Binghamton German Club

HISTORY

The February 19, 1897 records in the Broome County Clerk’s Office indicate that five gentlemen of German background filed a certificate of incorporation pursuant to the Membership Corporation Law of the state of New York. The name of the corporation was Germania Männerchor of Binghamton, N.Y. The going was sometimes rough in the early years, but finally in January, 1923, a group of ninet

een musicians and members gathered and made a motion to start a club under the name of “Deutscher Gesang und Music Club.” In 1927, an application for membership to the Central New York Sängerbund was filed. Our first director was Adele Winkler, and in June, 1928, our society attended our first Sängerfest in Schenectady, NY. In October of that year, the membership voted to change the name of the club to Germania Männerchor. Meetings were initially held in members' homes. Until John Winkler made a suggestion to build out his chicken coop as a club house. This worked out well and there was plenty of room for singing and band rehearsals. In December, 1928, the wives of the Germania Männerchor members decided to start the Ladies Section of the Germania Männerchor. The Germania Männerchor has been a member of the New York State Sängerbund since this time, The chorus has been lead by a number of distinguished directors. Dr. Michael Kinney was the initial choral director for over 25 years followed by Randy Messing, and the current director is William Snyder. In October, 1930, the Germania Männerchor bought the Town of Kirkwood property near Binghamton, NY on which our Club House sits today. 1931 was a very busy year. A small building was erected and then the next year, a porch was added and the following year, a well was dug. Today the club consists of a large upstairs event room with hardwood floor dance floor, a downstairs ratskeller, commercial kitchen, outdoor bar and beautiful covered Biergarten. In June, 1998, the men and ladies auxiliary were merged and are now known as the Binghamton German Club (incorporated as Germania Männerchor).