Our History
Crown Prince Ludwig, later to become King Ludwig I., married Princess Therese of Sax-Hildburghausen on 12th October 1810. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities that were held on the meadows in front of the city's gates to celebrate the happy royal event. The fields were named "Theresa Meadows" (Theresienwiese) in honor of the Crown Princess, a name that has been kept until the present day, even though to locals have since abbreviated it to "d'Wies'n". Horse races in the presence of the Royal Family marked the close of the event that was celebrated as a festival for the whole of Bavaria. The decision to repeat the horse races in the subsequent year gave rise to the tradition of the Oktoberfest.
The first Oktoberfest in LaCrosse Wisconsin was a promotion by the G. Heileman Brewing Company in 1961.
In 1970, Jim and Tommy Bockstahler made their first pilgrimage to Oktoberfest USA. We have attempted to gather details of the last 30 years, but relying on the brain cells of dedicated festers is like conducting research in a library that has been struck by fire, flood and tornado. Here is what we have so far:
The origin of the LaCrosse Oktoberfesters (Blue Shirts) dates back to 1970 when the Bockstahler brothers, Jim and Tommy ventured to LaCrosse Wisconsin for that year's fest. The first several years were without creature comforts to say the least, and involved pitching a tent in a church parking lot. The fee for the space was $2 (a long way from today's room rates!). When it became apparent that this was going to be a regular event, accommodations were upgraded to a room at the Stoddard Hotel. Progress unimpeded by tradition marked the end of the Stoddard after several years, forcing a move to the Holiday Inn across the river for one year until the our current hotel was completed in 1980, which has been accommodating the group ever since. Mike Luman (Illinois) and Bill Dillon (Minnesota) joined JB and Tommy in 1976 and the core of what was to become the LaCrosse Oktoberfesters was set. Tommy was in school at UW Whitewater while JB and Mikey were in the Chicago area. Early transportation included catching the Empire Builder out of Union Station in Chicago to LaCrosse via Milwaukee. The seven-hour trip was a great practice session for the main event. In the true spirit of the fest, the boys actually drank the bar car out of beer! The real problems started when Mike tried flying into Miegs Field and taking a cab to union station, only to arrive just as the train was leaving the station. This happened not once, but twice! Mike wound up flying to LSE and beating the festers on the train by many hours. Slow but educable, the annual pilgrimage by air began, and the arrival of "'Blueshirt One" on the tarmac of LSE now marks the official start of the annual event.
The single largest contingent to this day are the Blueshirts from Minnesota, who's beginnings can be traced back to Bill Dillon's efforts as one of the Charter Members. Never being satisfied that his work is done, he continues to amass a respectable size group from Texas where he now hangs his hat.
Along the way the boys ran into the Madison contingent during one of the fests. Realizing they all had the same mission statement (party!!!), an organization of sorts was starting to form. In 1984 the blue shirts were introduced. For the first several years, the shirt color was navy blue, then it was changed to the royal blue color, which remains today. It was the locals in LaCrosse that started referring to the group as the "Blueshirts." The group has grown from its humble beginning with JB and Tommy to a roster of over 200 today. For every 5 years a fester attends, a beer mug is added to the sleeve of their blue shirt. 1999 was JB's 30th year, making him the first fester to wear a six pack on his sleeve! In 1998, JB was suffering through withdrawal from the previous Oktoberfest and came up with the idea that if once a year is good; twice a year is better. Thus Springfest was born (see the Springfest page). While the turn out for this event is only a fraction of the fall event, it is still a great time. After the first three years in LaCrosse, Springfest is now a moving event (and sometimes a floating event) held at different locations.
Prost!
