Malek’s Fishermen Band Performing at Reunion

Malek’s Fishermen Band, one of the Midwest’s best European polka music bands, will perform from 10 am – 2 pm on both Saturday July 30th and Sunday July 31st at the Schmidt Reunion/Schmidt Fest on the Clay County Fairgrounds in Spencer, Iowa. Malek’s Fishermen Band will be performing in the Central Park Pavilion just south […]

See & Hear Inside the Church of Machtlos, Germany

In the above video, our distant 15-year-old German cousin Anne Killmer sings “Bethlehem,” a song composed by the organist Barbara Jordan. They are not just singing in any old location. They are singing in the village church of Machtlos, Germany, where our ancestors were baptized, married, worshiped, and memorialized deaths and burials for many centuries. […]

Jerry Yocum to Present on German WW2 POWs Interred in Iowa

The Schmidt Family Reunion is excited to announce the addition of Jerry Yocum to the lineup of presentations at our July 30-31 event. Jerry is the President of the Camp Algona POW Museum Committee. Camp Algona in Algona, Iowa housed thousands of Nazi prisoners of war captured in Europe. These German POWs lived fascinating lives […]

A Christmas Gift For You!

Santa has brought you a special gift this morning! Please enjoy a free eBook of “Karl Crosses the Atlantic” (written by Josiah Schmidt), a richly illustrated children’s book telling the story of Georg Karl Schmidt, the first of the West Bend Schmidts to come to America in 1881. Click here to view your free eBook! (file type: […]

Minnesota Cousins Visit Machtlos

Our cousins, Tajie Harris, Kathie Harris (Tajie’s mother), and Linda Swalin are on vacation in Germany this week and toured our ancestral hometown of Machtlos! Kathie and Linda are the daughters of Arline Lindstrand, granddaughters of Henry Schmidt Jr., great granddaughters of Henry Schmidt Sr., 2xgreat granddaughters of Conrad Schmidt, 3xgreat granddaughters of Dietrich Schmidt […]