Culture remains a top priority during Oktoberfest at German-American Club. What to know

Juergen Sell risked it all 44 years ago. The now 78-year-old native of Hamburg, Germany, made the 4,400-mile trek across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States in 1978 to provide a better life for his family.

But as Sell and his family adjusted to life in Georgetown, Indiana, he worried thatassimilating into American culture would mean leaving his traditional German values behind.

Sell is one of many German natives and those of German heritage who are keeping those traditions alive through events like this weekend's upcoming Oktoberfest, a two-day family-friendly festival that features traditional German food, beer, vendors and live music at Louisville's popular German-American Club, 1840 Lincoln Ave.

In the 40 years that Sell has been a member of the social club, which celebrates German heritage, he's held a variety of roles and it's given him a space to keep his heritage alive as he shares it with others in the community.

"(German-American Club) was home for people that came in their earlier years," Sell said, who now serves as a German-American Club board member. "I came in '79," after his friend, Barbara Schreck, introduced him to the club.

Louisville's German-American Club wasfounded by Louis Vormbrock 144 years ago in 1878 and was initially started with a membership of 15 men who called themselves the Sozialer Männerchor, which translates to "social male choir." The club grew in popularity and in 1937, the Ladies Auxiliary was established. The social club started holding public events, like Oktoberfest, in 1966, and in 1992, women were allowed to join as full members and the club was renamed German-American Club Gesangverein, Inc.

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The festival originated on Oct.12, 1810, in celebration of the marriage of the crown prince of Bavaria, who later became King Louis I, to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen, according to Britannica. It's traditionally held between mid-September and October. According to the encyclopedia entry, "a number of U.S. cities, particularly those with large German American populations, hold Oktoberfests modeled on the original in Munich … (and) feature beer and German food."

"Oktoberfest, it's open to the public," Sell told The Courier Journal. "We like to have many people here to celebrate German heritage. It's not only beer drinking, but we got good food, lots of camaraderie."

The annualevent attracts people from across the region, including many that are not of German descent. German American Club Board Member Joe Schweinhart, 74, expects about 2,000 people to attend the two-day festival.

"I've been here seven years and we are doing everything we can to preserve and enhance the history of the German American experience," Schweinhart said. "German heritage is the most important thing to us. Years ago, there used to be German communities and Irish and Swiss communities in downtown Louisville."

German heritage has strong roots in Louisville, with neighborhoods like Germantown and Schnitzelburg named after large German populations that settled in the area.

The two-day festival will feature a variety of traditional foods for sale, including German potato salad, green beans, sauerkraut balls, schweinshaxe (roasted pork knuckle), pretzels, spätzle (a mac-n-cheese vegetarian dish) and schnitzel (breaded pork chops), along with things like grilled bratwurst with sauerkraut and red cabbage.

And lots of beer.

"We've got a 20-tap cooler with German beer over here," Schweinhart said.

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The system allows for the German-American Club to serve beer at the best possible temperature and the kegs are stored in a walk-in refrigerator found behind the bar.

"There is better German beer here than you will find gathered in one place anywhere, and I would challenge anybody to find something that has more and better anywhere in the mid-west," Schweinhart said.

He added that he hopes Oktoberfest attendees buy beer ― by the pitcher ― during its biggest fundraiser, and even offered his own recommendations.

"Ayinger Brau Weisse beer and Rothaus Black Forest are two of my favorites," he said. "Rothaus Black Forest is brewed in the Black Forests of southern Germany, which, in my opinion, contributes to its great taste."

Entry tickets to the family-friendly festival are $5 and kids are free. Food will be for sale and drink tickets cost $2 each. The price of individual beer varies by type, style or variety. All proceeds go toward the German-American Club.

The annual Oktoberfest festival is organized by volunteers, many of whom have been members or affiliated with the club through their families for years.

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German-American Club Vice President Cathy Reynolds, 68, said that long-standing family affiliation remains strong and remembers several instances where people have pointed out their own family members in the photos and murals that line the walls of the social club.

"People have looked around and said things like, 'That's my great grandfather or my grandfather, or my grandmother,'" she said. "They'll look and then ask if they can come (inside) and look at all the pictures (because) they're looking for a family member that used to be (a club member)."

Reach Culture and Diversity Reporter Jason Gonzalez at jgonzalez1@gannett.com.

German American Club - Oktoberfest

WHAT: Oktoberfest, a two-day beer festival with traditional German food and live bands. No pets allowed.

WHERE: German American Club, 1840 Lincoln Ave.

WHEN: Sept. 9, 4-11 p.m., Sept. 10, 2 p.m. to midnight

COST: $5 per person each day, drink tickets are $2 each

MORE INFORMATION: facebook.com/GermanAmericanClub

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Inside Oktoberfest at the German American Club of Louisville