DEUTSCHESFEST - THEN & NOW

By Sara Dirks

Beer is what started it all! And it also seems to have led to Odessa’s longest running tradition, Deutschesfest.

It’s always interesting taking a walk down memory lane. Sometimes it’s not your memories being shared but you can picture the scene all the same. Deutschesfest was started 17 years before I was born, however I’ve had the pleasure of growing up in Odessa and knowing so many of the individuals who spearheaded the festival. With the help of Jim Walter’s granddaughter, Kaci King, and Paul Hopp’s friends, Barbara and Kaleb Walter, I’ve taken a walk down memory lane through the recollections these gentlemen have shared of the early years of Deutschesfest.

Many have heard the story of that first Deutschesfest in 1971 when the beer ran out much too early, but what came before the kegs were tapped? The idea had to come from somewhere, and according to Jim Walter, that happened during an Odessa Chamber of Commerce meeting at the Odessa bowling alley. From a 1993 edition of The Odessa Record, the idea came from a young man named John DuPree. Walter said that he was the one who brought up the idea and, “it just steamrolled from there.”

Before any action could be taken, research needed to be done. In came trips to Leavenworth, WA and Mount Angel, OR to review their Oktoberfest celebrations. “We had been talking about Leavenworth. We even tried to get people to do their buildings in Bavarian style, like they did in Leavenworth, but that didn’t get very far.  We saw how they were bringing folks in with their festival, and wanted to see if we could do something similar,” recalls Jim Walter. Additionally, Paul Hopp, the first Biergarten Chairman in 1971 (and served again in 1974), remembers how the idea of having a beer hall came about. “In Germany they had a beer garden thing so we thought why can’t we? They had theirs in October but we decided to do ours in September because October is so cold – we wanted it warmer. We also decided to call ours Deutsches Fest from the beginning (in 1991 officially becoming Deutschesfest). A group of us would get together and drink beer and come up with ideas to get it started.” This group consisted largely of chamber of commerce members, and heavily involved individuals such as Paul Hopp, Jim Walter, and the late Ralph Heimbigner and Laurence Libsack. Of the late Laurence Libsack, a 1995 edition of The Odessa Record states that he very well “could qualify for the title of Mr. Deutschesfest,” and Paul Hopp remembers Ralph Heimbigner being, “so involved that when we added onto the [community center] building it was named for him.”

From their various research trips, along with the history of Odessa’s German-Russian founders, Deutschesfest became a quick institution for this little town. Now entering it’s 51st year, there are key elements that were started in 1971 that you’ll still find at this year’s celebration, including of course the beer. Sausage has also always been a staple for the festival, and other delicious treats have stood the test of time: apple strudel, kraut ranzas, reuben sandwiches, and more.

In addition to the food and drink, the parade has been a staple for the festival even as the participants have ebbed and flowed. “The parade used to be huge.  The Spokane Lilac Festival and the Wenatchee Apple Blossom Festival would send their floats and there would be what seemed like 30 floats. It went on forever,” recalls Jim Walter. Paul Hopp has long enjoyed the bed races, shows, singing and activities for the crowds in what used to be grandstands, but can now be found at the Outdoor Stage.

From the very beginning it was a community effort, and that has never changed. As Paul Hopp recalls, “It wasn’t much of a challenge getting people involved.” Jim Walter echoed that, “We all worked in town together and we’d meet together to work. Twenty guys would show up and we’d get it done.” That seemed to be a theme not only with getting Deutschesfest off the ground, but also seeing it grow. Hopp reminisced about those early years when it grew so large so quickly, that they needed somewhere new to house the Biergarten. “Somehow or another, we got to drinking beer and next thing you know we were gonna build a new place for the city clerk’s office and Deutschesfest. There were a couple of buildings there and we tore everything down and built the new building [for Deutschesfest] to make it bigger,” Hopp remembers. Between the time of the first Deutschesfest in 1971 when they ran out of beer, to now, the town has seen the hub of Deutschesfest occupy a few different spaces as it grew.

“In the beginning, the [old building] was plumb full, but it was about the size of one half of the Old Town Hall.  We started to see big growth when we added the Biergarten,” Walter said. After using a few old parking garages, the community center getting built in 1973 as a new home for the Deutschesfest Biergarten was a welcomed addition! Even still, space continued to run out, much like the beer and food. After years of utilizing a tent for added space, then came the annex built onto the north side of the building. Today, you’ll find fencing extending from the community center for the Deutschesfest Biergarten to include outdoor seating for a place often found busting at the seams.

As for the community, there’s no shortage of activities, to-dos and shifts to fill for all of the volunteers. This work starts months before September and runs all through the long weekend. Many locals have been volunteering from that very first celebration and continue the tradition with their children and grandchildren! An example of a few generations taking their turn at the helm include this year’s Biergarten Chairman, Shelby (Smith) Whitman. Her mother, Tami Smith, was the Biergarten Chairman in 2004, 2007 and 2017, and her grandfather, Ed Deife, was the Biergarten Chairman in 1975 and 1976. 

When asked what he was most proud of for Deutschesfest, 1972 Biergarten Chairman Jim Walter expressed his appreciation for the continuation of the festival and keeping things local. “[It’s] a 50-year event. That it’s still going.  Evelyn Weber was in charge of food and we wanted it to stay local.  She kept it under control and organized. That’s what we wanted. Church ladies did their things and we kept others from horning in on their (the church ladies) specialties.” This also leads to Walter’s favorite memory of Deutschesfest, “Holding it together. That it stayed as we wanted and expanded. And it was great when we could expand it to include the school and the school kids/organizations.” And of course, that inaugural Fest memory, running out of beer. But for the ones who were there, it went a little something like this…“I think it was the first year and we had to guess how much beer we’d need. But at 10pm one of the men came up to me and said, ‘Jim, we’re running out of beer.’  You don’t run out of beer with those guys.  That’s a no-no.  We sent people to Moses Lake and Ritzville with money in their pockets to get what they could.”

Jim’s wife June shared her favorite memory as, “being picked as Parade Marshals the same year our granddaughter Katie was in the parade on the Ritzville float.” There is so much rich history in Odessa and for the traditions of Deutschesfest, but it really spans so much wider than just this little town.

As Laurence Libsack had said back in 1995 for the 25th anniversary of Deutschesfest, “Most of the Fest’s institutions have been a part of the celebration since its inception. The Biergarten, of course, has always been the central attraction. [The Flea Market (now Street Fair) has been in continuous operation.] Bake sales and food booths are still operated by their original sponsors, in most instances.” From the 1st, to the 25th, to the 51st, I think it’s safe to say that these key institutions continue to operate as central attractions for the annual Deutschesfest celebration. Attendance may have peaked in 1978 at 20,000 attendees, but those who venture into our slice of Eastern Washington will find a festival that is as much a celebration of our town’s ancestral history as it is generations carrying on the legacies set forth by the founders of the festival that is near and dear to our hearts. Prost!

Interviews conducted by Kaci King with Jim Walter, and Barbara and Kaleb Walter with Paul Hopp. Additional quotes taken from The Odessa Record in 1993 and 1995.