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Self-Sacrifice And Sense Of
Community
It happened often, that the Scheindorf
Swabians, through their 90-year work of
building, developed a special sense of
community. They were able, through sacrifice
and cooperation, to accomplish great works.
These virtues were evident in the ones who
stayed home as well as the ones who wandered
far and wide. They could never draw on
wealth, because their meager fields brought
only a small harvest. All the more, the
community facilities had to be protected,
which the previous generation built
themselves, because of love of community and
home. Building and rebuilding of the church,
the rectory and school, the cemetery chapel,
acquisition of the bells and organ,
supporting their own school, etc. demanded
enormous sacrifice. An example of the
creative work is explained in the following
account about the building of the German
cultural center:
In 1935, the German culture society in
Petrifeld acquired a house, which, through
alterations and additions, became the first
German cultural center. Scheindorf, the
first Swabian town in the area to return to
German traditions after World War I, decided
a year later to build a similar cultural
building. As so often before, this time
there was again an appeal to the generosity
of the townspeople both at home and
overseas. The "Americans" donated 60,000
Lei; the "Scheindorfers" raised 26,000 Lei.
Added to this was the tremendous effort of
the young people as well as the contribution
of 100 beech logs by the community. Because
the harvest time kept the adults busy and
the builders could not wait, the youth of
the area took part in the work of the
community. Thanks to the community sacrifice
and the hard work of all, it was possible to
officially open the cultural center on
November 11, 1936. Many people took part in
this memorable occasion, representatives of
nearby communities, several priests, and
also some Romanian friends. Everyone who was
at the grand opening, or saw the center
later, acknowledged the achievement of the
Scheindorf Germans. Particular merit was won
by Father Hans Muller with the building of
the cultural center.
[Credits,
Originally Published by Jody McKim Pharr at the DVHH.org 29 Sep 2006]
[Published by Sarah Coraggio
at the DVHH on 2 October 2018]
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Last
Updated:
13 Oct 2018 |
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