From his duty station thousands of miles away from home, Army Spc. Stefan Powdrill has found a connection to Arlington with its sister city of .
The cities鈥� relationship dates back to 1951, when Arlington residents sent thousands of pounds of supplies to Bad K枚nigshofen as the town received hundreds of refugees who fled communist East Germany.
More than 70 years later, Arlington and Bad K枚nigshofen鈥檚 bond remains strong 鈥� however, Powdrill noticed residents in the town are more aware of the relationship than their Arlington counterparts.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e flying our flag in front of their city hall,鈥� Powdrill said. 鈥淭hey have murals of Arlington, Texas, in a bowling alley. Like, this is the real deal. In Arlington, if you were to go down the street and ask somebody about this place, they would be like, 鈥榃hat?鈥欌��
The town of about 7,000 was Powdrill鈥檚 first major trip outside his station in Grafenwoehr, Germany. Halfway through Powdrill鈥檚 first visit in 2023, as he visited shops, museums and parks, he decided to film. His first video on Instagram and TikTok garnered intrigue from viewers in both countries.
It took me a LONG time to pronounce Bad K枚nigshofen correctly so pls watch lmao Many cities have sister cities with the purpose of 鈥減romoting peace through people-to-people relationships.鈥� @City of Arlington and Bad K枚nigshofen recently celebrated thier 72nd anniversary of peace. You may be familiar with the Bad K枚nigshofen family aquatic center in South Arlington that is dedicated to our sisters in Germany! Promote peace 鈽笍 by getting involved in your community! This is just one of the many opportunities in Arlington! Everything. Starts. Local.
鈥淭he first week I posted, I had people from Arlington saying, 鈥榃ow, I didn鈥檛 know about this.鈥� The people who did know about it were telling me how grateful they were that I had the opportunity to be able to go,鈥� Powdrill said.
A firefighter and police officer from Bad K枚nigshofen invited him back for a July festival. Powdrill returned 鈥� this time, with an itinerary, a delegation from Arlington and plans for a second video.
The delegation included members of Sister Cities of Arlington, Texas, the group that manages Arlington鈥檚 sister cities program, as well as firefighters and a UT Arlington student.
Pedro Arevalo, who is part of the Sister Cities Committee, described the visit as 鈥渆xtraordinary.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a beautiful country, beautiful people,鈥� he said. 鈥淓verybody had open arms with us as soon as we got there.鈥�
Powdrill said he didn鈥檛 set out to create social media content when he first made the visit, but he wants to spread awareness of the relationship.
鈥淚 just want to get it on Arlington residents鈥� radar, and that was the intent of the video. I鈥檓 glad that, you know, it picked up steam so people could realize,鈥� he said.
So happy I got the opportunity to visit my friends in our sister city Bad K枚nigshofen for a second time! Arlington and Bad K枚nigshofen鈥檚 long standing and Humanitarian relationship was strengthened this weekend. Many cities have sister cities with the purpose of 鈥減romoting peace through people-to-people relationships.鈥� Arlington and Bad K枚nigshofen recently celebrated their 72nd anniversary of peace. Help me spread the word about this unique relationship! Thank you to the firegighters and community members of Bad K枚nigshofen for your warm welcome, I cant wait to host you in Arlington one day! (I have a previous video of my visit last year, which could provide some more info and context) Mr. Burgomaster, Tommy, Patrick, Niklas, Lone Star Bomberos, Arlington Fire Department, Bruce and Chere Maxwell, and community members. Thank you! #fyplxrltwlrdaatlg
Powdrill plans to return to Bad K枚nigshofen and possibly bring people from his duty station who are from North Texas. He also wants to become more involved with Arlington鈥檚 sister cities program.
Former Arlington City Councilmember Sheri Capehart has managed the program for years. Capehart said it鈥檚 not surprising Bad K枚nigshofen residents are more aware of the sister cities relationship. Though both cities were about the same size in 1951, Arlington exploded in population, while Bad K枚nigshofen remains roughly the same size it was post-World War II.
However, the story behind the bond is one worth knowing, Capehart said.
鈥淭he story in and of itself, in my opinion, it鈥檚 one of the finest hours of humanitarian relief that a city in the United States has shown that soon after World War II. I think that鈥檚 significant. It鈥檚 a history we need to be extremely proud of,鈥� she said.
Capehart learned about the relationship during her first term in office in 2000, when she asked about a poster hanging in the city council and mayor鈥檚 office. Over the years, she became more interested 鈥� and more involved 鈥� in keeping the relationship alive.
鈥淚t just kind of became my project,鈥� she said. 鈥淣obody assigned it to me. Nobody said, 鈥楶lease do this, Sheri.鈥� I just started doing it, and then I was the one who kind of knew the most.鈥�
Capehart said she feels good about the continued relationship with Bad K枚nigshofen when she sees enthusiasm from people like Powdrill.
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have Stefans, you can鈥檛 survive. You鈥檝e got to always have the younger generation coming up behind you to keep it alive,鈥� she said.
Larger sister cities program imminent
Arlington鈥檚 sister cities program, managed by the nonprofit Sister Cities of Arlington, Texas, may soon have new relationships to foster.
Bruce Maxwell, the nonprofit鈥檚 longtime president, said the board approved its own expansion and the formation of subgroups focused on individual partnerships. Maxwell now chairs the German Committee.
鈥淭o have this opportunity to expand the program to other cities so they can highlight Arlington and the things that we offer and the things we have, it鈥檚 pretty exciting to do that,鈥� he said.
The restructuring follows years of calls to add more sister cities to Arlington鈥檚 roster 鈥� particularly cities that could foster business or educational exchanges. Among the cities and countries floated for new sister cities relationships include Santo Domingo, Ecuador; Mexico; and Windsor, Canada.
The city and Sister Cities of Arlington, Texas, have yet to formally announce new cities.
Arlington Mayor Jim Ross is set to discuss the sister cities program during a for the book 鈥淪ister Cities Forever鈥� by Linda Altoonian at 4 p.m. Aug. 8 at the George W. Hawkes Downtown Library.
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