Autumn 2015 - Saskatchewan German Council
Transcription
Autumn 2015 - Saskatchewan German Council
POSTILLION Der Rundbrief des Saskatchewan German Councils Volume 30, Issue 3 Autumn 2015 Table of Contents 18 19 20 22 Editor’s Note Greetings from the President Hello from the new Interim Executive Director Saskatchewan German Culture Assistance Fund 25 Jahre deutsche Einheit - Share your story 25 Jahre deutsche Einheit - We were there! 25 Jahre deutsche Einheit - A Trabi moves to Canada 25 Jahre deutsche Einheit - Now and then SGC Recipe Corner: Rehrücken SGC Library Corner History of the Germans from Russia, part 22 Rolling Calendar of Events Folkf Fest in Spiritwood 03 04 05 05 06 07 08 09 10 10 11 12 13 News from SGC Member Groups Austrian Canadian Edelweiss Club of Regina Volksliederchor Concordia Imhoff Heritage Society Karnevalsgesellschaft Harmonie Regina German Film Club Prince Albert German-Canadian Club Waldhorn Concordia Brass Band German Language School Saskatoon German Junior Folk Dancers Community Radio Station Saskatoon Hansel and Gretel Preschool Inc. German Cultural Centre Das Schulhaus - Regina German Language School Inc. German Heritage Society of Humboldt and District Inc. Concordia Alpenrose Schuhplattler Verein Concordia Junior Alpenrose Dancers Volksliederchor Harmonie German Canadian Society Harmonie KulturGarten Saskatoon Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church German Language School of Regina Kochlöffel & Nudelholz 14 14 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 18 19 19 20 20 21 21 22 22 23 23 24 24 Kinder- und Jugendseiten 25 The Postillion is a quarterly newsletter published by the Saskatchewan German Council Inc. Submissions to: postillion@saskgermancouncil.org Deadlines 2015:Winter - November 30 Spring - March 7 Summer - June 27 Autumn - October 2 Articles may be reprinted with permission. Saskatchewan German Council Inc. 510 Cynthia Street, Saskatoon, SK S7L 7K7 phone: 306-975-0845 fax: 306-242-8007 e-mail: office@saskgermancouncil.org website: www.saskgermancouncil.org Cover image: Kürbisse, Fotolia_79361786_Subscription_XL Inquiries to: Theresa Kliem, Editor postillion@saskgermancouncil.org MELDUNG AUS DER REDAKTION EDITOR’S NOTE THERESA KLIEM BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Josephin Dick, Saskatoon Vice President Dr. Michael Oelck, Saskatoon Past President Ilona Beck, Rouleau Treasurer Rod Gellner, Regina Secretary, Ulrike Hecker, Saskatoon Directors Frank Bojkovsky, Saskatoon Don Cody, Prince Albert Jake Dyck, Estevan Andrea MacLeod, Regina Amanda Stehwien, Saskatoon Uwe Reinkens, White City Staff Gabriele Waidelich-Harrison, Interim Executive Director Franziska Davies, Office & Program Assistant Theresa Kliem, Immigrant Settlement Advisor Theresa Kliem, Postillion Editor What a fall! While Canada is getting ready to vote, the politicians in Austria, Germany and other European countries have something else to worry about. Escaping war and terror, refugees from Syria and other countries are coming to Europe for a better future. Amnesty International calls it “the worst refugee crisis since World War II.” During this troubled time, Germany celebrates 25 years of reunification. On October 3, 1990, after 45 years of separation, Germany was finally reunited. This was certainly one of the most important events in recent German history. For this reason, the Postillion has devoted four extra pages to this topic. Facts, numbers and statistics are definitely a very important part of history. However, the Day of German Unity is also a very emotional topic. Therefore, we have asked people in Saskatchewan to talk about their experiences now and then. Germany’s Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, wrote on the Day of German Unity: “The reunification of Germany 25 years ago brought with it the hope of a more peaceful and stable future.” Much has been achieved during the last 25 years. However, as the Federal Government says on its website, “there is still a lot of need for action concerning the assimilation of East and West Germany.” The war in Syria and the hundreds of thousands of refugees coming into Europe show us that Germany has new challenges to face today. Again, boarder fences are set up in some European countries. It is still a long path towards a more peaceful future. At last, besides all the changes in the world, there are also some news from the SGC office. We would like to welcome Gabriele Waidelich-Harrison as the Interim Executive Director. She is the new head of the office while Sabine Doebel-Atchison is on maternity leave. During her first days, Gabi has already proven to be a great colleague. We are really happy to have her on board! Was für ein Herbst! Während es für Kanada jetzt in die heiße Wahlphase geht, haben die Politiker in Österreich, Deutschland und weiteren europäischen Ländern ganz andere Sorgen. Auf der Flucht vor Krieg und Terror machen sich hunderttausende Flüchtlinge aus Syrien und andere Länder auf den Weg nach Europa. Amnesty International spricht von der “größten Flüchtlingskatastrophe seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg.” In dieser aufgewühlten Zeit feiert Deutschland 25 Jahre Wiedervereinigung. Am 3. Oktober 1990, nach 45 Jahren der Trennung, wurde Deutschland wieder eine Einheit. Es war eines der bedeutendsten Ereignisse in der neuen deutschen Geschichte. Aus diesem Grund hat der Postillion diesem Thema vier extra Seiten gewidmet. Fakten, Zahlen und Statistiken sind sicherlich ein wichtiger Teil der Geschichte. Doch der Tag der deutschen Einheit ist auch ein sehr emotionales Themen. Deswegen kommen in diesem Postillion verschiedene Menschen aus Saskatchewan zu Wort, um über ihre Erfahrungen damals wie heute zu erzählen. Deutschlands Außenminister Frank-Walter Steinmeier schrieb anlässlich des Tags der Deutschen Einheit: “Die deutsche Wiedervereinigung vor 25 Jahren war verbunden mit der Hoffnung auf eine friedlichere, stabilere Zukunft.” Vieles wurde in den letzten 25 Jahren erreicht. Trotzdem ”besteht noch immer viel Handlungsbedarf bei der Angleichung von Ost- und Westdeutschland,” wie die Bundesregierung auf ihrer Webseite schreibt. Der Krieg in Syrien und die große Anzahl an Flüchtlingen in Europa zeigt uns, dass Deutschland heute neuen Herausforderungen gegenübersteht. Wieder werden in einigen europäischen Ländern Grenzzäune errichtet. Es ist also noch ein langer Weg bis hin zu einer friedlicheren Zukunft. Neben all den Veränderungen in der Welt gibt es auch Neuigkeiten aus dem SGC Büro. Wir begrüßen Gabriele (Gabi) Waidelich-Harrison als vorläufige Exekutivdirektorin. Da Sabine DoebelAtchison in Mutterschaftsurlaub ist, wird Gabi sie in den kommenden Monaten vertreten. Schon in den ersten Tagen hat sie sich als großartige Kollegin gezeigt. Wir sind froh, sie an Bord zu haben. 3 GREETINGS FROM THE PRESIDENT GRÜSSE VON DER PRÄSIDENTIN JOSEPHIN DICK It feels like summer had just started, and now we have fall again. The leaves are colorful, which looks beautiful, and the days are getting colder, which I personally do not like too much. In June, I received an invitation to Leader. The Germans from Russia met from July 10 to July 12, sharing interesting stories about their heritage, ancestors coming from Russia, and their lives in Canada. Fortunately, I was able to join them Saturday and Sunday with my husband. After lunch, members of the group took us to the sand hills, the old school house and the Blumenfeld church. I really like the church. You can see its German history in all the decorations, and even though I believe it is difficult, it is so well maintained, one can feel the love in doing all that work. Later we listened to different speakers. For example Mervin Weiss spoke about the topic “May you live in interesting times.” I find it very fascinating how much people actually can find out about their families after so much time. Especially coming from Russia, where it is certainly not easy to gather information because of the distance and language. I would also like to congratulate the German Club in Regina for their 60th anniversary. Fortunately, I was invited to their celebration on September 12. Founded in 1955, the club is the oldest member of the SGC, together with the Volksliederchor Harmonie, of course, which we had the pleasure of listening to. While the club may be the oldest SGC member, it is certainly also one of the most vibrant and active German cultural organizations in the province. Events such as Spargelfest, Mosaic, Oktoberfest and many more are always well-attended and even receive national attention. We also have some changes in our office. As some of you might already know, we have a new Immigrant Settlement Advisor. Besides her duties as our Postillion Editor, Theresa Kliem also started working with new immigrants. I’m sure her open personality, great smile and enthusiasm will help immigrants be at ease. Her knowledge as well as determination to solve problems will make sure they are well supported. 4 Since Sabine is taking a break as Executive Director because of her maternity leave, we have Gabriele Waidelich-Harrison to fill in as Interim Executive Director for a year. She has been the Coordinator of our German Language School Saskatoon for over twelve years. Therefore, we know that she will be of great value for the SGC. All the best and good luck to both of you. Man hat den Eindruck, der Sommer hätte gerade erst begonnen, und nun haben wir schon wieder Herbst. Die Blätter sind bunt, was schön aussieht, und die Tage werden kälter, was ich persönlich nicht so schätze. Im Juni bekam ich eine Einladung nach Leader. Die Deutschen aus Russland trafen sich dort vom 10. bis zum 12. Juli, um ihre interessanten Geschichten über ihre Vergangenheit, ihre Vorfahren aus Russland und ihr Leben in Kanada zu teilen. Ich hatte das Glück Samstag und Sonntag mit meinem Ehemann dabei sein zu dürfen. Nach dem gemeinsamen Mittagessen nahm eine Gruppe uns zu den Sanddünen, dem alten Schulhaus und der Blumenfeld Kirche mit. Ich liebe diese Kirche. Man kann ihre deutsche Geschichte in allen Dekorationen erkennen. Auch wenn ich persönlich glaube, dass es sehr schwer sein muss, ist diese Kirche in einem bewundernswerten Zustand. Man kann die Liebe, die in diese Arbeit fließt, förmlich fühlen. Später hörten wir verschiedene Redner. Mervin Weiss sprach zum Beispiel zum Thema „Mögen Sie in interessanten Zeiten leben.“ Ich finde es faszinierend, wie viele Informationen manche Personen über ihre Familien nach so langer Zeit herausfinden können. Speziell in Russland, wo es aufgrund der Entfernung und Sprache sicherlich nicht einfach ist, Informationen zu sammeln. Ich möchte auch noch einmal dem Deutschen Klub in Regina zu seinem 60. jährigen Jubiläum gratulieren. Ich hatte das Glück, zu ihrer Feier am 12. September eingeladen zu sein. 1955 gegründet, ist dieser Klub eines der ältesten Mitglieder unseres Councils – selbstverständlich zusammen mit dem Volksliederchor Harmonie. Später am Abend hatten wir das Vergnügen, einer Vorführung des Chores zu lauschen. Obwohl der Klub eines der ältesten Mitglieder des Saskatchewan German Councils ist, gehört er auch zu den aktivsten und dynamischsten unserer deutschen kulturellen Organisationen hier in der Provinz. Veranstaltungen wie das Spargelfest, Mosaik, das Oktoberfest und viele mehr sind immer gut besucht und erhalten sogar nationale Aufmerksamkeit. Wir haben auch einige Veränderungen in unserem Büro. Wie einige sicher schon wissen, haben wir eine neue Immigration Settlement Beraterin. Theresa Kliem arbeitet nun nicht mehr nur noch als Editorin für unseren Postillion, sondern auch mit neuen Immigranten. Ich bin mir sicher, dass sie mit ihrer Offenherzigkeit, ihrem freundlichen Lächeln und ihrem Enthusiasmus Immigranten helfen wird, sich wohl zu fühlen. Ihr Wissen und ihre Zielstrebigkeit im Umgang mit Problemen werden dafür sorgen, dass Einwanderer gute Unterstützung erhalten. Da Sabine auf Grund ihres Mutterschaftsurlaubes eine Pause als Executive Director einlegen wird, haben wir Gabriele WaidelichHarrison eingestellt, um sie für dieses Jahr zu vertreten. Sie war die letzten zwölf Jahre Koordinatorin unserer Deutschen Sprachschule in Saskatoon. Daher wissen wir, dass sie dem SGC für dieses Jahr eine große Hilfe sein wird. Ich wünsche Euch beiden alles Gute und viel Glück. HELLO FROM THE NEW INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GABRIELE WAIDELICH-HARRISON I would like to take this opportunity and introduce myself – my name is Gabriele Waidelich-Harrison (Gabi), and I am the Interim Executive Director at the Saskatchewan German Council while Sabine Doebel-Atchison is on maternity leave. Just to answer your question right away – no, you don’t need a hyphenated name in order to work in this position! Who am I? I was born in Tübingen, Germany and grew up in a town called Steinenbronn. You might not find Steinenbronn on the map, but it is the neighboring town of Waldenbuch which is home to the Ritter Sport chocolate factory! The short walk through the forest down to the Ritter Sport factory is still one of my favorite things to do when visiting home. I did my apprenticeship in reprographics and later studied printing technologies in Stuttgart. My job took me to Ulm, where I worked for a book production company, and a few years later to Munich, where I worked for Carl Hanser Verlag in book design and book production. Once coming to Canada in 2001, I connected with the German Language School Saskatoon. After teaching there for one year, I became the coordinator/ principal and stayed for twelve years. Through the work with the German School, I connected to other cultural organizations and served on several boards in the non-profit sector. I am truly passionate about teaching, education, culture and languages. Furthermore, I believe in community, big and small. A strong sense of community makes us feel at home, it provides a place for shared values and for common interest. Being a family without immediate relatives around, we tried to build a community network to be part of a “Gemeinschaft”. I encourage you to continue to be part of our wonderful German speaking community which celebrates our heritage, culture and tradition. Visit Octoberfest, enjoy some German dancing, learn the German language, join a choir, volunteer at your local German organization, endorse someone. Or build community by creating your own new group. Do let us know, SGC can support you! I am looking forward to hearing from you! SASKATCHEWAN GERMAN CULTURE ASSISTANCE FUND ALISON PHILLIPS Thank you very much for the SGCAF German Language Award, which I received in September 2015. I am enrolled in the Faculty of Science at the University of Regina in the Pre-Dentistry program. My goal is to become a dentist, and I hope to be accepted into this program at the University of Saskatchewan in the future. I have taken German classes since grade 9 and enjoy it very much. My grandparents immigrated from Austria in 1953 and have encouraged me to learn more languages, initially so I could communicate with relatives overseas. However, I have found that this knowledge may help me in the future, if I travel as well as in my chosen career. I will be using the scholarship money to further my education. Again, I would like to thank the Saskatchewan German Culture Assistance Fund for this scholarship. It is very much appreciated. 5 25 Jahre deutsche Einheit SHARE YOUR STORY This October, Germany celebrates the 25th anniversary of reunification. In 1990, after years of separation, East Germany and West Germany reunited to form a single nation. 327 days lay between this historic event and the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. Every year, the Day of German Unity is a day to remember and celebrate . In this Postillion, Barbara Stehwien from Saskatoon is sharing her memories and history, the story of a family of artists who lived in the German Democratic Republic. BARBARA STEHWIEN In 2014, our artist family celebrated 25 years of the ‘Fall of the Wall’, remembering how we were able to go back home. Not only to visit with friends and family, but also to retrieve many of the paintings my father had to leave behind when escaping communist Germany. This year, in 2015, the family is remembering how the post war communist government destroyed the successful touring Barthold Marionette Theatre, and confiscated everything, including the puppets. Waltraude (Barthold) Stehwien’s father, Oskar Bathold, a puppeteer since the 1930s managed to ‘steal’ a few of the puppets of his own design, before escaping the dictatorship to the West. These puppets and the entire chronicles, including manuscripts, of a travelling puppeteer, ended up with his daughter and family in Saskatoon. Thanks to reunification of Germany, these puppets are now going home. Home to eastern Germany, where they performed regularly to high acclaim between 1947 and 1949. Plays included old traditional legends of Dr. Faustus and the Magic Violin, as part of the series for adults, and fairy tales like Rumpelstiltskin and the Magic Lantern for children. This year, two puppet theater museums, one in Dresden (former East) and one in Munich (former West) are collaborating on a combined puppetry exhibit for 2016. A puppeteer and artist herself, Waltraude Stehwien has decided to make a donation of several puppets to the Dresden museum, as the interest in her father’s, and her story continues to grow. Theirs is a long story of the short lived travelling marionette theater under communist rule, and the adventures of owning a successful hand puppet theater for many years before that. This smaller theater travelled throughout eastern Europe in the 1930s, and performed most often in central Germany and Austria right up until the war destroyed it all. Three remaining character heads from an innovative filming of puppet plays, produced while living in exile in Vienna 1942 to 1945, will be accompanying the marionettes as well. It is also hoped, that the entire confiscated collection may one day resurface, and be reunited with the few puppets that managed to ‘escape’, when their home country was split in two after the war. Oskar Barthold escaped to West Germany, pretty much a broken man, like many other censored artists, but did not live to see either the fall of the wall, or reunification. 6 The event of reunification wasn’t quite as intense as that of the ‘Fall of the Wall’, but the date definitely has a certain irony attached to it for us. Where was our family when it happened? Likely recognizing our anniversary of the journey across the ocean: October 3rd is the day we left West Germany to immigrate to Canada, back in 1968. We usually celebrate, but we will probably always wonder if we would have pulled up roots - for the 2nd time - had Germany been more politically stable. Who would have expected that there would be no more East or West just 22 years later! 25 Jahre deutsche Einheit WE WERE THERE! 155 km! This was the total length of the Berlin Wall. It was the boundary between East and West and the symbol of the Cold War. Barbed wire, spring gun and soldiers made it almost insuperable. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 finally paved the way for German unity. Change was in the air, on the political stage as well as on the streets. Bev Weston from Regina visited East Berlin in 1990, before Germany was officially reunited. A travel report. BEV WESTON In the fall of 1989, when the Berlin Wall went down, I was secretary in the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies at the University of Regina. As you can well imagine, there was considerable discussion among our departmental faculty as to the event itself and the ramifications for Germany. In the spring of 1990, my daughter Rhonda and I made a trip to Europe. I made it very clear to Rhonda that I wanted to go into Berlin when we got to Germany. We had purchased Eurorail passes, but these were not good in East Germany. Plane and train into Berlin were too expensive for Rhonda’s budget, but I knew of a cheaper way - the Mitfahrzentrale, or car share. Basically, it’s legalized hitchhiking with a paper trail. One visits the Mitfahrzentrale office, usually near the train station, and pays a nominal fee for a driver’s contact information. The driver will charge a nominal fee, and if he or she has two or three passengers, it will pay for gas. Rhonda and I met up with our driver, a German. There was one other passenger, also a German. Travelling from West Germany into Berlin at that time was not a pleasant experience. All the way through, the road was lined by barbed wire fences on both sides, and every so often there were watchtowers. The first watchtower we came to was vacant, and we were all amazed. The two Germans thought maybe the guards were watching soccer, as Germany was in the World Cup. However, the second was also vacant, and we realized they would all be abandoned. The Germans whooped with glee. It was a surprise even to them, as no announcement had been made. It was an amazing start to our Berlin trip. chipped away at the Wall. I felt it was the best 5 marks I had spent. We went through Checkpoint Charlie into East Berlin. The ceiling is very low and it is quite claustrophobic. I am always self conscious about my German, but Rhonda made me stop two fellows to ask directions. We talked to them for quite a while. They were not too pleased about the change that was coming. They were short of goods in the technical line, but had food, clothing, etc. They said they had little prostitution, no porn, no drugs, and were apprehensive about the coming Western influence. I was surprised as I had thought most East Germans would be quite excited about the reunification. One of the fellows eventually invited us to his home, probably because of our surprise at his attitude. In the meantime, we wandered around Alexanderplatz, looking at all the touts ready to take advantage of the East Germans. At one point, I bought 5 East German marks from a fellow for 3 West German marks. The East German mark would disappear shortly, and I felt I had a bargain. Later, we stopped to ask a policeman for directions. He was courteous and helpful. I couldn’t help but wonder if he had been with the Stasi a few months previously, and if so, he certainly wouldn’t have been so polite. Our host and his youngest son picked us up in their Trabi (Trabant) at the agreed upon place and time. They took us for a ride, showing us important buildings of which they were very proud. Our hosts invited us for supper, which was very kind. We spent the evening discussing the new events. It was an interesting evening, and we were privileged to have been their guests. About a week later, when we were in Italy, we heard that Checkpoint Charlie had been demolished. The Checkpoint Charlie Museum was still active. Reunification and the time surrounding it were very important historical events; both Rhonda and I were pleased to be there at that time. We settled into our Berlin hostel and went out to the Kurfürstendamm, or the Kudamm, Berlin’s main avenue. It was hopping. At one point, a car with a few young people drove by, and they were all yelling and cheering. The car had an open roof, and there was a German flag hanging out. We wondered about what great political event had happened. Rhonda pushed me to ask someone, so I did. It wasn’t a great political event. Germany had won the soccer match. The next day, we headed out for some sightseeing, finally getting to Checkpoint Charlie. The Wall was a disappointment. I had been to Berlin earlier, and the Wall had been covered with graffiti, some quite artistic. However, by now, people had been chipping away at the Wall for months. The outer Wall had been removed, and what was left was sprayed quite randomly, probably by the fellows who were renting out the sledge hammers. We rented one at 5 marks for 15 minutes, and Rhonda and I both Bev and Rhonda at the Berlin Wall 7 25 Jahre deutsche Einheit A TRABI MOVES TO CANADA INTERVIEW BY THERESA KLIEM “When does a Trabi reach its top speed? When it’s towed away.” Especially people from Western Germany used to crack jokes about the Trabant or Trabi, the former East German automobile. The end of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) also meant the end of the Trabi, and nowadays these cars are a rare sight on German roads. Finding them in Saskatchewan? Impossible! Until now. Katharina and Karsten Ulbrich from Estevan used to love their Trabi in the 1980s, and therefore decided to buy an old one and bring it to their new home in Canada. In this Postillion, Katharina Ulbrich talks about the unusual trip of a special car. Postillion: When did you decide to buy an old Trabant and bring it to Saskatchewan? Katharina: My husband and I started thinking about it about five years ago. Buying the car had a sentimental value to us. We owned a Trabi between 1986 and 1990 when we still lived in East Germany, close to Chemnitz. It was our first family car. Postillion: Immigration to Canada can be a long and difficult process. How hard was the “immigration process” for your Trabi? Katharina: It was definitely not easy. Before we started looking for the car, I checked with Transport Canada as well as Border Services Agency to make sure that we were even allowed to bring a Trabi over and license it at SGI. There are many regulations and I couldn’t find anyone who owned a Trabi here in Canada. That’s why I had to do a lot of research first, before we could start our “hunt” for the Trabi. Postillion: Germany has been united for 25 years now, and Trabis are not sold at every car dealership around the corner. Where did you find a Trabi on sale? Katharina: Around a year and a half ago, we had everything ready to start searching for a car online. We found three Trabis in the area where some of my husband’s friends live. One of them is a car mechanic, so we wanted him to go and have a look first. Finally Karsten’s brother-in-law purchased a Trabant for us and took it to his place until it was picked up for shipping. The person who sold it was super excited when he heard that the Trabi was going to go to Canada. It had been sitting in his garage for years. Postillion: How old is the model you bought? Katharina: It was built in November of 1989, so it is one of the later models. They finally stopped producing Trabants in April 1991. Postillion: Over 7,000 km, this was probably the longest trip this Trabi has ever made. How exactly did you bring your Trabant to Canada? Katharina: We checked different international transportation companies to compare prices. We finally chose the same company that had shipped our personal belongings when we had moved to Canada eight years ago. The Trabi was picked up from our relatives in Germany and hauled on a 1 truck to Bremerhaven, the harbour city. Then they shipped it to Halifax, where a customs broker did the paperwork for us. Afterwards, the car was transported by rail to Saskatoon and finally by truck to our doorstep. Postillion: This definitely sounds like a long process. On the other hand, people in the GDR often had to wait for years before they finally received the Trabi they had ordered. When you now think about your old Trabi from the 1980s, was it as complicated to acquire as the Trabi you have now? Katharina: Normally the waiting list in the GDR for new Trabis was around eleven years. So everybody would sign up for a new Trabi on their 18th birthday because this was the day you were eligible to send in the application. We also sent in our application, but we never got a new Trabant. However, we were able to buy a ten year old Trabi at the black market. That didn’t take too long. Postillion: Now that you finally have the Trabi, are you using it as your everyday car or is it just sitting in your garage? Katharina: We have had it licensed for one month now. Before that, it had to pass safety inspection here in Saskatchewan. This was quite a complicated process because the Trabant was a little rusty. and not everything was working properly. My husband spent probably six weeks working almost every night to repair it. Now we can drive it, and I have already taken it out for grocery shopping. We love using it for little trips around town to look at the funny faces people make when they see it. Everybody is asking about it, everybody wants to touch it. The body is not made out of sheet metal, but of a synthetic material called Duroplast, a mixture of resin powder and cotton. Postillion: What do you like most about it? Katharina: It is just about owning something from the past, something unique. It brings up special memories. I have always liked driving a Trabi. 100 km/h is the fastest you can go. However, it also has its downsides. The heating system isn’t the greatest, that’s why we decided not to drive it in the winter. Furthermore, it doesn’t have any steering or breaking assistance, so it is hard work to drive it. And you mustn’t forget to open the fuel tab before you start your trip. 1. The Trabi in front of modern Saskatchewan police cars in Estevan 8 25 Jahre deutsche Einheit NOW AND THEN What did the reunification of East and West Germany mean to the people? Of course, many were happy and excited, others, however, worried about the future. The historical event of 1990 has influenced the lives of Germans in many different ways. In this Postillion, three residents of Saskatoon talk about their experiences, memories and feelings towards the Day of German Unity. I remember the overwhelming feeling of being part of history only too well, the build-up in the months before, with tens of thousands joining Candle-Monday, weekly peaceful demonstrations for unity and solidarity, no matter which creed or political designation. Special! Excited all day, we just couldn’t believe it - the door had opened a tiny bit, and somebody had put a foot in. At that time, I was a student, sharing a house with friends. In the weeks after, we invited random people to stay at our place, who had aimlessly traveled westward with their Trabis to explore. We made friends, told stories and found out how incredibly precise the general knowledge of our fellow Germans was, but also, how reluctant they were to express opinions freely. We went visiting the eastern parts of Germany ourselves and got to see a strange mix of places. Gorgeous landscapes and manors, untouched by renovation craze, Sanssouci Palace of Frederick II, our “common” Prussian king, and Glienicke Bridge, where my mother had lived as a child, later a strategic exchange point for spies in the Cold War. Ugly “Plattenbau”, concrete blocks of flats, cheaply commissioned concrete mass accommodation, mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. Berlin felt exciting on both sides, but like two cities with two public transportation systems, obviously connecting nowhere. The wall cutting through the grand city as a nasty wound. Cobblestone towns, whose houses hadn’t been renovated for decades, all sooty and grey-brown with windows made up into shop windows, filled with neon lights and cheap electronics like the 1980s. Everything smelled like lignite or brown coal, the most popular fuel for heating - time tunnel. Looking back I am still amazed. Happy Birthday, reunited Germany! Katharina Kettner What does the German word Pfannkuchen mean? Yes, you are right, it means pancake. Or not? Talking to my best friend who grew up in the East sometimes ends in a little language confusion. At lease when we try to order food. When she talks about Pfannkuchen, she actually means Berliner doughnuts. I just call them Berliner or Krapfen. And since I already started the East/West food discussion, what exactly is a Broiler? Of course, German “language barriers” are nothing special between East and West. Have you ever tried watching a Bavarian movie with your friends from Hamburg? After five minutes, I was asked to turn on the German subtitles. They just couldn’t understand the accent. In addition, before you start complaining, I know that Berliner Pfannkuchen or Krapfen or however you want to call them have even more different names all over Germany. Still, I love talking to my friend about the different words she used while growing up in the eastern part of Germany. One musn’t forget, there used to be two versions of the Duden (dictionary of the German language), one for East and one for West Germany. I didn’t know much about these words when I was a child. When East and West reunited in 1990, I was only three years old. Growing up in a small village in Bavaria, my everyday life was never really touched by the consequences of reunification. Until I met my best friend at the German Sport University in Cologne. She had spent her childhood in the beautiful Spreewald area in eastern Germany. Without the reunification of Germany, we might have never met. Maybe she would have studied in Leipzig or Dresden instead. We were born in two different states, but today we are able to share our lives. Even now that I live thousands of miles away, she supports me when I need a friend to talk to. That’s what the Day of German Unity means to me. Besides the great friendship, maybe I would have never learnt words like Kaufhalle (supermarket) or Nicki (t-shirt). By the way, before I forget it, a Broiler is a roast chicken. I call it Brathähnchen. Theresa Kliem Anyone in Germany and around the world who consciously experienced the day the Wall came down knows exactly where they were on November 9, 1989. A day of pure joy! This may not be so easy when it comes to the memory of October 3, 1990, the day when Germany, after four decades of division, was reunited. And yet, that day 25 years ago was at least as important for recent German history. German unity became a fact under international law on October 3, 1990 – with the accession of five new federal states. The territory of the Federal Republic was enlarged by almost a third and by 16.5 million inhabitants (from a statement by Federal President Joachim Gauck). I was recently in Freiberg and Dresden/Sachsen, driving through part of this Bundesland. Since reunification, much has been done to the damaged country. What surprised me were the many house roofs with solar panels. Certainly an improvement for the environment. Also, food and transportation are much cheaper than in Canada, and not just in the East of the country. Most of the cities I visited had cobblestones on their streets. That reminded me of my childhood. “Wir sind ein Volk” was the Motto of the people in the DDR, and because of their insistence they made it happen, even if not all of them are happy of the results. Für mich bedeutete die Wiedervereinigung Deutschlands, dass meine Geburtsstadt Chemnitz ihren alten Namen wiedererhielt. Sigrid Kirmse 9 LIBRARY CORNER ANDREA MACLEOD AND THERESA KLIEM DER DIAMANT DES SALOMON by: Noah Gordon German, 492 pages This is the story of Harry Hopeman, a diamond man from a diamond family; of his love for a remarkable Yemenite woman; and of his painstaking search for a valuable ancient diamond, whose history is interwoven with the past of the Jewish people. A chronicle of ancient Judaism and modern Israel, The Jerusalem Diamond is at once an exciting adventure, a passionate love story, and an absorbing voyage through history. RECIPE CORNER FRANZISKA DAVIES REHRÜCKEN DAS LEBEN DER ANDEREN VENISON DVD Prep time: 25 minutes; cook time: 50 minutes; total time: 75 minutes Ingredients: 3 carrots 2 stalks of celery 1 medium onion 1 tsp. mustard seed, slightly crushed 2 bay leaves 1/2 tsp. salt 1 1/2 lb. venison or elk steaks, 1/2 inch thick 1 tsp. juniper berries, crushed 2 tsp. black peppercorns, crushed 4 - 6 slices of bacon 1 c. dry, red wine 1 T. corn starch mixed with 2 T. red wine 4 oz. crème fraîche Clean and slice the vegetables into 1/4 inch pieces. Lay them in the bottom of an oiled roaster or 9 x 13 inch pan, add the mustard seed, bay leaves, salt and about 1/2 cup water and bake at 385°F for 20 minutes. While the vegetables are roasting/steaming, wash and pat dry your steaks. (You may also use a filet piece and carve it for serving.) Mix together the juniper berries and peppercorns and rub the steaks with this mixture. 10 Lay out the steaks and place bacon to cover (cover 50-90% of steak). When the vegetables have softened slightly, remove from oven, place steaks on top (bacon side up), and place pan back in oven. Bake for 10 minutes, pour the red wine over steaks and bake another 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven. Test steaks for desired doneness (they will be medium-well to well done). Remove steaks and place on a platter, remove bacon and keep warm. Pour off red wine into small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to half. Add the corn starch slurry while stirring and stir until thick. Add the crème frâiche and stir until blended. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. Serve steaks with potatoes and sauce and apple quarters browned in butter and cooked in white wine. Notes: You may make a roux with flour and butter and add the red wine, instead of using cornstarch to thicken. You may also use pureed vegetables to thicken (they are usually discarded) for a healthy and tasty alternative. 132 min, Language: German, Subtitles: German East Berlin, November 1984. Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany’s secret police (Stasi) monitored the country’s population. When Gerd Wiesler, a hard working and idealist Stasi Captain, starts spying on the playwright Georg Dreyman, his loyality for the GDR regime begins to crumble. It is the start of a dangerous game ... After a series of comedies such as Good Bye Lenin! or Sonnenallee, the drama film Das Leben der Anderen approaches this part of German history uncompromisingly and quietly. The film was widely applauded and won several awards, among those an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007. It was only the third German film ever to win this award. HISTORY OF GERMANS FROM RUSSIA, PART 22 Russia was a mess. There could be no other way to explain how the country sat at the end of World War I. At the insistence of Germany in 1918, Ukraine had now become a country, carved out of the heart of Russia. Germany and her allies occupied this new country, Ukraine. In the south and east the newly formed White Army was threatening Lenin and his communist Red Army. There was famine, riots, and chaos throughout the entire country. Russia was a country at war with itself. Lenin, who had brought his communist party to power in November 1917, was finding that his Nationalization policy would not be that easy to implement. By the end of 1918, Lenin’s very existence was being threatened by non-Bolshevists and former Tsarist Generals. These anti-Lenin, anti-communists formed their own armies, and they would become known as the White Armies. Throughout 1919 and 1920, different factions of the White Army would do battle with the Red Army as their battles crisscrossed Russia and the newly formed Ukraine. There were several Tsarist Generals that need to be mentioned. General Denikin operated out of the southeast of Russia and was successful in eradicating the Red Army in the Don and Kuban areas, in the east Admiral Kolchak took control of Siberia, General Wrangel operated in the Crimea and closer to home, General Yudenich based out of Eastonia threatened Petrograd (later renamed Leningrad). Well, how did this affect the German colonists? As mentioned earlier, there were not only the armies to contend with, but with very little government in place many areas were at the mercy of thieves and local tyrants. It should be mentioned that as the armies marched across the countryside, they requisitioned food and lodging wherever they were, and many times the colonists were forced to help. The only stable area was the Ukraine, which was occupied by the German and Austrian military. This, of course, was about to change once the occupiers left in late 1918. Of great concern to the German colonists was their safety. They well remembered how the countryside had been rife with brigands and thieves especially during the latter part of the Tsarist reign and during the revolution. The colonists had decided that with the aid of the German Occupiers they would establish a home guard (Selbstschutz) to protect themselves. This was no easy task, but it was accomplished. It seemed that in these times everyone had access to arms and some sort of military training. The Mennonite areas were a little more reluctant to become involved, as they were more peaceful and did not believe in bearing arms. They did however realize the dire situation their country was experiencing and did join the home guard, setting up a home guard in their larger communities. I should also mention that the colonist villages by the year 1915 had grown and were no longer small in size. I will mention three villages in the Beresan district, Karlsruhe (population 1,932), Speier (population 2,408) and Rastadt (population of 3,807). The small villages had become towns; they had prospered, ADVERTISEMENT grown and become quite wealthy. Would these towns become targets for the thieves and bandits who prospered at this time? The answer is yes. Although there were other communities of Ukrainian and Russian farmers, they were not quite as prosperous as their German neighbours. It was always said that in the German villages you would find more horses, calves and hogs in the barns, more ham, lard, wheat flour and sunflower oil in the pantries and more jewelry, furs and carpets in the houses – thus more to steal. ALVIN KNOLL Although in the end, all farms no matter what their ethnicity, were attacked and looted. Now enter into the picture the Ukrainian bandit Nestor Michnenko. He was the son of a poor peasant and grew up in the Ukrainian village of Guljai-Pole, where in his youth he had been a cow herder. Nestor was a very dangerous man and a confirmed anarchist. He had been imprisoned under the Tsarist rule, but had been released during the revolution. He was clever and ruthless, a persuasive speaker and a very good organizer. His followers were exclusively Ukrainian farmers, and they were all strongly nationalistic to the Ukrainian cause. Their thinking was that the communists were not radical enough. On their black flags was written ‘Anarchy is the mother of all order’, and they did their best to set this in motion. At the height of his power in 1919 and 1920, it was said he commanded hundreds of thousands, and he was the most powerful man in the whole of the Ukraine. Nestor made his headquarters in his old village of Guljai-Pole. It was from here that he attacked the numerous neighbouring villages – in this case mostly Mennonite. His attack methods were to rape, hack or shoot a woman to death while men from these villages were usually hacked, shot to death and then burnt. Property of wealthy farmers and estates were burnt to the ground. The Schönfeld Mennonite villages were the first of the villages he attacked. The Mennonite Home Guard could not defend all the scattered villages, and Michnenko did mostly what he wanted. For several weeks he plundered, burnt, tortured and raped his way through these colonies. He eventually moved onto larger villages, and in January of 1919 he attacked the Grunau villages. After suffering heavy losses in the battle, the remnants of their Home Guard, 67 men, were executed by the victorious robbers. Nestor next expanded his territory to the Kronau area, some 160 miles to the west, where he was unchallenged. He pillaged five of the villages in this area with his usual method of rape and murder. He completely destroyed the village of Münsterberg where 200 people were raped and murdered. His reign of terror continued all through the winter of 1919-1920 and only came to an end in the spring of 1920, when Red Army regulars showed up and put an end to Nestor and his cruel exploits. What had become of the White Armies?* There is so much history here on this topic that I will just touch on the surface. Well, it seems that the White Armies were made up of many factions, and many of these factions did not like or trust each other. There was no one leader of the White Armies. This would be their downfall. The British and French had invaded Russia after Germany left in 1918. The British were supportive of the White Army initially, and had they worked a little closer with the White Army, they could have defeated the Red Army. Britain however, decided to pull its troops out of Russia and left the White Army to its own fate. With no leadership, the various factions of the White Army were put to route. Admiral Kolchak was driven back into Siberia, where he was captured and his army disbanded. In November 1920, General Wrangel suffered a disastrous defeat in the northern Crimea. He decided to evacuate the remnants of this army to Constantinople and thus ended any hope of ending the reign of Lenin and his Red Army. In the next issue, I will touch on the Bolsheviks and their treatment of the German colonists. ______________ * I would suggest googling the history of the Russian Civil War or White Army of Russia. 11 Rolling Calendar of Events EVERY TUESDAY KAISER (CARD GAME) at the German Cultural Centre, Saskatoon, 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. (not in December) EVERY WEDNESDAY SKAT at the German Cultural Centre, Saskatoon, 6.30 p.m. EVERY FRIDAY CLASSICAL CONNECTION on CFCR 90.5 FM, 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. with Sigrid Kirmse EVERY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY EVENING CHEF’S SPECIAL at the German Cultural Centre, Saskatoon EVERY SUNDAY TREFFPUNKT DEUTSCHLAND on CFCR 90.5 FM, 1p.m. - 3 p.m. SUNDAY BRUNCH at the German Cultural Centre, Saskatoon, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. GERMAN BUFFET at the German Cultural Centre, Saskatoon, 5:30 p.m. - 9 p.m. OCTOBER 17 OKTOBERFEST German Cultural Centre, Saskatoon Call 306-244-6869 for more information 19 KOCHLÖFFEL & NUDELHOLZ CLASS Kochlöffel & Nudelholz - German Canadian Koch- und Backstudio Call 306-292-2117 or e-mail kochlöffelundnudelholz@gmail.com 19 FIRST CHOIR PRACTICE FOR CHRISTMAS CONCERT Volksliederchor Concordia, Saskatoon Call 306-653-0799 for more information 23 ROCKTOBERFEST IN REGINA Regina Austrian Edelweiss Club Call 306-721-6388 or visit the Regina Austrian Edelweiss Club 26 KOCHLÖFFEL & NUDELHOLZ CLASS Kochlöffel & Nudelholz - German Canadian Koch- und Backstudio Call 306-292-2117 or e-mail kochlöffelundnudelholz@gmail.com 12 OCTOBER (CONTINUED) 27 HALLOWEEN HOWL German Cultural Centre, Saskatoon Call 306-244-6869 for more information 30 SOCK HOP DANCE German Cultural Centre, Saskatoon Call 306-244-6869 for more information NOVEMBER 6 CROWNING OF PRINCE AND PRINCESS Karnevalsgesellschaft Harmonie, Regina Call 306-545-8873 for tickets 15 CHRISTKINDL MARKET German Cultural Centre, Saskatoon Call 306-244-6869 for more information 16 KOCHLÖFFEL & NUDELHOLZ CLASS Kochlöffel & Nudelholz - German Canadian Koch- und Backstudio Call 306-292-2117 or e-mail kochlöffelundnudelholz@gmail.com 28 MARKET MALL MINIFEST German Junior Folk Dancers, Saskatoon E-Mail barbara@germanjuniorfolkdancers.ca for more information FOLK FEST IN SPIRITWOOD CHERYL TURGEON Wunderbar!!! That was the consensus of the approximate 775 people that visited the German Pavilion at our Spiritwood Folk Fest of September 5 and 6. Thanks to the help of Franziska of the SGC in Saskatoon, Sheila Baessler from Prince Albert and Ron Sawatsky of Chitek Lake (cook/caterer), the food was prepared from recipes of German culture. Thanks again to the Saskatchewan German Council for providing the sponsorship that enabled us to have live authentic entertainment. Nancy & Neil Stubbs entertained twice on Saturday with accordion music and German singing. Betty Siemens and Martha Bolt entertained on Sunday. Betty played the electric harp, and they sang German songs. The diversity banners provided by the Saskatchewan German Council were very informative tools conveying an insight into our German culture. The people, authentic food and drinks as well as the lively entertainment were the catalyst for two fun-filled days. We anticipate hosting another Folk Fest in two years. 13 News from Member Groups The Saskatchewan German Council Inc. has 39 member groups throughout Saskatchewan. Those groups include cultural clubs, language schools, dance groups, choirs, genealogical groups, and many more. The following pages contain articles by SGC member groups. GREETINGS FROM THE AUSTRIAN EDELWEISS CLUB OF REGINA Austrian Canadian Edelweiss Club of Regina — Janet Jost Welcome to the beautiful season of fall and to the festive time of the year that includes many Oktoberfest celebrations. To join in, the Austrian Club is hosting ROCKTOBERFEST on October 23. The band A-Maze will be entertaining the crowd with classic rock. There will be several fun-filled games to participate in throughout the evening. Favourite food dishes such as Schnitzel, Bratwurst and Pretzels will be available for purchase. Locally owned and operated, the District Brewing Company has joined our party as an official sponsor of Rocktoberfest. We are excited to announce that we will be offering their seasonal, one of a kind, Sasktoberfest Bier along with our traditional Austrian import beers, Stiegel and Gösser. This event is open to the public (aged 19 +) and promises to be an evening full of festivities with a blend of Austrian and Canadian traditions. We would like to thank our many sponsors including SGC, Saskatchewan Lotteries, SaskCulture, Rawlco Radio, Old Dutch, Jenkins Design and District Brewing Co. that have assisted us in this endeavour. Come in your lederhosen, dirndl or come as you are comfortable to join us for a rocking good time. The club is now open for breakfast from 6:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Also, we’ve made the change to serving a DAILY luncheon buffet which is available from 11 a.m. -2 p.m. This delicious daily buffet includes soup, salads, three meat choices, potatoes, pasta, and all the trimmings including mouth-watering desserts. Guests may choose to dine at the club or have the luncheon buffet to go. Our full luncheon menu is still offered for customers who prefer ordering. A new takeout menu is in place, and many of our neighboring business employees have been attracted to this alternative choice. We welcome you to come enjoy a delicious meal with us and meet Paul. Whether it is to party with us at Rocktoberfest, prepare meals with us at our cooking classes or dine with us in our restaurant / lounge, we welcome you as a friend and guest at the Austrian Club. Prosit! For tickets or more information about our events, please contact 306721-6388 or email us at austrianclubregina@gmail.com. Also this fall we are excited to announce a heritage filled cooking class that will be held Sunday, October 18 at the Austrian Club. Andrea MacLeod will lead us in an afternoon of preparing tasty Austrian dishes. This cooking class menu includes Tafelspitz (beef main dish), Käsespätzle (homemade noodles with cheese) and Pretzels. We are hoping to continue to offer more cooking classes as a way to share traditional dishes with the next generation. While on the topic of great tasting food, we would like to introduce our new manager, Paul Katsiavos. Paul has brought with him many years of experience in the restaurant business and has implemented several positive changes. HELLO FROM THE VOLKSLIEDERCHOR IN SASKATOON Volksliederchor Concordia, Saskatoon — Margot Hasner Our choir has currently 20 members. We are very happy about the increase. The beautiful summer season is gone, and we are enjoying an equally beautiful fall. As in nature, the seasons are changing, and so does life. We are welcoming one phase and 14 saying goodbye to another. In September, we said goodbye to our longtime beloved member Helga Schulz. Helga passed away peacefully on September 9 at her home. She will be dearly missed by all of us. With a heavy heart, we sang at her funeral. It was our last “auf Wiedersehen” to her. Our condolences to her family. On October 19, we will start our choir practice for the Christmas concert, which will be held at the Cultural Centre on December 13 at 2 p.m. Wishing everybody a beautiful fall. Thank you to the Saskatchewan German Council for their continuous financial support. NEUIGKEITEN FROM THE IMHOFF HERITAGE SOCIETY Imhof Heritage Society, St. Walburg — Phyllis Imhoff This United Church of Christ in Shaefferstown, Pennsylvania, was decorated by the German artist Berthold Imhoff in 1903 (picture 1). This year, a special celebration was held marking the 250 years since it was constructed. The celebration was held on September 12, and family members were invited to attend and speak to the congregation during the service. There have been many churches of all denominations decorated by Berthold Imhoff in the state of PA. The second picture shows St. Peter Church. This was the largest church that we visited with Imhoff Murals, and it was located in Reading, PA. There were three more United Churches that we visited in this State. All contain exquisite Imhoff decorations and are cared for and treasured by their congregations. We thank John & Kay Ogurcak from Shaefferstown for their hospitality in hosting and driving us to all these places. 1 2 3 1. The United Church of Christ in Shaefferstown 2. St. Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in Reading, PA 3. Anniversary cake and lunch following the service IT’S TIME FOR KARNEVAL Karnevalsgesellschaft Harmonie, Regina — Sheila Aldous Over the summer, our members have attended a number of functions. SGC hosted a wonderful Treffpunkt event in June at the German Club in Regina. We were very proud when Darlene Rubrecht received one of the volunteer awards. Some of our dancers took part in a couple of RMC’s Culture on the Plaza events and attended Folkfest in Saskatoon. Thank you to our hosts at these events. We had a great time. Our group also took part in the Regina German Club’s 60th anniversary. A GREAT JOB was done by the organizing committee. Happy anniversary, thanks for the wonderful memories. 2 With summer days passing, our group is hard at work planning the Crowning of AJ & Lindsey on November 6. For tickets to this event call Darlene at 306-545-8873. If you are interested in joining Karnevalsgesellschaft Harmonie, give our president Darlene a call (306-545-8873) for more information. 3 1 1. Ashley, Cheryl, Annette 2. Darlene 3. Culture on the Plaza with guests 15 NEWS FROM SGC MEMBER GROUPS AN UPDATE FROM THE FILM CLUB Regina German Film Club, Regina — Ilona Beck The Regina German Film Club celebrated the end of its film season with the 5th annual outdoor movie night in August 2015. ”German Movie under the Stars” is a very popular event that brings together old and young to enjoy a German film on a beautiful summer night. Over 25 people attended the evening where we showed the comedy ”Mann tut, was Man(n) kann.” The event started with a potluck barbeque followed by the movie at sunset. Thank you to the Reinkens family for providing their garden and deck for the showing. The new season will start in October/November with the movie “ Die Geliebten Schwestern” followed by “Marcel Reich-Ranicki: Mein Leben,” “Schiller- Leben und Leiden eines JahrhundertGenies,” “Herbstzeitlosen” und “Die Scheinheiligen.” The Film Club gets together every 6-8 weeks at the Bothwell Public Library to watch the movie. The event is free of charge, and everyone interested is welcome to attend. If you wish to be notified of the upcoming dates and movies, please contact Ilona Beck at 306.776.2432 or ilona.m.beck@gmail.com GREETINGS FROM PRINCE ALBERT Prince Albert German-Canadian Club Waldhorn, Prince Albert — Laurie Fabrick Our Club recently attended Tapestrama, put on by the Prince Albert Multicultural Society. We set up a food booth and sold bratwurst on a bun with sauerkraut, lentil soup and dark brown bread, as well as many kinds of German desserts. Most other food vendors were Asian, so we were a “one of a kind” business. Word got back to us from a friend who is a cashier at Superstore that a customer was raving about our fabulous soup and bread! Plans are now underway for our Christmas party, to be held December 6. We hope it will be as successful as last year! Depending on the weather, we will probably have a kaffeeklatsch or two during the winter or spring, just to keep in touch. Many members go south for the winters, but there are also many who are house-bound and would enjoy an outing. German language school hasn’t started yet; we had hoped it would be underway by now, but our teacher has been unavailable. Greetings to everyone else in the Province! 1 1. Our 3 Dons 2. Doris Lautner and Lee Gisi 3. Les Lautner 16 2 3 NEWS FROM THE BRASS BAND Concordia Brass Band, Saskatoon — Yvonne Kristoff The Concordia Brass Band has been very busy so far this year. We rehearse every Thursday. Besides rehearsals, we have completed six engagements with six more booked for the month of October alone. October, November and December are always our busiest months of the year. The pictures submitted are of two of our engagements. The outdoor picture of the entire band is from our show at the Barn Playhouse. It is a beautiful setting under the trees with many people enjoying a delicious supper and listening to the band. The other photo shows part of the band on stage at Folkfest. Folkfest is always our largest audience with the most performances in the three days. We play ten half hour sets. Thank you to anyone who has been part of our audience. We thoroughly enjoy performing. We even look forward to rehearsals. The adult band has been described as a social group with a habit of music. SGC MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Regina Austrian Canadian Edelweiss Club, Regina Austrian Edelweiss Dance Association, Regina CFCR Community Radio Society of Saskatoon Inc. Concordia Alpenrose Schuhplattler Verein Concordia Brass Band Concordia Junior Alpenrose Dancers Das Schulhaus - Regina German Language School Inc. Department of International Language, U of R Estevan & District German Freundschaft Society Folkart Co-op Humboldt German Cultural Centre, Saskatoon German Canadian Society Harmonie, Regina German Heritage Society of Humboldt & District Inc. German Junior Folk Dancers, Saskatoon German Language School Saskatoon Inc. German Language School of Regina 1 2 German Russian Cultural Group, Leader German Students’ Association - U of S 1. Barn Playhouse 2. Folkfest Saskatoon Hansel & Gretel Preschool Inc. Imhoff Heritage Society, St. Walburg Jagd- und Fischverein “Waidmann’s Lust”, Regina EVENTS AT THE LANGUAGE SCHOOL German Language School, Saskatoon — Susanne Pachal Karnevalsgesellschaft Harmonie, Regina Kochlöffel & Nudelholz: German-Canadian Koch- und Backstudio Lloydminster German Heritage Society Inc. First off I want to introduce myself: my name is Susanne Pachal, and I’m very excited to be the new coordinator for the German Language School Saskatoon. I’m taking the position over from Gabi Harrison, who has done a wonderful job as coordinator for the past 12 years. Gabi has accepted a position as Interim Executive Director of the Saskatchewan German Council. I grew up near Basel, Switzerland, and have lived in Canada for the past 17 years. My husband and I have 6 year old twins. We enjoy camping, fishing, hiking and skiing as a family. I taught the Level 3 class at the German Language School this past year, and I’m currently teaching the Tuesday/Thursday class at Hansel and Gretel preschool. It was wonderful to see so many returning students and their families as well as meet a few new faces! A lot of learning has already taken place in the last couple of weeks, and I’m looking forward to a fun-filled and successful school year for all of our students! We are planning several cultural events throughout the school year, and our first one will be Herbstfest (fall festival) on November 5, which we will be holding in conjunction with the AGM (Annual General Meeting). If you are interested in taking German language classes, check out our website: www.germanschoolsaskatoon.blogspot.ca. We offer classes for children age 5 and up as well as various levels for adults. Melville & District German Heritage Club Mennonite Heritage Village, Swift Current Parents Association of German Language School, Saskatoon Prince Albert German Canadian Club Waldhorn Regina German Film Club Saskatchewan Association of Teachers of German, Saskatoon Saskatchewan German Culture Assistance Fund Inc. Saskatoon German Days Skat Club Saskatoon Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Regina Village of Edenwold Volksliederchor Concordia, Saskatoon Volksliederchor Harmonie Inc., Regina Zichydorf Village Association 17 NEWS FROM SGC MEMBER GROUPS HELLO FROM THE GERMAN JUNIOR FOLK DANCERS German Junior Folk Dancers, Saskatoon — Barbara & Amanda Stehwien September started out with a full schedule of performances and more invitations from around the province than we could take on. We chose to travel to Prince Albert’s Culture Days Tapestrama, as it was the shortest of the trips - Estevan and Spiritwood probably require earlier planning. A huge thank you to the PA Waldhorn Club for once again providing a most delicious German supper for our travelers, with the best Bratwurst around, and a most delicious homemade lentil soup! Kuchen for dessert included - that alone was worth the trip! The summer was also much fun and included our 17th performance at Canada Day and a first ever invitation to perform as part of the high profile Dance on the Saskatchewan event. We were thrilled and felt this was something we shouldn’t turn down. In order to offer our very best performance, we even lured a couple of dancers out of retirement. It was rewarding to see the success of the two shows on a very hot summer day. The very young dancers managed to perform wonderfully in the big Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan tent and the teen dancers were high energy and also quite a hit. A big thank you to the dancers and parents for helping to make it a success. 2 We’d also like to welcome our new and returning members for this 2015/16 season as we’re looking forward to a fun fall season. There are some projects and performances lined up for the pre-Christmas weeks as well, part of which is our annual Lebkuchen fundraiser and the largest playmobil display yet. If anyone would like to place a Lebkuchen order through us, it’s not too early to get in touch: barbara@ germanjuniorfolkdancers.ca 3 1 1. From the archives: Florian and Evan, Canada Day 15 years ago 2. Little dancers in the big Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan tent (photo: Ken Greenhorn) 3. Big applause for Katrina, Amanda, Anita & Florian after the Dance on the Saskatchewan performance (photo: Ken Greenhorn) COMMUNITY RADIO NEWS Community Radio Station, Saskatoon— Sigrid Kirmse The more than one hundred hosts, who bring alternative music to our community, worked hard to bring in the donations at this year’s FM-Phasis 2015. We hope we made it! The goal was $70,000. The donation from the Saskatchewan German Council for the German program Treffpunkt Deutschland is always a great help and very appreciated. Thanks to all. Shortly after the fundraiser, the radio station held its annual Art Auction. Other fundraisers are in the making. Station Manager Neil Bergen said; “The money is badly needed, our equipment has to be replaced, you can do only so many repairs and that’s it.” As usual, Thorsten Brendel hosts the “music for the younger generation” every second Sunday of the month. I like to thank him and Helge Struthers for helping out when necessary. The German program Treffpunkt Deutschland is aired every Sunday from 1-3 p.m. live on 90.5 FM. It can also be heard on the computer over www.cfcr.ca – go to program and Sunday. I recently found and listened to it while I was in Germany. Requests have to be made one week in advance. I wish you all a wonderful autumn. 18 AN UPDATE FROM THE PRESCHOOL Hansel and Gretel Preschool Inc., Saskatoon —Ulrike Hecker It is the beginning of a new school year, and our students have settled nicely into their new classes. All of our three- and four-year-olds are enjoying their daily preschool routine that includes playing with their new friends, exploring nature, making crafts and, of course, singing German songs and rhymes. We have 45 students registered in our three classes. A warm welcome goes to the new teacher in our Tuesday-Thursday class, Mrs. Susanne Pachal. She is also the new coordinator of the Saskatoon German Language School. This year our preschoolers were invited by the German Cultural Centre to perform at the Folkfest on August 15. We were very proud to see our little ones on the stage, sharing a variety of German songs and rhymes that they had learnt in preschool. On August 15, we also celebrated the 30th anniversary of the preschool. The preschool was founded in 1985 by Sigrid Kirmse and Leslie Angele . 1 The former “German Pre-Kindergarten” has grown and flourished over the last 3o years. Our program would not be as successful as it is today without the passion and devotion of all the teachers and parents that have been part of our preschool over the last 30 years. Thank you for all your support! We are looking forward to another year of fun and learning with our little German language learners. If you are interested in the program or have questions, please contact Uli Hecker; Coordinator.hanselandgretel@gmail.com (306-281-4428). Hanselandgretelpreschool.blogspot.ca 2 1. Hansel and Gretel Preschool performing at Folkfest 2. Sorting by colours GUTEN TAG FROM THE GERMAN CULTURAL CENTRE German Cultural Centre, Saskatoon — Adeline Vogelgesang It was a busy time at the German Cultural Centre prior to Folk Fest, which was held on August 13, 14 and 15. With the extreme heat on Thursday and the all-day rain on Saturday, out attendance was down. However, in spite of the rain on Saturday, we were pleased with the crowd and the fun everyone had. There was an intermission which allowed the crowd to go outside to witness the full eclipse of the moon (blood moon). This occurrence will not be seen again until 2033. We are looking forward to our popular annual Oktoberfest, to be held on Saturday, October 17. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. In addition to the regular popular outdoor entertainment, there was also a three piece German band from Calgary, who won the hearts of the crowd. The indoor crowd was entertained by the Junior and Senior dancers, as well as by a popular local vocal group. Our second “Halloween Howl” night will be held at the hall on Tuesday, October 27. A fun night for all ages, with games, scary stories and food. All are invited to wear costumes to this “come and go” event from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. We were honored to have Mr. and Mrs. Willy Baessler from Prince Albert attend on Saturday. Mr. Baessler, a skilled butcher, offered to carve the roast pig which was cooked outdoors in the “Pig Tent.” This attracted many patrons to stop and watch Willy’s skill. The “Sock Hop” to be held on Friday, October 30, will be a night of dancing and entertainment. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. A well-attended fall supper was held on Friday, September 11. The food was delicious. The “Ed Sullivan Night” held on Sunday, September 27, had the hall filled to capacity. The evening was a huge success with entertainment from the 1950s and 1960s, such as “The Beach Boys” and “Patsy Cline.” The crowd had a variety of food choices, bags of freshly popped popcorn were also available. Due to circumstances, our president Del Peters dutifully took on the extra duties of managing the Cultural Centre for a few months, until our present manager, Cindy Hobbs, took on the position. Del’s many hours were indeed appreciated. Del Peters has resigned as president, and Darrell Dick, who is familiar with the position, is now president of our club. For inquiries on tickets, call the club at 306-244-6869. 19 NEWS FROM SGC MEMBER GROUPS CHANGING SEASONS - DAS SCHULHAUS IN REGINA Das Schulhause – Regina German Language School Inc. — Sabine Zagoricnik-Wecker and Dr. Olga Lovick What a busy time it is, when leaves turn all yellow and red, and the days get shorter. At the same time, the end of summer and the changing season makes things hum again. I remember it to be an exiting time as a school aged child. It is the same feeling I have starting a new school year at Das Schulhaus. A special motivation starter was the bi-annual national conference of the Canadian Association of German Language Schools this year. It just took place at the end of August in Toronto and left us with a lot of inspiration. But back to the German School: Teachers are happy to see each other again, students look so grown up, classes rearrange, and we always welcome new students. It takes a few weeks for everything to settle again, until the last books finally arrive, or the students find their fitting classes. work environment, we create something important for the whole community. A legacy is not carried on simply through paper, a legacy is carried on in our hearts. Here is to another successful year at Das Schulhaus! Want to learn more about Das Schulhaus? Please contact das Schulhaus at dasSchulhaus@gmail.com or find more contact info on our website www.dasSchulhaus.org. We are still accepting new students in our classes! KOMM, WIR LERNEN DEUTSCH! Wir freuen uns auf euch! Growing from seeds planted over 60 years ago by other institutions, Das Schulhaus has grown into a vibrant German language school. We have 50 students enrolled this year. At the very heart of our organization lie our vision and mission to promote German language and culture in a contemporary and authentic way in Saskatchewan. Through our classes, and through our collaborative WAS IST LOS IN HUMBOLDT? German Heritage Society of Humboldt and District, Humboldt — Ursula Klassen We hope you all had a great summer. We are now into the fall season, with the weather co-operating to allow the farming community to complete the harvest. We wish you all a colourful fall with more comfortable days ahead. The 100th anniversary of our Water Tower was a beautiful day, and the crowd was overwhelming. Tours to the top of the tower were promoted for a curious crowd of people, old and young. Everyone who was on the tour was amazed at the site when they reached the top. All of the demands could not be met and as a result, we have more tours by appointment. Old fashioned games were played with the children. One hundred coloured balloons were released from the top of the tower after Mayor Malcolm Eaton expressed his welcome. The fire department set up water sprays instead of fireworks. Three large cakes were consumed, and hamburgers as well as hotdogs were also provided. The Little German Band entertained while the food was being served. Presentations were made to Mayor Eaton, Minster Donna Harpauer, Al Gill from the Architectural Heritage Society, as well as Norman Duerr, Dan Steiner, Hubert Possberg and Ed Brockmeyer. Six stained glass windows depicting the source of the water provided by the tower in its early years were developed by Elaina Adams, our stained glass specialist. These windows were dedicated to Marianne Steiner, deceased wife of Dan Steiner. In October, we celebrated our 30th anniversary of the German Heritage Society. We were excited to host members from the first executive of 1985. A traditional German menu was followed by black forest cake for added calories. 1 2 1. Humboldt Water Tour 2. Little German Band 20 AN UPDATE FROM THE SCHUHPLATTLER VEREIN Concordia Alpenrose Schuhplattler Verein, Saskatoon — Heidi Armstrong We had another successful weekend at Folkfest this summer! The rainy weather did not stop our sets on the outdoor stage, and many people watched from under the beer tent. The debut of our new dance to Rammstein’s “Du Hast” was very well received. You can keep in touch with the Alpenrose dancers by liking our Facebook page “Concordia Alpenrose Schuhplattler Verein” or by following this link https://www.facebook.com/germandancers. Our dancers have been preparing for a busy autumn dance season filled with lots of Oktoberfest fun! Nine of our dancers are travelling to North Battleford to perform at the Rotary Club of Battleford’s Oktoberfest on October 3. On October 17, we will be dancing at Saskatoon German Cultural Centre’s Oktoberfest. Finally, we will travel to Lloydminster’s Oktoberfest on October 23 to take part in their opening activities and perform throughout the evening. Additionally, one of our members is getting married on the Thanksgiving weekend in Saskatoon, and we are honored to dance at her reception. Christkindl Market will be held at the Cultural Centre on November 15. We will be selling Glühwein and enjoying the festivities. We are planning a Schnitzel Night Fundraiser – watch for more information! NEWS FROM THE CONCORDIA JUNIOR ALPENROSE DANCERS Concordia Junior Alpenrose Dancers, Saskatoon — Brenda Booker We started off the summer at The Children’s Festival for the first time. We performed and then held an Audience Participation Workshop. Dancers had a great time at both the Workshop and Festival activities. Canada Day was a scorcher, but our dancers kept their cool and put on a spectacular performance. They were so proud to have three new dances to perform. Some families were able to stay and enjoy the other festivities. the dances and the costumes. CJAD will again be participating in the “Halloween Howl” on Oct 27. Games and bouncy houses, food and Spooky Punch, to purchase, for children and adults. $4 tickets can be purchased from CJAD or the German Cultural Centre. Hope to see you all there!! From the ‘Concordia Junior Alpenrose Dancers’ (CJAD), contact Brenda (call 306-373-7973)(text 306-371-7923). Thanks to all the Dance Families who organized their summer to allow for family holiday time, as well as additional Folkfest practices. It was the first Folkfest experience for some of our dancers. Even with the long hours and busy performance schedule, all dancers had a great time and performed well. A few of the boys joined the men for a nightly performance of ‘The Miner’s Dance.’ We couldn’t be more proud of them. Thanks to Joan for finding the boys matching Alpine hats. That really finished off their costumes perfectly. We incorporated many new dances into our performances. We were especially proud of ‘The Cane Dance,’ as we’ve only ever seen one other group perform it. It has a bit of everything in it. Props, girls twirling & even a bit of schuhplattling. Danke Neil Stubbs for ‘making the music for us.’ 1 Thanks to all your support, we again had a “Sold Out” Candy/Cookie Sale & Raffle. Thanks Amanda for spearheading the return of the Lebkuchenherzen (Gingerbread Hearts). Thanks to Jayana’s family for their donation of the Sunflower Table that was used in our raffle. We welcomed a few new dancers at fall registration night with treats and dancing. They were catching on brilliantly and we look forward to getting them ready to perform. We are looking forward to the next few months for a variety of reasons. We’ll enjoy getting our new dancers ready for performances, both with 2 1. The Boys showing it at Canada Day 2. CJAD at their first Canada Day 21 NEWS FROM SGC MEMBER GROUPS NEWS FROM THE VOLKSLIEDERCHOR HARMONIE IN REGINA Volksliederchor Harmonie, Regina — Mary Kondzielewski Thank you to Stewart Wilkinson for filling in as conductor on a temporary basis, while Ken Holzer is recuperating. The choir performed at the German Club’s 60th anniversary celebration on September 12. We were one of several groups providing entertainment after the delicious meal. A good time was had by all who were able to take part in this event. Choir members hosted the 3rd annual Harvest Fest on September 25. Traditional fall-time food of onion cake, potato soup, apple cider and German wines were served. Traditional seasonal songs were also served up by the choir. It is good to be able to feed both the body and the soul. We have started to practise the songs we will be performing at our Christmas concert in early December. We hope our many “fans” will be able to join us when we celebrate the Advent season later this year! HELLO FROM THE GERMAN CANADIAN SOCIETY HARMONIE German Canadian Society Harmonie, Regina — Patrick A. Kossmann As I write this article, we are currently running our annual Oktoberfest weekend. Before I share how that is going, let me share a bit about our big anniversary. This year our club celebrated its 60th anniversary. Guests enjoyed a Sauerbraten meal and then were entertained by the various subgroups. The Jagd-und Fischverein Waidmanns Lust gave a very thorough history of the club. The German Language School and Das Schulhaus shared how their schools are doing. The Karnevalsgesellschaft Harmonie showed off some of their dances, and Volksliederchor “Harmonie” Inc. shared a few songs. The Regina German Club has taken a big step this year in starting a Schuhplattler group. Six men have stepped forward to try their hand (and their legs) at the dance style. Das Volle Lederpaket made their debut at the 60th anniversary to the joy of all in attendance. The group will be performing three routines at the Oktoberfest opening ceremonies. Our Festessen (feast) was well attended as another sellout event at the club, Bryce’s cooking continues to be very popular. Our chef prepared a smoked beef, schupfnudeln, honey roasted beets, and carrots. We heard nothing but positive feedback from everyone that attended, and many are planning to return next year. Make sure you get your tickets early! This year, we continued to build on our Mr. and Ms. Oktoberfest contest that we introduced two years ago. We are proud to announce that Patrick and Mel are our winners of this year’s competition. Both Patrick and Mel have worked and volunteered for the German Club, and we are excited for their support over the next year. You can expect to see them around the club, maybe even wearing their sashes and crowns. Family Fun Day continued for our second year. It ran from 2 - 5 p.m. this year, and though weather did dampen our outdoor events, children still were able to take part in: German participation dances, face painting, balloon animals, photo booth, bouncy house, pictures with the Regina Costume League, a colouring contest and pony rides. Our ceremonial keg tapping was attended by City Councilor Jerry Flegel, Mr. and Ms. Oktoberfest, Harry (our miniature horse) and das Volle Lederpaket. We had a fun night of dancing, eating, drinking and visiting with old friends. With winter approaching, we turn our focus to our annual Christkindlmarkt. Make sure you check out our website www.reginagermanclub.ca for more details and to find out what is happening at the club. 22 1 2 3 1. The crowd of patrons attending our 60th anniversary celebration 2. Das Volle Lederpaket Schuhplattler Verein 3. The outgoing Mr. and Ms. Oktoberfest 2014, newly crowned Mr. and Ms. Oktoberfest 2015, Club President Kerri Van Loosen, and MC Patrick A. Kossmann GREETINGS FROM THE NEW GROUP KulturGarten Saskatoon — Michael Oelck Das Saskatchewan German Council hat eine neue Mitgliedsgruppe, den KulturGarten Saskatoon. Die Gruppe möchte nicht nur die traditionelle Kultur aus Deutschland darstellen, sondern vor allem das aktive Deutschland von heute zeigen, die führende Technologienation in der Mitte Europas. The Saskatchewan German Council has a new member group, the KulturGarten Saskatoon. The group not only wants to present traditional culture from Germany, but more so the active Germany of today, the leading technology nation in the middle of Europe. Naja, ein bisschen übertrieben ist das schon, denn eigentlich wurde nur der Name geändert. Die Gruppe um Rosa Gebhardt, die auch das Folkart Kunstgewerbe betreibt, und Brigitte Boldt-Leppin hatte unter dem Namen „Saskatoon German Days“ einige große kulturelle deutsche Events veranstaltet. Seit 2013 hat sich die Gruppe neu formiert und organisiert verschiedene Veranstaltungen. At Folkfest 2015 in Saskatoon, the members of KulturGarten Saskatoon presented themselves again with a booth in the large hall of the German Pavilion and showed the interested visitors German Folkart (peasant art from Southern Germany) as well as numerous other products under the title “Made in Germany”. Business owners from Saskatoon provided their German products free of charge, and many visitors at the KulturGarten booth were astonished: “I didn’t know that these items are also from Germany.” Haribo Gummibears, Sprengel and Ritter Sport chocolate, foods such as Bahlsen cookies, Tchibo coffee and Dr. Oetker pudding were not to be missed. The visitors liked our free samples very much! Also Maggi Sauce and Löwensenf would have fit in. The success of the booth was so good that it will certainly be repeated. The KulturGarten Saskatoon shall continue to grow and flourish. Well, we have to admit that this is a little exaggerated, as in fact only the name is new. The group around Rosa Gebhardt, who runs the Folkart craft business, and Brigitte Boldt-Leppin had organized a number of big cultural German events under the name “Saskatoon German Days”. Since 2013, the group has reinvented itself and organizes different events. Auf dem Folkfest 2015 in Saskatoon traten die Mitglieder des KulturGarten Saskatoon wieder mit einem Stand in der großen Halle des German Pavillon auf und präsentierten den interessierten Besuchern deutsche Bauernmalerei aus Süddeutschland und zahlreiche Produkte unter dem Titel „Made in Germany.“ Geschäftsleute aus Saskatoon stellten ihre deutschen Produkte kostenlos zur Verfügung und so ging bei vielen Besuchern am KulturGarten-Stand ein Leuchten über das Gesicht: „Ich wußte gar nicht, dass diese Sachen auch aus Deutschland kommen.“ Haribo Gummibärchen, Sprengel und Ritter Sport Schokolade, Lebensmittel wie Bahlsen Kekse, Tchibo Kaffee und Dr. Oetker Pudding durften nicht fehlen. Die Besucher schätzten unsere Gratiskostproben sehr! Auch Maggi Würze und Löwensenf hätten noch gepaßt. Der Erfolg des Standes war so groß, dass er sicher wiederholt werden wird. Der KulturGarten Saskatoon soll weiterhin wachsen und gedeihen. 1 2 1. The KulturGarten-Team at Saskatoon Folkfest 2015 2. Michael Oelck presenting German products UPDATE FROM TRINITY Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Regina — Frieda Koenig As the days become shorter and temperatures cooler, we know that winter is just around the corner. The summer was wonderful, and so is the fall with all its majestic colouring of trees and bushes. This year has been an exceptional year of great colour beauty. I hope everyone takes time to admire and be grateful for all the things and privileges we have. The Bible Vacation School in July was a success again with 16 children participating. Thanks to Pastor Lindsay and Lara who wrote the program along with Berbel and Helga helping to organize the activities. Thanks also to the many other helpers. Our church programs are back into full swing - Sunday school has started, the choir practices every Wednesday at 7 p.m., the ladies’ sewing group meets Tuesday mornings, and other committees meet to plan and organize upcoming activities. The annual Fall Fowl Supper will be held on Sunday November 8 at 5 p.m. For tickets please call the church office at 306-757-7729. Tickets sell out fast so please do not delay missing an exceptional meal. Every Sunday, services are in German at 9:30 a.m. and in English at 11 o’clock with Pastor Lindsay Hognestad. Sunday school is at 11 o’clock as well. I would like to conclude with words from a sermon by Warren E. Berkley titled “Locating the Real Treasure.” Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 23 NEWS FROM SGC MEMBER GROUPS HALLO FROM THE GERMAN LANGUAGE SCHOOL OF REGINA German Language School of Regina / Deutsche Sprachschule Regina — Sandra Morin Our annual Laternenparade took place on April 25 with a wonderful walk around Wascana Lake while we sang songs and shared many laughs. ‘Opa’ Harald Berwald was waiting for our return to greet us with hot chocolate and cookies. We said ‘Auf Wiedersehen’ to the summer at the annual Sommerfest, which also took place in Wascana Park on May 31. Everyone looked forward to being able to sample the salads and baking that each family brought and to engage in pleasant conversation or participate in the activities. However, the surprise highlight of the event was Oskar’s bratwurst, that Werner and Regina Furkert barbecued to perfection! They were delicious as always, and we extend tremendous thanks to Oskar Scheuerpflug for his generosity. In true tradition, there were many attempts to walk with the various heights of stilts available, with the tie for the longest duration being between two teachers, Esther and Jenni. The start of the 2015/2016 school year began with an invitation to do a presentation at the 60th anniversary of the German Club in Regina on September 12. Our school performed “Mein Hut, der hat drei Ecken” complete with tricorn hats that were sent from Germany and “Ich geh’ mit meiner Laterne” with various colours of lanterns. We had great fun trying to remember the hand actions while we were singing and enjoyed having the audience sing along with us. Thank you to the parents who drove in from the cottage and elsewhere on a Saturday evening to allow their children to participate, and thank you to the teachers for the preparation and dedication to this event! 1 We welcomed the new students to our school with the gifting of Schultüten and the explanation of the tradition by the students who had already attended our school. We have made a slight modification to the actual tradition as we present Schultüten to any new students to our school, of any age. 2 Spaß durch Lernen! 1. Morgan and Luke give the ‘double thumbs up’ at the Laternenparade 2. Singing ‘Mein Hut, der hat drei Ecken’ at the 60th anniversary celebration of the German Club in Regina 3. Welcoming new students with a Schultüte filled with goodies and school supplies 3 FOLKFEST AND PICKLING AT THE COOKING CLUB! Kochlöffel & Nudelholz: German –Canadian Koch- und Backstudio, Saskatoon — Franziska Davies The summer months for the cooking club are used to take a break and gather ideas for the upcoming cooking season. A big event that was new for the club was the participation in Folkfest. We had a small table that was filled with lots of information and our Candy-guessing game! Thank you to Julie Yu, Karl Lehmann, Gerald Kohlberg, David Davies and Nathan Perret for volunteering! Congratulations to Damien Panko for winning the jar of candy and two free cooking classes! It was such a success that we’ll definitely have another jar of candy to win next year. The 2015-2016 season started off with a pickling class, the idea for it had been swimming around in my head for a while. It always seems to be that people are a little hesitant when it comes to pickling things, even though it’s relatively simple. The recipes for the September class were for Senfgurken and Perlzwiebeln. We had a big class again and everyone was ready to learn about the pickling process. Each participant was able to take home several jars of Senfgurken and Perlzwiebeln! 24 For October, we’ll be having a traditional Bavarian night with Schweinshaxe, Rotkohl and Knödel. Thank you to the German Cultural Centre for hosting us again this cooking season! If you’d like more information, please e-mail me at kochloeffelandnudelholz@gmail.com or call 306-292-2117. 1. Our table at Folkfest with the jar of candy K I N DE R - & JUGENDSEITEN Zum Ausmalen Witze Eine Mutter bringt ihre Zwillinge Tim und Tom ins Bett. Tim lacht und lacht, da fragt die Mutter: “Warum lachst du denn?” Tim antwortet: “Weil du Tom zweimal gebadet hast und mich gar nicht!” Source: Fotolia Suchbild Zwiebels Nachbarn haben einen neuen Hund. “Dein Hund lügt”, behauptet Max. “Stimmt überhaupt nicht!” protestiert der Nachbarjunge gekränkt. “Wetten?” sagt Max. Er beugt sich zu dem Hund hinunter, faucht und sagt: “Wie macht die Katze?” “Wau, wau!” antwortet der Hund. “Siehste!” sagt Max und schaut den Nachbarsjungen triumphierend an. Kalle ist mit seinem Bruder Schorsch in der Sporthalle und wie immer der Erste beim Duschen. Da Kalle ein ziemlich fauler Strick ist, schreibt er einen Zettel: “Lieber Schorsch. Nimm du bitte meine Tasche mit nach Hause. Ich hab sie vergessen.” Schorsch schreibt darunter: “Nimm doch lieber du sie mit. Ich hab den Zettel nicht gesehen.“ Ein Mann fragt den Verkäufer am Marktstand: „Sind das schweizerische oder ausländische Birnen?“ Sagt der Verkäufer: „Wollen Sie sie essen oder mit ihnen sprechen?“ Source: Fotolia 25 Finde den Weg Source: Fotolia Halloween-Quiz Bald ist es wieder soweit! Halloween steht vor der Tür und für eine Nacht regieren Monster und Gespenster die Straßen. Süßigkeiten und Kürbise gehören natürlich jedes Jahr dazu. Aber was weißt du eigentlich sonst noch so über Halloween? Check dein Wissen im Postillion-Halloween-Quiz! Die richtigen Lösungen gibt es im nächsten Postillion. What day do we celebrate Halloween? a) December 31 b) October 3 c) Ocotber 31 What do German kids say when they ask for candies? a) Süßes oder Saures! b) Wir wollen Süßigkeiten! c) Süßes oder Scherz! Halloween was not invented in the USA or Canada. People from what country brought Halloween to North America? a) Ireland b) Germany c) Austria Why did people in the past start carving pumpkins? a) Its glowing faces were supposed to scare away evil spirits. b) People have always loved pumpkin soup in the fall. c) Its glowing faces were supopsed to make people laugh. What religious holiday is celebrated the day after Halloween? a) All Saints’ Day (Allerheiligen) b) Christmas c) Easter 26 27 Publication Mail Agreement # 42086521 Please return unclaimed copies to: Saskatchewan German Council Inc. John V. Remai Center 510 Cynthia Street Saskatoon, SK S7L 7K7 ADVERTISEMENT