November, 2004 - Nr. 11
Kitchener Club Events
by Herwig Wandschneider
Hans Schaadt Retires
Hans Schaadt, President of the Schwaben Club, announced his retirement from his position effective with the January 2005 General Meeting. Prime candidate to replace Mr. Schaadt is the current Vice President, Mr. Dieter Hanke.
Mr. Schaadt, 69, is originally from Bautzen, Germany. He met Susan in Leipzig and moved to Wangen, Allgäu in 1954, the last year he could cross from East to West Germany. He immigrated directly to Kitchener in 1956, returned to Wangen to marry Susan in 1959 and came back to the Kitchener area again in 1960 to settle on a livestock farm, in New Hamburg. He retired from active work only this year.
When he joined the Schwaben Club in 1971, he also joined the Youth Group committee and became their Youth Leader. During his tenure, the dance group performed all over Canada in 1976, and went to Germany in 1978 with their teacher, Guenther Haas.
Mr. Schaadt was elected Vice president in 1988 and President in 1999. What will he do during his retirement years? Says Mr. Schaadt: "I will develop a hobby in the next little while, but first I will be busy helping my son build a big house on our farmland". And then, there is always travel to visit friends in the new Bundesländer, who he has not seen in the last 40 years.
Ostfriesen Treffen
Southern Ontario’s Ostfriesen meet twice a year, once in the late spring and once in the fall. This fall, on October 17th , over 100 met in Moorefield, Ontario near Listowel in a community Hall for a fun dinner, including traditional Kale and a variety of meats. What was missing was the Pinkelwurst, which they say will be back the next time.
![Break from Grünkohl [Photo: Herwig Wandschneider]](411c-HW_27.jpg)
President Helmut Koeckritz set the mood in his welcoming address in his typical rough warm-hearted northern coastal style (he is from the Bremen area) telling jokes and making uplifting remarks in plattdeutsch.
In an upbeat mood they sang Heimatlieder such as the "Ostfrieslandlied"," Schleswig-Holstein Meerumschlungen", "Ick heff mol en Hamburger Veermaster sehn" and other tunes more familiar to North Germans, particularly those along the North Sea Coast. Rarely does one hear such songs sung with so much enthusiasm, as if they had practiced it beforehand.
After much laughter, singing and drinking there was a plentiful dessert table, where everyone indulged in a tempting variety of all sorts of superb cake.
For the occasion, Helmut and Erika Koeckritz prepared a Newsletter "Kanada’s Buten-Ostfriesen", filled with jokes and good spirit. And since there is no other meeting until June next year, the newsletter closed with wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
