VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE

MAY  2009

 CARPATHIA KIRCHWEIH

Forwarded From Carpathia Club Donauschwaben

Chris Pesta

    Fellow club members and friends from neighboring cities came to the Carpathia Hall last November to experience a traditional evening of Donauschwaben culture, Kirchweih. Kirchweih has been celebrated since the Middle Ages as religious celebration on the occasion of the consecration of a Christian church.

    The evening started with a mass service by Father Tokarski from St. Joseph Church in Detroit. After mass, the hall began to fi ll up with club members and guests from Akron, Chicago Aids, Milwaukee, and Cleveland.

    The Carpathia Dance Groups and Cleveland Jugendgruppe performed the Kirchweih Einmarsch. Shortly after, the Kirchweih Strauss was raffled off, with Nancy and Fred Purz winning the Strauss. Music was provided by Hank Haller and was well liked by all. During the band breaks, the Carpathia Little/Middle Group, Jugendgruppe, Kulturgruppe, and Cleveland’s Jugendgruppe performed.

VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE

MAY  2009

United German Hungarians

Donauschwaben Pilgrimage

Forwarded From United German Hungarians, Philadelphia

            We have been invited to attend the 31st German pilgrimage on Sunday, June 7th at the Shrine of St. John Neumann at St Peter’s Church at 5th Street & Girard avenue in Philadelphia.  Although many of our groups are committed to attend events elsewhere, we encourage all who may be interested to attend this event.  There will be a procession at 10:15 AM and a memorial mass at 10:30 AM.  This pilgrimage is sponsored by the Danube Swabians of Phila., Trenton, and New York.  The memorial mass is in honor of the people who died in the camps of Yugoslavia, Banat, Russia and for the deceased in the old and new homelands, and for those forced from their homes in East Prussia, Silesia, Sudentenland, Bohemia, Gotschee, Rumania and Hungary. 

            There will be a dinner following at the Danube Swabian in Philadelphia at 1 pm.  The mass will be celebrated by Rev. Charles Zlock of St. Martin of Tours Church, Rev. Kevin Moley, pastor of St Peter Church and Rev. Engelbert Michel of St. Christopher Church.  Music at the Franz Schubert Mass will be provided by the Franklinville/Schwarzwald Quartett Clubs and the Damenchor Wald-Echo.  For dinner reservations – 215-322-6477.

VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE

MAY  2009

 2009 CARPATHIA JÄGER BANKETT

Forwarded From Carpathia Club Donauschwaben

By Monica Forest

    This year’s Jäger Bankett lived up to its reputation for being a fun event. Of the two dances the Carpathia Jäger sponsor, the Jäger Bankett is a little more casual but a little more wild. The evening began with a unique dinner. The entrée was Carpathia’s famous schnitzel, but each guest also sampled Reh (venison) and Wildschwein (wild boar.) A person who might not be daring enough to order a whole meal of wild game can now easily try something new. What was the consensus? Delicious!

    Jäger President, Tom Forest, began the event with welcomes for everyone. Many cultural groups attended and one came all the way from Leamington, Canada. Another special guest at the event was Don Brown who was representing Congresswoman Candice Miller. Mr. Brown had very nice words to say about the Carpathia Jäger and the Carpathia Club. He wrapped up his remarks with a sincere and well pronounced “Auf wiedersehen,” and specifi cally mentioned visiting the club again.

    Tom continued his speech with humorous stories and reminded us that “as much as anything, hunting is about camaraderie.” Hunting gives people of all ages an appreciation for the outdoors and is a way to connect generations through the sport. Even with a political guest in attendance, the heart of Tom’s speech was really directed at each of us who live in Michigan. Currently, all of us have wonderful hunting, a great environment, and easy access to public lands unlike other countries where one has to be rich and well connected. He urged us not to take what we have for granted. Tom’s speech was very compelling and received much applause.

    Another applause-getter was the Jäger song. Admittedly, they’re not a choir, but the Jäger did a good job on the song they chose. Less appropriate but a bit more fun, they also found more songs to sing at the bar later in the evening.

    The band, Spass, put on a show like their name implies and played fun music for everyone with a mix of new beats and old favorites. It was great to see so many people on the dance fl oor - many new dancers and many just trying something new. During some songs, people were singing along with the band as enthusiastically as they were dancing. With the wild game, fun dancing, an exciting raffl e and a very late night, the Jäger Bankett really was wild.

    The next Jäger event is the Jäger Königsball on October 10th, 2009. Save the date for an elegant evening that includes an international wine tasting and wild game appetizers. We hope to see you then!

By Monica Forest

MASSKRUGSTEMMEN__Cleveland DGACC__August 15th

VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE

MAY  2009

 2009 CARPATHIA KÖNIGSBALL

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

Forwarded From Carpathia Club Donauschwaben

 

By Debbie Kapraun

 

    As guests began arriving on Valentine’s Day at Carpathia to honor this years royalty, dressed in their black-tie attire, it’s safe to say that most conversations were focused on the transformation of the hall!  Every year the decorations become more extravagant: from the large variety of daring centerpieces, to the elegant decor around the lights, bar, and convenient cocktail tables.  After a short time of socializing, guests were asked to take their seats so that the wonderful sit down dinner could begin. The meal consisted of a wide variety of foods, including salad, beef tenderloin, schnitzel, potatoes, and a decadent dessert!

    The introduction of Youth group royalty began the performances of the night. Prince Paul Schwalbe and Princess Sarah Tittjung were introduced and marched around the dance floor followed by King Matthew Kapraun and Queen Stephanie Talan.  These couples were crowned in September and will represent the group for the next year. After finding their places on stage, the gentlemen of the Youth group paraded the raffle prizes around the dance floor for all to see. The Little and Middle group dancers then marched on to perform for the crowd and royalty.  And finally, the presentation of the Youth group, eighteen couples, both current and past participants, performed the flawless march and traditional dance of the night, followed by the waltz of the King and Queen, Prince and Princess, and Youth group members.  As tradition stands, the Youth group then waltzed the first dance with their parents.

    Dancing was then opened up to music by Spass for the remainder of the night.  The dance floor was filled, whether the music was fast or slow. On such a popular night, many guests were welcomed from out of town, members from Chicago Aid, Cleveland, and Milwaukee Youth groups were present. At the first band break eleven couples from the Youth group performed a waltz that was led by Karen Beattie, Matthew Kapraun, Stephanie Talan, and Darin Lenhardt.  It was a new performance that was beautifully complex and received a standing ovation.  At the second band break, the prizes were raffled off to guests.  One by one the cakes, meat dishes, and wines were given away to excited tables, and finally the pig, which was donated by the Kapraun and Talan families was raffled off to Mr. and Mrs. Steiner, who then graciously donated the pig back to the youth group to enjoy at their after party.

    The remainder of the night was spent on the dance floor, enjoying the camaraderie of friends and music. Most were sad to hear that the night was coming to an end.  Königsball was once again a successful event.  If you weren’t able to make it this year, be sure to get your tickets early next year and come out to the most elegant dance of the year!  

Debbie Kapraun

VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE

MAY  2009

50 years Danube-Swabian Ladies Auxiliary

Cleveland, Ohio

By Karoline Lindenmaier (Hetzel)

Translation: Thomas C. Thornton, M.D.

The Donauschwaben Ladies Auxiliary of Cleveland celebrated their 50^th anniversary on April 19, 2009 in the decorated Holzer Hall of the Donauschwaben GACC.  Ads for the event appeared in March in the German newspaper “Germania” as well as on German radio.  The afternoon event would be filled with singing.  Our former members received written invitations and, to our delight, many showed up.

            Costumed dolls, pictures, and albums of previous events, as well as the Dirndls and traditional costumes from the homeland were displayed in a corner of the room.  White tablecloths covered the tables along with vases filled with red poppies, blue cornflowers, etc. , reminiscent of our homeland.

            Members of the Ladies Auxiliary entered while wearing their dark blue Dirndls and took their places on the risers in front of the stage.  Our leader, Mrs. Helga Schlothauer, opened the meeting and welcomed the quests.  Our guest of honor was the 92 year old founder and first leader of the Ladies Auxiliary, Mrs. Katharina Ritzmann.  She was transported to the floor in her wheelchair by her daughter, Helga Haller and received a thunderous applause by the guests.  Our leader also introduced our honored past presidents, Franz Awender and Sepp Holzer and his wife, Fanny, who is in the Auxiliary, vice-president of the National Danube Swabian Association, Robert Filippi and his wife, vice-president and national youth leader, Ingrid Dorr, as well as the Cleveland Danube Swabian president, Franz Rimpf and his wife, Mrs. Helen Schatschneider, president of German Society of Cleveland and her husband, and Peter Sartschev, president of the Senior group and his wife.  Helga then asked for a moment of silence and read the names of deceased members of the group.  (Helen Awender, Anna Behrens, Sidonia Franzen, Ingeborg Fuchs, Julie Geisler, Anneliese Geyer, Elisabeth Keipert, Eva Mireiter, Elisabeth Reitenbach, Johanna Roth, Klara Selig, Leni Swoboda, Barbara Valentin.)

            Helga read a message from Mrs. Anni Laut, who was our 2^nd president (1965-1982), and now lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  She was unable to attend this event, which we regretted.  The Ladies Choir then sang the song “Donauschwaben Wurden Wir Genannt”  For us our Danube land remains a beautiful dream.  All of the songs were accompanied by Wille Pfaff and his accordion.

            Our next speaker was Franz Rimpf.  He praised the group and acknowledged its efforts to maintain our customs and unite our people since 1958 and for future generations.  With the help of two previous honorary presidents, Awender and Holzer, he honored four women, who have been active since the establishment of the group, with a “Golden Needle”.  The women honored were Katharina Ritzmann, Eva Kühn, Elisabeth Weiss and Käthe Sadlon.  This presentation was met with a thunderous applause.

            Following the presentation the Ladies Choir sang the song: “Heimat dir ferne, leuchten uns Sterne”  An overview of the past 50 years was given by Karoline Lindenmaier.  This included the founding of the German Weekend School, which was created in 1960, and her leadership of the Ladies Auxiliary from 1982 to 1995.  The attendees were reminded that most of the members came to America in the 1950’s to seek an existence after either escaping from, or being driven out of, their homeland.  We were glad to have been accepted by the older immigrants of the Banater Club at the corner of West 140^th Road and Lorain Avenue in Cleveland.  We were allowed to establish a sports club, a youth group, a band, a story telling hour, a kindergarten, and a German school.  Afterwards, more families joined the club and could meet with others with similar interests and backgrounds.  There the women did everything from baking and selling items in the city to knitting and sewing, etc for fund raising.  This is how the events were prepared and carried out.  However, the Banater Club eventually became too small and our Board of Directors sought and found the Ritter farm in Olmsted Township.  A lot of hard work was used there to build Lenau Park and, some years later, the Cultural Center.  But life goes on...!  We are glad to celebrate our 50^th anniversary. 

            “Along with Helga Scholthauer and the other ladies, I want to thank our presidents of the last 50 years, Anton Rumpf and Fred Wintergerst (both deceased), Franz Awender, Sepp Holzer, Robert Filippi and the current president, Franz Rimpf for their understanding and support of the Ladies Auxiliary.  I hope it will never change. “ said Mrs. Lindenmaier.

            A short program followed, which had been prepared by several members.  This included eight folk songs, which were sung by all, and accompanied by Willie Pfaff.   Several small skits, poems and presentations were performed to the amusement of all.

            We then looked forward to the good smelling coffee and baked goods, which had been prepared by the women at home, and laid out by our daughters and sons.  The afternoon ended in Gemütlichkeit.

Karoline Lindenmaier (Hetzel)

Danube Swaben Cleveland Ladies Auxiliary

Franz Rimpf, Karoline Lindenmaier, Eva Kühn, Josef Holzer, Katharina Ritzmann, Frank Awender, Käthe Sadlon, Elisabeth Weiss, Helga Schlothauer

Trenton's EuroAmerican Auto Show 2009

Forwarded From Trenton Donauschwaben

MAKE YOUR PLANS EARLY!

VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE

MAY  2009

Report of the Donauschwaben from Cleveland, Ohio

By Karoline Lindenmaier (Hetzel)

Translation: Thomas C. Thornton, M.D.

The Spring concert of the Banater Chor was held on Sunday afternoon, March 22, 2009 in the beautifully decorated Holzer Hall of the Donauschwaben GACC.  The event began with a very tasty meal.  Newly elected president, Cindy Cornett, welcomed all of the guests.  The performance was led by Andrea Ball, as usual.  Seven German choirs from Cleveland and the surrounding area were featured.  The audience was pleased with the performances.  Afterwards, Willie Pfaff played many well known songs with his accordion.

Breakfast with the Easter Rabbit was sponsored by the German Lanquage School on March 29, 2009 in Holzer Hall.  The children had a lot of fun painting and tinkering while the adults conversed over coffee and cake.  The Easter Egg Hunt, held in the lower rooms, was prepared with particular joy and to the delight of the children.  The bags were filled with many kinds of candies and distributed to all of the children.  The photos taken with the Larger-than-life Easter Rabbit will be enjoyed for many years.

Sasha Ruffus and the Easter Rabbit

The Donauschwaben Jugendgruppe held their annual Schwabenball on April 4, 2009.  The event was held in the beautifully decorated Holzer Hall at Lenau Park.  A delicious meal was prepared by chef Steve Weiss and served by his helpers.  The youth leader, Margot Mauer, welcomed all guests.  Her dance group entertained the quests with a well performed Polonaise to the tune of Prince Eugen’s March.  The girls were like multicolored Spring flowers in their elegant evening gowns.  They were accompanied by their male escorts in dark suits.  The group performed 2 additional Ländler and a Waltz to the sounds of The Beautiful Blue Danube.  They were rewarded for their performance by a continuous applause from the audience.  Dance music was provided by the popular band “Musik Express”.

Cleveland's Danube Swabian Youth Group – 2009 Schwabenball

During the first dance break the candidates for “Miss” and “Mr” Donauschwaben 2009 were introduced.  The candidates discussed their future plans for education.  They also introduced their parents and grandparents.  Olivia received her crown, a bouquet of roses and a sash.  Savana received a bouquet and a sash.  The two couples, Olivia and Erik/Savana and Hansi, performed an “Ehrenwalzer” while surrounded by their friends.  The Miss/Mr. Donauschwaben 2008, Michelle Krist and Hansi Geyer, were honored once again.

Hansi Sonntag    Savana Poerner    Olivia Urban    Erik Maurer

During the second dance break there was a drawing for 3 prizes.  A pair of pearl earrings was donated by Stadler Jewelers; a automobile GPS navigation system was donated by the youth group; and a gift basket containing various women’s cosmetics was donated by Henri and Maria Ludwig.  The prizes were appreciated by the happy winners.  The younger folks had a lot of fun.  The older quests were happy that they could still dance to the popular songs.  Everyone left the 2009 Jugend Schwabenball well satisfied!

VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE

MAY  2009

United German Hungarians

99th Anniversary Gala Banquet

Forwarded From United German Hungarians, Philadelphia

    Our annual banquet was held on March 28th and a cocktail hour with happy camaraderie and delicious hors d’oeuvres began the event. MC Werner Fricker, Jr. welcomed all and the national anthems of the United States and Germany were played by the Heimatklaenge Orchestra and sung by the attendees.  The Invocation prayer was said by Marlene Fricker.  A delicious dinner featuring Veal Scaloppini was served and enjoyed by all.

    The German Hungarian Dancers performed a waltz with intricate formations which was taught and choreographed by Janet Malofiy, Susi Hartmann and Marlene Fricker.  The dancers included:

Ed Galgon – Fallon Weyershaeuser

Michael Fricker – Karina Fricker

Steven Paul – Mikaela Malofiy

Sasha Malofiy, Jr. – Michelle Paul

Alex Malofiy – Jennifer Lineman

Werner Fricker, III – Katherine Dieterly

Kristin Reiter – Sabrina Keys

Joseph Reiter – Allysa Reiter. 

    The audience really appreciated the talents of this group and the dancers received a hearty round of applause. 

    The various guests from the German American community were introduced.  A few words were spoken by guests.  Marlene Stocks, the Head of the Immanuel German School and President of the Concordia Trust, and Christine Frei, principal of the school and board member of the Concordia Trust, presented to our president Bill Galgon a plaque inscribed with the words stated on page one.  The inscription is self explanatory and each student/dancer received a $50.00 gift certificate to Ernst Licht Imports from the Concordia Trust.  Congratulations to Karina, Mike, Joey and Fallon!!!  Bill introduced his Committee and Group Chairmen.  Bill encouraged all to support various German American activities both financially and with attendance:  The German American Heritage Foundation’s Museum in Washington DC; The Steuben Observance Association’s German Day which will be held at our club on June 28 (the entrance fee for that day will be for the support of the Steuben Day Parade on September 26); and the Ted Hierl Radio Program which will have a fundraiser at the VE in May.  

    The Heimatklaenge Orchestra played happy music for the remainder of the night and when it was time to “go home”, everyone applauded for more and three additional dance numbers were played.  Singing with Maria Antoniak on her accordion continued in our bar room and the fun continued as we celebrated our anniversary and our friendships.

VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE

APRIL 2009

VENISON DINNER

Forwarded From American Aid Society of German Descendants

Bill Zettlmeier

AKRON: SPRING CARD PARTY

Forwarded From Akron Donauschwaben, German Family Society

Präsident: Sepp Geiser

Saturday, April 18, 2009

VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE

APRIL 2009

AMERICAN AID SOCIETY

SPRING EVENTS

Forwarded From American Aid Society of German Descendants

VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE

APRIL 2009

GRÜN-WEISS SOCCER CLUB

SCHLACHTFEST

Forwarded From Grün-Weiss Donauschwaben Club, Chicago

    The annual Green White banquet and celebration known as Schlachtfest was held on February 21, 2009 at the Donauschwaben Vereinsheim in Des Plaines, Illinois. The evening was a tremendous success. The food, as always, was top notch. The spirits were plentiful, and many accepted it as a badge of honor to learn that two of the four beer spigots were bled dry, which only meant there was more room for Obstler and Jägermeister. The Johnny Wagner band provided music for young and old, and even the two young kids from Rostock and Freiensteinau, Germany (Tom Kruse and Sven Moller from the First Team) were seen bopping their heads to some ethnic ditty. 

    As a part of the evening’s festivities, Eric Spiess (1st Team); A.J. Nawrocki (Reserves); Gabby Sepiashvili (O30s) and Todd Schneider (O40s) were all presented with team MVP Awards as voted by their teammates. Unfortunately, a dark pallor tarnished the evening when the validity of the MVP balloting was called into question. It turned out that accounting firm of Schneider & Schneider, which had been charged with tabulating the results, did not really exist. Responding to requests for clarification, Todd Schneider referred all inquiries to his attorneys and the matter remains pending while investigations continue. Setting aside the controversy, Bunnyray Larmond (1st Team), Rob Czop (Reserves); Keith Andersson (O30s) and George Lymperis (O40s), or as introduced by Jon Duddles, “George Limp-wrist,” were all recognized with Coaches’ Awards by their respective team coaches and managers for their extraordinary dedication to team and club. 

    A special and long overdue tribute was also made to Cindy Kaempfer for her tireless efforts on behalf of the club. And the O30 and O40 Teams gave thanks to John Dunkas for his singular efforts in bringing back, not one but two, alte herren teams to the club. As always, the event could not have come off without a tremendous amount of work. Special thanks go out to everyone who helped out with the event, including the meat crew: Hans Metzinger, Steve Zimmer, Adam Sollmann, Franz Schmidt, Rolf Albrecht, Joe Tenyer, Martin Koenig, Henry Bischoff, Frank Stadler, Klaus Kilian, Hans Bittenbinder and Hans Kendl. Also thanks to Hilde and Cindy Kaempfer, Klaus Kilian, Rolf Albrecht, Hans and Anne Metzinger, and Steve and Maria Zimmer for setting up the hall. Finally, thanks to Todd Schneider for setting up the video display with our ever growing library of team and club photos.

VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE

APRIL  2009

Kitchener Schwaben Club

78th Anniversary

Forwarded From Kitchener Donauschwaben

Katelyn Borch

Mary and Jake Adam are 50-year Schwaben Club members, surrounded by their family

    On Saturday February 22nd, 2009, the Schwaben Club celebrated its 78th anniversary. The Golden Keys provided excellent entertainment that kept everyone on the dance floor all night. The food was delicious, and included two kinds of salad, chicken schnitzel, roast beef and hazelnut torte. The Schwaben Dancers enjoyed celebrating with everyone. Our whole dance group came out, and the dance floor was packed for our performance.

    We performed our new rope dance "Gebundene Liebe" choreographed by our teacher Peter Speckner. It has been a year in the making, and wouldn’t have been possible without the custom-made ropes constructed by Mennonite harness makers and their 100 year old hand-cranked sewing machine.

    The Kindergruppe performed a new dance as well, and did an excellent job. The Donau Dancers’ performace was wonderful. The dance groups would like to congratulate the Club for its years of accomplishments and for such a successful and wonderful evening!

VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE

APRIL  2009

Valentine’s Day Concert

Forwarded From Kitchener Donauschwaben

Monika Norlock

    The Schwaben Club was the place to be for Valentine’s Day this year. It hosted the "Face to Face" concert, a tribute to Billy Joel and Elton John. It was a night to remember. The event was sold out.

    As couples entered the club, they were greeted with a hall decorated in a true Valentine’s theme: from hearts and cupids suspended from the ceiling to candles and dishes of cinnamon hearts on every table.

    The buffet was outstanding. Everyone complimented the presentation of the hall and how deli

cious the food was. Dinner was a great success.

    But that was not the end of the evening. The night was just beginning. You could feel the excitement as the Billy Joel/Elton John Tribute show began. The backup musicians were first class. "Billy" and "Elton" were electrifying! The audience loved it They clapped and sang along with the group.

    As the evening was coming to a close, couples found areas to dance intimately to the songs of "New York state of mind" and "Can you feel the love tonight". The night was filled with romance and love.

"Face to Face" received a standing ovation and thanked the audience with an encore to remember.

VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE

APRIL  2009

Schwaben Dancers

Viennese Ball Gala Evening!

Forwarded From Kitchener Donauschwaben

May 9th 2009

The Schwaben Club proudly  presents a Viennese Ball Gala Evening

"Hosted by the Donau Dancers of the Schwaben Club"

With the traditional opening dance of the polonaise

 later followed by the Fledermaus 5 part quadrille by Johann Strauss

Formal Attire Event: 

Enjoy a delicious dinner as well as dancing to the tunes of  famous waltzes.

Let yourself be immersed in a beautiful atmosphere of dance and music

( Music by the Variations)

 Tickets $ 35.00  for Dinner and Dance.. Doors open at 5:30  Dinner at 6:00 pm.

For tickets please call the Schwaben Club at (519) 742- 7979  reserved seating

VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE

APRIL  2009

ST. LOUIS EASTER EGG HUNT

Forwarded From German Cultural Society, St. Louis

VISITING AUTHOR/EDITOR ARTICLE

APRIL  2009

APRIL WURSTMARKT ST. LOUIS

Forwarded From German Cultural Society, St. Louis