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By 1924, the old St. Paul's German Lutheran Church on the northside of
Norwalk had experienced a significant decline in German speaking members.
It was finally shuttered and the remaining 12 members joined St. Peter's.
Marilyn Field, daughter of the pastor at the time, Carl Wannemacher, remembers
welcoming the new members with a rendition of "Oh Tannenbaum."
She writes: "We used to have a choir made up of seventh and eighth grade
girls directed by Mrs. Augusta Kohlmeyer. The year that Mr. (Henry) Bremser
and the other members of the German Lutheran Church joined our church
Dad thought it would be nice if we girls would sing "Oh Tannenbaum" in
German. (That is, "0h Christmas Tree".)
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| Henry Bremser and his grand-daughter Annabeth Beasley
in 1928. |
"He thought it would make Mr. Bremser and the other German members who
joined feel more at home. We learned all four verses and I still love
to sing it today in German, although I only remember the first verse and
need help on the others. Dad told Mr. Bremser to be sure and come to the
Christmas program and Mr. Bremser was very pleased."
(My then 12-year-old mother, Annabeth Beasley, was one of the children
who learned to sing O Tannenbaum that year. The carol remained
a cherished favorite her entire life, and she always recalled the tears
in her grandpa's eyes as she sang in her best German.)
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