Landestreffen der Donauschwaben - Kitchener Schwaben Club

For the Kitchener Schwaben Club & Community
www.kitchenerschwabenclub.com
Commemorative Issue
Landestreffen
der
Donauschwaben
August 31 to September 2, 2012
Picture Pages
Set-up 3
Freundschaftsabend 5
Workshops 6
Grand March 7
Museum 10
Food Services 12
Bartending 14
Kinderplatz 16
Meetings 17
Wall of Appreciation 18
Safety/Souvenirs 20
Dance Contest 21
Sunday Mass/Jugend Party 26
Home Team 28
Take-down & Cleanup 34
Thanks for Coming Over
to Our House
Thank you to all of the visitors
who made the Landestreffen
der Donauschwaben 2012 such
a grand weekend. It was fantastic
to have guests from all
over North America, and
also from around the world.
Donauschwobs from places that
have no clubs of their own, like
Montreal and Texas, came to
celebrate the heritage we hold
so dear. We even heard stories of families coming to
our event as their first Donauschwaben festival together

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– ever! It was touching moments and reunions like
these that made the weekend priceless. And we
certainly cannot forget the dancegroups from both
coasts and points in between who wowed us with
their performances.
As the Cultural Director of the Schwaben Club,
responsible for all cultural events that take place
in our Club, it was natural to assume that I would
take the lead role in planning the event. Although
I did so without hesitation, I will whole-heartedly
admit that it was a much larger undertaking than I
had originally envisioned. It was definitely a “labour
of love” – with lots labour, but also plenty of
love; it was all worthwhile.
To understand the journey that led us to the festival,
you have to understand that the event we first
planned for, and the one that actually happened,
were quite different in size and scope. Our original
estimates, from polling various sources, had
a total expected attendance of only 600 people.
We could handle that in house. Then the number
went up to 800, so we chose an off-site venue, with
more room, to host the event. It was then decided
that we really should host it in our own Club. This
would allow us to showcase our own home, our
own food, and our own style of hospitality – our
way. So back to our Club it came. Decisions were
made, plans were enacted, and the expected total
went up to 1000, then 1400; then rumours of almost
2000 began trickling in. Fear started to set in,
but we adapted. A tent was ordered for the parking
lot, and all our ideas were expanded to fit the
new estimates. It turned out that 2000 was a gross
exaggeration, but we did accommodate over 1500
on the Saturday. And we were ready for them all!
It was also a weekend of experiments and first-tries.
Some were successful; some were not. Among
the successes, we can count both the Kinder and
Jugend workshops on Saturday morning. With
no advance warning or examples, the dancing and
IMPRESSUM
cheering of the kids, along with the fast dancing of
the youth started the day off on a high note. The
other big risk and success was the Sunday afternoon
dance contest; the chance for any interested
group to dance a German folk dance to a contemporary
German song. All of the entrants received
loud applause, with a standing ovation going to
the winner. A full hall of more than 400 people
showed that “out-of-the-box” dancing was definitely
a hit. Even the Mass on Sunday morning
had its own full hall of 400 people thanks to our
visiting priest, Father Zillich.
We could not have asked for a better weekend.
The weather was perfect, the food delicious, the
performances were exciting, and the camaraderie
was ever-present. To share a weekend with
more than a thousand fellow Schwobs in our own
Club is a memory that will last forever. For that, I
give my sincerest thanks to all the volunteers that
worked hard to make the weekend possible, the
bands that played the music that kept us dancing,
and all the folks who visited.
We were honoured to have you over to our house,
and can’t wait to see you all at future Landestreffen
der Donauschwaben.
Sincerely,
Peter Speckner
Chair, Landestreffen 2012 Committee
Für die Inhalte der aktuellen
Druckausgabe:
Anschrift der Redaktion
Schwaben Club
1668 King Street East
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
N2G 2P1
Telefon
519-742-7979
Hauptredakteur
Peter Speckner
Graphische Gestaltung
Catherine Thompson
Please forward all newsletter
submissions to:
Schwaben Club
Telephone (519)742-7979 or
nachrichten@live.ca

setup
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ambassadors
1999; that the first time I was ever on a long-distance
trip with the Schwaben Dancers. We travelled
to California for the Landestreffen. From
that moment on, I knew that this was a great event
which would put everything together for me, being
a dancer, knowing what it meant when you
said I am Donauschwaben. I then spent the next
10 years trying to convince the board that our own
club needed to bring this great event to Kitchener.
Although Landesrtreffen has been in Canada
many times it was time to bring it to another great
city to celebrate our Donauschwaben history.
2010; the Schwaben Club of Kitchener confirmed
that we were going forward with the Labour Day
Festival. Would it really happen? It was not until
the beginning of 2012 that it became clear to me
that, yes, we were going to have something here
that was new and we were going to have to put on
a good show; to show our friends that, Kitchener
is a club that is proud of who we are.
I accepted the job as head of the Ambassador
Committee. This meant I was in charge of a
group of people that would be most likely the
first people that our friends would meet when
they arrived. I would say this is not always a job
that people would like to do as you need to stay
in one place for a few hours at a time and this
group of people was also responsible for collecting
monies. I was a little worried that we would
not get enough people to do this job but to my
surprise we had received lots of people willing to
help out and we got the most friendly and dedicated
people the club has to make all our guests
feel at home. I cannot go on enough about these
people; they all did a great job. Without the support
of this group there would have been no food,
drink and merriment. They were good at everything
they needed to do, from smiling to helping
out with program announcements to giving local
information and of course collecting all the
monies to help pay for all this fun.
I would also like to give Melissa Gissing (The
Club’s administrator) a special thank you. She
kept the money in order and helped me keep
our volunteers organized and ready for when the
1500 people arrived and needed money-tickets
and admission tickets. I would like to thank her
for all her many hours of volunteering and late
nights counting and getting the next day ready of
our ambassador’s to start again. Thanks Melissa.
I would also like to thank the rest of our
group for helping to make this one of the best
Landestreffen ever. Once we had everyone ready
to go in the parade on the Saturday, I knew that
we had done the right thing by bringing the festival
here and that we had the right people at
the right time to make this something that we
will talk about for years to come. Thank you to
all my helpers: Melissa, Shelly, Ericha, Carla,
Ingrid, Helga, Wera, Jessica, Jade, Nick, Jen,
Dieter, Judy, Anneliese, Elsie, Corina, Erika,
Mike, Robert, Taryn, Christine, Scott. You made
this such a great event for so many people; they
can hardly wait to come back in six years. So
rest up, everyone, because we will be looking for
your help again before you know it
Kirk Hanke
Chair, Ambassadors Committee

freundschaftsabend
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workshops
Kinder Workshop
Boat ride down……build a house……….grow our
food…….dance, dance, dance. This is the history
of the Donauschwaben people - Kinder style.
How do I present the story of our Donauschwaben
forefathers in a manner that would interest children
from ages 3 to 10? Music...actions...shouts...
colourful presentations.
I began the workshop, at the Kinder Workshop
at Eastwood Collegiate, with a simple explanation
of how land was offered free to the Germans
and all they had to do was get to Yugoslavia,
Hungary and Romania. I illustrated this using a
Powerpoint presentation depicting an abridged
history of the Donauschwaben. The first slide
consisted of a map of southern Europe centering
on the Danube River. An Ulmerschachtel, a boat
from Ulm called a ‘box’, I explained, was shown
moving down the Danube River to a city called
Neusatz. Boat ride down.
The next slide showed various town buildings including
houses and a church; build a house. A slide
with pictures of farmers, hay wagons, and field
work was third; grow our food. The final slide depicted
couples and children in Donauschwaben
Tracht dancing; dance, dance, dance.
This course of events was then put to music.
Between sets of dance steps, the children shouted
the phrases “Boat ride down”, “Build a house”,
Grow our food”, and “Dance, dance, dance”.
As with the Fliegerlied, the actions, rowing a
boat, hammering a nail, shovelling dirt and
wiggling our bottoms, accompanied the appropriate
phrase. The actions and shouts were not
only fun but helped the kids understand our
Donauschwaben history.
Jugend Workshop
I had a dream. I wanted to choreograph a
Hungarian-style czardas and present it to our
club members. I had even started a czardas and
was halfway through the dance.
When presented with the challenge of creating
a dance for the Jugend workshop, I dug up my
czardas. Yes, here was something new yet part
of our Donauschwaben past. The music started
slowly and with each refrain, increased in speed.
I simplified my original dance since dancers had
one hour to learn it and, hopefully, enjoy it.
Because I was not available to teach the Jugend
workshop, I brought Peter Speckner, my son, into
my kitchen, a.k.a. dance studio, and taught him
my dance. He will tell the rest of the story as he
was the instructor for the Jugend workshop.
I decided not to make the content of the workshops
available before Landestreffen; this had not
been done in the past. I knew our dancers were
talented and could master the steps with little
problem. I wanted the workshops to be a surprise;
a delightful surprise, I hoped.
Catherine Thompson
Chair, Workshops Committee
I had the honour of teaching the Jugend Workshop
on the Saturday. It was a challenging dance - the
Czardasz. I took my time teaching it, reviewing
each section over and over again, to make sure all
the kids had it. With over 60 kids present, that’s a
lot of feet to watch.
They were hesitant at first. The patterns were different,
and the learning pace was slow. But once
the music kicked in, and the tempo sped up each
time, they loved it. So much so, that they asked
to do it all a 2nd time. I was proud of them, and
the Jugend Workshop was a success. Wonderful!
Peter Speckner

grand march
It was an exciting experience for my wife Joan and I
to be volunteer members of the Landestreffen 2012
Committee from its inception. As part of that responsibility
we chaired the Einmarsch sub-committee.
Speakers were identified and invited, signs for each
club were printed, stapled and the stakes for them
cut and stained, permission garnered from the principal
of Eastwood Collegiate to use their facilities
and arrangements made for a sound system.
Saturday, September 1 st turned out to be sunny
and hot...a great day for a parade. Chairs were
set up on a side platform at Eastwood Collegiate,
a Schwaben Club crest hung and German flags
and pots of flowers placed to create an acceptable
and decorative speaking area. Marker flags
were placed on the soccer field to mark off the
march area. Cases of bottled water were trucked
over and garbage cans set up.
The members of 19 Donau Schwaben clubs in
their colourful trachts lined up in our parking lot,
the flags few high and with the assistance of a
uniformed Waterloo Regional Police officer we
literally stopped traffic for 15 minutes on Weber
Street to cross over to the field at Eastwood.
The parade was a beautiful sight and well attended.
Spectators lined the sides of our club lot as well
as the bleachers at Eastwood while others sought
what shade they could find along the soccer field.
A huge thank you to everyone who assisted. To
Andrea Speckner, Wolfgang Kahnke, Michael
Kahnke, Matthew Kahnke, Bob Foster and Doug
Crawford who assisted with setup and takedown.
Thanks as well to Neil Hoffman for his contribution
in the making of the signs. And to Mike
Adam, Jenn Stager, Cathy Beckett and Delaina
Robles for their assistance with water bottle distribution
and bottle pickup. It was a very busy day so
if I have forgotten anyone, I apologize, but all help
we received was greatly appreciated.
Last but not least, a huge appreciation to Peter
Speckner, our committee chair for his unending
guidance, input and assistance. It was a terrific
event and one we will all remember for a long time.
Joseph and Joan Adam
Co-chairs, Grand March Committee
Nikky Hudson McKenzie...
AMAZING WEEKEND!!! Kitchener
Schwaben Club went all out!! FANTASTIC
Job guys!!! You should be sooo proud!
Tony Batista.......
Had a wonderful time in Kitchener
Schwaben Club..meeting new friends and
being with family
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museum
It was a great pleasure to oversee the Schwaben
Museum and I enjoyed it immensely.
I would to thank my dedicated committee, this
museum would not have been possible without
the following members: Carole Zettel, Doris
Zettel, Elizabeth O`Reilly, Dieter & Judy Hanke,
Frank Nemeth, Vanessa Adam, Cheyenne
& Susanna Kertes, Joe & Odeline Schwartz,
Randy Betsch, Helga Hill, Jessica Hill. They
have assisted in arranging, creating & perserving
of many photographs; set-up; pick-up, care
& return of museum artifacts; pickup, creating
and return of museum displays; answering questions
to our guests; and generally welcoming and
talking with our guests who visited the museum.
Everyone has put their heart into this event and
display, because some part of the museum had
a connection to their Donauschwaben Heritage.
The Schwaben Museum was very well received
and many great comments were given or returned
to us in person, by e-mail and by phone.
Guests felt that the Donauschwaben history was
very well displayed. Guests had mentioned how
certain museum artifacts touched them or had a
connection to their part of the Donauschwaben
Heritage and/or back to their part of the “old
country”.
A large hit was the large display map of all of
the “old country” of Romania, Yugoslavia,
Hungary, Schwäbische Turkei,etc. where our
Donauschwaben ancesters and families settled originally
along the Danube River. There were many
“old country” stories exchanged and talked about
between the guests and back to us Museum hosts.
We all had a great time, shared sad stories and
many laughs. Many guests thought that our
museum was a “permanent museum” here
at Schwaben Club for Landestreffen 2012.
When they found out it wasn’t, they suggested
we find a place in the club and make one
and shared their Permanent Museum creations
and experiences in their American
Verband of Schwaben Clubs such as Chicago’s.
Improvements for our Schwaben Museum for
future suggested were: find an area in the club
where the Museum would be more accessible
to our guests. Many guests and members of our
club apologized later in person, by e-mail and by
phone that they did not know where the museum
was or they didn’t have the time to make their
way to it, since it wasn’t on their regular route.
They wished they would have visited it because
they overheard from their friends how it was
such a nice display to see.
I would also like to give thanks to our Canadian
Schwaben Club members who donated and assisted
with their Donauschwaben artifacts, articles,
trachts, tools, books, housewares, pictures and dolls:
Randy Betsch, Cheyenne & Susanna Kertes,
Annie Hudson, Toronto Donauschwaben Club
& Dance group, Susan Schaadt, Mrs. Krech,
Susan Cook & Joan Adam on behalf of Mary
Adam, Vanessa Adam, Joe Groh, Dieter & Judy
Hanke, Catherine Thompson, Katie Ungar, Joe
Schwartz, Margaret Schilling, Elisabeth O’Reilly,
Helga Hill.
If offered, I would look forward to hosting another
Schwaben Museum and in the meantime
we should all enjoy acquiring and preserving our
Donauschwaben History because it is very important
to keep our Heritage alive and teach the
history to our young members.
Heidi Peller-Oliver
Chair, Schwaben Museum Committee

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food services
What can I say about trying to feed over 1200
people? When I stepped forward to head this
committee, I had no idea what I had taken on.
Trying to schedule people around their availability,
their dance schedules, and their other volunteer
shifts, was mind boggling.
We juggled schedules from hour to hour as we
recruited more people. Right up to the last day,
we were juggling to cover all our areas.
There were times when I wondered if people
would ever stop eating! We went from lineups to
a few people back to line ups, hour after hour;
Peter Appelman and his crew did an amazing job
in the kitchen by keeping the food coming – and
we just kept serving it up! Saturday the goulash
sold out. Sunday we had a line up 10 min before
the first pig came off the spit! All of the pork had
been sold out within the first three hours.
The hot weather proved to be a challenge, and
we had to be vigilant throughout the weekend
to make sure that we kept the food temperatures
consistent.
Another huge challenge was getting the food
down the stairs to the basement and into the tent.
This was made possible due to the outstanding
help of Ryan Hall and Tim Beckett. Requests
for food refills had them running up and down
the stairs dozens of times. They covered both Sat
and Sun for at least 10 hours. They truly kept us
going. On Sunday we also had the help of Jeff S.
and Nolan which was greatly appreciated.
I was so very thankful for all my volunteers, it
would have been an impossible task without
all of you. They included high school students
Tiffany, Sarah, Taylor, Danielle and Adrian. Also
KW volunteer Melissa, and Oktoberfest volunteer,
Leonita. I pulled in friends Kris and Ellen
and John, April, my son Rob and Lindsay. Boy
do I owe a lot of favours now! There were my
Donau members Karin, Darlene, Wera, Mary K,
Monica, Joel and Ingrid. My Schwaben dancers
Karen B (and Stefanie) and Penny. Kathy B.,
Tracy, my kinder parents. Others helping were
my Frauen member Susie S. and club member
Anne F. I apologize if I missed anyone!
My biggest Thank You goes to my daughter Mary
Catherine. Her first words to me were “Mom
what were you thinking?! This is the hardest job
you could take” From start to finish she was the
one who guided me and helped me pull this thing
off! From putting my schedule on a spread sheet,
to making sure we had proper setup, to ensuring
we were always handling the food properly,
to running up and down the stairs to make sure
all our volunteers were ok, she was awesome. I
couldn’t be more proud to have her at my side.
It would have been nice to see more of the activities
and enjoy more of the party, but I was happy
to be a part of our wonderful event. It was truly
amazing to see everything we planned, play out
before us. I also enjoyed getting to know so many
of our members better. Thank you again to all
my amazing volunteers. You made this committee
a success!
Susan Cook
Chair, Food Services Committee

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bartending
As chair of the bartending committee and volunteers,
I would like to say a big, big, thank you to
our awesome bartenders of Landestreffen 2012.
They were: Lucy Bowers, Rob Craig, Liz Kiraly,
Tina McQuabbie, Elisabeth Schiketanz, Heidi
Peller-Oliver, Will Oliver, Brittany and Nick,
Corina Denstedt
We would have liked to have more volunteer
bartenders, but we met and discussed and felt
we would be able to cover all the bars as some
of us offered to do the shifts as long as needed.
Unfortunately then, several other volunteer bartenders
who were scheduled to bartend for us,
could not, as they were unable provide us with
the required Smart Serve documentation. So it
was a great relief to have the bartenders we did
have, dedicated and committed, working all day
and all night and ensuring all went well. Very
much appreciated!
Sadly though, due to the long hours they put due
to lack of more bartenders, many missed out on
actually being able to watch dance performances,
attend the parade and ceremonies, and just to enjoy
the festival.
In addition to our bartenders, we also had volunteer
‘runners’ – getting ice, restocking beer,
restocking pop, refilling water, and refilling the
Slushy machine which was a big hit for both
kids and adults. My thanks go to: Rick Schaadt,
Mike Kanke, Matthew Kanke, Rolf Eberl, Jeff
Watchorn, Tyler Watchorn, David Becker, and
of course our manager, Don Egley.
Having the Hacker Pshorr German beer on draft
was a big success. The Weiss beer did not seem
to move too well. Between our 2 domestic beers
we had, the Molson Canadian was preferred.
Having the limited alcoholic drinks was well received….only
a few comments to the contrary.
Our Schlippery Schwob drink (1/3 Goldschlager
and 2/3 Slivowizc) was tried by many folks, who
thought it was just ok…or too strong.
Due to the beautiful warm weather we had, a lot
of bottled water was sold. Maybe we should have
of had one or two “Water/Pop only” for sale
stations. Just a thought for when we do it again
in 6 years!!!
Overall, from my view, the event was a huge success
and I was so very proud to be part of it!!! It’s
a great feeling to give of one’s self and time, to be
part of such a wonderful successful event honoring
our ancestors’ and our heritage. Although a
huge success, more volunteers would have been
appreciated to lighten the load on some of our
other volunteers.
Also, I want to say a big Dankeschoen to those
who had the vision and foresight to see that we
did have the space, capability and dedicated volunteers
to showcase our club and that we could
make it work!!!!!
And special thanks to Peter Speckner for his
heartfelt commitment and dedication for chairing
the Landestreffen committee to all his committee
members for their hard work and dedication
as well.
So meine liebe Schwova Mitglieder und Freunde,
(so my dear Schwaben members and friends)
mark your calendars for Labor Day weekend
2013 as we will be heading to Detroit to enjoy our
next annual Landestreffen (Schwaben Reunion).
Let’s fill up a bus or two!!!
Monica Anstett
Chair, Bartending Committee

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kinderplatz
Games, crafts, colouring, bouncy castle, candy
and prizes… you name it, our Kinderplatz had
it! I would like to extend a very sincere THANK
YOU to all our Kinderplatz volunteers including
our Kindergruppe and Jugendgruppe dancers,
club members, parents/guardians, friends
and family. Without all of our volunteers we
wouldn’t have been able to co-ordinate, and run
so many activities successfully.
It was truly amazing to be a part of such a successful
weekend. The weather couldn’t have been
better; as most of our Kinderplatz activities were
held outside. The atmosphere was “magical”;
it was incredible watching our dedicated youth
volunteering to witness the relationships within
our own club grow stronger.
Lastly, we did it. We actually did it! We held
Landestreffen der Donauschwaben at the
KITCHENER SCHWABEN CLUB! After a
year of meetings and planning for this event…
it was a success! Everyone truly stepped up
to the challenge and worked together at making
Landestreffen der Donauschwaben 2012
UNFORGETTABLE.
I am genuinely proud to be a member of the
Kitchener Schwaben Club and thank all those
that came out to celebrate being Donauschwaben
with us!
Lisa Schaadt
Chair, Kinderplatz Committee

meetings
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18
Landestreffen 2012 Committee
Peter Speckner (Chair)
Joan Adam
Joseph Adam
Vanessa Adam
Monica Anstett
Brandy Chapman
Susan Cook
Rolf Eberl
Kirk Hanke
Penny Hanke
Helga Hill
Neil Hoffman
Wolfgang Kahnke
Heidi Peller-Oliver
Shelley Speckner
Lisa Schaadt
Richard Speckner
Catherine Thompson
Volunteers
Christopher Adam
Ellen Adam
Joan Adam
Joseph Adam
Michael Adam
Vanessa Adam
Colin Andrechek
Monica Anstett
Corina Anstett
Bryan Bauman
Magdalena Bauman
Emma Becker
John Becker
Lea Becker
David Beckett
Jayne Beckett
Kathy Beckett
Tim Beckett
Randy Betsch
April Blaylock
Lucy Bowers
Karen Braun
Kris Briere
Doug Brown
Brandy Chapman
Darlene Clausing
Adam Cook
Mary Catherine Cook
Michael Cook
Robert Cook
Susan Cook
Rob Craig
Doug Crawford
Leonita D’Costa
Wera Dennis
Corina Denstedt

John Dobias
Anneliese Kraehling
Christie Schellenberger
Rolf Eberl
George Kraehling
Grace Schellenberger
Don Egley
Katie Kraehling
Scott Schellenberger
Nick Ferriera
Mary Kraehling
Elisabeth Schicketanz
Anne Foster
Ingrid Kremer
Ericha Schiketanz
Robert Foster
Jade Lang
Joe Schwartz
Katie Geimer
Melissa Gissing
Nick Lang
Michael Lopez
Odeline Schwartz
Tony Sertic
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Elisabeth Groh
Annie Lutz
Jason Shail
Joe Groh
Nolan McQuabbie
Lindsay Snow
Sarah Groh
Tina McQuabbie
Andrea Speckner
Ryan Hall
Adrian Mendonca
Matthew Speckner
Tanis Hall
Daenera Morton
Natasha Speckner
Tina Hall
Keiran Morton
Peter Speckner
Dieter Hanke
Frank Nemeth
Richard Speckner
Erika Hanke
Monika Norlock
Shelley Speckner
Judy Hanke
Elsie Obert
Siegfried Speckner
Kirk Hanke
Will Oliver
Carla Stachowski
Penny Hanke
Elisabeth O’Reilly
Jeff Stager
Christina Hannusch
Peter O’Reilly
Jennifer Stager
Erika Hiba
Jennifer Orsan
Henry Szierer
Mary Hild
Sophie Orsan
Andrew Tadros
Helga Hill
Stefan Orsan
Helen Tadros
Jessica Hill
Heidi Peller-Oliver
Madison Tadros
Karin Kahnke
Desarae Polski
Catherine Thompson
Matthew Kahnke
Janine Polski
Chris Thompson
Michael Kahnke
Mira Polski
Sheri Thompson
Stefani Kahnke
Ric Polski
Melissa Warren
Wolfgang Kahnke
Frank Poos
Jake Watchorn
Brittany Keough
Taylor Prinz
Jeff Watchorn
Cheyenne Kertes
Sammi Robinson
Johanne Watchorn
Susanna Kertes
Delana Roubles
Tyler Watchorn
Angele Killingbeck
Taryn Sachse
Joel Wideman
Tracey Killingbeck
Deanna Schaadt
Tiffany Young
Ann Kip
Lisa Schaadt
Carole Zettel
Liz Kiraly
Matthew Schaadt
Doris Zettel
Elisabeth Klenk
Rick Schaadt
Kindergruppe Volunteers
Danielle Kosic
Susan Schaadt
Jugendgruppe Volunteers

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safety
I am proud to say that the Safety Committee
made the Club and me very proud. They went
beyond what was asked of them, and put in
far more time than scheduled. And I’m very
grateful for that, as we had a lot more people at
times than we originally planned for.
When you are responsible for the health and
safety for, at times, over a thousand people – it
can be quite intimidating. You know the potential
for problems are there; you just work hard
to limit them as best you can. Getting ahead of
possible issues before they grew into problems
was our motto, and it worked well. Whether it
was small tasks like keeping stairwells and hallways
clean of obstacles, or making sure all safety
equipment was checked and first aid stations
were manned – my team was there. Our biggest
task came during the Grand March, when literally
hundreds of people were standing out in
the sun for almost an hour, listening to speeches.
My team was there, handing out bottles of
water to anyone who needed one, to make sure
the sun didn’t win.
Looking back over the weekend, we were lucky
that there were no serious accidents. When
over a thousand people gather in one location,
you can have a few instances. There were some
scraped ankles, pulled back muscles, one serious
allergic reaction to a bee sting, and one minor
trip to the hospital. And I’m proud to say
my team was there, for all of them. Everyone
was taken care of, and nobody missed out on
any fun if it could be avoided.
So I’d like to thank everyone that attended our
Landestreffen for not suffering any major maladies
or injuries, and I’d really like to thank my
committee members for being there – always at
the ready!
Richard Speckner
Chair, Safety Committee
souvenirs
A big “Thank You” goes out to the following
people who helped out with the souvenir booth:
Jessica Hill
Angele Killingbeck
Mira Polski
Grace Schellenberger
Lindsay Snow
I would also like to thank the parents of the
Jugendgruppe volunteers, especially Helga Hill
who managed the booth.
Brandy Chapman
Chair, Souvenirs Committee
Dennis J. Bauer
On behalf of the Trenton Donauschwaben,
we want to thank the Schwaben Club for
hosting the Treffen and doing a fine job.
We all had a great time, Vielen Dank!

dance contest
21

A heartfelt Thank You to those who donated the prizes for the
‘Out-of-the-Box’ Dance Contest
Familie Richard Weiss
Familie Michael Kahnke
Tri-Marketing, Neil Hoffman
Danke Schön!
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vendors
When I heard that they were looking for someone
to lead the committee that would work
hand-in-hand with the vendors that were coming
to our long weekend festival, I jumped at the
chance. I had experience working with companies
and meeting their needs. It didn’t hurt that
I knew some of them personally as well!
The first vendor was easy, Trachten Quelle, operated
by one of our own members. The second
was also just as easy. Erika Neumayer is a good
friend of mine, so having her RARE Dirndln
come to our event was something I was looking
forward to. We had two large clothing and accessory
vendors down. After that, it was interesting
to see who else wanted to show up.
The rest of the vendors slowly registered after
we sent out offers, inviting them to show their
wares at our event. We were quite pleased with
the mix of organizations that participated. Ann’s
Films registered to partake, and we even went so
far as to allow her to speak to our guests about
her important work chronicling the history of
the Danube Swabians. We were lucky to also
get more organizations like “Donauschwaben
Villages Helping Hands”, who also record the history
of the Swabians. We were also honoured to
cleaning & setup
As the Chair of the Cleaning & Setup group, I
would like to say “thank you” to Peter Speckner for
his excellent work in organizing the Landestreffen
2012. I also congratulate the Board for having the
courage to have Landestreffen 2012 at our Club
instead of Bingeman Park. This allowed us to
showcase our Club.
I talked to many of our Guests and heard
not one negative comment; everybody had a
great time. On Saturday night some people even
talked about the best party ever.
Being in charge of cleaning and setup, I would like
to thank Scott Schellenberger, Michael Adam,
Adam Cook, Henry Szierer and Ken Dennis for
there volunteer work. I also had a few outside
helpers, Jason Shail, Doug Brown and
host Pannonia Press, a publisher who is involved
with a number of books about Swabian history.
We were satisfied with the five vendors that we
got, but a recommendation came in regarding
an artist from the US, who created custom pictures.
We contacted the company, Deutsche
Kreations, and he eagerly came up to participate
in his first-ever Landestreffen. His colourful artwork
was filled with Swabian imagery, and combining
that with contemporary objects was a big
hit. Last I heard, he was already in negotiations
to appear at next year’s event as well!
Even though some of the hours were early, helping
vendors load in and out of the hall, my committee
was there when they were needed. The
vendors had no complaints with the area we had
set aside for them, and it seemed full almost the
entire time it was open to the public. Overall,
it was a great success. We made new friends,
and got to spend time with old ones. We got a
chance to share our culture with others, and it
was a great accomplishment that everyone involved
was happy with the outcome. If we ever
host this event again, it will be nice to see our
friends again.
Vanessa Adam
Chair, Vendor Liaison Committee
Tiffany Young. Thank you to all of them.
A special thank you goes to a few people who
put in a lot of hours; Steven Orsen (35 Hrs)
Tiffany (42 Hrs). Tiffany also became a new member
of our Club, because she liked it so much.
Of course, I would like to send a special
thank you to the three generations of my family,
my wife Karin (working in the kitchen), my
daughter-in-law Karen (also in the kitchen ), my
son Michael and grandson Matthew (each one put
in 45 Hrs) and last, but not least, my granddaughter
Steffanie (who also helped in the kitchen).
We received many compliments and you all
made me very proud and THANK YOU ALL
again for your good work.
Wolfgang Kahnke
Chair, Cleaning & Setup
25

sunday mass
26
jugend party
Mike White.....Had a great time!
Kerry Druar .....It was a Great time!

home team
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Kindergruppe and Jugendgruppe
A number of years ago, I asked my fatherin-law,
Hans Schaadt, “Why have we never
held Landestreffen der Donauschwaben at
our Kitchener Schwaben Club?” At that time
he was the President of the Dachverband der
Donauschwaben in Canada and did some inquiring
for me! I never dreamed it would actually happen
and after seeing such a successful event for
not only our club, fellow Donauschwabians but
also for our community, and I thank him for that!
It was wonderful watching our dancers do such
a great job representing our club through their
dancing as well as through their willingness
and eagerness to volunteer. Thank you to our
Instructors Brandy Chapman, Kirk Hanke, and
Sheri Thompson for their hard work and dedication
in preparation of our dancers. Thank you
to our Kindergruppe/Jugendgruppe Committee
and anyone who helped get our dancers dressed,
hair braided, fed and to their performances on
time, as many of us were also volunteering elsewhere
in the club. Without all of us working together,
this event would not have come together
as smoothly as it did. I would like to extend a sincere
thank you to Peter Speckner, Landestreffen
Chair for all his hard work and dedication. He
was our main “go to man” and always came
through. I know he spent many late hours organizing
things and without him our event would
not have been the same. Thank you Peter!
Throughout the weekend, our children enjoyed
watching the many other dance groups and
their costumes. Our Grand March was quite a
memorable event and confirmation of why we
were all together for the weekend. For some of
our youth, this was their first time seeing other
Donauschwabian dance groups and what a great
opportunity for them to experience! The children
enjoyed participating in the Kinder and Jugend
Workshops and a personal favourite of mine was
watching the “Out of the Box Dance Contest”
held on Sunday. It was fun to watch and added
an exciting and different flare to the weekend.
We hope everyone enjoyed themselves and think
back fondly on their weekend in Kitchener,
Ontario, Canada! We can’t wait to see everyone
next year in Detroit, MI!
Lisa Schaadt
President, Kindergruppe/Jugendgruppe

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Schwaben Dancers’ Perspective
What an incredible weekend! For the Schwaben
Dancers, it was a whirlwind of volunteering,
dancing, and luckily some socializing.
Friday night felt like Oktoberfest in August. The
tent was filled with people, from all over North
America - dancing to the Golden Keys and enjoying
some delicious food and cold beer. KW
Oktoberfest Inc. even helped us proudly give everyone
a taste of our local Oktoberfest with a keg
tapping!
Bright and early Saturday morning, the volunteers
arrived at the Club to officially start the
event. Schwaben Dancers could be found registering
groups, handing out entrance ribbons, assisting
vendors, monitoring the First Aid Station,
serving food, helping at the Kinderplatz and
Museum, directing parking and even setting
up for the Opening Ceremonies at Eastwood
Collegiate (across the street). At 2:30pm, the
grand parade of 1400+ people, comprised of 18
clubs from all over North America began. One by
one, we marched across Weber Street (where traffic
was stopped, thanks to the Waterloo Regional
Police), to the soccer field at Eastwood C.I.
What an incredible sight it was to see so many
Donauschwaben participating in and watching
this grand parade. It was a hot and sunny day
- but we proudly stood and listened to the inspiring
and heart warming speeches. Water bottles
were distributed plentifully, and the children
were kept cool in the “shade”, provided by umbrellas
and our own shadows. Personally, it gave
me great pride to see my 85-year old Grandpa
and my not-quite 2-month old niece (along
with my siblings, cousins, niece & nephew and
my parents) participate in the parade. After the
Opening Ceremonies, it was time to get back to
volunteering, until we performed at 9 pm in the
Main Hall. After dancing, some continued to
volunteer well into the night, while others took a
break and joined the festivities in the tent.
Sunday began bright and early as well - this time
starting out with a touching church service (in
our Main Hall) and a moving memorial service
(outside, at our new Club Memorial), both led by
Father Zillich. By late morning, the Club was
once again full, and the music, dancing, eating
and drinking continued. At 1 pm, the Out-of-the-
Box dance competition took place. It was great
to see so many different variations of choreography
and costumes, all to the song “Cowboy und
Indianer”. After all of the competitive groups
performed, the Schwaben Dancers demonstrated
their own version of the dance (choreographed
by our dance instructor, Peter Speckner).
Congratulations to Cleveland for winning First
Place - and to all of the other participating dance
groups! After dancing, it was time to return to
our volunteering duties, until our 6 pm performance
in the tent. After our performance, many
of us were able to wrap up our volunteering duties
and enjoy some of the celebrating and dancing
that was occurring in the tent. The Golden
Keys performed like rock stars, and kept the
crowd going well into the night. What a great
finale it was for the weekend.
Monday morning, our Club was no longer filled
with guests, and our most dutiful and enduring
volunteers came out one last time to help clean
up and return it to normal. We enjoyed a nice
hot lunch and some cold refreshments, and reminisced
about the fast-paced and amazingly busy
weekend.
On behalf of the Schwaben Dancers, I would
like to thank all of the incredible volunteers who
helped make this event a success - especially the
Landestreffen 2012 committee members, who
spent the two years organizing, planning and executing
this memorable event!
Andrea Speckner
President ,Schwaben Dancers

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Donau Dancers
The Donau Dance Group were very active
when it came to the Landes 2012 event.
Many of our members not only performed for
this event, we were behind the scenes as well.
Some of us spent time in the kitchen serving
food, handling the bar, counting money in the
money room and many other tasks in order to
help make Landes as successful as it was.
A special thank you to the Landes Committee
for all of your hard work in making this Landes
a very memorable one. The Donau Dancers
enjoyed themselves immensely.
Monika Norlock
President, Donau Dancers
Rosemarie Stefan.......
Had a wonderful time Thank you Kitchener
Schwaben Club... you did an amazing job|!!

frauengruppe
For the Landestreffen, our Frauengruppe did
what we do best! Cook and bake!
When the call came out for cabbage rolls, we
answered, and, in the format of a cooking class,
for some of our younger club members, 1800
delicious cabbage rolls were produced.
When the request for goulash for 500 people
came to us, a handful of ladies came through!
When the idea for a bake sale came to us, not
just Frauengruppe members, but many other
members of the club baked, which allowed us to
provide wonderful sweet treats for our visitors.
On the Sunday morning of the event, I was
very happy for the help of the ladies who took
the time to hold the bake sale. Mary H, Katie
K, Katie G., Annie L, and Katie N (who was
able to step in at the last moment)
I thank everyone for their contribution. Whether
it was a cash donation, time spent in the kitchen
cooking, or baking…it all played a part in
our very successful event.
Susan Cook
President, Frauengruppe
33

take down & clean-up
34
Marianne Strumberger .......
Thank you for hosting a great weekend for so
many Donauschwaben clubs. You sure had some
great weather for us. I know how much work is
involved in such an undertaking, and your cub did
a great job. Thanks Kitchener Schwaben Club !

It has been a few months
since our Landestreffen
der Donauschwaben 2012
Labour Day event. The
committee that worked so
hard to plan and coordinate
this great event have put together
this special edition
Nachrichten as a way of
saying thank you to all those
that participated as a volunteer
or as a guest.
The event was definitely a great success. When we
started the planning, the primary objective was to
highlight the Kitchener Schwaben Club and the
Waterloo Region to our fellow Donauschwaben.
I believe we definitely met that objective and in
many other aspects exceeded our expectations. I
received many compliments and accolades from
those that attended.
To pull this event off at our Club we needed to add
space. The Clubs’ halls and common space were
expanded with a 6000 sq. ft. tent in the parking lot.
We were able to highlight many of our local bands
and they did us proud. The food was over the top
with the highlight being the roasted pigs and many
other German favourites.
from our president
The volunteer group was small but their dedication
to making this event a success was huge.
Many spent endless hours over an extended period
of time to bring it all together. Preparation
started over a year before the event. Bands had
to be booked, hotels arranged, the tent rented
and raised, sponsors found, brochures prepared,
volunteers booked, packages prepared for each
club, the grounds manicured and so much more.
Hosting a great party for 1400 guests takes a lot of
creativity, effort, passion and dedication. We are
so blessed to have had this core of talented hard
working organizers and volunteers.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank
all those that attended from far and wide. We
had fellow Donauschwaben from as far away
as California to the west and New York to the
east and everywhere in between. We had fellow
Donauschwaben from Texas, Montreal and several
other locations come and attend their first
Landestreffen.
In closing it was an honour and privilege to be a
part of this great event.
George Kraehling
President, Schwaben Club
35

36
Bis wir uns wieder sehe’,
bleibt g’sund
liebe Schwovaleit!