Guest Editorial

By this time next week, Deutschesfest will be over, and a lot of hardworking volunteers will be able to step back and heave a sigh of relief. For a little while, anyway.

We need to make it known that we appreciate all the effort that goes into making our hometown celebration a success year after year.

There are the people who put in hours and hours organizing the biergarten, the parade, the vendors and entertainment. There are the people who are new and leap in with both feet, and those who have been doing their part for so long they could probably do it in their sleep.

There are the people who make strudel and sausage and kuchen and pickles. The people who coordinate volunteers, the people who clean up and organize the food booths and the people who commit to keeping them running for the duration of the event.

There are those who work hard for Fest because Fest pays them back in cold hard cash and those who do it because it's fun. Others do it because they think it's the right thing to do for the benefit of the community.

There are the Lions Club members who relaid the bricks in front of the outdoor stage, and who installed ramps for entertainers to use.

There are the people who agree to work late night hours in the biergarten.

And whatever you do, don't forget the musicians who oom-pah their way through the weekend.

Beside the volunteers, there are those who go beyond their regular duties to make sure our little town puts its best foot forward. The streets are swept. The sidewalks are washed down. Business fronts are cleaned up and displays are refreshed.

It almost always seems impossible, at the beginning of September, that it will all come together in time.

But it does. And that is thanks to you, all you hardworking volunteers.

So give yourself a pat on the back, celebrate a little before it's all over, and then get lots of good rest.

Because before we know it, it will be time to put it together again for next year.