American English. For example, the word for rhubarb is Piestengel, combining the English word "pie" with the German word for stalk or stem. The Amana Society, Inc., corporate heir to the land and economic assets of communal Amana, continues to own and manage some of farm, pasture and forest land. Agriculture remains an important economic base today just as it was in communal times. Because the land was not divided up with the end of communalism, the landscape of Amana still reflects its communal heritage. In addition, over 450 communal-era buildings stand in the seven villages—vivid reminders of the past. On June 23, 1965, the National Park Service deemed the Amana Colonies worthy of distinction as a National Historic Landmark. When the National Register of Historic Places was founded a year later, the Colonies were automatically listed. Amana Farms is home to Iowa’s largest privately held forest. Amana Farms has built a 1.6 million-gallon anaerobic digester with funding from the Iowa Office of Energy Independence, which produces fertilizer, heat for buildings, and methane for generating electricity. The digester processes organic waste streams from industrial partners such as Genencor International, Cargill and the International Paper Cedar River Mill, as well as manure, thereby reducing local methane emissions. Amana Refrigeration The most widely known business enterprise that emerged from the Amana Society is Amana Refrigeration, Inc. George C. Foerstner worked in the woolen mill and became a traveling salesman for the mill after the Great Change. With the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, Foerstner recognized the need for beverage coolers. He started the Electric Equipment Company in 1934 using $3500 of his own savings. The company was sold to the Amana Society in 1936 and renamed the Electrical Department of the Amana Society, though Foerstner remained as manager. The company was twice awarded the Army-Navy "E" Award during World War II for filling military contracts. Goods were produced in the Middle Amana woolen mill. In 1947, the company produced the first commercial upright freezer. Two years later, the Amana Society sold off the Electrical Department to an investment group organized by Foerstner. Renamed Amana Refrigeration, Inc., the company grew to manufacture refrigerators and air conditioners. The Raytheon Corporation purchased Amana Refrigeration on January 1, 1965, although the Amana division was mostly autonomous. Amana produced the first practical commercial microwave oven in 1967. The division was sold to Goodman Global in 1997 and