By GUY WINDHOLZ
It was a wet and misty 33-degree morning earlier this month when some “Hot Shots” waltzed into the Hays Public Library and proceeded to take over the south first-floor meeting room. They carried with themselves heavy metal equipment and instruments specially designed to delight the audience with a full treatment of German polkas and waltzes.
The audience of 148 ranged in age from 1 to 94 and any observer could see that they would remain captured for the duration of three hours of musical entertainment. So who were these un-masked individuals that go by the name of the “Hot Shots?”
Heading up the group was their leader, Dale Stramel, on accordion, from Pfeifer, Jimmy Rothe, guitar from the Rush County area, Kenny Windholz, from Ellis County on drums and Lee Maxwell at the ripe young age of 92, also from Ellis County, on trombone.
It was an opportunity to meet up with an old friend Lee Maxwell, brother of the late legendary trumpet player Jimmy Maxwell, known among the giants of the music world, as one of the best trumpet players in the era of ballroom music. He was a member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra in the ’40s.
Photos and videos courtesy of Guy Windholz
Knowing the event went from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the library arranged to have a selection of German foods that included the ever-popular beans and noodles, green bean and dumpling soup and topped off for those with a sweet tooth some spitzbubens and heartzchens known as Heart cookies.
Library staff members guided by Samantha Gill included Patty Rohr and Marrisa Lamer who monitored the cookies, as an unnamed individual among the crowd, being a cookie monster, would have relished any opportunity to consume a second heartzchen cookie.
While the event was billed as a Volga German Christmas performance, there were Bukovina Austrian Germans from the Ellis area mixed within the crowd. Virtually every original village or city from within Ellis County was represented among the attendees, from Ellis, Emmeram and Munjor to Schoenchen.
The Hays Public Library has much to offer the community. It is hoped on a fairer weather day this could be repeated. Visit their Facebook page to learn of other upcoming events.