When the Springdale House opened its doors in May 1999, yet another chapter in the township's history closed. Before its name change, the Springdale House had been the Schwaebische Alb, a fixture on Washington Valley Road since 1933. From its founding, the well-known German restaurant entranced three generations of visitors with its delightful combination of food, drinks and entertainment in the European tradition. "It's as close to old world Germany as one can get, this side of catching Lufthansa's next flight," reported PM magazine in 1973. "Alpine maids with rosy cheeks and braided hair, steins of Dortmunder draught, Viennese waltzes and German drinking songs, hand-painted murals depicting scenes in the Black Forest, aromas of schnitzel and sauerbraten - all contribute to the sensory adventure that is the Schwaebische Alb in Warren Township." The story of the Schwaebische Alb began in January 1926, when Herman and Clara Mauser, his wife, and William Schwarz, all of Newark, bought a 56-acre farm from Henry and Alice Lind for $3,300. When their dreams of a successful chicken farm evaporated in the turmoil of the Great Depression, the Mausers, Schwarz and new partners, Richard Fry and Richard Steimer, opened a modest restaurant in the Mauser's home, catering to German-Americans from Newark and Irvington. Prohibition's repeal in December 1933 opened new vistas (theirs was only the second liquor license issued in Somerset County) and very soon the restaurant, bar and picnic grounds became a success. Jan Jacot, who grew up in Warren during the l930s, well remembers the old restaurant. "The weekend air was filled with the aromas of sauerbraten, wienerschnitzel, apple streusel and German beer," recalled Ms. Jacot, whose father, Arthur, helped build the Rathskeller, and whose mother, Helen, was a waitress. "Mrs. Mauser ran the kitchen which was located in the right extreme of the house, and connected through a long hallway to the center section of the restaurant. Waiters and waitresses had quite a haul." "The weekend bartender for a number of years was Karl Kutke from Newark. Buster Mauser was a waiter, and my own mother was a waitress during this period in the middle to late Thirties. Pop Krauss and sons, all colorfully adorned in short leather pants, provided the lilting omp pah pah music. Three wonderfully huge Great Danes, Rollin, Minska and Osla, roamed the picnic grounds. Customers came from Newark and Irvington on a steady basis to spend an entire afternoon. Outdoor dining on picnic-style tables was an added attraction in the warm weather." The Schwaebische Alb weathered the hard times that all things German experienced during World War Two, prospered during the Fifties and in 1962 came under the ownership of Richard and Elizabeth Bachert, whose sons, Peter and Robert, now manage the Springdale House. Richard Bachert passed away in 2000. "For a quick trip to quaint old Germany, hie yourself to the Schwaebische Alb just off Washington Valley Road, in Warrenville," reported The Sunday Home News in July 1967. "It's easy to imagine you're in the beautiful hills of Schwaebland, when you arrive at this picturesque restaurant with German décor, German food and German entertainment, that was opened on the Warren hillside…after the repeal of Prohibition. "German beer, dark and light, is on tap there, too. It's served by the pitcherful by Schwaebische-costumed waitresses. "Even the proprietor of the Schwaebische Alb is German; he's been the owner for the past five years. "Richard Bachert, who came to the United States from Frankfurt in 1951, grew up in a similar restaurant that his parents owned in Germany. He ran the Turf Club on Rt. 9 before he took over the Schwaebische Alb. For the past year a brother has been operating Bachert's Hofbrau House in Atlantic Highlands. "Hans Frank, chef at the Schwaebische Alb, is from Hamburg and for many years was chef on the dining cars of Mid-Ropa. So naturally German specialties include such dishes as Rouladen and Kassler Rippchen. But the favorite remains Sauerbraten with Kartoffel Kloess. "This quaint German restaurant is open for dining from 5 to 9pm each weekday. But the biggest crowds come on weekends, when there is German musical entertainment…. "Ozzie Walen, the popular North Brunswick musician who's played the violin since the age of eight, has played for about 20 years at this big German beer garden. He joined the Krauss family orchestra there in 1948 and has entertained there weekends with his own five-piece orchestra since l949. "At least one Saturday night each month, there's additional German musical entertainment. Sometimes, it will be a performance by a Schuhplattler, a traveling dance group. There's also a Bavarian who plays cow bells. The orchestra plays for popular and novelty dancing and also for community singing by diners, many of whom wear Tyrolean-style felt hats. "Schnitzelbank, a favorite song lead by Walen, is an old German folk song, introduced at the Schwaebische Alb in 1937 by Charles Krauss of Middlesex, first of this well-known musical family to entertain at the restaurant. Charles…joined the Schwaebische Alb as a musician in 1933. "His father, the late John Krauss of Milltown, left the Old Heidelberg [in New Brunswick] a short time later and moved to the German restaurant in Warren with Charles and his other son, John…. The Krauss brothers still nostalgically recollect the old days there and the atmosphere of this transplanted bit of old Germany. Their grandfather was a Bavarian and they wore Bavarian costumes when entertaining. "The restaurant was owned by the late Herman Mauser, William Schwartz and Herman Fry, when the Krauss' came there as musicians. The trio and their wives, who did the cooking, founded the German restaurant. The couples came to this country in the late Twenties during the German depression. All were from the same village in Schwaebland. Both Mauser and Schwartz became chicken farmers, but when their farms failed during the American depression decided to open the restaurant, which was on the site of Mauser's farm. Fry, a businessman, joined them in the initial operation of the restaurant and was responsible for the addition of the Rathskeller and other improvements, but later was bought out by his two partners. Mauser and Schwartz sold the restaurant to Fred Craemer in 1950 and Bachert bought it from him in 1962. "Harry Von Osten, who still lives in that vicinity, did the original decoration of the Schwaebische Alb and also painted the Rathskeller, which had to be blasted out of rock. "In the early days, German singing societies came there by the busload from Irvington, Newark, Plainfield and New York City on weekends. The Krauss' entertained as many as 500 persons at Sunday afternoon concerts, where they played German concert music and musical comedy selections. "The German atmosphere was strong, but contrary to rumor the Schwaebische Alb never was a meeting place for Bundists [members of the German-American Bund], who organized in some parts of New Jersey in the Thirties, according to George Krauss. He recollected that the restaurant once refused to permit a Bund group from Andover to meet there. "During the war years the restaurant adopted a more continental tone but returned to its popular German atmosphere afterwards. Crowds who flock to the Schwaebische Alb now find themselves once more in old Germany and thanks to Bachert also find expanded and improved accommodations. Today, he has room for 2,000 on the picnic grounds, with outdoor grills and bars. He can seat 400 inside the restaurant." In the early 1970s the von Trapp family of Sound of Music fame held its annual reunions at the restaurant, drawing between 300 and 400 members of the far-flung clan to the Somerset County hills. The Cannstatter Volksfest, a three-day celebration of German cuisine and culture, drew thousands to the place on Labor Day weekends in the mid-1990s. Although its public dining room (which had been open only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday) has been closed for a number of years now, the Springdale House (nee Schwaebische Alb) continues a long tradition of festive wedding receptions, private parties and company picnics that began over sixty years ago. © Warren Township Historical Society |