Newsletter
L'Union Alsacienne
de New York
Salü bisàmme,
No sooner has the first of the
24 windows of the advent cal-
endar been opened and the first
Sunday's candle from the ad-
vent wreath been lighted, then,
like a trigger, Alsace puts on her
coat of sparkling lights and the
enchanting holiday season starts: Little wooden
stands of the Christmas Market pop up like
mushrooms everywhere in the villages; big
Christmas trees are lighted in every town; cho-
ral groups rehearse in preparation for the
Christmas Eve mass... As a child, I remember
the holiday season started November 6th with
the visit of Saint-Nicolas, patron saint of stu-
dents, with his bag full of spice bread,
clementines, chocolates and the delicious Man-
neles and cacao drinks - treats the whole family
enjoyed together that evening... Not to men-
tion the delicious smells invading the house,
coming from my mom's kitchen, while she was
preparing the various Weihnacht Bredele (Tradi-
tional Christmas Cookies) and grandmother's
Berawecka. Since living in the States however,
there is a new start to the holiday season for me
- the night the Christmas tree is lighted in
Rockefeller Plaza. It is a tradition for the New
Yorkers and I never miss it, mostly because the
Christmas tree is a very strong symbol for us
Alsatians: the tradition of a Christmas tree has
its origin in Alsace. Alsatians not only gave New
Yorkers the Statue of Liberty, but the Christ-
mas tree as well! The first Christmas tree was
described in Selestat in 1521, and in 1604, a
chronicle from the city of Strasbourg makes
reference to a Christmas tree decorated with
roses made of paper, apples and sweets. Alsa-
tian emigrants and their German cousins im-
ported this tradition to the New World: for the
first time, in 1891, a Christmas tree was lighted
in front of the White House. The Americans
were quick to embrace the custom and were the
first to replace the traditional candles with gas
lamps and later with electric lights.
We had a very eventful fall at the Union Alsaci-
enne, starting with the Liberty Party to cele-
brate the birthday of the Statue of Liberty at
db bistro Modern (see page 7). We also had the
pleasure of welcoming a very friendly group of
Alsatians who came to run the NY marathon.
With them we shared the experience of visiting
a fire house in the Bronx (see page 8). To cele-
brate the Holiday season we met, for the first
time, in NJ at chez Madeleine Petit Paris (see page
9). It was a very charming day which ended
with Christmas songs...
Thank you for all your help during this last
year. I anticipate a productive and enjoyable
new year for the UA and am looking forward to
seeing you all soon.
I wish you a happy, healthy 2008. Bis zum nack-
schte Mol.
Alsaciennement votre,
Catherine Zwingelstein
1
ALSACE NEW-YORK
NUMBER 4
Fall/Winter 2007
Contributors
THIERRY KRANZER, MEMBER, FORMER PRESIDENT
Born in Colmar June 1968 (Haut-Rhin)
Started at the UN September 11, 2001
Member since 2001- Vice president in 2004-2005
President in 2006. Back from a 17 month peacekeeping
mission in Congo, spokesman of a MONUC base of
Uvira at the tri-state area (Rwanda-BUrundi- Congo)
BENOIT MEISTER, VICE-PRESIDENT
Born in Colmar (Haut-Rhin)# #
#
.
Arrived in New York in October 2005.
Member since 2005, Vice-President since 2007.
Ph.D, Senior Computer Science Engineer at Reservoir Labs, Inc.
FLORENCE KOEPPEL, WEBMASTER
Born in Lyon (Rhone)
Arrived in New York in July 2004
Member since 2006, webmaster since 2007.
Ph.D, postdoctoral Researcher in Biology in Rockfeller University
2
Union Alsacienne
Founded in February 19, 1871
Incorporated December 4, 1935 in New York State
President and Newsletter editor: C. Zwingelstein
1st Vice-President and Treasurer: Richard Emmich
2nd Vice-president: Benoit Meister
Executive Secretary: Isabelle Baumann-Lenot
Finance Committee: A. Baumann, R. Granel, C. Backen-
stass
Voting Committee: C. Rolling, J.P Halbwachs
Sports Committee: T. Kranzer
Address:
16 Forest Street, apt. 402
Montclair, NJ 07042
www.alsace-newyork.com
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Fall/Winter 2007
News from Alsace
Opening of the Tomi Ungerer's Museum in Strasbourg Fall 2007
The Tomi Ungerer museum, located in
Villa Greiner holds the major collection
of over 8,000 drawings donated by the
artist to his native city. Around 300
original works will be shown at a time
and frequently renewed. They will be
structured around different themes, such
as illustrations for children's books, sa-
tirical drawings created while living in
New York, advertising and erotico.
Tomi Ungerer :
Jean Thomas (Tomi) Ungerer was born in Strasbourg in 1931. At 5 years old, his family
moved to Logelbach near Colmar after the death of his father, Theodore, an artist, engi-
neer and astronomical clock manufacturer. Tomi studied illustration in Strasbourg Arts-
decoratifs school but at a very young age decided to move to the States.
In 1956 he "arrived in NY with 60 dollars in his
pocket." Tomi published his first children's book, The
Mellops Go Flying, one year later for Harper & Row
and it became a best-seller. He stayed in the US for 15
years, working in advertising for the New York Times.
While he often depicted the New York lifestyle, his
more controversial creations were against racial segre-
gation or denouncing the Vietnam war. His employers
felt some of these illustrations were too extreme and
refused them.
Many of his satirical drawings published in the New
York press during this period were later summarized in
books. Tomi is an artist well recognized not only in the
US, but also in Japan, England and in the Rhenan Re-
gion. His book Grand Livre Des Chansons, sold
900,000 copies and was a best-seller in Germany in 1975. Tomi is credited with the crea-
tion of the labyrinthe of the Europeens cents (2000) and his awards include the prix Hans
Chrisflan Andersen (1998) and the prix Europeen de la culture (1999). His main mes-
sages to children were tolerance and respect of others. Tomi and his wife currently reside
in Ireland where they have made their home since 1976.
3
Fall/Winter 2007
News From Alsace
1,829,000 inhabitants in Alsace in 2007
Official numbers from INSEE, the French Institute for Statistics: out of
63,753 million inhabitants in France, 1,829,000 are living in Alsace.
Although considered a "small size region", Alsace is ranking 13
th
considering the numbers of inhabitants. "
it is one of the most dynamic regions
of France, with an increase of 96,000 inhabitants since 1999, which represents
a very positive 0.68% increase per year
" mentioned Guy Bourgey, Regional
Director in INSEE Strasbourg in the newspapers.
It is expected that the threshold of 2 million inhabitants will be reached by
2030.
Alsatians in The News
Elected Alsatian Politician of the Year 2007 by the Dernières
Nouvelles d'Alsace (DNA): Jean-Marie Bockel, Mayor of
Mulhouse was nominated as Secrétaire d'Etat a la Cooperation
et a la Francophonie in June 2007.
Sébastien Loeb won the World Rally Championship in Decem-
ber 2007 : his 4th consecutive World championship victory driv-
ing a Citroen C4 with his long time copilot Daniel Elena. At 33 years old, he is the sec-
ond to have won 4 consecutive World championships after
Tommi Maekinen (from Finland, 1996 to 1999).
Sébastien was born in Hagenau in 1974 and grew up in
Oberhoffen-sur-Moder. He competed as a gymnast and be-
came four times Alsatian champion, once champion of the
French Grand east and 5th in the French Championship. He
turned his interest to racing at age 21 and won the Junior
World Rally Championship in 2001.
In the « Champions of the World 2007 Champions » ranking of the French sports news-
paper L'Equipe, Sébastien was ranked 3 after Roger Federer (1st) and Michael Phelps
(2
nd
), setting him as first among the French.
4
Fall/Winter 2007
News From The States
French Embassy in Washington :
New Consul General de France in Washington : Monsieur Michel Schaffhauser.
Slovenia Embassy in Washington
Third Secretary : Jean-Pierre Vonarb. Jean-Pierre Vonarb previously served in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and holds a bachelor's degree in Political sciences and French Language and Literature.
Members News
New members:
Sylvie Muller
Born in Colmar (Haut-Rhin)
Missionary Heart's Home in Bronx, NY
Isabelle Sitterle
Born in Mulhouse (Bas-Rhin), Child-giver, private
house. Isabelle is living on the Upper East side,
Manhattan.
Tony Rohling
His great grandparents , Ludwig and Maria Meyer
were Alsatians. Tony is a social worker/Tour Guide
for NY State Worker's Compensation Board and
lives with his wife in Sunnyside.
Alsatian/ Japanese Wedding
Congratulations to Yannis (manager
since 2005 of Alain Ducasse restau-
rant in NY) and Kei Stanisiere for
their wedding in Spring 2007 in
Sainte-Marie-aux Mines.
D'Liewe paeppt wie Baeredreck
M'r bringt si nim vom Herz eweg.
Departures:
it is with great sadness that we announce that Ve-
ronique Roth, Benoit Mennegrand, Pierre Weinstein
and his family, left NY to pursue new opportunities
in France and England. We wish them good luck and
success.
"Success Story"
Emmanuel Jaegle
Nominated "French Tuesday Member of the Month"
Emmanuel, a certified Public Accountant, just
opened his 3rd office in San Francisco. In the States
since 1998 he opened his first office in New York in
2003. A one page article featuring Emmanuel suc-
cess story was published in the January France-
Amerique edition.
Jade associates, 915 Broadway- Suite 1400,
New York 10010- Phone 212-673-1200
5
"Kitchen Confidential"
Article submitted by Christian Meyer from Hab-
sheim (Haut-Rhin) "un a Gruass an alli Elsasser
in New York"
Flammekueche has its roots in the Bas-
Rhin region, especially North of Strasbourg.
It is a unique meal composed of a layer of
bread pastry in rectangular or round form,
covered with a
mixture of cheese
and cream, sea-
soned with salt,
pepper, oil and
topped with tiny
pieces of bacon
and onions. This
mixture of cheese is cooked in a stone oven
heated by wood. The oven was traditionally
also used when cooking bread. Flam-
mekueche recipes vary slightly from village
to village. One version of Flammekueche is
even garnished with apple slices in sugar!
The founders of Flammekueche were farmers
of Alsace. Once a week, the farmer's wife
made bread for the farm employees and
cooked Flammekueche. The Flammekueche
was ready before the bread, due to the ex-
tremely high temperature of the oven. It was
served at lunchtime to all. It was placed on
the table and then cut into slices. These slices
were picked up, folded and rolled, before eat-
ing using one's finger. During the meal a
large glass of liquor, namely "Schnaps" was
passed around the table.
Today's gourmet of Flammekueche prefer to
drink a good glass of white wine from Alsace
with their meal.
Flammekueche has since left its place of ori-
gin, the farm, and has now found its home in
Alsatian restaurants. Here it is appreciated
night after night by amateurs seeking the de-
licious speciality, as well as a pleasant eve-
ning surrounded by the nostalgia of the past.
Saving "Baby Alsace" in Congo
Thierry Kranzer
In October 13, 2006 as a spokesman of MONUC UVIRA peacekeeping base in southern
South Kivu, I organized an information trip to a landlocked zone of our area of responsi-
bility. After two days and 12 hours by car we reached a town called Missi- gold mines
away from Katanga. The area was famous for its 40 years of guerilla activity, where Che
Guevarra tried in 1965 to export his revolution...without success though. After 5 days of
human rights assessment and listing of abuses we where ready to leave when locals
stopped us pretending to have a baby gorilla...to sell. We organized an operation to save
what was infact a baby chimpanzee, pretending to buy it. Arriving on the spot we ex-
tracted the baby from the poachers with the help
of local police. We organized a sensitization to
locals stating that it was forbidden by law to
possess, hunt or sell a chimpanzee. After a brain
storming, we decided to call the female baby
Alsace, a region who had to be freed so many
times. After 18 hours of driving and a few days
Alsace was given to a Baby chimpanzee or-
phanage in Bukavu, Capital of South Kivu, a
few miles away from the Rwandan boarder. On
the spot, a veterinarian discovered under its fir a
deep wound from a trap. He later confessed that
Alsace life was in danger for five days, while
the infected wound could have killed her. De-
spite the best treatment Alsace needed three
months to recover and be able to climb again in
January 2007. Beginning September, before
leaving Congo, I spent 4 days with Alsace in the
middle of 11 other chimp orphans. She is now
well. Oh I forgot to mention that I abducted another baby chimpanzee from poachers in
April 2007. A male this time, who has been baptized...Lorraine.
PS : experience shows that to get a baby chimpanzee, poachers usually have to kill a
dozen of chimpanzees. Because the group would never accept to abandon a baby.
PS2 : Any support is welcomed to sponsor a yearly treatment and food for Alsace and
Lorraine and the center managed today by a spanish NGO
www.coopera.com
Picture: in Thierry's arm Alsace and on his back Kenya.
If you would like to submit an article please contact Catherine at
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6
Fall/Winter 2007
Liberty Party
October 28th 2007 at db Bistro Modern in Manhattan
More than 40 members meet at db Bistro
Modern, in mid-town at the end of October to
celebrate the 121st birthday of the Statue of
Liberty in presence of our friends : new
elected president of BZH-NY Laurent Corbel
accompanied by members of BZH-NY and
Jean-Lachaud, conseiller a l'assemblee des
Français a l'etranger.A delicious Alsatian meal
was prepared by chef Oliver Muller and his
team. Flammekuecha, Chroucroute Royale and
a delicious apple tart were served.
Excerpt of President's speech
" She need no introduction ; for decades, she's been the world's leading icon of democ-
racy. In a city of soaring landmarks, the Statue of
Liberty towers above all competitors. In 1874, a
French American Union was formed and Bar-
tholdi, a sculptor born in Colmar Alsace, was
commissioned to design a sculpture to com-
memorate the centennial of the American Decla-
ration of Independence. It was decided that the
American people would build the pedestal while
the French people were responsible for the statue.
After some delay, due to difficulties acquiring the
funding, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated on
October 28th, 1886. It was immediately recog-
nized as a potent symbol of freedom and Franco-
American friendship. The statue was build in France, and carefully packed into 214 num-
bered crates for its voyage to the new world that started in January 1885. A special train
took her from Paris to Rouen, where it took
seventeen days to load onto the Isere, the
french naval ship commissioned for this
special assignment. After a few weeks on the
sea, the Liberty arrived June 1885 in NY. It
would be another 10 months before the ped-
estal was complete and assembly could be-
gin. In early October 1886, the Statue was
complete and at 3:15 p.m. on October 28th
the dedication ceremony began, exactly 121
years ago. Due to poor weather that day, the
fireworks were rescheduled to November
1st."
7
Fall/Winter 2007
Casa Grande was once the busiest firehouse in the Bronx. That was
in the 70's, when the Bronx was burning, and it made the firehouse a
historical landmark. The Alsatian runner group "d'Ranners", who
made it to New York City to run the marathon, was all excited about
visiting a real American firehouse.This Saturday, Catherine, Isabelle
and I (Benoit) arrived earlier to meet the firemen and prepare the
visit with our guide, Michael. As it was close to lunchtime, the fire-
men started one of the activities they are known to excel at: cooking.
Several guys in extremely good shape started to chop off vegetables
in order to make a Jambalaya. They kindly invited us to eat with
them, which we had to decline, as we would soon become a group of
30 people when d'Ranners would come. D'Ranners showed up carry-
ing a French and an Alsatian flag, which they gave as a gift to the firemen. The firemen
also received T-shirts, bottles of Alsatian wine (Vendange Tardives) and a vintage French
Firemen's helmet. Two members of d'Ranners were firemen themselves in Paris (the fa-
mous Pompiers de Paris).
After these moments of collective emotion, Michael started the visit by presenting their
two trucks: a "ladder" and an "engine", each with their specialized equipment. We also
saw how the firemen can slide downstairs form their rooms using poles, and how fast
they can jump into their outfit and be ready for action. We visited their memorial, where
souvenirs, pieces of arts and pictures of heroes who gave their lives, in particular during
the 9/11 events, were all over. Hosts and visitors could hardly hide their emotions. Later
on, the level of emotion stayed high as the visitors discovered that all the beds, covers,
couches and equipment that were not directly necessary for their job had to be provided
by themselves or through donations. For instance, they have built a workout machine and
a sauna themselves. Finally, d'Ranners and us bought as many souvenirs as one can imag-
ine, under the form of hats, shirts, and sweaters. The colors of Casa Grande are now even
worn in Andolsheim! Pascal, the president and organizer of d'Ranner's trip to NY, pro-
posed a twinning between Casa Grande and
the Firehouse of Andolsheim, which they
accepted informally and is now becoming
official.
As a last great time together, we took pic-
tures of all of us between the two giant
American fire trucks. Many of the pictures
from the visit are indeed available on our
website, http://alsace-newyork.com
8
Fall/Winter 2007
Visit of Fire house
Casa Grande
in Bronx
November 2007
Benoit Meister
Christmas Party 2007: Dec. 9th
This year the members met on the other side of the Hud-
son River for their Christmas party. By car, bus or train
coming from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York state,
Connecticut and NY city, more than 50 people made their
way to « chez Madeleine Petit Paris » in Northvale New
Jersey to celebrate Christmas together.
Chef Caspar, Madeleine (his wife) and Francois (their
son) were happy to welcome us for the first time in their
restaurant; the lunch was delicious and the company was
delightful. After the dessert - to the joy of everyone pre-
sent- Patricia Catenne distributed traditional « Weichnacht Bredele » that she prepared
with old recipes from her grand- mother. Members gathered with Madeleine to sing the
traditional
« petit
papa Noel »
and other
C h r i s t m a s
songs. Soon
it was 4 p.m
and time to
d e p a r t .
Members received a gift from Chef Gabriel
Kreuther (restaurant Modern in Manhattan): a deli-
cious cake to enjoy with their family. It seems to
have become a tradition! Thanks to Chef Gabriel for
his constant support of the association. As members
were leaving, we could hear « when is the next
party? What? Only in April!» .
A nice day to remember...
Thanks to all of you who made it to NJ to celebrate
the Holiday season.
Guet esse un trinke,
Hebt Lieb un Seel z'samme.
9
Fall/Winter 2007
Wunderfetzig bin ich nit, awer wisse moecht ich Alles
(*)
* english translation: Curious I am not, but I want to know everything
La Petite Marjolaine
La Marjolaine, French Bakery and Pastry store located in Woodside is
pleased to announce the opening of La Petite Marjolaine in Astoria/LIC.
The bakery is run by Bernard Eglin and Krim Debbah, two active members
of our association.
La Marjolaine : 50-17 Skillmann Avenue, Woodside NY 11377
La Petite Marjolaine : 33-05 36th Avenue, Astoria-Long Island City, NY
S'Tier un s'Wetter :
Han d'Hase e dickes Fell, Werd d'r Winter e haerter
Gsell
UNION ALSACIENNE
16 forest street apt. 402
Montclair, NJ 07042
www.alsace-newyork.com
D'Nas bisst mi, s'git gueti Nachrichte:
Please mark your calendar: Germaine's Garden Party
June 22nd, 2008
Im Winter, wenn's kalt isch,
Do schafft m'r nit viel;
Mer sitz hinterem Ofe
Un halt gueti Wil.
Wenn d'Maidler so spinne,
Sin d'buewe oj do,
Si singe un jodle,
