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April 23, 2000
Easter weekend gets warm startBy GUY PRIEL Journal Staff Writer NEW ULM -- The warm temperatures and partly cloudy skies on Saturday marked a day filled with a variety of activities for many local residents, who took a break from preparing for one of the holiest day of Christianity while spending time with family. In the morning, despite a chilly start to the day, children descended on German Park to hunt for candy-filled Easter eggs that had been hidden earlier in the day by volunteers with the New Ulm Parks and Recreation Department and Hy-Vee. "The Easter bunny left lots of candy here for me," five-year-old Jennifer Schmitz of rural Courtland said, showing off her half-filled basket. The Easter egg hunt was originally scheduled for Saturday April 15, but the rainy weather caused it to be postponed until this weekend, which many attendees felt was an advantage. "We could not have asked for a better day for this event," Melissa Jacoby of rural Essig said. "My grandchildren were visiting for Easter, and the weather was too nice to stay indoors. It's good that Easter was so late this year, because it made the weather better." Although many saw Saturday as a day to do normal weekend activities, such as laundry and yard work, others saw it as an opportunity to spend time with family or friends. "Easter is always a chance for us to gather with family," Martin Mueller of New Ulm said. "We usually have a big dinner on Saturday, attend services on Sunday, and just enjoy the company of our family, who live out of town." The Mueller's don't usually spend time with their children for Christmas, because of the unpredictable weather in December, so Easter becomes more of a family event for them, he said. "It also holds more significance for us, because Christmas has become so commercial and so focused on non-religious events," he said. "Whereas, Easter still retains most of its Christian roots." Others celebrated the rich Christian experience involved with Easter by paying a visit to the Way of the Cross, visiting the various stations of the cross, and praying along the way, in their own form of worship. "We always come here every year to take the walk up the hill to the chapel," Richard Domeier of rural Sleepy Eye said. "It is a good opportunity for us to tell the children what Easter means to Christians and to reflect on the significance of Holy Week." Richard, his wife Janice, and their four children, Joshua, Joseph, Jacob and Melissa, have taken the annual walk for the past 12 years, praying at each station, then singing songs on the steps of the chapel as they reflect on the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, which is the culmination of a week of celebration that begins with Palm Sunday. "We don't ever want our children to forget why we celebrate Good Friday and Easter, and celebrating in this way gives more meaning than Sunday services on Easter day," he said. Many people took advantage of the weather to take the boat to Lake Hanska to spend an enjoyable afternoon fishing, such as Paul Lewis of rural New Ulm. "It was too nice a day to stay indoors, so I decided to hook up the boat and head to the lake," he said. "I don't care whether or not I catch any fish, I just wanted to have a good time, and so far, I'm not complaining. It's been great." For Alexander and Robin Parker of Winthrop, Easter was a good weekend to spend some time camping under the stars at Flandrau State Park. "This is the earliest we've gone camping in several years, but the weather was just too nice not to take advantage of it," he said. "We always enjoy Flandrau, but usually end up making reservations too late, so we decided to start early this year."
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