Swiss Alps, Chalets and Dialect

From The Dubois County Daily Herald - December 14, 1950
HARK THE HERALD | By A. T. Rumbach

The ride of 103 Kilometers from the St. Gotthard tunnel to Lucerne was all too short for the passengers who were getting their first view of the Swiss Alps.   They took up every available inch of space at the windows of the train to watch the jagged mountains in their garb of dark greens pines and cap of lamb-wool snow, glistening in the bright moonlight.

Adding the human touch to the panorama were the solitary chalets and the chummy villages which dotted the mountain-sides and valleys.   And so, all too soon, the train came to a halt in the station of Lucerne.

The process of clearing the station from train to busses interrupted, but did not end the evening’s viewing of strange and beautiful sights.   For enroute to our hotels, the buses skirted the well-illuminated shores of Lake Lucerne, which for sheer beauty is not surpassed by any lake in the world.

We arrived at our hotel, the Carlton-Tivoli about ten o’clock tired and ready for a good night’s rest in the very attractive, spic and span rooms with twin beds, covers invitingly tucked back; and a feather-light but bulky feather-bed doubled up at the foot end to protect one against the crisp autumn mountain air.   So after a snack and a glass of brown beer, cellar-cold, we took to the covers to rest up for a full day of Alpine sight-seeing tomorrow.

The crossing over from Italy to Switzerland was, in a way, like a home-coming, for here, on every side, instead of an unfamiliar language, the Italian, or the forced tourist English, one heard spoken, that is, Swiss German which greatly resembles the dialect of Baden spoken by so many of the older citizens of Dubois county about a generation ago, and a trace of which is still to be found in what German is still spoken here.

I was surprised to hear this variety of German “slang” spoken not only by peasants and servants, but also by trades people and businessmen, in fact by people in general, as long as they were speaking among themselves.   But the moment they are approached by a “foreigner” addressing them in German, or by a government official or a clergyman, they invariably answered in “High-German,” or “schriftliches Deutsch” (German as it is written).   Needless to say they were surprised when we talked to them in their own Swiss dialect.

As Others See Us Americans

From The Dubois County Daily Herald - Wednesday, October 18, 1950
HARK THE HERALD | By A. T. Rumbach

The question one is asked most frequently upon returning from Europe is:   What are the prevailing conditions in Europe and what is the attitude of Europeans towards America?

As a casual observer, but interested enough to make inquires as one moves from place to place, we would say that economic conditions in Europe are greatly improved, thanks, primarily to the Marshall plan, the CROP, CARE, plus the individual efforts of thousands of Americans and to the Kind Providence which has just blessed most European countries with a bountiful harvest.

Turning first to the Marshall plan, we found that none named it, but to praise it.   Everyone whom we questioned, including citizens of France, Italy, Germany and England, gave full credit for the present state of progress in restoration of war-destroyed institutions, industries and establishments, and whatever measure of prosperity now prevails in their respective countries, to this American policy.

The people of Germany are well aware that the greater part of the destruction of their cities from bombing was the work of the American Air Forces.   But as far as one can learn from observation and inquiry there is no animosity or even resentment towards Americans.   They blame it all on the stubbornness and stupidity of Hitler and his advisors in their persistence in a policy of defying the allies long after it was apparent to everyone with common sense that theirs was a lost cause.  

The people of France as well as those of Western Germany look to the United States of American for leadership in building a strong, mobile and ever ready United Nations armed force to resist any further encroachment of Communism, specifically of the Soviet Russian government, upon Western Europe.   They are grateful towards, and filled with admiration for, the United States for the firm stand taken upon the invasion of South Korea by the Communist forces.   They followed every move in that campaign and were deeply concerned over the slow progress in the early stages and were highly elated over the later rapid strides made in driving back the Reds out of South Korea and following through in North Korea.

The reason for this is apparent.   All Europe was convinced that, had the aggression against South Korea remained unchallenged, the next step undertaken by the Reds would have been the invasion of Western Germany, with the Rhine, or even the Atlantic coast as their goal.   The result would have been a communist regime for all Europe, or else a bloody war necessitating the establishment of beachheads on the coast of France or on the Rhine with the completion of the destruction still visible from World War II in these countries.

There can be do doubt that Germany as well as the other democratic nations of Europe regard Russia as their natural foe, and that all are anxious to cooperate with the American program of maintaining preparedness against any aggressive move as the best means of preventing a third World War.   President Truman is held in high regard as the protagonist of such policy.

The people of Western Europe are sincerely grateful to the people of America for the assistance rendered them in the dark days of the post war years when they faced starvation and cold, for lack of food, clothes and shelter. The CROP program by which religious denominations cooperated in the collection of agricultural products in America and in the distribution of same in Europe in accordance with the needs of the suffering people was apparently carried out equitably and effectively.   The large number of CARE packages of food and clothing and individual shipments of such parcels by individual citizens of the USA to relatives and friends and to parties who were to the sender just a name of people in distress, were shared with neighbors and others in want.   These activities on the part of American citizens built up the morale of these people against the false promises held out by Communist propagandists.   They saved Western Europe from Communism gained the undying gratitude of the recipients and won for America the good will of these nations.

Why Do People Go Abroad?

From The Dubois County Daily Herald - Tuesday, October 17, 1950
HARK THE HERALD | By A. T. Rumbach

When the Queen Mary drove within sight of the American shores, past the Statue of Liberty with its brightly burning torch held on high, and up to her pier at the foot of the Fiftieth street in New York City, early Thursday morning (October, 1950), her two thousand passengers heaved a sigh and exclaimed:   “Gee it is good to be back in the good old U.S.A..”   The same sentiment has been expressed for many years by the passengers of other ocean liners and airplanes.

Still the rush for reservations for overseas voyages continues from year to year; and when future travelers shall have completed their trip and returned to home base, they will all echo the same sentiment.   And when they finally approach their own home, whether it is a hovel in the forest of Maine or a mansion in California, or a modest home in Indiana, the words of John Payne’s famous old song “Home, Sweet Home,” will rise from their hearts to their lips:   “Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.”

Why, then do people spend time, money and energy on travel abroad?   The answer is contained in another stock phrase invariably uttered by returning wanderers “I am glad it is over. I would not care to go through it all again, but I would not take a million for what I saw and learned.”

People usually refer to Europe as the Old Country.   It is exactly that. When one reflects that the earliest signs of civilization in Europe date back to the Roman Caesars, a century before the birth of Christ, where as our civilization is scarcely two hundred years old, and in most places the celebration of a centennial is a momentous occasion.   Even that owes its origin to one or another of the countries of Europe.

Touring Europe is, therefore, really a treat for an American, but the only practical way of doing so, is through a travel bureau, an organization which plans and systematizes the trip, arranging the itinerary, making hotel reservations far in advance, providing baggage handling facilities and providing guides to explain the history and traditions of the places on the schedule.   There are three classes of people who should never attempt to journey abroad, the lazy, the impatient and the intolerant.   The first will find the long rides, the hikes up endless stairways and hilly districts and the punctual schedules unbearable.   The second will “blow their tops” at the endless routine of official passport, visa customs and other formalities.   The third, while failing to broaden their own concept of life in the rest of the world, will antagonize their hosts, sowing the seeds of ill-will rather than those of good-will between nations.

Americans, who go in for foreign travel, should be ambassadors of good-will for their country to the nation which they visit.   For upon their conduct and deportment abroad depends largely the judgment the host countries will form of America.

There are in every group of travelers a few “super-patriots”   who spend their time in making comparisons between the Good Old U.S.A. and the country in which they happen to be sojourning – comparisons which are invariably unfavorable to the latter.   They persist in making “wise cracks,” harmless in themselves, and fundamentally true, but still remarks which are knife-stabs into the sentimental hearts of their hosts.   Such remarks as:   I would not give a dime a dozen for all the ancient ruins or the long-haired music, or the so-called dishes for gourmets in this God-forsaken country.   Or-why they are fifty or a hundred years behind the times, etc., such remarks are certainly not conducive to the strengthening of international relationship.

One should always bear in mind that to the people who live there, it is “Home, Sweet Home!” – the land which gave them birth – the land where they spent their happy childhood – the land where they learned from their mothers’ lips and their fathers’ example their traditions of patriotism, religion.   Whether their country or religion, their customs or traits appeal to one or not, the traveler owes it to his hosts to respect their way of life, and to see the better side of what the scene offers.

Having just returned from such a journey, the writer feels that he should share his good fortune with those who for one reason or another, cannot, or who are wise enough that they choose not to leave the leisure and convenience of their happy homes to go on a long tiresome trip abroad.   We shall try to avoid the tedious recitation of our itinerary and the obvious sights to be seen there, giving rather, our impressions of the conditions prevailing abroad and an interpretation of the habits, customs and way of life existing in the countries visited.

European Series Begins Tomorrow

From The Dubois County Daily Herald - Monday, October 16, 1950
HARK THE HERALD | By A. T. Rumbach

A.T. Rumbach, publisher of the Daily Herald and regular author of this column who has been absent for the past six weeks while touring Europe, will begin a daily series of columns about his trip beginning with tomorrow’s column.   On his trip, Mr. Rumbach visited France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and England.   The series will deal not only with the geographical and historical aspects of the countries visited but also impressions gained of economical, political and cultural conditions there.