Oktoberfest in full swing

Fest-loving couple

moving to New Ulm

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- The lure of German festivals was so powerful for Cleo and Duane Bohne of Dent, they decided to sell their lake home near Detroit Lakes, buy an older home in New Ulm, fix it up and move to town.

The Bohnes sang "zicke, zacke, zicke, zacke, heu, heu, heu," and danced the night away Friday at the Holiday Inn as the second weekend of Oktoberfest got into high gear.

Cleo Bohne taught school for 33 years in Pelican Rapids and Duane worked as a vocational rehabilitation counselor for the State of Minnesota before they retired. Now they're in the process of moving into a house on Fourth North.

"We came down here so much for the German festivals and to travel with tour groups, somebody here asked us why we didn't buy a house and pay taxes like the rest of the natives, so we did," said Duane.

His wife is just as excited if not more.

"I can't say too much about New Ulm," Cleo said. "The people here are so great. It's a clean, neat city."

Curt Krueger and his wife Norma of Redwood Falls don't miss many German festivals here either. The dozens of pins in Curt's hat attests to that. They met their good friends Jim and Jean Dubell of Duluth at the Holiday Inn Friday, listened to the music and enjoyed the food and drink.

"It's good clean fun with our good friends from Duluth," Curt said. "It's a great place to renew old friendships. It'll be a long, dry run until we see them again at the Maifest in Montrose.

Amy and her mother Monica Ostermann, both of Moorhead, drove to New Ulm on Friday in search of things German. They stopped for lunch at the Bavarian House in Hutchinson. Amy enjoyed some German conversation.

On Friday afternoon, they sat on benches and fall leaves blew past in the wind, near the Glockenspiel, waiting for the 3 p.m. performance.

Amy studied German for seven years, beginning in junior high school. A graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, she studied for a year in Munich.

It seemed she was getting much of her fill of Germany in New Ulm. She was looking for people to speak German with.

"It's a lot like Germany here," Amy said. "The gift shops are just like you find there. With people eating and drinking in the streets, it would really remind me of Germany."

Oktoberfest continues Saturday afternoon in downtown New Ulm and Saturday night at the Holiday Inn. The German-American parade begins at 11 a.m. near the Glockenspiel and continues south to Center Street. A Thusnelda look-alike contest begins at noon on the Center Street stage. On Sunday afternoon, polka music will be played at Turner Hall.