By Bill Piervincenzi

Don Liddle, along with brother Doug, demonstrates how to make a pump log

Long before the parade started, volunteers were busy setting up the kitchen so they could serve a delicious bratwurst and German potato salad luncheon. Outside, Kaela Pollack, an enterprising six-year old, sat behind her makeshift lemonade stand, selling lemonade for a quarter a cup. The parade started and in no time, the tavern was treated to a visit by Harley Quinn, riding on a solar powered electric scooter, dressed as the Sun King.

Near the driveway, Doug and Donny Liddle set up a contrivance demonstrating how a pump log was made. Anyone who wanted to try it got a turn twisting the auger to hollow out the log. Under the tree next to the bank, Margie Haugeto showed how to spin wool with a drop spindle, while country music played from a nearby boom box. When lunch time came, crowds gathered as the smell of bratwurst roasting on a grill, manned by Frank Hartung, proved irresistible. Inside, two genuine Bavarians, Eva and Norbert Kloiber, lent authenticity to the whole experience. Norbert kept up a steady stream of good natured patter as he tapped the keg of draft beer, with all the expertise of a German Gasthaus proprietor.

Visitors toured the tavern and learned about the role of Andes in the anti-rent wars. Several joined the Andes Society for History and Culture after learning about its mission. Later in the afternoon, Jim Andrews gave a walking tour of Andes. He is a very precious resource for our community. His breadth of knowledge about Andes’ history makes him indispensable to the society and the community. The afternoon ended with the drawing for the raffle. Judy Bauer walked off with the one hundred dollar first prize. Everyone had a great time. As the day wound down, people offered suggestions on how to make it even better next year. ~