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"Ein Big Mac" A school that started as a way to talk to German grandmas is still going strong, 37 years later. The German School Association of St. Louis, a non-profit institution, was founded in 1962. The majority of the students at the non-profit school have German ancestry or they're interested in traveling to Germany. "Many of the students are interested in genealogy, and they want to be able to read the old records in German," said Douglas Nigh, a Kirkwood resident who serves as a director for the school. Nigh, his wife Edith and their children have all been involved in the German School. "I think the school started as an attempt to communicate with German grandmas," said Nigh. "People didn't want to lose that linguistic connection," he added. Helga Thalheimer went to the school as a child and now teaches the children's class there. She interjects a lot of humor into the class to make it more interesting, and she often relates anecdotes from her travels in Germany. "When you order french fries in Germany, or anyplace in Europe, you know what they eat with it? Mayonnaise!" she said. "Eeeuuu!" the kids replied in unison. "When you order at McDonald's, you might say 'Ein Big Mac and pommes frites (a Big Mac and french fries),' " she added. Thalheimer uses a textbook that she compiled herself from many sources, and devises learning games for the students. The day we visited, the class was learning vocabulary words for common things around the house. Eldar Murselovic, age 8, started classes there this fall. At age 3, his family left Bosnia because of the war there. For several years they lived in Germany. Now the family lives in South St. Louis and Eldar attends the College School in Webster Groves. "Eldar speaks four languages," said Thalheimer. "As a child he learned the Bosnian language, and then German, and now English. He's taking Spanish in school this year, just for fun. Obviously, he doesn't need any more language credits,'' she laughed. Thalheimer's father, Jacob Thalheimer, was one of the founders of the school, along with Conrad Geislinger and Andrew Roeslein. "My mom and dad came over from Germany in 1953 and 1954," said Thalheimer. "When I started school at Scruggs Elementary, I had to learn English, because we only spoke German at home." "When I was a child we lived off South Grand, along with a lot of other European immigrants. We all belonged to the German Cultural Society," she said. "Dad and others saw that the language was beginning to die out, and they started the school to ensure that the first-generation Americans still knew their German language and customs," she explained. Students in the adult class range in age from the 20s to the 80s. William Brueckmann, an Affton resident, waited until retirement to take German lessons. "My parents came to the states from Berlin in 1910, and I was born in 1915. We lived near Carondolet Park at the time," said Brueckmann. "When I was a kid, the war was on, and everyone hated Germany. You'd get the tar beat out of you just because you had a German name. People wanted to destroy anything that was German - books, German pottery, you name it - and my pop said, 'We'll speak English from now on,'" Brueckmann said. "I never did learn to speak German when I was a kid, so I'm taking it now. Kinda' late, but I guess it's better late than never," he added. Brueckmann has been taking classes for a number of years, and now feels comfortable calling his cousins in Germany and visiting with them on the telephone. Paula Leotta, a Crestwood resident, has an Italian heritage but when she traveled to Germany, she enjoyed it so much she decided to return often. "I liked the country a lot, and I want to be able to speak to the people there," she said. Leotta has been taking classes only since fall, but already has her sights set on a course called the Goethe Institute, an intensive, two-month language course offered in Germany. "Mr. Aufenthie makes the classes so interesting," said Leotta. "He's lived there, so he is able to give us firsthand knowledge and lots of examples," she added. Like Leotta, many of the students joined the German School after traveling to Europe. "When I visited there, I was so impressed when I noticed that many of the people were bi-lingual, or even tri-lingual," said Christina Bradley, a South County resident, the youngest person in the adult classes. "I figured if they can do it, so can I," she added. "It's a neat class. We learn not only the language, but the culture and geography too." Cheryl McClure, a Kirkwood resident, agreed with Bradley. "I think that anything that enlarges your view of the world is worth the effort, and my instructor, Frau Sobel, brings so many interesting things to the class," said McClure. "I was a military brat, and when I was in high school we lived in Germany for four years. I wanted to brush up on the German I learned then," McClure added. McClure's sons also took children's classes in German, first at the German Cultural Society and then at the German School. Leland McClure, now a sophomore, is in the German 3 honors class at Kirkwood High School. Alice Trebus, a Webster Groves resident, started taking German classes quite unexpectedly when she had to take a medical leave from her job. "I kind of got a slap in the face when I learned that I was going to have to go on long-term dialysis. I guess I decided I'd better do some of the things I'd been putting off for years," she added. "I grew up in Queens, New York, right next door to a wonderful German family, and I became a big sister to their six kids," Trebus explained. "They spoke German at their house, taught us little songs and games, and they were always inviting us over for dinner. "I guess I've always loved the German culture because of those wonderful neighbors. My dad is German, but at that time it was considered kind of Hoosier to speak German. Nobody wanted to be considered a dumb immigrant"' she added. Trebus' daughter, Alicia, is enrolled in the children's class at the school. The board of directors for the German School include Andrew Roeslein, president emeritus, Helga Thalheimer, president, Frank Huelskoetter, vice president, Anna Marie Schulte, secretary and Edith Nigh, treasurer. Directors for the school are Sister W. M. Blumenkemper, Jackie Caesar, David Meyer and Douglas Nigh. Michael Aufenthie, a Shrewsbury resident, is the school's principal. The German School holds regular Saturday classes from 9 a.m. to noon at Green Park Lutheran School on Union Road at Green Park. "We're a very low-budget operation and we receive no outside funding," said Thalheimer. "We want to keep the cost of the tuition low so it's available to anyone who wants classes," she added. For more information about the German School, call Thalheimer at 544-3990. Copyright © 1998-9 |
