Photo provided A photo of the 2006 group of local students and German hosts in front of the Schloss Bueckeburg, a castle near Loehne.
Student visits between Columbus and one of its sister cities are set to resume this spring, having previously been put on hold amid the pandemic.
Sixteen teenage students from Löhne, Germany will visit Columbus from March 31 to April 8 as part of an exchange program between the two cities.
Amelia Shaw, who teaches German at Columbus North and East, said the last time students from Löhne visited Columbus was in 2019. She noted that there’s a lot of interest among students at Städtisches Gymnasium Löhne regarding these trips, with about 80 to 90 wanting to attend.
“It’s a great honor, I think, to be chosen,” she said.
Visiting students will be paired with host students and families from Columbus East High School and Columbus North High School. During their time in Columbus, they will participate in a variety of activities, including high school classes, a visit with Mayor Jim Lienhoop, a downtown scavenger hunt and tour, a college visit to Indiana University and a tour of the C4 program. The group will also do some brief sightseeing in Chicago before returning home.
Columbus and Löhne became sister cities in 1994. According to a brief history on the city of Columbus’ website, the partnership was created to “foster ties between the two similarly sized cities.” Also, many people in the local community and surrounding areas have ancestors who came from the same region in northern Germany.
“This secret was unlocked in April 1989 when Hans-Günter Lichte and his wife Edith came to Columbus in search of descendants from her great-grandfather Scheidt,” wrote city officials. “Family members were found buried in the cemetery of St. Paul Lutheran Church at Clifty. Once the connection was made, groups led by Hans-Günter Lichte of Löhne and Arthur Schwenk of Columbus began to visit back and forth. Also, a student exchange program was developed by Columbus North High School with the high school in Löhne.”
According to Shaw, Löhne advertises itself as “Die Weltstadt der Küchen” or “the kitchen capital of the world,” as it is known for manufacturing cabinets and other kitchen items.
“When I visit Löhne, I always feel a sense of familiarity,” she said. “It’s a similar sized city to Columbus. Small enough to run into familiar faces, but big enough to offer a lot of different activities. The landscape around Loehne is very similar to Columbus — rolling farmland, wooded areas, etc. I suspect the geography influenced German settlers when they were searching for a new place to call home.”
In discussing the significance of the exchange, Shaw said that it helps expose local students to another culture.
“This trip encapsulates the true reason that learning a second language is vital and critical for our students today,” said Shaw. “So many students are in a small bubble.”
By meeting the students from Löhne, local teens can learn about the differences in their lives, as well as the similarities they share.
Shaw knows firsthand what a life-changing experience these trips can be. She visited Löhne in 2006 as a student at Columbus North. The experience helped her cultivate independence and self-confidence — so much so that she became a nanny to a family in Austria for a period of time.
Columbus students last visited Löhne in 2018, said Shaw. They had previously planned to visit again in 2020, but the trip was canceled due to the pandemic. Organizers now plan to send a group in June 2024.
Shaw expressed hope that the upcoming visit will set the stage for the 2024 trip and continue the tradition of forming lasting ties between residents of both cities.
“We’re learning a language to make friends,” she said.
