April 2014 ISSUE 355

P. O. Box 571, Grass Valley, CA 95945 Promoting German Culture and Stronger German-American Ties in Northern California

www.goldcountrygermanamericanclub.org

Gold Country German-American Club

Come to the big swap of

all your

SEEDS, PLANTS, GARDEN

SUPPLIES, books AND

TOOLS

Bring ANYTHING GARDEN related to the April meeting for sharing, trading

or giving away. Try to wear Garden, Spring or Easter related

clothing to fit the theme of the evening/month. Gift certificate from Weiss Bros

Nursery for the most creative/fun/innovative outfit.

Walter Grob will play for us followed by

the Barbershop Quartet Group Harmonic Convergence

Please also bring finger food and

desserts to share. Friday April 4th Happy Hour 6 pm Meeting 7 pm Plan to be there for this really fun evening.

Mark Schilleman, Program Director

President's Message

Again, thank you all for giving me the honor of the Presidency of the GCGAC. My primary goal for the coming year is to increase the Mem-bership of our Club. In order to accomplish this Mission, we need to establish more presence in the community. In order to do that, we need more publicity. I would also like to inspire more interest in our current meetings by offering different venues while maintaining the established German traditions. As some of these needs will cost dol-lars to incorporate, and since we don’t want to make our current Treasurer unhappy by not having the books balance, the Board is considering some fundraising events to offset the ex-penses. We would welcome any and all suggestions from our Membership as to ways for reaching our goals. Thinking that a little competition can go a long way and dependent on Board approval, it is hoped that we will be able to offer a cash prize to the member bringing in the highest number of new members. I expect my phone (or any Board member’s phone) to be “ringing off the hook” with your in-put. This is OUR Club.

Rebecca Claus

President

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In order for the bar not to run at a deficit

the price for drink tickets will be raised

as follows:

Beer, Wine and Champagne $3

Sodas $2 and

Water will stay the same at $1.

Herzlich Glückwünsche zum

Geburtstag im April

Jan Guevel 4/4 Laszlo Privari 4/8 Volkert Bernbeck 4/15 Elinor Barnes 4/17 Chito Gonzaga 4/17 Christel Hermansen 4/26 Paul Trethewey 4/26

Tune into KNCO radio AM 830, week days at 7:50 AM and 5:50 PM, to hear your birthday greetings from GCGAC.

Conversational German Group Die Gruppe trifft sich Dienstag, April 8 von 18.30 bis 20.30 Uhr. Diesesmal treffen wir uns bei Evamarie Copsey, 12100 Dogwood Rd., G.V. 477-7472

Bitte ruft on ob ihr kommt oder nicht.

Wer Interesse hat der Gruppe bei-

zutreten bitte ruft Christa an 530-272-6095 oder

email — cbenson1@suddenlink.net

Es Grüßt, Christa

Beginner/Intermediate German

Language Group Class will meet on Monday, April 7 at Paul Trethew-ey's and Monday April 21 at Kim Spranger's houses at 6:30 pm. Please call Paul at 530-265-0763 and Kim at 530-278-3041 to confirm. For information on this class, please call Rebecca Claus at 916-710-0033.

Alpine Dancers There are no scheduled dance practices

until further notice.

Gute Besserung Jan Guevel Hildegard Kramer Joe Carman Erika & Bill Nickerl Christa Benson

Theresa Arth

April Club Events & News

4-4 Friday Garden Swap 4-9 Wed Board Meeting 6:30 pm Bret Harte Inn 305 West Main St., GV 4-1 April Fool’s Day 4-20 Easter Sunday 4-22 Earth Day

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Oma’s Ecke

Ist der W

inter warm,

wird der Bauer arm.

If the winter is warm,

the farmer will b

e poor.

SAVE THE DATES FOR 2014 ON YOUR CALENDARS

May 2 Friday Mai Fest June 7 Saturday Picnic No Regular Meeting July 4 Friday Parade No Regular Meeting August 1 Friday Wine Fest September 20 Saturday Oktoberfest No Reg. Meeting October 5 Sunday German-American Day No Reg. meeting November 7 Friday Sea Shepherd Presentation December 13 Saturday Christmas Party No Reg. Meeting

Happy 68th Wed-ding Anniversary to longtime mem-bers Maria and Cecil Caballero. Love you, Mom and Dad

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The Happy Wanderer’s April Hikes

Hiking or walking is the most ancient exercise

and still the best modern exercise.

Carrie Latet April 3. Open April 10 Independence Trail followed by Ananda’s tulip extravaganza The trail is approximately four (4) miles long with a short uphill at the end. We eat our lunch at the Yuba River. After the hike we have the choice to drive over to the ‘Ananda Village’ to view 12000 tulips in full bloom. A sight not to be missed – fantastic! We meet at the Government Center in Nevada City at 9:00 am April 17 MALAKOFF DIGGIN’S A most enjoyable and very interesting hike with a lot of history from the Gold Rush era. We start above the Diggin’s and hike along the rim to a spectacular view point. Then we go downhill into the Diggin’s to view the Hiller drain tunnel. At the road, close-by, we have left a car. It’s a medium hike - 6-7 miles. We meet at the Government Center at 9 am April 24 Sugar Pine Lake This hike is located past Foresthill. Our group did this one last year.. The trail is fairly level and goes all the way around the lake, approximately 5 miles. Easy to moderate. Paved to the trailhead. We meet in Auburn at the Grocery Outlet at 9 am Directions From the Grocery Outlet we drive 1.8 mile east on #80 toward Reno to Foresthill exit (#121) Then about 26 miles - through Foresthill. A beautiful drive! Turn left on Sugar Pine Road Drive for about 6 miles and we will arrive at the boat ramp of the reservoir. (A small outhouse is available)

Dear Friends and Family,

This morning at 5 o'clock am, 2-26-2014, our beloved father, Paul Aden

Rohrer passed away peacefully. He overcame numerous medical mal-

adies to be with us as long as he did, and we were blessed to have

him living closer to us during the past year. He made a difficult transi-

tion from living in his own home in Penn Valley to living in the Monte-

rey/Carmel area, where he got to see his kids and grandkids more often. Attached is an ex-

ample of a recent visit from two of his granddaughters on Valentines Day, where they pre-

sented him with hugs and kisses, both of the literal and Hershey's variety. A

Celebration Of Life Service was held on March 29th, in Carmel, CA. All our

love, Ross, Dan, Christian, Ingrid and Elizabeth

You will be fondly remembered. Our heartfelt condolences to the family from your

friends at the Gold Country German American Club.

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OFFICERS: (VOTING MEMBERS only 5 votes)

President: Rebecca Claus 916-710-0033 Vice-Pres: Christa Benson 272-6095 Secretaries: Margot Schulze 477-2205 Treasurer: Otto Schulze 477-2205 Program: Mark Schilleman 265-5159 DIRECTORS: (VOTING MEMBERS only 5 votes) Membership: Richard Fuller 887-8037 Dance Director: Dave Moss 432-2236 Happy Wanderers: Fred & Karen Herrmann 346-7392 Newsletter: Eve Hamner 265-4732 German Language Directors: Conversational: Christa Benson 272-6095 Beg/Intermediate: Rebecca Claus 916-710-0033 ACTIVITY LEADERS (NON-VOTING MEMBERS) Refreshments: Dave Emanuel 272-2017 Bob Scheetz 916-487-1660 Get Well & Sunshine: Christel Denzler 878-0504 Anneliese Grasshof 916-783-5411 Kaffe & Kuchen: Jessie Emanuel 272-2017 Betsy Wagner 432-2797 Inter-Club Liaison: Hank Stoffel 269-3137 Webmaster: Anneliese Welch 292-3571 Publicity: Karen Clark 265-6814 Property: Dennis Naumann 477-1622 Historian: Karen Herrmann 346-7392

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A BIG congratulations to the new members of the Board. A HUGE thank you to all the re-turning and retiring members. You all did a wonderful job and we are very grateful for all your time and dedication to our club.

Board Members 2014 Mark Schilleman, Margot Schulze, Christa Benson, Rebecca Claus. Not pictured is Otto Schulze Board Members 2013 Mark Schilleman, Susanne Bader, Den-nis Naumann, Christa Benson, Rebecca Claus Below are some Directors and Activity

Leaders: Richard and Eve Hamner, Christa Benson, Richard Fuller, Rebecca Claus, Karen Clark, David Emanuel, Fred and Karen Herrmann

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Congratulations to Hank Stoffel on winning the $25 gift certificate to SPD Market and then donating it to another club member. Seen here with Dennis Naumann, Walter Grob and Mark Schilleman

Longtime member Stefan Arth gives toast with Dennis Naumann and Mark Schilleman

Easter in Germany

The celebration of Easter (besides Christmas) in Germany is probably one of the most important events of the year. Most of us grew up associating Easter with a bunny who brings candy and eggs, so we don’t question how this legend came to be. When you actually think about it, though, it’s an odd tradition! Rabbits don’t, after all, lay eggs, or deliver gifts. The Easter Bunny is nonetheless a cherished aspect of the holiday for chil-dren all around the world. Easter began with the pagan celebration of the Anglo-Saxon goddess “Ostara”, “Eastre”, or “Eostre”. This an-cient figure was said to bring light and life. These names give us the official title of “Easter” that is used today. In one legend, the goddess entertains children by turning a bird into a rabbit. The rabbit then lays colored eggs and gives them as presents. In other stories, a rabbit that is her friend and constant companion accom-panies the Ostara wherever she goes. Hares and rabbits have long been symbols of fertility, so it makes sense that they would be associated with the goddess of spring and fertility. The Easter Bunny legend can be traced back to 13th century, Pre-Christian Germany, where he was said to bring sugary pastry eggs for good children. When German settlers arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country in the 1700s, they brought their Osterhase/Oschter Haws tradition with them. Children would create nests in secluded parts of their home, and check them on Easter morning. Often these nests were cre-ated out of bonnets or caps, which helped to inspire the tradition of wearing new hats to church on Easter Sunday. Some families would leave children’s shoes out for the Easter Bunny to fill, but those didn’t offer much room for treats. Eventually hats and shoes became baskets that were brimming with goodies! The tra-dition of making nests for the rabbit to lay its eggs in soon followed. Eventually, nests became decorated bas-kets and colorful eggs were swapped for candy, treats and other small gifts.

Modern interpretations of the Easter Bunny vary by region. In America, the story of Peter Cottontail hopping down the bunny trail has given a name and personality to the iconic figure. Germany’s version of the Easter Bunny was influenced by folklorist Jakob Grimm’s stories on traditional Easter rituals, (Of the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales fame along with his brother, Wilhelm).

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Many families consider the Easter Bunny as a sort of springtime Santa Claus. The religious connection be-tween the two holidays is obvious; Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ, and Easter celebrates his resur-rection. Both figures reward children with candy and treats for good behavior. These characters also share a unique distinction: snacks are left out for them the night before. Santa tends to receive milk and cookies, while the Easter Bunny gets carrots. We even present gifts in the same way for each holiday; Christmas stockings and Easter baskets are usually filled with similar items.

German Easter traditions A few weeks before Easter Sunday in Germany, you can see in many towns an Easter Market, called Oster-markt in German, where they sell decorated Easter eggs, chocolate eggs and bunnies, spring ornaments and more Easter crafts. Germans love to decorate their homes and gardens with Easter decorations. Many of these Easter decorations come directly from the pagan Frühlingfest's symbols of fertility such as the egg (Ei)

and the rabbits (Hasen) that became the Ostereier (Easter eggs) and the Osterhasen (Easter bunnies). It is the Germans who brought these customs with them when they immigrated to North America. A few weeks before celebrating Easter in Germany, there is another spring event that is held in some parts of the country, such as in the Neckar Valley. It is called "Sommertagszug", which translates as "summer day parade". This special event, the Sommertagszug, is celebrated three weeks before Easter, on the Laetare Sunday (Sonntag Laetare), also called Mid-Lent (Mittfasten, in the south-west provinces of Germany. It is a Frühlingfest to welcome summer and tell winter that its time has come and it must go away. Another Easter in Germany custom is the "Osterbaum" (the Easter Tree). It is a symbolic decoration which denotes the starting of the Easter season. In some villages of Germany, people form groups and walk on Easter. This walk is to commemorate the walk of Jesus Christ which he took to his death. This Easter walk is also considered as a very important activity on Easter in Germany. The Easter Fire is a very unique custom which is followed by the locals of Germany. They collect all the Christmas trees and burn them to form a huge bonfire reaching several meters high on the eve of Easter Sun-day. This German custom is actually an old pagan ritual dating back to before Christ to bid adieu to the chilly winter and welcome the spring which gives birth to new life. This is exactly the symbolic representation of the resurrection of Jesus. Back then it was believed that any home or field shone upon by the light of the fire would be protected from sickness and misfortune.

The custom of the “Osterbrunnen” (Easter Fountain or well) is found only in the German region called Franconia (Franken in German) which comprises: the northern part of Bavaria, North-west Baden-Württemberg and Südthüringen. It is an old tradition designed to celebrate the im-portance of water as a life giver and it is believed that the water that has been blessed on Easter Sunday has special powers. Sources: www.proflowers.com, www.altiusdirectory.com , www.germanculture.com.ua,

www.journey-to-germany.com, http://german.about.com, http://news.discovery.com/history

Gold Country German-American Club P.O. Box 571 Grass Valley, CA 95945

April 2014 Issue 355 First Class Mail

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