At the same time, Turner clubs around the country were coming together on a regular basis to stage turnfeste, or Turner festivals hosted by various cities. The events involved track and field competitions, demonstrations of proper gymnastic forms, rhetoric contests, and a fair amount of traditional German food and drink. The turnfeste enabled ethnic Germans in America to maintain a sense of their heritage in the face of cultural assimilation.
In 1852 and in 1873, Cincinnati held Turner festivals, and by the late 19th century, American Turner festivals became quadrennial gatherings. Cincinnati hosted the national competition in 1909 from June 19 to 27, nearly turning the entire city into a German village for the celebration. The chairman was August “Garry” Herrmann, a Cincinnati German American beloved by the local citizens. Herrmann was a longtime city administrator, a political henchman of Boss George B. Cox. In 1902, Herrmann became a co-owner and president of the Cincinnati Reds, and over the next two decades was arguably the most powerful man in American sports. He chaired Organized Baseball’s National Commission, negotiated the beginning of the modern World Series, experimented with night baseball, was a national leader in the American Bowling Congress, and even had a racehorse named after him.
A Turner himself, Herrmann often represented Cincinnati’s ethnic Germans at festivals, celebrations, and, in Republican politics. The image of the florid, flamboyant “Garry,” with his loud suits, diamond stickpins, and love for sausage and beer, belied the knowledgeable, hard-headed businessman who could create a national festival like the Turnfest and keep it within budget.
