Pueblo's German Americans bid 'willkommen' to Oktoberfest celebrations

A joyous celebration of southern German heritage — Oktoberfest — is helping some Americans learn more about their family histories in a fun way.

In Pueblo, two Oktoberfest celebrations will help mark the holiday, plus the Royal Gorge Route Railroad has its own Oktoberfest-themed train rides departing from neighboring Cañon City.

“For me, Oktoberfest is a lively celebration of southern German heritage, with traditional Oktoberfest foods, great German beer, an Oompah band and people dressed in Tracht (lederhosen shorts with suspenders and dirndl dresses.)," said Christina Haney, a member of the Pueblo German American Club. "Of course, to complete it, the festival would be adorned with blue and white Bavarian decorations."

The club, which has about 80 members, is set to host its celebration starting at 4 p.m., Sept. 30, at Walter’s Brewery, 126 Oneida St. It will be a particularly poignant event involving special guests Kris Robertson and Mary Selz, daughters of the late Karl Walter, who was the last in the line of Walter family brewery presidents.

“The traditional start to Oktoberfest is the keg tapping ceremony by the Oktoberfest mayor. Usually, a huge parade brings the beer kegs to the celebration on horse-drawn carriages,” Haney explained.

Robertson and Selz won’t be on horse-drawn carriages, but they will travel from Wisconsin to serve as Pueblo’s Oktoberfest mayors. They will stay in the original home of the Pueblo Walter family — the Abriendo Inn.

Haney is interested in revitalizing Pueblo’s German American Club for people like her who have roots in Germany. Her mother, Dagmar Haney, immigrated to the United States when she was 9 or 10, and went on to become a German and English teacher at Centennial High School.

Haney said she especially wants to see millennials get involved as they crave to learn more about their heritage. She said there is so much history “that gets lost and it is just sad.”

All Oktoberfest celebrations are based on the first which came in 1810 in Munich, Germany, when the Kingdom of Bavaria held a five-day celebration marking the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. It featured free beer and food for all, horse races, military parades, music and light displays.

“One explanation of why the Oktoberfest celebrations are so strong in the U.S. is that southern Germany was under the American auspices after the war. When U.S. soldiers returned home, many with their German brides, they brought this celebration with them,” Haney explained.

Pueblo’s German American Club formed in 1970 when a small group of women who were involved in a kaffeeklatch (coffee club) decided to celebrate their heritage. Founding member Fanny Baum is still active with the club and her husband, Richard Baum, is the club's vice-president.

A 1970 article in the Pueblo Chieftain describes Oktoberfest as, “German-born persons transplanting the delightful custom around the world.”

The first Pueblo Oktoberfest was held on Sept. 26, 1970, at the Ramada Inn. It cost $350 to produce the event which drew about 500 people from Pueblo, Colorado Springs and Denver, according to the club’s book, “4 Decades of Pueblo’s German Club,” by Philipp Mayer.

In 1971, the club’s Oktoberfest was moved to the Minnequa Club. Funds raised during the event would go toward promoting German in the schools through poetry contests and scholarships for students to attend the Concordia German village, Waldsee, in Minnesota.

More on Walter's:The legacy of Walter's Brewery in Pueblo lives on through the ideal marriage of beer and food trucks

Pueblo’s Oktoberfest celebrations

At Walter's, the Pueblo German American Club Oktoberfest celebration officially gets underway with the 4:45 p.m. beer tapping ceremony. It also will feature the Alan Polivka Band playing polka and other music, Walter’s specially brewed Märzenbier Oktoberfest Bier, food trucks offering German food, Oktoberfest decorations, dancing, a 6 p.m. costume contest, a 7 p.m. stein holding contest and the 8 p.m. chicken dance contest.

There will also be giveaways, trivia and face painting for kids. Admission is free.

Brues Alehouse, 120 Riverwalk Place, will celebrate Oktoberfest daily through Saturday, Oct. 1 by offering six different German lagers on tap, traditional German food specials, a weekend biergarten and German glassware deals.

Royal Gorge Route Railroad Oktoberfest

Through Oct. 21, the train will offer Oktoberfest beers and food specials during each of its daily departures at 12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. This year’s Oktoberfest meal features bratwurst served over red cabbage and sautéed apples topped with spaetzle drizzled with Düsseldorf German mustard and a toasted challah roll with butter.

Cost for the train ride ranges from $74 to $109 depending on the class of service. The Oktoberfest meal is an additional $29. To book a ride, visit royalgorgeroute.com.

More German news:German foreign exchange student proving herself on Pueblo West girls tennis team

Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo's German Americans mark Oktoberfest with music, food and beer