
German Club Edelweiss was founded on May 7, 1924 as a German sports cub and the present location was purchased on November 8, 1932. The club primarily consisted of soccer allowing members to play on their own field. The Edelweiss club provided a place that was distinctly German in Dayton, allowing the members to be good Americans without losing their proud German heritage. It became a community of their own in a new country. The Club was the social center for members to put on meetings, dinners, dances, and events.

The German Club Edelweiss is rich with soccer tradition, not just because it originated soccer in the southern Ohio area, but also because of its contribution to the birth and growth of adult, youth, high school, and college soccer. In 1952, Dieter Baumgart, a member and player of German Club Edelweiss, formed the Ohio Indiana Kentucky Soccer Association. In 1976, the Association was granted affiliation with the United Soccer Association and received its charter and outlining boundaries which included southern Ohio, all of Indiana and Kentucky. Some of the players from Edelweiss assisted in establishing the first youth soccer program which was the "Catholic Youth Association" or C.Y.O. in this area and they became officials and coaches.

One of our most notable accomplishments was the construction of the "New Clubhouse." We are always very proud to point and say "We built that!" One special note of interest in the new clubhouse is the main beam spanning the ballroom. The main beam was finished with a time capsule consisting of a newspaper, a beer bottle with the ceramic flip top, and one small item now forgotten. The completed structure stands as a tribute to those who said it could be done and set about doing it.

Many members have come and gone since the first pioneers founded the club and there are many echoes of the good times in the "Old Clubhouse" as well as the "New Clubhouse", with memories of those who founded the club as well as those who served the club by their leadership and those who sacrificed their time by working to sustain the club. We honor those who are no longer with us, as well as those who remain. We thank them all for their hard work and dedication!