$150.00 - Luxembourg American Heritage Information Center

Upon receiving his discharge in 1965, Joe Jr. returned to the States. He commenced working
at Sears, where he stayed until 1974, when he left to join his life long friend, Joe Witry, Jr. in the
business forms industry, in which he is still employed.
Joe and Beverly live in Arlington Heights, Illinois with their three children, Mark,
Matthew and Carrie. In 1976, Joe, Jr. was elected Financial Secretary, became Vice-President in
1977 and became President in 1978, a post he still holds.
The Section continued to meet each month, on the fourth Thursday, at the Luxembourg
Gardens. The minutes reflect the attendance of L.B.A. members from other Sections at many
of these meetings.
The rostered membership in 1961 remained at 69. By the laws of the L.B.A., the Section was
entitled to at least three representatives at the conventions. In 1961, Nick May and Ted Conrad
were selected to attend the convention, followed by Frank Becker and Roger Origer in 1963,
Lawrence Weber and John Hein in 1965, George E. Blameuser, John Hansen and John Hein in
1967 and George E. Blameuser, Joe Weber and Joe Dockendorff, Sr. in 1969.
The Sauerbraten, which had begun in 1940 as the Hasenpheffer, continued to be held in
the 1960's at the Luxembourg Gardens. The 1962 Sauerbraten yielded a profit to the Section
of $1,136.32. In 1965, rather than give door prizes, the Section awarded cash prizes of $100.00,
$75.00, $50.00, $25.00 and $10.00. Tickets were limited to 300 and were sold for $3.75 each. The
last Sauerbraten dinner was held in 1966 at the Gardens. No reason is given for discontinuance of
the Section fundraiser. However, by 1967, Section membership had declined to 53, and 6 of these
either died or were cancelled during the year. Also, the roster for that year showed three other
members who lived outside of Cook County. Therefore, it would seem that the Section did not
have sufficient active members to host a Sauerbraten.
In addition to the Sauerbraten, private dinners for members and spouses continued to be
held. In 1963, Adam Barnig's daughter, Barbara Eley, entertained at one of these private dinners
held at the Gardens. For her efforts, Barbara was given a cash gift of $15.00.
At the Section meeting held October 24, 1963, Joe Witry, Sr. proposed that a Christmas
party be held for the children and grandchildren of Section members. The proposal was
warmly received and a committee of Joe and Lawrence Weber, George E. and George P.
Blameuser and John Hein was constituted to make the arrangements. On December 22, 1963,
the author, accompanied by his father, attended the party and immediately recognized
John Hein as Santa Glaus.
John Hein, a Chicago resident, joined Section 15 in 1958. A native of Germany, he made
his living as a salesman. His avocation, however, was singing. He was a member of the Schubert
Singing Society of Chicago and in conjunction with the late Mel Weides, of Section 3, formed
a powerful duet of deep rich baratone voices. A large, gentle natured man, he was the perfect
Santa Glaus. In addition, John was a Director of the Luxembourg Gardens. He continued to
attend to his Section duties until 1982, when he was no longer able to drive. Shortly thereafter,
he passed away.
A second Christmas party was held in 1964 at the Gardens. For reasons, unknown, it was
discontinued.
In 1967, as the Sauerbraten had been discontinued, the Section was groping for ideas of what
type of substitute fundraiser, if any, could be held. In March, 1968, the Section decided to hold a
Fall Festival to be held in October at Annie Krieger's in Chicago. Cash awards were to be given
and drinks cost 20 cents for a beer, 60 cents for a shot of Scotch or Canadian Whiskey and 50 cents
for a shot of anything else. Don McNett, Don Hansen and Joe Dockendorff, Sr. were bartenders,
and George E. Blameuser was the bar ticket custodian. The dance was held and net receipts were
$331.60. It was the last fundraiser held by Section 15.
At the November, 1962 meeting of the Section one of the items on the agenda was an
upcoming card party to be held at the Gardens for the benefit of a Bishop Kinsch, a priest of
Luxembourg ancestry who was a missionary in the Congo. Besides urging the membership to
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