Community dinner

THUMBS UP: Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and the New Ulm Community Friends are getting ready to feed hundreds of members of the community, many of whom have become their friends over the pst three decades.

The Community Thanksgiving Dinner is just that, a turkey and trimmings dinner for anyone who wants to share some time with others on the holiday. In a way it harkens back to the first Thanksgiving when the Pilgrims gathered together as a community, with their Native American friends, and celebrated surviving their first year in the new world.

This is a great community-building exercise, and we hope it will help to heal some of the differences that have developed over the past year.

Historic organization

THUMBS DOWN: The New Ulm Turnverein, better known as Turner Hall, celebrated its annual Stiftungsfest last weekend. Stiftungsfest is the annual celebration of the the organization’s founding, and this year the Turners turned 165.

That’s an amazing record, for an organization that played such an important role in the founding of New Ulm and its development. Turner Hall has served as the city’s first school, its first library and at times it served as a hospital. It has been the center for youth activities and physical educatoin. It has been the venue for musical concerts, educational speakers, banquets for special occasions, and of course as a center where friends can gather and socialize.

We wish Turner Hall a belated happy birthday, and we thank the organization for its continued leadership and presence in New Ulm.