By NICK PETRUNCIO, The Danville News
February 24, 2003

Danville native Van Wagner spins around before releasing the elk during the elk throwing contest near Stingers in Riverside during the Danville German Society's annual Winter Festival on Saturday.

DANVILLE - Ethnic heritage runs strong in the veins of Danville German Society members.

This past weekend, about 25 of them came together from as far away as the western part of the country to participate in an annual series of activities.
They included a scrapple fest at Pappas Restaurant, hamburger eat-off at the Jerseytown Tavern, elk toss, scrap iron toss and auction.
Danville native Van Wagner hoped the event acknowledged all the different ethnic and racial backgrounds that make up the Danville area, including African American, Eastern European, Irish and Welsh.
"It's a celebration of our ethnic background. It's not necessarily stuck on Pennsylvania-German so much. It is just a great excuse to get out and have some fun," he said.
Wagner and his wife, Tamara, traveled from Idaho for the event - the 2003 Elk Toss Semifinals and Winter Festival.
Members paid to participate in the events. Proceeds went to the Women's Center Inc. of Bloomsburg, which is a shelter for victims of domestic violence.
Society members wore traditional German outfits as they participated in the different events, which took place in Riverside and Jerseytown in addition to Danville.
Perhaps the most anticipated event was the elk toss, which took place at The Nooning House on D&H Avenue in Riverside.
For early Pennsylvania-Germans, flinging the animal's carcass into the air for distance was how those settlers ended their hunting trips hundreds of years ago.
"The elk toss was a strong man competition to celebrate the end of the hunt," Van Wagner said. It is similar to the Scottish caber toss.
Robb Bomboy, who also goes by the German name Franz Klingermann, was the returning elk-toss champion. He also won the year before last.
A real elk isn't used in these competitions.
Instead, an "elk" made of wood, brown sacks, wire coat hangers, rope and masking tape went into constructing a replica this year.
After two rounds, Bomboy grasped the "elk" by its front hooves - made of rope - and spun with it around in the snow before releasing it into the air.
It landed 22 feet away. That distance gave him the title of Elk Toss Champion for the third year in a row.
"This is a proud moment for me," Bomboy said, a bit tongue-in-cheek. "This sat on my mantle all year," he continued, referring to the trophy he was allowed to keep.
Bomboy is originally from Danville but now lives in Winchester, Va.
Bomboy is in his 20s, like most of the festival participants. Society members range in age from their 20s to their 50s.
The society has been around since Oct. 31, 1924, according to its Web site: http://danville.hypermart.net.
A white-haired man, who goes by the name Muntz, came up from Honeybrook, Chester County.
"Anytime there's a bunch of nuts hanging around I'm usually there," he said with a laugh.
Muntz, who is friends with Van Wagner, came up for the music festival and to help out for what he said was a good cause.
The auction took place inside The Nooning House.
In the early evening, the music festival began at the Pine Barn Inn, Danville. It featured Wagner and other bluegrass musicians.
At the Pub on Mill Street, Danville, a magic show was held, and the group finished the evening a block away with hoagies at the Danville Sub Shop.