VISITING
AUTHOR-ARTICLE
JANUARY
2010
Kirchweih
Forwarded by
American Aid Society, Chicago
Our annual Kirchweihfest took place on a cool and cloudy
Saturday. It has just been an unusual cold and rainy fall season. Even
though it was cool, the atmosphere inside was warm and delightful. The
Kirchweih is our least attended event due to the fact that it is on
Saturday and in Lake Villa, which makes it very difficult for many of
our elder members to attend. Many can no longer drive at night or the
distance to Lake Villa. We need our younger members to bring the
elderly with them by being volunteer drivers.
The program opened with the first march shortly after 8 PM.
Ingrid Lisauskas opened by singing the national anthem. Vice-president
Siggy Henz was the Master of Ceremony. President Joseph Stein
introduced Eckhardt Blaumueller, President of the Donauschwaben,
Michael Walter, President of the Karlsdorfer, Joe Schneider, President
of the Kerneier, Helen Meiszner, President of the Germania Women's
Club, a group from the Lieblinger Club, and honorary presidents of the
American Aid Society, Richard Gunther and Hans Gebavi. Rosemary
Fechner was congratulated on receiving the award of outstanding
teacher from among 1000 Lutheran teachers. He thanked all the guests
and volunteers who worked so hard to make everything run smoothly. The
leaders of the Kindergruppe and Jugendgruppe were commended for the
hard work they do with our children and youth group members. Joyce
Csapo then presented the American Aid Society with a plaque of
appreciation from the German Day Association for our financial
contributions to the Steuben parade in the last 43 years.
The Kindergruppe did their Kirchweih march first. At the end, a
boy’s name was drawn from a hat and the winner was Eric Iwaniec who
gave the Strauß to his partner Eileen Kennedy. They danced an
honorary dance before the rest of the group joined in the dance. All
marched out with smiling faces. At 10 PM, the Jugendgruppe marched in
to auction of the Strauß. Among the marches were guests from Detroit,
Cleveland, Los Angeles, and Milwaukee as well as many of our own
Jugendgruppe who had come home from college. They all received a warm
welcome with much applause. Siggy Henz said the Kirchweih poem and
Erik Lisauskas was the auctioneer. After a record breaking bidding,
Matthias Wissmann won, and he gave the Strauß to his partner, Julie
Davis. All family members from both sides took part in the honorary
dance. Everyone had a most enjoyable time. The Perlen Band provided
the evenings music. The Davis and Wissmann families provided breakfast
at the conclusion of the evening. All guests who had remained were
invited to partake in the large selection of delicious food. It was
fit for a king. So much variety of cold and hot foods as well as
home-made desserts. The party went well into the wee hours of the
morning.
We are ever grateful to Nick and Helen Fritz, Waldemar and
Magdalena Markwald. John and Barbara Gabler Sr Mary Mihalovich. Resi
Seidl. and Mr. and Mrs. Hatzisch for the donation of all the Rosmarein
used for the Strausses and decorations this evening. What would a
Kirchweih be without Rosmarein ? Thank
you so much and continue the good work. Erika Scheffrahn, our
decorator, made good use of the Rosmarein in her decorations. Great
job!
See you all
again at our Kirchweih in 2010.
|