![]() ![]() ![]() In 1908, after his stint in Nazareth, Reisdorff moved 30 miles up the road to Umbarger. Subscribe to Texas Highways German Sausage Festival, Umbarger “It’s a lot of work and takes a community effort to get it all done,” Olvera says. Most of the residents of Nazareth grew up there and understand what it takes to pull off the jam-packed day of events. Residents of the town make the rest of the food, including the coveted German chocolate cake. The sausage is usually made by Keeter’s Meat Company in Tulia, using a special recipe that’s been in place since the first festival in Nazareth. “It’s geared more toward the 25-to-35 crowd.” “It’s usually a different crowd for Suds N Sounds,” Olvera says. The sausage festival started in 1972, and the concert was added in the late 1980s. He’s also one of the organizers of the annual German Sausage Festival and Suds N Sounds country music concert. Matt Olvera has spent most of his life in Nazareth and runs MO Supply downtown. Like he’d done in Windthorst and Rhineland, Reisdorff took out ads in Midwestern German-Catholic newspapers, encouraging settlers to move to Nazareth, where farmland was plentiful and affordable. Reisdorff brought four farmers with him to the vast and windy plains of the Panhandle. “We had some folks from Windthorst over and they said they came for the fried chicken,” Rhineland native Janet Dillard says. Guests can dine on handmade pork sausage, sauerkraut, green beans, mashed potatoes, salad, desserts, and of course, the famous fried chicken made by the Knights and community members. The fundraiser meals take place in October and March, with proceeds from the October event going to the Knights of Columbus and proceeds from the March event going toward the church. Last year’s sausage festivals attracted people from surrounding towns such as Munday, Knox City, Seymour, and Haskell, but also as far as Lubbock, Abilene, Wichita Falls, and Dallas-Fort Worth. Joseph’s parish serves about 150 families, most of whom live on farms or in nearby towns. Today, Rhineland, about 80 miles southwest of Wichita Falls, only counts about 50 residents, but St. A sign on the highway reads, “A Cathedral in a Cotton Patch.” Joseph’s Catholic Church remains the anchor of the community with its stained glass windows and ornate artwork. He named the town after the Rhine Valley, his home in Germany. Reisdorff’s next stop became Knox County, where he purchased 12,000 acres to be sold to German-Catholic farmers. The Bevy of side dishes served includes potatoes, rolls, green beans, and sauerkraut Rhineland Sausage and Fried Chicken Dinner, Rhineland “We’re still very much a German-Catholic community,” Schroeder says. Parishioners also contribute ribs, sauerkraut, green beans, and salad. The handmade pork sausage recipe was perfected by late Knights of Columbus member Oliver Koetter, and after he died, the torch was passed to his two sons. “People around here mark their calendars with those dates,” says Debbie Schroeder, a city secretary who was born and raised in Windthorst. Windthorst has two sausage festivals put on by the Knights of Columbus, an international Catholic fraternal service association, on the first Sundays of December and March. Every man returned, and their names are displayed in the grotto, which serves as a testament to faith during hard times. During World War II, 64 servicemen from Windthorst sent portions of their pay home to finance the structure. The church can be spotted from miles away, perched atop the highest point in Archer County.Īt the base of the church is a grotto and shrine that opened in 1950. The town of about 400 is surrounded by rolling green pastures and tin-roof barns. Reisdorff’s first stop in Texas was in Windthorst, about 30 miles south of Wichita Falls, where he founded St. “We’re all connected by him,” says Annelle Welch, a Rhineland native who helps run the local sausage festival.ĭining on hot links, sauerkraut, and sweets among these friendly small-town folks reveals a sincere appreciation for this little-known part of Texas history and the turn-of-the-century German-Catholic priest who relied on sheer will and a dream. While Reisdorff doesn’t have a direct link to sausages or these events, it’s undeniable that his influence-even nearly a century after his death-is still palpable in these five communities. Today, these communities gather annually and biannually to celebrate their German heritage and Catholic faith with sausage festivals that raise funds for local churches and towns. These were places for German-Catholic immigrants to call their own, where they could farm, live, and worship. ![]() In three decades, Father Joseph Reisdorff established five towns across North Texas and the Panhandle-Windthorst, Rhineland, Nazareth, Umbarger, and Slaton. Louis, Missouri, to Texas for the drier climate. In December 1891, a Catholic priest moved from St. ![]()
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