November 2000 - Nr. 11
German Pioneers Day
by Sybille Forster-Rentmeister
Kitchener
- Canada finally had its first official German Pioneers day. To be precise,
it is a day proclaimed in Ontario only by Bill 28, brought to the house by
Wayne Wettlaufer, MPP in Kitchener. Where others had tried and failed, he
finally succeeded. "The time was not quite right before" he said,
which gives us cause to ask:
When
exactly is the right time for a nation or province to honour all the people
that made the nation, the province that which it is today. It reminds us
that politics has little to do with facts but how facts are perceived,
digested and divested by means of emotion.
No
matter how overdue the instalment of a German Day in some form or another
was, on October 10, 2000, in the City of Kitchener, at City Hall, with all
local dignitaries and many guests from afar present, the smaller and greater
community of German Canadians and their fellow citizens of other backgrounds
celebrated the first German Pioneers Day. A long list of well-wishers
paraded past the lectern, reminding everyone that this honour was well
earned, well deserved.
All
the right things were said and done on this fine day in October, starting
with the national anthems sung at the beginning of the proceedings by the
Benton Street Baptist Church Choir, founded 150 years ago, and followed by
"Eine Feste Burg" and "You are the light", after
Chairman James R. Breithaupt, Q.C., welcomed everyone.
And
then we heard from the hero of the hour, Wayne Wettlaufer. In his opening
remarks he expressed the pride and pleasure he had in working towards the
objective to have a German Pioneers Day installed in Ontario and he read the
act itself to the audience which packed City Hall like at no other time, as
the mayor pointed out.
Then Mr. Breithaupt read all the important greetings from dignitaries across the land:
-
The Rt. Honourable Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada
-
The Hon. Hilary M. Weston, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
-
The Hon. Michael, D. Harris, Premier of Ontario
-
Ruediger Lemp, Charge d’Affaires, a.i. for Juergen Poehlmann, Ambassador, Federal Republic of Germany
And
more speeches followed, all expressing a genuine pleasure about being part
of this acknowledgement for the forefathers of Canadians with a German
background. It was befitting that the festivities should have been
initiated, won and held in Kitchener, where so much German Canadian history
was made, full of proud and sad moments, full of success and also
injustices. From here it can spread across the province, but on this day it
was important to hear from locals how they felt about these occurrences. And
so we heard from
-
Ernst Friedl, President, German Canadian Congress, Ontario
-
Ken Seiling, Chairman, Region of Waterloo
-
Carl Zehr, Mayor, City of Kitchener
-
Joan McKinnon, Mayor, City of Waterloo
-
Andrew Telegdi, MP, Kitchener Centre
-
Janco Peric, MP, Cambridge
-
Barry Vrabanovic, Chair, Ethno Cultural Council of K-W
-
Honorary Consul Peter D. Kruse for Mrs; Christine Geissler-Kuss, Consul General, Federal Republic of Germany
-
Sybille Forster-Rentmeister, Editor, Echo Germanica
It
was heart-warming to hear what each of these individuals had to contribute
of their observations about the German Canadian heritage in Ontario. There
was not one area of life into which German Canadians had not contributed it
seemed. Their work and culture permeated the local region, shaped it and
gave it prosperity.
Then 9 more letters from dignitaries were read and 28
special guests introduced, most of which were attached to the German
Canadian community in some way.
When the Concordia School Childrens Choir sang four
songs, quite modern in fact, the audience
was
transported back into the future and reminded why we do most of the things
we do. It is for them that we build our reputations and this world, to leave
to them a legacy to be proud of.
Following
this charming presentation everyone was treated to the enactment of the
arrival of electrical power in the region, because it was the Adam Beck, a
German Canadian, who brought us Ontario Hydro. Coordinator Heinz Guerlin had
rehearsed it with 6 enthusiastic
![Berlin [Kitchener] lights up (German Pioneers Day, Kitchener)](011c_G-Day-l.jpg)
local
amateurs. Thus we were privy to the first electric light alight on the head
of a darling young girl, Hilda Rumpel, portrayed by Sonja Boadway. Sir Adam
Beck and his wife Lillian were played by Mr. and Mrs. Weigel, Allan Williams
made a fine Sir James Whitney, Premier, the mayor Charles Hahn was played by
Helmut Koeckritz, and Manfred Richter stood in for the Hon. William L.
Mackenzie King, MP.
The
end of festivities was carried by the well-known Concordia Choirs with
selections like "Aennchen von Tharau", "Die Juliska",
"Tritsch Tratsch Polka" and "We rise again" and
"They call it Canada".
When
it was over people could visit the exhibits, which were installed throughout
the rotunda in City Hall, depicting the rich German heritage of the region.
Others, including quite a few dignitaries, were invited
to the Concordia Club, where Oktoberfest was already in full swing. German
food and beer go down well anytime with anyone, especially with a good dose
of the so famed German Gemuetlichkeit.
Comments to: sfr@echoworld.com
