Marie Waldinger, the oldest resident of Rodgau, celebrates her 102nd birthday on 2 January with her family in Ostring in Jügesheim. Mayor Paul Scherer offers the town's congratulations.
The new year begins with snow and a cleaning campaign by the "Ahmadiya" community in Rodgau, which has 180 members and comes from Pakistan, who clean the alley between the town hall and the church in Jügesheim of the remains of the New Year's Eve fireworks as a sign of the new year, a traditional action for the new year and a symbol of their ties to their new home and their fellow citizens.
as a result of the Hessian regional reform on 1 January 1977. As is well known, Rodgau was merged from the previously independent municipalities of Weiskirchen, Hainhausen, Jügesheim and Dudenhofen from the district of Offenbach and Nieder-Roden from the district of Dieburg. Mayor Paul Scherer honours the event in the press and describes the result as a successful urban development "with a sense of proportion" and praises the lively civic spirit and cultural development in Rodgau.
A piece of administrative reform takes place in the city administration at the beginning of the year: the wastewater treatment and sewerage departments are spun off from the city administration and assigned to the municipal utilities - the city's own company. In the first half of January, the amount of snow causes problems for motorists, but winter fun on the ice of the bathing lake is denied to the people of Rodgau due to dangerously thin layers of ice on the lake surface.
The Rodgau Adult Education Centre has put together a programme of 174 courses for the new semester starting on 17 February.problematic waste - storage and processing in a specialist company on the industrial estate in Jügesheim - is keeping the parliamentarians busy, but they feel let down by the regional council: As this authority is ultimately responsible but remains inactive, the city and local parliamentarians "have their hands tied", as it says in the press, albeit "with a clenched fist in their pockets".
No positive news in the new year: 8% unemployment registered in Rodgau and Rödermark, new high.
With more than 400 signatures, the Rodgau CDU launches its citizens' petition calling for a development plan for the extension of the Rodgau-Ring road to Weiskirchen.
Huge success for the breeders of the Nieder-Roden Poultry Breeders' Association at the end of the 96/97 show season: at the national pedigree poultry show in Frankfurt they were awarded eleven "Excellent" marks and breeder Günther Dries and his "Black Italians" also received the special "Golden Hen" award.
And despite the ice and snow, 108 blood donors turn up to the Weiskirchen Red Cross appointment. Honoured for his 50th blood donation: Georg Schwarz.
The town provides an artificial ice surface at the Hainhausen sports centre with the help of the volunteer fire brigade.
And at the "Gänsbrüh" in Dudenhofen, the historical wood auction of the "Germania" male choral society is once again - snow-covered in the depths of winter - very much in the spirit of this year's 100th anniversary of the society and accordingly well attended.
A fire at the concrete factory in Rollwald causes several 100,000 marks worth of damage.
The first external session organised by TGS Jügesheim marks the start of the carnival events in Rodgau.
At the traditional New Year's reception of the CDU Dudenhofen, Dr Alfred Dregger, former President of the German Bundestag, gives the keynote speech in front of around 800 visitors.
Dr Michel Friedmann, cultural policy spokesman for the Central Council of Jews in Germany, will speak at the SPD Rodgau New Year's reception in the Weiskirchen community centre.
In the end, 5,337 signatures were collected on time for the CDU's petition for the continuation of the Rodgau-Ring road, far more than the 2,938 of the 29,374 eligible voters in Rodgau required for authorisation.
An exhibition in the town hall is dedicated to Adolf Hessler, a deserving Red Cross member living in Offenbach, who has been organising donation trips from Rodgau to the Friedland camp for decades.
Major public hearing in the environment committee with the district president on the remediation of the "Wallersee contaminated site" in Hainhausen: although the "RP" understands the concerns of the people of Rodgau about the contaminated site - scrap cars dumped in the former quarry pond - there is no money for an immediate risk assessment. Politicians are disappointed.
In the "Histo Monte" for classic cars, two teams from Rodgau held out and finished 43rd (Reinhard Rebel and co-driver Hans Peter Nees in a Mercedes 200 S) and 50th (Heinz Macharsky and Manfred Hahn).
At the end of January, a very special walk through Weiskirchen with 50 participants with Winno Sahm, as a walk of "remembrance" of former Jewish neighbours to places of former life in this district.
The chronicle of the month of February begins with the golden wedding anniversary of Karl Kühnle and his wife Elisabeth, a deserving farmer and local politician from Dudenhof - Federal Cross of Merit and State Certificate of Honour.
A warm "Welcome to Dudenhofen" goes out to the new Protestant pastor Ulrich Möbus, who is to support Pastor Markus Nett in his duties, albeit only with a part-time position for the time being, as successor to the pastor Mrs Olschewski. It is his first pastorate.
With a clear vote of 34 : 8, the municipal council passes the citizens' petition submitted by the CDU parliamentary group with 5,337 signatures in favour of extending the Rodgau-Ring road to Weiskirchen and connecting it to the supra-local road network in order to further relieve congestion, especially on the through roads in Weiskirchen and Hainhausen. This now requires the preparation of a development plan with a corresponding amendment to the land utilisation plan.
The municipal council instructs the magistrate to continue negotiations with Bahn-AG on the still disputed suburban railway costs, a "poker game for three and a half million", as it is called in the press on the still open decision on the amount of Rodgau's share of the suburban railway construction costs.
The "Help to Work" project, a joint city and district project to reintegrate the long-term unemployed into working life, is extended by five years, meaning that the city will provide 15 jobs in its administrative area instead of 10.
The Young Union Rodgau is on course for a record 300 members and elects Lars Neumann as its new chairman after Heiko Lautenschläger no longer stood as a candidate after a successful five-year term in office.
A new association is founded with the aim of improving German-Polish relations, particularly youth exchanges. The first chairman is Toni Sauer, and initial relations are established with the Ilawa region.
Unemployment in Rodgau and Rödermark continues to rise: 8.6%, totalling 2,648 people affected.
The carnival campaign 96/97 reaches its final climax with the traditional storming of the town hall by the TGS - the magistrate is forced into defence in Roman garb - and the big carnival procession through Jügesheim with 55 groups.
A 30-year-old mother dies of her injuries at the scene of an accident on Nieuwpoorter Straße in Dudenhofen after being hit on the pavement by a car that was apparently travelling too fast. Her eight-year-old son is injured.
The Nieder-Roden amateur dramatics group presents a new production of "Jungesellenfalle", directed by Uwe Müller-Klausch, with two theatre evenings scheduled for the beginning of March in the Bürgerhaus Nieder-Roden.
Political events in February are dominated by the election campaign for the local elections in March with numerous meetings and discussion evenings.
Bärbel Seyer, long-time head of the Bodelschwingh School in Weiskirchen - a school for the practically educated - is celebrating her 50th birthday: instead of flowers and gifts, she is asking for donations for the "House of Hope" in Tamilnadu/India.
At the CDU's traditional herring dinner in the Dudenhofen community centre, Federal Minister for Family Affairs Claudia Nolte speaks to around 700 guests and surprises the couple Willi and Ilse Kratz, who are celebrating their golden wedding anniversary with their guests in the community centre at the same time.
A "green belt" through Rodgau is promised by the director of the Umlandverband, Alfons Faust, at the presentation of the plans for a green belt from the A3 to the Kreisquerverbindung in a small exhibition in the Nieder-Roden community centre.
One of the seven butchers from the Offenbach region to be honoured in the state parliament for the outstanding quality of their sausage products is a master butcher from Rodgau: Karl Heinz Ricker from Weiskirchen.
Ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of further council flats on Rückersgraben in Dudenhofen: nine flats at a cost of 2.2 million marks.
Further "green light" for S-Bahn construction in Rodgau: the supplementary agreement to the financing contract for the Rodgau S-Bahn is signed in the town hall in Jügesheim, thus initiating the double-track extension, which is to be completed by the timetable change in 2001/2. Estimated investment costs: 60 million marks. Trains will then run every 15 minutes.
In its 100th anniversary year, the SPD Jügesheim is presenting a comprehensive chronicle of the political and communal development of this present-day district of Rodgau.
IGEMO Dudenhofen invites you to this year's evening of honour in the community centre: 200 young people honoured and 64 individual winners and 42 teams among the adults. A lot of recognition also from the town for the clubs, which alone look after 5700 young people.
The letter of honour for special services to the life of the association and for decades of board activities: Hermann Bernhart (Vogelschutzwart/Obst- und Gartenbauverein HH), Martin Hebeisen (TGM Jügesheim/Spielmannszug), Helga Hoffmann (SOS Helferkreis Nieder-Roden), Karl-Heinz Mahr (AGV Volkschor Dudenhofen), Egon Mayer (Sängerkranz Polyhymnia Nieder-Roden) and Willi Zilch (Kleintierzuchtverein Weiskirchen).
As part of the academic celebration to mark the 100th anniversary of the Jügesheim SPD local association, Reinhard Jäger is presented with the State Certificate of Honour for his services by District Administrator Josef Lach. He was a member of the former Jügesheim municipal council for 16 years, serving as its chairman from 1968 to 1976.
The first weekend in March is dominated by the local elections. The result in Rodgau: CDU 42.7% (1993 47.7%), SPD 32.9% (32.2%), The Greens 10.4% (16%), Rep 6.1% (-), FWG 5.5% (-), FDP 2.1% (4.1%). The distribution of seats in the city council: CDU 20 seats (-2), SPD 15 seats (0), Greens 5 seats (-3), Rep 3 seats (+3), FWG 2 seats (+2). The Republicans and the Free Voters' Association, who stood as candidates for the first time, are also entering the city council for the first time. Edmund Brehm, a Christian Democrat from Nieder-Roden, becomes head of the municipal council. Distribution of seats in the local councils: see the "Municipal parliamentary bodies" section in this yearbook.
At Gartenstadtschule Nieder-Roden, the parents' council protests against classes that are too large and criticises unnecessary teacher changes.
Weiskirchen's long-serving local politician and village head Helmut Sattler is honoured with the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon.
Mayor Paul Scherer and VHS Director Helmut Krämer also welcome the Flower Queen from the Old Country on the Lower Elbe, Petra Dierks, to the 11th Easter Exhibition of the Rodgau Adult Education Centre in the break hall of the Georg Büchner School.
A fire in the club restaurant of the Weiskirchen gymnastics club causes over DM 50,000 in damage.
Rodgau's mayor Paul Scherer is confirmed as chairman of the CDU parliamentary group following the district council elections. He has led the parliamentary group since 1992 and has been a member of the district council since the early 1960s.
The Rodgau Passage celebrates its tenth anniversary on the weekend of 15/16 March.
The annual general meeting of SKV Hainhausen takes note of some pleasing news from the board: in a real financial tour de force, the club has reduced its debts by DM 100,000 within two years. The meeting honours this achievement by the board, headed by Manfred Nachreiner, by re-electing the entire board.
Large colour photo of Mayor Scherer and Head of the Public Order Office Kieffer in the "Bild": Rodgau prevents the opening of the extended Udenhoutstraße to Obertshausen in order to push through its demand for a traffic light to direct traffic - through traffic should be kept out of Weiskirchen. This brings a partial success: no traffic lights, but an additional traffic island at the junction of the Obertshausen bypass to Weiskirchen.
After the Nieder-Roden volunteer fire brigade's turntable ladder was "getting on in years" - after 26 years of service - the brigade is given a new turntable ladder with a purchase value of DM 900,000.
The Rodgau Jazz Big Band - formerly the Rodgau Brass Band - presents itself in a new line-up at the spring concert series of the Rodgau choral and music societies in the Nieder-Roden parish centre.
The "Sonntag-Verein" choral society begins the 120th anniversary celebrations with a big anniversary concert in the community centre.
The Hainhausen company "Seufert-Verpackungen" is saved from ruin by the workforce: they take over the family business and save 50 jobs under the new company logo "Seufert Transparente GmbH".
An aerosol can factory in Dudenhofen burns down completely. One worker is injured.
A Red Cross convoy from Nieder-Roden and the twin town of Hainburg brings relief supplies to Sibui in Romania.
The Jügesheim rabbit breeding club is celebrating its 75th anniversary with an "open day" on its new, attractive breeding grounds at the water tower.
March ends on a sporting note, with an official international match between Germany's female B youth indoor handball team and Hungary in the Nieder-Roden sports hall (33:23 for the German youth team) and the 20th TGM Jügesheim Easter run with around 750 runners over 25 and 10 kilometres. Best runner from Rodgau: Joachim Quaiser (RLT) in 21st place over 25 kilometres in 1:36.25 hours.
Another spring visit from Nieuwpoort to Dudenhofen, namely 29 young swimmers from the "Vrije Zwemmers" club with 12 supervisors and former town councillor Willy Vermote as guests of the DLRG, based at the Gänsbrüh hiking centre.
The Weiskirchen Heritage and History Society is looking forward to welcoming visitors to the special exhibition with documents from the post-war period.
The extension of the Rodgau suburban railway is getting a little closer, as planning permission has been granted for the subway projects in Dudenhofen and Rollwald.
The TGM dance guard achieves excellent placings at the Hesse and German championships, with coach Nicole Heleine leading the way with two second places at national level.
A training forum is set up in Rodgau to help young people find training places, with the cooperation of businesses, schools and the town hall.
With an investment volume of 14 million marks, Buderus Heiztechnik is relocating its Frankfurt branch to the new Jügesheim industrial estate J28.
An unusual sporting event in favour of the association "Gemeinsam mit Behinderten e.V." takes place in Jügesheim, with a selection from the Wiesbaden state parliament playing against a Jügesheim selection of Rodgau local politicians. The two sides drew 1:1.
The long-standing Chairman of the Weiskirchen Sports Association, Helmut Jäger, is confirmed in office by the General Assembly. The association has 1690 individual and 230 group members.
Annual general meeting also at TGS Jügesheim with chairman Toni Sauer at the helm (just over 1500 members) with information on the club's major projects (new hall construction and participation in the sports centre in the Westgemarkung).
Sadness - not only - at TGS Jügesheim at the death of the president of the TGS carnivalists, Gerald Brehler, who succumbed to a brain haemorrhage while on holiday. He was only 36 years old.
The Nieder-Roden SOS Help Circle celebrates its 30th anniversary.
Helga Hoffmann's circle of helpers was able to raise around 730,000 marks in donations for orphans in the SOS Children's Villages with events such as Baby-Beat at Carnival and bazaars at Christmas time. A dream result is achieved in the church elections of the Protestant congregations in Rodgau with a voter turnout of 29% - compared to 23.4% six years ago.
The election of local councillors after the local elections in March produced the following results: Hainhausen: Heike Hoffmann (SPD), Jügesheim: Toni Sauer (SPD), Nieder-Roden: Günter Lachmund (SPD), Dudenhofen: Claudia Jäger (CDU) and Weiskirchen: Helmut Sattler (CDU).
In the Hainhausen sports centre, the town has installed a so-called fun box, a piece of sports equipment for skateboarders and roller-blade riders, especially youngsters. The forest festival season 97 begins with a sunny 1 May and the traditional May celebration of the DGB local cartel in the SKV hall in Hainhausen.
Joy for the Weiskirchen sports club and football fans in Rodgau: the B youth team under coach Ingo Domröse wins the district championship.
The Rodgauer Tanzsportclub is also the result of good work with young talent, as 200 participants aged 4 - 14 meet on the parquet floor of the Bürgerhausen Dudenhofen at the second Rodgauer Kindertanzfestival.
The Jügesheim rabbit breeding association celebrates its 75th anniversary in the TGM hall (academic celebration) and on the new breeding grounds at Nehlsee, and the regional association meets in Jügesheim as part of the anniversary celebrations.
TGS Jügesheim celebrates 75 years of women's gymnastics at the club.
Günter Kurt, long-standing local politician, TGM board member and referee, receives a letter of honour from the state of Hesse, presented by District Administrator Josef Lach and Mayor Paul Scherer.
Also honoured with a letter of honour: Harald Rauschenbach from Nieder-Roden for his many years of service as an honorary judge at the Social Court.
At the "Holiday Inn" hotel in Nieder-Roden, the Rodgau trade associations meet with the Hessian Minister President Hans Eichel - on the initiative of the Rodgau First City Councillor Thomas Przibilla - at which the Rodgau residents present their problems, concerns and needs regarding the development of small and medium-sized businesses.
The Offenbach Post reports on a "little hidden treasure" and brings it to the public's attention, namely the small school museum that has existed for ten years in the school at the community centre in Nieder-Roden with furnishings from the time of the great-grandparents of today's schoolchildren - for example with school desks and a "cannon stove".
The tragic event in May: A 14-year-old is hit by a train on the tracks of the Rodgau railway and seriously injured after he tried to cross the tracks - although it was forbidden - and had not heard or overlooked the approaching train. He later dies in hospital.
In Hainhausen, car fans can dream in view of the 60 "American Dream Cars" on display, the title of the exhibition initiated by Lutz Hertwig from Rodgau.
And for the children, teachers and parents of the Landwehrstraße Catholic kindergarten, it's time to move and prepare for the big inauguration party, because the new kindergarten is ready and the temporary home in the "Haus der Begegnung" community centre on Vordergasse can be vacated.
At the end of the month, the Rodgau SPD makes an important personnel decision. It nominates First Councillor Thomas Przibilla as its candidate for the first direct election of a Rodgau mayor, which is to take place at the beginning of January 1998.
The residents of the "Am Flachsberg" development area have reason to celebrate as the first work begins on the construction of the noise barrier along this section of the B45 in Dudenhofen. Residents and the town have been fighting for this for years. The costs will be borne by the federal government.
The Jügesheim local history museum is once again making positive headlines with an exhibition about milk processing in the "good old days".
The Vdk Nieder-Roden local group celebrates its 50th anniversary and honours nine founding members, namely Karl Conze, Gisela Grade, Adam Gotthold, Willi Grimm, Christian Groh, Philipp-Nikolaus Keller, Josef Reichenbach, Richard Reichenbach and Engelbert Willmutz. The bereaved carer Anna Dürr receives the bronze badge of honour from the Vdk regional association for her services. The work of the Vdk chairmen is also honoured, starting with Ludwig Simon, Ludwig Wade, Franz Willmutz and Bruno Schöbel (honorary chairman) through to the current chairman Heinz-Günter Kurt.
A young civil servant from the Rodgau municipal administration, Oliver Haupt (31), is elected mayor of the municipality of Amöneburg in northern Hesse and leaves Rodgau, accompanied by the best wishes of his former superior, Mayor Paul Scherer.
Mourning for Berthold Jäger. The long-standing chairman of the Weiskirchen Community of Local Associations and the Singers' Association dies unexpectedly at the age of 57.
The graduates of the Claus-von-Stauffenberg School in Dudenhofen bid farewell to their "Penne" with a "Super-Gau", a somewhat macabre scene, 135 in total, which ultimately turned the "Gau" into the expected "Gaudi".
The city of Rodgau opens the new playgrounds number 50 and 51 in Jügesheim-West at the Wilhelm-Busch-School and in the new development area J26 in the immediate neighbourhood.
At the celebration of the 155th anniversary of the Dudenhofen male choir, Heinrich Werner Seib, who has been Chairman for 25 years, is awarded a letter of honour from the state of Hesse and a letter of honour from the German Singers' Association.
At the first Rodgau training fair at the Heinrich-Böll-Schule in Nieder-Roden, school leavers and young people in general can find out about training opportunities in and around Rodgau. The labour office was able to offer 71 vacancies for "trainees".
The extension and remodelling of Wilhelm-Leuschner-Straße with the aim of improving safety for cyclists and pedestrians has been completed. New features include so-called reserved lanes on both sides of the carriageway for cyclists.
TGM Jügesheim celebrates great successes at the state gymnastics festival with Constance Blaha winning the state championship in aerobics singles and the jazz dance formation "Crazy Devils" coming 5th.
The "Frau aktuell" initiative celebrates 20 years of successful existence and work in the Catholic community centre in Jügesheim.
Even after retiring from local politics, former town councillor Rainer Bergert from Hainhausen proves his stamina by completing the 100 km run from Biel/Switzerland in 10 hours and 57 minutes.
The supervising primary school at the Carl Orff School in Jügesheim now has its own rooms for the 23 children it currently looks after.
And local film maker and agricultural machinery restorer Rudi Keller, who has now collected 20 roadworthy historic tractors and 500 other pieces of equipment from Rodgau's former agricultural history in his private museum in Nieder-Roden, is also proving his stamina.
A decision by the culture prize jury in Rodgau town hall is met with universal acclaim, as the 1996 culture prize is awarded to 30-year-old Erik Schmekel, the theatre education student who directed the "Great World Theatre" for the church anniversary in 1996. Over 4,000 spectators attended the performances in front of St Matthias' Church.
TGM Jügesheim won four titles at the Hesse Youth Athletics Championships: Andrej Grimm (2), Daniela Bruder and Thomas Husseck.125 years of choral singing in Nieder-Roden - the Sängervereinigung Sängerkranz Polyhymnia celebrated this anniversary with an academic ceremony.
The big tent festival is planned for the first weekend in July.
The oldest singing club in Nieder-Roden, the "Sängerkranz" was founded shortly after the war in 1870/1, and in 1923 it merged with the "Polyhymnia", which had emerged from the singing group of the old gymnastics club in 1891.
Jügesheim centre continues to grow: After the new town hall and Rodgau-Passage, further new buildings in Mühlstraße, Vordergasse and Hintergasse, the "ground-breaking ceremony" is now taking place for the construction of a large office and multi-storey car park between Hintergasse and Ludwigstraße. 18 months of construction are planned. The car park deck will provide space for 150 vehicles. The labour office also wants to move into the new office building.
The new Catholic kindergarten in Landwehrstraße is inaugurated. It offers space for 115 children. Costs around 3.4 million marks. The Jügesheim Poultry Breeding Association celebrates its 75th anniversary in the cycle sports hall and honours the overall contribution of the membership to the establishment of the breeding grounds at Nehlsee.
And at the end of the month, the Schillerstrasse municipal kindergarten also celebrates its 25th anniversary with a colourful stage programme in the neighbouring community centre.
The future of the Hainhausen parish hall, which has been banned from use since 1991, remains open, as was determined at a meeting between parliamentarians and the parish. Although there is no danger of collapse, only the front extension has been authorised for use. There are still no concrete cost estimates for the type and scope of possible renovations. Negotiations are underway. The city is holding out the prospect of cost sharing.
The big tent festival celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Sängerkranz Polyhymnia Sängervereinigung is very well received and brings 1,100 singers to Nieder-Roden to compete.
At the Münchhausen School in Hainhausen, the vacant headteacher position is filled by the former deputy headteacher Edith Haufler, but parents protest at the school due to staff shortages.
A concert by the South Bohemian Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra from Budweis under the direction of local conductor Timor Chadik (21) will open the town's culture week in the Bürgerhaus Nieder-Roden - 10 to 21 July - which will conclude with a pop concert "Abba alive" and offer a good 50 events.
The town's kindergarten II in Dudenhofen on Freiherr-vom-Stein-Straße celebrates its 30th anniversary.
With the further expansion of the motorway access in Weiskirchen, the access to the roundabout via Udenhoutstraße will be closed for good and the extended Udenhoutstraße will be opened to the west with a connection to the Obertshausen southern bypass.
Improved citizen service in the town hall thanks to IT: When moving within the town or moving from a district municipality, vehicle licences can be changed in the town hall. This eliminates the need to travel to the registration office in Heusenstamm.
A "job cafe" is set up in the youth centre for young people looking for an apprenticeship.
Erik Schmekel is presented with the Culture Promotion Prize - endowed with DM 5,000 - at a ceremony in the town hall as part of Culture Week 97. With over 700 signatures, citizens - and with them the town and members of parliament - speak out against the planned closure of the post office in Hainhausen.
Albert Walter from Dudenhofen has set a record that is hard to beat, as the now 68-year-old is donating blood for the 125th time at the DRK blood donation centre in Dudenhofen. It is his last donation date, as he has to leave the donor community for reasons of age.
Günther Helfrich, Head of the Youth and Social Services Department in Rodgau, is celebrating his 40th anniversary in public service. The 56-year-old from Urberach has been working for the town of Rodgau for 19 years.
An administrative enquiry - survey, staff meeting, workshops - sets the course for administrative reform in the city administration.
At the last meeting before the holidays, the municipal council honours those who left office on the date of the local elections in March, with the exception of those who have been in office for 15 years or more. They receive special recognition in accordance with the rules of honour: Christa Breitenbach, Karl Erb (Chairman of the City Council), Horst Gossmann, Hannelore Schmiedel, Karl-Heinz-Schönberg and Günter Kurt. The following also resigned from the municipal council and local councils: Dietmar Albrecht, Barb Draeger-Husmann, Reimund Hänle, Irmfriede Krausch, Heiko Lautenschläger, Hans Narr, Petra Romen, Dieter Ruckriegel and Edeltraud Zintel.
100 Rodgau residents, mainly from Dudenhofen, took part in the witches' festival with a large parade in the twin town of Nieuwpoort, led by the traditional costume group of the Red Cross Youth, thus demonstrating the vitality of this partnership. The Fischbackers from Nieuwpoort want to come to Dudenhofen in September.
At the end of the month, the city's annual holiday games start their first round with 280 children.
Sad news from the Nieder-Roden bathing lake at the start of the holiday: an eleven-year-old boy drowns near the shore. He was a non-swimmer.
Not unexpectedly, the closure of the Weiskirchen roundabout on Udenhoutstraße causes problems with more traffic on Schillerstraße (+40%) and via Hauptstraße due to traffic to the wholesale market. The town and the wholesale market are endeavouring to ensure that traffic prefers to arrive and depart via Obertshausen instead of unnecessarily burdening the Weiskirchen through road.
With the inclusion of the "Im Weichsee" sports ground in the western part of Jügesheim in the land utilisation plan, a further step has been taken towards this joint project between the Jügesheim sports clubs and the town.
Rodgau Adult Education Centre presents its new programme for the autumn semester with 180 courses.
Father Dr Matthias Gabriel, whose project for a school and social centre in India has been actively supported by Rodgau for years, is one of the visitors to Weiskirchen. The Indian priest will hold high mass in Weiskirchen parish church and then give a talk about the missionary work in his home country in St Peter's House. The heatwave with over 30 degrees in the shade brings a record crowd to the lido on the second weekend in August with 10,022 visitors on Saturday and around 12,000 on Sunday."
All-clear" for the Hainhausen post office: after more than 1,000 signatures and intervention by the town of Rodgau against the planned closure, the general management of Post AG announces that the post office will remain open at least until the end of the year. Change at the top of the working group for local history at the local history museum in Nieder-Roden: After the long-standing chairman Reinhold Happel did not stand for re-election for health reasons, Günter Keller was elected as the new chairman. His deputy is Dieter Klante.
After 33 years at the public library in Jügesheim, director Brigitte Hegner retires with thanks and recognition from the town. The Rodgau angling club celebrates its 30th anniversary with a folk festival-like "Backfischfest" at the bathing lake.
The Rochus festival in memory of the plague in the Middle Ages once again brings hundreds of pilgrims to the Rochus pilgrimage to Hainhausen. In early autumn, the town announces that it will have to fell 65 trees for safety reasons, including the three lime trees by the town hall, other poplars on the Rodau and two trees in front of the Protestant church in Dudenhofen.
25 young Poles from Ilawa spend their holidays at a camp in Rollwald at the invitation of the youth brigades from Dudenhofen and Dietzenbach.
In the summer heat, the second Rodgau city run - jointly organised by the SV and RLT - starts in Jügesheim with 60 participants over 10 km and a run for everyone over 1/3 of this distance.
A curiosity at the end of August: The historic club flag of the former Dudenhofen Warriors' Association 1871/1931 is found in a sack together with greenery in front of the gate of the municipal composting facility in Dudenhofen and secured.
At the end of the month, the series of five city tours for senior citizens starts with around 2,400 registrations for the Neckar Tour with destination Heidelberg.
The "Rodgau Tramps" singing group of the Eintracht Hainhausen choral society celebrates its 20th anniversary as a member of this choral society, even though this group, once founded at SKV Hainhausen, has already been in existence for 31 years, still with its founder Willi Ott at the helm. The KJG reports 125 participants at its two holiday camps. "A piece of SKV Hainhausen club history", according to the press, celebrates its 90th birthday: Friedrich Becker, a member of the club for 75 years, gymnast, footballer, singer and board member.
The old flag of the former Dudenhofen warriors' association, which was consecrated in 1931 and found in a rubbish bag, has been passed into the care of the Germania Dudenhofen male choral society. Where the flag, which had been missing for 60 years, had been kept - it was in perfect condition - remains an open question.
At the start of the school year, the primary schools are getting crowded, because with 592 new pupils, the previous year's number in Rodgau will be exceeded by 90.
At the Gartenstadt School, the teachers even sacrifice their staff room for the first-graders. The medical services in Rodgau are expanded with the opening of a midwife's practice in Nieder-Roden.
The Friedrich-von-Bodelschwingh School in Weiskirchen is celebrating its 25th birthday. This school for the practically educated was housed in the old Weiskirchen primary school. The extension was completed in 1993. The school is currently running at full capacity with 60 children in nine groups, supervised by 12 special education teachers, two nursery school teachers, four community service workers and two auxiliary staff.
After many years on Puiseaux-Platz, the Nieder-Röder Kerb returns to the town centre by the church, and for four days the road through the town is closed for the event.
The 16th 24-hour run of the "Gemeinsam mit Behinderten e.V." association at the Dudenhofen sports centre breaks all records with donations of over 210,000 marks, with the participation of 48 teams and with the winning team EHRL-Könige from Bad Soden running more than 1,000 laps for the first time (1018 laps = 407.2 km).
The "Infa 97", the show organised by the Dudenhofen trade association in and around the community centre, also reaches record dimensions with over 60 exhibitors.
Josef Stolz from Jügesheim and Stefan Oswald from Dudenhofen are honoured for their commitment to the Association of Expellees with the Bdv's silver badge of honour at the 48th Day of Homeland in Weiskirchen.
Pupils from the Polish town of Ilawa are visiting the Georg Büchner School in Jügesheim for ten days.
25 years of the Weiskirchen Tennis Club are celebrated with lots of tennis and music, as well as the club's merit of having launched the annual tennis town championship. The co-founder Gisela Wilms was at the helm of the TCW for 20 years.
The Vdk local group in Jügesheim celebrates its 50th anniversary at the Haus der Begegnung. Eight founding members who are still alive are honoured, including Karl Bachmann, Oskar Dries, Bernhard Jäger, Alois Röder, Peter Röhrig, Josef Stelz, Hans Wagner and Hermann Rücker.
The 90th birthday of honorary member Stefan Raab from the Eintracht Hainhausen choral society is duly celebrated and honoured.
The Igemo football team took the opportunity to celebrate its 25th anniversary - and because the men were getting on in years - to disband after winning numerous city championships and tournaments with their so-called "Igemo" football team.
celebrity match against former Bundesliga traditional teams.
Another anniversary, but this time without a big celebration: 20 years as a member of the full-time municipal council, that's the success story of Mayor Paul Scherer, First Alderman/First City Councillor since 1977 and Mayor since 1980 with his third term of office coming to an end in June 1998. His anniversary day: "An ordinary working day", according to the press release for the photo with his departmental colleagues First Councillor Thomas Przibilla and Councillor Alfred Schüler as well-wishers.
However, the city council will use its meeting on 30 September as an opportunity to honour this anniversary of service by the head of administration.
The "Open Day" at the Nehlsee breeding centre in Jügesheim, to which all four Rodgau poultry breeding clubs have invited, also attracts a large number of visitors.
One of the biggest kite festivals to date in the region and even in Hesse will be organised by the local kite club "Aiolos" at the Nieder-Roden bathing lake at the end of the month for the 10th time with nationwide participation.
The annual citizens' reception at the end of September in the town hall, this year for all those born on 17 March, is already a good tradition in the town. For the coming year 1998, 15 September was chosen as the birthday invitation day.
Prior to this, the town's annual children's festival in the Jügesheim forest leisure centre attracted over 1,000 visitors.
Councillor Rosemarie Wendel (SPD) celebrates her 60th birthday during the weekly municipal council meeting, which the SPD city association chairwoman attended despite her birthday. The "celebration" in the municipal council consisted of a short break in the meeting for congratulations and a press photo.
Dr Christian Groß (33) is leaving Rodgau after 12 years of parliamentary work in the Weiskirchen town council and local advisory council as well as successful sporting work at the Weiskirchen Sports Association - trampolining department manager. The mathematician follows a call from the University of Augsburg.
Following the felling of the three lime trees in front of the town hall, the question arises as to whether the trees could have been saved after all. However, a so-called top report confirms the original report, which found that the trees were no longer stable, especially in autumn storms. However, the necessity of felling the black locust trees at Gänsbrüh is to be re-examined.
The city administration announces a success story at the start of the new training period: 32 young people are currently undergoing training in the administration, in the sewage treatment plant and in the city's kindergartens.
The Rodgau/Bieber water association has relocated its headquarters to Rodgau and elected Rodgau city councillor and head of the building department Alfred Schüler as its chairman.
The Würth assembly company celebrates the 25th anniversary of its branch in Weiskirchen. The proceeds from the party will go to the local Bodelschwingh School.
Bankers inform Rodgau trade associations in the TGS hall in Jügesheim about the forthcoming DM/Euro currency changeover.
The "NiRoGa 97", an exhibition organised by the Nieder-Roden trade association, informs visitors about the performance of local companies.
SKV Hainhausen honours 90-year-old Friedrich Becker, the oldest member of the club, for 75 years of membership. As a member of the workers' sports movement - TV Vorwärts - he was one of the co-founders of SKV Hainhausen after the Second World War.
To mark its 50th anniversary, Vdk Dudenhofen invites you to a memorial exhibition in the community centre foyer that is well worth seeing. In a ceremony in the community centre, the achievements of the veterans are honoured, with co-founder and former mayor Ludwig Kratz IX at the helm, who led the local group in 1956/57 and from 1980 to the present day. There are still five members from the founding meeting at that time, namely Josefine Rühl, Elise Wagner, Erwin Klein and Adolf Kratz VI in addition to Ludwig Kratz IX.
The first direct election of the district administrator in Rodgau produces the following result: 49.3% for the incumbent district administrator Josef Lach (SPD) from Nieder-Roden, Peter Walter (CDU) 40.3%, Butz (Greens) 6.2% and Wissler (Rep) 4.5%. This was the second-best result in the district for Josef Lach from Rodgau, who not only fell short of the absolute majority required in the first round of voting at district level with 38.1%, but also had to concede victory to his colleague Peter Walter (incumbent First District Councillor) with over 46%. A run-off election will therefore be necessary on 2 November.
In Hainburg an der Donau, Nieder-Roden's Austrian twin town, there is now a "Nieder-Rodener-Platz", which was christened in front of the oldest town gate, the Hungary Gate, in the presence of the two mayors Hirschel (Hainburg) and Scherer (Rodgau), the chairwoman of the twinning association Caroline Riedtmayer and Rodgau town councillor Alfred Schüler.
In Nieder-Roden, the conversion of the post office into an agency with a comprehensive range of services from the new Post AG begins. A "container" at the Posthof serves as an emergency post office during the conversion phase, which lasts until the end of the year.
Dudenhofen has been enriched by a monument, namely a bronze group of geese, a work by the Bad Vilbel artist Maria Wichers, which is intended to commemorate the earlier days of daily goose traffic from the town centre to the "Gänsbrüh" - today a forest recreation area. The four geese are located in front of the branch of the district savings bank, financed by donations from residents and companies.
The Weiskirchen public library, which has been run by Magarete Hanekamp, Heidi Melzer and Sophia Massoth for many years, celebrates its 30th anniversary.
The 100th anniversary of the TGS wind orchestra in Jügesheim, of which Walter Müller has been the department head for 25 years, is honoured with a big anniversary concert.
Hesse's Minister President Hans Eichel comes to the traditional Hesse Evening of the SPD Rodgau in the Dudenhofen community centre and speaks to 450 guests.
In an exhibition, the Weiskirchen local history museum documents the working world of the last 100 years, once characterised by agriculture and the leather goods industry in Rodgau.
In the run-off election for the position of district administrator, the Christian Democrat Peter Walter wins with 55% ahead of the incumbent district administrator Josef Lach with 45% and a voter turnout of just 31.9%. In Rodgau, however, Josef Lach, who lives in Nieder-Roden, had something of a home game, as he received 53.8% compared to 46.2% for Peter Walter with a voter turnout of 40.4%, but not enough to compensate for his poor result in other district municipalities. The change of office is in March 1998.
At the TSV Dudenhofen evening of honour, long-serving former chairman Gerhard Klein is appointed honorary president. Emilie Raub is awarded the St. Matthias medal by the Nieder-Roden Catholic parish for 24 years of service on the board of directors, presented by Father Grittner at the parish assembly. TGM Jügesheim celebrates the successful athletes of the 97 season with a large sports show, in which TGM athletes "stood on the podium" around 500 times, i.e. achieved placings in the top three.
TSV Dudenhofen has seen a surprising change at the top of the 1,400-member club after Hartmut Burk, who has been Chairman since 1993, had to step down for professional reasons. Deputy Chairwoman Heike Nenner will lead the club until the General Assembly in April.
From 14 to 23 November, "Radio Ear", an initiative by young people from Rodgau with a broadcasting centre in the Protestant community centre in Jügesheim, will be on air again. A colourful and youth-oriented programme will be broadcast on VHF 107.5.The election for the Foreigners' Advisory Council in Rodgau - as in the district as a whole - only saw a low voter turnout of 19.5%, i.e. 687 out of 3471 eligible voters only went to the polls. The result and the distribution of the 15 seats on the Foreigners' Advisory Council in Rodgau: 56% / 8 seats for IAM - Interessengemeinschaft ausländischer Mitbürger -, 33% / 5 seats for the Internationale Liste Rodgau, 11% / 2 seats for the Allianz zum Wohltun der Menschheit.
The Weiskirchen branch of the Vdk celebrates its 50th anniversary and honours the living founders: Emma Bayer, Rosa Häfner, Helene Hörning, Katharina Jonas, Wendelin Lippert, in absentia due to illness, association founder Günter Awater and Lorenz Wascher.
A lorry is robbed in the Nieder-Roden industrial area and hijacked to Neu-Isenburg - along with the driver - and unloaded there (cigarettes and textiles), and a series of burglaries in houses, shops and petrol stations also worries the population. The lorry robbery is quickly solved.
The "Neighbours protect neighbours" campaign proposed by Chairman Hans-Jürgen Lange at the CDU's traditional pig dinner in Dudenhofen is met with great approval in light of current events. The keynote speaker is Bernd Schmidbauer, the minister responsible for coordinating secrets in the Chancellery.
An SPD expert discussion at the Bürgerhaus Dudenhofen will focus on the demand "Work for all" with the participation of the SPD parliamentary group's labour market policy spokesman, Ottmar Schreiner.
TGS Jügesheim presents the new Rodgau prince and princess: Gaby I ("bürgerlich" Gaby Beavers, née Grimm) and Rudi III (Rudi Ott).
November: the month of breeding exhibitions in Rodgau. A total of 700 top-class birds are shown at three exhibitions in Weiskirchen, Dudenhofen and Nieder-Roden. The judges awarded the highest mark of "Excellent" eight times, for example for the breedings of Berthold Küchler from the Dudenhofen Poultry Breeding Association and seven times for the Nieder-Roden Poultry Breeding Association with breeders Hans Dries and Walter Rübling as well as young breeder Benjamin Wagner at the top.
New record number of participants at the annual municipal art and hobby exhibition in the Nieder-Roden community centre: 97 exhibitors and a large number of visitors.
The city councillors elect City Councillor and Head of Building Alfred Schüler (CDU) for a further six years with 37 votes in favour and 42 voting members present.
The municipal council honours the achievements of the long-serving members of the municipal council who retired after the local elections in March. Karl Erb (CDU) from Dudenhofen (1964 to 1976 parliamentary group leader DWD Dudenhofen, 1977 to 1997 town councillor, 1993 to 1997 head of the town council) is appointed honorary chairman of the town council.
The following are appointed town elders in accordance with the Rodgau town council's rules of honour: Horst Gossmann (CDU - active in parliament from 1960 to 1997), Günter Kurt (SPD - municipal councillor from 1968 to 1976, local councillor until 1985, municipal councillor in 1992/93) and Karl-Heinz Schönberg (SPD - municipal councillor from 1977 to 1997, the youngest municipal elder in Rodgau at the age of 47).
Christa Breitenbach (CDU - 1981 to 1993 city councillor, 1993 to 1997 city councillor), Hannelore Schmiedel (SPD - 1978 to 1997 city councillor) and Jakob Koser (SPD - 1968 to 1972 alderman in Jügesheim, 1977 to 1981 city councillor, 1977 to 1985 district councillor, member of numerous committees) receive the Silver Badge of Honour.
The surprise of the "grey" November: the newly crowned Rodgau prince and princess of TGS Jügesheim, Gaby Grimm and Rudi Ott, say "I do" at the Rodgau registry office. A huge rush of well-wishers at the town hall.
The CDU city association in Rodgau has elected Clemens Jäger (38) as its new chairman and successor to long-standing chairman Christa Breitenbach (67). With 760 members, the CDU city association is the association with the largest membership in the district.
The youth group of the Dudenhofen Poultry Breeding Association wins the district championship. Sabine Steinmetz achieves the best individual result at the district show in Dietzenbach. The table tennis section of TGS Jügesheim, which was founded by Willi Jakobi, Bernhardt Michels, Hans Roßkopf and Manfred Winter, celebrates its 50th birthday. The Hainhausen post office - which the town and its residents are fighting to keep open - is robbed. The loot: DM 800. The small post office had already been robbed several times in recent years.
The Christmas markets in the districts of Weiskirchen, Jügesheim, Dudenhofen and Nieder-Roden - all well attended - as well as Christmas concerts, the municipal senior citizens' Christmas parties and numerous Christmas celebrations organised by clubs and associations largely determine the social events in Rodgau, as they do every year.
Not forgetting the charity bazaars, with the SOS Bazaar in Nieder-Roden and the bazaar organised by the Protestant Women's Aid Association in Dudenhofen at the top of the list, and charity concerts, first and foremost the 10th benefit concert by Kurt Herdt and his family in the Bürgerhaus Nieder-Roden for the Children's Aid Foundation.
City Treasurer First Councillor Przibilla presents the City Council with a balanced draft budget for the 1998 financial year.
The globetrotting couple Karin and Ekkehard Lang will be giving their 50th lecture at the VHS Rodgau about a trip to Canada.
The "Nippon" judo club celebrates its 20th birthday with a tournament involving 210 participants.
And just like "every year", Adolf Hessler brings a large lorry load of presents from Rodgau residents to the Friedland camp for 384 children. The volume of donations in Rodgau is so great that Adolf Hessler has to make two trips. The Pfaltzkreuz, restored after being destroyed at its old location in the Dudenhofen forest, is erected by the Förderkreis für kulturelle Projekte - thanks to donations - at the Rektor-Geißler-Haus in front of the Protestant church in Dudenhofen. The memorial is intended to commemorate a fatal hunting accident 113 years ago.
Engelbert Schwab is honoured for 75 years of membership at the Jügesheim Singers' Association's evening of honour.
Post AG opens the new "Postplus" branch in Nieder-Roden in the renovated premises of the former post office with an extended range of services and thus the post office of the future.
Leni Unrein, who has been politically active in Rodgau for decades (SPD) and socially committed (workers' welfare organisation/citizens' aid), celebrates her 65th birthday in Dudenhofen.
The Hainhausen volunteer fire brigade receives a new emergency vehicle shortly before the end of the year.
