Driveway Update - December 23

Let the video speak for itself...

Driveway Conditions Update - December 10

We cannot provide a complete driveway conditions update at this time, although we can provide some recent photos of the driveway and surrounding area. More information will be provided as it becomes available.

Elk Toss Entertainment - Breaking News

The Danville German Society is hard at work organizing the 75th Annual Elk Toss, Charity Auction, and Winter Festival. We're in the process of lining up some excellent entertainment. Tentatively, the musical lineup will include Van Wagner followed by an All-Star Band led by Mike (Mickel) McMonagle. More information to follow.

Elk Toss Date Set, and Subsequently Cancelled (Tentatively)

The 75th Annual Elk Toss, Charity Auction, and Winter Festival has been scheduled for Saturday, February 21, 2015. Then we saw this:




With the forecast of snow this week, we are tentatively cancelling the Elk Toss until we have more information. Check back soon for the latest Elk Toss news, including driveway conditions updates.

Van and Mike in Lancaster - August 12

We recently sent out the following email to DGS members, and wanted to post it on our blog for anyone who does not receive our emails. If you do want to receive our emails, contact us.

On Tuesday, August 12 at 7:00 pm, Van Wagner and Mike McMonagle will be performing acoustic music at Tellus 360 in Lancaster. We wanted to pass this on to Danville German Society members for several reasons:

1. The show is just about 6 months before the 75th Annual Elk Toss, Charity Auction, and Winter Festival (ETCAWF). It will serve as an official meeting of the DGS Lancaster Chapter, and a reminder that the Elk Toss is only 6 months away. More details about the Elk Toss will come later this fall.

2. Van and Mike have been DGS members since birth.

3. The show is free, although cash donations benefiting CWS-Lancaster will be accepted.

More information about the show can be found here: 

And more information about CWS-Lancaster can be found here.

 Thanks,

Karl

DGS Co-President

Franz the Artist

When I was very young, we went to the Scranton Museum of Art. There, I saw a woman standing in front of a painting, and she was actually crying. I don’t recall it being a sad painting. My mother leaned down to me and whispered, “See, the painting is so beautiful, it breaks her heart and makes her cry.”

This made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.

But then, I had not yet seen Franz Klingermann toss an elk.

Bears and Elk

The 75th elk toss is currently postponed due to bear sighting. We CAN NOT afford another "black bear at the beer keg" situation like we had in 1996:

Rick and Franz

Rick Victor still owns the house where he grew up outside of Scranton. The floor is dirt and you see bits of the sky as you look through the roof and the walls are as thin and brittle as graham crackers. But it still stands and Rick Victor comes by every so often to see it and to remember. His life is a miracle. That’s the thing he wants to remember. There was so little hope in that poor little suburb. Life inescapably led to the coal mines. Only his life did not…because of music.

The day he showed us the house there was a woman living there, and she is still there … she is a family friend and lives there for free. There is only one thing Rick Victor asks. She must not change things. This house must remain as it was because this house is what connects Rick Victor to a past he must remember. He was a chart-topping musician. He was a groundbreaking artist. He fathered 17 children (at last count). He is a hero to his people. He cannot accomplish all that he must do if he does not remember his past.

But even in this, the woman does not have to keep everything exactly the same. It is her home now.

“Right there,” Victor said as he pointed at a photo on the wall, “there used to be a picture of Jesus.”

The picture is now of Franz Klingermann.

Driveway Update - March 31

From the Wagner Farm:

"We got some snow yesterday. shamokin like half a foot. eagles mere 10-12". cancel elk toss?"

Fundraising Results

For the 2014 Elk Toss, Charity Auction, and Winter Festival (75th Year), we raised a total of $2000 and have donated that money to the following organizations:

The Gate House, Danville - $800
The Hope Fund of Penns Valley (Centre County) - $500
Lancaster County Conservancy Urban Greening program - $500
ClearWater Conservancy(Centre County) - $200

We also collected about two grocery carts full of non perishable food that was donated to the Danville-Riverside Food bank.

In addition to the money and food, 550 diapers were collected and donated to the Danville Area Diaper Bank.

More Elk Toss Photos

Check out the link to some more photos courtesy of Scott Staley via Fred Iobst.

Additional Donations Requested

We understand that many of you were unable to attend the Elk Toss this year because of the weather, and you were unable to contribute money to the great organizations that we are supporting.

If you are interesting in making a donation, you can make an internet donation to Van through his PayPal account. To do this, go to the PayPal send money site, and enter Van's email address - vanwags (at) yahoo (dot) com. You will need to log in to your PayPal account.

For a PayPal donation, make sure that you include Elk Toss or some other identifying information in the email subject or message to Van when you make the donation. Also know that the donation will be subject to a 2.9% + $0.30 fee.

If you don't have a PayPal account or do not want to create one, you can also make a donation by sending a check to Karl. Email him to get details on where to send it.

2014 Elk Toss Thanks

The 75th Annual Elk Toss, Charity Auction, and Winter Festival would not have been a success without the help and generosity of so many people. Hopefully this list is complete - please email us if we forgot someone.

Many thanks goes out to...

Our guest German Societies and Chapters:
The Shikellamy German Society (in their 74th year)
The Shamokin German Society (in their 60th year)
The DGS State College Chapter
The DGS Lancaster Chapter

Aaron and Karen Jensen for auction assistance, money collection, and more.

Franz Klingermann for not showing up to win the Elk Toss again.

Michael Espinosa for auctioneering and for serving as the puppet show director.

Francy Moyer for faithfully serving as our Faculty Advisor.

Everyone...
...for bringing auction items and buying auction items and taking those items with them when they left
...for bringing pot luck food
...for traveling to Danville in February to spend most of the day outside
...for having a good time

Voelckers Beer Distributor for sponsoring the event and arranging for donations from Elk Creek Cafe and Aleworks and the Old Forge Brewing Company.

Otto's Pub and Brewery for providing a donation.

Pam Shellenberger for organizing events, collecting money, and more.

Kevin Briggs and Van Wagner for performing at the Pub II.

Fred Iobst for performing his magic at the Pub II.

Heeter's Drive-In for hosting the ScrappleFest.

And most importantly.... the Wagner family for hosting the Elk Toss, plowing the driveway, providing supplies and an outhouse, and plowing the driveway (was that already mentioned).

Daily Item Photos

The Daily Item has posted 119 Elk Toss photos on their website and a slideshow website. Enjoy

Photos/Video Requested

If you have any Elk Toss photos or videos that you would like to share, we would love to have them. You can email us with the photos or videos, or email us with links to where we could find them.

Sunday Item Article

They Sunday Item from Sunbury published an article about the elk toss. A scanned pdf version of the article can be found here.

An online version has not been made available, other than the video posted yesterday.

2014 Elk Toss Results

Here are the results of the events at the 75th Annual Elk Toss, Charity Auction and Winter Festival.

A total of $2000 was raised and, it will benefit the following organizations:

The Gate House, Danville
The Hope Fund of Penns Valley (Centre County)
Lancaster County Conservancy Urban Greening program
ClearWater Conservancy (Centre County)

We are still determining how the funds will be divided.

Men's Elk Toss
1st - Mike Wilkinson, Lancaster - 44'7"
2nd (tie) - Matt Dodge, Turbotville and Shawn Dodge, Sunbury - 43'9"
4th - Mike Russo, Sunbury - 43'0"
5th - Jason Clapp, Danville - 39'6"

Women's Elk Toss
1st - Tamara Wagner, Danville - 29'0"
2nd - Nora Jens, Baltimore, MD - 28'3"

Children's Elk Toss
Longest Toss - Calvin Wagner, Danville - 36'11"
Longest 4 Year Old Toss -  Ben Crane, Danville
Straightest Toss - Luke Wagner, Danville
Most Violent Toss - Luke Friscia, Danville
Highest Toss - Owen Crane, Danville

Elk Bugling Competition
1st - Matt Dodge, Turbotville

Salad Toss
1st - Mike McMonagle and Dominic Billett, Lancaster

Beard Competition
1st- Stu Sumner, New Columbia

Scrap Iron Toss
1st - Van Wagner, Danville

Block Shoot
1st - Amy Keefer


Please let us know if there are any errors in the list above.

Daily Item Elk Toss Coverage

The Sunbury Daily Item published an article about the Elk Toss. The scanned version will be posted on this blog in the next few days. The Daily Item also has a short video on their website.

What? Another Video?

'Twas the Night Before Elk Toss

If you have any doubt about attending the Elk Toss tomorrow, please watch this video. We're not kidding. Watch it.

Driveway Update - February 14 (p.m.)

Happy Valentines, and Happy Elk Toss Eve. We're ready for tomorrow. Here are a few driveway and Wagner Farm photos from this afternoon. When you come up the driveway, just follow this advice from a few years ago:

"My front wheel drive Saturn has been fine...but people CAN NOT STOP HALFWAY UP TO SMELL THE ROSES AND THEN TRY TO GO AGAIN. My driveway is like a marriage, you have to commit. Like a marriage, there is ice, there are ditches, it is wet is places, you'll have arguments about drinking, you have push on because at the end is a glorious mountain top with space and sunshine."

Just think of the musty elk odor awaiting you at the top of the driveway. You will be fine.

But seriously, keep a steady pace on your way up the driveway.

Seriously,

Driveway Update - February 14 (Delayed)

We received this email from Van earlier this morning. I appears that the email was actually sent on Monday, but it only arrived today. I think the snow is now causing delays to email, and not just schools, planes, tranes, and automobiles.

"I just plowed the field. this has to do with a truck and snow plow not a tractor and soil plow. word is more snow thursday. we are running out of room to plow the snow. we may need to all attendees to focus pee on a 3 square foot area. if everyone pees on 3 square feet, and 333 attend, we can thaw 1,000 square feet! drink lots of water ahead of elk toss. spread word."

More information about the driveway and Elk Toss later today.

Driveway Update - February 13 (p.m)

Another driveway update video. We may have more information later this evening. Check back soon, and enjoy the video.

Driveway Update - February 13 (a.m.)

The National Weather Service lists the current conditions for Danville as "Snow Freezing Fog". We are not exactly sure what that means, but it can't be good for driveway conditions. With snow still falling, we will not have a clear picture of the driveway conditions until later today. We do know that the plow-man will be working overtime. Please check back for another update later today.

Rick Victor Warning

We just wanted to warn everyone of the threat of a Rick Victor sighting at the Elk Toss. Remember what he did to our driveway update video last year...

Latest Snowfall Forecast

Here's the latest snowfall forecast map from the National Weather Service State College office. 8-10" should be no match for the plow.

Driveway Update - February 12 (p.m.)

This video driveway update is an instant classic. Please take the time (only 11 minutes!) to view the entire video.

Final Elk Toss Reminders (The Essential Blog Post)

With only 3 days until the Elk Toss, we are posting our Final Elk Toss Reminders, which might not actually be the final email like this. Here are some things to remember as you are planning for Saturday.

1. Bring items to donate to the auction.

2. Bring non-perishable food to donate to the Danville-Riverside Food Bank.

3. Bring diapers to donate to the Danville Diaper Bank.

4. Bring Pot-Luck Food to share at the Wagner Farm.

5. Bring cash or checks for the auction and event entry fees.

6. Bring a Drinking Vessel.

7. Wear Lederhosen or a Dirndl, or wear warm clothes and boots since we will be outside much of the day.

8. Please do not bring your dog to the Elk Toss.

9. Organize a carpool and drive an AWD/4WD vehicle. The Wagner Farm driveway and parking area will be snowy and/or icy.

10. Reserve a room if you want to spend the night in Danville.

11. Prepare to have fun while supporting some great organizations.

12. If you have a trophy from last year, please bring them back with you so that we can present it to this year's winner in that event.

13. Check this blog often in the next few days for updates on driveway conditions, weather, estimated elk arrival time, scrapple recipes, etc.

Weather Forecast for Saturday

Supposedly there's a big storm coming up the coast that is going to drop a bunch of snow throughout the mid-Atlantic region. How much snow for Danville is still being determined, but it does look like we should be free of precipitation on Saturday. The Driveway Maintenance Department will be hard at work to plow the snow, so that everyone can safely get to the Wagner Farm.

It looks like 2014 may be one of our coldest years ever with a National Weather Service forecast (as the time of this post) for a morning low of 19 and an afternoon high of 30. Compare that to years past (based on the archives of the weather station at the Selinsgrove Airport):

2/16/13 - Low 28, High 34
2/25/12 - Low 31, High 38
2/26/11 - Low 25, High 39
2/20/10 - Low 23, High 42
2/21/09 - Low 18, High 39
2/16/08 - Low 12, High 32
2/17/07 - Low 10, High 32, light snow
2/25/06 - Low 23, High 53
2/26/05 - Low 12, High 39
2/28/04 - Low 17, High 50
2/23/03 - Low 24, High 41, rain/snow
1/26/02 - Low 21, High 55
1/20/01 - Low 23, High 33, light snow

Driveway Update - February 12 (a.m.)

Here's the snowfall forecast from the National Weather Service State College Office as of early this morning. Note that it only shows forecast snowfall amounts for the counties served by that office.

The plowman is getting mentally prepared.

Driveway Update - February 11 (p.m)

Another video driveway update.

**We apologize, but this video had to be removed for legal reasons.**

Meteor-ology

What does this mean?

Driveway Update - February 11 (a.m.)

Either the meteorologists are trying to scare us with the map below, or the driveway conditions are going to get worse. Check back later for more information.

Elk Toss Reminders

A blog post from 2013, updated for your reading pleasure:

Q: What should I bring to the Elk Toss?

A: These things...

1. Cash and/or checks to pay for events and the auction.
2. Items to donate to the charity auction.
3. Non-perishable food items to donate to the Danville-Riverside Food Bank.
4. Pot luck food to share at the Wagner Farm.
5. Drinking vessel.
6. Diapers to donate to the Danville Diaper Bank.

Q: Thanks, is there anything that I should not bring with me?

A: Do not bring these things...

1. Dogs.
2. People under 21 (unless they are with a parent or guardian).

Farm Map

To help orient yourself at the Wagner Farm, our GIS Department has prepared the map below (or download the pdf version).

Driveway Update - February 10

We received a honest and realistic driveway update from the Wagners...

"Parking will be tough. the serious driveway update is that it's all snow. AWD or 4WD is a must for any car coming up the driveway. All others should park on Tower Road and hike up." (Edited for clarity and grammar)

Temperatures this week are not expected to get much above freezing, so the driveway conditions are not expected to improve much by Saturday, and it could get worse if more snow falls. Updates will be posted daily.

Diaper Drive 2014

Back again for our 75th Year...

Representatives from the Danville Area Diaper Bank will be at the Wagner Farm to to collect diapers (unused, of course), and they will distribute them to local families who need them. All you need to do is to bring along a package of diapers (sizes 1 through 6) with you to the Wagner Farm, and give them to the people from the Diaper Bank. They said that generic or store brand diapers are preferred, since they provide the most value and more diapers can be provided to kids who need them.

The Diaper Bank will also be providing hot drinks for people at the Elk Toss for a small fee.

So, now you have several options for items to bring along donate at the Elk Toss:

1. Diapers
2. Non-Perishible Food
3. Auction Items

Driveway Update - February 8

Here's another exciting driveway update that should provide you with everything you wanted to know about driveways and so much more...

Schedule Update

The schedule for the 75th Annual Elk Toss, Charity Auction, and Winter Festival is posted on our website in pdf format. A summary of the schedule can also be found below:

9:00 am - Heeter's Drive-In for Annual ScrappleFest
10:00 am - Salvation Army Shopping Trip
11:00 am - Arrive at Wagner Farm
11:30 am - Opening Ceremonies at Wagner Farm
Noon - Events and Auction at Wagner Farm
4:00 pm - ELK TOSS followed by more competitions and auction
6:00 pm - Leave Wagner Farm and head to downtown Danville
7:00 pm - Tour of Danville begins at Pine Barn Inn bar
8:00 pm - Entertainment at the Pub II
Late - more Tour of Danville

Note that Pappas Restaurant is closed (hopefully it is only temporary), so the ScrappleFest has been relocated to Heeter's Drive-In in Riverside (across the Susquehanna from Danville).

Michael Bolton's Winning Softball

Sometimes we find something on the internet that is so awesome it must be shared with you. Here's Michael Bolton's softball instructional video from 1993, including some concert footage.

More information about the video can be found in an article on the Sports on Earth website.

Auction Information

The majority of the money raised at the Elk Toss is through the Charity Auction. We will raise more money if people bring quality items to donate to the auction. So, please bring things that you think other people might actually want to buy.

Once again, we will have a silent auction for some items. If you have something that you would like to donate to the silent auction, let us know and we can make it happen.

The rest of the auction will be done the traditional way with our team of experienced "auctioneers" and helpers.

Auction Rules:
1. All bids are in $1 increments.
2. Please pay a DGS Officer or put your money in a self serve bucket located on the stage in the barn.
3. Please take items home with you.
4. Do not donate items that are illegal or dangerous. If you have any questions, ask us.

Entertainment Update

After the Elk Toss, the annual Tour of Danville will include musical and magical entertainment at the Pub 2 on Mill Street.

Van Wagner performs at 8pm followed by Kevin Briggs at 9pm. Fred Iobst will be performing table magic as well.

Driveway Update - February 1

Driveway Update - January 30

We apologize for the lack of regular driveway updates, and we also apologize for not being able to provide a detailed update today. The Wagners, particularly Van, are very focused on the Justin Bieber situation and are unable to take the time to look at their driveway. What will Justin do next? Will he be deported back to Canada? What is up with his hair? Has anyone other than pre-teen girls ever heard any of his songs?

Driveway Update - January 24

Urgent dispatch from the Wagner Farm...

"Last night Tamara took a bad fall on some ice. The ice was approximately 1/2 mile from our driveway. Please keep Tamara in your thoughts. More details coming....."

Elk Toss 2014 Will Benefit...

The DGS Officers have determined that the money raised at the 2014 Elk Toss will benefit the following organizations:

The Gate House, Danville
The Hope Fund of Penns Valley
Lancaster County Conservancy Urban Greening program
ClearWater Conservancy, Centre County

Please come to the Elk Toss on February 15 to support these great organizations and have a good time.

Elk Toss Reminders

It is less than a month before the Elk Toss  (February 15, in case you forgot). Here are a few reminders for Elk Toss attendees:

1. Bring items to donate to the auction.
2. Bring donations of food to donate to the Danville-Riverside Food Bank.
3. Bring cash or checks for the auction and event entry fees.
4. Bring a Drinking Vessel.
5. Wear Lederhosen or a Dirndl.
6. Wear warm clothes and boots since we will be outside much of the day.
7. Bring Pot-Luck Food to share at the Wagner Farm.
8. Please do not bring your dog to the Elk Toss.
9. Organize a carpool. Parking is somewhat limited at the Wagner Farm.
10. If you haven't done so already, reserve a room if you want to spend the night in Danville.
11. Prepare to have fun while supporting some great charities (charity list to be posted soon).

2014 Elk Toss Schedule

The schedule for the 75th Annual Elk Toss, Charity Auction, and Winter Festival will soon be posted on our website in pdf format. You can also find a link to the schedule under the links section on the right side of the blog. And a summary of the schedule can also be found below in this blog post:

9:00 am - Pappas Restaurant for Annual ScrappleFest
10:00 am - Salvation Army Shopping Trip
11:00 am - Arrive at Wagner Farm
11:30 am - Opening Ceremonies at Wagner Farm
Noon - Events and Auction at Wagner Farm
4:00 pm - ELK TOSS followed by more competitions and auction
6:00 pm - Leave Wagner Farm and head to downtown Danville
7:00 pm - Tour of Danville begins at Pine Barn Inn bar
8:00 pm - Entertainment at the Pub II
Late - more Tour of Danville

Please note that the Jerseytown Burger Eat-Off at the Jerseytown Tavern has been cancelled again this year. The Tavern no longer opens at 10am, so we will not be holding that event in 2014

Weather Forecast

Accuweather provides a 45-day weather forecast, which we assume is 100% accurate because everything on the internet is true. The Elk Toss, February 15, is now within that 45 day range, so here's our first weather forecast for the 2014 Elk Toss.

A driveway update will be posted soon.