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2008 - A Year of Celebration Throughout the year of 2008, New Bremen celebrated its founding of 175 years ago. The
celebration began January 20, 2008 at the Auglaize County courthouse. Both New Bremen and Wapakoneta were
honored that day for their 175th birthdays.
Colors were presented by the New Bremen American Legion Post 241. Frances Strickland, Ohio’s First Lady,
presented greetings from the State of Ohio.
New Bremen Mayor Jeff Pape and Wapakoneta Mayor Rodney Metz greeted
the audience for each of their towns.
Ivo Kramer, Auglaize County Commissioner, also offered greetings. The keynote speaker was James Dicke II,
Chairman and CEO of Crown Equipment Corporation, New Bremen. There was special music by four Auglaize
County High School students: Lanae Caudill and Lauryn Bertke from New Bremen
and Elliot Schuler and Daniel Sprague from Wapakoneta. Refreshments were
served following the ceremony. Rachel
Barber, Administrator of the Auglaize County Historical Society, planned and
hosted the event with the help of members of the New Bremen Historic
Association.
New
Bremen continued celebrating. The New Bremen Historic Association’s Annual
Dinner meeting on March 17th was decorated as a birthday party. Over 200 members were present and helped
celebrate the occasion. The speaker
again was James Dicke II.
The
celebration continued at the annual New Bremen Historic Association’s summer
picnic on June 1st. A large turnout
gathered for the delicious food and entertainment. Members of the T.R.S.S. Drum Corps from Dayton provided the
entertainment. Coloring Contest
winners were also announced at the picnic.
Participants were asked to color a drawing of the village seal. The
winners were: BACK - Hallie Hemmelgarn, Tara Springer, Koby
Paul, Cody Springer; FRONT - Melissa Waterman, Devon Thieman, Taylor Paul,
Madison Pape; NOT PICTURED - Elizabeth Wells. Each winner received a New Bremen Canal
Game.
The New
Bremen Historic Association has also been offering brass commemorative coins depicting the seal of the
Village of New Bremen. The proceeds
from the sales benefit the fund for the proposed Lockkeeper’s House to be
built at Lock One.
On June 11th at 6:30 P.M.,
the New Bremen Village Council met at Lock One to commemorate the platting of
New Bremen on June 11, 1833. The
occasion was complete with birthday cake.
Special guests were former mayors, Lloyd Laut and Richard
Wiedeman. (Lloyd Laut since passed
away on August 31st at the age of 105.) The St. Paul United Church of Christ celebration occurred on June
29th. The church was established in
1833 at the same time as the town.
The congregation of St. Paul invited all residents of the village to
join them in the celebration. A
special service was planned for the morning worship. Following the service, Mayor Jeff Pape
read the proclamation. Mayor Pape and
church officials then had a ribbon cutting ceremony and the congregation
posed for a group picture.
There was homemade ice cream, cake, cookies, pie and chicken dinners
for everyone to enjoy and large inflatable games for the kids. Music was provided by the Sharon Chaney
Band. Several former ministers of the
church were present to help celebrate.
A comprehensive anniversary book was
written and published tracing the congregation’s inception to the present. In July, at the Auglaize County Fair, Delores Stienecker of New Bremen
and Rachel Barber from Wapakoneta collaborated on developing a “Made in New
Bremen/Made in Wapakoneta” display.
After the fair the display was shown in downtown New Bremen during
August and then moved to the Library in Wapakoneta during September. The annual Bremenfest event was held August 15-17, 2008 and also
celebrated 175 years of history. Lastly,
in November 2008, “The History of Business in
New Bremen” was published - a book which describes 175
years of progress in New Bremen businesses from 1833 to the
present. This book was written by a committee from the New Bremen Historic
Association and is available from the NBHA, the Chamber of Commerce, the
Artist’s Touch or the New Bremen Public Library. [by Genevieve Conradi] |
