Germanfest

 July 28, 2018

Carol Schaefer from the Culture Committee called and said she would like my inventions to be interviewed on TV on Friday; however, I needed a dirndl.  I said I don't have a dirndl.  She suggested borrowing one.  I called Betty Hohl, who said she had two that are used for DANK, that she cannot loan out.  I called Betty Kitzke, who suggested Chris O'Donnell who has a collection of costumes, also the Germanfest office.  I left a message with Chris, talked to someone at Germanfest office who said I could rent one for $10.  In the meantime, Betty Hohl called Peter that I should call her back.  She said she had a dirndl that I could keep.  Perfect!  We arranged for Peter to pick it up on Thursday, July 19th at the Schwabenhof, where where Betty would be rehearsing.  I gave him the specifics of where she would be.  He e-mailed me and said he did not see anyone that he knew.  (She was in the big hall, where her didn't check.  He's the one that doesn't miss a thing.)  I got back to Betty and we would both be at the concert at Pius H.S. and she would bring it there.  Now, I was holding my breath, because the window to borrow one from Germanfest was over, and what would I do if Betty's dirndl did not fit?  When we got to Pius, the first thing I did was try it on.  If a dressmaker fitted me, it wouldn't have been better.  I was thrilled.  When Carol got back to me again, she said that I could have my choice of 5:45 a.m. (I don't thing so!) or 8:15 a.m. on Thursday.  I thought she originally said Friday.  She said it was Channel 56.  She confirmed it was Friday.

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Peter and I got to our booth at 3:00 p.m. for set-up.  Mary and John McGinnis helped to put up the mural and put covers on the tables.  Doug insisted that we always have two tables, which we managed to secure.  We are at an end, so we don't have a problem with getting in and out.  We stayed for the meal and beer provided by the Goulash booth.

Friday, July 27, 2018

I gathered my electronics and was at the Glockenspiel in plenty of time, on a bright breezy day.  John Schaefer and I would be talking about inventions.  When I looked at the TV camera, it said Fox 6, and told everyone it was 56; besides, I had my DVR set to record it.  But it went very well.   Here is the link to all three segments.
https://fox6now.com/2018/07/27/one-of-the-largest-celebrations-of-german-culture-takes-over-henry-maier-festival-park/

I had told Peter to pick me up at the beauty shop after my hair, which was not the smartest place to meet.  He called from the Hales Corners P&R that he didn't know where I was.  It took me minutes to get there, which made a lot more sense, but I just didn't think of it.

We set up our area with Doug and it looks very nice.

We had a steady stream of visitors that were very interested in the items, especially the crystal set that a few men made when they were younger.  The time went surprisingly fast.

Saturday, July 28, 2018

We had our Vagabond breakfast and I told Peter that we'd meet at 11:15 a.m. at the State Fair P & R.  I knew he wanted to water his yard, but when he still wasn't there at 11:35 I called and left a message.  He was still at home.  He thought we'd meet at 11:30, but how could he think that if he was still at home at 11:35.  In the meantime, I had turned my ignition on to open the windows, and like a fool, I left it on without the motor running.  I had a dead battery.  I called AAA and a man was there in a very short while.  I sent Doug a message telling him of our situation, and we got there at a reasonable time.

It was a gorgeous day.  A lot of people came through and had a lot of comments.  Don wrote me that he Masako, Naomi and her three daughters would be coming to Germanfest.  I did not tell Peter of those plans.  They came while Peter was in the parade.  Don left and just shortly after, Peter came back.  I was able to catch up with Don and he came to our booth, with Peter getting pretty emotional at seeing them.  It was a delightful surprise.  They said they'd be returning, but they never did.  Instead, some rode the glider, and when that ended at the far end of the grounds it was too far to come back.  So they headed out and topped off their day with a stop at Leon's.  I had a slice of pork on a bun from the goulash booth, but I feel like they give me food grudgingly.  Besides, I really don't enjoy the food.  I also had a cherry strudel.  We took breaks to eat and use the restroom, but mainly I stayed pretty much in the booth.  We decided to stay for the fireworks, which was very nice,  worth waiting for.  I got home about midnight.

 Sunday, July 29, 2018

We met at 10:00 a.m. for the Lutheran service.  We set up our booth and it was another fabulous day, with a promise of large crowds.  I got a strip of tickets for being on TV.  Claude made a stop at our booth; it would have been nice if he had connected with Don. I had a nice bratwurst and beer for my extra tickets.  The crowds started dwindling down from about 8:00 p.m., but we gave out a lot of stickers in the passports throughout the event.  We started taking down about 8:30, but had to wait for clearance to bring the car in to load our supplies.   There is a huge hand painted banner that is the background of our booth.  Up to now, John McGinnis has been keeping in, but would like to relinquish that responsibility.  On Thursday, Peter and I were debating taking it and I offered to store it.  But reconsidering its size, I don't want to take on that storage.

Checking the calendar on my phone, I missed lectoring this morning at 10:30 a.m.  This is the second time in this session that I missed.  I feel just awful.  I can imagine the scrambling they had to do at the last minute to fill in.