Multifaceted potato roasting in Goddelsheim
Lichtenfels-Goddelsheim – When the enticing aroma of fried potatoes fills the entire old village center of Goddelsheim on a Sunday morning shortly before the start of autumn, it means the traditional potato roast is in full swing.
After the harvest festival service in the beautifully decorated church, Reinhard Weber, chairman of the association for the preservation of old cultural heritage, opened the festival. This year's motto was: "Freuer woor vielles better, saugar de Zukunft!" (Fire was much better, even the future!).
Weber described how this simultaneously unites longing for the past, criticism of the present, and hope for the future. Regarding the aspect of the past, Weber referred in particular to the recently collected memoirs of older residents of Goddelsheim, as well as to the new, digitized formats featuring historical documents. In conclusion, he emphasized that despite the different challenges faced by each generation, one thing is crucial: "That we do not pit time against each other (...) and that, despite all the difficulties, we can move forward together with confidence."
The success of this community spirit in Goddelsheim was evident throughout the entire festival day: In the community center and on the festival grounds below the church, over 100 volunteers of several generations worked hand in hand. The village women offered their guests freshly prepared potato specialties. At the same time, volunteers at the dessert counter in the community hall invited everyone to sample the huge, tempting selection of over 50 cakes and tarts.
Tradition was on display not only in the museum barn. Marc Emde and his cousin Jeremy Schlinke had brought along their grandfather's apple press. They demonstrated how apple juice was made in the old days, and the festival visitors were immediately allowed to taste it.
Patrick Scriba and Fabian Hegel baked 100 loaves of bread in the community center's wood-fired oven on the night before the festival, using the recipe of the former village baker, August. Anyone wanting to get their hands on one of these loaves, "which taste like they used to," had to hurry on Sunday, such was the demand.
Throughout the day, the women's choir "TonArt Goddelsheim", the MGV "Liedertafel" and the young brass players entertained their audience in the church with a colorful selection of folk songs and modern melodies.
Fritz Grosche's dialect version of "Im Tal, wo ich geboren bin" (In the valley where I was born) was particularly well received by the Liedertafel choir. Much merriment was then provided by the "Sketches op Platt" (Sketches in Low German), in which the village gossips Frieda (Karola Greisler) and Erna (Bärbel Schaake) exchanged the latest rumors.
At the same time, the youngest festival visitors could romp around on the straw bale climbing mountain in the children's area by the historic cellar vault, have their colorful animal faces painted or take a ride on the carousel.
The highlight of the festival was the late afternoon performance of Reinhard Weber's play "Freuer woor vielles better, saugar de Zukunft!" (Fire was much better, even the future!) in the church. Although in Goddelheim almost only the older generation still speaks the local dialect, all the seats were filled with people of all ages. In the evening, chief organizer Weber was delighted with the large turnout, both for the performance and for the festival as a whole. He especially thanked the many people who, through their donations and active support, once again made the potato roast a success. All proceeds from the festival will be donated to support the work of the cultural association.
