>> MOST AFTERNOONS YOU CAN FIND THE OLD-TIMERS IN THE BAR PLAYING CARDS.

[ INDISTINCT CONVERSATION ] >> THE GAME'S CALLED CHATSCO AND THE GERMAN SETTLERS BROUGHT IT WITH THEM FROM THE OLD COUNTRY MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO.

>> YOU WANT TO PLAY, COME OVER HERE.

>> OH, NO.

[ Laughter ] >> FOUR AGAINST TWO.

>> THIS BAR HAS BEEN HERE SINCE THEN, TOO, AND THE CONVERSATION STILL HAS ITS OWN FLAVOR.

SO DOES THE BEER.

[ INSYNC CONVERSATION ] >> I'VE BEEN -- [ INDISTINCT CONVERSATION ] >> A ME BLOCKS DOWN THE STREET, THIS BAR DRIVES A -- DRAWS A DIFFERENT CLIENTELE.

♪ MY WAY ♪ [ ♪♪ ] ♪ AND I'LL BE GONE ♪ [ ♪♪ ] >> ACROSS THE WAY, IN STOUT STUBY, YOU'LL MEET A THIRD GENERATION.

[ ♪♪ ] [ ♪♪ ] >> HERE THEY DON'T SPEAK MUCH GERMAN.

BUT THEY STILL SING THE OLD SONGS AND DRINK THE BEER.

[ ♪♪ ] ♪ FROM HERE TO ETERNITY ♪ ♪ LORD HAVE MERCY ♪ >> THIS IS NEW ULM, MINNESOTA, NAMED AFTER THE CITY OF UM IN BOVARIA.

SIX GENERATIONS HAVE LIVED HERE SINCE GERMAN SETTLERS CAME DOWN THE MINNESOTA RIVER AND FOUNDED THE TOWN IN 1854.

I GUESS WE GERMANS HAVE A TRADITION OF HARD WORK BECAUSE THE TOWN'S ALWAYS BEEN PROSPEROUS.

AND TODAY WE'VE GOT NEARLY 14,000 PEOPLE.

I'M HAROLD BEERBAMU --BAUM.

MY GREAT GRANDPARENTS CAME FROM THE OLD COUNTRY AND I'VE LIVED HERE FOR 71 YEARS, ALL MY LIFE.

WHENEVER I GET THE CHANCE, I LIKE TO GO TO TURNER HALL WITH MY FRIEND, Dr.

KURT BELL.

BACK IN GERMANY, THE TURNERS WERE SORT OF A CLUB, AND A LOT OF THEM CAME TO THE UNITED STATES IN THE 1800s.

THE EARLY BUILDERS OF NEW ULM WERE TURNERS, AND THEY HAD PLANS FOR A TURNER COMMUNITY.

EVEN BEFORE THEY PICKED THE SITE FOR THE TOWN, THEY LAID OUT THEIR DESIGN.

A GOOD SYSTEM WITH CENTRAL PARK IN THE MIDDLE, LIKE NEW YORK CITY.

IT'S WORKED OUT PRETTY WELL, EVEN THOUGH THEY TURNED PART OF OUR PARK INTO RAIL YARDS AND A POWER STATION.

>> MEANS GYMNASTIC CLUB IN GERMAN, STILL TEACH GYMNASTICS AT TURNER HALL.

OUR TEAMS ARE SOME OF THE BEST IN THE STATE.

FOR YEARS, TURNER HALL HAD THE ONLY GYM IN TOWN AND IT DID A LOT OF GOOD FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF NEW ULM.

EVEN BACK IN THE OLD COUNTRY, THE TURNERS BELIEVED IN PHYSICAL FITNESS.

BUT HAVE ALWAYS HAD A STRONG PHILOSOPHY, TOO.

THE TOWN USED TO DIVIDE UP INTO THREE GROUPS, THE PROTESTANTS, THE CATHOLICS AND THE OTHERS.

THAT MEANT THE TURNERS.

THEY WERE FREE AND INDEPENDENT THINKERS AND SOME OF THEM WERE SOCIAL REVOLUTIONARYS EVEN BEFORE THEY LEFT GERMANY.

TURNER HALL HAS ALWAYS BEEN A MEETING PLACE.

IT'S A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS COME TO DRINK BEER AND TALK ABOUT THE THINGS THAT GO ON IN THE COMMUNITY.

THAT'S WHY I COME HERE WITH DOC BELL, BECAUSE WE BOTH HAVE BEEN TURN FORCE A LONG TIME.

>> I'VE BEEN A MEMBER OF THE TURNER SINCE 1913, WE WENT TO THE DENVER TURNER FEST.

MY FATHER ALWAYS SAYS, YOU WERE A TURNER BEFORE YOU WERE BEEN.

MY MOTHER WAS A STRONG TURNER.

DAD WAS CATHOLIC.

HE GRADUALLY CAME INTO IT.

BUT HE SAYS, YOU WERE A TURNER BEFORE YOU WERE BORN, WHEN MOTHER WAS PREGNANT WITH ME, SHE INSISTED ON GOING TO THE GYM.

DAD DIDN'T LIKE THAT.

SO I WAS A TURNER BEFORE I WAS BORN.

BUT I REMEMBER VERY VERY WELL AT A -- AT ONE TIME WHEN OUR MINISTER WOULD SAY, IF YOU GO TO TURNER HALL, EVEN TO THE THEATER, AND THAT THE DAY OF RECKONING WOULD COME, YOU'D BE IN TURNER HALL, HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN THAT TO THE LORD.

IT WAS REALLY SOMETHING.

BOY, YOU GET CAUGHT THERE.

>> I'M NOT AGAINST.

IT SEEMS ODD TO ME.

>> BUT THIS, OF COURSE, WAS THE DOINGS OF SOMEBODY WHO WAS HIGHLY MOTIVATED AND FELT THAT THIS IS -- THIS IS A SAD PART OF IT, THAT REALLY -- IT REALLY CUT THE COMMUNITY AND HELD THE COMMUNITY BACK HORRIBLY.

THERE'S SUNDAY SCHOOL THAT THEY HAD WAS EXTREMELY INTERESTING.

I PRESUME THAT TODAY IT WOULD PROBABLY BE OF THE HUMANIST TRADITION.

THEY HAD SUNDAY SCHOOL AND DID SOME -- >> STARKMAN, SWATCHMAN OF SOME NOBILITY.

HE TAUGHT SUNDAY SCHOOL.

HE TAUGHT AGRICULTURE NO, SIRTY SIMPLY AND SHAKESPEARE.

HE DIDN'T GIVE A DAMN FOR EITHER.

>> THAT IS THE CASE.

>> IN THE OLDEN DAYS, THE TEACHERS COULDN'T TALK ENGLISH, JUST A LITTLE BIT, SO HOW COULD THEY TEACH THE KIDS ENGLISH?

BUT THEY TRIED.

MOTHER ALWAYS TELLS OF A STORY, ONE TEACHER, USED TO GIVE THE NAME, BUT I'VE FORGOTTEN IT, HE SAID TO THE KID, TELL UNIDOT, THE KID SAID, I KNOW IT NOT.

WHAT, YOU KNOW IT NOT.

YOU STAY AN HOUR AFTER.

>> THE FIRST TURNER HALL IS MADE OF LOGS THAT FLOATED DOWN THE RIVER TO A STEAM SAWMILL NEAR THE BOAT LANDING.

LATER, THEY HAD A FINE BRICK BUILDING, THE PARK WITH A BAR AND THE MEETING ROOM IS STILL HERE.

HAD A BEAUTIFUL THEATER.

UNTIL ONE NIGHT IN 1952.

>> HUBERT HUMPHREY WAS HERE FOR A DEMOCRATIC MEETING.

YOU KNOW, NEW ULM HAS ALWAYS BEEN ANTI, WHEN MINNESOTA WAS REPUBLICAN, NEW ULM WAS DEMOCRATIC.

THEN THE FARMER LABOR CAME, OF COURSE, BECAUSE THE FARMER LABOR, SOME OF THE FARM LABOR PARTY MEMBERS WERE -- FARMER LABOR PARTIES WERE ENACCEPT THETY ADVISED WITH THE GERMANS TO SOME EXTENT, WHEN THE FARMER LABOR PARTY BECAME ACTIVIST, WHY, NEW ULM VOTED FARMER LABOR WHICH HADN'T COMBINED WITH THE DEMOCRATS.

THE DEMOCRATS WERE PRACTICALLY NOTHING WITH THE OLDEN DAYS.

THEN FINALLY THEY COMBINED.

THEN, OF COURSE, WHEN ROOSEVELT CAME, ENGINEERED US INTO THE WAR, I DON'T THINK -- SO MUCH, BUT ROOSEVELT, HE GOT NEW ULM TO BE REPUBLICAN.

AND NOW WE'RE MORE OR LESS REPUBLICAN, BUT NOT AS MUCH AS BEFORE.

HUBERT HUMPHREY WAS HERE, AND HUBERT, I MUST SAY, I HAVE ALWAYS LIKED THE MAN.

I DIDN'T VOTE FOR HIM.

BUT I -- AT LEAST HE WAS AN HONEST -- REASONABLY HONEST POLITICIAN.

AND HE CAME HERE AND GAVE A SPEECH.

AND THAT NIGHT, THE OLD TURNER HALL WAS A FIRE TRAP.

SO ONE DAY THEY HAD SOME SMALL FIRES BUT NOTHING BIG.

BUT THAT NIGHT HE SPOKE AND THE PLACE WENT UP IN FLAMES.

THAT JUST THAT PART OF THE THEATER, GYM PART.

I STILL REMEMBER STANDING SIX FEET AWAY FROM WHERE THE FIRE ROSE UP IN THE LITTLE HALL UPSTAIRS.

AND, OF COURSE, THEN THEY ALWAYS SAID IT WAS HUBERT'S HOT AIR THAT SET THE FIRE GOING.

>> THAT FIRE WASN'T THE WORST ONE IN NEW ULM'S HISTORY.

IN 1862, THE DAKOTA SIOUX INDIANS ATTACKED THE TOWN AND CAME CLOSE TO DESTROYING IT.

MOST OF THE ABLE-BODIED MEN WERE AWAY FIGHTING THE CIVIL WAR.

AND WITH ONLY A FEW GUNS IN TOWN, IT WAS A PRETTY CLOSE CALL.

IN TWO DAYS OF FIGHTING, MOST OF THE BUILDINGS IN TOWN WERE DESTROYED.

A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE KILLED.

NEW ULM SURVIVED, BUT THE TURNERS' ORIGINAL PLAN FOR THE TOWN WAS FINISHED.

A GREAT MANY FRIGHTENED PEOPLE LEFT.

BUT EVEN THOUGH NEW GERMAN IMMIGRANTS CAME, MOST OF THEM DIDN'T SHARE THE TURNERS' VISION.

THE TOWN WAS NEVER QUITE THE SAME AGAIN.

ONE OF THE EARLY BUILDINGS THAT SURVIVED THE INDIAN UPRISING WAS SHELLS BREWERY BUILT IN 1860.

IT'S STILL HERE AND IT'S STILL ONE OF NEW ULM'S MOST IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES.

IT'S RUN BY WARREN MARTY, AND HE'S A DIRECT DESCENDENT OF AUGUST SHELL, WHO FOUNDED THE PLACE.

>> I'VE BEEN HERE SINCE 1920.

AND I GUESS I'M NOT TOO SMART, STAYED HERE TOO LONG.

ANYWAY GUY WITH ANY BRAINS WOULDN'T BE IN THE BEER BUSINESS.

BUT, YOU KNOW, ALL MY LIFE I'VE BEEN HERE.

I WENT TO COLLEGE, GUSTAVUS.

I WAS IN THE SERVICE AS A NAVY PILOT.

THEN I CAME BACK AND IT'S BEER BEER BEER.

NOT GETTING ANY SMARTER.

THE BUSINESS ABOUT A BREWERY, THIS WAS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INDIAN MASSACRE.

YOU KNOW?

THE INDIAN WAR, THE LAST ONE.

AND THE SHELL PEOPLE WERE GOOD-HEARTED PEOPLE.

AND THEY SAID -- THEY FED THE INDIANS, THEY DID EVERYTHING FOR THEM.

SO, THE INDIANS WERE, YOU KNOW, THEY WARNED THEM ABOUT THIS THING THAT WAS COMING UP.

AND AUGUST SHELL WALKED TO St.

PETER TO GET HELP.

THE WOMEN WENT DOWNTOWN IN NEW ULM.

AND STAYED THERE.

BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, NEARLY ALL OF NEW YOU WILL AM WAS DESTROYED.

NEW ULM.

OLDEST INDUSTRY IN NEW ULM.

GONNA BE 120 YEARS OLD.

ALWAYS BEEN IMPORTANT.

I GUESS, IF YOU'RE GONNA GO, YOU GOTTA HAVE FUN AND BEER IS FUN.

>> THERE USED TO BE SEVERAL BREWERIES IN NEW ULM.

BUT SHELLS IS THE ONLY ONE STILL MAKING BEER.

GOOD BEER JUST DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT WITHOUT GOOD GERMAN SAUSAGE TO GO WITH IT AND THAT'S ANOTHER THING WE STILL HAVE.

THIS MEAT MARKET HAS BEEN HERE SINCE I CAN REMEMBER.

SELLING THE SAME KIND OF SAUSAGES TO FOUR GENERATIONS OF NEW ULMers.

STILL MAKE THEIR SAUSAGE THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY, BY HAND.

>> IT'S BITTER.

BEST.

>> MY MOTHER USED TO SEND ME HERE TO BUY THESE SAUSAGES WHEN I WAS A KID DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR.

WE HAD ALL OF THEM IN ENGLISH THEN.

WE WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO SPEAK GERMAN.

IT WAS UNPATRIOTIC.

THOSE WERE HARD TIMES FOR PEOPLE WITH A STRONG GERMAN HERITAGE.

A LOT OF PEOPLE IN NEW ULM WERE DEAD AGAINST THE WAR WITH GERMANY.

Dr.

TED PRISONER REMEMBERS THOSE DAYS, TOO.

PRIT CHMTDHER.

>> MANY OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAD COME FROM GERMANY AND WERE VERY RELUCTANT TO FIGHT AT ALL AND SOMEWHAT RELUCTANT TO FIGHT AGAINST THE OLD FATHER LAND.

SO, THIS IS WHERE THEY HAD THE BIG PROBLEM IN NEW ULM.

AND THESE PEOPLE CAME TO -- MY FATHER THEN WAS MAYOR OF NEW ULM AND THEY CAME TO HIM AND CITY ATTORNEY ALBERT FENDER AND THEY WANTED TO SEE WHAT, IF ANYTHING, COULD BE DONE THAT THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TO FIGHT AGAINST OR ENTER INTO ACTIVE FIGHTING IN THIS WAR.

AND FINALLY THEY DECIDED THAT THEY WOULD HAVE A MEETING HERE IN NEW ULM AND EXPLAIN THE DRAFT TO ALL THESE PEOPLE.

>> THE FIRST WORLD WAR, I REMEMBER THAT.

I REMEMBER THE ANTIDRAFT MEETING, FOR INSTANCE.

MY DAD AND I BOTH AGREED THAT NEW ULM SHOULD HAVE NEVER GONE INTO THAT.

ON THE OTHER HAND, GOVERNMENT IN St.

PAUL SHOULDN'T HAVE BANNED NEW ULM THE WAY THEY DID EITHER.

>> THIS MEETING, OF COURSE, WAS COMPLETELY MISCONSTRUED.

AND NEW ULM RECEIVED A TERRIBLE BLOW TO THEIR REPUTATION.

THEY FELT THAT NOTHING COULD BE DONE TO BRING US BACK SO WE'D BE REPUTEABLE AGAIN.

BUT TIME HAS SHOWN THAT IT WAS DIFFERENT.

>> AS A RESULT OF THIS, MY FATHER WAS REMOVED FROM OFFICE BY GOVERNOR BERN QUIST, IN THE NEXT ELECTION HE WAS RE-ELECTED AGAIN.

I CAN REMEMBER DURING WORLD WAR I, BECAUSE OF THIS THING, WHEN THEY HAD THE FOOD ADMINISTRATION, IT SEEMS ALMOST AS IF THEY SINGLED OUT NEW ULM.

THEY CAME HERE.

I REMEMBER WHEN THE MEN COMING TO OUR HOUSE AND INSPECTING OUR HOUSE TO SEE IF WE HAD SUGAR OR FLOUR HIDDEN.

AND MY MOTHER HAD BOUGHT A PACKAGE OF SWANS DOWN CAKE FLOUR THAT SHE HAD NEVER USED AND IT HAD BEEN ON THE SHELF FOR SEVERAL YEARS.

WHEN HE CAME AND SAW THAT FLOUR, HE MADE A BIG ISSUE OF IT.

AND FINALLY, MY MOTHER WENT TO THE TELEPHONE AND CALLED MY FATHER.

AND HE SENT THE POLICE DOWN.

AND THE POLICE CAME.

THEN IT GOT QUIET.

SO NOTHING EVER CAME OF THAT.

BUT PEOPLE WERE HOUNDED.

THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.

THEY WERE SINGLED OUT, ESPECIALLY SOME OF THOSE WHO THEY FELT WERE OF GERMAN DESCENT.

MY FATHER HAD NOT BEEN BORN IN GERMANY.

HE WAS BORN RIGHT HERE IN NEW ULM.

HE WAS ONLY 3 MONTHS OLD AT THE TIME OF THE SIOUX UPRISING BUT HE WAS AN AMERICAN.

BUT HE TOOK HIS STAND JUST THE WAY AN ORDINARY SENSIBLE PERSON WOULD FORM THEIR OPINIONS NOW.

[ ♪♪ ] >> IN SPITE OF WORLD WAR I, WE KEPT OUR GERMAN TRADITIONS.

ONE TRADITION THAT'S TYPICAL IN NEW ULM IS POKE AMUSIC.

CHRISTA HAS BEEN PLAYING POKE AMUSIC FOR 40 YEARS.

POLKA.

>> THAT WAS THE NEW ULM WALTZ I JUST PLAYED.

THAT'S POLKA CAPITAL OF THE NATION HERE IN NEW ULM, MINNESOTA, THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED NEW ULM WALTZ.

IT'S REALLY A BEAUTIFUL TUNE.

THE GERMANS ARE GREAT FOR POLKA MUSIC, THE CZECHS ARE GREAT FOR IT, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, YOU TAKE YOUR POLISH PEOPLE, LIKE St.

CLOUD, AROUND THERE, WISCONSIN, THERE'S A LOT OF POLISH PEOPLE, THEY LIKE IT, TOO.

YEARS AGO, THE OLD-TIMERS, THEY'D DANCE UNTIL THE SUN COMES UP.

THEY HAD HOUSE PARTIES, ALL THAT.

PLAYING IN THERE.

MY GOODNESS, THAT JUST KEPT ON UNTIL MORNING HOURS.

IT ISN'T LIKE TODAY ANYMORE.

THE PEOPLE LIKE IT TODAY, BUT IT'S A CHANGED WORLD NOW.

YOU'VE GOT YOUR ROCK MUSIC, ALL THAT.

WE HEAR THIS.

I HEAR ROCK MUSIC.

WELL, I GOT NOTHING AGAINST ROCK BECAUSE IT'S GOOD MUSIC TO THE KIDS THAT LIKE IT.

BUT I WAS BROUGHT UP WITH THE GOOD OLD POLKA MUSIC.

YOU CAN'T PULL THAT OUT OF MY SYSTEM.

♪ POLKA ♪ [ ♪♪ ] >> IN WORLD WAR II, WE FOUND OURSELVES FIGHTING THE GERMANS AGAIN.

THIS OLD W.P.A.

CAMP WAS TURNED INTO A PRISONER OF WAR CAMP FOR CAPTURED PILOTS.

Mrs.

KATHARINE DIETZ HAD A FARM NEARBY.

>> WHEN WE SAW NOT THAT THERE WERE PRISONERS COMING TO HELP US -- NAZI PRISONERS, COMING TO HELP US, WE WERE ABOUT THE BUNCH OF HAPPY FARMERS THERE WAS.

OUR CROPS WERE IN THE FIELD, NO ONE TO GET THEM IN.

I STAYED HOME ON A BALL GAME NIGHT ONE NIGHT.

AND THAT IS WHEN THE FIRST BUS LOAD OF NAZIS STARTED COMING IN RIGHT UP HERE ON THE HILL.

I KNEW IT WAS THEM.

NOW THEY HAD PREACHED NAZIS TO US SO LONG AND SO HARD IT COULD HAVE BEEN AN ANIMAL AS FAR AS I WAS CONCERNED.

AND BELIEVE ME, I WAS DEADLY SCARED OF THEM BECAUSE THESE WERE NAZIS, THEY WERE THE ONES THAT WERE KILLING OUR BOYS OFF.

AS SOON AS WE GOT THEM THEN, THAT THEY STARTED TO WORK FOR US.

WELL, AT FIRST I DIDN'T EVEN WANT ANY OF THEM IN THE HOUSE.

TO BE REAL HONEST WITH YOU, BECAUSE THE FARTHER YOU STAY AWAY FROM ME, YOU'RE KILLIN' OUR BOYS, I'LL LEAVE YOU ALONE, TOO.

BUT AS TIME WENT ON, WE FELT THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD SENSE THAT THESE BOYS, THEY WERE NO DIFFERENT THAN OUR BOYS.

THIS WAS ALL FENCED UP, THE WHOLE WAY AROUND.

AND THEN THEM ROADS, THEY COME FROM TOWN.

YOU DROVE TO TOWN, THERE WERE ROADS COMING OUT.

THEY, ALONG THE FENCES, WHERE THE GUARDS DIDN'T SEE THEM, THEN, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, THEY ENJOYED THE BOYS AND THE BOYS ENJOYED THEM.

OF COURSE, WHEN THEY GOT CAUGHT, THEY GOT BUSTED OUT OF THERE.

THERE WERE KIDS THAT WERE DOWN HERE, 12 YEARS OLD, SHOULD HAVE BEEN AT HOME, GOTTEN A SPANKIN' FROM MA, YET, THEY LIKE BOYS, TOO, AND THEY CAME DOWN HERE, TOO.

>> WHILE THESE GERMAN PILOTS WERE WORKING IN OUR FIELDS, JACK FROM NEW ULM WAS FLYING AMERICAN PLANES OVER GERMANY.

>> KIND OF FUNNY, YOU KNOW.

I DON'T THINK I HAVE A BROEG, YOU KNOW, BUT WHEN I GOT IN THE SERVICE, BOY, AT THAT TIME, EVERYBODY CALLED ME DUTCH BECAUSE THEY SAID WE HAD SUCH A BAD BROEG.

MILITARY LIFE, JUST TAKE IT FOR -- LIVED HERE ALL MY LIFE, TAKE IT FOR GRANTED, I GUESS.

SHOT DOWN, ACTUALLY, OVER THE BRENNER PATH.

AND ENDED UP A P.W.

GOT IN THE SWITCH ROOM.

SAT UP IN THE SWITCH ROOM.

SOMEBODY CAPTURED, WASN'T IN A PRISON CAMP OR ANYTHING.

BUT I WAS MORE TOWARDS THE END OF THE WAR, THEY HAD SUCH A MESS.

I GOT SHOT DOWN THREE TIMES.

THE FIRST COUPLE OF TIMES, I WALKED OUT.

THEN WHEN SOMEBODY STOPPED ME OR SOMETHING, I'D JUST -- ACT SHELL SHOCKED.

I COULDN'T TALK GERMAN.

JUST KIND OF LET ME GO.

I CHANGED CLOTHES RIGHT AWAY.

I DIDN'T KEEP THE UNIFORM.

I DON'T SUPPOSE THAT TOWARDS THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR, ANYTHING, I COULD HAVE, YOU KNOW, BEEN PRETTY SHARP YET.

BUT IT WAS ALMOST ALL EITHER CHILDREN OR OLDER PEOPLE.

THERE WAS NOT MUCH YOUNG ONES AROUND.

OF COURSE, THE WAR GOT BEAT UP BECAUSE THEY HAD A GERMAN FIGHTING THEIR OWN BROTHERS AND SISTERS THEY USED TO TELL US.

I DON'T KNOW.

I GUESS I JUST DIDN'T THINK ABOUT IT.

I WAS AMERICAN AND THEY WERE GERMANS.

WE'RE FIGHTING.

YOU KNOW.

EITHER YOU SHOT OR THEY SHOT.

ONE OF THE TWO.

>> WE KILLED THEM AND THEY'D KILL US.

IT DIDN'T MAKE NO SENSE.

WE HAD ONE BOY THERE.

HE WAS SO BITTER, HE DIDN'T WANT A DAMN LUNCH.

HE JUST WOULDN'T GIVE IN.

AND THAT WAS SAD.

AFTER THAT ALWAYS SEEN HE GOT A BIGGER PIECE OF CAKE, I THOUGHT, OH, THE HECK WITH THE OTHERS.

HE TOOK A LIKING TO YOU THEN.

AND IT CAN BE CRUEL.

>> THINGS HAVE CHANGED A LOT AROUND HERE SINCE THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

MANY OF THE OLD GERMANS HAVE CHANGED, TOO.

THE OTHER DAY I ASKED SOME KIDS WHAT DISCIPLINE MEANS AND THEY SAID PUNISHMENT.

THAT'S NOT THE ATTITUDE THAT BUILT THIS TOWN.

MORE OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE ARE GOING AWAY TO COLLEGE NOWADAYS AND THAT'S A GOOD THING.

BUT A LOT OF THEM DON'T COME BACK.

JOE IS ONE THAT DID.

>> I GUESS I ALWAYS CONSIDER NEW ULM MY HOME NO MATTER WHERE I GO, WHAT I DO.

THIS WILL BE HOME TO ME.

BUT THERE'S A DIFFERENCE.

ON OUR -- OUR FAMILY'S NOT THE FOUNDING STOCK.

ALTHOUGH WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS, YOU'RE NOT REALLY AN OUTSIDER, BUT YOU'RE NOT AS INSIDE AS YOU COULD GET.

I DON'T FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE AS SUCH, BUT IT'S OBVIOUS.

OUTLANDERS AS THE TERM GOES.

I GUESS WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, THE GERMAN TRADITIONS AS SUCH DIDN'T HOLD THAT MUCH MEANING FOR ME.

I WAS SO ENTHRALLED IN HORSES.

NOTHING BUT HORSES HELD MEANING FOR ME.

BUT I DID GROW UP IN VERY CONSERVATIVE HOUSEHOLD, A VERY STRONG HOUSEHOLD.

AND AT A VERY YOUNG AGE, IT WAS OUTLINED VERY CLEAR TO US WHAT WAS RIGHT AND WHAT WAS WRONG.

AND WHEN YOU REACH THAT AGE THAT WE HAD TO START MAKING OUR OWN DECISIONS, WE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT WAS RIGHT AND WHAT WAS WRONG.

THE DECISIONS WEREN'T THAT HARD TO MAKE.

LATER ON IN LIFE.

BECAUSE WE HAD GROWN UP THE WAY WE HAD.

WITH VALUES AND MORALS IMPLEMENTED INTO US AT A VERY VERY YOUNG AGE AND THEY WERE CONSISTENT.

THEY DIDN'T CHANGE WITH THE TIMES.

THAT'S MY BIGGEST WORRY AS FAR AS THE COMMUNITY IS CONCERNED, IS THAT WE PRACTICE OUR TRADITIONS, WE GOW THROUGH THROUGH THE MOTIONS AND, YET, THE VERY FEELING AS TO WHY WE DO THESE THINGS ARE SO OFTEN LACKING.

SUCH AN EMPHASIS IS PLACED ON THE CONCRETE THINGS, THE BEER, THE SINGING, THE DANCING, THAT WE LOSE THE REASON WHY.

AND AS FAR AS I CAN SEE, TO MYSELF, ANYWAY, THE REASON WHY IS THAT TREMENDOUS GERMAN STRENGTH THAT HAS ALLOWED NEW ULM TO STAY STRONG THROUGHOUT SO MANY HARDSHIPS, THROUGH THE SIOUX UPRISING, THROUGH WORLD WAR I. I THINK WITHOUT THAT STRENGTH, NEW ULM'S GOING TO BECOME LIKE EVERY OTHER LITTLE AMERICAN CITY ON THE MAP.

THE TRADITIONS ARE GOING TO BECOME PLASTIC.

THEY'RE GOING TO BECOME COMMERCIAL.

THEY'RE GOING TO LOSE ALL MEANING WHATSOEVER.

>> I DON'T THINK OUR TRADITIONS HAVE LOST THEIR MEANING.

AT LEAST NOT SO FAR.

A FEW WEEKS AGO, A GROUP OF WEST BERLINERS VISITING NEW ULM AND WE GAVE A PICNIC FOR THEM.

SOME OF US COULD SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE, BUT, STILL, THERE'S A BIG DIFFERENCE.

WE'RE AMERICANS AND HAVE BEEN SINCE THE EARLY DAYS.

I DON'T THINK NEW ULM'S ALL THAT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER TOWNS.

MOST AMERICANS HAVE AN OLD WORLD HERITAGE OF ONE KIND OR ANOTHER.

MAYBE WE'VE JUST HELD ON TO OURS A LITTLE BIT LONGER.

[ Applause ] [ ♪♪ ] [ ♪♪ ] ♪ SINGING IN GERMAN ♪ [ ♪♪ ] [ ♪♪ ]