Exploring Foreign Lands On Third Ave.

I’ve wondered about goings-on inside Deutsches Haus for years.

I’ve driven past it countless times. And in my imagination, the GermanAmerican Society’s Bavarian white building in downtown Spokane was home to a nonstop party. You know, tray after tray of terrific heavy food, oceans of great beer, flirtatious Claudia Schiffer look-alikes, and the sort of contagious lederhosenwearing fellowship that makes even a shy person want to join in the singing.

So when I heard about Das Fruehlingsfest, I got on the phone.

Tickets for Saturday night’s celebration of spring were gone. But a nice guy named Gus Apsey, president of the society’s Concordia Choir, told me to come anyway.

The place was just about packed by the time I got there. The click and clank of knives and forks on plates mixed with the happy hum of dozens of conversations.

I asked a woman at the sign-in table about how I might find Gus.

“He’s a tall, bald man,” she informed me.

There were, in fact, tall, bald men everywhere.

Plan B: Get in the glacial line leading to the food and try for telepathic communication with Gus.

Stuck there, I noted that Deutsches Haus is considerably bigger inside than one might imagine.

And then I did what I always do. I eavesdropped. Or at least I tried.

The two gray-haired women ahead of me in line were having an animated exchange. You could hear every word. One problem, though. They were speaking German.

In fact, a lot of people were speaking German. My grandmother would have understood them.

Eventually, I found Gus. And as I ate potatoes and gravy, he and another nice guy, Karl Mattheus, gave me some background on the society and the 40-member choir.

Turns out the organization has been firmly established in Spokane for about 100 years. And just about anyone with an interest in German-American heritage is eligible to join. But new members, especially young ones, aren’t exactly beating the door down.

Then it was time to go upstairs and hear the choir perform. The program started on time, to the minute. Directed by Robert Farrar, the group opened with “Begruessungslied” (Welcoming song).

Couldn’t understand a word. But I liked the way it sounded.

On my way home, I stopped at Rosauers und bought a bottle of St. Pauli Girl.

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