<em>Sioux City Volksfreund</em>: Choir Festival Postponed
Anti-German Sentiment during WWI; postponement of the Choir Festival of the Northeast Singers' Union
<p><strong>POSTPONED <br />The Choral Festival of the Northeastern Sängerbund <br />by a Vote of Members </strong></p>
<p>Philadelphia, PA. 5 October. The 25th National Choral Festival of the Northeastern <em>Sängerbund</em> (Singers' Federation) of America, which was planned for next year in Baltimore, MD, has been postponed based on a ballot vote by members. Baltimore had been chosen as the next festival location in a session of the organization's federal delegates, which took place on the occasion of the 24th National Choral Festival in Brooklyn.</p>
<p>Following the outbreak of war between the United States and Germany, however, the Baltimore Singers' Union approached the national directorship of the Singers' Federation and requested a postponement of the festival, since it was now impossible for them to reserve one of the local armory halls for Choral Festival concerts, and because prevalent sentiments in Baltimore made holding the festival seem inadvisable.</p>
<p>The federal directorship, in accordance with the organization's bylaws, ordered a ballot vote among members. The 159 choral societies that make up the Northeastern Singers' Federation were then given a four-week deadline to decide whether the National Choral Festival should be postponed or not. The responses along with the final outcome of the vote were to be sent by September 29th to the corresponding secretary of the Federation, Mr. F. W. Haussmann in Philadelphia. By that date, 124 member societies had sent in their results. All told, 3896 singers voted in favor of and 144 against postponing the festival.</p>
<p>Determining a new date for the 25th Choral Festival naturally depends on ending the World War and on subsequent peace accords. Secretary Haussmann, who announced the result of the ballot vote today, vigorously encouraged all choral member societies and their singers to preserve the traditional <em>Treue</em> (faithfulness) of German choir members, to remain loyal to the <em>Sängerbund</em>, to maintain the German song repertoire during a time of war, and to hold high the banner of the German men's choir tradition, so that, when peace has returned, the great National Choral Festivals of the Northeastern <em>Sängerbund</em> of America may arise again in their former splendor.</p>
Sioux City Volksfreund
Oscar A. Hoffmann
11 October 1917
State Historical Society of Iowa
jpg
German
newspaper article
microfilm newspaper collections, State Historical Society of Iowa
Sioux City; Woodbury County; Baltimore; Philadelphia; Brooklyn
<em>Sioux City Volksfreund</em>: St. Paul's Lutheran Church
Anti-German Sentiment during WWI; switch from German to English during sermons
<p>St. Paul's German Evangelical-Lutheran Church, in accordance with the proclamation of Governor W.L. Harding, which forbids the use of all foreign languages in public assemblies, has completely done away with the German language in church, as Pastor G. A. Matthaides announced on Sunday. Worship services for the several elderly members of the congregation who cannot understand English will be held periodically in their homes, as was decided by the parish administrative council. The church was organized on the 8th of September 1878 and has 800 members.</p>
Oscar A. Hoffmann
Sioux City Volksfreund
6 June 1918
State Historical Society of Iowa
jpg
German
newspaper article
microfilm newspaper collections, State Historical Society of Iowa
Sioux City; Woodbury County