Just came across this newspaper clipping from the September 10, 1981, Giddings, Texas News about the 1981 Texas Folklife Festival in San Antonio. It used to be a four day affair, Thursday-Sunday. And we also had a time of worship on Sunday morning prior to the festival starting in the afternoon.
Here I’m leading in worship…and one of the original “old timers”…one of the “founding five,” Emma Wuensche. I fondly remember Emma, with whom I always joked, and who never called me by my first name, nor a title, but just “Goeke.” “Goeke, come here!” “Goeke, go sell the people our noodles!” She would often proceed to tell me a story in German and almost always ending it by saying, “Das ist wahr!” (That is true!)…except that her German accent had been “Texanized,” saying “war” instead of “var.”
It was wonderful having those little worship services before the festival opened for Sunday afternoon (right across the walkway from where our Wendish booth now is located). I’d print out an order of worship with hymns that we would sing (right there in front of God and everybody walking by)…and I’d have a short message and we’d pray the Lord’s Prayer in German.
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