2021 Elk Toss Update

Dispatch from the Wagner Farm (edited for clarity)...

 

There seems to be some controversy regarding what year the 2021 elk toss will be (75th?). The by-laws are very clear on this matter.  

3.91B7. If the officers are unable to determine the numeric occurrence of a particular elk toss, all events should be postponed that year.  

This actually happened in 1961. As all of you will recall, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were in an incredible home run race. Babe Ruth held the record with 60 home runs. When Maris hit number 61 in 1961, it caused a mathematical tailspin that still has ramifications today (remember the collapse of Enron and American Idol season 7). According to some records, it would have been the 16th Danville German Society Elk Toss. However, that was proven to be impossible since there are photos of Franz Klingerman winning in 1933. If the 1st (and that's "if") Elk Toss was 1933, then 1961 would be the 28th, not 16th. When you add 28 and 16 you get 44. I'm sure you see where this is going. We would like to congratulate Roger Maris for his amazing accomplishment.  

 

DGS COVID-19 Update

Because we understand that most people get their news from this blog, we wanted to make it clear that the DGS is working diligently to remain updated and follow recommendations of the CDC and government officials on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak. Our message to our members is that we recommend that you also follow the recommendations of the CDC and goverment. In particular, we recommend listening to Governor Wolf and other Pennsylvania health officials. Be safe.

2020 Elk Toss Results

Once again, the 75th Annual Elk Toss, Charity Auction, and Winter Festival was a success. We raised a total over $2900 which will soon be split between the following organizations.

$2000 - Gate House, Danville

$500 - Community Cafe at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in State College

$300 - House of Care, State College
$169 - Danville Diaper Bank

We also collected about a pickup truck full of food for the Danville-Riverside Food Bank.

There are a few missing hometowns and names in the results below. Please let us know in the comments if you have any corrections.

If you have photos or videos that you would like to share, feel free to email them to us at danvillegerman@yahoo.com or share them on our facebook page. 

Men's Elk Toss

1st - Jacob Wagner, Danville - 53'1"

2nd - James Thompson, - 51'10"

3rd - Dylan Durnick - 51'0""

3rd - Van Wagner, Danville - 48'10"

5th - Ryan Zerbe, Maryland - 44"0""

Women's Elk Toss

1st - Olivia Roth, Reading - 35'6"

2nd - Pam Shellenberger, State College - 32'9"

3rd - Tamara Wagner, Danville - 31'0"

Children's Elk Toss

1st - Holden Franz, Danville - 45'0"

2nd - Camden, - 36'

3rd - Valerie, 34'1"

Hog Toss (12-17 Years Old)

1st - Luke Wagner, Danville - 40'2"

2nd - 33'9"

3rd - Noland, 26'5"

Elk Bugling Competition

1st - Ryan Zerbe, Maryland

Salad Toss

1st - Ann Clements / Brian Nichols, State College (2nd year in a row)

Beard Competition

1st - Biscuit

Scrap Iron Toss

1st - Todd Tilford

2nd - TJ Willoughby, Danville

Kids Scrap Iron Toss
1st - Holden Frantz, Danville
2nd - Logan Shellenberger, State College

'Twas the Night Before Elk Toss

Rewatch one of the classic DGS videos as you mentally prepare for the Elk Toss.

Salad Toss Salad

In our relentless quest to provide the most enjoyable Elk Toss experience, we leave nothing to chance. This includes testing of the Official Danville German Society Salad Toss Salad. We are pleased to announce that the salad has been approved by our Salad Inspection Committee.

New Event?

Elk Toss Tomorrow

Recycled and revised information from old blog posts with a few reminders for people planning to attend the 75th Annual Elk Toss...

1. Bring items to donate to the auction.
2. Bring non-perishable food to donate to the Danville-Riverside Food Bank. 
3. Bring laundry detergent to donate to the Good Samaritan Mission in Danville.
4. Bring Pot-Luck Food to share at the Wagner Farm.
5. Bring cash or checks (or bitcoin?) for the auction and event entry fees.
6. Bring a Drinking Vessel and your own beverages. The DGS was not able to get as many donations from local breweries like previous years, so we are requesting that this year be partially BYOB.
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 could be snowy, icy, muddy, wet, hard, soft, rocky, grassy, or moist. Driveway updates will be provided as necessary.
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 for updates on driveway conditions, weather, entertainment, etc. 
14. More information about tomorrow can be found on the blog, especially here.

Happy Fastnacht Day!

Today is the day to bust out the molasses and eat some fastnachts for Fastnacht Day.

In other news, the Elk Toss is 4 days from today.

If you think Mardi Gras is better than Fastnacht Day, then explain this:

Beverages

The DGS has once again arranged for some beer to be donated to the Elk Toss (Thanks, Otto's!), but it is not going to be enough for everyone. So, we are requesting that you bring your own beverages.

To cut down on waste, here is our official ranking of suggested beer containers:

1. Kegs (reusable)
2. Growlers (reusable)
3. Straub Returnables (the last brewery in the US offering reusable bottles)
4. Aluminum Cans (highly recyclable)
5. Glass Bottles (somewhat recyclable)
6. Getting Hit by a Bus
7. Plastic Bottles

Please bring your own drinking vessels.

More Food Information

Pot Luck Cooking Tips from Revlar!

Farm Food

A reminder that we appreciate potluck food to be brought to the Wagner Farm. There is electricity in the barn for crockpots. Please do not bring this flavor of Pop Tarts.

11 Days Until Elk Toss

We are getting ready...

Driveway Update - February 15

From Mr. Wagner...



Rick Bork does a great driveway update. Although this is Minnesota, I highly recommend watching this update on driveway conditions. He's the best in the industry. "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes"...where does he get this stuff? Also, his shirt has his name on it! DGS, we need to do better. Elk Toss is in less than two weeks.

New Event?

This TikTok video was misbehaving on our blog, so it has been removed. You can still see it from this link, if you dare.

Danville German Society Fundraising Video

Traffic Update - January 31

2020 Elk Toss Information

The 75th Annual Danville German Society Elk Toss, Winter Festival, and Charity Auction will be held at the Wagner Farm in Danville on February 29th, 2020.

The general schedule of events can be found here. We will try to stick to a 4pm start time for the Elk Toss, although other event times could vary depending on weather, attendance, driveway conditions, etc.

This year's events will benefit several local organizations, including the following:

The Gate House

House of Care (Centre County)
Community Cafe (State College)
 

We request again that you to bring cans and other non-perishable food items to donate to the
Danville-Riverside Food Bank. We also request that you bring laundry detergent to donate to the Good Samaritan Mission in Danville.

Please bring items to donate to this year's auction, and make sure you bring money to buy

stuff in the auction. Please bring auction items that you think that someone would actually want.  Please do not use our auction as a way to take out your trash.
 
Feel free to dress up in your best German or Pennsylvania Dutch outfit. This is not a requirement, but be prepared to be ridiculed if you don't look German.  

After the Elk Toss, there will be musical entertainment at the Old Forge Brewing Company. This year Van Wagner and Forc will perform. Old Forge has already indicated that they will be making a donation to the Gate House as part of our event.

The Danville German Society recommends anyone who has enjoyed fermented and/or distilled beverages to book a room at the Pine Barn Inn (800-627-2276 or 570-275-2071). Information about other hotels (not within walking distance of downtown Danville) can be found here.

Elk Toss Writing

In 2018, Ethan Canterbury from New Jersey attended his first Elk Toss, and recently wrote about it for a third grade assignment.

Driveway Update - January 13

Radioactive sauerkraut, explosions, Back to the Elk Toss...

Driveway Update - January 6

From the Wagner Farm...

"...the driveway is ruined. The lack of snow has made it incredibly clay-rich. The clay binds to tires.  The tires bind to stones. As you drive you can hear stones hitting one's undercarriage. It's really quite horrible. I turned up the radio the other day to drown out the sound even though it was the song "Last Christmas" by Wham. I don't mind Wham, but that song is overplayed. I was forced to choose between Wham and stones hitting my undercarriage. Wham won. As of now, elk toss cancelled."