In two years, the United States of America will celebrate its 250th birthday. Last month, a group of Monroe County residents visited a village in Germany which boasts five times as much history.

A total of 14 residents from Maeystown, Waterloo and Columbia were on hand to celebrate the 1,250th anniversary of Bellheim, Germany, where many emigrants to Maeystown lived prior to the 1850s.

Bellheim is located on the western edge of central Germany, close to the northeastern border of France, with Frankfurt being the closest major city. 

The Monroe County contingent came as three groups which converged during a three-day Jubiläumsfest Aug. 23-25 to celebrate the founding of Bellheim in 874.

David Braswell of Maeystown said the village was invited to the celebration about two years ago due to the four or five families who left Germany for the U.S. in 1852 and ended up in Maeystown.

David and his wife Marcia joined a group of eight other Monroe County visitors in Bellheim. After the Bellheim trip, the Braswells spent time in Hasslach, a village 17 miles away which is home to the ancestors of Braswell and others in the Maeystown, Red Bud and Mascoutah areas.

The other members of that group also visited Hasslach, but the rest of their trip after Bellheim included a tour of the whole of Germany, with stops in Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Dresden, Nuremberg, the Alps and a boat tour of the Rhine River.

The tour was planned through the work of Braswell and Maeystown native Joyce Kuergeleis. During the post-Bellheim trip, the Monroe County group spent time with 30 other international tourists, including citizens of Canada and Australia.

Shirley Asselmeier of Columbia and three of her relatives were also in Bellheim, but they were special guests of the village and resident of Klaus Schaeffner.

Shirley’s late husband David Asselmeier was contacted in 2011 by a chance email from Schaeffner, who was researching Bellheim’s relation to Maeystown.

The pair made a connection which resulted in a group from Bellheim visiting Maeystown in 2015.

Unfortunately, David Asselemeier passed before being able to meet Schaffner in person, but the relationship has grown in the past 14 years, with the most recent trip marking Shirley’s fifth trip to Germany. 

During the anniversary parade, Shirley, along with her son David “Buzz” Asselmeier and Joe and Judy Asselmeier, enjoyed a special seat on a “reviewing stand” along with four citizens of Poland and four citizens of France, all of whom have ancestral connections to Bellheim.

Braswell and Asselmeier both said the parade was the highlight of the trip.

“It was something else,” Shirley said. “They passed beer around.” 

She also noted that, unlike Monroe County parades, there were no lawn chairs set up to save spots on the parade route.

Shirley described the parade, saying it “began with an old man on a bicycle ringing a bell.” 

Many of the floats featured farmers showing off their produce. One threw hot potatoes from his float while others threw carrots and wooden spatulas.

Shirley said there were several community bands in the parade along with “tons of wine queens,” or representatives of different area organizations and companies.

She also recalled a fire brigade in the middle of the parade which threw buckets of water and “so many tractors,” adding that horses were not included because the narrow streets would present safety issues.

Braswell also noted the parade was “huge” and organizers blocked off the center of town.

The Asselmeiers spent about five days in Bellheim and also toured destinations with a family connection.

She said the most recent trip was “wonderful” and the locals were “friendly,” and she was impressed with “the way they took care of us.”

The other group was also given special attention during their stay in Bellheim. 

Kim Keckritz of Waterloo said the Monroe County contingent was “treated like royalty.”

Braswell recalled the group attending a “special meal” the morning of Aug. 24 featuring weisswurst (white sausage), pretzels, cheesecake and other regional foods.

After a trip to the Bellheim Museum, Braswell said they were treated to a “second breakfast” which was “wonderful.”

Another highlight for the group was a trip to a church in Hassloch where many ancestors of the Monroe Countians were members.

There was a little excitement on Aug. 25, as one of the group lost her footing on a cobblestone street and needed medical attention.

Braswell, as the group’s translator, assisted a doctor with first aid and then traveled to a nearby village with Kim’s husband Brock Keckritz driving.

Braswell said the lady was able to get stitches and they were back to Bellheim in 2.5 hours – just in time to attend an ecumenical church service with the group.

After leaving the Braswells, the group spent the next week and a half sightseeing and touring the country. 

Kim Keckritz was able to get a special photo during a visit to Schweinfurt, where her father Bill Rahn was stationed while enlisted in the U.S. Army. 

Kim, who was born in Germany, recreated a picture in which she stood in front of a house her mother had been photographed in front of while pregnant with Kim. 

While there were plenty of memories and personal connections made on the recent trip, it will surely not be the last. 

While the delegations from France and Poland were part of an official Sister Cities relationship, Maeystown does not have an official connection with that area of Germany.

Asselmeier said she would like it to stay that way, as she believes an official Sister Cities formation would only detract from what makes the connections personal.

There is a banner commemorating the 1,250th anniversary of Bellheim currently hanging on the outside of the Maeystown Preservation Society Rock Mill. 

It was given to Braswell during a visit to Hasslach two years ago. It will be on display during the Maeystown Oktoberfest next Sunday, Oct. 13.