Mayor Rene Daubenfeld of Boulaide, Luxembourg, and several dozen of his companions, made a stop in Sleepy Eye on Tuesday, Sept. 1. He and his countrymen are on a tour of the Upper Midwest, making stops in the states of Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
“We’ve enjoyed [the trip] really well because we always meet lots of people we know and new people,” Daubenfeld explained. “We are bringing a little bit of Luxembourg back to the states, so it’s a great experience for everybody on both sides.”
The first stop on the Luxembourgers’ trip through town was the Sleepy Eye Depot Museum. It was here they were greeted by several friendly faces, including Luxembourg Historical Society member Judy Beech and Mayor Jim Broich.
Luxembourger Roger Kohnen explained that they have been greeted by lots of friendly faces across the U.S. “People have been very open, very kind, helpful, and I can add any other adjective,” he said. “I’m being sincere in what I tell you.”
Each member of the tour received a souvenir bag filled with Sleepy Eye trinkets and Broich gave Daubenfeld a commemorative coin from the museum. “We’d like to welcome everyone to this good city,” Beech said. “There’s a lot of history in Sleepy Eye.” The Luxembourgers got a chance to view some of that history while walking around the museum.
It was at this time that Daubenfeld bestowed a special gift to Broich as well. Daubenfeld gave him a mug that read “Building Bridges” along its side. Daubenfeld explained he hopes trips like this one truly are building bridges between the two countries.
“I’ll have to fill that with beer!” exclaimed Broich, raising his new mug in the air for a picture.
One of the tourists, Tilly Gengler, explained that she has been in the United States 25 times. “I’ve been in all the states except six,” she said. In fact, Gengler lived in California for two years while going to high school, learning English and working as a secretary.
After a quick stop at the Chief Sleepy Eye statue, the group made its way to Gene Bertrand’s Little Luxembourg. The group spent some time resting and conversing in Bertrand’s basement while enjoying beer and music played by Bertrand himself. However, the group enjoyed their time so much that they ended up running late for their next stop, a tour of St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
“I understand that beer and entertainment came before church, is that right?” joked Lillian Stimpert, the tour guide at the church. Because of the lateness of their arrival, Stimpert gave them a brief talk about the history of the church and the long heritage it has. To help those in the group who didn’t speak much English, Leo Bromenschenkel translated the talk into Luxembourgish.
Bromenschenkel, a local resident who recently retired after 21 years of working at Norwood, is a cousin of one of the tourists, Nicolas Prommenschenkel. He explained that his cousin Nicolas has the true spelling of their last name correct. Immigration officials spelled the name how it sounded when their family first came to the U.S., thus, he has the name of Bromenschenkel.
Another member of the tour group, Noel Laures, explained that his ancestors first came to America around 1850. “I am proud of my ancestors,” he explained. “I looked for my heritage, my grandparents.”
After visiting the church, the group made a quick stop at St. Mary’s Cemetery before going on to the Schoenstatt Shrine for lunch. They enjoyed the meal while listening to local resident Charlie Haug share about his experiences in the Battle of the Bulge.
The visit to Sleepy Eye was coordinated by Beech and her friends at the Luxembourg Historical Society. She explained that the group has planned many events in the last few years, including a food tasting at the Community Center, a discussion at the home of Olga Carlson in St. Peter and an exhibit on Luxembourg immigration that began at Ellis Island.
Beech went on to explain that Sleepy Eye’s connections to Luxembourg run quite deep. Just a few local last names that have their origin in Luxembourg include Bertrand, Geschwind, Heiderscheidt and Schmitz.
Sleepy Eye, Minn. —
