Harper student's book brings German festival to life
As a little girl growing up in the town of Karlsdorf, an area of Austria-Hungary that would later become Yugoslavia, Elizabeth Walter looked forward to the Kirchweih Festival every fall.
Sixty years later, the Harper College student has illustrated a book about the traditions of the harvest festival that still takes place in towns across America — including Des Plaines.
Walter says the idea for the 36-page book, “Kirchweih Fest: A Donauschwaben Celebration from Europe to America,” was conceived seven years ago as a way to honor and preserve her German heritage.
“I wanted my grandchildren to know where they came from,” says Walter, a Barrington resident. “I can't take them back to my hometown anymore, so this was the best way to retell the story of the traditions we still keep.”
The book's publishing coincides with the 56th annual Kirchweih Fest hosted in Des Plaines. Several hundred area residents gathered last weekend to dance, eat and participate in ceremonious activities such as blessing a rosemary bush and auctioning it to youngsters.
Her illustrated book contains a collection of prints depicting the festival in current times and decades ago in her home village. She created the prints in a Harper printmaking course taught by Bill Wimmer, whom she credits as a major resource and support in the process.
Wimmer convinced a hesitant Walter to try the art of printmaking, which involves complicated steps of transferring ink or etchings from a matrix onto metal plates or wood.
The artwork on the cover of her book alone took one month to complete.
“This book is truly a labor of love,” Wimmer said.
Walter first immigrated to America in the 1950s. Coming straight to Barrington with her family, she quickly learned English and worked on her dream of becoming an artist. She attended the Art Institute of Chicago and later taught art and folk dancing.
Her first book, “Barefoot in the Rubble,” tells the story of her family's hardships before immigrating to America. It was published in 1998, earning her the American Legion Auxiliary Woman of the Year award. Publishing her new illustrated book, she says, fulfills a lifelong dream.
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