BB News No. 189 dtd 31 Jul 2009

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 189 DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY July 31, 2009 (c) 2009 - The Burgenland Bunch - all rights reserved Our 13th Year, Editor: Johannes Graf burgenland.bunch(at)chello.at and Copy Editor Maureen Tighe-Brown The Burgenland Bunch Newsletter, founded by Gerry Berghold, (who retired in Summer, 2008, and died in August, 2008), is issued monthly as email and is available online at http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org Current Status Of The BB: * Members: 1731 * Surname Entries: 5575 * Query Board Entries: 4173 * Newsletters Archived: 188 * Number of Staff Members: 14 EMAIL RECIPIENTS, PLEASE READ: You are receiving this email newsletter because you are a BB member or have asked to be added to our distribution list. To subscribe or unsubscribe, use the change form available from our Home page at http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org . You cannot send email to this newsletter. If you have problems receiving the newsletter as email, it may be read, downloaded, printed or copied from the BB Home page. There is also an archive of previous newsletters. This newsletter has just one section. It concerns: 1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER (by Tom Steichen) a) 2ND BB STAFF MEETING b) THE BURGENLAND BUNCH HAS A NEW STAFF MEMBER 2) HOMEPAGE NEWS 3) EDITOR'S NOTES 4) EMMERICH KOLLER / EMMA WENZEL MEETING (by Tom Glatz) 5) THE 2009 MIDWEST BURGENLAND BUNCH PICNIC (by Charlie Deutsch) 6) ALL CHICAGO BURGENLAND DECEASED Part 2 (by Tom Glatz) 7) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES (courtesy of Bob Strauch) 1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER (by Tom Steichen) a) 2ND BB STAFF MEETING Nine of thirteen Burgenland Bunch staff members and three BB members met in Allentown, PA, on June 27 to discuss issues of interest to the BB. Present were: Tom Steichen, President (Winston-Salem, NC); Hannes Graf (Vienna, Austria), VP & Newsletter Editor; Anna Kresh, VP (Butler, PA); Contributing Editors Margaret Kaiser (Northvale, NJ), Tom Glatz (Chicago, IL), Fritz Königshofer (Bethesda, MD), John Lavendoski (Austin, TX), Frank Paukowits (Flushing, NY) and Bob Strauch (Allentown, PA); and Lehigh Valley BB Members Ed & Frank Tantsits and Frank Teklits (emeritus staff member). Staff members unable to attend were Klaus Gerger, VP (Vienna, Austria) and Contributing Editors Steve Geosits (New York, NY), Maureen Tighe-Brown (Hubbard, OH) and Bob Unger (El Cajon, CA). Ed Tantsits organized the local arrangements and President David Scheffy of the Coplay Sängerbund made us and our family members welcome the next day at the 92nd Coplay Sängerbund Stiftungsfest. Many thanks to both! The weekend started on Friday night with some staff members attending the Button-box Jam Session at the Sängerbund. On Saturday, the staff met for nearly five hours as we worked through a large agenda assembled by Margaret Kaiser. That evening, spouses and other family joined us for a nice Hungarian dinner at Paprika's in Hellertown, PA. Sunday's afternoon and early evening Stiftungsfest continued our festivities, where I must admit I danced my feet sore to Emil Schanta's band, after first attending the choral concert, of course. Then Emma Tanczos Farkas, sister of VP Anna Kresh, topped off our weekend by graciously fêting us with an succulent array of Burgenland delicacies, sweets and drinks as we whiled away the last of the evening with food and conversation at her home in Northampton. Emma, thank you from all of us! The meeting itself revolved around six key topics. We first discussed finding a new home for Gerry Berghold's large collection of Burgenland books currently residing in his former home in Winchester, VA. Although the Staff weighed the merits of a number of potential recipient libraries (and preferred libraries in the Lehigh Valley), it was agreed that the first step should be to assemble an inventory of the books. (Chris Berghold has graciously allowed John Lavendoski and me to do so on August 6th.) We next held a discussion about a potential BB DNA project. John Lavendoski, who has been involved in a number of DNA studies, provided a tutorial to the staff about the basics of DNA-based genealogy, delineating what can and cannot be achieved with such work. It appears that current DNA capabilities are particularly suitable for examining relationships among men of the same surname, slightly useful for "generic" information about the maternal lines of women, but not useful for examining most other family relationships. John's belief was that a nonspecific study among members of the Burgenland Bunch would likely be disappointing and he recommended against taking on such a project. Our third topic concerned establishing a Burgenland Bunch presence on Facebook, primarily to serve as a tool to introduce the BB to a younger demographic. Staff member Steve Geosits (who I had the pleasure of sharing dinner with in NYC during the week before this meeting) created a private test site to show what might be done. He also noted the presence of a generic "Burgenland" group on Facebook that has nearly 600 members and often discusses Burgenland genealogy. The Staff concluded that a BB site on Facebook would have value and voted that we ask Steve to open it up to the public. Frank Paukowits led the discussion of our fourth topic, a new "Connecticut" module for the BH&R (Burgenlanders Honored and Remembered) site. If you know of Burgenland-born individuals buried in a Connecticut cemetery, or would be interested in documenting Connecticut cemeteries, drop Frank a note. Our fifth major topic was succession planning. This topic is an ongoing concern for me because most of the staff members are 55+ in age and are already (over-)loaded with ongoing BB duties (plus having other, non-BB interests). Hannes Graf is the BB Newsletter Editor, Editor of the Membership page (which requires monthly updating) and co-Webmaster with me. Anna Kresh handles our BB Links Page, which is a never-ending cycle of discovering new links and discarding broken links. Frank Paukowits, Bob Strauch and Margaret Kaiser are deeply involved in managing and adding to BH&R while also contributing articles and material for our Newsletter and website. Steve Geosits and John Lavendoski operate the extensive Szent Péterfa Genealogical site and Steve will lead the efforts for our new BB Facebook site. Fritz Königshofer is our key resource assisting users of the Burgenland Query Board and provides research and translations for us. Klaus Gerger is the developer and maintainer of the BB Maps Pages and continues to lead efforts to transcribe Burgenland house records. Maureen Tighe-Brown is Copy Editor for the Newsletter (while also attempting to complete a Ph.D. and take care of her aging mother). I am Editor of the Surnames and Villages pages (which require monthly updating), co-Webmaster, a frequent (though often anonymous) contributor to the Newsletter, and the BB interface that deals with problems or questions (while also being employed full-time). What all this implies is that the current staff (as large as it seems) does not have the time or energy to back up other staff nor to take on any new BB tasks. Our discussion indicated that none of the current staff plans to "retire" from the BB any time soon, however our collective age suggested that it is only a matter of time before illness or events force one or more of us to withdraw temporarily or permanently. When that happens, we will not have the ability to maintain the abandoned task. We determined that the only reasonable approach to ease this situation is to recruit new staff members to take over existing tasks (or to take on new tasks) and to free current staff from some of the monthly burden. This would allow the current staff to step in when needed as back up or as a temporary resource. Thus, if you have considered becoming involved as a BB staff member, please make your interest known... we need you! Researchers and writers are of great interest to us and we have a particular interest in finding individuals with HTML, PHP or web-based database experience, as we would like to convert our key datasets from static HTML pages to dynamic database-driven pages. However, if you have another talent to offer, we will find a way to use it. Our final topic, and one which caused us to move our dinner reservation a bit later, concerned our status as an informal, unincorporated organization with no "legal" standing. That status affects both our relationships with other organizations and our ability to accept funding. We are not a non-profit and thus hold no special tax status; from a U.S. tax viewpoint, we simply do not exist. We charge nothing for memberships and any actual costs of running the organization are covered by staff members absorbing whatever they spend on our behalf (for example, we each paid all of the expenses we incurred to attend this staff meeting). Therefore, we need no "treasury" and do not file anything with the U.S government. However, it also means we have no way to accept contributions when offered to the BB. This has led to lost opportunities, occasional hurt feelings, and confusion about why we reject "free" money. It also has led to some conflict among staff members and with other organizations. Our discussion evolved around understanding these conflicts and the pro's and con's of formalizing our organization. The clear advantage is we would have a well-defined non-profit tax status with the ability to accept funding. The clear disadvantages are that we would need to be much more formal in our day-to-day activities and would need to prepare the ongoing and annual paperwork that documents our status and our transactions. In reality, we might need to add or designate a treasurer who would keep books, establish a checking account and do our tax returns and other paperwork. Whether this added complexity is justified by the occasional contribution offer (even if generous) is not clear. The staff was clearly divided by this issue but, as a group, recognized that we do not know exactly what might be involved in changing our status. Thus, we will explore further. That was our meeting... we advanced the cause on Gerry's library, made a decision on Facebook, were educated about DNA, had a heads-up on a BH&R Connecticut module and discussed two issues without easy solutions: maintaining our existing capabilities and formalization (or not) of the organization. The meeting provided a first-time opportunity for every staff member to meet at least one other staff member whom he or she had not met before. It allowed us to share fellowship and to talk through some difficult issues. Already, emails are raising the possibility of doing it again in a year or two. So I leave you with this question: Will you consider becoming a staff member and joining us when we next meet again? b) THE BURGENLAND BUNCH HAS A NEW STAFF MEMBER Emmerich Koller become the Hungarian Editor It is with great pleasure that we announce that Emmerich Koller has agreed to join the BB staff as our new Hungarian Editor. Emmerich, born in Hungary, a refugee in Burgenland and a U.S. resident since 1960, brings skill in translation of both German and Hungarian documents and is an accomplished writer, authoring his memoir of Hungary and contributing a number of articles to recent newsletters. Please join me in welcoming Emmerich. Emmerich provides the following biographical sketch: Emmerich, a.k.a. Imre Koller, was born in 1942 in Pernau/Pornóapáti, Hungary. On November 4, 1956, Emmerich, his parents and six siblings escaped across the Iron Curtain and lived for four years as refugees in Oberbildein, Burgenland. During this time, Emmerich finished 8th grade in Bildein, attended a vocational school for young Hungarian refugees in Retz, NÖ, then entered the Privatgymnasium Sankt Rupert in Bischofshofen, Salzburg, to begin his studies for the priesthood with the Steyler Missionaries. In 1960, the Kollers immigrated to America and settled in Hyde Park, Chicago. Emmerich left the seminary in 1966 and became a German teacher. For many years, he taught in the Academy of International Studies at the Glenbrook High Schools in Glenview and Northbrook, Illinois. He retired in 2002. Today he lives in Winnetka, Illinois, with his wife Ann and youngest son Andrew. He holds a BA in Philosophy, an MA in German and an MA in Education. During his teaching career of 36 years, he received several awards, among them the Distinguished Teacher Award at President Clinton’s White House (1993), The Certificate of Merit from the Goethe Institute New York (1989), and two Outstanding Teacher Awards from the University of Chicago (1985, 2001). Emmerich Koller is the author of "Good Dogs Do Stray," a memoir that includes the history of Pernau and the Pinkatal as well as a vivid description of life in a German village east of the border. 2) HOMEPAGE NEWS Pictures of the 2nd BB Staff Meeting and the Stiftungsfest at Coplay Sängerbund are aviable at: http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org/Events/2009/BB-gatherings-2009.htm 3) EDITOR'S NOTES The past few months have been the most difficult of our family's lives. Two things happened: one bad, one good. My wife Elfie's Mum (84) had an accident in April and broke her femur. Gradually, her health became worse and worse, and we waited for the end of her life. At that time, Elfie and I decided that I would make the trip to the USA alone, and she would stay with her mother. So I flew on June 24th to New York City and had a very good time with the Burgenland-Bunch Staff friends for a week, and then visited my relatives in Ohio and Indiana. After my flight back to Vienna on July 8th, I felt as though I hadn't really arrived back. When I closed my eyes, I was still in Allentown, New York, South Bend, Zionsville, Pittsburgh, Butler, East Liverpool or Indianapolis. Sometimes I spoke English with people, and they just looked at me and wondered. Also, my body was still seven hours off schedule, so I didn't feel as though I had come back to Austrian reality. During these months, Elfie's mother alternated between coming back to life and sinking medically. On Tuesday, July 21st, in the morning, her mother's mind was very clear. She wanted to get washed with the help of the nurse, then she had breakfast and got a little tired, so she went to bed, closed her eyes, and died! So I am sorry that this issue of the BB Newsletter will not include all the articles I wanted to add. I know you will understand that my wife and children are more important to me right now. 4) EMMERICH KOLLER / EMMA WENZEL MEETING (by Tom Glatz) Last May I arranged a meeting at my home between Emma Wenzel and Emmerich Koller, author of the autobiography, Good Dogs Do Stray. Ms. Wenzel is the niece of Franz (Ferenc Jahrmann) born in Pinkafeld. Emma's mother, Ida Jahrmann, also born in Pinkafeld, was Franz's sister. Emma's uncle was the highly respected schoolmaster in Pernau and a teacher to members of the Koller family. An article was previously written about Koller's book, but I thought it would be interesting to submit something brief to the Burgenland Bunch about this meeting and of my views about his book. Emma and I were pleased to meet Emmerich. Besides this Wenzel/Jahrmann connection, the Körper sisters from Pernau and who live now in Chicago would sometimes attend our Burgenländische Gemeinschaft events. For years BB member Bob Strauch would talk about this village of Pernau where his ancestors also hail from. He once sent me some historical village data concerning Pernau which I shared with Emma and the Körper sisters. They enjoyed reading and reminiscing about their birthplace. Emma and Emmerich spent the afternoon at my home trading stories and looking at pictures of the Jahrmann family that she brought. Emma said that she truly felt a connection with her uncle spending the afternoon and speaking with Emmerich. She always wished that she could have met her him. Despite circumstances due to the war and communism her family and the Jahrmann family in Pernau were close. Emma was thrilled to see a picture of her uncle with fellow teacher Bankorsos in the book. Emmerich explained that Franz was often referred to in the village with the Hungarian diminutive Feri Bacsi and his wife as Neni. This is a non-related uncle and aunt. He had a positive impact on Koller's life and probably hoped that Koller would not have to follow in the life of his shoemaker father. Koller was also a good friend of Franz Jahrmann's son Tibor. There is mention of him in the book. Tibor fled across the border to Austria in 1956. He later immigrated and joined others from Pernau in Chicago. Emmerich joins the list as the third American autobiographer born in Burgenland after Robert Unger and Frances Panny that I am aware of. All live or lived in Chicago! Since Pernau stayed with Hungary after the founding of the Burgenland and did not change much going into the twentieth century, Koller's book gave me insight as to what life might have been like for my ancestors before they left their villages fifty years previously. The Hungarian government and the Catholic church at times had a negative impact on the lives of the people that lived in Pernau. They stifled entrepreneurship and creativity. Koller was able to succeed despite his past. He recognizes this past in the book and brings it all out in the open. 5) THE 2009 MIDWEST BURGENLAND BUNCH PICNIC (by Charlie Deutsch) The Midwest Burgenland Bunch will hold its annual picnic Sunday, August 9, 2009. We will meet at the Germanic-American Institute, 301 Summit Avenue, St. Paul MN. Hours are 12 Noon to 4:30 PM - Rain or Shine. Bring a picnic lunch. Meet and greet old friends and new. Questions? Contact Charlie Deutsch. 6) ALL CHICAGO BURGENLAND DECEASED Part 2 (by Tom Glatz) (continue from THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 185A) Chicago Tribune (IL) - 1963-01-23 Deceased Name: Hefler Emilia Hefler, (b. Oberdorf)nee Aspan, beloved wife of Paul (b. Jabing); fond mother of Emilia Hucher, Helen Fischer, and Frieda Coyle; grandmother of five; dear sister of Anastasia Halper, Teresa Konrath, Frank Aspan, Barbara Lorenz, Helena Lieb, Anna Lorenz of Oberdorf Burgenland. Funeral Thursday, Jan. 24, from Kowske Funeral Home, 1503 W. 51st street, at 8:30 a.m., to St. Ethelreda church. Interment St. Mary cemetery. Member of Erster Eisenburger, S. B. S.; German-Hungarian, L. B. S.; and St. Ethelreda Altar and Rosary society. YArds 7-4765. Chicago Tribune (IL) - 1955-04-29 Deceased Name: KEIPPEL John Keippel, late of 4955 Berenice avenue, beloved husband of Pauline, nee Werderits; dear father of Pauline Strombom, Marie Keippel, Edna Timson, and Mildred Harrison; grandfather of five; brother of Michael and Tobias Keippel, and Marie Brunner of Burgenland, Austria. Services Saturday, 1:30 p.m., at chapel, 4920-24 Irving Park road. Interment Mount Emblem. KIldare 5-6220. Chicago Tribune (IL) - May 13, 1987 Deceased Name: FRANCES PANNY Mass for Frances Panny, 80, who operated two beauty salons in South Shore, will be said at 11 a.m. Thursday in Our Lady of the Ridge Catholic Church, 10811 S. Ridgeland Ave., Chicago Ridge. Miss Panny, of Chicago Ridge, died Saturday in Christ Hospital. She was born in Burgenland, Austria, and immigrated to the United States when she was in her 20s. She also published her autobiography, ''Fannerl,'' in the 1970s. Miss Panny was a member of the Third Order Carmelite, a member of Cenacle Business Women's Guild and a member of Burgenlandische Gemeinschaft. She is survived by a sister, Anna Bischof Chicago Tribune (IL) - 1973-10-15 Deceased Name: PAMMER Fred Pammer, late of South Chicago, beloved husband of Rose, nee Heber; dear father of Margaret (Alfred) Hazler, Mary (Adolph) Schuman, Julia (Al) Jacobs, Josephine Quilter, Helen (Al) Nastari, William (Vera) Pammer and Fred (Joan) Pammer; fond grandfather of nine; greatgrandfather of nine; many nieces and nephews; member of Burgenland Lodge; retired employee of Pullman Standard Co.. Funeral Tuesday 9:30 a.m. from the Brown Funeral Home, 2939 E. 95th St. to SS. Peter and Paul Church. Mass 10 a.m. Interment Holy Cross Cemetery.. SO 8-0155. Chicago Tribune (IL) - 1975-09-21 Deceased Name: MEDL Charles Medl, beloved husband of Mary Medl; dear father of Caroline (Neil) Lloyd; grandfather of David, Charles and Robert. Services Monday, 9 a.m., from Zeiger-Mueller Funeral Home, 6453 W. Irving Park Rd., to St. Joan of Arc Church, 9248 N. Lawndale, Skokie, Ill. Mass 10 a.m. Donations to Heart Fund will be appreciated. Member of Burgenland Society and Prime Timers Club of St. Priscilla Church. Visitation Sunday 2 to 10 p.m. Interment St. Joseph Cemetery. 736-2693. Chicago Tribune (IL) - 1971-06-15 Deceased Name: Ostermeier Theresea Ostermeier, nee Ofenbeck, beloved wife of Martin; dear mother of Paul [Marie] and the late Eleanor York McLain, Resting at Moeller-Halleman Funeral Home, 4138 W. North Av. In state at Bethel Ev Luth. Church, Hirsch and Springfield Avenues, from 12 noon Thursday, June 17, until the hour of services at 1 p.m. Interment Concordia. Born in Burgenland, Austria. Member of Bethel Ladies Aid. Please omit flowers. Information, 235-6812. Chicago Tribune (IL) - 1968-11-14 Deceased Name: Wisler Frank Wisler Sr., beloved husband of Ella, nee Wukits; loving father of Vilma [Carl] Schrader, Frank Jr. [Margaret], and Eleanor [Eugene] Kulovitz; dear grandfather of Kenneth Kulovitz and Barbara Wisler; fond brother of Bertha Veselits and John. Funeral Friday, 9:30 a.m., from Kolbus Funeral Home, 6841-57 W. Higgins avenue, to Immaculate Conception church, Norwood Park. Interment St. Joseph cemetery. Member of Burgenland lodge, Eisenburger, and Bakers union, local No. 2. 774-3232. Chicago Tribune (IL) - 1971-09-01 Deceased Name: Fassl Louise Fassl, nee Paukowits, beloved wife of Frank Fassl; loving mother of Mary Louise [Fred] Tucker, Frank R. [Patricia], Robert [Alice], Dorothy [James] Flannery and John [Sue] Fassl; fond grandmother of 20; dear sister of Mary Hupfauer of West Germany. Funeral Thursday, 9:15 a.m., from Blake-Lamb Funeral Home, 3737 W. 79th St., to St. Thomas More Church. Interment St. Mary Cemetery. Native of Burgenland, Austria. Please omit flowers. 735-4242. 7) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES (courtesy of Bob Strauch) Helen Kaminsky Helen Kaminsky, 98, passed away June 26, 2009 in Cooperstown, N.Y. She was born October 25, 1910 in Szentpéterfa (Prostrum), Hungary, the daughter of Andrew and Theresa (Jurasits) Temmel. Helen grew up in Nazareth. She left home at an early age to become a nanny for a family on Long Island, and later was a waitress for many years. She married the love of her life, Erich Kaminsky in New York City on September 23, 1933. He passed away on January 29, 1974 in Melbourne, Fla. She moved to Florida in 1973 and resided in Barefoot Bay for many years until moving to Decatur in 2004 to be with her daughter. She was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in both Barefoot Bay, Fla. and Worcester, N.Y. Helen's favorite past times were bowling and watching baseball. She had a very active social life while living in Florida, although her focus was always family first. She adored her very special grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Survivors: She is survived by her son, Paul E. Kaminsky; her daughter, Carolyn A. and her husband, Roger Nickol; five grandchildren, Martha and Stephen Hasslacher, Erich and Melonie Kaminsky, John and Kathy Kaminsky, Janel Nickol and Robert Nickol; eight great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by five brothers and two sisters. Karl Santa Im 93. Lebensjahr ist Karl Santa (geb. in Jakobshof) in Kornwestheim/DE gestorben. END OF NEWSLETTER -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTICE (Terms and Conditions): The Burgenland Bunch (BB) was formed and exists to assist Burgenland descendants in their research into their heritage and, toward that end, reserves the right to use any communication you have with us (email, letter, phone conversation, etc.) as part of our information exchange and educational research efforts. . If you do not want your communication to be used for this purpose, indicate that it is "confidential" and we will abide by that request. .. Correspondents who communicate with the BB without requesting confidentiality retain their copyright but give a non-exclusive license to the BB allowing us to forward to BB members, publish in our monthly newsletter or on our website, and/or subsequently and permanently archive all or parts of such communications. The Burgenland Bunch homepage (website) can be found at: http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org/ Use our website to access our lists and web pages. WORLDGEN WEB BURGENLAND QUERY BOARD: http://bb-board.at.tt BB NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES INDEX and threaded search facility (enter number of newsletter) available from: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index (also reached via Home Page hyperlinks.) Burgenland Bunch Newsletter (c) 2009 Archived courtesy of RootsWeb.com, Inc. P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798. Newsletter published monthly by the Burgenland Bunch. Newsletter and List Rights Reserved. Permission to Copy Granted; You Must Provide Credit and Mention Source.