February 2012 Volume 7, Number 2
Vorstand
(Board of Officers)
President: Eberhart Moese (830-632-9634)
1st Vice President: Ron Evans ((830-626-8157)
2nd Vice-President: Bill Mikeska (830-632-5379)
Secretary: Helen Moese (830-632-9634)
Treasurer: Almut Wetzig (830-608-0171)
Publicity: Tom Stapleton (830-609-8129)
Entertainment: Mary Irwin (830-620-0369)
Publications: John B. Coers (830-899-2514)
Inhalt
(Contents)
Page 1. Ein Wort vom President/A Word from the President
Page 2. New Storage Facility; Election of New Officers; Membership Dues; Chairpersons Needed
Page 3. Maskenball; Spaßzeit für Alle; Mitglieder Nachrichten: Ruhe in Frieden; New Members; Herzlichen
Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag; American Music Month
Page 4. Adult German Language Classes: The Steuben Society; Schedule of 2012 Events; Nachsatz
Ein Wort vom President
Willkommen zu einem neuen Jahr in der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Vereinigung. Ich moechte mich bei allen Mitgliedern fuer das Vertrauen bedanken dass ihr mich als President gewaehlt habt. Ich werde mein Bestes tun um die Deutsche Kultur in New Braunfels zu erhalten und zu erweitern. Ich bitte um eure Hilfe in dieser Aufgabe, es ist schliesslich unser Club und unsere Geschichte um die es sich handelt.
Fuer unsere neuen Mitglieder die noch nicht zu unserem monatlichen Treffen gekommen sind. Wir treffen uns am ersten Dienstag des Monats im Elks Club in New Braunfels. Der Elks Club ist an der South Seguin Street 353 in New Braunfels. Wir treffen uns um 18:00 Uhr fuer Gespraeche auf Deutsch oder Englisch oder auch gemischt und ein kuehles Bier oder zwei. Um 19:00 Uhr haben wir unser Geschaeftstreffen wo wir ueber alte und neue geschaeftliche Sachen des Clubs sprechen. Nach einer kurzen Pause, um die Getraenke aufzufrischen, haben wir Unterhaltung wie Musik, Reisevortraege usw. Wir hoehren auch gerne von Mitgliedern die uns ihre Lebensgeschichte erzaehlen wollen. Wir hatten schon einige Berichte die alle interessant fanden. Ich hoffe dass eine ueberwiegende Mehrzahl der Mitglieder am 7. Februar zu unserem monatlichen Treffen kommt. Eberhart Moese.
A Word from the President
Welcome to a new year at the German-American Society. I would like to express a big Thank You! to all the members for the trust you showed in me to elect me as President. I will do my best to preserve and expand the German culture in New Braunfels. I will need your help in this task, after all it is our club and our history we are talking about.
For our new members who have not been to a meeting. We meet every first Tuesday of the month at the Elks Club in New Braunfels. The Elks Club is located at 353 South Seguin Street in New Braunfels. We meet at 6 PM for visiting and conversation in German or English or a mixture thereof and a cool beer or two. At 7 PM we have our business meeting where we discuss old and new club business. After a short break to refresh our drinks we always have a program of music, travel talks etc. We also like to hear from members who would like to share their life story with us. We have heard from members and are always amazed about their experiences. I hope to see a large number of members at our monthly meeting on the 7th of February. Eberhart Moese
New Storage Facilities
Eleven people showed up with pickups and a trailer at our old place and we had everything packed in less than 45 minutes. We caravanned to the new home for all our stuff and unloaded and presorted. In the days after that we purchased shelves which we will put together soon and purchased storage tubs to be able to label and keep everything in order. To keep Jake out of the mud, he knows what I am talking about, we spread rocks mixed with dirt around the front of the container, and that should make it more comfortable to get to our things if it rains. Thanks to everybody that came to help, it is great to work with a club where people always can be counted on to help. Photos will be on our web page. Eberhart Moese
Election of Officers
The new Board of Officers for 2012 were presented at the January meeting. They are:
L-R: John Coers, Publications; Helen Moese, Secretary; Almut Wetzig, Treasurer; Bill Mikeska, 2nd VP; Ron Evans 1st VP & President Elect; Eberhart Moese, President; Mary Irwin, Entertainment. Not Shown: Tom Stapleton, Publicity.
Membership Dues
Payable by 31 January
Thanks to all of you who have renewed your membership this month. We are off to a good start, so please help your Treasurer and get your dues paid. If you can’t be at our next meeting, mail to:
Almut Wetzig
125 Donald Ross Place
New Braunfels, TX 78130
$ 15.00 for single membership
$ 20.00 for couples
Chairpersons Needed
The German-American Society has several events throughout the year. The board of Officers, is present at each event, however we like to get involvement from the Members as well. To do this we ask members to Chair a specific event. The Chairperson is not responsible to do all of the work, but only to be the Head of the Coordination for the event. Board members will help the Chairperson and support them in any way possible. Below is a list of Events, some have Chairpersons and some need a Chairperson. If you would like to Chair any of these events please Ron Evans know.
þMaskenball : Helgard Suhr-Hollis & David Schoenvogel. (We need 6-8 people to help decorate for the Maskenball Saturday 25 Feb at 2:00 pm at the Elks Club.)
¨Wein & Saenger Fest: _______________
þMai Fest Picnic in Landa Park (GAS meeting & yearly picnic) Barry Irwin
¨4th of July Parade: __________________
¨Comal Country Fair Parade: _________
þWurstfest: Ron Evans. (Helgard Suhr-Hollis, Mary Irwin, & Bill Mikeska will do ordering for booth. Open for others who would like to help).
¨Wassailfest: _______________________
¨Christmas Party: ___________________
As you can see, several people have volunteered to Chair events, but we need 5 more members to serve in a Chair position Your involvement is the KEY to the success of the German-American Society. Ron Evans
25 February 2012
(Note date change!)
We cannot bring our own alcoholic beverages, BUT the Elks will have 2 bars open so no waiting for that beer or drink. While there will be no dinner, you are encouraged to bring your favorite snacks for your table. We look forward to seeing everyone there! Ron Evans
Spaßzeit für alle!
(Fun Time for All!)
January
Everyone took a quick trip to Germany at the January meeting, so if you weren't there, you missed it. Helgard Suhr-Hollis presented a DVD that was made by the local museum group in conjunction with the Partnership group between New Braunfels and Braunfels, Germany. The DVD was very well done, and introduced everyone to the close ties between the two cities. The DVD is available for purchase at the Sophienburg Museum for $5.
February
The February entertainment will be presented by Deputy Adam Pastrano from the Comal County Sheriff's office. He will be sharing tips on how senior citizens can prevent crime and how to keep from getting scammed...all good things for us to know. Don't miss this important information. Mary Irwin
Ruhe in Frieden
Rudy Seidel
Friend and fellow German American Society member, Rudy Seidel passed away Thursday 26 January 2012.
Rest in Peace
New Members
Herzlichstes Willkommen zu den neuesten Mitgliedern unserer Vereins! We welcome most heartily our newest members:
Bruno Schwab
Mary Ann Thompson
Michel Schadt
Charles & Sheri Wieters
Herzlichen Glückwunsch
zum Geburtstag
(Happy Birthday)
Andreas Lojewski 2/2
Diane Moltz 2/3
John Kasperbauer 2/4
Joyce Schaeler 2/5
Eberhart Moese 2/6
Jo Heideman 2/7
Wayne Austin 2/12
Ralf Mann 2/13
Edith Soechting 2/14
Irene Knoll 2/16
Darren McCarty 2/19
Alphons Nuhn 2/20
(Had a birthday and your name is not here? It may be you have not provided it to us!)
American Music Month
The Music Study Club will be hosting a special concert at the First Protestant Church's Schumann Hall for American Music Month on February 16th. This free concert will begin with pre-concert music by the Comal Community Band at 6:45pm, with the official program beginning at 7:00. In addition to the Comal Community Band, the Hill Country Chorus will also be entertaining us, along with a violin duo and a small jazz group. Put it on your calendar now so you don't miss this fun night. Mary Irwin
Adult German Language Classes
Our club is once again sponsoring German classes. This year, for the first time, we are having two classes – beginners and advanced which began on Thursday, January 5. The beginners’ class boasts 20 new students and the advanced class has 14 returning students and two new students for a total of 16. I sat in on both classes and was totally amazed at the amount of German learned by last year's students in Debbie Pickett's class. We are very fortunate to have Ms. Pickett teaching again this year. Her energy and bubbly personality make her very popular with the students.
We are very appreciative of Cross Lutheran's allowance in letting our society use their classroom for our classes for the second year. They ask for no payment, but we are very happy to give them a contribution to allay the costs of utilities. Diane Moltz
The Steuben Society
Prince Solms von Braunfels Unit 1845 of the Steuben Society would like to invite members of the German-American to join the Steuben Society. Since our beginning 3 years ago we have gone from 15 to 32 members and we continue to grow. We work with the German-American Society to promote German Heritage. Since our start, “The Steuben News” (Steuben Newsletter which is Nationwide) has printed of 6 articles on German Settlement in New Braunfels. Come and join the Steuben Society and help promote German Heritage not only in New Braunfels but Nationwide. See Ron Evans or Richard Odofer for membership application. Ron Evans
Schedule of 2012 Events
February 7: General Meeting at Elks Lodge
February 25: Maskenball at Elks Lodge
March 6: General Meeting at Elks Lodge
April 3: General Meeting at Elks Lodge
April 14 & 15: Folkfest at the N.B. Heritage Village
May 1: General Meeting/Annual Picnic (Landa Park)
May 5: Wein & Saenger Fest
June 5: General Meeting at Elks Lodge
July 3: General Meeting at Elks Lodge
August 7: General Meeting at Elks Lodge
September 4: General Meeting at Elks Lodge
October 2: General Meeting at Elks Lodge
November 2 – November 11: Wurstfest
December 4: General Meeting & Christmas Party at Elks Lodge
December 6: Wassailfest
Other Events Planned
We will be scheduling bus trips to:
· Beethoven Männerchor Halle und Garten in the historic King William District of San Antonio
· Weihnachtsmarkt in Fredericksburg.
Suggestions for other trips would be appreciated.
Nachsatz
Besides Fastnacht/Fasching/Karneval/Mardi Gras (21 Feb), February has other interesting dates to include
Groundhog Day/Mariä Lichtmess (2 Feb),
Valentine’s Day/Valentinstag (14 Feb),
and this February –
Leap Day/Schalttag (29 Feb) to name a few.
Wenn's an Lichtmess
stürmt und schneit,
ist der Frühling nicht
mehr weit;
ist es aber klar und hell,
kommt der Lenz wohl nicht
so schnell.
If Candlemas brings
wind and snow
Then spring will very
soon show.
But if it's clear and bright,
Then spring won't come
so right.
Ist's zu Lichtmess mild
und rein
wirds ein langer Winter
sein.
If Candlemas ismild
and pure,
Winter will be long for
sure