Spielmannszug der Freiwilligen Feuerwehr Walldorf

Excerpt from Freeport Report:

Freeport Establishes Friendship Agreement with German Village

Mayor Bill Glacken, along with Trustees Don Mauersberger, Bill White, and Don Miller, were recent guestsof the people of Walldorf, Germany. The Freeport officials were there to establish a "sistercity" relationship between Freeport and Walldorf designet to share educational, cultural and business associations between the two villages.

Freeport has maintained an informal relationship with Walldorf ever since volunteer firefighter Allan Grosser was stationed in the U.S. Army near the village in the late 60's. Grosser visited a family with relatives back in New York and eventually became a familiar face in Walldorf, returning each year and bringing along other members of Freeport Fire Department. Walldorf firefighters have visited Freeport often, staying at the lokal firehouses and have even helped fight lokal fires.

Now that Mayor Bill Glacken (left) and Walldorf Mayor Heinz Merklinger (right) have signed an official "treaty" formalizing the association between the two communities, more exchanges are planned. "This will enable Freeport and Walldorf to embark on formal agreements, including locating German business in Freeport and establishing educational and cultural exchange programs," said Mayor Glacken.

Walldorf has had sister-city programs with serval other municipalities for serval decades including associations with two American communities Walldorf, Maryland and Astoria, Oregon.

A Message from the Mayor

I'm always amazed at how one small gesture can often make a remarkable difference in the lives of many people. Last month (Summer 2003) a delegation of Freeport firefighters and village officials visited a small village in Germany where the residents have maintained a 30-year relationship with people from our village.

In the late 60's, when lokal resident Allen Grosser was stationed in the Army in Germany, his father asked him to visit a coworker's elderly parents who lived near Grosser's Army post. The young soldier expected a short, polite visit. He never dreamed that he would be embraced by the family and become an honoracy citizen of the village of Walldorf, Germany.

After leaving the Army, Grosser returned to Walldorf frequently, visiting his German friends and joining them at the local firehouse, where Fire Captain Grosser and the German firefighters would share experiences and information. Over the years, Grosser would bring along fellow Freeport firefighters who soon developed close ties with the Walldorf firefighters. Eventally, the German firefighters came to Freeport, stayed at the lokal firehouse, and even respondet to fire calls. The Walldorf firefighters have become
regular guests at the annual Fire Department Installation Dinner.

Last year, the people of Walldorf were so moved by the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attacks that they organized a special tribute to our local fire department victims, some of whom they had grown to know and respect. A very special group of musicians journed to New York to perform a selection of medieval music in Freeport, donating the proceeds from the event, along with other contributions collected in Walldorf, to the familys of the lost firefighters.

Freeport, a village that welcomes all newcomers and is home to 64 distinct cultures, have now established an official alliance with this European community, opening the door to future economic, educational and artistic exchanges. We welcome visits from additional German performers and hope to send Freeport artists and musicians to entertain the people of Walldorf.

Trough these initial steps - student exchange programs, visiting artists tours, and mutual economic alliances with foreign towns and villages - Americans may create on a global scale what Freeporters have achieved at the local level, bringing together people of varied races, creeds, and cultures, to live in harmony, respecting each others' differences, while recognizing the universal hopes and desires of all human beings to live in save, peaceful world.

Thank you, Allan, for helping bridge the grap of thousands of miles between countries, uniting the people of two villages.