TURNING TWO TOWNS INTO ONE

One mayor, one water department and one patrol car for a single town marshal are some of the changes in the works now that the two communities have voted to merge.

"It seems kind of senseless to have two of everything," said Bob Haertling, a bartender at West End Tavern and Grocery in Frohna.

The two small towns, where older residents still speak to each other in German, are trying to change after decades of staying the same.

Frohna Mayor Marvin Scholl said people at the tavern had a better feel for how the April 4 vote on the merger would go than he did. He would not have been surprised if it had failed like another initiative did almost 30 years ago.

Apparently enough of the nearly 500 residents of Frohna and Altenburg were convinced that after living separately since 1839, it was time for a change, said Jason Klaus, town marshal for both communities.

Altenburg and Frohna were two of five church parishes founded in the area by German settlers. Historical markers point out the religious foundations of the towns. A small cabin in Altenburg stands where Concordia Seminary opened before it moved on to St. Louis. The Saxon-Lutheran Memorial farmstead in Frohna hosts an annual fall festival, three rebuilt log cabins and an on-site caretaker to give tours of the outdoor museum to visitors.

Voting against the merger was a means of maintaining the distinct heritage of each town, said Thelma Schmidt of Altenburg.

"We have a lot of historical things," Schmidt said. "Our Trinity Lutheran Church was the first one in the area."

To keep each town's history untarnished, some insist town names should stay the same.

Kay Welker of Altenburg had served on a committee of residents from both towns who examined merger implications for a year before the vote. Her 5-year-old daughter was among her harshest critics, she said.

"She still doesn't want a name change," Welker said. "She says she always wants to live in Altenburg."

Only one Altenburg

Besides their namesake in Germany, nowhere else is named Altenburg, Schmidt said.

The same might be true for Frohna, but amateur historian Edgar Dreyer won't swear to it.

"The towns around here were all named for villages in Germany," he said.

But all others besides Altenburg and Frohna have changed or ceased to exist. Seelitz and Dresden residents moved when one town's pastor got sick and the other moved away. Wittenberg's population dried up after flooding in the 1980s, and Paitzdorf became Uniontown sometime during the Civil War, Dreyer said.

Dreyer's family came with the original settlers in 1839. During trips to Germany, he said locals have distinguished the Saxon sound in his German accent.

This common German heritage has led many to believe the best town name to unite Frohna and Altenburg would include "Saxon," Dreyer said.

"When you go over there, the hills where the villages are located look a lot like here," Dreyer said. "You can see why they chose to settle here."

A group of 10 representatives, five from each town, will start meeting on Tuesday to work out a strategy for uniting the towns, including door-to-door surveys to find out opinions on a town name.

Although Klaus grew up opposite the Saxon-Lutheran Memorial, he said he doesn't want to be held back by history. "I don't want this to hurt our heritage, but I don't want it to hold back our progress, either," he said.

Good economic match

Earlier financial studies have shown the towns are practically in the same financial condition, Klaus said, so they are a good economic match.

Altenburg Mayor Thomas Meyr said the merger can lead to more economic strength for receiving grant money. Needed improvements for both towns, such as road widening in Frohna and a bigger water tower in Altenburg, would now be shared by everyone, he said.

Progress such as uniting the towns' two fire departments and approving a joint $2.3 million sewer project were some recent accomplishments that spurred people toward the idea of merging.

The newly united firefighters have already purchased a thermal imaging camera and extrication equipment together, which saved both towns' budgets, Klaus said.

Klaus' Altenburg patrol car will be sold as a sacrifice to the merger, since the Frohna town marshal's cruiser is equipped with a radar gun and better lights. This will simplify his regime of driving one car on patrol, then switching the following night.

Klaus is looking forward to working for only one town where the future isn't held back for the sake of history.

"The Saxons wanted a change in religious freedom when they came here from Germany," Klaus said. "We want a change, too."