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Vol. 5, No. 1 – Winter/Spring 2015 Editor & Publisher Walter Swett The Dixie Steiners held their first meeting of the year on March 7, 2015 and would like to thank Rich Howard and Penny Buckingham for hosting our group. There were 13 members in attendance. The following items of business were addressed: Our next meeting will be on June 20, 2015 starting at 2:00 PM at the Swett’s in Fayetteville, GA. For those who would like to participate, following the meeting we grill some burgers and dogs. To cover the expenses, there will be a $5/person charge for those wishing to stay and eat. Please RSVP to wms2905@aol.com by June 15th. If you need directions, please note that in your response. There will be a steins for sale table, show and tell/ask and Randy is working on a presentation. Walter Swett was selected as the new Treasurer to replace Michael Knauthe as a result of Michael and Petra’s move to Florida. Michael left some big shoes to fill and we hope to see them both at one of our future meetings. Don Franz volunteered to represent the Dixie Steiners at the 2015 SCI Convention. The group voted to join the Carolina Steiners in their meeting on November 7th, 2015 to help them celebrate their 20th Anniversary. Carolina Steiners’ President Angela Strack is organizing the meeting. It will be held at the Country Inn & Suites, Helen, GA where a block of rooms has been reserved at $75/night plus taxes. Angela has arranged for the meal to be catered by The Old Bavaria Inn at $45/person which covers appetizers to desserts as well as authentic German music. Angela has also arranged for SCI member Ron Fox to be one of the guest speakers. This is a meeting you will not want to miss, so call Judy or Dana at the Country Inn & Suites – 706-878-9000 to book your room and to get your special rate, tell them you are with the Carolina Steiners. Additional details will be published as they become available. We hope everyone will breakout their dirndels and lederhosen, or their best German attire, and join us in the celebration. As usual, show and tell/ask brought some interesting items for discussion. Jim Surber brought in two sets of matched regimental steins. Jim described how lucky he was to find the mates to both of his regimentals in just a few short weeks. One he located in a local antique store, and the second he found on eBay from a seller in California.

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The first pair belonged to Reservists Klös and Bauer II from the 5th Grand Ducal Hessian Infantry Regiment No. 168, 6th Company, Offenbach, for the period of 1899 - 1901. Jim explained the Roman Numeral designation was added when there were multiple soldiers assigned to the unit with the same last name in order to distinguish them from each other. In this case there were two Reservists by the name of Bauer assigned to the unit. They were identified on the roster as Bauer I and Bauer II. The inscription across the top of the steins reads “Brüder Stoßt die Gläser an hoch lebe der Reservemann”, which translates to “Brother toast to the long life of a reservist”. The stein to the left belonged to Reservist Klös while the one on the right belonged to Bauer II.

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The second set Jim shared was from the 4th Infantry Regiment King Wilhelm von Württemberg, 8th Company, Metz. These steins were named to Private (Gefreiter) Rinder and Reservist Buchner who served in the unit between 1907 and 1909. Although from the same period, close examination shows a few minor variances in the application of the transfers. The stein on the left belonged to Rinder and the one on the right was Buchner’s.

The front scene is of the City of Metz with images of the Germans’ Gate and the Prince Friedrich Karl Kaserne on the sides. Below one can see the variance in the applied transfers.

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Rich Howard shared a couple unique examples – a ¼ liter Mettlach form 2189, advertising mug

from Cuba and a natural burl stein believed to be from the Black Forest area of Germany.

Randy Satterfield shared his stein with what appears to be Egyptian characters designed by Adolf Hengeler with a bowling lid by Brüder Thannhauser.

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The verse shown in the photograph above is the 5th verse of the song Im Schwarzen Walfisch

zu Askalon (In the Black Whale of Ascalon) by Josef Victor von Scheffel, written in 1854.The verse translates to:

In the black whale of Ascalon The clock struck three-thirty

The house servant from Nubia Tossed the stranger out the door

This song was a popular beer drinking song by German university students. Additional information on Hengeler can be found at http://www.steinmarks.co.uk/pages/pv.asp?p=stein735 and for Thannhauser go to http://www.steinmarks.co.uk/pages/pv.asp?p=stein258. Randy also showed his Mettlach 3200, an etched stein depicting the Heidelberg Castle.

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Walter shared his lidless stein from Heeresgruppe Kronprinz Rupprecht von Bayern - Army Group

Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria - Rupprecht

was born in 1869 and was the heir to the Bavarian

crown. At the outbreak of WWI, Rupprecht was

named commander of the German Sixth Army

which was deployed to Lorraine in anticipation of a

French attack. On August 14, 1914, the French

launched their offensive. Rupprecht feigned a

retreat luring the French into a trap where he

counter attacked. Rupprecht was promoted to Field

Marshal in 1916 and placed in command of the

northern group of armies renamed "Army Group

Crown Prince Rupprecht". Many consider

Rupprecht as the best Royal Commander of the

era. Following WWI and the subsequent German

Revolution, Rupprecht lost his inheritance to the

Bavarian throne. Rupprecht opposed the rise of the

Nazis and in 1938 fled to Italy where he remained

in exile throughout the war. Rupprecht evaded

capture by the Nazis, but his wife and children

were not as lucky. They were arrested and placed

in concentration camps where they remained until

they were freed by the Allies. Rupprecht died in

1955.

Negotiations at the Steins for Sale table - always a great deal to be made.

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Don Strack and Rich Howard did a joint presentation on the Munich Child. In addition to

providing a variety of steins and “go-withs” featuring this famous Munich symbol, they provided

an overview of her history.

The figure first appeared as a seal on official documents dating to May 28, 1239 as a monk, dressed in black, holding a red book in the left hand and an outstretched, open right hand. By the 19th Century the image had transformed into a youthful figure and became known as the “Münchner Kindl” or Munich Child. In the 1920s the Munich Child was represented as a young girl. The City of Munich adopted a version of the Munich Child in 1957 as the city’s coat-of-arms.

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As shown on the designs of the two steins above, the Munich Child can take on a variety of

appearances and is depicted in many situations much different than those shown on the early

seals. She is now found on items ranging from manhole covers to beer steins, thumb lifts,

mustard pots and figurines, some of which are better looking than others.

Mustard pot Cute figurine …

Not so cute figurine… Thumb lift

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Jim Surber with his 4th Inf. Regimental steins – Don and Loretta Franz

Gabriele Swett Arnold Frenzel

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Tom Marone and Beth Foster Randy Satterfield

WANTED: New members for the Dixie Steiners. If you know someone that might be interested,

please share this newsletter with them.

WANTED: Articles for inclusion in future issues. Do you have a favorite stein or story you would

like to share? Send them to Walter Swett at wms2905@aol.com.

Visit the Dixie Steiners Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Dixie-

Steiners/169519776400162

Don’t forget to call Judy or Dana at the Country Inn & Suites – 706-878-9000 to book you room

and to get your special rate, for the November 7th, 2015 Carolina Steiners’ 20th Anniversary

Celebration. There will be a great program, food and fellowship, and of course an opportunity to

buy some fantastic steins. We look forward to seeing you in Helen, Georgia in November.