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A Remembrance of the Past; Building for the Future." ~ Eve Eckert Koehler



Remembering Our Danube Swabian Ancestors
     
 

Church Appliances

by Dr. Viktor Pratscher
Translated by Brad Schwebler, 2003

    In 1835 the community bought a collection bag, which brought in 15 Florints, 4 Kreuzer in the first year.  In the following year a small bell for it was received for about 30 Kreuzer.  It is noticed that for the offertory a separate ledger was kept, but unfortunately this booklet does not exist anymore.  Until the '70's it was the duty of the church elders to go from pew to pew with the collection bags during the first hymn to collect the offertory.  With the acquisition of the collection box, the collection bags disappeared from all the Evangelical communities.  For community purposes the collection box contained in 1931: 4,972 Dinar, in 1932: 4,269 Dinar, in 1933: 3,539 Dinar, in 1934: 2,831 Dinar, in 1935: 3,196 Dinar.  Total: 18,507 Dinar.  For the community's poor the collection box had in 1931: 1,252 Dinar, in 1932: 1,390 Dinar, in 1933: 1,136 Dinar, in 1934: 995 Dinar, in 1935: 710 Dinar.  Total: 5,483 Dinar brought in.  Earlier an offertory box of the Gustav Adolf Association was put in for the beautiful purpose of the Diaspora and would also like to pass this honor to today's community.  There can be no more beautiful memorial to the greatest heroes of the Evangelical church as that for the dispersed poor who would be brought help in their Evangelical beliefs, overcome with joy in his name, who had come from distant Sweden out of great necessity, urged ancestors to win their help. - At the time 5% of the offertory money was intended for the Gustav Adolf Association.

   The first communion goblet was purchased in 1836 for 13 Florints, 40 Kronen.  A second goblet was bought in 1853 for 75 Florints in Viennese currency and was made of bronze.

          It is still worth mentioning that the Germans did not prefer the corner homes.  So where Germans live far and wide on the street, of the four corner homes at the street crossing there is not a single German home.  On the main street this is not the case.  Although the streets never had official German names, the following street names were generally used by the Germans: Hauptgasse (Main Street), Neue (New) or Jammergasse (Misery Street), Äußerste Reihe (Outermost Row), Kirchengasse (Church Street), Apothekegasse (Pharmacy Street), Herrengasse (Gentlemen Street), Postgasse (Post Office Street), Deutschländergasse (German Street), and Friedhofgasse (Cemetery Street).  A genuine German quarter was over in the Bara situated in the "Banat."  Formerly there was also a "rich corner" but this title is no longer used today because unfortunately they have lost their right to use it.  12*

[Published at DVHH.org 2003 by Jody McKim Pharr]

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