In and Around the Museum
As announced in the last issue of our newsletter, we were awarded a grant from the Texas Historical Foundation to support the development of a collection of visual media for an interactive display that will be installed in the Peter Building. Since receiving the award, we have purchased a tablet computer and large flat screen television. Our Executive Director, Joyce Bise, has been busy collecting digital files such as “A Reconstruction of the First Sorbian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Texas.” The animated video, developed by TWHS member Danny Merkord, shows in a minute-by-minute format the development of the St. Paul, Serbin property from 1855 to 1885. Other videos and audio files in the process of being developed include a driving tour of areas in Texas that were settled by immigrants from Germany – including Serbin, (will also be accessible as a mobile app); the noodle-making process; scenes from past Wendish Fests; Wendish music; and Wendish language lessons.
The next steps to complete the new interactive display will involve rearranging some current displays to make room for shelving to hold the new equipment. Once completed and installed, the tablet computer will be loaded with the digital files and will be placed where it is accessible to museum visitors who can select a file to view, which will then be projected onto the flat screen. If you have a short video presentation pertaining to Wendish heritage or history and would like your video to be included in this new display, please contact Joyce at the museum.
Amelie Boerger gets a visit from Rumplich
And while on the topic of what’s going on around the museum, we had a visit from Rumplich at our membership meeting on November 20. Ronald Schatte, dressed in a Rumplich costume, made a surprise appearance at the end of the business meeting and delighted us all with a brief Rumplich performance, followed by an interesting presentation on the history of Rumplich and how the tradition was observed in Lee County. Following his presentation, several people in the audience shared their own rather humorous memories of meeting Rumplich when they were children.