We're Celebrating!
The completion of the Museum Restoration Project
and the creation of a new "greenspace" in downtown Hermann.
Join us on
Sunday, September 12th, 2010 at the Museum.
1:30 - 4:00 PM
Historic Hermann Museum celebrates the old, and the new, on Sunday
The German School (circa 1871), home to the Historic Hermann Museum, will be open on Sunday, Sept. 12 from 1:30 to 4 p.m. to celebrate the restoration of this historic landmark. The public is invited to attend.
In the new "greenspace" behind the school, the Apostle Band will play original music composed for the band when it was formed in 1882. Local musician Sev Meyer will sing a song he has written for the occasion. Mimi Schmidt, the only living charter member of Historic Hermann, Inc. will be recognized for her efforts to promote historical preservation in Hermann.
Guests may tour the "new" facility and view the work by contractors and volunteers who have spent countless hours renovating the building inside and out. Refreshments of knackwurst and pink lemonade will be served, reminiscent of the food that was enjoyed by the school children at their annual May picnic, forerunner of the present-day Maifest.
It was Mrs. Laura Graf who had the idea to start a museum when the German School was deeded to Historic Hermann Inc. in 1955. She offered financial assistance, and along with J. F. (Doc) Schmidt, created the Heritage Room on the second floor. It housed items from a small museum that had been operated by the Brush and Palette Club in the basement of the Gasconade County Courthouse and treasures from their own collections including antiques from Laura and violins from the Schroeder Violin Shop that Doc had purchased to include on the first-ever Hermann house tour in 1952. Many local families also contributed to the displays. A loom from the Civil War Era is featured in the room, and coming soon is a display of WWI and WWII uniforms.
The River Room was created in 1956 by Delmer Ruediger and Capt. Ed. Heckmann, both riverboat captains, and Dr. E.B. Trail, a local dentist and river historian. Items donated by these three form the nucleus of the room. A replica of a pilot house with an original seven-foot wheel is the focal point along with items donated by local river buffs and their families and the Gasconade Boatyard.
The Kinder Zimmer (Children's Room) opened in 1967 thanks to Bill and Maurine Coe. While designing the room, Maurine got the idea to go to the courthouse where old railings were being removed and have them reassembled in the Kinder Zimmer to create individual display areas. Depicted are a school classrom as it would have been in the early days of the German School and a kitchen display, along with many children's toys, a handmade, double-decker carousel, and unique baby buggies.
The Musik Room, located in the former principal's office, is a recent addition to the second floor. Featured is a late 18th- or early 19th-century clavichord that was made in Germany and brought to the Hermann area prior to 1860.
An interesting display on the second floor is the workings of the town clock. The clock tower, which was constructed by local contractor Henry Tekotte in 1890, is a Hermann landmark. A fund was established in 1886 for the construction of the clock tower, and in 1890 the German School Board ordered a clock for $435. The clock was built in St. Louis by the A.E. Pollhans Company. To this day, a group of volunteers keep the "town ticking" by winding the clock by hand every 48 hours.
When the City Council chambers were moved from the German School in 1986, Mrs. Gennie Tesson, who was the museum's coordinator at the time, saw an opportunity to expand the first floor of the museum and create the Els Room. A six-piece bedroom set that was made in Germany and donated by the Els family became the focal point of the room. Also displayed in the Els Room are the desk and law books of R.A. Breuer, former Circuit Judge of Gasconade County, and a workshop area that includes a schnitzelbank, flax crusher and old tools.
Named for one of Hermann's foremost historians, the Art Schweighauser Room features a collection of antique furniture, Hoefel pottery that was made in Hermann's Frenchtown section, an authentic German feather tree, long-stemmed pipes from Bavaria, and hair art.
The Legacy Room offers displays of textile printing blocks made by Joseph Carl Strehly, handiwork, and the original manuscripts written for the Apostle Band. Also featured are a small statue of Hermann's namesake, the German hero whose troops annihilated three Roman legions in 9 A.D. and changed the course of civilization, and a bust of Charles Eitzen, who donated so much to the city and county, including the funds to build the Gasconade County Courthouse. It is one of only a handful of privately funded courthouses in the United States.
Sharing the Legacy Room is the Clock Tower Gift Shop where visitors may purchase souvenir items, historical books and cookbooks, and unique gifts.
If you haven't been to the Historic Hermann Museum at the German School recently, or if you are a first-time visitor, stop by Sunday afternoon and see "a bit of the Old World in the Heart of the New."
The museum operates from April through October and is open Thursday through Tuesday from 10 to 4, Sundays noon to 4. It is closed on Wednesday. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students ages 6-18, and free for children 5 and under and Historic Hermann members. Members also receive a 10 percent discount in the gift shop. Annual memberships are $10 for individuals, $15 for a couple, and $20 for corporate businesses.
by Nancy Fagerness