75^th Anniversary of the Germania Farmer Verein

Source: Article by Oscar Haas (Date, Publication name unknown)

From far and near folks will remember the third Sunday in the month of October as being the day on which to come back home to Anhalt for the traditional October Fest of the Germania Farmer Verein.

But this year there is a second meaning attached to this festival. It is the 75th anniversary since the founding of the society.

One writer, in 1918, wrote that it probably was the oldest farmers' cooperative society in Texas, and possibly the oldest in the United States, in point of continuous existence. That writer continued, and said that it was born of the necessity for the mutual protection growing out of the depredations of cattle rustlers, and thieves on the property of the people of the Anhalt section in the early days.

After the days of the "cattle rustlers" had passed, and property became more secure, the society found other means of useful service to its members and had continued to grow in numbers and in increased usefulness.

One of the important services it renders is to maintain a system of mutual life insurance for its members. The present officers of the society are: Andreas Engel of Bergheim, president; Alfred Gass of Spring Branch, 1^st vice president; Friedrich Wehe, 2^nd vice president; August Schmidt, secretary; Gus Schaefer, treasurer, all of Route 1 Wetmore. Emil Laubach, Richard Specht of Route 1 Wetmore, and Hermann Hitzfelder, Spring Branch, constitute the finance committee.

The society now is using the seventh minutes book. The writer was handed the first five minute books, which contain the proceedings of seventy odd years of monthy meetings, all in the German language, and was asked to select from these five books, the highlights of the years' proceedings.

The Boerne Star some time ago printed the history of the Germania Farmer Verein as written up from the minutes by Oscar Schmidt up to 1898. Here's a quick resume to freshen the readers' memory.

According to minutes book No. 1, they organized as "The Stockraising Club" October 4, 1875. Carl Koch was elected president; Friedrich Hofheinz, secretary; C.H. Sueltenfuss, treasurer, and Franz Schaefer, Casper Moos, E.F. Bergmann, Werner Krause, committee.

February 6, 1876, the name was changed to "Germania Farmer Verein." Koch served the society as its president until 1894. In February 7811 (sic) Hofheinz moved away for a number of years and Heinrich Wehe succeeded him as secretary and continued in that office until his death in June 1907. Charles Erben succeeded Wehe as secretary and served the society until his death in late 1927, when he was succeeded by the late Otto Voges, according to the minutes book No. 5.

Carl Koch resigned the presidency February 1894 and Heinrich Fink was the second president until his death in 1916. Theodor Bose, vice president, then signed the minutes until Hermann Pfeuffer was elected third vice president first Sunday, June 1917. According to minutes book No. 5, Pfeuffer still was president in 1932. President Andreas Engel of the Germania Farmer Verein is its fourth president.

During the first years the society held its monthly meetings alternatingly in the homes of the members.

On May 6, 1877 they held a picnic between H. Kabelmacher's and Carl Koch's houses. They had such a good time, that they repeat (sic) the picnic on May 12, 1878 and it was decided to hold Verein's Fairs of exhibits, first Sunday in May of each year for garden products, and first Sunday of October each year for field products and livestock exhibits.

So there you have your May and your October Fests at Anhalt, for which the third Sunday in May, and in October, have been reserved for many, many years.

In 1879 they built the first hall, 25x34, which, it is said, is now used for the kitchen. It cost $344.00, Franz Erben was the contractor. It was furnished with a 6x8 three feet high band stand for the musicians.

So when you go to Anhalt Sunday, October 15, for their 75th anniversary, you can see that band stand. It is at the south entrance of the second addition, which addition now is used to seat spectators while dancing is going on in the third addition to the original hall. The band stand now is used by the president, secretary and treasurer when conducting the monthly meetings.

The first hall was lengthened 60 feet in 1887 at a cost of $666.60. And again lengthened by 20 and widened by 8 feet in 1891 at a cost of $751.80.

In 1908, at the suggestion of Theo. Bose, the third addition, 60x80, was built at a cost of $2523.17. And during the nineties and early nineteen hundreds, extensive fairs were held in and around the hall.

To experiment and for the purpose of improving agricultural products, seeds were obtained from the Agriculture Department, Washington, D.C. In April 1877 for instance, six packages of cotton seed was (sic) distributed to the master farmers F. Bergmann, Sr., F. Bergmann, Jr., Carl Koch, Chr. Hofheinz, Hy. Richter, Louis Krause. One package seed corn was divided between Gasper Sueltenfuss, Fr. Hofheinz:, Hy. Theis, P. Seidemann. One package grass seed among Joseph Gerfers, C. Sueltenfuss,, Vhr. Hofheinz.

In October 1876 Fr. Hofheinz was sent as delegate to the San Antonio Fair and was allowed to spend $10.00 representing the Germania Farmer Verein. He spent a total of $2.50.

In 1878 Chr. Hofheinz and Hy. Richter returned two bushels wheat raised from seed given them the year before, which was divided among others who were obligated to bring one-fourth part of the seed they would harvest from that to be distributed again to others.

In 1884, Mr. Bergmann decorated the hall with 50 varieties of grass that grew on his farm.

These five minutes books contain a large fund of data from which some day a historian can write an interesting book. And as one writer said, the influence of the society on the social life as well as the business interests of the community has been both far-reaching and useful.

See you at Anhalt October 15.

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