Lustre News

It was so good to see many people, new faces (from Alaska, Montana, Texas) and familiar ones, alumni and nearby communities join us for the 60th annual Schmeckfest at LCHS.

The foods prepared to serve at this German festival of Tasting were sausage patties (270 pounds), roast beef (200 pounds), vereneke (2,530 cheese pockets), baked kraut (24 gallons), chicken noodle soup (12 gal.), green bean soup (13 gal.), portzilke (72 dozen New Year’s cookies), vereneke gravy (16 gal.), perishke (102 fruit pockets), paepa naet (20 gal. peppernuts), rull kuchen (42 dozen crullers), pigs in the blanket (1,100 cabbage rolls), kirsche moos (20 gallons cherry sauce) and pluma moos (5 gallons dried fruit sauce).

Alumni came from Colorado, Minnesota, South Dakota and places in Montana like Sidney, Billings, Opheim and Glasgow. A total of 621 were served.

Robert Toavs with Toavs Premier Auction was the auctioneer for the event.

Items in the live auction were a rolling tool cabinet donated by C& B Operations, a Russian olive dining room table 92x42, designed by JLT Designs; a beautiful king-sized quilt made by the MB ladies, called “Unfolding Star;” a picure by Sean R. Heavey Photography called “Cruising Through Time;” a quartersawn white oak display cabinet made by Keith Unger, a queen-sized quilt hand crafted by the EMB Church ladies in grey and white with black sashing and borders called “Jubilee Joy,” quilted by Robin Schock of Lighthouse Quilting. Also on the live auction was a picture quilt made by Carma Bartel called “Northern Lights” with a church sewn below. The final piece was “Montana Big Sky” hand-tooled leatherwork by Dan Reddig and framed with barn-wood. The live auction brought in $15,800.

On display was a lovely quilt with the grandmother’s flower pattern, which is a very old pattern. Also displayed was a quilt named “Rings” was cut by (the late) Eunice Wiens and given to Vernelle Unrau, who enlarged it to a queen size and pieced it. It was quilted by Char Graft and completed in March 2025.

Star quilts given at tournament to three of our high school students were on display. They were Hannah Brown (by the family of Lola Romero), Kencia Brown (by the family of Maci Fourstar-Sibley) and Lauryn Holzrichter (by the family of Brianna Beston). Online auction items were displayed, and included artwork, quilts, paintings, furniture, crafts made by children and wood-crafted items.

Lustre grade students displayed a table of crafts, flower pictures, frames, decorated water bottles and lunch bags and interesting letter art signs.

The third and fourth graders read the poems they’d written between each program number. It was fun to see “Lustre Community,” “Lustre Grade School” and “Basketball” through the children’s eyes. The LCHS band under the direction of Pastor Wayne Hathaway performed Come Praise & Glorify, Don Traeholt and his granddaughter,

Ashtyn, with teacher Prince Agbisit sang One Day at a Time; a group called “The Smoldering EMBers” (Martin Fast, Bob Burkhard, Pastor Wayne Hathaway and Don Traeholt) sang Feeling Mighty Fine. The crowd really got into Sweet Caroline, a super performance by a trombone ensemble composed of Wilbur Unrau, Thomas Brown, Holly Hilkemann, Susan Fast, Nathan Fast, Brent Unrau, Teacher Nathan Lu and Jennifer Zerbe.

Bob Burkhart thanked people for supporting the high school and announced that LCHS students placed first in the Academic Olympics held recently in Glasgow for the second year in a row. Students were Mason Hilkemann, Rachel Pew, Monica Uy, T.J. Cumpio and Andy Ponce-Curl. Their advisor, Mr. Lu, and the dorm parents accompanied them.

The program was emceed by chairman of the board, Curt Neufeld. The final number was Paraiso, a piece sung by the dorm parents, Jones and Melissa, and their son T.J. Cumpio. They sang wearing their traditional festive garb. They were so thankful for the welcome given them, the fresh air, the big sky, seeing so much land and the fact they could see the constellations and hear the birds in the morning. Their song was about Paraiso, a paradise dreamed of by a person in the Philippines, where “not every place called ‘home’ is a house made of cardboard floors, plastic bags for the cold” and “make the world understand, if I could see a bird, what a joy!” Melissa ended the program with a plea to remember those who live in these conditions and long for paradise.