.

Again this year Scott Ortiz volunteered to do the Beer and Wine judging and the judges were Raymie & Rita Eckerle, Gene Kieffner, Al Schuler and Gary Egler.

Attendance Prizes that were donated by Kapp Winery and the winners were Kathy Wanninger and Dan Hoffman.

President Gress also reminded all that the next meeting will be on Feb 15 th at the VFW at 6:30 PM. Members with last names A – L are asked to bring desserts and those M – Z are asked to bring snacks or hors de oeuvres. The club will provide drinks.

The program will begin with a presentation by Fr. John Boeglin addressing the early history of Catholicism in southern Indiana. He will describe some of the individuals that served our area and how their work & dedication are still visible today. Pope Benedict XVI recently elevated one of these early leaders, Mother Theodore Guerin to sainthood. Sr. Betty Koressel, SP attended this service in Rome and will share her experiences as the founder of the Sisters of Providence Order became the first Saint recognized from Indiana .

Date:	Thursday, February 15, 2007
Place:	VFW in Jasper
Time:	6:00 PM	Social Hour
	6:30 PM	Desserts and Snacks (provided by members)
	7:00 PM	Club Meeting
	7:15 PM	Fr. John Boeglin, OSB & Sr. Betty Koressel, SP

Members with last names A – L are asked to bring desserts and those M – Z are asked to bring snacks or hors de oeuvres. The club will provide drinks.

The program will begin with a presentation by Fr. John Boeglin addressing the early history of Catholicism in southern Indiana. He will describe some of the individuals that served our area and how their work & dedication are still visible today. One of these early leaders, Mother Theodore Guerin was recently elevated to sainthood by Pope Benedict XVI. Sr. Betty Koressel, SP attended this service in Rome and will share her experiences as the founder of the Sisters of Providence Order became the first Saint recognized from Indiana.

Date:	Thursday, March 15, 2007
Place:	VFW in Jasper
Time:	6:00 PM	Social Hour
	6:30 PM	Chili Soup (provided by Club)
	7:00 PM	Club Meeting
	7:15 PM	Bingo

The program will feature some fun playing Bingo! Be sure to bring your quarters...and good voice to declare your winnings!

The meeting is also on the eve of the eve of St. Patrick's Day...so wear a little green to salute our Irish friends! The club will provide refreshments...including some green beer!

It’s that time of year again! Please submit your dues for 2007 as soon as possible by completing and sending in the following form at the back of the Newsletter or by attending a February, March, or April meeting. Rita Egler, Treasurer, will be accepting dues at those meetings.

Single membership is $5.00 per year and a couple membership is $10 per year. What a deal!!! What an opportunity to experience our German heritage on a monthly basis.

Renew your membership now OR give a membership for a family member or someone new to the area. What a welcoming gift!!!!

The Jasper DeutscherVerein will be awarding a scholarship in the amount of $1000.00 to a graduating student from Dubois County who has taken at least three years of German in high school and is planning to continue studying the German language in college. Applications should be made using the Dubois County Common Scholarship Application. This application form and the list of qualifications for the scholarship are available from the Guidance Office of each Dubois County School. Completed applications must be received by April 1. Send all applications to: Jasper DeutscherVerein, P. O. Box 15, Jasper, Indiana 47547-0015.

The Following Is A Series Of Articles About Dieter Hahn That Have Appeared In The Herald, Courtesy Of Franz Hilger and Matthias Hilger

This was the third time that Dieter Hahn ran for a Mayors position during his career in communal politics. Twice beaten before, he knew he had to show the people of Pfaffenweiler, that he doesn’t just run for office to be in power, but that he truly understands their community, the past, the present and the future. As an outsider it is always hard to be elected to such an important office in a small community like Pfaffenweiler.

Dieter Hahn impressed the Pfaffenweiler voters starting many weeks in advance of the election. He visited the Snail Valley to talk to the various clubs of the community, made personal calls to many citizens’ homes to introduce himself and he seriously studied the small wine growing community to learn about it. He listened intensely to the many voices which opened up to him and told him about the town of Pfaffenweiler, their strengths and weaknesses. The Schnecken (Snails) perceived him as a descent and honest family man who in his own way with his professional experience is up to the challenge to fill the big shoes of current Buergermeister Fritz Gutgsell. He is an independent, not associated with any of the political parties of Germany.

In his introduction speech on September 16 th, one week before being elected with 81.58% of all votes, he was the only one, who mentioned Pfaffenweiler’s Sister City of Jasper and the importance this relationship has been and will be for the small wine growing community of 2,600 people. Mr. Hahn will take office in the Rathaus of Pfaffenweiler on November 21 st, with quite an impressive resume.

He was born in 1965 and grew up in the Eifel Region of Germany, close to the US American Spangdahlem Air Base. The Eifel Region is along the Belgium border to Germany. Dieter Hahn finished his schooling at the Gymnasium in Bitburg/Eifel and started his professional training and experience for Civil Services Offices at the District Offices in Trier, while attending the university in Mayen to study Public Management.

He married his wife Angela in 1990 and they have a 13 year old son named Julian. His first job after finishing his education as ‘Diplom-Verwaltungswirt’ (Bachelor Degree in Science Administrative Management), was as Inspector for Youth and Social Services with the combined cities of Traben-Trabach along the Mosel River. Case Worker for the Social Services at the offices of the District of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald (Pfaffenweiler is part of this district) was the next step in his career. He also taught as university teacher at the administrative school in Au.

He also held offices as manager of the satellite district office in Muellheim, was case worker and Assistant Manager at the offices for Building Projects and Monument Protection at the district offices of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald. His last position before applying for the Buergermeister position in Pfaffenweiler was as full time County Council in Alpirsbach in the Black Forest, where he also was very active one of the soccer coaches of the Alpirsbach Soccer Club.

After being sworn in as the new Buergermeister of Pfaffenweiler on November 29 th during his first City Council Meeting, Dieter Hahn gave the following speech to the community:

“I just have taken an oath which means a lot more to me than just formality. It is an assignment of duty, a direction of life which mine and your life has changed on Election Day September 24 th and even more on November 21 st, my first day on office. And it will change even more. You, dear Co-citizens, have put the interests of this community into my hands and this with an unbelievable confidence of trust for which I have to give you a heartfelt thank you. With this kind of advanced trust a multitude of expectations are connected. An expectation that Pfaffenweiler will continue not to spend more than there is, but at the same time as much as possible offers.

An expectation, that the town continues to develop and maintains its unmistakable identity. That can especially function, when all, citizens, clubs, institutions, Administration, City Council and Buergermeister pull on the same string. When one begins to weaken or even let loose, the others have to do more. When we pull in different directions on the string of time then we are threatened to fall on our noses. Thus let us all pull on the same string in the same direction and we all will succeed together.

You honored City Council and I are equals. That is how it is stated in the Community Ordinance by the State of Baden Wuerrtemberg. Based on the 23 rd paragraph of the Community Ordinance, we are the Administrative Organ of the community. The word organ is actually very important, because organs of a body are in close working relation with each other. And for our community body of Pfaffenweiler to function we have to work together.

It is a matter of opinion if the City Council is the lung and the Buergermeister the heart or reversed. Both have to work in harmony or unison to move the body of our community. For the heart to pump weak and the lungs to breath strong is not a good situation, nor if the heart pumps fast and the lungs are breathing slow. Then the body of our community will suffer. This means for me, that we have to take immediate steps to get used to each other and coordinate with each other to assure, that we can quickly start making the right decisions for our citizens.

I’m convinced that we all who are attending tonight realize this special responsibility and I’m as well convinced, that the body and lungs of Pfaffenweiler will accept the new heart and it will beat in the right and positive rhythm.

With this in mind I’m looking forward to the cooperative work with you and I wish us all a bright future.”

Students of the Jasper High School participating in the German Student Exchange Program will be selling BR Bucks April 2 nd through April 22 nd. BR Associates will be donating a percentage of the sales back to the JHS German Student Exchange Program. These Bucks are good at BR Associates dining outlets and sell for $1 each.

On May 5 th and May 19 th the group will be selling hamburgers at Buehler’s Buy-Low.

Remember to patronize these events as the students raise money to their next trip to Germany in late May. Your support is appreciated!!!

Thanks to BR Associates and Buehler’s Buy-Low for their continued support of the JHS German Student Exchange Program.

The group from Pößneck will arrive on April 10 and leave on April 24. 19 students and two teachers, Anke Weniger and Andrea Friedl, will be traveling with the group. The activities for this group are quite similar to those for the Staufen group.

Fr. John is heading for a 13-day trip to Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic on July 1-13, 2007. Cost is $2365 per person (Double Occupancy). Itinerary is as follows

Wed., July 4 Berlin / Poznan / Warsaw - Motorcoach with stops enroute to Warsaw, Poland

Fri., July 6 Warsaw / Czestochowa / Auschwitz / Krakow - Motorcoach with stops enroute to Krakow, Poland

Sun., July 8 Krakow / Prague - Motorcoach with stops enroute to Prague, Czech Republic

Tues., July 10 Prague / Rothenburg - Motorcoach with stops enroute to Rothenburg, Germany

Wed., July 11 Rothenburg / Munich - Motorcoach with stops enroute to Munich, Germany

INCLUDED: Motorcoach Transportation, flights, hotels, and most meals. Price does not include certain taxes, fuel & security surcharges of $250 per person.

If you are interested in this trip, call Holy Family Rectory for more details or reservations at 482-3076.

If any club member has a DeutsherVerein vest, dirndl dress, shirt or lederhosen that they would like to sell or give away, please contact Patti Goepfrich (482-4821 or pmgoep@fullnet.com) and she will put the appropriate information in the newsletter. We can use the newsletter as our own “barter box”.

Remember, Strassenfest is right around the corner!!!! What a great way to show our heritage, let’s dress in our best German attire!!!

Lapel pins with the Jasper/Pfaffenweiler logs are available for sale at the Jasper Chamber of Commerce Office and at the Dubois County Museum Gift Shop. Cost is $3.00 each.

Postcards of the Train Depot and Dubois County Courthouse are available at the Jasper Chamber of Commerce.

This entertaining group will be performing at the Strassenfest in Downtown Terre Haute on April 26, 27, and 28.

German Park Pavilion in Indianapolis on June 2
Athenaeum in Indiapolis on July 4
German Fest at Vincennes on August 10 and 11

The four designs are the Jasper Train Depot, Eckert Mill, St. Joseph Church and the City Hall. The coasters can be purchased individually for $5 each. They are also offered as a set of the four designs resting in a wooden base for $25 per set.

They can be purchased at the Jasper City Hall, the Jasper Chamber of Commerce, and Dubois County Museum Gift Shop as well as at the Schnitzelbank Gift Shop and Stein’s Sign-N-Gifts.

The profits will benefit the Jasper High School German Exchange Program. These are a nice gift for anyone and can be a gift for family and friends in Germany or outside of the area.

The Deutscher Verein Website has become an affiliate for the German Corner Store. The German Corner Store is a mail order store where you may purchase German apparel, books, flags, food, celebration/seasonal items, etc.

We have placed a link to the German Corner on three pages of the website. If a visitor clicks on one of those links and purchases items, we will earn a 10% referral fee for the merchandise purchased, excluding shipping fees. We will be applying any monies earned to the monthly website host fee.

We encourage all to view our website and purchase your “German” items. The German Corner Store has a nice variety of merchandise.

Also, for 2006, the DeutscherVerein website had an average of 26,282 “hits” per month!!! In December of 2006, there were 32,147 “hits”.

The DeutscherVerein website lets the world know about the German Heritage in Jasper and Dubois County!!!

Indiana German Heritage Society Annual
Meeting and Symposium – 2007

The Indiana German Heritage Society Meeting and Symposium will be held at the Athenaeum in Indianapolis on March 23 and March 24. This year’s theme is the Turners, Education and the 100 th anniversary of the presence of the Normal College of the North American Gymnastic Union (Nordamerikanischer Turnbund) in Indianapolis and Indiana.

In Spring of 2008, the Annual Meeting and Symposium of the Indiana German Heritage Society will be held in Jasper.

Patti Goepfrich is Jasper’s representative to the State Council of the Indiana German Heritage Society and will coordinate the planning committee of the 2008 Annual Meeting and Symposium. Please let Patti know if you have any ideas or suggestions for this Meeting and Symposium.

Please return them to Bob Sunderman or Matthias Hilger as soon as possible. These belong to the German Club and we need them again for the next batch of homebrew being made for the German Club picnic 2007 in September.

You were allowed to take some beer home after the picnic and the auction under a verbal agreement, that you will return the empty bottles. Please respect our agreement.

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.

The following begins a series of articles that appeared in The Dubois County Daily Herald in 1957. These articles also appear on the DeutscherVerein website. Enjoy!!!!

The following articles are taken from The Dubois County Daily Herald

Monday, July 1, 1957
Civic Groups Banded Together To Plan Fete

The idea for a “Pioneer German Days” celebration in Jasper was conceived by the Jasper Chamber of Commerce and was brought into reality at a meeting called by the Chamber at which representatives of 28 civic, social, fraternal and ladies organizations of the community were present.

At a second meeting, the majority of groups reported favorable reaction from their memberships and the organization was set up with Arthur C. Nordhoff selected as general chairman and Albert T. Rumbach as honorary chairman.

To assist in directing the course of the celebration, a steering committee of six members was also elected and this group has been charged with giving the event direction. It includes Harold Bettag, Mrs. Herb Pittman, Jr., Dick Krodel, Bob Loepker, Leonard Newman and Art Jarboe.

Never in the history of this community has so much interest been aroused in the history of early times of the city and county as the celebration of the Pioneer Days planned for the first week of July.

An unbelievable amount of historical literature, published and unpublished, much of which was hidden in musty files and in forgotten book shelves and drawers came to light for the first time in years, after the announcement of the event.

In addition, many old documents, maps and papers, private and official, clippings from old newspapers and magazines, photographs of early building, individuals and groups, many of them long since gone and forgotten except by the older generation, but seemingly now of great interest to everyone, including the teenagers of the present generation.

Another phase of the interest aroused was that in the home of origin of most of the pioneers, especially Croatia, the home of Father Kundek, and South German states from which most of the early German settlers came. Special interest was manifested by the German Consul, a citizen of Freiberg, the so-called capital of the Black Forest in Baden, Germany, who took time away from his duties at Detroit to honor with his presence as a visitor, the local celebration. Letters from pastors and town officials were received from a number of German communities near Freiberg, Karlsruhe Baden, and Strasbourg in Alsace, which contributed most heavily to the early German influx of immigrants. Among these towns are Pfaffenweiler, Wagshurst, Reute, Oberhirch, Hugstetten, Gundelfingen, Emmendingen, Bolschweil, and others. Included with view of local interest were photographs of many of our earliest immigrants which they had sent back to relatives in Germany, which had been cherished as precious mementoes all these years. It is a remarkable fact that, in spite of the close contact that most of the immigrants kept with the villages of their origin, very few, if any, ever returned to their native country. When the German immigrants severed their home ties, they did so with finality that was definite. They applied for American citizenship papers, abjured their allegiance to the emperor of Germany and became United States citizens in every respect.

By a strange quirk of fate, many descendants of the immigrants, most of whom left Germany to get away from militarism, found themselves arrayed against their blood cousins in World War I and especially World War II against Nazism. Like the present Chancellor of Germany, and our guest, the Consul from Freiburg, most of the citizens of Baden and other south German States from whom our own citizens descended, had little love for Hitler and his cohorts and looked upon our soldiers as liberators, rather than as conquerors. Our soldiers on their part, admired the thrift, energy and self-reliance the Germans used in rebuilding their ruined cities, and enjoyed their sojourn in Germany.

We are convinced that the Old German Days celebration will be a cultural and historic tonic to this community and an aid to international understanding.

Add the water to the soup meat, season to taste and cook slowly for several hours. A half hour before serving time, make soup balls as follows: combine the salt and flour and work in the butter. Beat the eggs and add to flour. Stir in the milk, using only enough to make batter thin enough to drop by spoon. Drop by spoonfuls into the boiling hot broth and cook for 10 minutes. Serve in hot soup at once.

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.

Annual Dues may be paid at the January, February, and March meetings of the DeutscherVerein!!!!

It's that time of year again! Please submit your dues for 2007 as soon as possible by completing and sending in the following form. Thanks!

Deutscher Verein

Officers :

Directors :

Virgil Gress - President
vgress@fullnet.com
Al Bennett - Vice President
jbennett@psci.net
Rita Egler - Treasurer
gregler@fullnet.com
Ruth Wibbels - Secretary
wibbels@fullnet.com

Die Zeitung
Editor: Patti Goepfrich
Phone: 482-4821
e-mail: pmgoep@fullnet.com

Fr. John Boeglin
Dave Buehler
Bob Dilger
Raymie Eckerle
Dan Gutgsell
Jim Gutgsell
Matthias Hilger
Janet Kluemper
Linus Lechner
Danny Wehr