• 1975 had been declared the "Year of Expatriate Burgenländers," with the purpose of raising awareness of the special relationship that exists between Burgenland and those who left it to emigrate, first and foremost to the U.S.A, and with the goal of strengthening those ties. It seemed like a good idea to symbolize those ties with the twinning of two towns, and Stegersbach and Northampton appeared ideal candidates. 
  
• Most of the early emigrants from Stegersbach, those which left around 1900, settled in Northampton.
  
• Many a family in Northampton and its neighboring towns is descended from immigrants from the district of Güssing. A prominent example is Tony Pany, at the time mayor of Northampton. 
  
• Around Lehigh Valley, Burgenland traditions and customs had lived on virtually untainted. 
  
• Practically every family in Stegersbach and its vicinity had relatives in the U.S.A. 
  

The proposal for town partnership which the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft submitted to the mayors and councillors of the two towns met with broad acceptance. In 1974 mayor Alexander Pratl, Stegersbach, traveled to Northampton to participate in getting the town twinning project started. He was accompanied by a group of Stegersbach musicians. From July 15 - 20, 1975, Stegersbach, in turn, hosted an "American week," the highlight of which was the "Northampton Day" on July 19. Mayor Pany, who was unfortunately otherwise engaged, was gracefully represented in the festivities by charming Tessie Teklits, who is fondly remembered here. Shortly before the ceremonies, the town council had decided to name a square - a first in the history of Stegersbach; and to give it the name of "Northhampton-Platz." Mayor Pratl and the town council saw to it that the relevant sign was put up promptly, so that the dedication of the sister-city monument could officially proceed at Northampton-Platz. Eduard Ifkovits decided to rename his nearby coffeeshop "Jaky am Northampton-Platz." Needless to say that his Gasthaus was a must for all groups of travelers from Northampton in the years that followed. When the two mayors Pratly and Pany stepped down, they were succeeded by Walter Fabics (Stegersbach) and Paul Kutzler (Northampton). The current holders of the office of mayor are Heinz Krammer and Tom Reenok, respectively. For Stegersbach, historically a town of telegraphers, it seemed most suiting that Northampton mayor Kutzler would have been a postal employee by profession. Accordingly, he felt very much at home when visiting the Stegersbach museum of telegraphy and the local post office in 1984. In 1990 Walter Fabics returned Kutzler's visit at the head of a delegation visiting Northampton, on which occasion he dedicated a monument to mark 15 years of sisterhood with Stegersbach and 100 years of emigration from Stegersbach. When, next, Tom Reenok visited Stegersbach in 1996, he also traveled to nearby Bocksdorf, the native village of his mother-in-law, nee Rosenkranz. This year, finally, Northampton celebrated the 25th anniversary of sister-city partnership with Stegersbach with an afternoon ceremony on July 8, starting at 12 noon, at the very hour when people gathered for a ceremony in Stegersbach (6 pm local time). Read more about the festivities in Stegersbach in the next issue of our newsletter. A number of delegations of the Burgenländische Landesregierung, the governor of the province of Burgenland and Bishop Laszlo have payed a visit to the Burgenländers in Northampton. The Burgenländische Gemeinschaft, which first initiated and subsquently kept the sister-city partnership alive, extends its greetings to the inhabitants of both towns.