This is the third in a series of stories about Fountain Hills Sister Cities, which is celebrating its 20th year in the community.

Dierdorf, Germany, was already a favorite of the community before it officially became a Sister City of Fountain Hills.

Fountain Hills High School German teacher Jennifer Horen Ray had found there had been student exchanges between the two communities. That same year, the late Sharon Morgan, who was Fountain Hills’ mayor and involved in Sister Cities, contacted Christine Colley about how the Town could have a Sister City with Germany.

“We (the school) had had an exchange between Fountain Hills and Dierdorf,” Colley said. “We began working from that point.”

Dierdorf, located in south central Germany, is small, with about 6,000 residents. It has rolling hills and plenty of trees, contrasting with the desert of Fountain Hills.

The connection to Dierdorf remains strong.

Jason Ernst, a Fountain Hills High School graduate, wrote that his relationship with the small German city started when he was 14 years old.

“My family briefly hosted my then relatively-newfound German pen pal, Julia,” he wrote. “Nine months later it was the Schmitts’ turn to host me.”

Julia Schmitt and Ernst remain friends to this day.

Ernst wrote that, 18 years after their first handwritten letters, “Julia and I are still in regular touch.

“We regularly send one another [news about] our jobs, love lives, family announcements and sharing our viewpoints on a range of German, American and global matters.”

Ernst went on to study German language and literature at the University of Arizona. In the 2008-09 school year, he returned to Germany as an exchange student.

“I was a grant-funded research scholar that year,” he wrote.

He spent the winter holidays with the Schmitts, as well as other friends he has made throughout Germany.

“With each return, I find myself daydreaming about up and moving to this land that feels more like a second home to me than any other,” Ernst concluded.

The first trip to Dierdorf by Sister Cities delegates took place in 2004.

“Our first trip to that community was so wonderful,” Colley said. “The people are so welcoming, and we met a lot of people on our first visit in 2004.”

Then-Mayor Wally Nichols, who died in 2016, was in that first group to visit Dierdorf and to officially sign the papers establishing the Sister Cities relationship between the two communities.

Colley said the first group to visit the German town officially included Nichols and his wife, Sheila, Jennifer Ray, Mike and Brenda Scharnow, Luke Salzman, Chris Peterson, Lynn Truby, Colley and her husband, Jack, and Daniel Fecteau.

“Dierdorf is a close-knit community,” Colley said. “They welcomed our entire delegation with open arms.”

Mike Scharnow, who was editor of The Fountain Hills Times at the time of the first visit, said their experience in Dierdorf was “really great.”

The group visited in June, and Europe was experiencing an unusually hot summer. Scharnow said when the delegation went to Dierdorf’s town hall for the official signing, Arizona’s residents were not used to the un-air-conditioned space.

“We were all suited up, and the council chambers were on the second floor,” Scharnow said. “It was really hot. But when the meeting ended, we adjourned to the back of council chambers where we all drank beer and enjoyed each other’s company.”

Scharnow said the relationships made from the Sister Cities trip were lasting. He and Brenda hosted a high school girl from Dierdorf one year.

“She came during homecoming so (son) Zach took her to all the festivities,” Scharnow said. “I think they kind of hit it off, but she is now married and lives in Germany. So that didn’t last.”

But, according to Colley, the student exchanges are the primary focus of the local Sister Cities organization.

“We have had students visit the different cities, and we have had students from our Sister Cities visit us,” she said. “It has been a way for people to become friends with others from different cultures.”

Colley said students raise their own money for the flights, then they are hosted by families in the various towns.

The basic premise of Sister Cities as envisioned by President Dwight Eisenhower was to build better relationships among people by communicating, thus creating better chances for peace among nations.

Dierdorf Mayor Thomas Vis has visited Fountain Hills more than once. He last visited the community in October 2016 with his own and two other families. A reception was held at Town Hall for the special guests.

Vis discussed the student exchange program in a letter to Colley. He said students from Dierdorf typically visit Fountain Hills in the spring, while Fountain Hills students go to Europe in October.

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, no exchanges occurred in 2020.

“Many friendships have developed here,” Vis wrote. “The demand from the students to take part in the different projects is much greater than in other places.

“Everyone benefits here. Unfortunately, due to the Corona (sic) no exchange is possible this year. We very much regret that. But we all hope it can start again next year.”

It is clear by all accounts that the relationship between Fountain Hills and Dierdorf is solid. Despite the interruption created by COVID-19, enthusiasm runs high for students to visit each other.

“City partnerships and friendships are important, maybe even more so in the future,” Vis said. “They help to create understanding and mutual respect.”

While no plans are in the works to add to Fountain Hills’ Sister Cities, Colley said the organization is strong, and members remain committed to the relationships with the current four cities: Kasterlee, Belgium; Ataco, El Salvador; Zamosc, Poland; and Dierdorf.

The next installment in this series will feature Ataco, El Salvador, the third community in the family of Fountain Hills Sister Cities.