Don Eckhart, festival committee chair, opened the Pastorius Home Association's Winter Vanquish festival in the social hall of the Goodwill Fire Company, Germansville, on April 7.

Eckhart said he was glad to see all the smiling faces.

"Let's begin with a circle waltz," said Walt Groller, the musician who has brought his band to every one of the festivals. "Everyone has to sway from side to side.

"We've got a little song called 'No Beer Today.' The governor stopped Sunday sales and we kept playing that song. Eventually another governor allowed the sales."

The song begins "No beer today, no beer today. You can't buy beer on Sunday. You have to come on Monday."

"This is a very nice affair," said Rita Sternick of Bernardsville, N.J.

State Rep. Gary Day, R-187th, said Walt Groller was doing a great job.

Day, who lives near fire station, mentioned knowing a previous representative from the area, Paul Semmel, and his wife Nancy.

"This is a great organization - the work the Pastorius Home Association does," Day said. "I talked to kids who are going to Europe. We have to keep our heritage alive. Give a round of applause for everyone on the board. They work to keep our ties with Germany."

Rita Snyder said illness prevented her mother, Grace, from giving the prayer before the meal, but her sister, Brenda Burkhart, read it in Pennsylvania Dutch.

"We are grateful to William Penn who gave his land to the Germans who came over here," Snyder said. "He told them the land was free, the religion was free."

The song, "Look at Us," was played for a couple celebrating their 57th anniversary.

Life sometimes writes extraordinary stories and one of them was written by Klaus Rossner and printed in the Pastorius Home Association newsletter.

The story tells of a picture of Marienweiher Church, painted in 1760, that came to America and was returned to its place of origin.

The church received a letter from Ron Trauger of Quakertown who had a picture of the church in Marienweiher.

Photographs showed it was a picture of the church and the organist's house.

Trauger bought it at an antiques auction in 1992. He spent nine years trying to trace it but was unsuccessful until Pastor Frederick Weiser told him to check with the Germanic National Museum in Nurnberg.

Trauger offered the picture to the church at the price he paid, but the churchwas unable to raise the money. When a discounted price of half the original cost was offered, it was still too much.

In December 2002, a package was received by the church with the picture.

Church warden Friedbert Kolb placed the painting in a museum in the restored organist's house.

Trauger, 70, died unexpectedly in June 2012.

He had many cherished friends and was a regular attendee at festivals such as Winter Vanquish, where he played the klackers.

He was an expert on frakturs and returned pieces from an extensive collection to municipalities throughout the area.