Perry County fall festival celebrates the tastes and traditions

FROHNA, Mo. --Visitors recalled the history of Perry County's early settlers Saturday at the Saxon Lutheran Memorial Fall Festival in Frohna.

The 25th anniversary of the event also paid special tribute to early curators, provided amusements and games for children, offered tours through the early Saxon settlement and demonstrated the way of life for the German settlers.

Musical entertainment, the main recreation of the 1839 German immigrants, was a large part of the celebration attended by about 2,500 people, with costumed performers singing in German.

In the center of the settlement, visitors were attracted to the smell of cooking pork. Samples were offered to passers-by as Alan Grebing of Frohna prepared to make hog's head cheese, liver sausage and blood sausage.

Ken Siebold of St. Louis attends the festival because his roots are here. When he arrives, the first thing he does is buy the apple butter. "Store-bought apple butter is just not the same," he said.

He's now bringing his children along to see where his grandparents and relatives were from.

The towns that were established by the early settlers became the foundation for the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. In 1961 the Concordia Historical Institute purchased the log cabin and property that was once the home of brothers Wilhelm and Christian Adolph Bergt, members of the immigration society that left the Kingdom of Saxony in 1838 under the leadership of pastor Martin Stephan. Since then other buildings have been added.

The director of the Concordia Historical Institute, Dr. Martin Noland, introduced former curator Dr. Martin Luebke, who served from 1980 to 1986. Luebke spoke of the development of the visitor's center built on the premises in 1983.

Hilda Snyder served as curator from 1986 to 1997. Her accomplishments included repairing the slave cabins and development of the machine shed for storage of antique implements.

The Rev. James Marten, who served from 1998 to 2000, recalled his long afternoons on the lawn mower thinking biblical and religious thoughts -- especially when he got stuck. He wished folks the richest blessings.

Current curator Sarah Swinney awarded Doris Gerecke the Fall Festival Artist of the Year award and Ralph McClain the Volunteer of the Year award.

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133