Look who has joined us this fall and winter! Welcome, neighbors and friends:

Kelly Jones

Pamela Ryan

Elaine& David Nagle

Megan Mirick & AJ  Weber

Elizabeth Werner

Ali Moallem

Michael Rourke & Rachel Milella

Sunny Cataland & Kelly Deibel

Kristin Graff & Tage Rosendahl

Jean-Marie Zeitouni

Shiloh & Dimiter Todorov

Diana Hausman

Harlin & Rebecca Robinson

Scott Motley

Margaret Branum

Nathan & Kaitlin Sockman

Richard & Pamela Thompson

Buzz Thomas

Michael & Claudia Fergang

Kristen Anderson

Arjun Beri

Cathi Jones

Nick Balow

Michelle Wong & Joe Halabi

Amanda Smoliniec & John Noble

David Muller & Laurie Arsenault

Rebecca Milnes

Jennifer Arthur

Linda Benson

Joe Kurzer

Stan & Kim Turner

Tara Hower

Jane Taylor

Debbie Harr

Gledhill, Robbins & Talis

Cross City Church

MAX the Salon, A Charles Penzone Salon

Winans Chocolates & Coffees

Skillet, Rustic.Urban.Food

FEBRUARY

Mid Winter Spaghetti Dinner, February 12, 2012 , 6 p.m. – Fest Hall, $7 per person. Kids are free! 

Villagers and friends, please join us for spaghetti, salad and bread provided by our friends at Village Coney. Bring your own beverages.  Reservations are a must.

MARCH

How does a Fun Committee Bowling Event at Wayne Webb sound for Sunday, March 25, 3-5 p.m.?  I’ve reserved lanes and space in the bar area.  Join us!

JUNE

German Village Night at Huntington Park – June 8

Celebrate German heritage and cheer the Clippers with your neighbors!

NOVEMBER

Chili Today, Hot Tamale!  November 11, 6 p.m. – Fest Hall $7 per person. Kids are free!

Chili and cornbread will be served for this fun, neighborhood autumn get-together.  Bring a salad or dessert to share.  Reservations are a must.

Mark your calendars now for our annual award celebration: Caretakers of a Legacy. It will be the evening of Thursday, May 3.

 

Each year, in celebration of Preservation Month, we honor three projects that are especially deserving of the name “Caretakers of a Legacy.” This Award program is co-sponsored by the German Village Society and Commission. Award winners are chosen by the German Village Commission in three categories: 

 

Please remember to mail or deliver the yellow postcard that came with your membership renewal letter. The postcard gives you an opportunity to edit and confirm your contact information in the upcoming two-year GVS membership directory. Members who do not return the card BY JANUARY 31 will not be listed in the directory. 

 

Also remember that new individual and household price levels are now in effect. Individual membership is $50 and household membership is $75. You may renew with the membership materials mailed to you or by visiting www.germanvillage.com. 

New for the near year — visit germanvillage.com on your smart phone for a completely new digital mobile experience to help you navigate one of Columbus’s oldest and most popular neighborhoods.

 

The site is outward facing – it is meant to help visitors navigate our businesses and our history on their own. Visitors can find maps to local businesses, follow their own historic walking tours and find event listings. This is perfect for the person who needs quick information concerning the German Village community on their mobile device. 

 

The site is based on the same “shop-dine-stroll” concept as the GVBusinessCommunity.com site. German Village Business Community is a committee of the German Village Society. Initial navigation on the mobile site includes the following categories: shop, dine, stroll, stay, services, events, donate.

 

Each storefront listing includes a photo, a short description and a map of where the business is and where you are.

 

The stroll sub-navigation includes: Tours, where users have the option to access each of the three walking tours as previously developed by the GVS Historic Preservation Committee.  Group tour information is also available; Parks contains information including GPS coordinates for each of the parks in the community; Architectural Details includes some of the most prominent details that embody the historic character of German Village -additionally, there will be photos and descriptions; and History is an abbreviated timeline of the German Village Society.

 

Also from the landing page, click “services” to find the nearest dentist, investment advisor, dry cleaner, church and more.

 

The site went into beta testing on Thanksgiving. It represents a big 21st century initiative for our 19th century neighborhood, showing once again how we blend the contemporary with the historic.

 

Nine volunteers led the committee that created the mobile site. They represented residents and business owners, plus board members and staff.

 

The mobile site was donated to the German Village Society by an anonymous donor, and built by that donor. Thank you!

A group of donors worked with professionals over the holidays to transform the Meeting Haus office space. New paint and flooring were added, along with glass doors for the office suite and the Scheurer Room. The space is more thoughtfully laid out now and the back office has been transformed into a Historic Preservation Room where the house files live and can be comfortably examined. We are still putting things back where they belong, but you should make plans to stop through and see for yourself soon!

 

Please remember to mail or deliver the yellow postcard that came with your membership renewal letter. The postcard gives you an opportunity to edit and confirm your contact information in the upcoming two-year GVS membership directory. Members who do not return the card will not be listed in the directory. 

 

Also remember that new individual and household price levels are now in effect. Individual membership is $50 and household membership is $75. You may renew with the membership materials mailed to you or by visiting www.germanvillage.com. 

Josie Merkle’s mother, Mary Jo Gockenbach, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 86. Her husband, Pete Gockenbach, was one of the first German Village Commission members, and as president of Dollar Savings, he made many loans to property owners who were acquiring or restoring their homes in German Village. Our heartfelt sympathy to Josie and her family.

German Village Veterinary Hospital is observing February’s National Pet Dental Health Month by offering specials on dental cleaning. In January and February, feline dental procedures are $15 off and canine dental procedures are $20 off. In addition, all pets who get a professional dental cleaning will be rewarded with a FREE home dental care item of your choice. (Up to a $19 value). Remember, Pets have teeth too!!
Leah Estrella, Office Manager
German Village Veterinary Hospital
1200 S. High St.
Columbus, OH 43206
(614)444-9696

Muse Gallery, at 188 E. Whittier St., apologizes to patrons who may have tried to stop by in the new year. A family emergency temporarily closed its doors, but it will be open today until 6 p.m., tomorrow and Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5. If you have any questions or need help with anything at all, please feel free to call Hali at 614-565-8813.

An exhibition of large landscape and oceanscape monoprints by Sandra Kight of Kight Studio 551 in German Village will be on display through February in the lobby gallery of Dinsmore & Shohl LLD, 191 Nationwide Boulevard West.  Small monoprints will be on display the month of January at the Marcia Evans Gallery in the Short North, 8 East Lincoln Street.  

 

Please note that the Meeting Haus and German VIllage Society offices will be closed from 4 p.m. tomorrow until 9 a.m. Tuesday, January 3. The GVS Board of Trustees and staff wish you and yours a wonderful holiday and look forward to seeing you in 2012!

Since the Society’s offices will be closed next week, there will NOT be a Neighbors4Neighbors Weekly Digest on December 29. If you have information you wish to share in the January 5 Weekly Digest, please email it to neighbors4neighbors@germanvillage.com by 5 p.m. on January 3 for inclusion. Thank you!

 

Please remember to mail or deliver the yellow postcard that came with your membership renewal letter. The postcard gives you an opportunity to edit and confirm your contact information in the upcoming two-year GVS membership directory. Members who do not return the card will not be listed in the directory. 

 

Also remember to take advantage of a 2011 tax deduction by renewing your membership before the end of the year!  You may renew with the membership materials mailed to you or by visiting www.germanvillage.com. 

German Village made a strong showing at Tuesday night’s Cooper Stadium special permit hearing before the Board of Zoning Adjustment, but the board voted unanimously to support turning the old baseball stadium into a racetrack and testing facility. German Village Society President Bill Case, who has been working closely with the developer as well as other dissenting voices, built a strong argument that he presented on Tuesday night. Case argued for our quality of life in the face of race or concert noise from the venue. Case asked six questions of the BZA regarding whether the developer’s voluntary testing alone should be the sole standard by which the city measures whether its noise ordinance is being violated. Several of Case’s well-reasoned questions were submitted by the BZA chair to the developer during the hearing.  In addition, several German Village Society members rose to speak against the special permit. The three-hour hearing lasted until nearly midnight. In an op-ed piece submitted to This Week Newspaper and posted on our blog, Past President Mike Yarbrough congratulates Case’s and others’ effort Tuesday. Here is the Dispatch’s report on the hearing.

We have wonderful home-baked and imported holiday cookie selections, as well as many other pastries such as traditional Yule Logs and wonderful Torten here at Juergens Bakery. We also have many imported chocolate novelties and treats as well as a fine selection of wine and beer. And of course, don’t forget the famous traditional Christmas Springerli – it’s the “crunchy little licorice cookie with the Big Bite”!  

  

~ Rosemarie Keidel 

Where else can you find Le Chateau du Bois fine lavender body products, U. Grazia Italian ceramics, Garnier-Thiebaut table linens, and authentic Polish pottery?  

The 11th Precinct Police Luncheon for this month will be today at 12:30 p.m. in the Schuerer Room of the German Village Meeting Haus. Topics such as strangers in the neighborhood going door to door, holiday packages alert and general crime analysis reports will be discussed. Residents are encouraged to attend these meetings in order to be well-informed and to thank our officers for a job well done. This valuable information will help us to act effectively to keep the Village safe.

 

~ Jerry Glick, GVS Civic Relations Committee

Director Shiloh Todorov had a chance to appear on the video page of ThisWeek Community Newspapers. Editor Neil Thompson asked Todorov about how her transition into the job is progressing, her ideas for 2012 and about the importance of historic preservation.  

Sunday was the final day for Visitor Center Sunday hours until April 1. Heartfelt thanks to all of our VC volunteers who put in more than 240 hours per month to welcome guests to German Village from all over the world!

The Central Ohio Watercolor Society closed its exhibition in Fest Hall on Tuesday. A silent auction winner was also announced for the Frank Webb painting “Sugar Shack.” Thanks to Russ Arledge for working with COWS to create the series of workshops and month-long exhibit. COWS will be back in Fest Hall for several years to come!

The Board of Zoning Adjustment is scheduled to take up the issue of Cooper Stadium and a proposal to make it into a racetrack. The meeting is Tuesday, December 20, at 6 p.m. at Public Hearing Room, 757 Carolyn Avenue. The public is welcome to be on hand and to speak at these meetings. The German Village Society will be represented. The Society has taken the following position: We are concerned that the noise from racing could carry into German Village and compromise our quality of life. The developer has said that sound won’t carry here, given the walls they plan to build, but how do we know for sure? We hope the BZA will do everything it can to impose conditions that will guarantee that no area, including German Village, will receive noise from the track.

Many German Village Business Community shops and restaurants are running holiday specials or staying open extra hours. Find more about how to Shop, Dine and Stroll with us here!

 

 

9. A gift card to any of the GVBC members ~ surely you know someone who has a pet, likes sweets, loves their outdoor space, likes to bowl, likes books, stained glass, imported or local gifts ~ need we say more?

8. A copy of Jody Graichen’s “Remembering German Village” ~ perfect for a new neighbor or one who has moved away, this collection of German VIllage history from the Society’s own go-to preservationist is an easy-reading lesson in local history.

7. Local art! German Village is abound with local art and artists ~ whether it is visual, wearable or anything in between, the galleries, shops and artists of German Village are at your disposal.

6. A one-of-a-kind Larry Hamill image, enshrined on a 2012 calendar ~ Esteemed German Village-based photographer Larry Hamill is about to unveil is 2012 calendar, and starting today you can buy them in the German Village Visitor Center at 588 S. Third Street. Hamill’s calendars will be $10 each.

5. A donation to the Arboretum Fund in Schiller Park ~ perfect for the tree-hugger or park-lover in all of us and a lasting legacy for the tree-huggers and park-lovers of the future.

4. A bench in Schiller Park ~ for those of a more contemplative nature, the gift of a dedicated bench in Schiller Park would enhance our public space while providing a place of calm amid the Village’s hustle and bustle.

3. The promise that you’ll treat a non-Villager-friend to a day of Village living ~ whether it means bringing a friend down for an “everyday” in the Village, or treating them to a ticket to the 52nd Annual Haus und Garten Tour, PreTour dinner or a special gift at Mother May I, giving the gift of the Village can come in any way you please.

2. Your time ~ the Society always welcomes new volunteers for shifts in the Visitor Center, special events, any of the “Friends” groups, our committees, mailings and more and to us, your time is priceless.

1. A membership to the German Village Society of course! Who wouldn’t appreciate the good work our nonprofit does for Columbus’ premiere historic district and American Planning Association-recognized Great Neighborhood? And don’t forget, the cost of membership is tax deductible. 

Christie Angel Joining Mayor’s Office to Oversee External Affairs and Services 

Christie Angel will join Mayor Michael B. Coleman’s office as Deputy Chief of Staff for external affairs and services. Angel will replace Deputy Chief of Staff Greg Davies, who will begin as director of the Department of Public Utilities Monday. Angel served as Coleman’s legislative aide when he served on City Council and served as deputy chief of staff for internal operations during Coleman’s first term. Angel also chaired the Columbus Police Chief Nominating Council in 2009. She returns to City Hall in this expanded role after having served as director of government and external affairs for AT&T Ohio and as a vice president for Sean P. Dunn & Associates.

“In her capacities both inside and outside city government, I have been benefiting from Christie’s wisdom and expertise for two decades now,” Mayor Coleman said. “Working with Mike Reese, Sherry Kish and our entire team, Christie will be an outstanding addition to our team.”

The role of Deputy Chief of Staff Sherry Kish will be expanded to encompass oversight of internal operations. Kish was promoted to deputy chief of staff in 2010. 

Many Villagers are keenly aware that the GermanVillage Garten Club has once again achieved an incredible number of successes with the focus being on the Club’s mission. Some initiatives have raised funds, some have educated and entertained us and some have stopped visitors in their tracks because of the floral beauty and creativity.  Where would the Village be today without the good people that belong to and/or support the Garten Club plus the “granddaddy” of private historic districts in America, the GermanVillage Society? 

 

Please remember — during your year-end review of dollars, you may personally have available some funds to donate before 2011 comes to an end. And remember that the Garten Club is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization as of two years ago.  Your “extra dollars” would be most welcome.  Donations may be sent to the GermanVillage Garten Club, c/o Jim Plunkett, Treasurer, P.O. Box 6489, Columbus43206. 

 

The Club’s mission is “…to promote quality educational programs and active participation in community service, while growing friendships and gardens in a historical setting.” The Club achieves this and so much more.  

 

~ Carol Porter, GVGC 

Katzinger’s is bursting with holiday gift ideas from gift baskets loaded with all kinds of goodies, to that one inimitable bottle of aged balsamic vinegar. Visit our website, where you can purchase gift baskets and gift cards online. 

 

Our catering menu or special holiday menu will give you lots of ideas how to feed your hungry family and guests with very little trouble to you. Need a last minute deli tray to feed the office? Who needs trouble at holiday time? Not You! Let us do the work. 

 

Chanukah is, of course, all about latkes.  Crisp, sumptuous and so easy to reheat, latkes make your Chanukah meal authentic. We recommend you call ahead (614.228.3354) to order more than six. 

We all know gold coins (or Chanukah gelt) are a Chanukah tradition. Today the gold coin is usually made of chocolate – difficult to spend but delightful to eat. Katzinger’s has the classiest gelt from Lake Champlain Chocolates of Vermont. Thick luscious coins of milk, dark and mint chocolate, they are the perfect way to end your Chanukah meal.

 

Back to Chanukah gelt.  We aren’t sure where the tradition came from but we like this and think it transcends all religions and cultures:

 

“When we light our menorahs, we must look closely at those tiny flames and contemplate the world of potential. Where others see darkness, we are called to see light. We need to look at our children, look beyond the problems and the quarrels, and see potential. We need to look at one another, beyond the faults and the foibles, and see potential. We need to look at life, beyond all the pain and struggles, and see potential. We need to look at our people, beyond the divisions and the hatred, and see potential. In everything we encounter, we need to look beneath the surface, to discover the soul, and to realize our ultimate potential. That’s Chanukah gelt.“ 

Adapted from “Chanukah – Eight Nights of Light, Eight Gifts for the Soul,” by Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf. 

 

Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas and may you find pleasure in whatever you celebrate. 

Our tapestry bags have arrived!  

 

Our original order of tapestry handbags from Royal Tapisserie went so fast, we had to place another order so we would have some for the holidays. They are straight from Paris and as before, they are selling out of the shipping carton! Visit http://www.caterinaltd.com/ to learn more!

 

 

Join us tonight from 6- 9 p.m. for an artist reception for Levent Isik. Levent’s work is a great price range for Christmas presents or for yourself. Stop by the opening to meet Levent and check out his cool new works! Hurry in, they are going fast!

 

Extended gallery hours December 19-23 from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.

96 S. Grant Ave.

December 17

11 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Ages 2-6

Main Library

96 S. Grant Ave.

December 17

1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

1777 E. Broad St.

Columbus, OH 43203

Franklin Park Conservatory
1777 E. Broad St.

Columbus, OH 43203

Creativity has no limits in the 5th annual amateur Gingerbread Competition. All ages can participate and prize winners are awarded in each category. Download a registration form here!