The ancestors of Jürgen Soth-Igelmann, nicknamed “Deutz” because of his fondness for special vintage tractors, already owned a blacksmith’s shop in Gehrde at the time of the 30-year war. Werner Böse also took over the business from his father, who in turn inherited it from his father. He drives across the country with his rolling “Aunt Emma’s shop” and supplies the villagers who don’t want to or can’t shop in the surrounding towns.
But there are also the “newcomers”. The young pastor has only been living in Gehrde for just under a year. And then there are the ethnic German immigrants from Russia. Without them and their children, the local school would have closed down long ago.
The absolute highlight of the year is the Schützenfest. Weeks beforehand, the eagles are carved, the brass band practices snappy marches, and young marksmen cut countless birch boughs in the forest. Young and old wind oak leaves into wreaths and all together decorate the streets and houses. With “Horrido” and “Hosasa” they celebrate for three days. For the strictly religious ethnic German immigrants, however, the humid and merry revelry is nothing – incomprehensible for real Gehrder people.