Dale and Mary Zwiefelhofer were practically born to be Oktoberfest royalty.

The newly-named festmeister and festmeisterin of this weekend’s celebration are both natives of Chippewa County, both descend from German lineage, and they’re Chi-Hi high school sweethearts.

Dale and Mary first met at Chippewa Falls Junior High — where Dale quickly caught Mary’s eye.

Dale grew up on the West Hill of Chippewa Falls, and Mary lived near the Yellow River in the town of LaFayette, but they both attended the same school.

“For me it was love at first sight,” Mary said.

“Me too,” Dale smiled.

Mary knew that she had to be with Dale before they had even been friends.

“I used to think I’m going to marry that guy someday,” she said.

The pair eventually started dating in high school. Dale then graduated in 1976, and Mary followed in 1977. They were married in 1979.

The couple has been involved in Oktoberfest since the first event in 2003. They are co-owners of Rooney Printing Co. in Chippewa Falls, and the company was asked to print much of the marketing materials.

“We heard about it the first time and got excited about coming,” Dale said. 

Dale is the general manager for Rooney Printing, and Mary is a chiropractic receptionist at Optima Health and Vitality Clinic in Eau Claire.

Dale is involved in the Community Foundation of Chippewa County, the Rotary Club and the Northern Wisconsin State Fairgrounds. He has been also been the past chairman of the Chippewa Falls Area Chamber of Commerce.

Both Dale and Mary, whose maiden name is Schultz, come from German families.

“We’re about as German as you can get,” Dale said.

Not only are they excited about representing Oktoberfest, but they’re both happy to represent their culture.

“It’s kind of cool,” Dale said.

Dale and Mary kicked off Oktoberfest Friday just after noon as they tapped the “golden keg,” the first keg of Leinenkugel’s Oktoberfest beer to be tapped at the fairgrounds, where the celebration is being held through Sunday.

“It was fun,” Mary said.

Even though the couple had known about becoming Oktoberfest royalty since March, Dale admits being in front of so many people made it more real.

“I was kind of nervous in the beginning,” he said.

The couple was joined by two of their three children as they ventured around the fest Friday.

Their son Brady, 24, is a raw materials coordinator for Premium Waters and lives in Eau Claire. Cody, 20, is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota, and Jessalyn, 14, is a freshman at Chi-Hi.

Dale and Mary took in their responsibilities with a smile Friday. Although they said they do have somewhat of a busy schedule of appearances over the weekend, they were enjoying every minute of it.

“It’s just a great honor and privilege,” Mary said.

“We’ve met a lot of people from out of the area,” Dale said after greeting a group from Iowa and another from Wausau.

The couple is happy to invite people into their home city.

“It’s a wonderful community,” Mary said. “This is where we wanted to raise our children.”

Throughout the weekend, the pair plans to take in the camaraderie  and entertainment which will surround them.

Dale said his favorite part is the music, which is suited for almost any taste.

“We love the music. It’s great entertainment,” he said. “We love polka, but what we tell people is it’s not all polka.”

The couple enjoys the many bands which play at the beer tents including the more rock and R&B music.

And of course they’ll be wandering the grounds in their lederhosen and dirndl.

“It’s fun wearing leather pants when it’s 80 degrees out,” Dale laughed.

And Mary said it’s the first time she’s had a dress on since she married Dale 29 years ago.