LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 52nd Annual German-American
Steuben Parade

WHEREAS, The German-American Steuben Parade is a time for all to cele-
brate the rich heritage of the German people, unlimited in their
contributions to this greatly diverse land of ours; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commem-
orate the 52nd Annual German-American Steuben Parade on Saturday,
September 19, 2009; and
WHEREAS, The theme of this year's parade is "Freedom Without Walls,"
to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which
would not have been possible without the active leadership of the United
States; and
WHEREAS, The parade is named in honor and memory of General (Baron)
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, the great Prussian military strategist,
who was extremely critical to the victory by George Washington's forces
over the British army during America's War for Independence; and
WHEREAS, The New York Yankees will be presenting their own float in
the parade for the first time, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of
Yankee and German-American great Lou Gehrig's famous "luckiest man on
the face of the earth" speech; and
WHEREAS, For the first time, the Steuben Parade will feature a "Conti-
nental Division," to include German-American groups from all over the
United States to participate, helping to make New York city a center of
German-American culture nationwide; and
WHEREAS, Grand Marshals for the parade are: Congressman Michael McMa-
hon (Staten Island/Brooklyn); Mr. Christian Haub, Chairman, The Great
Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company/A&P; Linda Schmidt, Fox 5 TV news repor-
ter and anchor; and Theobald "Ted" Dengler, Esq., a 1957 founding member
of the Parade Committee; and
WHEREAS, The 2000 U. S. Census and its 2005 update list Americans of
German ancestry as the largest ethnic group in the United States; in 24
of America's 50 states, Germans are the single largest ethnic group; and
WHEREAS, In New York, 28 of the state's 62 counties list Germans as
the single largest ethnic group; the German-American Steuben Parade
attracts visitors from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other overseas
nations, as well as from many American states and throughout Canada; and
WHEREAS, Aside from General von Steuben and this year's Grand
Marshals, prominent German-Americans include President Dwight Eisenhow-
er, Babe Ruth, Albert Einstein, Mayor Robert Wagner, Lou Gehrig, Levi
Strauss, Dr. Guenther Blobel (a New Yorker and recent Nobel prize
winner), John Kluge, Augustus Busch, Walter Cronkite and many others;
and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize the
52nd Annual German-American Steuben Parade, fully confident that such
procedure mirrors our shared commitment to preserve and yet effect that
patrimony of freedom which is our American heritage; now, therefore, be
it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 52nd Annual German-American Steuben Parade; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the German-American Steuben Parade's General Chairman Lars
Halter, and to this year's aforementioned Grand Marshals.