New Ulm celebrates 150th anniversary

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- The 14-column, Germanic-Romanesque Pergola that the Friends of German Park have had constructed near the flower garden and fountain in German Park was officially turned over to the City of New Ulm in a ceremony during the 150th Anniversary community picnic in the park Friday night.

Dr. Ann Vogel, chairman of the Friends of German Park, presented the Pergola to the city, and Mayor Joel Albrecht accepted it for the city. The New Ulm Area Foundation, represented by Denis Warta, presented the four giant paver Artstones which it had purchased honoring four founding fathers -- Christian Ludwig Meyer, Joseph LaFramboise, Christian Prignitz and Julius Berndt.

Four other pavers that line the Remembrance walkway into the park honor Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, Dr. Albert Einstein of Ulm, Germany, Wanda Gag and Graeme Phelps "Flip" Schulke. The foundation and Schulke's family funded those.

The Pergola was a "perfect example" of the Minnesota Community Fund's theme, "Remember Your Hometown," said Judy Dutcher, the fund's president.

Dutcher, a former, two-term state auditor, said the Minnesota Community Fund "has been partnering with New Ulm Area Foundation for some time. We provide financial and back-room support to your area foundation."

The foundation's work was an example that "your leaders are firmly fixed on the future."

Dutcher said the NUAF was the first area foundation to affiliate with MCF in 1987.

"Today, your area foundation has put $1.4 million back into the community, and today the Minnesota Community Fund manages over $700 million for Minnesota communities. It is the eighth largest community foundation in the U.S.," Dutcher said.

The community picnic event also featured the music of Salty Dogs, the Schell's Hobo Band, and the historic reunion concert by the Menagerie.