New Ulm is a small farming community SE of Minneapolis, St. Paul, like many towns that built the Midwest. It was started by a group of German's who came
here in the 1850's with a plan for a town in America. They were all desperately poor, having sold all of their belongings in Germany to finance the trip over here. They were farmers, and they were given prairie land free, as the US Govt. had various treaties with the native Dakota. They encouraged others from their homeland to come over, and New Ulm, and other towns grew. The town they came from was Ulm in Bavaria, southern Germany
I knew of New Ulm because my old company sold to a 3M plant there. When I made calls there I heard stories of the descendants of those first German's who immigrated. Keep in mind this was in 1980, only 130 years later. This surprised me. For example I heard that this town was so German, that they didn't fight for the US in WWI! When MN turned up as this years vacation target, I found New Ulm's "Bavarian Blast" in a list of festivals, and put it on the list. We decided to use it as a base of operations for this part of the state. They had fairground camping, w/electric very reasonably, so we arrived on Thurs afternoon. I knew there was a glockenspiel in the center of town, and we made our way there on Friday.
we also went out about 30 miles west of the city to see a representation of what Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote in her book "little House on the Prairie". She actually lived in this part of the prairie for a time, and her father cut the sod for a house very much like this one. It, and several other buildings were made using 1 X 2' blocks of sod cut from original prairie grass. There were few if any trees, so little lumber was available. The gentleman who created these buildings, did it to show others what living on the prairie was like.
He also had a dugout, a much smaller temporary building created out of the hole left when they removed the sod. Laura's family lived in one of these while her father built the house.
Friday started the festival, a program of traditional German music. We make these trips to experience life in other parts of our country, the way the people live, work, and play. This weekend was perfect. We talked with people like Harold in the photo, who told me how his grandparents, had friends and relatives back in Germany during the war. They did not want to send their son to fight them! But he said as the newer generations were born here, there is no talk of that, only "America the Beautiful". Alex, the young man behind him, was born here, and had been active in "heritage days", this festivals predecessor during his teens and twenties. Then he was transferred to NYC, quite a shock for him and his New Ulm
born wife. He just moved back, and he says he's home now. He loves the German culture of this town, and it 's people. Both said however that Heritage Days was a lot bigger. Getting 30-40 thousand people there was not unusual. They used to have several tents, and many bands performing simultaneously. So there are two sides of this ethnic coin. We met many other people who told us stories of their families, how the German culture has been assimilated, and how other cultures relate to theirs. It was a special weekend, and our fondness for New Ulm grew. Tomorrow, the MUSIC!!
I knew of New Ulm because my old company sold to a 3M plant there. When I made calls there I heard stories of the descendants of those first German's who immigrated. Keep in mind this was in 1980, only 130 years later. This surprised me. For example I heard that this town was so German, that they didn't fight for the US in WWI! When MN turned up as this years vacation target, I found New Ulm's "Bavarian Blast" in a list of festivals, and put it on the list. We decided to use it as a base of operations for this part of the state. They had fairground camping, w/electric very reasonably, so we arrived on Thurs afternoon. I knew there was a glockenspiel in the center of town, and we made our way there on Friday. 
we also went out about 30 miles west of the city to see a representation of what Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote in her book "little House on the Prairie". She actually lived in this part of the prairie for a time, and her father cut the sod for a house very much like this one. It, and several other buildings were made using 1 X 2' blocks of sod cut from original prairie grass. There were few if any trees, so little lumber was available. The gentleman who created these buildings, did it to show others what living on the prairie was like. 
He also had a dugout, a much smaller temporary building created out of the hole left when they removed the sod. Laura's family lived in one of these while her father built the house.
Friday started the festival, a program of traditional German music. We make these trips to experience life in other parts of our country, the way the people live, work, and play. This weekend was perfect. We talked with people like Harold in the photo, who told me how his grandparents, had friends and relatives back in Germany during the war. They did not want to send their son to fight them! But he said as the newer generations were born here, there is no talk of that, only "America the Beautiful". Alex, the young man behind him, was born here, and had been active in "heritage days", this festivals predecessor during his teens and twenties. Then he was transferred to NYC, quite a shock for him and his New Ulm born wife. He just moved back, and he says he's home now. He loves the German culture of this town, and it 's people. Both said however that Heritage Days was a lot bigger. Getting 30-40 thousand people there was not unusual. They used to have several tents, and many bands performing simultaneously. So there are two sides of this ethnic coin. We met many other people who told us stories of their families, how the German culture has been assimilated, and how other cultures relate to theirs. It was a special weekend, and our fondness for New Ulm grew. Tomorrow, the MUSIC!!
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