Star-Journbal Editor
There was lots of German spoken at the German/Low German Folk Festival this past weekend, but one needn't be a German-speaker to enjoy the festivities.
The event was held at the Mennonite Settlement Museum and the historic Mennonite Brethren Church at Tabor College.
It was an opportunity for folks with German heritage to hear traditional folk stories, songs, and a spiritual message in their native tongue, but the common themes of food, faith, and family, were the same in any tongue.
Hungry visitors to the festival were treated to a smorgasbord of what Harder called "quasi-ethnic" food.
"We call it German food, but most of it is Ukrainian," said Stan Harder, director of musems for the City of Hillsboro. "There's almost nothing of the original Dutch food, except for a pastry we call zwieback."
The zwieback was plentiful, as were German sausage sandwiches and five different side dishes.
Over at the church, John Esau of Winton, Calif., was remembering his baptism in the same building when it was located in Alexanderfeld. He was 13 years old.
He and his wife, Violet, were revisiting his childhood home.
The instrumental music portion of the festival at the church was presented by the Snigglefritz (Polka) Band, from Newton.
The vocal portion was presented by the Hillsboro German Choir, under the direction of Dr. Jonah Kliewer.
Up in the church balcony were two German tourists, Reiner Burfeind, and his wife, Andrea, on a month-long vacation from Wuppertal.
They have no relations or friends in the area, but read about the German festival in a travel guide.
The modern European couple recorded the concert with a digital camera and a camcorder. At one point during the concert, Andrea broke down and cried.
"The song reminded me of my father, who had died," she said.
The Hillsboro Choir sings German very well, with one small exception, Andrea said. "For the oooh sound, they say eeew," she said with a country western twang.
The keynote speakers at the festival were storyteller Don Huebert, Henderson, Neb., and Pastor Willmar Harder, of the Hoffnungsau Mennonite Church in Inman.
Folks nodded in agreement as the pastor presented a homily in German, and they laughed at Huebert's animated stories.
Hulda Loewen, 87, and her sister, Martha, live on a farm in Marion County. They still speak German in their home.
Martha sang in the choir.
Hulda sang along.
"I don't understand too much, but the singing I'm familiar with," she said. "I know the songs. I know most of them by memory. I sang with them today."
