December 2006

Herzliche Weihnachtsgruebe   Mit den besten Wuenschen    fuer ein gesegnetes Fest   voller Hoffnung, Friede   und Glueck.

Upcoming Events – Mark Your Calendars

December Deutscher Verein Meeting

The December meeting will be on Thursday, December 7 th and will be our Annual Christmas Party.   Please note that the Christmas Party will be at the VFW again this year.  

The menu will include fried chicken, roast beef w/gravy, dressing, corn, green beans, cranberry salad, slaw, rolls, and assorted desserts.  Cost will be $10 per person.  Call Ruth Wibbels at 482-5403 or Bob Dilger at 482-9149 before December 1st to make your reservations for the Christmas Party.  Reservations can also be made during the November meeting at the Sign-In table or via email to Ruth at   wibbels@fullnet.com.

Performing Arts students from Jasper High School under the direction of Tina Luebbehusen and Stephanie Burns will be on hand for an uplifting program.  The students work hard on their performance each year and are proud to show us their talents!

January Deutscher Verein Meeting

The January 2007 meeting will be on Thursday, January 19th 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.  Scott Ortiz has once again graciously agreed to coordinate this year's judging in the Grape Wine, Non-Grape / Other Wines, and Beer categories.

The club will provide canned drinks and a variety of cheese samples.  There will also be a cash bar available for anyone wishing to purchase mixed drinks. 

The program will feature Recycled Teenagers...direct from  St. Anthony, Indiana!  This group, under the direction of our very own Bernie Jeffries, specializes in reminiscing about their teenage years!  They sing a variety of 50s and 60s songs and sprinkle in a joke or two to tickle your funny bone!  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 15, 2007

Place:    VFW in Jasper

Stay tuned for more details in the next newsletter !

Wooden Coasters – Great Gift Idea!!!

Sister Cities of Jasper is selling sets of beautiful, solid wooden coasters.  

Preliminary designs were shown to the membership of the German Club earlier this year during a monthly meeting.

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 also be purchased at the Jasper City Hall, the Jasper Chamber of Commerce, Steins Signs – N- Gifts, the Dubois County Museum Gift Shop, and the Schnitzelbank Gift Shop.

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

Lapel Pins with the Jasper/Pfaffenweiler Logos

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

Deutscher Verein and Sister City Golf Shirts  

Deutscher Verein and Sister City Golf Shirts may be ordered and purchased at Jasper Embroidery, 310 Main Street, Jasper.   They can also embroider the American Flag and the German Flag on shirts.   What a great way to display your German heritage.   These could also make great gifts.   

2007 Sister Cities International Conference

Mark Your Calendars Now for July 18-21, 2007

The 2007 Sister Cities International Conference will be held July 18 – July 21, 2007 in Fort Lauderdale, FL.   The theme is "The Next 50 Years of Sister Cities." The Conference is geared to strengthening local sister city programs, an expanded Best Practices Showcase, and fantastic social events on land and water. A Youth Conference is also planned. Watch www.sister-cities.org for further details.

(information from "Sister Cities International, www.sister-cities.org." )

Thanks to Buehler Foods for their support in the publication of our Newsletter!!!!

JHS German Exchange Information

Mark Your Calendar:

JHS German Exchange Chili Supper
February 2 nd, 2007
5:30PM - 8:00 PM

Tickets $5 in advance ($6 at the door)

Thank You!

Thanks to all of the Deutscher Verein members who donated and purchased items at the annual auction.  Your generosity is so appreciated! 

 Christmas at The Athenaeum

The Athenaeum in Indianapolis will host again a traditional German Holiday celebration the weekend of Dec. 1 to 3. A Christkindl Market,
offering old-world and other crafts and gifts, opens the festivities on Friday, Dec. 1st. Market hours Friday and Saturday are 5-9p.m., Sunday 1-5p.m.  

On Sunday, Dec. 3rd the Athenaeum will be alive with festivities of the Annual Sankt Nikolaus Fest. Family activities begin at 1 p.m. with
gingerbread making, crafts, games, a puppet show and dancing.   At 3p.m. the traditional Weihnachtsbaum

Zeremonie--the lighting of the Christmas tree with candles and group singing will take place in the Auditorium.

At 3:30 p.m. a fanfare announces the arrival of Sankt Nikolaus dressed in red and gold vestments, carrying a crozier. He is followed by Knecht Ruprecht, in ragged, sooty clothes, who carries in his sack treats and switches. Nikolaus checks his Goldenes Buch (Golden Book) and calls the children by name to account for their behavior through the year. Cost for the Sunday event: Adults $7.00, children under 13, $5.00. Reservations a must! For info or to make reservations, call 317-630-4569 #1. Seating is limited on Sunday and children MUST be registered to participate.

December 10, instead of the regular Wednesday Stammtisch, IGHS members, family and friends are invited to a Celebration of Eb and Ruth Reichmann's 50th Wedding Anniversary and Eb Reichmann's 80 th birthday.   Following the German Advent Service at Zion Evangelical Church we will be celebrating 4:30 - 7:30 pm at the Athenaeum with Christmas foods and spiced and non-spiced drinks.  Karl Kugler will be there with his Zither and there will be Christmas tide events including Jim Gould presenting "The Story of the Rauschgoldengel: the Nuremberg Christmas Angel" - a big hit at the National Christmas Convention. There will be a Christmas sing-along with Eb, and Giles Hoyt will be the MC. The only presents Eb and Ruth wish for are speeches, short, funny or serious (but not too serious), presented that evening or given to them for a scrap book, remembering the times they had with IGHS members and friends over the years, and some of the memorable things that happened. Donations to the publication fund in honor of Eberhard and Ruth are also accepted. This is a perfect complement to the Sankt Nikolaus Fest, which is held on December 3rd.

If you would like to send cards of congratulations, they can be sent to Eb and Ruth Reichman, 430 Kelp Grove Road, Nashville, IN   47448.

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, January 19, 1955

HARK THE HERALD

Excitement In Reute; We Say “Lebe Wohl”--- by A. T. Rumbach

On the night of Saturday, October 16, 1954, the peaceful and law-abiding village of Reute was the scene of a crime.   The village buzzed with the news and the citizens were indignant about it; they gathered in small groups on street corners to discuss and condemn the deed.

During the preceding night some miscreant had cut down an apple tree, still bearing its freight of fruit, in the orchard of one of the citizens.   The ax and saw used in perpetration of the misdeed had been taken from the home of the tree owner and were left lying at the scene.   The man had not known enemy and no motive for the crime could be found.

Burgermeister Birkle called a community council after the church services at which the crime was freely discussed. The ax and saw were carefully wrapped in cloth for submission to finger print experts.   Some conferees suggested importation of blood hounds. All agreed that the guilty party must be found, and regardless of his motive, even if it was merely a prank, he must be punished.  

The incident was the subject of discussion even at the big football game held at the Reute Sportsplatz Sunday afternoon, October 17, 1954.   Up to the time of our departure on Monday, no suspect had been found.   I must keep in touch to see what the outcome of the case was.

Fred and I were the guests of Oma Rumbach and of Werner and Agnes Yentsch at dinner Sunday.   As the hour of the game approached, Werner offered to “carry” us to the Sportplatz, about two miles from the village on his moterbyke.   Fred readily agreed.   He was duly “carried” there, whereupon Werner returned for me.   I could think of no plausible excuse so I mounted the rear seat, with much misgiving. Bump, bump, bump down the narrow street we went, and made a sharp turn into the main road. I hung on for dear life as the byke made a dip in rounding the corner.   Then, on down the rocky, and rather chucky road! I wondered whether my accident, health and hospital insurance would be honored outside the U.S.A.   I wondered whether a broken neck is fatal and how long it would take for a broken leg or arm to mend.

We finally reached the field safely, but I politely declined a seat that was offered me, as I preferred to stand (you know why) on the sidelines.   At the half I informed Werner that I thought it would be a good for my system to go back on foot – I needed the exercise.   So after the game, I started back and soon heard the chuck-chuck of the motorbike with Fred as the rear-seat passenger.   They sped by like a flash and I continued my walk.   I had negotiated about three-fourths of a mile, when the bus carrying the Reute team back to town approached and stopped.   The driver invited me to ride.   My concern about my health vanished and I gladly accepted.  

The bus halted in front of the bakery where I dismounted and joined the group of folks including Alph and Virgil, the Bolschweil Gramelspachers who had come for a last farewell and the Reute relatives and neighbors.   The baker was busy taking pictures of the “Abschied”.  The entire gang stayed for supper and for a final evening of song and merriment.   A large “kuchen” beautifully decorated and bearing the inscription in icing “Auf Wiederschen” formed the centerpiece of the table.

On Monday morning ( October 18, 1954), we paid a final visit to the “Gems”, Fred’s birthplace and returned to complete our packing.    It was quite a job to find room for all the accumulated loot, the mementos from the folks and Oma’s “Birnen” (pears).   After dinner Herr Buehler’s bus was ready, the loot was loaded and, accompanied by Klara and Agnes, we left for Karlsruhe.   We had intended just to stay overnight but after the cordial reception by the Alois Rumbach family and the Goelz family and their absolute veto of our immediate departure, we decided to stay over.    They had completed arrangements to take us to Heidelberg, a favorite American haunt – one of those places one must “videre et mori”, to Speyer and to the Renaissance Castle Favorita, now a national museum in a state of excellent preservation.

German Potato Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

Servings:   12

Directions:

In a large stock pot, combine water, chicken broth, chicken soup base, black pepper, carrots, diced potatoes, and onions.   Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat. Simmer 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.   Add celery and red bell pepper, and simmer for 5 minutes.   Gradually add mayonnaise to hot soup, whisking until smooth.   Reduce heat to medium low.   Gradually stir in processed cheese, sharp Cheddar cheese, and Swiss cheese; continue stirring until cheese melts, about 5 minutes.    Mix in potato flakes.   Remove from heat, and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

(taken from www.derdeutschemichel-online.de)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!

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:__________________________________

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