Kultur 1 - Oktoberfest und Wisconsin

Guten Morgen! After reading the "How German is America" article, I found it is very interesting how some communities in the US develop from ancestral traditions of native Germans and Swiss, especially in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.  Firstly, I was quite surprised by the fact that so many German immigrants in the US stayed away from large cities, and took little role in national politics, only 2 presidents claim to have German ancestry: Hoover and Eisenhower.  The "Pennsylvania Dutch" were often labeled as peasant Republicans because they were primarily in favor of local control of government and individual liberty as apposed to federal regulation.  In German-American communities, newspapers were even written in German, such as Der Deutsche Porcupein.

On the verge of the 1900s, Milwaukee became known as the most German city in the US. It's customs followed closely with the stereotypical representation of Bayern, Deutschland. A Milwaukee postcard from approximately 1900 could have been mistaken today for a German postcard:

The postcard contains everything from the mollig, German looking man, to the keg engine and stein headlights, the the bottled bier and and links of rostbratwurst, to the cheese factory, pretzel factory, malt house, and brewery in the background. 

Many Germans today are quite surprised by the US's adoption of Oktoberfest in many major cities throughout the nation (including Ann Arbor on Washington between The Blue Tractor and Grizzly Peak Brewing Company).  Today in the US, Oktoberfest is not so much as celebration of German heritage in a region as it is an expression of a "culturally diverse local identity" (27 Max Kade Institute 2005).  

Even more interesting to me was the mention of New Glarus, Wisconsin. The city that was once home to Swiss immigrants from Canton Glarus still maintains a close Swiss culture including bier, chalet style buildings, Swiss menus in restaurants, and adoption of the Swiss hero William Tell (on New Glarus welcome sign below). The town today does not maintain tradition Swiss customs, but rather the American expression or stereotypical Swiss communities.  Many Swiss fesitvals take place there every year. New Glarus Brewery produces some of the best bier I've ever tasted too!

Thanks for reading everyone! Tschüss!