German-Americans show their spirit with parade

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Over 200 German-Americans marched or rode in a light rain Saturday morning in recognition of when their families first came to this community.

Despite adverse weather conditions, the parade's organizer, Councilor Joel Albrecht, said the number of participants was larger than last year when 178 took part in the parade.

Twenty families were represented in the parade which was organized on the basis of year of arrival in New Ulm, or what would become New Ulm. Leading the parade were an honor guard and the grand marshal, Don H. Tolzmann, director of German-American Studies Program at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio.

Leading the family units were Dambach Haubrich family members, followed by the Mack and Palmer families, all of whom arrived here in 1854.

Then came the Alwin and Fritsche families who arrived a year later in 1855. The Havemeiers who settled in 1857 were followed by the Stadicks, 1866, the Filzens, 1871, the Portners, 1873, and the Dewanz family, 1879.

The Dittrich family, settling in 1880, the Albrechts in 1882, the Witt-Stock family in 1886 and the Brodersons in 1890 completed the list of families in the parade who settled prior to 1900.

The last family in the parade has lived in New Ulm since September 18. Andreas Haussmann, Jeannette Naumann and Robin moved here from Weiler, Germany, near Lindau on the Austrian border southwest of Ulm.

Also participating in the parade were Mayor Arnold Koelpin and the German polka band, Der Frohlichen Freunde (happy friends).

The parade which started at the Glockenspiel on North Minnesota proceeded south to 1st North where it turned to go down to German Street, ending in German Park where an awards ceremony was held. The German polka band opened the ceremony with a rendition of "God Bless America."

The Havemeier family who had 39 members in the parade received a plaque for having the largest contingent. While parade judge William O'Connor had counted the Mack, Stadick and Witt-Stock families as all having 18 members in the parade for a second-place tie, the Stadick and Witt-Stock families corrected him saying that they had 16 and 17 respectively. So, second place went to the Mack family and third to Witt-Stock.

The Haussmann-Naumann family received a gift for being the newest family in New Ulm.

Exhibiting true Germanic thrift, Albrecht passed his hat among the parade participants in an attempt to recover the $97 in parade expenses.