German Gymnastics Festival in Carroll,1894

RICHMANN, EGERMAYER, KURZ, WINNICKE, GNAM, FIEBIG, FLORENCOURT, BECKER, HANNASCH

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 1/1/2006 at 16:57:32

I translated the following three articles about the Gymnastics Festival from Der Carroll Demokrat, a German-language newspaper published in Carroll, Iowa, between about 1874 and 1920. The first two were published on 16 March 1894, and the third article was published on 30 March 1894. Any information in brackets or notes at the end are my own explanations. They read as follows:

[First Article, published on 16 March 1894]

We inform our readers of the large Turnerfest [gymnastics festival], which will take place on Easter Monday, the 26th of March. We are publishing here in another column the complete program, from which it may be seen that such a rich program has never been presented before. Gymnastics, singing, theater, and living pictures [gymnasts forming a scene] will alternate and promise a highly enjoyable evening. The gymnasts have been preparing now for months, and some performances will be presented which are not only new but will also earn the unanimous approval of the public. The singing section of the club has also made significant progress since its last appearance, and is in the happy situation of being able to present several quartet songs. The second part of the program will be the presentation of a very pleasant farce play, which is rich in comic situations and will keep the audience in constant laughter. Our readers will note that the play will be performed by known persons and members of the club, which will be especially interesting and enjoyable. The third part is a living picture, with which the Turnverein from Ida Grove plans to amaze us. Certainly, the gymnasts from Ida Grove will assist our gymnasts in all possible performances, and will also oblige with a few exercises of advanced gymnastics. The last part, or conclusion, will be a pleasant ball where the people fond of dancing will have the opportunity to swing their dancing legs. The entrance prices are set as low as possible, so that everyone may take part in the festival without great expense. The entrance fee for adults to the gymnastics, concert, and theater is only 35 cents, and for children under 16, the fee is 25 cents. Tickets for the performance and the dance are one dollar, and for the ball alone are 75 cents. Reserved seats maybe obtained in Sturges and Thürlimann’s Pharmacy.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Second Article: The Program for the performance, which was published in another page of the same paper on 16 March 1894]

ENJOYMENT!

GRAND GYMNASTICS FESTIVAL
of the Carroll Gymnastics Club presented in Carroll, on
Easter Monday, the 26th of May 1894.
--------------------------------------------------

PROGRAM.
----------------
FIRST PART.
-------------------
Overture . . . . . Egermayer’s Orchestra
Singers’ March . . . . Singing Section
Waltz “Auf Wiedersehen” . . Egermayer’s Orchestra
Gymnastics on the horizontal bars . Gymnastics Section
“Musical Nonsense” . . . Singing Section
Gymnastics on parallel bars . . Gymnastics Section
“Spring Greeting” . . . Singing Section
Pole Exercises . . . . Ida Grove Gymnastics Club
“Wanderlied” . . . . Singing Section
Pyramids . . . . . Gymnastics Section
Quartet, “Serenade” . . . Schubert [Quartet]
. . . by W. Kurz, Wm. Winnicke, John Gnam, Paul Fiebig

SECOND PART
---------------------
Theater!
------------
Presenting: “She is Coming”
A Comedy in One Act

Cast:
--------
Grauschimmel, Economics Commissioner .... F. Florencourt
Steffen, His Servant . . . . A. Becker
Flatterling, Fee Collector. . . . Wm. Kurz
Sperling, Master Tailor . . . . Ed. Richmann
Herr von Rasselberg, Lieutenant (ret.) . Fritz Hannasch
Postman . . . . . . John Gnam

THIRD PART
------------------
Living Picture . . . . Ida Grove Turnverein

FOURTH PART
---------------------
BALL!

-------------------------
ENTRANCE FEES:
-------------------------
Entrance to Presentation . . 35 cents
Entrance to Presentation and Ball . $1.00
Entrance to Ball . . . . 75 cents
Children under 16 . . . 25 cents

Come One! Come All!

Box Office Opens at 7 p.m. Begins at 8 p.m.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Third Article: Published on Friday, 30 March 1894]

The Turnfest [gymnastics festival], which took place in Carroll on Easter Monday, now belongs to the past, and nothing of it remains except the pleasant memory of happily spent hours and the laurels that the young, progressive club has again won for itself on this occasion. It was a true German festival, and everyone present went home well-satisfied. The rather spacious music hall filled up early. The hall was packed and the gallery was also full, as the presentation commenced with an artistically executed overture by Egermayer’s Orchestra. At the conclusion of the first number of the program, the curtain was raised, and a modern and engaging procession of singers, made up of several members and led by Mr. Richmann, was introduced. The gymnastics on the horizontal bars, in which the Ida Grove Turneverein [Gymnastics Club] also participated, were excellent. Our gymnastics club performed its tasks very well, and demonstrated what great progress the members have made since the last exhibition. The men from Ida Grove, all experienced gymnasts, performed exercises which would not have been outdone in a circus. The men were very successful and were warmly applauded. The gymnastics on the parallel bars were also done with precision and showed great skill and dexterity. The first song performed by the Singing Section of the Carroll Turnverein, “Musical Nonsense,” was quite successful. Cheerful tunes and German folk songs alternated and allowed the excellent voices of the still-young club to emerge pleasantly and to earn great applause. So also it was with the song “Spring Greeting.” The Ida Grove Turnverein earned great applause with the performance of the pole exercises. The individual performances were so precise that they were astonishing. Mr. Hy. Dessel, the instructor, and other members of the club, performed the highlight of the program with this exercise. Then followed the second part of the program, the performance of the vaudeville farce “Sie Kommt” [“She is Coming”], under the direction of Mr. Becker. It was an entertaining piece, and so full of comical scenes, thrilling complications, and successful costumes, that the audience could not stop laughing. Briefly, we would like to explain here the plot of the play: Miss Sabinchen, a rich and desirable girl, had promised to give her hand to the first man who would greet her in her uncle’s garden upon her return home. Although all her admirers knew of this, the day of her arrival was known only to her Uuncle Grauschimmel and his servant Steffan. The old uncle, who had a bad case of gout and could barely stand on his feet, nevertheless very much loved his beautiful and rich niece, and had made secret preparations to receive her and greet her in the garden. But the talkative servant divulged the secret to his sweetheart, and soon it was known to the whole town, and naturally to all the admirers, who all came rushing to be the first to greet Sabinchen. But old Grauschimmel had taken precautions. He had barricaded the garden door and armed his loyal but talkative servant with a saber and a pistol. But the powers of fate are fickle, and so it was here. While the servant was wetting his whistle, and then had fallen asleep drunk, three suitors discovered a hole in the wall and broke into the garden. The suitors, Fee Collector Flatterling, Master Tailor Sperling, and Lieutenant von Rasselberg, then soon had a confrontation in the garden and the master tailor was forced to leave the field. And then the lieutenant employed a trick and challenged his other rival to a duel with pistols which, however, were only loaded with blanks. Von Rasselberg fell to the ground, pretending to dead, so that when Sabinchen came, he could get up again and be the first to greet her. However, the servant woke up and fired at Flatterling, who was running away. When the servant found the “shot” von Rasselberg, he became quite upset, thinking that he himself was the killer. Now came old Grauschimmel, who had heard the shots. Steffen placed the responsibility for the killing on his master, who had ordered him to shoot everyone. Both were distraught over the killing, and had planned to bury the body, when there was a loud knock on the gate. Now the fear had reached its high point, as Steffen believed the police were there and he that he would be taken to the gallows. But it was only the postman bringing a telegram with the fateful news that Sabinchen had eloped with another man. Now Rasselberg realized that his trick as a dead man was useless and he stood up. However, Grauschimmel and Steffen, believing they were seeing a ghost, became so frightened that they fell down unconscious. At the end, Flatterling also returned, pursued by demons, in order to view the scene of the supposed murder. Here, however, he discovered Rasselberg alive again. But in order to dampen his joy over not being a murderer, Rasselberg let him read the telegram, which had fallen to the ground. Meanwhile, Grauschimmel and his trusty servant were waking up and were just realizing that Rasselberg was no ghost, but himself, and that they had no murder on their consciences. Their joy over the discovery was so great that Grauschimmel and Steffen remained kneeling until the curtain fell. The cast was excellent. Mr. Florencourt, as Economics Commissioner Grauschimmel, played excellently, and outdid himself in portraying the infatuated old rascal with rheumatism. Regarding the performance of Mr. Becker, it is best to remain silent. [I think Mr. Becker worked at the newspaper, and so the writer is probably kidding him.] And Mr. Kurtz was excellent as Fee Collector Flatterling, and he played the smitten man so well and so naturally that one might think he had supernatural help. And when Master Tailor Sperling (Mr. Richmann) first walked out as the foppish dandy in his tight pants, lady’s kerchief, and lady’s hat, there was no end to the laughter. And Mr. Fritz Hannasch was excellent as Lieutenant von Rasselberg, and played the roll well, as did Mr. John Gnam as the Postman. After the performance, there was a pleasant ball, which was attended by about 80 to 100 couples. The ballroom, as well as the club hall, were magnificently decorated, and refreshments of all kinds were served in the club barroom. Guests and members remained together in the finest harmony until the early hours of the morning.