The mission of the German-American Klub is “To promote the German and American culture, heritage, and tradition, to provide functions for the members and their families.” According to the Klub’s Treasurer Lorra Schroeder the Federation of German Societies was formed in 1932 by 22 local German organizations. In 1934, this group purchased 26 acres of land south of Indianapolis known today as German Park. In 1971, a committee was formed to build the German American Klub. The first Oktoberfest was held in 1975 to raise monies for a German Park clubhouse which opened in December of 1979. The idea behind Oktoberfest goes back even further to the year 1810. Oktoberfest originated as a royal party to celebrate the October 12 marriage of Prince Ludwig I of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The citizens of Munich, Germany were invited to the festivities. Oktoberfest became a traditional German celebration. Although traditionally held in October, President of the German American Klub Chuck Kemp said they decided to have it in September due to warmer weather. Kemp said the Oktoberfest originally moved to the Indiana State Fair because it had an indoor facility. Kemp is happy to have the event back at German Park and compares it to getting back to the Oktoberfest’s roots. “The Oktoberfest is what built this building and helped keep it running,” Kemp said. This year’s Oktoberfest is a family friendly event and will include plenty of traditional food prepared by the staff of the Klub’s restaurant Edelweiss and many fun activities. There will be two stages of musical and dance performances and a special rootbier garten for children of all ages. The Kindertanzgruppe (children’s dance group) will also perform. Members Chuck Kemp, Lorra Schroeder and Patty Johns (President of the German-American Klub Ladies Auxiliary) all agree that the charm of the Oktoberfest is definitely the people and the hard work of all their volunteers. “The ambiance of the park is unmatched, there is this environment of people, music, and the great smell of bratwurst”, Johns said. -->

How can white be wrong?

By Wendell Fowler

As I lean over the row of marigolds now blooming, I remember my dad’s garden. I remember summer days that seemed to go on forever, and the end of that forever when school started with yet a new forever. I recall the vegetable garden in its end of summer state, with marigolds blooming along the edge and dahlias and zinnias so tall they had to be tied to stakes to be kept upright. I remember tall tomato plants and fresh green beans, bell peppers and cucumbers of all sizes and the sound of crickets and cicadas in early evening. Seeing a row of scentless zinnias doesn’t evoke these kinds of memories, nor does seeing a dahlia blooming in any garden. But the marigolds, with their distinctive scent that can only be described as that of a marigold, do. This phenomenon of scent and memories has been studied by scientists, but I don’t need to read these studies to know how scent unlocks our memories. I just need to brush up against a marigold plant and smell its foliage and blooms to bring back my garden memories. Even blindfolded, if I smelled a marigold, it would once again bring back these memories of Dad’s garden. So if you want your garden to be memorable to those who visit it, consider the scents of the plants and blooms you include. Include the sweet smelling flowers of spring and early summer, like lilacs, peonies, and sweet peas. Then let the roses, nicotiana, and petunias take over in summer. In late summer, enjoy the marigolds, even if you don’t particularly care for their scent. Unfortunately, plant breeders often breed out the scent of some flowers in favor of color, size and length of bloom time or any number of characteristics deemed more desirable. Be aware of this when choosing flowers and look for those that are labeled as particularly fragrant or choose older varieties that are known for their scent. Then when those who visit your garden leave, they will take with them the scent of the flowers in your garden. Later, perhaps even years later, whenever they smell that floral scent again, it may unlock their memory of your garden, not only of how the flowers smelled, but how the whole garden looked when they visited.