FogHorn Sept. 22 - Octoberfest at the HMB Brewery

 A happy, toe-tapping, musical afternoon awaited members of the Rotary Club of Half Moon Bay at today’s luncheon. Appropriately held at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company, it was the annual Octoberfest Singalong, which featured our own EJ Dieterle looking dapper in lederhosen and playing his sprightly accordion music for us to sing along with.
After everyone had a chance to eat, EJ launched with gusto into the music, beginning with “Happy Wanderer” (“I love to go a-wandering, Along the mountain track, And as I go I love to sing, My knapsack on my back. Val-deri, Val-dera, Val-deri, Val-der ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-he-ha”) and so on.
EJ took a moment to tell of his recent visit to Dan Bodmann, during which he brought his accordion and played “Danny Boy” to him. He played it again for the club, to the rapt attention of all present.
Then, having handed out the lyrics and original languages of the songs he would play, EJ began. He sprinkled his presentation with traditions, culture and history of Octoberfest, such as how many different languages you would likely hear during Octoberfest celebrations in Germany – not to mention yodeling! He also led the room in lifting up glasses to toast Octoberfest.
His next song was “Wooden Heart,” made famous by Elvis Presley. Then he gave a little more of a “history lesson” about Octoberfest, such as the 1.5 million (I think) gallons of beer consumed in Germany during that holiday. (“What we (Americans) call a glass is a joke,” he said.) He gave a little more information about Octoberfest traditions and rituals such as seating arrangements, and the millions of people who participate in them. 
His next song was the well-received “Beer Barrel Polka” (“Roll out the barrel, We’ll have a barrel of fun,”) and then he mentioned the upcoming Octoberfest planned by the Odd Fellows in Half Moon Bay, at their lodge on Main Street. Joe Brennan will email out information about it, he said, and Dave Dickson will be there with his home-brew. 
The music then turned to the nostalgic, gentle ballad “Edelweiss,” made famous in the movie “The Sound of Music.” At EJ’s invitation, Mary Corcoran sang much of the song solo, with club members backing her up.
Then came “Lili Marleen,” a song which has been translated into dozens of languages and had been sung by both sides during World War II. Then the language shifted to Italian with Dean Martin’s “That’s Amore” (“When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore”) and EJ gave a true vocal flourish as he headed into each chorus.
After mentioning that he will don his lederhosen to play several more Octoberfest gigs in the next few weeks, EJ led club members into “Que Sera Sera” (“Que sera sera, whatever will be, will be”) and rounded off the Octoberfest entertainment with the lively English polka “Too Fat, Not Too Fat” to delighted applause.
The meeting ended with a call for more help for the coming weekend’s Purple Heart Anglers Fishing Trip out of Pillar Point Harbor for disabled veterans. About 15 people were needed to help set up lunch at the Legion for participants, and as usual, several Rotarians stepped up.