October 2009

Thanks for a Great Family Picnic!!!

Matthias Hilger and his committees did another excellent job of planning and putting together a great family picnic.

Thanks to the following:

Hunters : Dan Wehr and Mike Hochgesang

Cooks : Ron Keusch, Rosemary and Ken Heim, Harvey Berger, Leo Eckerle, Wolfgang Ehrhardt, Keith Bachman, Bob Fleck and Linus Lechner

Set Up Crew : Dan Gutgsell, Joe and Kathy Wanninger, Jan Hulsman, Heidi and Aaron Rasche, Nancy Burton, Harry and Gabi Guensche, Bob Fleck, Linus Lechner, and Patti Goepfrich

Thank you to the Dubois County Suds Club, especially Justin Rumbach, who coordinated the Home Brew for the 2009 German Club Picnic Brew.

Please return all empty beer bottles to Aaron Rasche or Matthias Hilger ASAP.

Deutscher Verein Family Picnic

The Deutscher Verein Family Picnic was held Saturday, September 19, at the Jasper Outdoor Recreation. The evening began with Mass by Father Ray Brenner and assisted by Rosie Heim, Bernita Berger and Judy Bennett.

Following Mass, President Al Bennett opened the evening with the Pledge of Allegiance. He welcomed and thanked everyone for coming, especially the German exchange student Anna Lisa Weber who is staying with her host family Michelle and Mark Bramlett. He recognized Jasper High School teacher and advisor Erin White and her husband Cory.

Thanks were also given to:

•  The Suds Club for supplying the beer for the evening,
•  The Welcoming Committee comprised of Ruth Weisheit, Bonnie Wineinger, Beverly Castelli,
•  Alma Kreilein, Pat Sermersheim and Alice Stenftenagel,
•  Matt Hilger and Patti Goepfrich for another great job with the picnic,
•  The kitchen crew and cooks,
•  Ron and Judy Mehringer for the check for $25.00 donated to the Deutscher Verein Endowment Fund in the name of Rafe and Phyllis Ackerman in honor of their 50 wedding anniversary. The club will match this donation.

Everyone is encouraged to make donations to the club endowment fund for birthdays, anniversaries and memorials.

Details on the upcoming German Heritage Day were given as follows:

•  Date: Tuesday, October 6
•  Place: Schnitzelbank
•  Time: 6:00pm gather, 6:30 dinner
•  Price: $10.00 per person
•  Reservations: call Patti Goepfrich at 482-4821

Al introduced Matt Hilger who has been chairman of the Family Picnic since 2001, and served on the committee for several years prior. Matt is officially retiring from the chairmanship this year and was presented an official German Club apron which was embroidered with the club logo and the inscription, "Matt Hilger, Familien Picknick Meister". Matt introduced and thanked all his committee members. Al introduced the incoming chairman and his wife, Aaron and Heidi Rasche.

Matt gave the meal prayer in German and a bountiful dinner of venison, rabbit and brats were served along with spaetzle, red cabbage, and lots of salads, potatoes and desserts prepared and brought by attending members. It was all very delicious!

The date for next year's picnic is Saturday, September 20, at the Jasper Outdoor Recreation.

After dinner the business meeting was held. President Bennett made note that January 2010 will mark the 30 th anniversary of our club. Birnie Jeffries is creating a Power Point slide show that will run during the wine and beer tasting meeting and is looking for pictures, documents, stories and other memorabilia to include. It will all be returned to you. Please dig out those great trip pictures and other memorabilia so they can be shared with the club and contact Birnie at green2414@yahoo.com .

Al presented a $1000 check to Erin White as part of our contribution to the JHS German exchange program. In addition to the $1000, our club supports the program with 100% of the proceeds from the November auction and the Strassenfest Souvenir Stand. There is an additional $100 for each student who works the Strassenfest stand and/or prepares a report.

Al passed around a very impressive book prepared by teacher and chaperone, Sandy Wehr, showcasing the trip from this past summer. He also directed the attention of the membership to the display of reports and pictures that the students had prepared.

Matt Hilger was recognized for being a tremendous Grand Marshall, a great honor made even more special by the presence of his parents and friends from Pfaffenweiler.

Special thanks went out to:

•  Everyone who made the fest a success by volunteering their time and energy before, during and after the Strassenfest,
•  Rita Egler, Treasurer, who almost took up residency in the office behind the booth,
•  Jim Corn for reworking the pastry and souvenir stands.

Dan and Linda Wehr were recognized for their chairmanship of eight years of countless hours toward the growth and success of the food booth and pastry stand. As a token of the club's appreciation for the years of service to the German Club and providing leadership and guidance to our club, they were presented with official, embroidered Strassenfest aprons.

Al announced that Dan and Linda were stepping down as chairpersons for the Strassenfest German Club food booths. The position is open for another person or couple to take over for them with Dan and Linda being available as mentors.

Dan gave a summary of the Strassenfest which will be available elsewhere in this newsletter.

Rita Egler gave the financial report.

Upcoming events:

•  Oct. 6 - German Heritage Award Dinner
•  Nov. 19 - Auction for student exchange program
•  Dec. 17 - Christmas Party - dinner. Entertainment by the Celebration Singers
•  Jan. 2010 - Beer/Wine Tasting and 30 Years Celebration

Vice-President Birnie Jeffries led the membership in the singing of German Songs.

Door prizes for the evening were mum plants provided by Green Thumb Nursery and cookie boxes from Cookies Around the World and the winners had their choice.

Winners of the cookie centerpieces were Eugene Kempf, Clive Williams, Betty Kempf, Luke Lottes, Ruth Wibbels and Janet Kluemper.

Winners of the mums were Monica Knies, Gladys Knust, Bob Verkamp, Heidi Rasche, Joan Knies and Ann Ackerman.

Special prizes were won by Micki Stemle and Bob Steffe.

Thanks to everyone who helped in any way from fixing the food, making the beer, bringing side dishes, setting up, decorating, tearing down and cleaning and clearing the tables. It was a great joint effort and we had a perfect picnic!

Respectfully Submitted,
Barb Schmitt
Secretary

STRASSENFEST

This year's fest was a huge success! The weather overall was very good in spite of a near rain out on Thursday night and the hard shower on Saturday night.

Certainly the Clydesdales and the large barbecue crowd helped everyone's sales. Other than the two rain events, we were really busy; never before had been busy on Saturday morning and afternoon.

This year's results were the third best on record. A detailed report was given at the annual picnic.

Bottom line is, nearly $18,000 net profit was added to the treasury. This is after paying the Strassenfest committee over $7,000 to fund entertainment, etc.

As you know, this profit is basically what pays for the meeting expenses all year and funds our donations to ROJAC, JHS German Club travel group, our Foundation, etc.

Linda and I would like to offer our sincere thanks for all of the cooperation from everyone again this year and all of the help we received the last several years.

We will be glad to help next year's Chairpersons any way we can.

Thanks again,

Dan Wehr

Upcoming Events

November Meeting

At the Jasper VFW
Auction for Student Exchange
Thursday, November 19, 2009

Dan Hoffman has graciously agreed to conduct our Annual Auction of donated items with 100% of the proceeds supporting the Jasper High School German Exchange program. Everyone is encouraged to bring an item or two for this auction. Please be generous! Items donated in previous years have included baked goods, crafts, furniture, homemade wine and liquors, German items, Holiday items and even a whole hog! Be creative! The more variety and quantity of items we can have in the auction, the more funds will be raised to support the exchange program. Come prepared to have some fun...and to bid!

Time: 6:00pm social gathering
6:30pm appetizers and dessert buffet
7:00pm club meeting

Members with last names beginning A - P are asked to bring an appetizer, Q - Z are asked to bring a dessert.

There will be a sign up sheet for the Christmas Dinner at this meeting.

December Meeting

At the Jasper VFW
Christmas Party
Thursday, December 17, 2009

Fran Johnson will be creating a really great meal for us again this year. The cost is $10.00 per person. As usual the club will supply the liquid refreshments. Our program will be the Celebration Singers Christmas program under the direction of Larry Feldmeyer. As most of you know, this 75 - 100 member choral group presents a great program. Make plans to celebrate the Christmas season with your club!

Time: 6:00 social gathering
6:30 dinner
7:30 short meeting
7:45 Celebration Singers

Reservations should be made for the Christmas Dinner by calling Al and Judy Bennett at 482-4275 by December 11 th .

January Meeting

At the Jasper VFW
Beer and Wine Tasting/Judging
30 Year Celebration
Thursday, January 21, 2010

Members are encouraged to bring samples of their beer and wine for the annual competition. The categories to be judged are: Grape Wine, Non Grape/Other wine, and Beer. Let's have a great turnout!

During the tasting, a table of various meats and cheeses along with soup will be provided by the club.

In addition, we will be celebrating out 30 th anniversary as a club during 2010 and watching a Power Point presentation developed by the Jeffries family from returnable memorabilia such as pictures, letters, newspaper articles and remembrances supplied by you, our membership. If you can't supply the articles by email to green2414@yahoo.com , you can call 326.2414 or mail to Birnie Jeffries, 4495 E. Schnellville Rd , St. Anthony , IN 47575 .

Time: 6:00 Social gathering

See upcoming newsletters for more details!

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!!!!

Thank You

Thank you to Buehler, Inc., Kelly Flamion, and Joe and Irene Eckerle for all they do in helping to get Die Zeitung printed and mailed. Your efforts are appreciated!!!

Patricia and Thomas Lehmann

Patricia Keller of Pfaffenweiler married Thomas Lehmann on July 18 th in Germany . Patricia is the daughter of Albert and Sonya Keller. Mr. Keller is on the City Council in Pfaffenweiler. Patricia interned at the German American Bank for six months in 2001-2002. Her first visit to Jasper was in 1998 with her father, Albert. Patricia and Thomas attended the 2008 Strassenfest and visited with many friends. Dave and Janet Kluemper attended the wedding and reception in July.

While in Germany , Dave and Janet also visited with Simone Hoferer who interned at Kimball International from October of 1997 until August, 1998. During her stay in Jasper, she was hosted by Dave and Janet.

Wanted: Host Family

Looking for host family for Louis Steinle from Ehrenkirchen, a neighbor town of Pfaffenweiler . He goes to school in Staufen is 15 years old and will spend at the JHS the second semester of this new school year.

Call Matthias Hilger at 661-0624

A Thought from your Vice President

WOW - Thanks to all of you who joined me in my discent of excessive music volume at the Strassenfest.  Letters and Phone calls poured into the committee and they listened and acted.  A big "Thanks" to the committee for doing the right thing.

Fall is here and everyone wonders how it got here so fast.  It's simple, we simply just got older having fun.

Margie and I have only been a member for a few years, but we are proud and happy to be part of it.

Your willingness to help sing along and to help in working the activities is a must for a successful club.

Let's really help and support those who step up to take over major activities that were ran for years by a faithful chairperson.

A great big "Thanks" to Matt Hilger and to Danny and Linda Wehr for the many years of their efforts.

Keep coming, keep singing and I'll see you there -----------

Vice President

Birnie Jeffries

Potential New Club Members

If someone knows of a potential new club member and would like information about the Deutscher Verein forwarded, please contact Rita Egler at 634-9068.

Presentations by Mayor Dieter Hahn

Mayor Dieter Hahn gave presentations when the visitors from Pfaffenweiler arrived at the Train Depot on July 29 th , during the opening ceremonies at the Strassenfest on July 30 th , and at the Jasper City Mill on August 1 st . The following are the presentations from the opening ceremonies at the Strassenfest on July 30 th and at the Jasper City Mill on August 1 st .

Begrüßungsansprache zur Eröffnung des Straßenfestes in Jasper

Dear honored Mayor Bill Schmitt,

Dear friends from Jasper and Dubois County ,

Our group, my family and I are very proud and deeply moved to participate at the opening ceremony of the 2009 Strassenfest and to be your guests.

I'm very pleased and honored today to bring to you all the best wishes from the citizens of Pfaffenweiler. I can say to you, that Jasper and its people are deep in our hearts.

I'm excited to be in the United Sates for the first time in my life, but especially, that it is with you here in Jasper.

As a small boy I was together with your American Countrymen daily in my home town Spangedahlem where the American Air force had stationed the 52nd Tactical Fighter Group. I enjoyed growing up with the American mentality.

I never would have thought that one day as a Buergermeister I would be responsible for a partnership with an American City . But the common history of our two communities, the lively partnership and the countless visits of the people, let's me carry this responsibility with ease.

A responsibility I'm looking forward to face in the future and I'm very much looking forward to your counter visit in the coming year, when we will celebrate our 25th anniversary in Pfaffenweiler.

For this event, I officially want to invite you again from the bottom of my heart.

Three years ago I stepped into the office as Buergermeister of Pfaffenweiler and had no clear imagination about our partnership. But in many conversations with my predecessor Fritz Gutgsell and the citizens of Pfaffenweiler who have visited Jasper, I came to understand how deeply this partnership is rooted in all our hearts.

I'm looking forward to every visitor from Jasper, and when time allows enjoy long conversations about our common ancestors, the outstanding functioning student exchange program and about the details which will move us forward in the development our partnership.

It is fitting, that with our visit this year, Matthias Hilger is being honored as Grand Marshall of the Strassenfest. I want to thank him for all his support, organization and his untiring activity in this partnership.

Dear Matthias, you have become a great help to me in my desire to maintain the connection between Jasper and Pfaffenweiler and to build upon it.

Dear Bill Schmitt,

On my first day as Buergermeister of Pfaffenweiler on November 21st, 2006 the telephone rang and you were at the other end. I was so impressed by this call and immediately felt that we will become very good partners.

I also was excited to hear your commitment three years ago, that you will be visiting Pfaffenweiler in 2010 and to celebrate the 25th anniversary with us in Germany .

America and Germany , Jasper and Pfaffenweiler are very different. But even different countries, different communities and different people can be good friends. That is what I feel and that is what I want to assure that you feel the same as well.

Pfaffenweiler has the Schnecke-Fest (Snail Festival), to which thousands of visitors are drawn to and Jasper celebrates the Strassenfest, also a great and famous festival with many visitors.

And a festival on the street means to celebrate in public and to show how important it is to all, to remember the commonalities of our ancestors and to bring these to the streets.

This is why I'm looking forward along with you and my fellow travelers to celebrate the 2009 Strassenfest and wish us all happy and unburdened festival days in deep friendship.

Jasperreise Eroeffnung Eckert Muehle

Dear Honored Mayor Bill Schmitt,

Dear honored ROJAC Members,

And Dear guests,

It is with great honor to bring the greetings of the community of Pfaffenweiler to the opening of the Jasper Mill, especially because the re-building of the former Eckert Mill is a document of our common history.

I congratulate you all and especially Architect Ron Flick to the successful construction. Through the many pictures sent to Pfaffenweiler we were continuously kept up to date about the progress of the building.

With great interest I read the article in the Jasper Herald on March 30th 2009 about the history of the Jasper Mill. I'm very excited that you decided to re-build the former Eckert Mill, which has stood close to this place for over 100 years.

With it you create another very close connection to the history of Jasper and Pfaffenweiler. The first generation of emigrants from Pfaffenweiler to Jasper has built this mill in back breaking efforts to create a foundation for their life.

The new building does not just create a new public place to meet for Jasper, but an additional life foundation for our partnership which will turn 25 years next year.

After 25 years the first generation of our partnership ends and thus I'm seeing this mill as the bridge to the next generation of our connection.

I wish that this mill will connect our young people and whenever a visitor from Pfaffenweiler stops here in Jasper they will have the chance to visit this location and to remember that the people of Jasper and Pfaffenweiler have the same blood in their veins.

I want to close by again congratulating you from the community of Pfaffenweiler and to present to you with a small gift.

It is an advertising poster from around 1900, which has hung once in the old Mill.

Eddie Weeger - Mayor Bill Schmitt

Mayor Dieter Hahn - Matthias Hilger

Jana Orthlieb

Jana Ortlieb arrived in Jasper on August 5 th at the age of 16. On August 25 th , she celebrated her birthday in Jasper!!! Her home town is Münstertal which is a small village in the south of Germany near Pfaffenweiler. While in Jasper, she is a Junior at Jasper High School . When in Germany , she is a student at the Faust-Gymnasium in Staufen. She would like to participate in track when it begins in February of 2010.

On the weekends, she enjoys being with the friends she has made and enjoys watching soccer and football games.

She has noticed that there are many differences between her home school in Germany and JHS. In Germany , the breaks are longer between classes and students may leave the school at different times and can take breaks outside. Their school is not locked during classes. The schedules are different every day and students in Germany have 12 subjects during the week. The students stay in the same classroom for the main subjects during the week. Their dress code is more lax.

German students don't need hall passes and have tables that accommodate two students. Teachers don't have their own rooms. They rotate and not every student has a locker. The classes are only 45 minutes long and each classroom has a window!!!

The Faust-Gymnasium has a cafeteria and school begins at 8:00am and there are many of the same classes.

Jana believes the United States is a great country and she has been here before. She wanted to learn more about the schools and the differences between the German and American lifestyles. She believes this is a great experience to attend school in Jasper and is improving her English and learning more about the U. S. culture. She felt JHS was the best school to attend because of the Partnership between JHS and the Faust-Gymnasium. She had heard from previous exchange students that they had enjoyed their stay in Jasper and she also wanted that experience.

Her hosts are Dr. Terry and Betty Brown.

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.

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