‘Gut Heil’: In 1867, Manitowoc hosted the Grand Festival of the German Society of Turners in Wisconsin
On Aug. 29, 1867, the Manitowoc Tribune reported the German Society of Turners in Wisconsin would have a Grand Festival at Manitowoc on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. Guests were expected from every part of the state.
Saturday’s festivities began at 6 a.m. with “the loud booming of cannon,” announcing the boat carrying representatives of the various Turner organizations was in sight. A large crowd gathered on the pier to welcome them. On landing, they were escorted by a brass band and a large procession of citizens through the streets, decorated with festoons of evergreens, to Turner Hall on the corner of Washington and South Seventh streets. The fronts of several buildings bore the greeting phrase of gymnasts, “Gut Heil.”
Arriving at the Hall, guests were greeted by Village President Henry Baetz, a member of Manitowoc’s Turnverein and a former major in the Union Army’s 26th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, composed of mostly German immigrants.
In the afternoon, the Turners went to Gerpheide’s Hill near town (now the site of Froedtert HFM Hospital), where they listened to a concert and strolled through the cool and shady woods.
At night, they attended a theatrical performance at Turner Hall, “which seemed to give universal satisfaction.”
On Sunday, a Turning, or gymnastics competition, was held at Gerpheide’s Hill. Turners from Milwaukee, Racine, Madison and La Crosse won prizes. William Leverenz of Manitowoc won a second-place prize.
The evening session at Turner Hall featured an address by Bernard Domschke, editor of a German newspaper in Milwaukee and a former captain in the 26th Regiment. This was followed by a grand ball, attended by a large number.
On Monday morning, Turners were escorted to their boat by a large group and a band.
According to the Manitowoc Pilot, the Turners’ Festival “was a successful affair and passed off pleasantly to all concerned . … The Delegates, about 250 in number, were all hearty and strong looking young men, and show plainly the good effect of simple and rational exercise.”
The Turner Society, or Turnverein, was founded by German teacher and patriot Friedrich Ludwig Jahn in Berlin in 1811 to promote physical improvement (“sound minds in sound bodies”) and social reform.
Turner is the German word for gymnast; Verein means club or union. The Turner motto was Frisch, Frei, Stark, Treu (Alert, Free, Strong, Faithful).
Many Turners, who supported the German Revolution of 1848 were forced to flee and immigrated to the United States, bringing the Turner gymnastic movement with them.
The first German-American Turner Society opened at Cincinnati in 1848. Turner societies were started in virtually all Wisconsin communities with large numbers of German immigrants, including Milwaukee (which had eight clubs), Racine, La Crosse, Green Bay, Fond du Lac, Watertown, Monroe, Port Washington, Sheboygan, Two Rivers, New Holstein and Madison. Manitowoc’s Turnverein had about 100 members.
Most Turner societies built and maintained specially designed Turner Halls for gymnastic tournaments, calisthenic drills and flag exercises for both men and women.
Turner Halls became the center of German-American society, politics, athletics and recreation. Halls were used for meetings, lectures, dinners, dances, concerts and theatrical performances. They were also rented to non-German groups for weddings and other social functions. Many were later converted to opera houses. Only a few Halls remain in the state.
More history: ‘To fly, fight and die?’ This World War I flying ace was from Manitowoc and earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses.
Bob Fay is a retired historian and former executive director of the Manitowoc County Historical Society.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc hosted Grand Festival of German Society of Turners in 1867
