Concordia Nachrichten 2014-12 web

Nr. 527 Dezember 2014
87
1
Nachrichten
141 JAHRE
141 YEARS
3 - 2014
ISSN 0384-952X
Concordia Club, 429 Ottawa St. S., Kitchener, Ontario, Canada N2M 3P6 / Tel. (519) 745-5617, Fax 745-5141
Internet: www.concordiaclub.ca or for e-mail: [email protected]
Frohe
und
ein
Frohe Weihnachten
Weihnachten und
undein
ein
gutes,
gutes, erfolgreiches
erfolgreiches 2015
2015
Weihnachtskonzert
der Chöre 7:30 pm
Andreas Hermsdorf / pixelio.de
14. Dezember 2014
CONCORDIA IM DEZ. 2014 / JAN. 2015
Klub Vorschau/Club Events
Group Events
2nd
Main Hall Senior's Christmas Dinner – 5:30p.m.
SUNDAY
Halle
MONDAY
Halle
6th
Schenke Graham & Bowie
Jaegerstube
13th
Schenke Black Forest Band
14th
Main Hall Choir Christmas Concert – 7:30p.m.
20th
Schenke Edelweiss Duo
Concordia in December
24th – 26th CLUB CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS
27th
Schenke TC Alpine Echos
31st
Schenke New Year's Eve Celebration
1.00–5.00 Ballroom Dancing
7.00–8.30
8.30–10.00
6.00–7.00
7.00–8.00
TUESDAY
Halle
6.00–8.00
Jaegerstube 8.00–10.00
Schenke
7.30–10.00
WEDNESDAY
Halle
6.00–10.00
Jaegerstube 3.00–5.30
Jaegerstube 7.00 pm
Jaegerstube 7.30–10.00
7.30
19.00
Concordia in January
Weinstube
1st
CLUB CLOSED – New Year's Day
3rd
Schenke
10th
Schenke Edelweiss Duo
17th
Schenke Black Forest Band
24th
Schenke TC Alpine Echos
31st
Schenke
Weinstube 7.00 pm
THURSDAY
Halle
6.00–8.00
8.00–10.00
Jaegerstube 7.00–1.00
Eisstock
7.00–10.00
Schenke
9.00
FRIDAY
Victoria Bowl 6.45
Jaegerstube 8.00
DJ Bill Novak
DJ Bill Novak
Office Telephone
Extensions & Info Line
Front Office
Membership
Banquet Inquiries
Manager
Payroll
Accounting
101
101
101
102
103
104
Gemischter Chor
Männerchor
Kinderchor
Jugendchor
Kinder & Junior Garde
Narrenzunft
Skat-Gruppe
Enzian Group
Senioren Gruppe (1st Wed. of month)
Ladies Group (1. Wednesday of month)
Horticultural Group
(2nd Wed. of month)
Bowlers (3rd Wednesday of month)
Tennisgruppe
(Jeden 2. Mittwoch im Monat)
Tennisgruppe (2nd Wed. of month)
Senioren Garde
Table Tennis Group
Schach/Chess
Eisstock-Gruppe
Fussball/Soccer
Bowlers
“Treffpunkt” (2nd Friday of month)
Reservations
105
General Inquiries
105
Ticket Sales
105
Portier/Doorman
106
You can call the extensions or
announcements by using any
touch tone telephone.
2
Bericht des Präsidenten
Oktoberfest ist vorbei
und wie es aussieht hatten wir wieder ein erfolgreiches Oktoberfest.
Einzelheiten dazu werden wir aber erst mitte
Dezember haben.
Danke an den HauptVorstand fuer Organisation und geleistete Arbeiten der verschiedenen Komitees während
des Oktoberfestes!
Besonderen Dank an Ruth für ihre Arbeit,
um die gesamte Organisation zu bewaeltigen.
Danke an Martina fuer die Organisation der
3
verschiedenen Veranstaltungen, Andreas
mit seinen Helfern in der Kueche, sowie
dem Personal in der Schenke, um unsere
Gaeste zufrieden zu stellen.
Das Zapfbier lag im Verkauf waehrend des
Oktoberfestes etwas niedriger, doch das
Flaschenbier war im Verkauf besser, somit
wird sich ein Ausgleich zeigen.
Sonntag und Montag, als Familientage,
waren erfolgreich!
Ein Danke geht auch an Leo Tukums, unseren Klubhistoriker, der für den Pioneertag
unseren Klub im Rathaus mit Kultur und
Tradition bestens vertreten hat.
Es war erfreulich, dass viele unseren Klub
bei der Ehrung im Rathaus unterstuetzt
haben!
Am 1. November war das 141. Stuftungsfest
des Concordia Klubs mit der Band “The
Golden Keys”, den Enzian Schuhplattlern
und natuerlich dem Concordia Männerchor.
Sicher war es für jeden ein angenehmer
Abend!
Das Besondere an diesem Abend ist natürlich die Bekanntgabe des Ehrenmitgliedes
oder Ehrenmitglieder!
Heidi Nowak und Rita Allmendinger wurden als Ehrenmitglieder 2014 ernannt!
Herzlichen Glückwunsch an die beiden Damen, die sich diese Ehre und Anerkennung
verdient haben!
Kameradschaftsabend ist am 17. Januar
2015 im Jagd u. Fischverein [Hubertushaus],
Eintrittskarten sind im Klubbuero erhältlich!
Leider muessen wir an die Canadian
Revenue Agency fuer die letzten 4 Jahre
eine Nachzahlung in Hoehe von $ 31,000.00
leisten, fuer HST des Mitgliedsbeitrages!
Aus diesem Grunde muessen wir den Mitgliedsbeitrag fuer 2015 erhoehen! Der jetzige Mitgliedsbeitrag deckt nicht die Kosten
der täglichen Veranstaltungen, selbst der
erhöhte Beitrag wird diese Kosten kaum
decken! Wir bitten um Ihr Verstaendnis und
Unterstuetzung bei dieser Sache!
Wichtige Daten:
2. Dezember: Weihnachtsfeier der Concordia Senioren
4.-7. Dezember: Weihnachtsmarkt Kitchener
Rathaus
14. Dezember: Weihnachtskonzert der
Concordia Chöre
31. Dezember: Silvesterfeier in der
Sche0nke
Im Namen des Haupt-Vorstandes,
wünsche ich Ihnen und Ihrer Familie
eine schöne Weihnachtszeit.
Haben Sie ein friedvolles
Weihnachtsfest und alles Gute
fuer das Jahr 2015!
Frohe Weihnachten
Ihr Praesident Rob Kerr u. Gattin Janice!
President’s Report
Oktoberfest is once again behind us and the
Concordia Club at this point in time looks
like it has had another successful year
financially. The final numbers will not be
known until the middle of December but
preliminary numbers are on track to match
last year’s success. I must first thank all the
members of the board of directors for their
planning and hard work during Oktoberfest
as they guided the staff in their depart-
IMMOBILIEN UND
FINANZIERUNG SIND
VERTRAUENSSACHE
WHEN IT’S
A MATTER OF TRUST
HOME REALTY INC
4169 King St. E, Kitchener, ON, N2P 2E8
MARCUS KALLWEIT
Bus: (519) 570-4663
Cell: (519) 590-3056
Email [email protected]
www.kallweithomes.com
4
ments. A special thank you must go out to
Ruth for keeping all aspects of Oktoberfest
organized, Martina for organizing and
orchestrating all the special events in the
hall and restaurant, Andreas for the preparation and cooking of the best food around
as well as the kitchen staff and servers for
their undivided attention when entertaining
our guests.
The draft beer sales were down once again
but the sales of bottled beer, spirits and food
were up enough to offset the shortfall. The
item that we should be most proud of is the
great attendance increase that we recognized on both of the family days.
Thank you to Leo Tukums (our club historian) and his helpers who made a very beautiful display at German Pioneers Day where
the Concordia Club was honoured for their
continued presence and support of the
German heritage, culture and traditions. It
was great to see so many people attend this
event and support our club.
On November 1st we celebrated the 141st
birthday of the Concordia Club. It was a
very enjoyable evening as we were entertained by the Golden Keys, Concordia Club
Male Chorus and the Enzian Schuhplattlers.
It gave me great pleasure to see so many of
our members at this function and with the
amount of people that filled the dance floor
I would say that everyone had a great time.
The highlight of the evening was the
announcement of our honourary members,
who this year were Heidi Nowak and Rita
Allmendinger. Congratulations to both of
these ladies, the award and distinction was
well deserved.
Kameradshaftsabend will take place this
year on January 17th at the German Canadian Hunting and Fishing Club. Tickets are
on sale in the office and will be on a first
5
come, first serve basis as the venue has a
limited number of seats.
On a less pleasant note, our dealings with
the Canadian Revenue Agency have not
gone the way we were hoping it would and
we will need to pay about $31000.00 in
missed taxes. The main portion of this is
due to not having charged HST on the membership for the past 4 years. This being said,
we will be increasing the membership by
about 5% as well as including the HST
when we go to renew our memberships for
2015. Please see or contact the office for the
new rates. As stated by one of the members
at the semi annual meeting, the original
constitution and rules of the club states that
the membership fees should cover the operation of the clubs daily events, at the current
rates we are not even close to this. Please be
supportive of this change so that we can
continue the longevity of our club.
Some important dates to remember are :
December 2: Seniors Christmas Party in the
main hall
December 4-7: Christkindl
Kitchener City Hall
Market
at
December 14: Concordia Choir Christmas
Concert
December 31: New Years Eve Celebration
On behalf of the board of directors, I
wish you as well as your families a safe
and happy holiday season. May you all
have a very Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year.
Merry Christmas from your president
Rob Kerr and my wife Janice
From the Manager’s Desk
Oktoberfest
I want to thank all of our Board
of Directors, staff and volunteers who work so hard to
ensure that each year Oktoberfest is a successful event! It
takes countless hours of planning and preparation beforehand as well as during the festival to make this happen. We are very fortunate to have such a strong
team that work together so well. We are still in the
process of finalizing all of the financials. We should
have a better idea by December.
Senior’s Christmas Dinner
I have to apologize for the error in my report last
month with regard to the date of the Senior’s
Christmas Dinner. It is definitely on December 2nd
and not December 9th. I do hope to see many of our
members come and join us to celebrate the
Christmas season. The tickets are $19.00 per member which will include dinner as well as entertainment for the evening.
Christkindlmarket
The market will take place this year from Thursday,
December 4th to Sunday, December 7th at City Hall.
Our Board of Directors will be volunteering their
time to serve Gluehwein at our booth. Bring your
family out to enjoy the tradition of the Christmas
Market. It will definitely get you in the Christmas
spirit!
Christmas Duck Dinner
The tradition continues! Our annual Duck Dinner
Special will be on from Tuesday, December 9th
through to Saturday, December 20th! We ask that
you please make a specific “duck” reservation to
ensure that Chef Andreas has enough ready for each
day! It will be available at lunch and dinner.
New Year’s Eve
Another year has come to an end! Come out and celebrate New Year’s Eve with us. We will be following
the same format as in previous years. The dinner
vouchers are available for purchase in the club
office for $60.00 each. This will include a 5 course
meal and dancing to the TC Alpine Echos.
The voucher will then be deducted from your total
restaurant bill once all the beverages, taxes and gratuities are applied. Please make sure to bring your
voucher along that evening! Chef Andreas and his
team have a great meal planned for all to enjoy!
Please don’t wait too long to come in and select
your seats. The Schenke fills up quickly.
Membership for 2015
As you may have read in our President Rob Kerr’s
report, we have undergone an HST audit with the
Canada Revenue Agency. Due to their audit findings, we are now in an unfortunate position to pay
back HST not collected on membership payments
for the audit period from 2011 to 2013. The amount
is approximately $31,000.00! Moving forward we
will have no choice but to charge HST on membership payments. In an attempt to try and cover these
costs, we will be increasing the membership fees by
about 5% as well.
The new fee schedule, which will include HST is as
follows:
Family Membership
$ 144.00
Single Membership
$ 99.00
Senior Membership
$ 40.00
Student Membership
$ 25.00
In closing, I would like to thank all of our members
and guests for their continued support throughout
the year! We have had a very busy year with many
special events. From hosting Kameradschaftsabend
in January, taking part in the Food and Drink Show
in April, to hosting a number of weddings throughout the summer, Oktoberfest and ending the year
with a great number of Christmas parties.
We hope to continue this trend into 2015!
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas with time
spent with family and friends.
Sincerely, Ruth Rajna
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OUR GLOCKENSPIEL
A German-Canadian Icon… The Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest Glockenspiel is a unique and dynamic symbol of the authentic traditions
of Canada’s Greatest Bavarian Festival and of our community’s rich German heritage. The Glockenspiel is a complex animated show depicting
Grimm’s Fairy Tale – Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs. This magnificent presentation includes three sliding stages, seven animated dwarfs and the
three main character figures. The 23 bell clarions (the largest of its kind in Canada) are programmed to play the music of the story made popular by
Walt Disney.
Our Story… The Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest Glockenspiel was originally erected in 1976 in Speakers’ Corner, Downtown Kitchener, and was
an instant success. Between 1976 and 2009, tens of thousands of children and adults were entertained and captivated by its magic. In 2009, the new
owners of the building attached to the Glockenspiel structure required KWO Inc to relocate the unit away from their premises while at the same time;
the City of Kitchener was redesigning the park. The City, in cooperation with Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest Inc (KWO), removed and stored the
unit with the intention of resurrecting this community icon at a later date.
Our Vision… The resurrection of the Glockenspiel is a significant project that requires both modern technology and a significant investment. This
new monument recognizes our German-Canadian Heritage and will be unique in North America, attracting visitors and the local community alike. The
Glockenspiel will present its animated show frequently during the months of September and October each year and on a regular schedule throughout
the year. Programmed seasonal music and lighting will ensure audience interest and will make this a destination for the entire family. The Glockenspiel
will require a new superstructure, a refurbishment of the 23 bells (conservatively valued at $150,000), a new enclosure and façade, a computerized
control system, sound baffling, electrical service, landscaping and a maintenance program. A prudent, estimate of costs for the total project, supported by quotations is $392,000.
Our Funding Model… The City of Kitchener, KW Oktoberfest Inc., as well as some industry & business partners have already committed significant dollars to fund this project and are looking to the German-Canadian community to contribute through the German-Canadian Remembrance
Society to complete this project.
All donations will receive a charitable receipt through the German-Canadian Remembrance Society and depending on the size of contribution will be acknowledged on prominently displayed brass plaques, integrated into the design of the superstructure. To donate or for
additional information, please contact:
•
•
•
•
7
Helene Schramek, President, German-Canadian Remembrance Society – 519-579-6185
Werner Schlueter, Treasurer, German-Canadian Remembrance Society – 519-579-6185
Alfred Lowrick, 1st Vice-president, Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest Inc. – 519-570-4267
Vic Degutis, Past-president, Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest Inc. – 519-570-4267
WICHTIGE DATEN/IMPORTANT DATES
Concordia Kegler
December 12thTurkey Roll/Cosmic Bowling
December 21st
Weihnachten steht schon wieder vor der
Tür. Es ist eine sehr geschäftige Zeit für uns
alle, also bitte notieren Sie sich die wichtigen Daten.
Der Vorstand wünscht allen Keglern ein frohes Weihnachtsfest und alles Gute und viel
Gesundheit im Neuen Jahr.
Bis zum nächsten Mal,
Monica Kauck
Christmas Party
*this is a Sunday - noon
*NO BOWLING ON BOXING DAY DECEMBER 26th!
January 16th
Annual Meeting
February 13th
Cosmic Bowling
TBA
April 24th
May 8th
Bowling Tournament
Last Day of Bowling
Closing Banquet
*this is a Friday - 5:30p.m.
Our winners for the Best Male and Female costume and the Most Original.
Congratulations!
8
CONCORDIA BOWLERS
Well, Christmas is just around the corner
and much celebrating will be done. This is a
very busy time of year for everyone, so
please be sure to keep in mind the important dates listed above.
Finally, best wishes go out to our bowlers
who are celebrating a birthday this month:
24. Erika Koeckritz
30. Joe Wallner
The Committee would like to wish everyone
a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and
Healthy New Year.
Until next time,
Monica Kauck
December/Dezember
6.
7.
13.
18.
20.
Heinz Nowak
Francis Gottvald
Karl Zensner
Peter Uebel
Karl Braun
Having fun on Halloween at the bowling
alley! Where's Waldo?
goligerstravel.com
THANK YOU, RON for all of your help
during Oktoberfest! It is truly appreciated.d the Most Original. Congratulations!
9
1425 Bishop St. UNIT 15
519-622-7777
Contact Mike Doersam
Hello to all Concordia Club members who celebrated their Anniversaries at Stifungsfest! I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for
last month’s error in the Nachrichten under Membership milestones. I did not correctly post all the members names in the right category. Michelle
Zimmer had taken many hours to correctly post all your names in the English version and when I tried to translate and copy it over there were
many mistakes which I did not catch. In this month’s bulletin everything has been corrected and reposted. I congratulate all our members’ hard
work and dedication to our Club and many years of contribution.
Sincerely Martin Patzold
Herzlichen
Glückwunsch
an unsere Mitglieder die ein Klub-Jubiläum feiern!
50 Jahre
Ingrid Dixon, Rosemarie Gaertner, Lotty Mayer, Dieter Sigel
40 Jahre
Otto Berg , Amalie Hatesohl, Erna & Guenter Horn, Frank & Irma Kiefer, David Moritz,
Christine Schwegel, Erich & Ingrid Sonnenburg,
Mike Sostaric, Mary Stammwitz, John Jr. & Veronika Szierer, Murray Taylor
25 Jahre
Dieter Bergen, Christine Bews, Gunhild & Juergen Budczinski,
Hans Buehring, Kim & Sylvia Christensen, Peter Evers, Marion Grohmann, Linda &
Reinhardt Klein, Ken & Sigrid Matchett, Dieter & Martha Patzold, Jan Pisarczyk,
Brandon Schulz, Reiner & Jackie Schulz, Anita Specht, Engelbert Steiner
10 Jahre
Jay Aissa, Robert Bews, Cornel Bruggemann & Kathleen Bruggeman Maas, Klaus
Burmeister, John Doerner, Robert & Rose Hutson,
David & Kathryn John, Olof & Sheila Kuipers, Heidi Nutt-Powell,
Heidi Peller-Oliver, Chris Purtle, Steve P. Richtaritsch Jr., Kelly Schertzer, Andre & Andrea
Schilha, James & Joyce Vogel
Sollten Sie ihre Auszeichnung noch nicht erhalten haben, fragen Sie bitte im Concordia
Klub nach um sie abzuholen.
10
Hello to all Concordia Club members who celebrated their Anniversaries at Stifungsfest! I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for
last month’s error in the Nachrichten under Membership milestones. I did not correctly post all the members names in the right category. Michelle
Zimmer had taken many hours to correctly post all your names in the English version and when I tried to translate and copy it over there were
many mistakes which I did not catch. In this month’s bulletin everything has been corrected and reposted. I congratulate all our members’ hard
work and dedication to our Club and many years of contribution.
Sincerely Martin Patzold
Congratulations
to our members
on their club membership anniversaries!
50 years
Ingrid Dixon, Rosemarie Gaertner, Lotty Mayer, Dieter Sigel
40 years
Otto Berg , Amalie Hatesohl, Erna & Guenter Horn, Frank & Irma Kiefer, David Moritz,
Christine Schwegel, Erich & Ingrid Sonnenburg,
Mike Sostaric, Mary Stammwitz, John Jr. & Veronika Szierer, Murray Taylor
25 years
Dieter Bergen, Christine Bews, Gunhild & Juergen Budczinski,
Hans Buehring, Kim & Sylvia Christensen, Peter Evers, Marion Grohmann,
Linda & Reinhardt Klein, Ken & Sigrid Matchett, Dieter & Martha Patzold,
Jan Pisarczyk, Brandon Schulz, Reiner & Jackie Schulz, Anita Specht, Engelbert Steiner
10 years
Jay Aissa, Robert Bews, Cornel Bruggemann & Kathleen Bruggeman Maas,
Klaus Burmeister, John Doerner, Robert & Rose Hutson,
David & Kathryn John, Olof & Sheila Kuipers, Heidi Nutt-Powell,
Heidi Peller-Oliver, Chris Purtle, Steve P. Richtaritsch Jr., Kelly Schertzer, Andre & Andrea
Schilha, James & Joyce Vogel
Please ask at the Concordia front desk for your award
if you did not get it already.
11
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wünscht Ihnen,
liebe Mitglieder,
Freunde und Gäste
der Hauptvorstand
mit
Präsident Rob Kerr
1. KG Narrenzunft Concordia
Greetings!
The Mardi Gras group started its 48th Anniversary in the Jägerstube on October 25th
with a wonderful evening socializing and
enjoying a delicious meal in the Jägerstube.
Our group is growing in numbers with the
addition of several new Garde dancers. We
are excited to welcome them and look forward to their performances during our 48th
Season of Karneval.
13
The Opening Ceremonies and Christmas
Party will be reported on in the January bulletin.
As Christmas fast approaches we
want to wish everyone a
wonderful holiday season with
friends and loved ones.
Happy Christmas and
New Year’s Eve to all!
Until 2015
Alaaf und Helau
Joan Trautrim
WEIHNACHTSKONZERT
der Concordia Chöre
SONNTAG, 14. DEZEMBER 2014, 19:30 UHR
Concordia Club, Main Hall, 429 Ottawa St. S. Kitchener,
Tel. 519-745-5617
Concordia Männerchor / Male Choir • Gemischter Chor / Mixed Choir
• Director: Martin Anderle • Accompanist: Marisa Strban
Kinderchor / Children’s Choir • Director: Angelika Werner
• Accompanist: Ulrike Ryzebol
CHRISTMAS CONCERT
Concordia Choirs
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14th 2014, 7:30 PM
Concordia Club, Main Hall, 429 Ottawa St. S. Kitchener,
Tel. 519-745-5617
Freiwillige Spenden zur Unterstützung der Chöre.
Donations for the support of the Choirs are accepted.
THIS YEAR’S CORPORATE SPONSORS:
Kitchener-Westmount Rotary Club - Dr. Egon Beiler, Cosmetic and Family Dentistry - Piller’s Fine Foods, a division of
Premium Brands - Lorne E. Walters - Heffner Motors - Accu-Temp Cooling & Heating - Gross-Klein Investments Limited Mr. Helmut Oberlaender - Ontario Drive & Gear - Remax Twin City Realty, Inc. - George and Gerti Rendas Henry Walser Funeral Home Ltd. - Walters, Gubler Law Office - Matthias Muller
14
Concordia Chöre
Einige Monate zurück, haben wir ein Paar
neue Chormitglieder bekommen. Ich habe
sie noch nicht vorgestellt.
Im Alto Abschnitt haben wir Helga Springer. In der Bass-Sektion haben wir den
begeisterten Greg Will. Ich werde noch
etwas mehr naechste Woche schreiben.
Am 16. November sangen wir zum deutschen Volkstrauertag am Woodland Cemetery.
Hier ein wenig über die Geschichte der
deutschen Soldaten die im Woodland
Friedhof begraben sind, mit Dank an
www.kitchenercemeteries.ca:
187 Kriegsgefangene (POW) und andere
Mitarbeiter starben während ihrer Gefangenschaft in kanadischen Lagern während
des ersten und zweiten Weltkriegs. Ihre
Leichen wurden exhumiert und verlegt, so
dass die Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge angemessen an einem Ort für sie sorgen konnte.
Viele der Kriegsgefangenen waren Angehörige der Marine auf U-Booten oder Zerstörern und Deutsche Luftlandetruppen die in
Dünkirchen im Jahre 1940 gefangen genom-
men wurden. Andere waren aus Bayern und
Österreich die an den Norwegen Operationen teilgenommen hatten.
Nach der Überprüfung zahlreicher kanadischen Städte, entschied sich die Deutsche
Kriegsgräberfürsorge für Kitchener; eine
Entscheidung, die auf der Grundlage unserer Ethnik und Geographie gemacht wurde.
Zwischen 1961 und 1970 wurde die Schaffung dieses Abschnitts des Waldfriedhofes
von der deutschen Kriegsgräberfürsorge
durchgeführt. Er wird nun von Kitchener
Cemeteries gepflegt.
Der Deutsche Kriegsgräberdienst Service
findet am dritten Sonntag im November
statt.
Weihnachten ist bald hier, also:
Einige Daten:
November 29: singen mit Millennium
Choirs, Benton Street Baptist Church.
December 6: Christkindlmarkt, 6:00pm
December 14: Christmas Concert, 7:30pm,
Probe 2pm.
December 15: Christmas Dinner, Concordia
Club
Lied hoch, Andre Schilha
CONCORDIA CHOIRS
A number of months back, we had a few
new choir members join and I haven’t formally introduced them yet. In the Alto section we have Helga Springer. In the Bass
section we have the enthusiastic Greg Will.
I will write some more history about them
in the next issue.
November 16 we sang at Woodland Cemetery in Kitchener for Volkstrauertag.
Some history of the German War Graves at
Woodland, with thanks to www.kitchenercemeteries.ca:
15
Woodland Cemetery is home to the graves of
187 prisoners of war and other personnel,
who died while detained in Canadian prisoner of war (POW) camps during the First
and Second World Wars. Their bodies were
exhumed and relocated so that the German
War Graves Commission could provide
more appropriate care for them and to have
them all in one location.
Between 1961 and 1970, the creation of this
section of Woodland Cemetery was undertaken by the German War Graves Commission. It is now maintained by Kitchener
Cemeteries.
The German War Graves service is hosted
on the third Sunday of each November at
Woodland Cemetery.
Christmas is soon upon us, thus:
Many of the POWs were Navy personnel
from submarines, destroyers and German
airborne troops captured at Dunkirk in
1940. Others were from Bavaria and Austria
who had taken part in the Norway operations.
After reviewing numerous Canadian cities,
the German War Graves Commission chose
Kitchener; a decision that was made based
on our ethnics and geography.
Here are some upcoming dates:
November 29, singing with Millennium
Choirs, Benton Street Baptist Church.
December 6, Christkindlmarkt, 6:00pm
December 14, Christmas Concert, 7:30pm,
rehearsal 2pm.
December 15, Christmas Dinner, Concordia
Club
Yours in song, Andre Schilha
YOUR COMFORT
IN RETIREMENT
483 and 507 OTTAWA STREET SOUTH, KITCHENER, ONTARIO
Mailing Address: 483 Ottawa Street S., Kitchener, Ontario N2M 5H1
Tel. (519) 745-1200 • Fax (519) 745-0467
Attraktive
1-SchlafzimmerWohnungen
in gewohnter
heimischer
Atmosphäre
Call the office for
information
16
Wichtige Veranstaltungen
Important Events
PREVIEW - DECEMBER 2014/JANUARY 2015
2. Dec.
Seniors Christmas Party
Main Hall
14. Dec.
Weihnachtskonzert
der Concordia Chöre, Halle, 19:30 Uhr
31. Dec.
Silvester Party
ab 18:00 Uhr, Schenke
December 24., 25., 26. 2014,
and January 1. 2015: Club closed
17. Jan.
Kameradschaftsabend
Jagd- und Fischverein (Hubertushaus)
Bitte reservieren Sie ihren Tisch und besorgen Sie die Eintrittskarten zu den Veranstaltungen rechtzeitig.
17
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AUDIT • TAX • ADVISORY
Barristers & Solicitors,
Notaries Public
Suite 604, 30 Duke Street, W.
Kitchener, Ontario N2H 3W5
Tel: 578-8010 Fax: 578-9395
e-mail: [email protected]
M.M.President’s
Walters, Q.C.
(1921-1997)
Report
Adolf Gubler, M.A., LL.B.
A r e a s o f Pra c t i c e I n c l u d e :
Powers of Attorney
Wills and Trusts
Estate Planning and Administration
Real Estate and Mortgages
Corporate Law
Business and Commercial Law
Weekend and Evening Appointments Available
English and German Spoken
Enzian Schuhplattler
2014 proved again to be a very busy and
successful year for our Enzian Schuhplattlers with many performances/events such
as, Trachtenfests, Bockbierfests, multi-cultural events, Oktoberfest events, Stifftungsfest, Mardis Gras Opening, etc.
The past few months have been an exceptionally busy Oktoberfest season, with several pre- and post-Oktoberfest events/performances scheduled each weekend from
September 14 to mid-November. We performed at Oktoberfest events at Hansa Haus
in Brampton, Steamwhistle Brewery in
Toronto, Exeter, Wingham, Mill Street
Brewery in Toronto, Oakville Sports Club,
Sunnyside Retirement home, and of course
our 10 day KW Oktoberfest commitment at
the many local fest halls. We also took part
in the “So You Think You Can Tanz” event
at the Alpine Club during the week of
Oktoberfest and were named the winners
for 2014. In addition to bringing home the
trophy, which we proudly display in the
Club Main Hall foyer, and the excitement it
brings to the group, we are also selected to
dance for the 2015 Oktoberfest Opening
Ceremonies next year. Regardless of the outcome, we had a fun time participating. It’s
great to have all the groups together to
watch and showcase each other’s dances as
we all become so caught up with our
Oktoberfest dancing commitments that we
don’t have time to socialize and support
each other’s dancing during this busy time.
In addition to this friendly competition, one
of our dancers and a former Miss Concordia,
20
Denise Brown, was one of the lucky finalists
in the Miss Oktoberfest Pageant and ended
as runner up. We are so very proud of
Denise; she’s a winner to us and represented
our group and the Club well. Congratulations Denise!
During all our commitments, we maintained
our weekly practices to continuously learn
new dances to add to our repertoire, ran a
successful Hau den Lukas booth during
Oktoberfest, and recruited new dancers who
all learned quickly and performed extremely well together during this past season.
We also welcome a new dance group member born on October 31,
2014; Chloe Faith Hutson.
Congratulations to Tara
and Darren Hutson on the
new addition to their family. Tara was a trouper
and still danced and
helped keep the group in
order during Oktoberfest;
just a couple weeks before
Chloe’s arrival!
Practice continued in
November/December but
we look forward to our
Enzian Holiday Potluck
party in December at one
of our group member’s
21
house, the holidays with our family, and the
well-deserved break until the New Year. The
New Year brings many more fun-filled
events, as well as our preparation for
Gaufest 2015 in Milwaukee.
Leanne Artinger-Kukla
Concordia Enzian Schuhplattler Verein
President
Tischtennis Gruppe
Liebe Tischtennis Freunde,
Unser Kassenwart Hans Malthaner hat berichtet, dass das Oktoberfest fuer unsere
Gruppe aehnlich erfolgreich war, wie schon
in den letzten drei Jahren. Wir hoerten, dass
das Gesamtergebnis unseres Clubs ebenfalls
zufriedenstellend ausgefallen ist. Allen
Gruppenmitgliedern noch einmal ein herzliches „Dankeschoen“ fuer ihren Arbeitseinsatz waehrend des Oktoberfestes.
Am 20. November findet unsere Jahreshauptversammlung in der Jaegerstube statt.
Zurzeit dieses Berichtes kann ich leider
noch keine Angaben ueber den Verlauf geben. Das werde ich aber im naechsten Nachrichtenblatt nachholen.
Wahlen:
Da die Amtszeiten des amtierenden Praesidenten, des Kassierers und des Schriftfuehrers nach zwei Jahren turnusmaessig zu
Ende gingen, stand eine Neuwahl auf der
Tagesordnung. Der Posten des Vice-Praesidenten stand nicht zur Wahl, da Arne Michalski noch ein weiteres Jahr zu „dienen“
hat.
Wie oben erwaehnt, kann ich den Ausgang
der Wahlen erst im Dezember-Nachrichtenblatt bekannt geben.
Rueckblick auf den „Tag der deutschen
Pioniere“ am 14. Oktober im Rathaus:
In diesem Jahr ehrte das Komitee die
schweizer Mennonitenfamilie von Peter
und Anna Martin und unseren Concordia
Club. 1873 von einem Maennerchor gegruendet, wurde der Concordia Club wegen
seiner Bemuehungen zur Entwicklung des
oeffentlichen Lebens, zum Erhalt der deut-
schen Sprache, Sitten und Traditionen und
fuer seine Beitraege zur wirtschaftlichen
Entwicklung in unserer Region gewuerdigt.
In der Festzeitschrift war nachzulesen, wie
sich unser Klub ueber die zurueckliegenden
141 Jahre entwickelte, welche Klubmitglieder das politische und oeffentliche Leben in und um Kitchener mitgestaltet haben
und fuer welche Untergruppen der Concordia Club ein Zuhause darstellt. Obwohl unsere Tischtennis-Gruppe auch schon seit 63
Jahren besteht und leider keiner der
Gruendungsmitglieder mehr bei uns ist,
musste verwundert festgestellt werden, dass
in der ausfuehrlichen Aufzaehlung aller
Untergruppen des Klubs unsere Tischtennisgruppe nicht erwaehnt wurde. Sicherlich
war das nur ein bedauerliches Versehen.
Vorschau auf unsere Weihnachtsfeier
Traditionell findet am ersten Samstag im
Dezember, diesmal also am 6. Dezember,
unsere Weihnachtsfeier in der Jaegerstube
statt. Wie in den Jahren zuvor, bitten wir
auch in diesem Jahr um eine Spende fuer
die „Food Bank“ im Werte von ca. $10.00
oder auch darueber.
Unsere Feier beginnt um 18:00 Uhr mit
einer Cocktailstunde und freier Getraenkewahl. Nach 19:00 Uhr kostet jedes Getraenk
$2.00.
Ehe wir es merken, steht Weihnachten vor
der Tuer. Daher moechte ich allen Klubmitgliedern ein frohes Weihnachtsfest und
ein glueckliches und gesundes Jahr 2015
wuenschen.
TABLE TENNIS GROUP
Dear Friends,
The Oktoberfest is now behind us and,
according to our treasurer Hans Malthaner,
was very successful as in the three past
22
years. We hope that the same is also true for
the Concordia Club as a whole. A sincere
„Thank You“ to all group members who
helped make this year’s Oktoberfest a success.
Our group‘s Annual General Meeting (AGM)
was scheduled for November 20. Unfortunately, at present time when writing this, I
am unable to report on the outcome of the
meeting.
Elections:
Since the current President’s 2-year term
had come to an end, as well as the terms of
the treasurer and the secretary, three new
board members needed to be elected. Arne
Michalski, our vice-president, has to volunteer his services for another year.
As mentioned above I am unable to report
on the new board members at present time.
I will certainly do that in our January 2015
bulletin.
In retrospect of the German Pioneers Day
on October 14, 2014:
As you could read in the press release, this
year the German Pioneers Day committee
honoured the Swiss Mennonite family of
Peter and Anna Martin and the Concordia
Club. Our Club, founded in 1873 by men’s
choir, has significantly shaped the development of our region through the achievements of its leading personalities in industry and public life and in the preservation of
the German language, custom and traditions.
It was nice to read what our Concordia Club
has to offer and in how many subgroups our
members are actively organized. Surprisingly, and despite the fact that our table tennis
group is already 63 years old and certainly
not the smallest of our subgroups, we were
23
not mentioned among them. Surly an unintentional mistake.
Preview:
Traditionally, our Christmas Party happens
on the first Saturday of December. This year
that day falls on December 6. As usual, our
party will take place in the Jaegerstube.
Please bring a donation to the local food
bank in the value of $10.00 or more. Our
party begins at 6:00 pm with complimentary beverages. After that drinks will cost
$2.00.
Before we know it Christmas will be here.
Please let me wish each and every one of
you a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy
New Year.
„Tschuess“ and until next time,
Eckhard Michalski
Campers
Greetings!
There’s not much to report from the
Campers, but I would like to thank everyone
that helped out at the games booth at
Oktoberfest. Without volunteers, we would
not have the booth!!!
A little tease for everyone, mark April 26th
on your calendar, it’s Farm Cleanup for
2015, all Club Members are welcome to participate!!
Best wishes to everyone for a
Merry Christmas, and a Healthy,
Prosperous New Year!
Submitted by Bruce Emmerson
On behalf of the Campers Committee
Senioren-Gruppe
Die Wunschzettel sind schon geschrieben,
Lichterglanz in jedem Raum.
Kinderherzen höher schlagen,
bei Spielzeug unterm Weihnachtsbaum.
Unser Weinachtsessen findet am 10 Dezember, 2014 um 4:30 Uhr in der Jaegerstube
statt. Wie jedes Jahr wird es ein schöner
Abend werden.
Die Senioren Gruppe wünscht
Lucie Neuhof 13.12
Fritz Richter
29.12
alles Gute zum Geburtstag und vor allem
Gesundheit. Ich wünsche allen Mitgliedern
der Seniorengruppe frohe Weihnachten und
ein glückliches neues Jahr.
Senioren sind immer herzlich willkommen
in unserer Gruppe, nächster Usmane Hefen
findet am 7. Januar 2015 um 14:30 in der
Jaegerstube .
Rotrud Schaar
Concordia Tennisgruppe
Unsere Gruppe hatte ein erfolgreiches Oktoberfest. Ein grosses Dankeschön an alle, die
so fleissig in der Bude arbeiteten. Auch vielen Dank an dejenigen die bei dem Aufbau
und Abbau der Bude halfen.
Zur Zeit meines Schreibens freuen wir uns
noch auf unsere Weihnachtsfeier, sowie unsere Jahreshaupversammlung mit Wahlen.
Ich werde im nächsten Nachrichtenblatt
darüber berichten.
Unsere Treffen für das Jahr 2015 finden am
14. Januar, 11. März, 13. Mai, 8. Juli, 9.
September und 11. November mit Wahlen
statt. Bitte schreibt diese Daten in eure
Kalender. Ich werde jedoch wie immer eine
Erinnerungsemail ausschicken.
Ich wünsche allen ein frohes, gesegnetes
Weihnachten und ein gesundes,
glückliches neues Jahr.
Maria Grupp
CONCORDIA TENNIS GROUP
Our group had a very successful Oktoberfest. A very big thank you to all of you who
worked so diligently in the booth and also
thanks to those that helped set up and take
down the booth.
At the time of my writing, we are still looking forward to our Christmas dinner as well
as to our annual meeting with elections. I
will report on those in the next bulletin.
Here are the dates for our social get-togethers for the year 2015. January 14, March 11,
May 13, July 8, September 9, and November
11 with elections. Please mark these on your
calendars and plan to attend. I will send out
an email reminder.
I wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and
a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.
Maria Grupp
24
Treffpunkt
Autumn is a wonderful time to watch the
leaves fall to the ground and get outside and
enjoy the beauty of our ever changing climate. Hopefully everyone was able to enjoy
a little bit of fall in between preparing and
celebrating Oktoberfest. Our group members
worked hard to get our dunk tank up and
running and everyone worked together to
make this years Oktoberfest another great
success. There were a few glitches but in the
end it all worked out.
Later in the month we came together to celebrate Thanksgiving with a delicious potluck including a great big turkey and all the
trimmings. Everyone pitched in to either
make food or help clean up. Thank you to
Diane and Andrew Hatchwell for hosting
this event once again.
The Club’s annual Stiftungsfest took place
in November with a fantastic turn out once
again. It was wonderful to see so many club
members from various groups come out to
celebrate the club’s 141st birthday. The
band for the evening was the fantastic Golden Keys. Thank you to our member Andre
Schilha for hosting the evenings event.
As always we continue to donate blood. If
you can donate, please do. Our partners in
life number is CONC010846. ‘till next time
Ladies Group
Well our Christmas Bazaar and Children
Christmas Party is over and I am sure it was
a great success. Our Ladies Christmas Party
is on Wednesday, 3. December at 5:30 pm
and I know we will all have a great time.
The Ladies Group Committee would like to
25
wish it's members, members of the Concordia Club and the Board of Directors a Merry
Christmas and a happy and safe New Year.
Elisabeth
Boce Gruppe
Wieder mal ist eine Bocce Saison vorrueber.
Am 29. Oktober kamen die 40 Spieler zum
"Ende der Bocce Saison Essen" im Concordia Club zusammen. Es war ein unterhaltsamer Abend. Ich stellte unser Koenigliches
Bocce Paar vor, und ueberreichte einen
Preis an Bocce Koenigin Waltraud Krause
(1,1 Bocce pro Spiel) und Bocce Koenig
Stefan Domici (0,846 Bocce pro Spiel). Nun
warten wir auf naechstes Jahr um wieder zu
spielen und zusammen sein zu koennen.
Frohe Weihnachten und Guten Rutsch ins
Neue Jahr,
Eure Heidi Nowak
BOCE GROUP
Another Bocce season has come to an end.
On October 29th, all 40 Bocce players attended the “End of Bocce Season Dinner” at the
Concordia Club. It was an entertaining evening. I announced our royal Bocce pair, and
gave a prize to Bocce Queen Waltraud Krause (1,1 Bocce per game) and Bocce King Stefan Domici (0,846 Bocce per game). Now we
eagerly await the start of next season, to
play and get together again.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,
your
Heidi Nowak
Skat-Gruppe
Concordia Garden Group
Liebe Freunde,
Oktoberfest ist wieder einmal vorbei, wir
hatten viel Spaß und Erfolg mit unserer
Minigolf Bude.
Unsere Präsidentin Rita Allmendinger wurde beim diesjährigen Stiftungsfest zusammen mit Heidi Novak zum Ehrenmitglied
ernannt. Herzlichen Glückwunsch von der
gesamten Skat Gruppe.
Wichtige kommende Daten:
7. Dezember: Weihnachtsfeier um 17 Uhr
9. und 16. Dezember spielen wir um
unseren alljährlichen Silvesterpokal
17 Januar 2015: Jahresversammlung
Wir wünschen allen eine schöne
Vorweihnachtszeit
Gut Blatt
Marcus Kallweit, Schriftfuehrer
During the month of November, the garden
Group met at the Schenke for an informal
get together and also Edith phoned us about
a presentation at Sheridan Nurseries on
Container Gardens, November 20th.
We will have our General Meeting and
Christmas Social at the Club on Wednesday,
December 10th at 7:00
European Vision
pm – room to be
of Fashion
announced or ask the
• CUSTOM MADE DRESSES
door person outside
• WEDDING GOWNS
CASUAL WEAR
the Schenke entrance.
• ALTERATIONS
Come out for a visit
Marzanna
for the Christmas seaCalujek
Master Dressmaker
son.
Designer
All the best for the
80 Wellington St. N.
Kitchener, Ontario
season.
Bus: (519) 571-9169
(Corner
of Waterloo Street
Mary Stammwitz
& Wellington Street)
SKAT GROUP
Dear Friends
Oktoberfest has passed once again and we
had a lot of fun and success with our
Minigolf.
During this year’s Stiftungsfest, it was
announced, that our President Rita Allmendinger, together with Heidi Novak, will become Honorary Members of the Concordia
Club. Congratulations from the entire Skat
Group.
Important upcoming dates:
December 7th: Christmas Party starting at
5:00 PM
December 9th and 16th: Silvester Pokal
January 17th 2015: Annual Meeting
We wish you a joyful pre-christmas season
Gut Blatt
Marcus Kallweit, Secretary
26
Concordia Club
130 JAHRE
130 YEARS
A
DI
OR
NC
CO
18
7 3 - 2003
Miss Concordia 2014
Wieder ist es Zeit um unsere jungen Damen vom Concordia Klub
aufzufordern, sich für die “Miss Concordia”-Wahl zu bewerben
Die Bewerbungs-Unterlagen sind im Klubbüro erhältlich und sollen
auch dort wieder abgegeben werden.
Bei den Bewerbungen ist folgendes zu beachten:
 Bewerberin muss für ein Jahr Mitglied im Concordia Klub
sein
 Bewerberin darf nicht verheiratet oder geschieden sein
 Bewerberin muss 18 Jahre oder älter sein und möglichst die
deutsche Sprache sprechen.
 Miss Concordia 2013 sollte bei Klub- sowie öffentlichen
Veranstaltungen den Concordia Klub repräsentieren.
Mit dem Anmeldeformular sollte ein Passbild sowie eine kurze
Erklärung mit dem Thema: “Warum ich Miss Concordia werden
möchte” abgegeben werden,
Die Bewerberinnen werden zu einen Treffen eingeladen um die
Details auszuarbeiten.
Für mehr Informationen wenden Sie sich bitte an das VergnügungsKommitee.
It’s time once again to choose a young lady to be our Miss Concordia.
If you feel you could represent the Concordia Club, we ask that you
fill out the application form and forward it to the Club office.
Please be advised of the following:
 Applicant must have been a member of the Concordia Club
for at least 1 year.
 Applicant may not be married or divorced.
 Applicant must be 18 years of age or older and if possible
speak the German language.
 Miss Concordia 2014 should be at club functions as well as
other functions throughout the year to represent the club.
 A short statement should be attached to this application
"Why I want to become Miss Concordia".
With the Application there should also be a short essay answering
the question
“Why I want to be Miss Concordia” as well as a passport picture.
Applicants will be invited for a meeting to work out all the details
If you would like more information, please contact the Entertainment
Committee.
Name ______________________________________
Tel. ______________________________________
Strasse/Street ________________________________
Ort/City __________________________________
Province/Postal Code ________________________
Geburtsdatum/Date of Birth: __________________
Schule/School ____________________________
Klasse/Class ________________________________
Beruf/Occupation __________________________
Alter/Age ______________
Hobbies: ________________________________________________________
Unterschrift/Signature: ______________________________________________________________________
Why I want to be Miss Concordia
27
(please use an additional sheet if required)
German Heritage Letters bv Eckhard Michalski
„Am 9ten November veranstalteten wir in unserer Schenke einen Informationsnachmittag mit kleiner
Gedenkfeier zum 25ten Jahrestages des Falls der Berliner Mauer. In Wortbeitraegen, kleinen Videofilmen und
Berichten von Zeitzeugen riefen wir die Ereignisse aus dem Jahre 1989 bei Kaffee und Kuchen in unsere
Erinnerung zurueck.
Dieses Datum ist jedoch nicht zu verwechseln mit dem 9ten November 1938, der „Reichs-kristallnacht“. Ein
dunkles Kapitel unserer deutschen Geschichte, als in ganz Deutschland Synagogen zerstoert wurden und
unsaegliches Leid ueber die deutschen Mitbuerger juedischen Glaubens hereinbrach.
Der Fall der Berliner Mauer dagegen war und ist ein denkwuerdiges Ereignis, auf das wir stolz sein koennen;
ein Meilenstein in unserer juengeren deutschen Geschichte. Nur durch die friedlichen „Montags“Demonstrationen unserer ostdeutschen Landsleute war es moeglich, die Teilung, nicht nur Berlins, sondern
ganz Deutschlands zu ueberwinden. Dies fuehrte letztendlich zum Ende des kalten Krieges zwischen den
Supermaechten.“
In commemoration of
November 9th, 1989
History of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed
by East Germany, the German Democratic
Republic (GDR), starting on 13. August 1961
that totally encircled West Berlin. This concrete wall included guard towers and a wide
area known as the “death strip”. The
Eastern Bloc claimed that the Wall was
erected to protect its population from fascist
elements. In fact, the Berlin Wall served to
prevent the massive emigration and defection of the East German people to West
Germany. For the next three decades, the
city became the hot end of the Cold War as
the world’s nuclear superpowers USA and
USSR faced off across the Wall.
During this period, around 5,000 people
attempted to escape over the “Iron Curtain”,
with an estimated death toll of over 100 in
and around Berlin. Peter Fechter’s name
28
comes into mind because he was the first
who was shot to death at the Berlin Wall.
In 1989, a series of radical political changes
occurred in the Eastern Bloc, associated
with the liberalization of the Eastern Bloc’s
authoritarian system and the erosion of
political power in Poland and Hungary. On
November 9th, after several weeks of civil
unrest, the East German government
announced that GDR citizens could visit
West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of
East Germans crossed and climbed onto the
Wall, joined by West Germans on the other
side in a celebratory atmosphere.
This event 25 years ago was initiated by the
overwhelming will of the East German people and was completed by political means
without bloodshed; a milestone in recent
German history. In hindsight, however, history might have broken another way.
Gorbachev’s reforms in the then USSR
might have delivered a Chinese future, with
Berlin in November 1989 the shaming,
blood-stained site of its Tiananmen Square.
But it did not happen thanks to the peaceful
movement of the East German people and
29
one man in charge of the border crossing at
Bornholmer Strasse. Jaeger, the East German
lieutenant-colonel as the chief passport official, unilaterally decided to open the crossing to the milling crowds of protesters just
before 11.30 pm. After a long evening of
dithering and insults from his superiors,
Jaeger made a conscientious decision. He
rang them to say: “I am going to end all controls and let the people out”. The Wall’s
opening was not a gift from political elites.
It resulted from a remarkable constellation
of actors and contingent events.Who ended
the Cold War? Forget Thatcher, Reagan and
Gorbachev. The East German people and a
single man, Harald Jaeger, wrote history in
that night. The deadly border was peacefully opened by East Germans. This event basically
ended
the
Cold
War.
Willy Brandt, former mayor of West Berlin
and past chancellor of West Germany:
“Jetzt kann zusammenwachsen,
was zusammen gehoert.”
“Now comes together what belongs
together”.
German Heritage Letters
Part 1
E. Michalski
ney through Germany, exploring the country’s
traditions and customs from the Danish border
in the North to Bavaria in the South.
INTRODUCTION:
3.0 Germany’s history and geography
1.0 Our 5 German Clubs are dedicated to the
preservation of German culture, language,
customs and traditions.
In contrast with the widely instinctive
view of Germany as a stable, tenacious nation
with a long history, the land of Martin Luther,
Beethoven, Goethe and Schiller is actually a
young country. It was born out of the unification of a myriad of princedoms and small
states that shared a common linguistic and
cultural heritage with traditions, folklore festivals and collective and individual memories.
According to the organizational Policy
Framework (Club’s BY-LAW) the Club committees under the German Heritage portfolio
are committed to ensure and maintain that the
foundation of our culture and traditions
remain faithful to its vision of preserving the
unique German Heritage.
These committees will continue and
intensify their interaction in terms of ideas,
coordination and communication. Our mandate encompasses such things as developing
strategies for involving diversified German traditions, culture, language, customs, geography
and history to enhance the character of the
German cultural Club events.
2.0 Objectives and activities
This obligation in mind the German
Heritage Letters will be edited as monthly articles in the Club’s Nachrichtenblatt. Instead of
describing a German tradition or custom as a
sole and separate subject, we created a new
concept by explaining the German Heritage in
context with the diverse regions, the people
who live in this region, their customs,
Trachten, dialects and traditions. The idea is
to present a monthly succession of an informative but also amusing cocktail, mixed with
ingredients of tradition, custom and dialects
of the specific area and the different mentality
of its people.
This plan can be ideally achieved by
inviting our readers to join us on a fictive jour-
It did not become unified until 1871. The
German nation was created, much like a mosaic, from a few important states and dozens of
minor ones, all connected to some degree by
their shared language, culture and art.
The philosopher Karl Jaspers (1883-1969)
described the German’s situation as follows:
“We are not German because of a state. Our
political history has no unity. The vast area
known as Germany which existed for a thousand years was never a political entity. It was
the destiny of France and England to create
viable national states. Germany tried to imitate
them with the Bismarck state, and this attempt
was in vain.”
Germany was split in two nations again
from 1945 to 1989. The consequences of the
Second World War resulted in the division of
Germany. For more than four decades there
were two Germanys – East and West – which
developed in quite different ways because of
their dissimilar political systems. Only after
the historic events of November 9th, 1989,
with the fall of the Berlin Wall, were most citizens from East and West Germany able to get
acquainted with the other half of the country.
30
Germany has remained beautiful, in spite
of its tragic history. An immeasurable part of
this country, from the exteriors of buildings to
the inner reaches of human hearts, lay devastated in 1945. But Germany has been rebuilt.
The German Reunification Treaty set out the
3rd. of October as the official Tag der Deutschen Einheit (Day of German Unity) to commemorate German reunification after the fall
of the Berlin Wall in 1989. This event, 25 years
ago, was initiated by the overwhelming will of
the East German people and was completed
peacefully by political means, a milestone in
Germany’s recent history.
A new, humane order governs the society
of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Map of Germany
German Heritage Letters, Part 2,
E. Michalski
Following our introduction the first stage of
our journey through Germany leads us
through Schleswig-Holstein, the most
northerly province or “Bundesland”:
Openness – this is the characteristic impression of the landscape of Schleswig-Holstein.
A visitor from the south is at first likely to
miss the usual topographical reference
points found elsewhere. Instead, one
encounters vast lowlands extending to the
horizon. A common view of the beaches is
the “Sand Castles” around the typical
“Wicker Beach Chairs”, the dikes along the
shoreline, the impressive farm houses
(Haubarge) and the green meadows with
black and white Holstein cows. The rather
harsh climate and the constant battle with
the elements continue to have a significant
influence on the personality of the people in
this region. Stubbornness and steadfastness
of past generations distinguish the North
German mentality, evidenced by the sober
and calm demeanour of its coastal inhabitants. Guest to the area should know:
“Moin” is just another way to say “hello”. If
someone greets you with: “Moin, Moin” you
can be sure you met him in a good and talkative mood.
The ancient Roman historian Tacitus characterized the Frisian mentality as follows:
“Frisia non cantat”, meaning: “There is no
singing in Frisia”. His judgement has been
disproved many times. But if one takes it as
but another way to describe the reserved
behavior of the people, then it retained a
kernel of truth. It is simply that the folksongs of the lowlands in its Low German
language sound a bit more melancholic and
heavy-going than the cheerful tunes of
31
South Germany and the Alpine countries.
Theodor Storm’s famous novel “Der
Schimmelreiter”, (“The rider on the white
horse”) aptly captures the spirit of the people battling the elements in this –
Germany’s most northerly province.
The traditional folk festival along the North
Sea shoreline is called “Biikebrennen”,
meaning “beacon or fire sign”, which is celebrated on the eve of the 21st. February. The
“Biikebrennen” partly replaces the otherwise widespread Easter fire. The origin of
the festival is unclear. In the Middle Ages
the fire was probably meant to protect
against and drive away evil spirits. Later,
the Bonfires along the beaches on the
Eiderstedt Peninsula were lit by the women
wishing their leaving fishermen and whale
hunters a farewell for a long time safe passage. Legend has it that this was also a signal to the Danish men on the mainland letting them know that the island women were
alone again on the farm and required help
with the farm work and “other things”.
The harsh living conditions of the Frisian
people in former days, and their strict affiliation to the Lutheran religious teachings, as
evidenced by their rather plain churches
and their Frisian Tracht, still allowed them
some means of enjoyment; for example the
creation of the famous drink “Pharisaeer “
or “Pharisees Coffee”.
ple became obvious, the good man got suspicious of what was going on behind his
back and cried out: “Ihr Pharisaeer” or “You
Pharisees”, referring to the sect which heckled Jesus in the Temple.
On our way south to Hamburg, the destination of our next article, we visit the
medieval city of Luebeck with its famous
city gate – the “Holstentor”-. Luebeck was
once the leading member of the powerful
Hanseatic League during the Middle Ages,
and is nowadays known worldwide for its
famous “Luebecker Marzipan”. Marzipan
was invented in this city centuries ago.
The Frisian traditional costume or
“Tracht”:
St. Magnus on Eiderstedt Peninsula
The churches were built to brave the rough
and stormy weather and protect people
against the floods.
This drink was invented for the christening
of a baby girl in 1872. The pastor was very
strict and always berating his flock for godless drinking. In order to avoid his wrath,
the congregation secretly served a drink
made with rum and coffee. The whipped
cream on top kept the rum aroma from wafting through the air and upsetting the pastor,
who received plain coffee. However, at
some point when the good mood of the peo-
32
Welcome to. . .
The Schenke
Open 6 days a week
CONCORDIA DAILY FEATURES
TUESDAY through FRIDAY
THURSDAY EVENING:
WEEKLY LUNCHEON
SPECIALS
CHEF’S NIGHT
SPECIAL
or
SOUP SANDWICH
COMBO
TUESDAYS:
BUY ONE, GET ONE
FOR 1/2 PRICE
purchase one entree and get the second
of equal or lesser value at half price!!
2 Wiener Schnitzel Dinners with
Potatoes and Vegetables
only
$18.99
FRIDAY EVENING:
FRIDAY NIGHT
BUFFET
all your favorites and much more
only
$16.45
WEDNESDAY:
SATURDAY EVENING:
BAVARIAN BUFFET
Lunch: $11.95
Dinner: $14.95
DINE & DANCE
Live Entertainment
All prices plus applicable taxes Gratuity not included
Certain exclusions/conditions exist as of August 2008
Regular Menu & reasonable prices
SUNDAY:
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BRUNCH $18.99
Reservations are recommended
33
Concordia Club Board of Directors 2014/2015
President:
1st Vice President:
2nd Vice President:
Rob Kerr
Michael Brasch
Alex Thoene
Entertainment
Sarah Fretz
Michelle Zimmer
Alexandria Thoene
1st Secretary:
2nd Secretary:
Sarah Fretz
Elaine Keller
Farm Committee
1st Treasurer:
2nd Treasurer:
Ali Nowak
Peter Bergen
Peter Bergen
Michelle Zimmer
Ronny Horvath
Finance Committee
Directors:
Ronny Horvath
Rolf Malthaner
Helmut Kruschat
Michelle Zimmer
Marcus Kallweit
Martin Patzold
Ali Nowak
Peter Bergen
Rob Kerr
Sarah Fretz
Float Committee
Ronny Horvath
German Culture
Marcus Kallweit
Honorary Member
Martin Patzold
Ali Nowak
Rob Kerr
Long Range Planning
Ali Nowak
Marcus Kallweit
Rolf Malthaner
Rob Kerr
Membership
Michelle Zimmer
Miss Concordia
Alexandria Thoene
Nominations and
Bylaws
Karl Braun
Rob Kerr
Sarah Fretz
Oktoberfest Chair
Mike Brasch
Rolf Malthaner
Oktoberfest Inc.
Ali Nowak
Michelle Zimmer
Rolf Malthaner
Sales and Marketing
Ronny Horvath
Rolf Malthaner
Marcus Kallweit
Security
Rob Kerr
Alex Thoene
Manager
Committee Members
Arbeitsgemeinschaft
Ruth Rajna
Rob Kerr
Mike Brasch
Archives
Alexandria Thoene
Bulletin
Martin Patzold
Sarah Fretz
Christkindlmarket
Peter Bergen
Ronny Horvath
Elaine Keller
Martin Patzold
Club Buildings
Mike Brasch
Helmut Kruschat
Club Historian
Leo Tukums
Club Ombudsman
Harald Schwegel
Club Rental Properties
Ronny Horvath
Helmut Kruschat
Concordia Seniorenhaus
Rob Kerr
Mike Brasch
Economic Affairs
Ali Novak
Rob Kerr
Peter Bergen
Employee Liaison
Ali Nowak
35