Chaffee German Days seeing resurgence

CHAFFEE, Mo. (KBSI) – August Knutson is in his second year as chairman of Chaffee German Days. 

He said in recent years, the festival struggled with attendance and even moved to October for a time, but thanks to a collaborative effort among those involved, the town’s ultimate summer get-together has emerged on the other side of those struggles as strong as ever. 

“Everybody kind of has their own little piece in the pie in this,” he said. “It’s not just one singular organization putting the whole thing on. Everybody kind of does their own little thing and it all comes together in what we have here.” 

One of those pieces in the pie is the Perkins Volunteer Fire Department, which has operated a food stand at the festival for decades. 

Volunteer firefighter Gary Senciboy said this is one of the department’s largest fundraisers. 

“We raise money for our department to try to compensate for turnout gear to fixing the trucks and things like that,” he said.

And Senciboy said they have the best spot on the whole property.

“We’re in the hot spot, as what I call it,” he said. “We’ve got the softball, we’ve got the bandstand, then of course, everyone loves our food.” 

And speaking of that band, Dieflusskatzen, which translates to “The River Cats,” has been performing for about 30 years. 

Band Manager Tim Cannon said German heritage like his is quite prevalent in the area.  

“Just about anybody you talk to that’s from Chaffee, has lived here for 20, 30 years or more, they’re going to find German heritage in their family,” he said.