December 2002 - Nr. 12
Concordia Club Celebrates
129 Years
by Herwig Wandschneider
In 1912 Kitchener (then named Berlin) was proclaimed a City. That’s 90 years ago, and surely there is someone in the City, who lived here then and still lives here today. But surely no one, who lived at the time the Concordia Club was founded, is still with us here today. Ten enthusiastic men, who liked to get together to sing, founded the club in 1873, 129 years ago, and while the club went through fires and other crises, it is here today with the largest single property held privately in Kitchener. The smart looking choir, which started it all, was part of the celebrations and particularly enthusiastic.
The club celebrates the anniversary each year and this year was no different. As always, die Halle was filled to capacity, with members and guests enjoying dinner and dance. 20 ten-year, 37 twenty-five-year, 10 forty-year, 1 fifty-year and two honorary members were honoured and the impressive Männerchor under the direction of Alfred Kunz was there to support the festivities in brand-new uniforms. Alfred Kunz was among the members who were honoured as 40-year members of the Club. Behind the choir and the ceremonies were the flags of Germany and Canada presiding over the flags of the 16 States and Hansestädte of Germany.
Ten-year members were awarded silver pins, twenty-five-year members received a silver pin with an oakleaf wreath and forty year members received limited edition prints of an oil painting of the Club, numbered and signed by the artist, in a wood frame and with brass nameplate.
The
fifty-year member, Philip Lautenschlaeger, was presented a ring with the
Concordia Insignia.
Herbert and Erna Patzner, elected honorary members by the Board, received gold pins with an oak leaf, a certificate, and a beautiful bouquet. This special honour was awarded as a result of their tireless and valuable contributions to the club and entitles them to membership without fees.
MC
for the evening was Miss Concordia for 2002, Sarah Allmendinger, who
valiantly kept the evening running over the din of lively conversation and
activities.
Werner Schlueter, elected President by the members for this year, addressed members and guests outlining programs and ideas he thought were attractive to young members and took the opportunity of the 129th anniversary celebrations to emphasize that …"We all cherish our German heritage and by and large over the years we have become Canadian Citizens or were born Canadians. Some of us have married into other nationalities, but all of us are still maintaining our German roots. We embrace all nationalities who want to become members of our Club with open arms …" When asked later to expand on this statement, he explained that… "in the context of my statement, all nationalities associated with our members are welcome, and the only prerequisite is that new members are German-friendly. Lack of knowledge of the German language is not a problem. Many committees conduct their meetings in English."
The evening concluded with rhythms of the "Golden Keys" and an animated crowd on the dance floor. Rita Allmendinger, Organizer in charge of the event, can chalk the evening up as "gut gelungen".
