[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 132 (Monday, September 28, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11057-S11058]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MR. OKTOBERFEST

 Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, while I was the mayor of Tulsa, we 
started an Oktoberfest to benefit the ``River Parks'' which is an area 
around the Arkansas River for jogging, cycling or walking. Tulsa 
Oktoberfest is known as one of the best in world and a large reason for 
that is due to Josef Peter Hardt, whom I dubbed ``Mr. Oktoberfest.''
  Born in Oberhausen (Rhineland) Germany, Josef emigrated to Ithaca, 
New York in 1951 and moved to Tulsa in 1955. His professional career 
was in broadcasting, retiring as the manager of commercial productions 
of Channel 2 in 1993. His civic career consisted of work in the Theater 
Tulsa, television and film production, one founders of Tulsa's 
Oktoberfest, an active member of the German American Society Arts 
Association and German American Society Building Corporation in Tulsa.
  Because of his active involvement in the German American Society, he 
was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Distinguished Service Cross) by 
the Counsel General for the Federal Republic of Germany, on the tenth 
anniversary of the German American Society of Tulsa. During that 
occasion, the Honorable Peter Maier-Oswald noted that ``Joe Hardt has 
always worked for his old country and his new country to promote 
relations between the two.''
  Our first Oktoberfest consisted of a small tent on the banks of the 
Arkansas River in 1979 and now draws over 200,000 people over a four 
day period. Since the beginning, Josef, has held various jobs but 
perhaps the one for which he will be remembered most is that of MC. As 
this is the last year of his active involvement in Tulsa's Oktoberfest, 
I wanted to take this opportunity to commemorate his leadership and 
faithful service to his community.

[[Page S11058]]

We will miss seeing and hearing him as the MC, but he will always be 
Mr. Oktoberfest in my book.

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