Two thousand and eight was an eventful year for the Burgenland Bunch. First and foremost, we lost Gerry Berghold in August. Gerry was the founder and the heart and soul of the BB, taking it from a handful of members in 1997 to a group of over 1500 during the course of a dozen years. Gerry rightfully claimed that the BB website had become the largest English-based repository of knowledge about the history and genealogy of the Burgenland. We must thank Gerry and the BB staffs, both current and past, as well as you the membership, for making this possible. Over this past year, an additional ~140 members joined, bringing current membership to over 1,660. Likewise, we list an additional ~350 surnames, bringing that total to well over 5,400.

The BB website has grown in other ways. A consolidated effort is underway to provide additional village histories. Staff member Margaret Kaiser has spearheaded that effort. (I must confess that I, in my role as Villages Editor, have been on the pointy end of that spear, as I am responsible for adding all the information she has provided!) Much of the historical information we present covers the pre-1900 period. These histories impart the "flavor" of the place and time when most of our emigrant ancestors lived there; we hope you find them interesting.

Without a doubt, the most significant addition to the BB website in 2008 is the October merger with the Burgenländers Honored and Remembered (BH&R) website. Frank Paukowits (a BB staff member) and his group document US burial locations and tombstone information for over 3,000 Burgenland immigrants. Their latest effort centers on the Upper Midwest (Minnesota, the Dakotas, Iowa and Wisconsin), with listings already exceeding the century mark. The BH&R efforts manifestly complement the BB efforts... we now take our emigrant ancestors from cradle to grave!

A continuing effort is the BB Newsletter. Staff members Hannes Graf and Maureen Tighe-Brown, as new Editor and Copy Editor respectively, are endeavoring to maintain its traditions while developing their own style. Gerry Berghold was a prolific and knowledgeable writer, which makes their task all the more formidable, but their first few issues indicate that our newsletter is in good hands. Thanks, Hannes and Maureen!

I send my personal thanks to the BB team of 15 staff members and editors. Your voluntary efforts were essential to the development of the current BB knowledge base; likewise, you will be key to future enhancements.

May all have a joyous holiday season and a productive 2009!

Tom Steichen

2 cups dried pears, diced
2-3 cups raisins
1 cup dried figs, diced
1/2 cup orange zest (zested and chopped fine)
2 lemons zested
On knifepoint of each: anise, coriander
1/4 cup or one airline size bottle of Brandy
5 eggs separated (whip whites and yolks separately with a fork)
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
Mix, the fruit, alcohol and spices.
Mix the egg yolks with sugar and mix into the fruits above.
Add the egg whites which have been mixed with a fork
Add flour
Pour into two greased medium sized bread pans.
Bake 40-60 min, 350 degrees. (center is done when toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs)
This is a very heavily fruited bread and yummy.

My friend from Austria sent me her recipe for Kletzenbrot a traditional Christmas pear bread from Burgenland. I have converted the measurements from theirs to ours and I have made it many times. It is delicious.

I believe my grandfather, Joseph Mittermann, is first row bottom left. My uncles John and Frank Mittermann might also be in the photo but I don't have old pictures to confirm this. I'm hoping some might be able to attach names to faces from the past.