Gruenau German settlers organized a Turnverein, or athletic club, and a Schuetzen Verein, or shooting club, about 1897, and a brass band sometime in the early 1890s. The community's club hall, built in 1900, was also used for dances and for the rifle team activities; contests with neighboring communities became major events, including feasts, dances, and the crowning of a Schuetzen-Koenig, or king of the riflemen.
We lost our hall in January 2007 to fire, but it has since been rebuilt and is used twice a year for our feast! We also have it available to rent for events.
May 1, 1898, the Gruenau Turn and Schuetzen Verein was organized at a meeting held at the Little Chicago Store owned by George Langley. Charter members of the Verein were John, George and Adolph Brandt; Anton, John and Willie Koopman; John Pundt; Arthur Haertig; Henry Buesing; and Henry Remmers. Pictured are, left to right, Anton Koopmann, Adolph Brandt and William Koopmann that were present at the Gruenau Turnverein Reunion October 8, 1939.
At the general meeting held on April 10, 1927, interest of building a new and larger hall began to surface. The larger hall was constructed in November of 1927 by members with Herman Buchhorn as supervisor and Gus Buchhorn as assistant supervisor.
Our organization is looking for new members! Contact us on how to become a member.
We appreciate all our members and the help they give for each feast and other events.
Interested in renting our hall? Send us a e-mail or call (361) 491-9799.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.