After months of waiting and watching, the time seemed right to go forward with the 116th German Fest, so it was approved by the leadership of the Federation of German-American Societies Inc. for August 13 and 14 as previously planned. It could hardly have been any better than it was this year. The attendance, the food, and beverage consumption were the best ever. More importantly, was the participation and enjoyment that everyone took part in and liked regardless of their heritage. The usual workers from our member clubs were outnumbered by the many volunteers who had eagerly offered to help in advance. Others offered to help after they already came there. We were especially impressed with the dozens of young people, a.k.a. “teenagers,” who eagerly helped do whatever was needed and enjoyed themselves while doing it.
If there were an award for traveling the farthest to the Fest, it would go to Mark and Shawnae Bratz from Kalispell, Montana. On Thursday, August 12, while traveling on the canal, they passed the site in their boat and were eagerly waved to by our potato peeling volunteers. Up ahead, they saw a sign for the Fest and decided to dock near the Canal Museum. They were impressed with the eager hands that helped them dock there and asked about the Fest. That person mentioned that the Reinschmidt family was involved. Hearing that, Mark contacted the Reinschmidt he knew in Kalispell. It happened to be Garrett, our grandson, who is an officer at TrailWest Bank. Garrett proudly confirmed that Spencerport was where his dad, Peter, came from and that his Oma, Opa, uncle, and cousins lived there. Mark and his wife decided to stay overnight and attended the Fest Friday night. They had put their boat into Lake Michigan at Green Bay, Wisconsin, as the beginning of an extended boat trip. Mark is a retired CPA, and they plan on spending many years boating.
The Fest would never have been so successful without the cooperation and participation of the Village, Firemen’s Association, many sponsors, and of course, the volunteers. It was very gratifying to have attendees thank us and ask that we please continue holding this event in the future. So to all, we can only say a big “Thank You” or, as we say in German, “Danke Schoen.”
Joe Reinschmidt
Spencerport
