Page 1 - GC-Nov-Dec-23

A NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GERMAN-AMERICANS OF UPSTATE NEW YORK
AUSTRIA • GERMANY • LIECHTENSTEIN • SWITZERLAND
Vol. 11 No. 6 November-December 2023 Issue

German-American Musicians Glad to be back – Buffalo German Festival was hit

Assn. celebrates 90 years in Cheektowaga Town Park after 3-year hiatus

by Steve Dlugosz
inety years ago, on April music to the band. The big come- he 2023 Oktoberfest season
10, 1933, as Buffalo and back came with our Wald Concert at in Western New York was
Nthe rest of the nation had hit the Spring Garden Association in Tkick-started by the Buffalo
the bottom of the Great Depression, Marilla. People heard about it and German Festival, which returned to
a group of Buffalo musicians, most- the band was back up to 20 members Cheektowaga Town Park Labor Day
ly of German descent, decided to from eight. weekend, making a comeback to the
do something about their In 1964, members of the park after a three-year hiatus
own economic plight. GAM started the first brought on by the COVID-19 pan-
Approximately fif- Oktoberfest in Buffalo. demic and other issues.
teen musicians gath- It was cosponsored by According to Andrea Ball, one
ered at the old the GAM and the Ger- of the event coordinators, a record
Casino Restaurant at mania Sports Club. number of patrons attended the fes-
Genesee and Kieffer The first Oktoberfest tival, which uniquely kicked off Fri-
to form the German was held at the Chuck- day night, Sept. 1 and featured for
American Musicians wagon Banquet Hall in the first time ever a European Car
Association (GAM) Lackawanna. In 1966 it Show, in addition to other tradition-
(there were no women in had grown so big they need- al goings on.
the Association at that time). Most ed a larger place. It was a sellout. The Federation of German
of these men were tradesmen in They turned people away. They American Societies of Buffalo (NY)
Gary Ptak of Buffalo enjoyed
various fields from around the area. were still turning people away from and Vicinity presented the event,
Only a few were full-time musi- the door when it moved to the We- with cultural groups of the organiza- the day's events Saturday with
friends, stating that he liked the
cians. They played for many social ber Post VFW in Lackawanna. Ten tion including the Bergholz
events at churches, weddings and years later, GAM was incorporated Blaskapelle, Bavarian Singers, the Bergholz German Band's perfor-
fireman's functions. as a non-profit organization in 1976. Buffalo-Dortmund Sister City Soci- mance. Brandon Harris of SGTV
The GAM continued during the Wives of the GAM band mem- ety, the Buffalo Schwaben Chor, the Edelweiss Buffalo enjoyed
bratwurst. Emily Rodriguez said
Great Depression, while the band bers would work for the band as Buffalo Zither Club, Club Lorelei,
continued to lift people's spirits and ticket takers, raffle sellers, refresh- Concordia Cemetery, the German handcrafted gnomes sold quickly
Saturday for her business in the pa-
help people in a time of low morale. ment workers, etc. for many years American Musicians Association,
By the end of 1933, the GAM had but had no formal organization. Bar- the Kolping Society, the SGTV vilion tent as part of the "Markt-
40 members. bara Lengel, wife of trumpeter and Edelweiss Bavarian Folk Dancers, platz."
The group even survived the Vice President of the GAM, Jim Sport Club Germania, and the "It's great to see the crowd that
came out, the bands, the revelry,"
war years of World War II with Lengel, suggested an Auxiliary. The Spring Garden Association.
some popularity being lost, but the GAM Auxiliary was then formed in The last time the Festival was said Steve Krug. "The Oktoberfest
season kicks off with this. There's so
music continued and the popularity 1977. held in Cheektowaga was 2019,
had returned after the War. The women planned and with that year's event drawing a much going on."
Karen Rybicki of Sloan, as well
The GAM was known as the launched fund-raising activities to then-record number of revelers.
Konzertkapelle (concert band) and help finance trips and to help pay for An enthusiastic wave of festival as members of her family, enjoyed
the band performances Saturday.
came under the direction of George the uniforms, which were made by goers were on hand Sept. 1 and 2 to
Hinterbichler in 1963. He brought the auxiliary members. They made celebrate with dancing, German mu- Rybicki said she's actually traveling
his own limited library of German Continued on page 2 sic (Bergholz Blaskapelle perform- internationally in the coming weeks,
ing), a Hummel look-alike contest, including a stop in Poland. Dan
Desrosiers of the Bavarian Nut
keg tapping, keg bowling, German
GAM celebrates a member's genealogy and translation, Stein Company described sales Saturday
hoist, waltz contest and car show as brisk.
40 years with the band among the featured entertainment. Various auto dealerships partici-
Traditional Oktoberfest themed pated in the car show, including: the
his year, Linda McEvoy cel- beer included Warsteiner and other Volkswagen Association of WNY,
ebrated 40 years with the longtime festival favorites. The Ba- the Niagara Region Porsche Club of
TGerman American Musi- varian Nut Company and other ven- America, BMW Riders Club of
cians (GAM). Members of the dors were busy all weekend with WNY, Niagara Section Mercedes-
GAM family offered their congratu- dishing out requested treats. Nik En- Benz Club of America and Dubs in
lations on reaching this milestone tertainment's Bob Greco Party Band the Buff.
and wish her many more years with also performed Friday as part of the Admission fees will be used to
the group. Stein Hoist and Sauerkraut Kickoff support student scholarships coordi-
Back when Linda started with Party. nated through the Federation of Ger-
the band, the auxiliary was separate Ball described the return of the man American Societies.
from the GAM. The women who festival as something that those of
made up the auxiliary were band all ages could appreciate. At least
member's wives and girlfriends. Linda McEvoy and her husband two of the vendors actually sold out
They would work in the kitchen at Vern. of goods by mid-day Saturday.
events where they were paid by the tomers due to the authentic German "The comeback is full throttle,"
event holder. Any money they made steins that were sold. Ball said of the festival. "There was
went to the auxiliary bank account Linda and her husband Vern, a little hiatus but everyone is glad
and the money was used to buy the who celebrate 50 years with the it's back. It's a record turnout (Satur-
band members uniforms and/or GAM this year, started going to day). Today has been a great, fantas-
sheet music. Several of the women antique stores and buying German tic day. There's a lot of excitement.
sewed and mended the uniforms to made steins (which people loved) It's bigger and better this year. The
keep them in good shape. and jewelry. Those items were add- German Festival kicks off the Okto-
Linda left the band for a couple ed to the t-shirts and plastic mugs. berfest season."
of years to raise her children and Also, Ann and Bob Ping (Bob was In collaboration with The Feder-
when she came back, there were a member of the GAM) started do- ation of German American Society,
only three women left in the auxilia- nating German clothes and accesso- Water Buffalo Club 716 and Stitch
ry and they had merged with the ries to sell in the store. Buffalo also showcased the Ger-
band by that time. There were times when the aux- man-themed Buffalo hat. The Ger-
The then president, Beth Ke- iliary would set up their store at man American Musicians, described
ough, would sell t-shirts and plastic other events, even when the GAM as Buffalo's Big German Band, en-
GAM mugs at events. She then re- was not playing. tertained the crowd as well. Laura
tired and Linda expanded on what At Christmas, the auxiliary Grybel, Tim Belczak and Tom Zio-
was there and turned the store into members would make and sell craft bro served drinks and had some
what it is today. Women that helped items to benefit the band. laughs with customers and friends.
out with the store were Zona Linda was on the GAM board "We're certainly glad German
Shreves, Dottie Butchers, Beth Ke- for approximately 15 years and re- Fest is back here," said Grybel.
ough and now band President Julie ceived from the GAM the Leroy "Buffalo loves its festivals, especial-
Miszuk. They had many repeat cus- ly ethnic celebrations."
Continued on page 2