[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 154 (Friday, September 29, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14769-S14770]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         FRANKENMUTH, MICHIGAN'S 150TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I am proud to rise to honor the 
150th anniversary of the town of Frankenmuth, MI, which we have been 
celebrating throughout the year. October 6, 1995, which is officially 
designated as German-American Day, is an especially appropriate time to 
commemorate this historic milestone in Frankenmuth.
  Frankenmuth is a unique community and one of Michigan's largest 
tourist attractions. It is a quaint Bavarian village which maintains a 
festival atmosphere year-round. Everything from its authentic 
architecture to the popular Frankenmuth Bavarian and Oktoberfest 
celebrations make this community a special place to live in and to 
visit. Frankenmuth has provided an experience to countless visitors 
over the years which is rich with history and ethnic culture.
  In 1840, the German missionary, Frederick Wyneken, initiated the idea 
of the founding of Frankenmuth when he wrote an appeal to all the 
Lutherans in Germany. He asked for their help in teaching Christianity 
to the Chippewa Indians. Wyneken's call for assistance appealed to 
Wilhelm Loehe, who was an influential pastor in a country church in 
Neuendettelsau, Mittelfranken, Kingdom of Bavaria. Loehe championed the 
idea of sending a mission to the Saginaw Valley to give spiritual 
comfort to the German pioneers in the area as well as teaching 
Christianity to the native Americans. Loehe approved a location along 
the Cass River in Michigan as the site of the mission and named it 
``Frankenmuth.''
  Loehe selected Pastor August Cramer, who at the time was teaching 
German at Oxford, England, to lead the mission. Thirteen people from 
Bavaria volunteered to be a part of the mission. Frankenmuth's first 
settlers were mostly farmers. Months before they were to depart for 
America, the colonists gathered to decide on the congregation's 
constitution. In it, they proposed to remain loyal to their German-
Lutheran background and language.
  The mission set sail on April 20, 1845, aboard the SS Caroline. The 
journey across the Atlantic was a treacherous one. The ship encountered 
violent storms, strong winds, and dense fog which altered its route 
considerably. By the end of the journey, with their food becoming 
stale, almost all of the settlers had contracted smallpox. The group 
reached New York Harbor on June 8, after 50 days at sea. The trip from 
New York to the Saginaw River would have the settlers travel on four 
more ships and a train.
  When the settlers finally reached the Saginaw Valley, they selected a 
hilly area as the site of their future settlement because it reminded 
them of their homeland. On August 18, 1845, nearly 4 months after 
leaving Mittelfranken, the mission had arrived at its new home. The 
mission purchased 680 acres of Indian reservation land from the 
Government for a total of $1,700.
  The group quickly began building a combination church-school-
parsonage in the form of a large log cabin. The church was named St. 
Lorenz after their mother church in Germany. The settlers then decided 
to divide the land into 120-acre farms and cleared the land in order to 
farm and build their houses.
  In 1846 a second group of about 90 emigrants from Germany arrived at 
Frankenmuth. The new group bought land and built their own homes as 
well as St. Lorenz Church which was completed on December 26, 1846.
  Immigration continued throughout the 1800's, as immigrants arrived to 
reunite with their relatives. As the town grew, so did its commerce. 
The new immigrants included woodcarvers, sausage makers, wool 
processors, millers, and brewers. The community continued its Bavarian 
heritage as it grew.
  After World War II and the development of the interstate highway 
system, Frankenmuth became a national favorite for tourists. Its unique 
character as a traditional Bavaria town in the heart 

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of the American Midwest drew Americans of all backgrounds.
  Today, Frankenmuth continues to cherish its rich Bavarian heritage. 
It is a great testament to all of the people of Frankenmuth and their 
ancestors that they have been able to maintain their town and continue 
across all of these years to honor the principles on which it was 
founded. All of us in Michigan and the region have benefitted from the 
contribution which Frankenmuth and its citizens have made to the 
diversity of the American fabric.
  Mr. President, I am delighted that I will be in the town of 
Frankenmuth on German-American Day. If there is one place in the United 
States which could be said to represent what it means to be a German-
American, it is Frankenmuth, MI. In fact, Frankenmuth serves to remind 
us all of our cultural roots and of the rich mosaic of cultural 
heritage which we have in America.
  I am certain that all of my colleagues in the Senate join me in 
congratulating the Frankenmuth Historical Museum, the Frankenmuth 
Chamber of Commerce and all of those whose efforts over the years have 
contributed to this German-American success story.

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