President’s Message
The summer season started early – in fact there wasn’t much of a winter around here at all. In some ways, not being lulled into a wintertime comfort zone has helped as far as Wendish Fest planning is concerned, because we are ahead of schedule in the planning process. A basket-weaving display and demonstration is one new addition to the various activities on the picnic grounds, and the Balcones Forge Blacksmith group will return for a second year. The schedule for the day is printed in this issue, so be sure to look it over. Hopefully you will be able to be here with us to celebrate our 29th annual Wendish Fest!
The 2017 Folklife Festival is now past. Our thanks go to Ron Knippa and his group of volunteers for once again organizing and running the Wendish booth at the festival. By all accounts, it was a successful weekend. Be sure to read his report of the event. Thank you Ron!
Since our last issue, the TWHS board has spent more time working toward development of a long-range plan for our museum and society. Board members met on April 29 for a day-long work session with Rev. Jon Braunersreuther – LCMS Texas District Mission Facilitator – who guided us through the process of thinking about how the TWHS is functioning at present and what needs to be done in order to keep it functioning into the future. We left the session that day feeling that it was time well spent – new mission and vision statements were drafted and we brainstormed ideas that were grouped into three critical target areas. The next steps for the board, which we will discuss at our July 1 meeting, is to formally adopt the vision and mission statements and approve the priorities for each critical target. We hope to have the final version, or “road map”, approved by the end of this year.
In our July 2016 issue of this newsletter, we printed Hattie Schautschick’s grandmother’s recipe for homemade noodles. In this issue, we are asking for recipes using those noodles. If you or someone you know has ever made a pot of soup or stew, a casserole, or other dish that included Wendish noodles, please send us a copy. The goal is to collect enough recipes to create a “Texas Wendish Noodle Recipe Cookbook” that will be available in time for Wendish Fest. So plan to come to Serbin on September 24, wear your sunbonnet or straw hat, and help us celebrate the 29th Annual Wendish Fest and the 45th anniversary of the Texas Wendish Heritage Society. Měj so rjenje!