Come Celebrate How It All Started

Tomorrow I’ll be celebrating the day Germans first came to America. And you’re invited to join me and the rest of the Germans of the St. Louis region at their annual German-American Day. It’ll be from 1-4 p.m Sunday at the St. Louis German Cultural Society Hall at 3652 Jefferson Avenue in St. Louis, MO 63118.

If you come, you’ll find German music, Beer, dancing, and lots of people dressed in German costumes. Including me, signing my second edition of Beer, Brats, and Baseball: German-Americans in St. Louis.

Here's how to recognize me. — Here’s how to recognize me.

Here’s some background: In 1983, President Reagan proclaimed October 6 as German-American Day to celebrate and honor the 300th anniversary of German American immigration to the U.S.. In 1987, Congress approved the National holiday designating October 6 as German-American Day, at which time the President called on Americans to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. The St. Louis’ German-American Committee will do exactly that and the festivities will begin with St. Louis’ own Honorary German Consul Lansing Hecker.

SCHEDULE FOR THE DAY

1:00 Lansing Hecker – Honorary German Counsul will open the festivities!

1:10 Liederkranz (Mixed chorus) will sing

1:20 Joined by the German Cultural Society’s Damenchor (Women’s Chorus)

1:40 Dammenchor

2:00 St. Charles German Heritage Club* – German Fashion Show

2:30 German Cultural Society’s Jugendgruppe (Young people’s group) will dance

3:00 Deutscher Mannerchor (Men’s Chorus) will sing

3:30 Froehliche Schuhplattler – Dance group will dance

HERE’S THE PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS:

St. Louis-Stuttgart Sister Cities – Photographic Display of Stuttgart

Germanic Genealogical Special Interest Group – Genealogical Research

Stammtisch –– Doing what they do best – talking!

Badischer Unterstuetzungverein –- History

Missouri Germans Consortium –Book Signings – Authors Jim Merkel and Dorris Keeven-Franke

German Cultural Center –– Teacher and Educational Resources

St. Louis Bosseln League – Demonstrations

German School Association

St. Charles – Ludwigsburg Sister City

Volksmarch

Schuetzenverein

Komm, schließe dich uns an!

Published by Jim Merkel

Reedy Press published four of my books, Hoosiers and Scrubby Dutch: St. Louis's South Side, 2010; Beer, Brats, and Baseball: St. Louis Germans, 2012; The Making of an Icon: The Dreamers, The Schemers, and the Hard Hats Who Built the Gateway Arch; and the Second Edition of Hoosiers and Scrubby Dutch: St. Louis's South Side, 2014. They're available in bookstores and online. For an autographed copy, send a check for $21.50 made out to Jim Merkel, to Jim Merkel, 4216 Osceola St., St. Louis, MO 63116. View more posts