Herzliche Weihnachtsgruebe

Mit den besten Wuenschen

fuer ein gesegnetes Fest

voller Hoffnung, Friede

und Glueck.

December Deutscher Verein Meeting
Thursday, December 18, 2008

The December meeting will be on Thursday, December 18, 2008 and will be our Annual Christmas Party. The Christmas Party will be at the VFW. Fran Johnson will be creating a great meal for us again this year. Make plans to bring in the Christmas Season.

January Deutscher Verein Meeting
Thursday, January 15, 2009

The January meeting will be on Thursday, January 15, 2009, at the VFW. As has become our custom, this meeting will be our annual beer and wine tasting/judging gathering. Members are encouraged to bring samples of their beer and wine making for the annual competition. Categories will be judged in Grape Wine, Non-Grape / Other Wines, and Beer. Let's have a great turnout and let us know which beer or wine you feel is the best

See upcoming newsletters for more details!

It's Chili Time!!!!

The JHS German Exchange Chili Supper will be on February 6^th, 2009 in the JHS cafeteria. All you can eat chili, hotdog or peanut butter sandwich, dessert, and drink will be sold from 5:30-8:00pm. Also, gallons of chili will be sold for $15.00. Tickets may be bought from any JHS German Exchange student. Tickets bought before the supper will be $5.00 and tickets sold the day of will be $6.00. Children are $3.00. Thank you for all your support and generosity!

Address Changes for Newsletters - Also for "Snowbirds" With Temporary Address Change

If a member has an address change, even a temporary change, please notify Rita Egler at P. O. Box 15, Jasper, IN 47547-0015 or call her at 634-9068. Let her know the dates of the temporary change and she will work with you so that you don't miss any issues of our newsletter.

Any help you can give in maintaining postage costs is appreciated!!!!

Also, beginning with the last issue of the newsletter, the expiration date of your dues is listed on the mailing label. Please note this date on your calendar.

News from Pfaffenweiler

In a special exhibit at the Dorfmuseum (Town's Museum) in Pfaffenweiler, the theme is "Where to go with the old stuff". It shows where the people of Pfaffenweiler collected old items 25 years ago, from home and local work places, which might have otherwise

ended up in the landfill.

Many items could be preserved, especially two grain sacks, which initially didn't seem important until one reads the print on it. The two sacks are from the time after World War II, when the US sent food to Germany to carry them through the first few years. On one of the sacks it reads that the flour is from Igleheart

Brothers.Mill in Evansville, IN.

One of the sacks was found in a home in Pfaffenweiler and the other on at a flea market in Bad Krozingen.

Small World!!!
(Noted by Franz Hilger)

At this time of the year, let us remember the less fortunate of our communities. This would be a great time to make a donation to any organization helping those in need in our communities!!!! Your generosity will be appreciated!!

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 or Rita Egler at 634-9068.

Erinnerst Du Dich?

The following is from the pamphlet, The Pfaffenweiler Emigration by Gerhard Auer. This pamphlet was written in September, 1984 and the English version translated by Seiffert. This is the last section.

Emigration to Algeria

The largest group of emigrants, consisting of 23 families (132 persons), left Pfaffenweiler in the autumn of 1853. Their designation was the French colony of Algeria. Their route went from Pfaffenweiler to Colmar, where they pick up their Pass-Ports, to Basel, Lyon, and Marseille. Here everyone was issued 400. - franc by a bank agent from Sautier, Freiburg, which they had to display to the Military Representative. Only now were they allowed to ferry to Algeria. 100 Franc had been payed in Pfaffenweiler already; this way of payment was supposed to prevent them from spending most of the money already on the way from Pfaffenweiler to Marseille.

The story about their arrival and settlement in Algeria might be finished here with a few sentences, had not some attempted to return eight years thereafter. Living and working conditions were too bad; many died from diseases and suffered a lot worse then before their exodus. They suffered in an alien country that was shaken by war between the Algerians and the French occupants. For them it proved impossible to reverse their fortune; the city council opposed to their return to Pfaffenweiler because with them misery would have grown again.

The city had cut down and sold some 12 - 15 acres of forest and provided the sum of 5.600 Gulden for emigration to Algeria. This area ever since has been called "Africa"! In 1861, the speaker of the would-be-returnees, Wilfred Luhr, reports to the Grandduke of Baden that promises had been made by the Pfaffenweiler community according to which the French Government would supply them in Africa with "house and accessories for a former, cattle and seeds, even clothing and food that should last until harvest."

There is nothing on record about this promise but there are some indications that is has been made. Some correspondence exists at the Service d'Archives du Haut Rhin at Colmar between the French Ministry of War, the Prefect in Colmar, the Grandducal Administration in Staufen, the city council and the mayor of Pfaffenweiler, which indicates the optimistic picture the community had about settling in Algeria. The city council asked five questions about livelihood and possible income of the colonists. Questions number 4 and 5 are:

(Document 17) "4) Because these emigrants are excellent wine-growers, will the area where they settle support grapevine?"

"5) What type of soil and how much acreage of it will be assigned to each family; can they collect any wealth of their own and how?"

This letter is dated 15 September 1853; at that time preparations for emigration have well progressed. The list of emigrating families is posted at the Prefecture in Colmar. The response to the above questions is clear, it relates to information from the Ministry of War. The Prefect writes:

(Document 18) "I conclude from the Minister's response that most of the grapes in Algeria belong to the Arabs and that said grapes are trimmed to a certain size only by native workers.

Only one colonist, living in Dellys, Mr. Jeannin, is willing to care for one German family of six persons, whom he will accept as lessees for the duration of three years. They would have to grow and care for the grapes. In addition, they could earn some money if they did the wash for local military installations."

The Hanser family obtained this opening and they were the only family to have en employment waiting for them before departure. All other colonists were assigned to the military commander of Constantine who was responsible for accommodating them. It is to be assumed that the city council was convinced that the Poor of Pfaffenweiler would have a fair chance to establish themselves as colonists in Algeria. With this in mind emigration to Algeria was advertised in Pfaffenweiler. The community wanted to get rid of 200 Poor People; 132 signed up. Only now they found out that conditions were rather adverse - only 6 out of the 132 would have a secure income!

There were only two possibilities: One either gave up this expenditious enterprise and accepted disappointment or one kept silent about the miserable situation in Algeria and continued to plan and organize. The mayor decided for the second solution.

Today we do not know how the decisions were made, who was or wasn't informed or how the ones who knew were able to cope with their conscience. From the following document, we may conclude that the People in charge did not bother too much with the truth;

(Document 19) In order to participate in the emigration, the Mayor of Pfaffenweiler stated, everyone was required by the Prefect of Colmar to be married. This condition is not in the Colmar records. In reality, the Mayor of Pfaffenweiler wanted to save money with his statement, because a family was required to carry along a minimum of 500 Francs while every single Person was required to have at least 250 - 300 Francs. (Document 20, 21, 22) Large families (more than 8) had to have 500 - 1000 Francs.

This money, which was not too much in the first place, was supposed to render the necessary financial starting power to the emigrants. For this reason the French authorities provided free transportation. The city-council's speculations were these: If all single males would marry single mothers or widows or would attach themselves to a family, the community would save 250 to 300 Francs per single person. That was not all, however: To marry, you had to own Civic Rights. Then again one was entitled to certain communal services and support, which was to be avoided in these emigrants' cases, because they might not want to leave their village any more. Consequently the city council made up this resolution from 15 November 1853: "Only the day prior to departure may these marriages take place. If for any reason emigration does not take place, so won't the marriages; matrimony and benedictions were only valid with emigration.

Before they had even left Pfaffenweiler, all of these measures left Wilfried Luhr and his group without any chance of success when they tried to return years thereafter. Members of that group were Simon Dierenbach, Ignatz Burget, Xaver Schlegel, Josepha Gutgsell, the widow of Andreas Lehr, the widow of Alexander Dierenbach, Johann Blattmann, the widow of Georg Steinle, the widow of Georg Elmlinger, the widow of Mathias Riedlinger and the widow of Joseph Mayer.

Wilfried Luhr's brother - Franz Xaver - joined the French army and after the German-French ware returned to Pfaffenweiler in 1871. Separated from the community, he lived as a day-worker and was known as the "Afrik". He died on the 1^st of May 1907 when he fell down the staircase in the church.

In the 1890-ties, Wilfried Luhr controlled all hereditary matters of the emigrants. He then was the only one to fluently read and write German. He maintained a personal correspondence with town-clerk Hafner, ordered the 'Staufener Wochenblatt' and complained bitterly if it didn't arrive in Constantine on time. In his mind he still was a Pfaffenweilerian and his letters prove his patriotic attitude towards Germany. (Document 23) This, for our taste, overly grown patriotism developed during years of living in an alien country. Measured in miles, American may be the continent farther away from home; in respect to landscape, way of living and population, however, Africa is the really alien place. (Document 24,25). When Algeria became independent in 1962, descendants of our emigrants lost their new home and live now mainly in southern France.

T-Shirts, Aprons, German-American Flag Sets, German Flags, Tote Bags, Etc. Sale Continues

The 2008 Strassenfest T-Shirts, as well as T-Shirts, Tote bags, German-American Flag sets, German Flags, and Aprons continue to be available for sale at Elements of Design in Ireland as well as Hoosier Video on the Square in Jasper. Strassenfest T-shirts (children, S, M, L, and XL) are $10 and XXL $12. All proceeds go to the Jasper High School German Exchange Program, sponsored by the Jasper German Club.

Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit, der Gemut-lich-keit, Ein Prosit

Ein Prosit, der Gemut-lich-keit, Eins Zwei, Drei.G'suffa

A toast, A toast, To happy times, A toast, A toast, To happy times, One, two three. drink up

Goose Breast with Potato Dumplings, Red Cabbage, and Chestnuts

Ingredients:

1 whole large goose breast
Salt, pepper
Rosemary
4 medium onions
1 carrot
1 celery root
1 head red cabbage
4 tablespoons lard or butter
1 clove garlic
1 cup (250 ml) red wine
3 apples
Cloves, pepper corns
1 bay leaf
Cheesecloth
Salt, sugar, pepper
2 teaspoons red currant jam
1 lb. potatoes
2 eggs
Nutmeg
Salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Season goose breast with salt, pepper and rosemary. Place breast-side down in a roasting pan adding some water. Roast at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, then lower temperature to 300 degrees. Roast for about 1-1/2 hours, turning the meat breast-side up halfway through. Baste from time to time with the juices gathering on the bottom of the pan. Add more water if necessary. With about 30 minutes roasting time remaining, add one onion, carrot and celery root, all finely chopped.

Remove goose breast and keep warm. Pass the juices through a strainer and add some cream to taste. Set

gravy aside.

Cut the head of cabbage in half, remove stem and cut into thin strips. Melt lard or butter, add chopped onions and garlic clove, then the cabbage, stirring gently. Add red wine and cheesecloth filled with cloves, peppercorns and bay leaf. Cut apples into wedges and add. Season with salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar and red currant jam. Cook on low heat for about 45 minutes.

Boil and mash half of the potatoes. Grate the other raw potatoes and squeeze out liquid. Combine all the potatoes with the eggs and season with nutmeg and salt. Shape dough into large round dumplings and cook in

boiling water.

Score the chestnuts on both sides with a knife and bake them in a preheated oven until the cases crack open. Remove chestnuts from cases. Melt butter, add 1/4 cup (50g) sugar and caramelize. Add chestnuts and stir to coat. Add some of the goose gravy, stir and let chestnuts simmer until cooked through.

From GermanFoods.org

News from the Dubois County Visitors Center

The colossal, lighted Christmas tree in the center of downtown Jasper welcomes shoppers to the O'Tannenbaum Days celebration December 5-7. Guests will enjoy unique shopping, carolers, visits with Santa, free carriage rides, two church bazaars and cookie walks. Special performances include the Annie Moses Band Christmas Show at Jasper Arts Center and the Celebration Singers at the Dubois County Museum. Features include gingerbread cookie decorating, demonstrations by skilled artists and artisans inside the shops and tours of St. Joseph Church, an 1880 Romanesque, olde world-style church listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

For more information, including a free brochure on specific events and hotel packages, and a complete list of events and times, please go to www.visitduboiscounty.com or contact the Dubois County Visitors Center at 800-968-4578.

Endowments at the

Dubois County Community Foundation

Jasper Deutscher Verein (German Club)

German Heritage Endowment

A donor-advised endowment to benefit generations in ensuring that our German heritage is preserved and enriched in Jasper and Dubois County.

Claude and Martina Eckert

Sister Cities Endowment

A designated endowment to provide support to Sister Cities of Jasper, Inc. to support the Jasper/Pfaffenweiler relationship.

A gift to the Jasper Deutscher Verein (German Club) German Heritage Endowment or to the Claude and Martina Eckert Sister Cities Endowment 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 $__________________________

to the________________________________________

(Please specify appropriate Endowment)

Name: _______________________________________

Address: _____________________________________

City/State/Zip: _________________________________

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