German
Society of Maryland honors the G. Krug family
and
its company, G. Krug & Son
Members and guests of the German Society of Maryland gathered in the Adlersaal
of Zion Lutheran Church on November 3rd to honor G. Krug & Son of Baltimore.
Recognized as the oldest continuously operating blacksmith’s shop in the
United States, G. Krug & Son provides its customers with a wide range of
hand-forged ironwork that is beautiful, durable and meets the highest level of
quality and craftsmanship. The shop is located in an old historic house at
415 W. Saratoga Street that was first listed in the Baltimore Directory under
the name of Augustus Schwatka. In 1830 it was sold to Andrew Merker.
The Krug family entered the company in 1848 when Gustav Krug emigrated from
Germany to Baltimore and began working as an apprentice in Andrew Merker’s
shop. Krug quickly rose to the position of foreman and acquired a
proprietary interest in the company, which was then renamed “A. Merker &
Krug.”
After Andrew Merker passed away in 1871, Gustav Krug became the sole proprietor
of the shop. He established a tradition of serving his customers with
fairness and attention to the finest level of quality available in this highly
specialized field. For five generations the Krug family members have
continued the tradition of their German-American ancestor. “There
is hardly a building in Baltimore that doesn’t contain something we made,”
boasts the 81-year-old patriarch of the family, Theodore Krug. He
has now turned over the operation of the business to his sons, Peter and Stephen
Krug. These fifth-generation members of the family are tenaciously
sustaining the unique heritage that has been bequeathed to them. In their
shop they not only produce new pieces of handcrafted iron but also proudly
restore valuable ironwork that was hand-forged by their ancestors. In
recognition of their devotion to preserving the skills of their pioneering
German ancestors, the German Society of Maryland honored them at its 2007 Awards
Banquet.
Brigitte
Fessenden, president of the German Society of Maryland, and Mohamed Esa,
chairman of the Awards Banquet committee, were the primary organizers of the
gala evening. Other members of the committee were Dandridge “Dan”
Brooke, Maureen Helinski, Bärbel Otto, Jim Schaub, and Theodore Potthast, Jr.,
who served as the Master of Ceremonies. Musical entertainment was provided
by Mike Surratt and his popular German band, The Continentals of Washington, DC.
The
evening began with a social hour that gave the guests an opportunity to meet and
talk with the honorees and the family members who had accompanied them to the
ceremony. Other special guests of the German Society who were in
attendance included Kai Schachtebeck, Deputy Head of the Cultural Affairs
Department at the German Embassy in Washington, Bern E. Deichmann, President of
the German-American Heritage Foundation of the USA, Thomas A. Werner, President
of the Deutschamerikanischer Bürgerverein of Maryland, Inc., Kay F. Schneck,
Wm. Hay Kommalan, President of the St. Andrew’s Society of Baltimore,
Deborah H. Kommalan, and Charles H. Hill, President of the St. George’s
Society of Baltimore.
Prior
to the serving of the banquet meal, President Fessenden welcomed the 122 guests
and thanked them for their participation in the evening. Bernard Penner
greeted the honorees and guests on behalf of Pastor Holger Roggelin of
Zion Lutheran Church. Robert Fritzsche, AIA, a member of the German
Society Board, led the guests in singing the national anthems of the Federal
Republic of Germany and the United States of America. Then Reverend H.J.
Siegfried Otto gave an inspirational German invocation.
The
dinner hour was enhanced by a slide show that featured congratulatory messages
to G. Krug & Son from numerous organizations, including the German-American
Heritage Foundation, The Edelweiss Club, the Goethe-Institut Washington, DC, ,
the Association of German-American Societies of Greater Washington, DC, the
German Club & German House of McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland, and
the American Association of Teachers of German, Maryland / DC Metro Chapter.
The slide show also included a number of beautifully phrased memorials to
deceased German-American forebears that had been prepared by their loving
descendants. Each banquet guest received complimentary copies of the
biweekly German language newspaper Amerika Woche, the bimonthly magazine German
Life, a CD of Swiss rock and pop music, and a paperback entitled 365 Ideas from
Germany – The Essential Guide.
The
awards ceremony that followed dinner was a very meaningful and joyous event.
The mood was set by an eloquent speech delivered by Sarah Brackbill, president
of the McDaniel College German Club. Ms. Brackbill graciously
thanked the German Society of Maryland for all of its efforts on behalf of
high school and college-level students, including the annual scholarships that
it gives to college students majoring in German and the generous financial
support provided annually for the AATG – Maryland /DC Metro awards to high
school students of German. She concluded her speech by heartily
congratulating the Krug family for their selection as the German Society’s
2007 honorees.
Mohamed
Esa then showed a video that had been filmed and edited especially for this
occasion. It presented the history of the Krug family and its
involvement with the craft of hand-forged wrought iron from 1848 to the present
day. The script had been written by Mary Upman and was narrated by
Andrea Shalal-Esa. Immediately after the viewing of this video, Theodore,
Peter and Steven Krug were invited to the stage by Brigitte Fessenden and
Mohamed Esa. The Krugs were presented with proclamations from Governor
Martin O’Malley and Mayor Sheila Dixon. These proclamations recognized
and honored the achievements of the Krug family and the company, G. Krug &
Son.
More
information about G. Krug & Son can be found at www.gkrugandson.com.
Mary Upman