In recent years we have usually had a theme and this year is no exception. In recognition of our newly established Fasching celebration -- which kicks off at 11:11 a.m. on 11/11/2011 -- we are highlighting Minden's German roots in several of our characters. So often we focus solely on Germantown when discussing the Teutonic influence on local history, but despite the significance of Germantown, Minden has strong ties to Germany beyond the Colony. Our founder, Charles Hanse Veeder, was of German descent and evidently named our community after his family's ancestral home in Minden, Germany. In the 1960s, Minden Mayor Tom Colten established a relationship with our sister city, Minden, Germany, it is my hope that in the near future we may reopen that relationship to expand our new focus on our German ties. In the early years of our town, there were many German settlers who were attracted to our town because of the presence of Germantown, but others simply because of the uniquely cosmopolitan nature of our community as it sat on the western frontier of the United States near the Republic of Texas. For many years I have been intrigued by the "accents" of our past. I tell my American History students that it is difficult for me to imagine that our Founding Fathers all spoke with what today we would consider a "British" accent, just doesn't seem right to think of Washington, Jefferson, Franklin and Adams speaking that way, but it was reality. I've particularly thought it would be fascinating to be transported back in time to Minden Main Street, 1850. While strolling past the businesses it was likely you would hear native speakers in the following languages: English (with British, Irish and Scottish accents), German, Polish, Russian, French and Choctaw. It was the very presence of those German speakers that brought several residents to our town as they knew someone would understand them. (Well, to some degree -- it is true that the Germantown Colony was more commonly called Dutchtown in both Minden and Homer, as demonsrated by the Dutchtown Road that runs from Homer to the area of the Colony, based on the same mishearing of the word Deustch that led to the misnomer Pennsylvania Dutch in American History.)
In the upcoming Ghost Walk among the characters will be a German immigrant stationed in Minden by the Confederate Army who married a local woman and became a vital contributor to our community and transplant to Minden who brought her German immigrant mother to live with her locally and found the presence of a German community a pleasant surprise. Other characters while not directly tied to Germany will highlight the role that the German connection has played in our town. Working with the Secretary of State's museum system and their control of the Germantown Colony it has been repeatedly pointed out to us that our unique German heritage is something we need to embrace and promote. I'm so happy to see Patti Odom and her office have pushed forward with our Karneval to contrast with the French Carnival and am glad that this year the Cemetery Association is joining in to help on that effort.
I hope each of you will make an effort to attend this year. Here are the details of the event.
The 8th Annual 2011 Minden Cemetery Ghost Walk
Saturday November 12th, 2011
The Minden Cemetery Ghost Walk “Living History Lesson”
Website: www.mindencemetery.blogspo
Price: $10 adults / $4 children under 12 (tickets at gate only)
Location: Old Minden Cemetery off Pine St. on Bayou Avenue in Minden, La.
Contact #: Schelley Brown Francis (318) 423-0192 Cell
Time: Noon – last tour starts at 3 p.m.
Email: iluvoldcars@yahoo.com
