She who eats sauerkraut on Wednesday shall find a rich and rewarding life…
The wonderful people in my little town are descendants of Germans who migrated first to Russia for a generation or two, then to the US. Many towns in this area of North Dakota have the same lineage: the people here are proud of their roots. Daily meals combine German foods–sauerkraut, beets, knoephla soup, sausage, potatoes–and American heartland foods–corn, beef, apples, soft rolls, jello. Social events are also based on German traditions.
This week, we have two events. First, for the hospital fundraiser, everyone who attended dressed in German garb. This is the write-up for the event.
WHC Foundation “Oktoberfest”
Raise your Bierkrugs in anticipation for this year’s Fall Wishek Hospital Clinic Foundation Fundraiser theme, “Oktoberfest.”
Indulge in homemade German cuisine and enjoy the play “The Dastardly Doctor Devereaux” put on by Wishek’s local troupe directed by Tammy Rohweder and Cathy Kowalski. So polka your way over to the Wishek Civic Center dressed in your dirndls and lederhosen on Saturday, October 10th, 2015. It’s early enough to mark your calendars so you can be the first to get your tickets once sales begin!
The event’s proceeds will help fund improvements within WHC departments, benefiting the patients of the Wishek Hospital and four clinics.
Church couples who attended:
The younger man is shown with his wife and parents. The parents just returned from a tour of Germany, where they purchased their outfits!
Next: Wednesday is Sauerkraut Day, and I will post photos after the event. Locals serve sauerkraut meals at one location and a local church offers a pie social. A large craft show will be in another venue, where our church will sell baked goods.
Speck is on the menu. I learned this is bacon fat.
I love the celebrations of local cultures and traditions that I find in small towns. Kids here grow up knowing and feeling proud of their heritage. I am not German, but the folks here and in my last town allow me to be an honorary one! Vegates! Life in a small town in enriching.
It’s clear that your community honors its descendants. After all, all of us in North American came from somewhere else!
I’m currently writing a post about our homesteading past in Canada, and am finding an extensive background online to support and add to what I remember.
I am looking forward to reading your post. When I moved to ND, I read up on the settlers in the Winnepeg area. They had a long journey to get into that area!