Jill Callison jcalliso@argusleader.com
At the risk of embedding that hideous Disneyland song in all our brains for the rest of the day, I must say this: It's a small, small, small, small world. Steve Hauff can attest to that. Hauff, who often travels abroad for Dakota Sports, recently shared a meal with residents of Great Britain, Australia, the Netherlands and Canada. His interest in other countries sprang from his boyhood in Sioux City. His mother, involved with the county extension service, frequently would host people from other countries. "I learned it was important to meet people with an open hand," Hauff says. That's why when Hauff was asked to join the Sister Cities Association of Sioux Falls in 1991, he barely hesitated. Sioux Falls has had a sister city since September 1990 when an agreement with Potsdam was finalized. At that time, Potsdam was located in East Germany, making Sioux Falls the first (and only) U.S. city to be linked with an East German community. A similar relationship with Strabane, Northern Ireland, began in May 1992 but ended several years ago. Supporters of the Sister Cities program weren't content with involvement limited to one city. They are awaiting the city's final approval of a new Sister Cities relationship with Newry & Mourne, a city and county in Ireland. Work also has begun on establishing an official Sister Cities link with Los Cabos on Mexico's Baja Peninsula. Ginny Beck, president of the local Sister Cities Association, says her group always is looking for ways to involve the community's younger residents. "More and more, we're becoming a global society where we have to look beyond the boundaries of our own city, our own state, even our own country," she says. "Our children could grow up and have a job that takes them to a foreign land. We have companies in Sioux Falls that have connections to other countries." Nancy Veglahn has been involved with Sister Cities since 1987 when the Sioux Falls League of Women Voters conducted public meetings to gauge interest in participating. "We need contact with a wider world, particularly living here in the middle of the country," she says. "It gives us a chance to get to know people from other places and have connections." But that link needs to be strong on both ends. Strabane's sister city connection failed because no one in that community pursued involvement. Sister Cities members are hopeful that won't be the case with Newry & Mourne. It looks promising because Sister Cities supporters there visited three or four U.S. communities before selecting Sioux Falls as its partner, Beck says. Officials with Los Cabos Children's Foundation, which helps children on the Baja peninsula obtain necessary medical care, have approached Sister Cities. Establishing that relationship would help the foundation send medical supplies to the Mexican peninsula and exchange nurses, Beck says. Expanded involvement would benefit many people, Veglahn says. "I'm excited about a new Sister City or even two of them," says Veglahn, who has visited Potsdam and Strabane. "It's a chance to learn about other people." But financially, the Sister Cities Association is facing some constraints. City government once contributed but no longer even pays the $800 international dues. Now the Sister Cities Association relies on German Fest to raise enough funds to keep it going. Dale Schmidt, a retired schoolteacher, joined Sister Cities Association three years ago. He hopes to come up with ideas that will involve high school students to a greater extent. Harold Schmidt, a German instructor at Lincoln High School and, for many, the face of German Fest, continues a strong student exchange program. But Dale Schmidt is finding indifference as he tries to expand the program to the other high schools. "I've e-mailed them, I've left voice mails, and I want them to be involved," he says. "A lot of times, they're always talking about how they don't have money to go here or go there. Well, come to German Fest and help out, and you can earn some money." That might not happen in time for this year's German Fest on Sept. 12. But Sister Cities Association officers and volunteers believe so strongly in the good that can be done, they won't give up. The reason why can be explained in a story Hauff tells. One of the first questions someone asked him on a trip to a town near Potsdam was startlingly direct. "Do you hate us?" asked the man, remembering the animosity of the World War II years. "Yes, we were enemies in World War II," Hauff said. "But we're not anymore."
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