June 4 – Ulm

We began today with Catholic Mass at the convention site. I figure that there were close to 2,000 people there. Again, it was very emotional as these people carried their village banners in and out and sang the hymns that they had sung in their own churches in their own villages only a few years ago. You could just feel the emotion in the air. At Communion server that I went to was almost in tears.

After Mass, we moved on to three huge halls. Each one had tables set up and labeled with village names. The idea is that you go to your village table, or one that you are interested in, and meet some of your old friends and neighbours that you might not have seen for a few years. They even had tables for Kanada and Amerika. Here are, clockwise from left, Bev Fritz, Daryle Niedermayer, Trevor Harle, Betty Harle, and Baz Fritz.We had a couple of people come over to say hello and ask if we knew Uncle Johann in Chicago.

Most of the people are elderly and don’t speak English, but a few of us were able to make some connections. Jim was able to converse with a lady from Triebswetter. And I was able to make three potential contacts in Bethausen. Any of you familiar with The Johann Achtzehner book or Liz Hugel’s translation might remember that a group of Zichydorfers left to found this village around 1850. One fellow I talked to said his grandfather was from Zichydorf and another said his uncle was.

Around 2 p.m. three oompa bands fired up in the three different halls and people started to dance. (All the bands that we have seen over the two days have been all wind instruments except for the drums.) At 3 p.m. an entertainment program began in the large hall where the church service had been. It started with some young kids doing folk dancing, then got into a skit that set the stage for the other dancing that followed. It was supposed to depict the Kirchweih celebration that was about the biggest festival on the Catholic Donauschwaben’s calendar.

We finally wrapped things up around 5:30 with the party still rolling along. I ate light and went for a walk looking for the Ulmer Schachtel monument that I thought was around here. Most of the others went out to eat a little later.