(Here is my full, unedited version of the story that later appeared edited a bit online and in the MidRivers Newsmagazine print edition on Nov. 2, 2022.)
In 1943, General
Dwight D. Eisenhower became the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. He planned
and organized Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy that ultimately
led to Allied control of most of Western Europe. Eisenhower later accepted the
surrender of Nazi Germany on May 8, 1945.
Unbeknownst to many Americans, that
fierce level of fighting was totally contrary to the demeanor of the eventual
34th President known as ‘Ike.’ That’s highly evident to visitors at
the Eisenhower Presidential Museum in Abilene, KS. One
display reads, “I Hate
War as only a soldier who lived it can.”
Unbeknownst to many Americans, that
fierce level of fighting was totally contrary to the demeanor of the eventual
34th President known as ‘Ike.’ That’s highly evident to visitors at
the Eisenhower Presidential Museum in Abilene, KS. One
display reads, “I Hate
War as only a soldier who lived it can.”
Mary Johnson is one localite who was
fully aware of that. She is the President of the St. Charles-Ludwigsburg
(Germany) Sister Cities Chapter.
“Back in 1956, Eisenhower was
President, and he was holding a White House summit,” Johnson said. “He
was trying to figure out a way to heal the globe and ensure we would live in
peace after the calamity of World War II. He was into relationships with
countries, so he came up with an idea about citizen diplomacy. That idea
spawned Sister Cities International, an organization with home base in
Washington, D.C. We’re all about citizen diplomacy--one person and one
community at a time. That’s how you establish relationships, and I think
it’s a little harder to go to war with somebody who you have established a
relationship with.”
That’s totally in line with another
Eisenhower Museum display, “Waging Peace,” from Ike’s
book of that title. The accompanying
words read, “After 40 years of military service, Eisenhower devoted his
presidency to waging peace. He
strengthened the nation through alliances, promoting prosperity, and
demonstrating moral leadership.”
That’s precisely what took place throughout
this past September. Johnson, her
husband Steve, St. Charles Mayor Dan Borgmeyer and several other Sister Cities
members visited a host of European cities.
The prime visit was to the St. Charles long-time Sister City.
“Ludwigsburg, Germany has been our sister city for over 25 years,” Borgmeyer said. “I have developed a personal relationship with their Lord Mayor Matthias Knecht. This visit took place during their huge Venetian Fair and Pumpkin Festival with parades and absolutely stunning 15th and 16th century costuming. Additionally, the international community celebrated the 60th anniversary of Charles De Gaulle’s “Speech to German Youth” highlighting the importance of their relationship to the United States. This visit was somewhat formal with the confluence of all of Ludwigburg’s other sister cities. There were lots of speeches and formal events, and of course sausage and beer and wine and singing.”
City Director of Administration Larry
Dobrosky and his wife Stephanie personally accompanied Borgmeyer on the trip. The
Johnsons were an integral part of the journey to Germany and
France, and helped facilitate most of the detailed events. Borgmeyer noted they
did an amazing job. Donna Costeilla
(former Convention and Visitors Bureau Director), her daughter, Cheryl and the Langs and Dwiggins from St. Charles also attended on their own.
Borgmeyer added that Ludwigsburg and
other Sister Cities Montbeliard, France and Inshowen, Ireland offered a full agenda of touring and meeting with
involved department personnel.
St. Charles has been courting
Montbeliard to join them for over 20 years.
Borgmeyer was pleased to announce that Mayor Marie Noelle Biguinet signed
a letter of Intent to begin the formal twinning process. She will sign the
formal document upon her next visit to the U.S.
Members of the Sister Cities traveling group at dinner in Germany
“The French were very friendly,
accommodating and happy to show us their beautiful city,” Borgmeyer said.
“Their appreciation for wine is consistent. We met with a small, private
vintner who has interest in our Augusta development.”
Borgmeyer added that Inishowen is of
the most beautiful places he’s ever visited. He met with their City Council and
other dignitaries. They even toured a public school that has a St. Charles
West logo on the gym wall. That school has had several exchanges with Warriors’
students. He added how creative the school was, featuring a display of formal
ball gowns made entirely of trash that they were required to be worn as
part of a competition.
On his own time and expense,
Borgmeyer also traveled to Scotland for two days and achieved a Bucket List
item by playing golf at St. Andrews, the oldest golf course in the world.
Driving on the golf course wasn’t much of challenge to Borgmeyer, but driving
on the other side of the road cost him a passenger side mirror. That was the
trip’s lowlight.
“The absolute highlight for me was
to, for the first time ever, include the Directors of Economic Development of
each of the cities and discuss not only the student and cultural exchanges but
also the possibility of economics and trade and commerce exchange. These
efforts met with surprising interest and intent.”
Borgmeyer also initiated
correspondence with Cartagena, Spain as his city’s final quest for Sister City twinning.
The four pillars of history of St. Charles are France, Germany, Ireland and Spain.
This trip was a follow up to this past May’s St. Charles visit mainly from citizens of Ludwigsburg and neighboring Steinhem, Germany.
“St. Louis-Stuttgart seems to be more of a business aspect as in commerce between those two cities. I think we’re more into the cultural aspects. When we started out with Ludwigsburg, they were a little concerned because they didn’t know what we wanted. They were afraid we wanted money or something comparable. So, the folks who got this thing off the ground were like, ‘No! No! No! No! No! We want a cultural relationship. We want to exchange ideas and we want friendship. We want to go there and drink beer. We want you to come here and drink wine.’ It’s been full steam ahead ever since. It’s been incredible!”
Johnson said that this year’s German
visitors, led by the Ludwigsburg mayor and his assistant, were joined by four
people from Montbeliard. They all came specifically to enjoy the Midwest
Maifest, a four-hour festival her organization hosted at the New Town
Amphitheater with vendors set up on Civic Circle Drive.
Through all the Ludwigsburg years, the organization was also trying to get a French Sister. That began several years ago with St. Charles Mayor Grace Nichols and her husband. Johnson believes that this was the first year Montbeliard was invited here, but it wasn’t an official visit because their mayor was unable to come for any of the four days.
Once everyone was in town on Friday, they had a welcome reception at one of the member’s homes with dinner, drinks, etc. On Saturday, they took everyone out on Miss Augusta and had dinner and drinks there.
A meeting of mayors: (from left) Dan Borgmeyer, Marie Noelle Biguinet and Matthias Knecht
“That visit also included a tour of
Frenchtown, aided by the Frenchtown Historic Association,” Johnson said. “On
that tour, we were able to take them to Good News Brewing (with the Frenchtown
Heritage Museum). So, they got to experience that. They weren’t
even open yet, but Mayor Dan opened it up for us. Dan had some beer and fresh
pretzels for us. That night, we took the group to Tompkins Riverside that used
to be the Mother-in-Law House. We had a private party downstairs for the French
and the two Germans that were left. There were also visits to La Belle Vie, Course Coffee Roasters for coffee
and pastries, and the Foundry Art Centre with several artists on hand.”
Next on the agenda is families of Orchard
Farm High School students hosting German students for a student exchange trip
from Oct. 14-28. This comes after a three-year hiatus due to Covid. The St. Charles group is expecting 15 students and two chaperones. That
will include an invitation to students and their host families to attend the
Sister Cities Oct. 24 membership meeting. The Germans will reciprocate for a
similar event in summer 2023 for students of the host families.
Johnson said that there are
a few other schools in St. Charles that participate in these exchanges. She
added that it’s up to the cities themselves what type of relationship and
activities they have with their Sister Cities.
As indicated on their
literature, ‘The St. Charles Sister Cities Program is part of the Sister Cities International Nonprofit Citizen Diplomacy
Network working in nearly 500 communities with over 2000 international
partnerships in more than 140 countries.’
“My husband and I have had a ball
with this,” Johnson said. “We’ve been with the organization since October of 2013.
It’s been a life changer. If you get really involved in it at all, you
host a German, you go to Germany. You learn so much more than if you go
to Germany, stay in a hotel or drive a car, hop on a train and visit a couple
sites, then you’re gone. We talk to people and have a relationship with
them; not just commerce, but meaningful relationships. Luckily, nowadays,
it’s so much easier to stay in touch with people. Back in the day, the
best you could do was write a letter. There was nothing wrong with that, but
phone calls were extremely expensive, so you didn’t do that very often.
Nowadays, there are faster and easier ways to communicate.
“The biggest thing is always reconnecting with
the friends we’ve made over there. It’s such a joy to be able to spend
time with them and let them show us their city and their country from their
perspective. That’s a real pleasure because you may go over there with
preconceived ideas from hearing and reading stories about Germany in the news,
just like they do over there about us. Then they get here and discover
that’s not right at all. Anyway, they always cook for us, so we get these
authentic German meals.”
Johnson and her husband visited
Germany in 2015 and 2017, and their son has been there three times on two
exchanges and once on his own. The first time, they went to the Dachau
concentration camp near Munich that Mary’s uncle helped liberate in the final
months of the war. When the Auschwitz exhibit was in Kansas City last year,
four of them went there. Some of Mayor Dan’s ancestors are from
Alsace-Lorraine, a region formerly in western Germany and currently in extreme
eastern France. So, the program has added appeal to him.
“I believe the Sister Cities Program
is an important element of a broader view of the World,” Borgmeyer said. “More
and more students from Europe are visiting St. Charles and many of our students
are traveling there. They stay with local families on both sides of the
ocean and get a full session of cultural exchange with not only those affected
but also all the other students they encounter. Many new transatlantic
friendships have developed. The new Economic Development aspect is just icing
on the cake. Several French businesses wanted more information on opening
shops in St. Charles Frenchtown Borough.”
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