• For New Year’s, Butler County town is in Harmony with Germany,
At New Year’s, Butler County town is in Harmony with its German roots
There was plenty of pork and sauerkraut to go around on Tuesday. Hot mulled wine. A traditional movie. And fireworks set to start the new year at 6 p.m. — when 2020 arrived in Germany.
It was the way Harmony likes to celebrate New Year’s.
“It’s a German celebration in a German community on German time, which is all very German,” said Rodney Gasch, president of Harmony Museum in Harmony, Butler County. “This event brings everyone out, not just Germans. We even let Irishmen come.”
The 12th annual celebration of “Silvester,” which is the German name for New Year’s Eve, recognizes the start of the new year in Germany and provides local residents with an early fireworks show as well as a fun-filled day of German food, games and traditions.
Besides the pork and sauerkraut, firefighters served bratwurst to the crowd, and members of the Harmony Museum board handed out glasses of Gluhwein, a hot mulled wine.
The roster of events included a Christmas tree-tossing contest, a 5K run and a viewing of the legendary 20-minute comedy sketch “Dinner For One,” a show that is usually watched by about half the population in German speaking countries on New Year’s Eve.
“Harmony is a well-guarded secret,” said Gwen Lutz, vice president of Harmony Museum. “People don’t realize what a charming, quaint little town this is.”
The annual New Year’s Eve event has introduced many visitors to this small town with a population of a little bit under 1,000 people.
The town was founded in 1804 as a religious commune for a group of about 400 people who came here from Germany to escape religious persecution. They called themselves Harmonites. They pooled all their worldly goods, worked hard and practiced celibacy — which is why they fizzled out around 1905.
But many of the original Harmonite buildings are still preserved and have been declared National Historic Landmarks.
Kathy Luek, administrator of the Harmony Museum, said the town has been the focus of academic studies on the topic of Utopian societies.
But aside from its historical appeal, the town is so “cute,” she said.
Museum volunteer Joan Schiever said she loves seeing children visit Harmony and get a lesson in history that leaves an impression on them.
“Kids go back in time before there were grocery stores,” Ms. Schiever said. “I like it when families come and parents show their children how we had to do everything for ourselves.”