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December/January 2005
Leonardo DiCaprio
by Vickie Rubinson
“Some of the best times I have ever had in my life were when I was dirt poor and didn’t have a care in the world!” said actor Leonardo DiCaprio at the premiere of his movie Catch Me If You Can.
“Of course it’s easy to say that when you have money and I am extremely grateful for what it has given me. You know, being able to take my mom and grandma wherever…they want to
go, to give them anything they want, to buy my mom a beach house – these things make me happy.”
Leonardo DiCaprio was born in Hollywood in 1974. In 1991, he was cast for his first feature film Critters III. Later that year, he was invited to join the cast of the
popular television show “Growing Pains.” He then went on to star in the highly acclaimed movie This Boy’s Life, appearing alongside Robert DeNiro and Ellen Barkin. After receiving critical acclaim at
eighteen for the film This Boy’s Life and an Oscar nomination for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, Leonardo had his teen-idol warm up for the 1996 film Romeo & Juliet. Then came the frenzy
of Titanic.
Getting chased by fans through the streets of Paris and Tokyo was “frustrating and distracting” admits Leo. “There’s no real control over how the media or the public perceives
you. It was a reflective time for me.” Though his 2000 movie The Beach flopped, Leonardo kept his spirits up holding court at nightclubs with a continuous catwalk of models.
“I’m not going to stand here and say that I wasn’t a Don Juan in the past,” he laughs. “But I’m certainly not like that anymore.”
Leo is actually down to earth and close to his mother Irmalin, and his grandmother Helena, both from Germany. While filming Catch Me If You Can his mother and grandma visited him nearly every day on the set…
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Steinbach Nutcrackers: Six Generations and Counting
By Brenda Ruggiero
Of the many treasures that come to us from Germany, perhaps one of the most widely recognized and collected is the Steinbach nutcracker. These distinct carvings
come from a history filled with folklore, family tradition and fine craftsmanship.
The Steinbach Factory is currently under the direction of Herr Christian Steinbach, who is known as the “King of Nutcrackers.” He represents the fifth generation of the family
legacy, and serves as president of the company. The family began producing fine wood products in 1832, and still uses the age-old traditions to handcraft the items today. Besides nutcrackers, the factory also
produces smoking figures, Christmas ornaments and music boxes. Woods chosen from northern Europe include beech, maple, birch, linden and pine.
The Steinbach family can be traced back to Erwin Steinbach, a famous architect and master builder originally from Austria. At that time, the family included architects, builders,
merchants, judges, politicians and military men. Their work ethic is evidenced in a quote that has been repeated through the generations: “If one does not work hard to earn the heritage, one will perish in the
end or at best hold the stirrup for those who are on their way up.”…
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The Bells of Apolda and Laucha
by Jörg M. Unger
A lineage of bell founding resonates throughout two neighboring Thuringian towns.
“Oh, how interesting this museum is,” a lady remarked in English with a Saxon accent. “The chime of church bells has accompanied my life since I was baptized but I have never
wasted a thought about how they were founded.” With that, she went to a rack with two bronze bells, took a mallet, and rang the upper church bell, cast in the first Apolda bell-foundry of the early eighteenth
century.
Originating from the special display “The Art of Bell Founding,” the exhibition became the Bell Museum of Apolda in 1952. In eleven rooms, the museum shows the development of
European church bells – which is closely connected with the spreading of Christianity and evolution of sacral architecture – from the fifteenth to the twentieth century. It displays how bells were cast,
decorated, tuned, transported, consecrated, hung up, tolled, recast, and repaired. The exhibition also gives information about famous bells, carillons, and, of course, the local bell-founders who carried the
name of Apolda throughout the world.
While church bells were exclusively made by monks or itinerant bell-founders in the Middle Ages, permanent bell-foundries were set up in big towns and the capitals of German
dukedoms and principalities in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The beginning of bell founding in Apolda dates back to 1722, when Johann Christoph Rose was commissioned to cast two bells for a
church to be built in this small town northeast of Weimar. Rose was descended from a family of bell-founders in Volkstedt, a hamlet near the capital of the principality Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, where Friedrich
Schiller later wrote “Das Lied von der Glocke” (The Song About The Bell), after having watched the workers in Johannes Mayer’s bell-foundry. With the help of Apolda’s parish, Johann Christoph Rose set up his
workshop at today’s Glockengiesserei Strasse No. 18 (Bell-Foundry Street). However, that church was never built and so the first bells from Rose’s workshop were put, unused, in a shed next to the castle of
Apolda until they were finally hung up in the Luther Church, one hundred seventy-two years later, in 1894. While the biggest of the bells developed a crack in 1913, the smaller one is still in use today. When
Johann Christoph Rose died in 1748, Martin Rose carried on the business until his death in 1758.
One year later, Johann Georg Ulrich bought Rose’s bell-foundry and became a citizen of Apolda. He stemmed from an old Hessian bell-founder family. His father had moved to Laucha, a
small place on the banks of the river Unstrut, about sixteen miles northeast of Apolda, in 1731, to cast three bells for Laucha’s Marienkirche (Church of Our Lady). In 1762, the government of the dukedom
Saxon-Weimar granted Johann Georg the right to cast bells for the whole region. Johann Georg Ulrich had three brothers. While Johann Gottfried joined his brother in Apolda, Johann Christian worked as an
itinerant bell-founder, and Johann Heinrich carried on their father’s business in Laucha…
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Wandering Along the Alsatian Wine Route
By Leah Larkin
Visit this wonderful border region where nationalities have changed over the centuries but the heart remains Alsatian.
“Where there is wine, there is joie de vivre,” says Alsatian vintner Jean Sipp. “Wine generates happiness and conviviality. It reduces stress.”
Sipp, a jovial type with a ready smile, seems to embody that spirit. He has inherited family vineyards outside of the town of Ribeauvillé, and sells the wine he produces from a wine
cellar that is part of his home in the village.
Alsace is an ideal place to intersperse travel with wine tasting – and fine dining. The Alsace Wine Route (Route du Vin) extends for one hundred five miles from Marlenheim, in
the north near Strasbourg, to Thann in the south, almost at the Swiss border. It twists through a rolling landscape of vineyards stretched along the foothills of the Vosges Mountains, from one charming, quaint
village to another. Castles perch on top many a mountain. You could tour the area in a day, but that would be a pity. Best to linger and move on at a leisurely pace.
Along the way, you will see numerous signs, “Dégustation,” inviting you to sample the fruit of the vines. Stop. Chat with the vintners, friendly, welcoming types who will be
eager to tell you about their wines. Most speak German. Some speak English. Naturally, all speak French.
You will want to savor Alsatian cuisine. For the ultimate, dine at a restaurant which has earned a star – or two or three – from the famed Michelin. (Consult the red Michelin guide for
France). Or, just wander into a village restaurant or bistro where you will rarely be disappointed.
Before setting out on the wine route, a visit to Strasbourg
is a must. This is the largest town in Alsace, the regional capital, a university city, the seat of the European Parliament and a busy port lying just two miles west of the Rhine. Most tourists come to admire its Gothic cathedral whose spindly spire, the second highest church tower in France, juts way above city rooftops. If you are feeling energetic, you can climb to the top of the steeple for a panoramic view of the city below, as well as the Vosges Mountains and the Black Forest. Germany’s famous poet, Goethe, studied in Strasbourg. It is said that he forced himself to climb the tower regularly as an exercise of will against the vertigo from which he suffered…
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Trees of Memories
by Sharon Hudgins
A lifetime of travel memories are awakened each and every Christmas.
"Oh, you have a German Christmas tree!" exclaimed several guests when they arrived at our house for a dinner party last winter.
I hadn't really thought about our tree that way before. However, they were right: Even though our freshly cut Fraser fir is covered with folk art decorations from all over the
world, it's really a German-style tree that reflects traditions rooted deep in Germanic culture.
The first recorded mention of a Christmas tree in Europe dates from 1605, when a resident of Strasbourg described how fir trees were brought indoors at that time of year and
decorated with colored paper, gold foil, fruits, and sweets. By the 1700s, candles also adorned the branches of these holiday evergreens.
Until the nineteenth century, the practice of erecting a Weihnachtsbaum at Christmas was found primarily in Germanic lands, more often in Protestant regions than in Catholic ones.
The custom eventually spread to much of northern Europe, including Scandinavia and England, as well as to the United States.
My husband Tom and I celebrated our first Christmas together in Germany more than three decades ago, shortly after we were married. Although we lived in Germany for fifteen more
years, I've never forgotten our first Christmas there – and the evergreen tree that still holds a special place in my heart.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, Tom convinced me that he was either Ebeneezer Scrooge or the Grinch who stole Christmas (maybe both). "Bah, humbug!" he replied
whenever I mentioned getting a Christmas tree. When I finally persuaded him to purchase one, I found out that his sour attitude was all a sham. Hoping not to offend my new love, I picked out the smallest,
scraggliest, cheapest tree on the lot. Tom gave me a withering look – and chose a full, bushy, nicely shaped evergreen that took up a considerable amount of space in our little apartment. From then on, I knew
that Christmas with Tom was going to be my favorite holiday…
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American Christkindlmarkts
by Jennifer Raley
The scents of a German Christmas fill the air as the Christkindlmarkt tradition comes to life across America.
For centuries, Christkindlmarkts have been an enchanting prelude to the Christmas season. The tradition originated in Germany where picturesque towns and villages are transformed into
winter wonderlands filled with the sights and smells representative of the joyous season. For many holiday enthusiasts, there is no better way of getting into the holiday spirit than by smelling the gingerbread,
mulled wine, and roasted chestnuts in the brisk air of late autumn while stopping to gaze at the charming crafts and dazzling ornaments along the decadently illuminated streets.
The Christkindlmarkts generally begin on the first week of the Advent – around the time of Thanksgiving – and last through December 24. These traditional German markets have
attracted visitors from all over the world; the Nuremberg Christkindlmarkt is among the most renowned and dates back to 1628.
Each Christkindlmarkt or Christkindlmarket formed its own distinct symbols, scenery, products, refreshments, and customs. Through the years, Christkindlmarkts have increased in
popularity, and many cities in the United States host Christkindlmarkts inspired by those of Germany.
Chicago, Illinois
November 25 – December 22
Chicago hosts one of the longest-running Christkindlmarkts in the United States. Since 1996, visitors have flocked to the city to experience the unique atmosphere of the Christmas
celebration. Visitors can participate in woodcarving workshops, view glass-blowing demonstrations, and browse through the many displays that feature delightful items, such as jewelry, musical instruments,
Christmas ornaments, candles, and pastries.
After a long day of searching for that perfect holiday gift, one can relax in the heated Wine and Beer Pavilion while enjoying live music. Their Ninth Annual Christkindlmarket will
feature over sixty-five displays with all the time-honored Christmas goods.
For a complete list of Chicago’s Christkindlmarket events, visit www.christkindlmarket.com or call 312-644-2662.
Leavenworth, Washington
November 26-27
The Eighth Annual Christkindlmarkt in Leavenworth will feature over twenty booths with something for everyone. This Christkindlmarkt will include a lantern workshop where people
create their own lanterns, which can be carried in the evening lantern parade. Leavenworth also features the Nutcracker Museum, which has over five thousand nutcrackers. Shoppers will enjoy the music of
local German bands as well as a Kinderchor. This spectacular event takes place on Thanksgiving weekend.
For additional information, visit www.leavenworth.org or call 509-548-8153.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
November 26-28, December 1-5, 8-12, and 15-19
Bethlehem’s Christkindlmarkt will include a very special musical performance: Christmas with the Von Trapp Children. Holiday displays and demonstrations highlight this Christmas
market, and people are sure to find magnificent gifts for everyone on their shopping lists. The fun starts the day after Thanksgiving.
For a complete list of dates or further information, visit www.christmascity.org or call 610-861-0678.
Baltimore, Maryland
November 27-28
The Mt. Zion Church in Baltimore will hold its Christkindlmarkt on the weekend following Thanksgiving. The event will feature arts and crafts, evergreen arrangements, Glühwein, and
traditional German foods, including Bratwurst and Nuremburg baking goods.
For additional information, call 410-727-3939.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
December 3-5
The German-American Society of Tulsa will hold its sixth annual Christkindlmarkt; the event will feature a variety of vendors who offer imported German holiday items. Shoppers can
enjoy authentic German foods, including potato pancakes, Stollen, sauerkraut, and sausage at the Kaffeestube. Children can meet the Chriskindl and St. Nicholas, enjoy a puppet show, and learn about German
holiday traditions.
For further information, visit www.gastulsa.org or call 918-744-6997.
Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario
December 1-5
The Kitchener-Waterloo Christkindl Market offers a wide array of events and displays. The festivities begin with the candlelit procession, one of the most popular events. Other
highlights include the pottery workshop, the children’s craft corner, and the miniature rail display. The event features several musical performances and vendors who have wonderful selections of gifts
including Christmas decorations, candles, craft supplies, baked goods, toys, and jewelry.
For more information, visit www.christkindlcanada.com or call 519-741-2387.
Ferdinand, Indiana
November 20-21
Visitors to Ferdinand’s Christkindlmarkt, sponsored by the Ferdinand Chamber of Commerce Tourism Committee, can participate in guided tours of the Monastery Immaculate Conception
and the home of the sisters of St. Benedict. In the community center, people can peruse through the selection of fine gifts and Christmas accessories from local crafters.
For more information, call 519-741-2387.
Cincinnati, Ohio
November 19-21
The Germania Society of Cincinnati will host its seventh annual Christkindlmarkt at Germania Park this year. The event will feature plenty of crafts and Christmas decorations.
Shoppers can enjoy refreshments and live music in the clubhouse.
For additional information, visit www.germaniasociety.com.
Austin, Texas
December 4
The German-Texan Heritage Society holds its annual Christkindlmarkt at the historic German Free School in downtown Austin. The Markt features wooden handicrafts from Erzgebirge,
hand-blown glass ornaments from Lauscha, and embroidered linens. A Kinderchor, accordion players, and German Sänger chors are scheduled to perform. The German-speaking St. Nikolaus, who passes out goody bags
to the children, is another highlight of the Markt.
For more information, call 866-482-GTHS.
These Christkindlmarkts are sure to put people in the holiday spirit. After coming in from the wintry weather, shoppers can enjoy the warmth of the Markts, experience delicious
holiday goodies, and search through the vast sprawl of booths to find the perfect gift. All visitors will take with them magical memories of a German Christmas…
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The Eastern Eifel: A Hidden Treasure
by Dr. Gregory H. Wolf
History, wine, and unique geology combine to form a delightful travel destination between the Rhine and Moselle rivers.
The Eifel, the romantic hill country framed by the Rhine River and Germany’s western border and Aachen and the Moselle River, is characterized by its diverse and attractive
landscape: dormant volcanoes, volcanic lakes, rolling hillsides, man-made reservoirs, and the romantic towns, castles, and monasteries located throughout. Historically, the Eifel was a poor region due to its
harsh climate and the fact that it was divided into so many smaller states and principalities. Nonetheless, the area is steeped in German history. It was an important military and economic center during the
Roman period when, in the fourth century, Emperor Constantine ruled the Western Empire from Trier, located in the southern part of the Eifel. Charlemagne, or Karl the Great, as the Germans prefer to call him,
founded and ruled the Carolingian Empire from Aachen in the north, which was also the city in which the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, from the tenth through sixteenth centuries, were crowned. The Eifel has
endured some of the most savage and destructive battles in German history. During the Thirty Years’ War (1618 to 1648) roaming bands of soldiers and mercenaries plundered the region. In the closing stages of
World War II, the Eifel was ravaged by some of the fiercest fighting on German soil when the Germans attempted one last military offensive campaign.
Though American tourists flock to the Moselle River to enjoy the wines or visit Aachen and Trier to experience history, many American tourists neglect one area: the Eastern Eifel
centering around the picturesque town of Mayen, approximately eighteen miles west of Koblenz and just a thirty-minute drive from the Moselle. An excursion to the Eastern Eifel will prove to be worthwhile, as
tourists will encounter romantic towns and villages and a volcanic landscape unique in Europe…
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Thin Tin: The Poured Figures from Dießen, Bavaria
By Peter Wilson
Colorful and collectible, these wonderful figures capture life’s moments and create memories.
The tin figure workshop of Wilhelm Schweizer in Dießen, a beautiful small Bavarian town of about ten thousand people on the west bank of the Ammersee is the most well known of the last
four remaining tin workshops in Germany. It is here that wonderful and charming small tin figures and decorative objects are produced (just as they were when the workshop was founded in 1796) entirely by
traditional hand processes. A slate is carefully engraved, molten tin is poured into the cut mold and the resulting design is either left with its raw metallic sheen or else meticulously painted. Tin, as it is
referred to here, is an alloy of tin, copper, and antimony and is more often referred to as pewter.
“We do have a few computers,” explained Matthias Geiger, the company’s master engraver. “We’ve got a laptop with a pad and electronic pencil which we use to re-work and fine-tune our
rough paper sketches. There is also a computer-steered engraving machine, which is useful for the repetitive projects we sometimes get. I think it was last used a year ago.” He comments, pointing to a
dust-covered machine, which looks strangely out of place in this long wooden workshop, full of natural light and familiar, well used tools. The workshop itself sits pleasantly within the green and luxuriant
century-old garden of the Schweizer family villa. It is a rare thing nowadays, this closely entwined mix between business and home. In the workshop where figures are cut, cast, and painted, a number of cats come
and go as they please, guinea pigs make themselves comfortable in their large cages, and Joan Miquel, the family’s young son, comes in to play and watch the work which keeps ten people busy.
Back at his workbench, Matthias puts a few finishing touches to a Christmas angel form from which numerous angels will come to eventually hang, silently praising, in countless Christmas
markets throughout Germany. The more “adventurous” angels will travel to stores across the world…
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Jewel of the Weser
by Mark Slider
There is a land where two rivers “kiss” and become one. Share the secret travel find of Hannoversch Münden.
It was the fourth day of a weeklong tour through Lower Saxony, North Rhineland-Westphalia, and Hessen. Our tour bus was filled with tour operators and journalists taking in the sights
and history of this less-talked-about region of Germany. Over the previous three days, the weather had not been our friend. Cloudy skies brought a cold, nearly continuous rain during the first week of May – good
for the lilacs and rapeseed fields that lined our route but less than ideal when it comes to sightseeing. At this point on our journey, most were suffering from “rainy days and Mondays (and Tuesdays and
Wednesdays)” syndrome. Little did we know that the gem ahead would sparkle even through the spring drizzle.
As soon as we made one last strategic turn and Hannoversch Münden (also referred to as Hann. Münden and Münden) came into view, “oohs” and “aahs” began to fill the tour bus. Murmurs of
“this was what I was hoping to see” and “this is going to be fun” were volleyed back and forth between my travel companions. Exiting the bus and stepping onto Hann. Münden’s cobblestone streets was like stepping
into the pages of a live-action fairy tale. The gentle rush and rumble of the water from the Fulda, Werra, and Weser rivers surrounding Hann. Münden provided a soothing soundtrack for our welcome.
German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt claimed Hann. Münden to be “one of the seven most beautifully located cities in the world.” Its location at the confluence of
the Werra and Fulda rivers and the surrounding wooded hills of Kaufung, Reinhard, and Bram make it very hard to argue against his statement.
In a French description of the Kingdom of Hanover, written in 1823, it is stated that Münden “son origine se perd dans la nuit des temps” or “its origins are lost in the mists of
antiquity” – a romantic and beautiful way of saying that no documentary evidence has been found or has survived to shed light on the date of Münden’s founding or the name of the founder. What is known is that
the town took form in the second half of the twelfth century. Referencing the ground plan of the Old Town, there was a system to the city plan. The Werra and Weser rivers served as boundaries between lands ruled
by the Saxon duke, Henry the Lion, and those controlled by Thuringian landgraves of the Ludowinger dynasty. The original settlement of Münden was not in the center of the Old Town but at the foot of the
Reinhardswald Forest, level with the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. Münden remained under the control of the landgraves until the line died out in 1247 with the passing of Heinrich IV Raspe. Immediately
afterward, Henry the Lion’s grandson, “Otto the Child” took possession of the town…
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Leica® Quality Defined
by Victor Tigron
The company that set the standard in photography celebrates eighty years of memorable imaging.
Today the phrase “Made in Germany” still spells precision, strength, value, and quality. Indeed, the tradition continues in the automotive industry where Audi, BMW, MAN, Mercedes,
Porsche, Opel, and VW appear to be supporting the economy single-handedly. It was not always so. Fine-mechanical and optical products rather than autos once dominated.
It was eighty years ago in June 1925, that one manufacturer, Ernst Leitz, GmbH/ Wetzlar, completely revolutionized photography, when it introduced the world’s first 35mm format camera,
the Leica, at the Leipzig Spring Trade Fair. No one then would have guessed that the production of photographic images, of imagery itself, and the way we view the world, would ever be the same again.
The story began in 1841 when precision craftsman Ernst Leitz immigrated from Switzerland to Wetzlar, a little Hessian town at the confluence of the Lahn and Dill rivers, about seventy
kilometers north of Frankfurt/Main.
Wetzlar was already a town of note. Just seventy years earlier the town had enjoyed notoriety as the mis-en-scène for Goethe’s highly autobiographical, first novel, The Passions of Young Werther. Only
Goethe could not bear Wetzlar and went on to other things. Ernst Leitz stayed put.
The Leitz Works quickly grew, turning out field glasses, binoculars, optical measuring goods, and lenses which quickly gained world renown, vaunted for their excellent optics and
precision hand-tooling.
Cut ahead to the years prior to World War I.
Another Ernst Leitz, the second of that name, directed Leitz/Wetzlar which then numbered more than one thousand employees. Its chief designer was a gentle, diminutive man named Oskar
Barnack.
Barnack’s passion was photography. Weekends and vacations were devoted to making images. Unfortunately, the large format view cameras of the day and the heavy tripods were so cumbersome
that Barnack was tuckered out and frustrated, schlepping all this paraphernalia around. There were also aesthetic drawbacks: The photographer’s presence was as much a part of the object being photographed as the
subject. Barnack, being shy and retiring wanted to capture real life objectively, unobtrusively, discretely. As early as 1905, he proceeded to invent a small, easily transportable, precision camera, which
initially was a small movie camera for testing production…
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Peter Prosch: Glove Trader, Confidant, Part-Time Fool
by Robert A. Selig
A “beggar boy’s” character and initiative take him from the streets of Germany to the courts of nobility.
The eighteenth century was an age of contrasts: rich and poor, splendor and poverty, existed closely next to each other. Nowhere was this splendor more visible than at the courts of the
rulers and in the conspicuous consumption of the nobility. We think of the Age of Absolutism as a time of rigid social structures and reconstruct it as a hierarchical society divided into noblemen, citizens, and
peasants. This it was, since men were indeed not "created equal," yet the various strata of society mingled by necessity and upward social mobility, though difficult, was possible. The Age of
Absolutism was a time when the members of society were not as physically separated as they sometimes are today. The ruling elites were accessible, because in the social contract between rulers and rules of
pre-French revolutionary times, they had to be accessible: wealth, power, and might carried social obligations. The price demanded by the subjects for their obedience and humility was alms, gifts, and support
during difficult times. Rulers were aware of their obligations in this reciprocal relationship and the risks they ran if they did not uphold their end of this social contract: the French Revolution did, after
all, begin as a food riot.
But how could a ruler gauge the mood, wishes, and concerns of his subjects? How could he, or she, get a "true" picture of what his subjects really thought about him, what it
was that they needed, where the problems were within the realm, what he himself was doing right – or wrong? Up into the middle of the eighteenth century, the “Hofnarr” – the court jester, met this need. By
holding a mirror up to the ruler, he reminded him that he, who ruled "by the Grace of God," nevertheless had an obligation to his subjects as well. Though treated like a fool, the jester was the only
one who could, and when asked to also would, assume the position of his master's equal, who spoke freely and critically to him.
One man who played this role of ignorant fool and trusted adviser extremely well was Peter Prosch. Prosch was born on 28 June 1744 in Ried in the Zillertal in Tyrol, the youngest of
eleven children of Gregor and Anna Prosch – desperately poor peasants. Orphaned at the age of eight, he became homeless at the age of nine when the wife of one of his older brothers inherited the family home and
threw him out onto the streets…
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Go for the Gold
by Sharon Hudgins
Shimmering with flecks of gold, this cinnamon flavored liqueur adds a festive touch to holiday celebrations.
Looking for a festive gift for the holidays? Need a special present for the host of a dinner party? Want a glitzy drink to serve your own guests at home?
Surprise them with a bottle of glittering Goldwasser, a German liqueur with paper-thin flakes of 22-carat gold leaf floating in the crystal-clear liquid.
Shake the bottle to stir up the gold flakes, then watch them slowly settle to the bottom again. It's like an adult version of those children's paperweights filled with artificial
snow.
According to The Wine Spectator, the first gold-flecked liqueur was l’eau clairette, a sweetened eau-de-vie made by a Frenchman more than seven hundred years ago. In 1598,
a Dutch Mennonite emigrant to Danzig (present-day Gdansk, Poland) established a distillery where he produced an herbal liqueur containing flakes of gold leaf, known as Danziger Goldwasser.
After several centuries of being produced in that Hanseatic city, Der Lachs Original Danziger Goldwasser is now made by the Hardenberg distillery in northern Germany. The liqueur's
trademark name, "Der Lachs" (The Salmon), has nothing to do with fish swimming among those bits of gold. It refers to the historical emblem of a salmon over the front door of the building where the
elixir was first distilled in Danzig. And the Star of David on the bottle is an old symbol of purity, health, and well-being, used by many beer brewers and liquor-makers since the Middle Ages…
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How A Steuben Monument Came to New Jersey
by Gert Niers
Siegfried “Sig” Bette, who was born in 1936 in Wuppertal-Elberfeld and emigrated to the United States twenty years later, did not have the vaguest idea that he would spend his golden
years on historical ground: in Freehold, New Jersey, where, in 1778, during the American War of Independence, the battle of Monmouth took place – a battle that proved to be decisive for the young nation. But
more about that later.
Born before World War II, Bette was too young to be drafted into the German army. However, that did not spare him the effects the war had on the civilian population. His family was
evacuated three times: first to Austria (in 1942, as well as in 1943); then to Thuringia in 1944 – that way they escaped the major bombardment of Wuppertal. By the end of the war, they were back in their
hometown. As one can assume, a regular life did not exist until after the war, when the young man was able to complete an apprenticeship as a lathe operator and toolmaker. This paved the road for a career in
mechanical engineering – a career which took off on the other side of the Atlantic.
One has to take into consideration that the 1950s in Germany were still a time of economic transition and consolidation. The dollar was worth more than four German Marks, and America’s
reputation as the land of unlimited possibilities stood beyond doubt. For many Germans who had experienced the immediate postwar period, the economic recovery during the early years of the Adenauer
administration did not go fast enough. Their outlook on America promised better opportunities, and this was also the case for Siegfried Bette. He finally followed the suggestion of his sister, who had been
living in New York City since 1951, and he made the big change of address in 1956. Soon the Garden State became his new home. The stations of his American life were Newark (1956-1961), Clark (1962-1967), and
Freehold (since 1967)…
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FAMILY RESEARCH: Map Guide to Church Records a Godsend
by James M. Beidler
If the importance of German church registers as a source of information can never be overstated, then the value of research aids for this record group is equally difficult to downplay.
So it is with the Map Guide to German Parish Registers, a series of books that Heritage Creations began to publish earlier this year.
Kevan M. Hansen, the author of German Ancestors: A Beginner's Guide, compiled the information for the “Map Guide” series, which is projected to fill forty volumes, when
completed, in the next couple of years.
The premise of the “Map Guide” series is straightforward: Take every populated place in the German Empire of 1871 and show to which parish the smaller places were assigned. For
researchers who know an immigrant ancestor’s place of origin, the “Map Guide” will then show the researcher the name of the parish in which records might be found pertaining to that ancestor…
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CALENDAR
December 2004
Toronto, Canada
November 29 – December 23: The fourth annual Toronto Christmas Market will be held in Nathan Phillips Square; open daily (weather permitting). For more information, telephone 613-965-1934 or visit www.info@cte-company.com.
Port St. Lucie, FL
December 1: Christmas Tour. Performers will include Anton aus Tirol, Petra Boeck, and Die Flotten Oberkrainer.
For more information, contact Gisela Lewis at 732-528-5135.
Sheboygan, WI
December 1: Christmas Kohler. The American Club celebrates Christmas throughout December with grand holiday traditions and activities for
the family. For more information, telephone 800-344-2838 or visit www.DestinationKohler.com.
Philadelphia, PA
December 1: Christmas Tour. Traveling tours featuring Anton aus Tirol, Petra Boeck, and Die Flotten Oberkrainer.
For more information, contact Gisela Lewis at 732-528-5135.
Sheboygan, WI
December 1: Holiday Memories. Animated window displays from the old Prange’s Department store will light the Sheboygan County Museum buildings. For more information, telephone 920-458-1103.
Ocala, FL
December 2: Christmas Tours in the Villages in Ocala. Performers will include Margret Almer, Bettina Stark, 3 Zackels, Werner George &
Raphael. For more information, contact Gisela Lewis at 732-528-5135.
Cape Coral, FL
December 3: Christmas Tour. Performers will include Margret Almer, Bettina Stark, 3 Zackels, Werner George & Raphael. For more information, contact Gisela Lewis at 732-528-5135.
Cleveland, OH
December 3: Christmas Tour. Performers will include Anton aus Tirol, Petra Boeck, and Die Flotten Oberkrainer. For more information,
contact Gisela Lewis at 732-528-5135.
Fredericksburg, TX
December 3 – 5: Weihnachten Celebration in Fredericksburg. A Christmas Festival and Market. For more information, contact
Fredericksburg Convention and Visitor Bureau at 1-888-997-3600 or visit www.fredericksburg-texas.com.
Leavenworth, WA
December 3 – 5: Christmas Lighting. The festivities are filled with numerous food booths including roasting chestnuts, holiday music from the gazebo, and holiday personalities strolling the streets: Santa, St. Nick, and Father Christmas provide photo opportunities. For more information, telephone 509-548-5807.
Sheboygan, WI
December 3 – 12: Old World Market. The outdoor-tented market features dozens of regional and international vendors displaying and selling
their creations. For more information, contact the Osthoff Resort, Elkhart Lake at 920-876-3366.
Charlottesville, VA
December 4: German Christmas Fair. The smell and taste of a German Christmas will tantalize you. For more information, telephone 434-977-1783 or (toll free) 877-386-1102.
Baltimore, MD
December 4: Christmas Party. Baltimore Edelweiss Club annual Christmas Party at Rosedale Gardens, Essex, Maryland. Event will include
dinner, door prizes, cake raffle, music, and a visit by St. Nikolaus. For more information, contact Olga deBloom at 410-444-8088.
San Antonio, TX
December 4: Kriskindlmarkt. Enjoy German and American culture and heritage entertainment in music, singing, and dancing, plus
selling German food, beer, and wine. For more information, telephone 210-222-1521.
Akron, OH
December 4: Christmas Tour. Performers will include Anton aus Tirol, Petra Boeck, and Die Flotten Oberkrainer. For more information, contact
Gisela Lewis at 732-528-5135.
Austin, TX
December 4: German Texas Heritage Society Christmas Celebration and Market. For more information, telephone 816-482-4847, or visit www.gths.net .
Toledo, OH
December 4: Teutonia Maennerchor and Damenchor’s Annual Weihnachtszeit Konzert. Dinner and dance at Oak Shade Grove Hall. For more
information, e-mail jrvb@accesstoledo.com .
Cincinnati, OH
December 5: Christmas Tour. Performers will include Anton aus Tirol, Petra Boeck, and Die Flotten Oberkrainer. For more information,
contact Gisela Lewis at 732-528-5135.
Pinellas Park, FL
December 5: Pinellas Park Christmas Tours. Performers will include Margret Almer, Bettina Stark, 3 Zackels, Werner George &
Raphael. For more information, contact Gisela Lewis at 732-528-5135.
Ormond Beach, FL
December 5: Adventsingen. Grace Lutheran Church will host the Chorale composed of singers from Austria, Germany, and the United States
along with the Early Consort of St. Augustine. For more information, telephone 386-788-6144, or visit www.geocites.com/adventsingen2/.
Port Orange, FL
December 6: Adventsingen. Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church will host the Chorale composed of singers from Austria, Germany, and the
United States along with the Early Consort of St. Augustine. For more information, telephone 386-788-6144, or visit www.geocites.com/adventsingen2/.
Buffalo, NY
December 7: Christmas Tour. Performers will include Anton aus Tirol, Petra Boeck, and Die Flotten Oberkrainer. For more information, contact
Gisela Lewis at 732-528-5135.
Denver, CO
December 8 – 17: Second Annual Denver Christkindlmarket. Traditional German Christmas in the market area of Downtown Denver. Hours of the
Christkindlmarket are: Sunday through Thursday, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Friday through Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. For more information, visit: www.denverpavillions.com.
Mifflinburg, PA
December 9 – 11: 16th Annual Christkindlmarket. For more information, telephone 570-966-1666, or visit www.mifflinburgchristkindlmarket.com.
Clark, NJ
December 10: Christmas Tour at the Duetscher Club of Clark. Performers will include Anton aus Tirol, Petra Boeck, and Die Flotten Oberkrainer.
For more information, contact Gisela Lewis at 732-528-5135.
Leavenworth, WA
December 10 – 12: Christmas Lighting Festival. The festivities are filled with numerous food booths including roasting chestnuts,
holiday music from the gazebo, and holiday personalities strolling the streets: Santa, St. Nick, and Father Christmas provide photo opportunities. For more information, telephone 509-548-5807.
Reading, PA
December 11: Christmas Tour at the Evergreen Country Club. Performers will include Anton aus Tirol, Petra Boeck, and Die Flotten
Oberkrainer. For more information, contact Gisela Lewis at 732-528-5135.
Miami, FL
December 11: Christmas Party-Dinner & Dance. For more information, telephone 305-552-5134 or 305-553-8587, or visit www.germanamericanclub-miami.org.
Westfield, NJ
December 11: Schwaebischer Saengerbund’s 17th Annual Christmas Concert. Concert will be held at the Presbyterian Church in Westfield at 7:00 p.m. For more information, telephone 908-393-2081, or visit http://SchwaebischerSaengerbund.cazoo.org/Christmas.
Harmony, PA
December 12: Harmony Museum Candlelight Christmas. Enjoy entertainment, refreshments, shopping at museum shop, and antiques and crafts shops throughout quaint village. For more information, telephone 724-452-7341 or (toll free) 888-821-4822, or visit www.harmonymuseum.org.
San Antonio, TX
December 12: 100th German Christmas Service. The German language service will include performances by San Antonio
Liederkranz, Beethoven Maennerchor, and the Sons of Hermann German band beginning at 5:00 p.m. in the chapel at Trinity University. For more information, contact Sue Weber at webstz@aol.com.
North Bergen, NJ
December 12: Christmas Tour at Schuetzen Park. Performers will include Anton aus Tirol, Petra Boeck, and Die Flotten Oberkrainer. For more information, contact Gisela Lewis at 732-528-5135.
San Francisco, CA
December 17: Christmas Lunch & Dinner. Joe Smiell’s Fest Band, featuring: Almenrausch Shuhplattler, and German folk dancers. For more information, telephone 415-421-4778.
Leavenworth, WA
December 17 – 19: Christmas Lighting Festival. The festivities are filled with numerous food booths including roasting chestnuts,
holiday music from the gazebo, and holiday personalities strolling the streets: Santa, St.Nick and Father Christmas provide photo opportunities. For more information, telephone 509-548-5807.
January
Cambridge, MA
Through January 2, 2005: Busch-Reisinger Museum. An exhibition of rarely seen works made by five West German artists from the 1960s onward
on display.
ERRATA:
The advertisement for the Mifflinburg, PA Christmas Market in our October/November issue was in error. The dates of the event are December 9 – 11th.
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