GOLDBERG, MAX H.
trial and three were convicted. According to the prosecution’s case, Caleb Powers, the secretary of state, had planned the assassination, Henry Youtsey of Cold Spring, a stenographer in the auditor’s office, had handed the gun to the assassin and pointed out Goebel, and Jim Howard, a Clay Co. feudist, had pulled the trigger. However, packed juries, partisan judges, and perjured testimony leave the scenario somewhat open to question. Of those known to have been involved, the unstable Youtsey seems a more likely candidate as the assassin. Yet the assassin could also be someone who remains virtually unknown to history. In the end, the Republican-dominated high court in the state invalidated several of the convictions. Seven trials occurred over seven years, and eventually all three convicted men received pardons. After his death, Goebel lay in state at Odd Fellows Hall (Independent Order of Odd Fellows) at Fift h St. and Madison Ave. in Covington and then was buried in Frankfort Cemetery. A statue was later erected over his grave and another was placed in front of the new capitol. A half century later, the statue was moved from the new capitol to the Old Capitol yard, near the scene of the shooting. That monument, which portrays a serene Goebel, contrasts with the controversial nature of his life. To his supporters, he was a martyr to the cause of reform. To his enemies, he stood as a boss who sought power by any means. Whatever the case, Goebel’s death and the trials that followed cast a long, dark shadow over Kentucky life. Hughes, R. E., E. W. Schaefer, and E. L. Williams. That Kentucky Campaign. Cincinnati: Robert Clarke, 1900. Klotter, James C. William Goebel: The Politics of Wrath. Lexington: Univ. of Kentucky Press, 1977.
James C. Klotter
Family recipes and preparation reflect local preference and tradition. Originally, goetta, like scrapple, was prepared as a loose porridge that was scooped up with bread from a bowl, a practice consistent with goetta’s probable medieval origin as a farmhouse food item. By the 19th century, however, goetta in northwestern Germany had a firmer, loaf-like texture, and that preparation method was brought to the Northern Kentucky area. Traditionally eaten as a breakfast food, goetta is now served at all mealtimes and also as a snack food. The recent innovations such as goetta links and goetta pizza demonstrate goetta’s popularity in the region. Goetta is also featured at local restaurants, church events, and German-American functions. And Goettafest is now celebrated during the summer in Covington and Newport. A basic dietary item in the region, goetta serves as a cultural marker revealing the influence of German immigration. It is produced by several companies and various regional meat markets, the main company today being Glier’s Meats of Covington. Glier’s produces more than 1 million pounds annually at its Goetta Place address, the largest goetta plant in the United States. Others include Finke’s Market in Fort Wright, which makes 50,000 pounds each year, both traditional and hot and spicy flavors, and the Hoff man Sausage Company in Cincinnati. At one time most of the local butcher shops in the region made their own goetta for retail sale. When Finke’s operated its 824 Main St. location in Covington, it sold goetta to the nearby Irish, calling it “Irish mush.” The family has been making and selling the product ever since George Finke opened his shop in 1876. Here is a typical recipe for goetta: 8 cups water 2 teaspoons salt 1 pinch pepper
GOETTA. The word goetta, for a German dish that came with immigrants to Northern Kentucky, is derived from the Low German Götta, or High German Grütze, which is related to the English word groats. The Low German Göttwurst (Grützwurst in High German) refers to a sausage consisting of pork, beef, oatmeal (pinhead or steel cut), and spices. The recipe and the term were brought by German immigrants from northwestern Germany, especially Hanover, Oldenburg, and Westphalia, to Northern Kentucky and to nearby German American communities in the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana region. The term goetta is a direct German loan into American English as spoken in the area. Moreover, it reflects a specific regional origin in northwestern Germany and the process of chain migration to the Ohio River Valley. Variations of goetta are produced in other regions of Germany but are known by other terms, especially by the High German Grützwurst. An example of Grützwurst in America is Pennsylvania German scrapple, which contains similar ingredients but uses cornmeal rather than oatmeal. Goetta is usually made into loaves, but it is also available in sausage links. Some cooks prepare goetta by breaking it up and frying it as ground meat.
21 ⁄ 2 cups oatmeal (pinhead or steel cut). Dorsel’s Pinhead Oatmeal is preferred 1 pound ground pork and 1 pound ground beef 1 large onion, sliced (optional) 1 to 4 bay leaves (optional) (2 teaspoons savory may be used instead of the onion and bay leaves) Boil the water in a large pot with a lid; add the salt, pepper, and oatmeal. Cover and cook for two hours, stirring the mixture often. Add the meat, onion, and bay leaves (or savory), and mix well. Cook for another hour with continual stirring. Remove the bay leaf (if used) and pour the mixture into bread pans. Refrigerate overnight. To serve, goetta can be sliced and fried until it is crispy, or just heated; or it can be crumbled and fried. It may be used as a breakfast food with eggs, pancakes, and so forth or served on bread or rolls to make a sandwich. Anyone who does not want to prepare goetta from scratch can readily find it in regional meat markets and grocery stores or at Findlay Market in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.
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“Gaga over Goetta—Business Produces about a Million Pounds Annually,” KP, February 22, 2003, 6K. Oehler, Martha Finke. “Goetta Making in Covington.” Unpublished paper, goetta vertical fi le, Kenton Co. Public Library, Covington, Ky. Paeth, Greg. “Gotta Get It to Get a Goetta,” KP, November 15, 1992, 3K. “Talk about Goetta, You ‘Getta’ Finke,” KP, February 25, 1957, 1. Tolzmann, Don Heinrich. German Heritage Guide to the Greater Cincinnati Area. Milford, Ohio: Little Miami, 2003.
Don Heinrich Tolzmann
GOFORTH, WILLIAM (b. December 25, 1767, New York City; d. May 12, 1817, Cincinnati, Ohio). Physician William Goforth was the son of William Goforth and Catherine Meeks. He studied medicine under Dr. Charles McKnight and the surgeonanatomist Dr. Joseph Young. Like numerous other medical students and physicians, he left New York City in 1788 amid turmoil and riots fueled by controversy over the use of human cadavers in the study of anatomy. Goforth’s westward travels led him first to Maysville and then to Washington, Ky., where he settled in 1788 and practiced medicine for more than a decade. In 1799 he moved to Ohio, eventually settling in Cincinnati, and again established a large medical practice. He was one of the earliest physicians to introduce vaccination to residents of the Greater Cincinnati area. During his initial journey to Kentucky, Goforth became acquainted with the Drake family and many years later honored a request by Isaac Drake that he someday teach medicine to Drake’s then three-year-old son Daniel. Goforth is today highly recognized for this role as preceptor to his apprentice Dr. Daniel Drake, another legendary early Cincinnati physician. Possessing a wide spectrum of interests in the natural sciences, Goforth was also intrigued with paleontology. He was instrumental in leading an 1803 archaeological dig for mastodon and mammoth fossils at Big Bone Lick in Boone Co., an event visited that year by Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803–1806). Goforth relocated to Louisiana in 1807. There he became involved in political affairs and served as surgeon to a regiment of the Louisiana militia. He returned to Cincinnati in 1816 and died of hepatitis on May 12, 1817. He was buried at Columbia Grounds in Cincinnati, but his remains were moved to Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati in 1854. Johnson, Allen, and Dumas Malone. Dictionary of American Biography. Vol. 4. New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1959. Juettner, Otto. Daniel Drake and His Followers: Historical and Biographical Sketches. Cincinnati: Harvey, 1909. The National Cyclopedia of American Biography. Vol. 23. New York: James T. White, 1933. Obituary. Liberty Hall and Cincinnati Gazette, June 2, 1817, 2.
Judy L. Neff
GOLDBERG, MAX H. (b. April 5, 1913, Falmouth, Ky.; d. December 18, 2007, Morehead, Ky.).