German Heritage Articles
The Dubois County Daily Herald
HARK THE HERALD by A. T. Rumbach
Written in 1950 and 1954
In January of 2005, in the Looking Back section of The Herald, a paragraph appeared mentioning Editor A.T. Rumbach’s visit to Pfaffenweiler in 1954.
In doing some research at the Jasper Public Library, it was discovered that there are many articles written by A. T. Rumbach describing his visits to Europe in 1950 and 1954. These articles appeared in the Hark the Herald section of The Dubois County Daily Herald in the days and weeks following his return to Jasper.
The following articles mention areas of interest on German heritage in Dubois County. The following is some background information on these articles. Fred Rumbach was born in Reute, Germany on March 5, 1881. He arrived in Jasper with his parents when he was seven months old. His brother, A.T., was born in Jasper in 1895. A.T. died in 1958 and Fred died in 1969. In August of 1950, they visited Reute. In 1954, they visited Reute and also visited Wagshurst and Pfaffenweiler. Virgil Gramelspacher and Alphonse Sermersheim accompanied them on their 1954 trip. The dates that you will see in connection with the articles are the dates these articles appeared in The Dubois County Daily Herald. One note, these articles were written prior to the establishment of Sister Cities International but read as a blueprint for Sister Cities.
The Dubois County Daily Herald
Pioneer German Days in Jasper
July 1, 1957 - July 6, 1957
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.
