BB News No. 172 dtd 29 Feb 2008

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 172 DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY February 29, 2008 (c) 2008 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved Our 13th Year - Newsletter issued monthly as email by G. J. Berghold, BB Editor and also available from http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org ~HAVE YOU VIEWED OUR NEWEST HOMEPAGE SECTION? IMPRESSIONS OF THE BURGENLAND? SEE NEW ADDITION AT ARTICLE NUMBER SIX. Current Status Of The BB: *Members-1579 *Surname Entries-5186 *Query Board Entries-3860 *Newsletters Archived-172 *Number of Staff Members-15 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 Homepage 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 Homepage. There is also an archive of previous newsletters. This first section of our 2-section newsletter concerns: 1. Burgenland Immigrant Neighborhood Entrepreneurs 2. "Borderland" - English Language Burgenland History, Long Out Of Print 3. Early Burgenland Railways 4. Gasthaus Csencsits In Harmisch Receives Culinary Award 5. Burgenland Immigrant Obit 6. Impressions Of The Burgenland 1. BURGENLAND IMMIGRANT NEIGHBORHOOD ENTREPRENEURS (ED. Note: If any of our members can supply similar neighborhood enterprises operated by Burgenland immigrants in their enclaves of memory, please forward as I'd be happy to publish them. Much of this phase of the Auswanderung has been lost.) Few Burgenland immigrants arrived with more than $20 to see them and their families through the initial stage of emigration, many had less (my maternal grandfather had $14). Economic conditions at the time of heavy immigration were such that this just might cover expenses for a few weeks. Getting a job quickly was very necessary. Fortunately American mills and heavy industries were in need of labor. Industry in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, for instance, was expanding rapidly at that time. A year or two in a mill, industrial site, brewery or construction firm often provided incentive for some immigrants to establish a small business. Perhaps a boarding house, franchise tavern or small neighborhood store or service, catering to local ethnic immigrants was possible. Prior to the supermarket, there were many neighborhood stores and small service shops handy to neighborhood residents. It's estimated that Allentown had over 600 stores in the early years of the 1900s as well as 60 barbershops. Very few were prosperous, but a living could be obtained or a low paying job supplemented. By the late 1950's, most neighborhood stores were a thing of the past. My early Allentown neighborhood was an ethnic enclave in the Tenth Ward vicinity of Jordan and Allen streets. I can remember many local businesses operated by immigrants, some by Burgenländers. A few follow and their names reflect families to be found in southern Burgenland, from the districts of Güssing and Jennersdorf. Heider Butcher, 500 block Jordan Street, later operated by Paul Biery. My grandmother and others made daily trips to purchase meat and groceries for the day. It was also a time to exchange gossip and speak German. Fandl Butcher, 4th & Allen Streets, along with nearby Farkas and Zecky (Hungarian) Butcher. These were noted for ethnic sausage products and also carried a line of groceries. Ring Family, 500 block Jordan Street - Mom & Pop Store, open early and late for candy, ice cream, bread, or lunch products. Did not survive the Depression. Berghold & Eder Coal Company (operating from 1920s-1960s). Coal yard at Sumner Ave. Started by granduncle Josef Berghold (Poppendorf) in conjunction with partner Eder (Rudersdorf area). Josef worked first in a local brewery, later took over a brewery franchise tavern, and then opened a grocery, finally the coal business. Fiedler's Café (2nd & Gordan Streets) - earlier Golatz Café. Operated by immigrant Fiedler from the Neustift bei Güssing area, later operated by his son Eddie, the building now turned into a parking lot. At first there were rooms for newly arrived immigrants, later apartments. Freeman's Dairy Home Delivery Man, 500 block 4th St. If you needed dairy product before next delivery, he'd supply it from a walk-in cooler behind his home. Home delivery available until the 1960's. Name not known but family spoke Hianzisch. Oberecker Bakery Home Delivery - Oberecker was from Heiligenkreuz. Great German rye bread, Kaiser and Poppy Seed Crescent Rolls. Jaindl Turkey Farm on the outskirts of Allentown - now a national business. Started by Jaindl immigrant from the Rudersdorf area. Ralph Denhardt's Luncheonette, 4th & Tilghman Streets. Great hotdogs, ice cream, papers, etc. May not have been a Burgenländer but may have married one. Many Burgenland customers. Berghold Produce Market on Hamilton Street, still in business but now located at the Fairgrounds farmers' market. Started by immigrant granduncle Franz Berghold (Poppendorf) after exchanging a brewery job for a small farm in Limeport. Sorger Family (with a brick house) provided a small apartment for immigrants just arriving. There were others (shoemakers, tailors, notion stores, produce vendors, taverns etc.) with names no longer remembered by me. I doubt if many are still in operation but they all served as a step up for descendants. The following are not Burgenländers but figured prominently in neighborhood immigrant business. Joe (Giuseppe) Palladino - my barber, Jordan & Tilghman Streets. An unforgettable gentleman, musician and a superb barber. An immigrant from Italy, he sang opera and regaled me with Italian recipes while cutting my hair. His brother Frank ran a tavern next door, their sister (Tessie) a grocery. Joe's daughter Madeline went on to become a judge and state official. Yocco's Hot Dog Shop - 7th & Liberty Streets. Undoubtedly a Greek immigrant (name Iococa - uncle of Chrysler's Lee Iococa), established the world's best hotdog - still operated by family today with 5 shops throughout the Lehigh Valley. A visit to other ethnic neighborhoods of Allentown would have found a similar situation. While no Burgenland immigrants known to me achieved professional status, their first and future generations will now be found among educators, doctors, accountants, the legal profession, etc. Five of my seven-member "street gang" went on to college. This was the promise of America. Major purchases by immigrants were made in the large establishments at the Hamilton Street shopping district, later supplanted by shopping malls and mostly owned and operated by Pennsylvania German later-generation immigrant descendants. I wonder how many are now owned, operated or staffed by descendants of Burgenland immigrants, the fruit from the earnings of an immigrant ancestors first job or business. Lest we forget, an old German saying covers the first three "Auswanderer" generations: "Der Erste hat den Tod, Der Zweite hat die Not, Der Dritte erst hat Brot." - The first dies, the second has need, the third first has bread. 2. "BORDERLAND" - ENGLISH LANGUAGE BURGENLAND HISTORY, LONG OUT OF PRINT Margaret Kaiser writes: I borrowed, through inter-library loan (from Rutgers), the Andrew Burghardt book "Borderland." The book is scarce as hens' teeth (www.worldcat.org). I was unable to finish reading it before it went back - it requires a slow read in stages. I looked around the Internet and duplicate copies can be made for around $230 or so; occasionally an old copy comes up for sale. Maybe someday when more is available to read on line, the prices will go down. Anyway I'm wondering if you'd like to lend your copy to me. Think about it and I'll call you in a few days. If I can read it someday, fine; if not, all will still be well. Reply: Margaret, You are referring to Andrew Burghardt's book "Borderland" - the only history of modern Burgenland written in English and long out of print. I bought a copy from Books On Demand (a copy jobber) some time ago for $100. I looked for it in order to send it to you and couldn't find it. I believe I may have included it in the books I gave to Tom Steichen last April. If so perhaps he still has it and will loan it to you. I'm copying him. Dr. Burghardt is a retired Political Geography professor from McMaster Univ. in Canada. He wrote the book in the 1950's. I reviewed it in the BB newsletter some time ago. I'm also publishing descriptions of the book's photos, which Burghardt sent me, in the quarterly BG news (previously published in the BB newsletter). The only other copy I know of is owned by John Lavendoski, our Croatian sub-editor - some time ago he told me that he bought a copy. Perhaps he still remembers the source? I'm copying him as well. Every member of the staff should have a copy - it's on a par with the Dujmovits' book, which I hope will eventually be published in English. John replies: I also got mine from UMI Books on Demand, but I got it back in 1996. I sent it up to Professor Burghardt in Canada, and he signed it and dated it (1/24/1997) for me. I think the Bethlehem, PA, library had one... if you are close by. I don't remember what I paid, but it was kind of expensive even then. 3. EARLY BURGENLAND RAILWAYS In 1921, when the parts of Hungary that made up today's Burgenland were first ceded to Austria, the portion originally comprising the area around Sopron remained in Hungary as a result of an ethnic plebescite. Sopron was a large city, much larger than any in the other ceded parts. It was a commercial center and a transportation hub. Had it been included in the transfer, it undoubtedly would have been named the capital of Burgenland, as opposed to Eisenstadt. There were many ramifications detrimental to the newly created Burgenland, but by far the most important was the severing of major roads and railways that passed through Sopron. As a result there were no good transportation facilities linking Burgenland with the rest of Austria. It was years before the situation was remedied by the creation of a north-south autobahn and road modernization. Margaret Kaiser writes: Thought this historic excerpt might be an interesting topic since many wonder about the route their ancestors traveled to their embarkation port. Maybe one of our Austrian members might want to comment on whether this line operates today, and what other lines exist. Or maybe Hannes might compare the age of "his" line to this one. Oakland Tribune Oakland, California Tuesday, December 15, 1925, Page 22 Austria Completes Burgenland Railway VIENNA, December 15. - When, in 1922, the Burgenland was adjudicated to Austria by the powers, the necessity arose to construct a new railway line connected with Austria. This was started in 1922 but, owing to financial and technical difficulties, has not been finished until now. The new line traverses part of the Styrian mountains, from Friedberg to Pinkafield, and in consequence of one especially difficult tunnel the construction has taken very much longer than was first anticipated....The other day, at the informal inauguration, the Minister of Commerce pointed out that this was the first new railway line in the Republic, and that it meant an economic and cultural link between Austria and the Burgenland province. Membership Editor Hannes Graf writes: This railway was original build from Szombathely to Pinkafeld and after the breakdown of the K&K empire it was an "only" Burgenland-railway from Rechnitz to Pinkafeld without any contact to the "Austrian" railways. So the government had to connect it to the ASPANGBAHN from Vienna to Graz. The connection needed some tunnels and bridges and a turnaround (map) to take the train uphill to Friedberg: So you can imagine, the small village Pinggau (Lower Austria) has two railway stations at two different railways, 500 meters apart. "Our" (Hannes is working with a group which is rebuilding part of this line) Railway from Oberwart to Oberschützen was also a part of this railroad. A big part of railroad is closed ending at Oberwart, but now there are direct trains to Vienna. We also working to reactivate the whole line and connect to Szombathely. Now the Hungarians would have to build this, because they destroyed it at the time of building the iron curtain. There are other Burgenland forgotten railways (Körmend-Güssing) or projects, for example: monorail from Vienna to Eisenstadt and Neusiedl am See, 1920ies 200km per hour speed, 10 minutes to Eisenstadt, 17 to Neusiedl!!! Our group (FrOWOS) will try to go Oberwart this year, and get permission to carry passengers the whole distance. This requires ALL of my time. Every week I work there 3 or 4 days and this will go on, till we finish in May. When home I work at creating a new homepage for FrOWOS: www.frowos.com (English as well as German). Sometimes, when I am in southern Burgenland, I drive around, taking pictures for upcoming pages. If somebody has a special interest in Austrian railroads, one of our Members produces movies and books. He has an English language Homepage at: http://www.bahn-im-film.at/ 4. GASTHAUS CSENCSITS IN HARMISCH RECEIVES CULINARY AWARD (courtesy Bob Strauch) More and more we hear of national and international interest in Burgenland cuisine. As we well know, Burgenland local specialties are in great demand with visiting tourists. Almost every Gasthaus features one or more specialties. Recently Gasthaus Csencsits in Harmisch received star from Gault-Millau-see German article at: http://burgenland.orf.at/magazin/imland/geniessen/stories/255736/ 5. BURGENLAND IMMIGRANT OBITS (courtesy Bob Strauch) Karl Lang, 83, of Allentown, passed away on Monday, February 11, 2008 in Whitehall Manor. He was the husband of Gisela "Stella" (Mayer) Lang . Born in Deutsch Minihof, Burgenland, Austria, he was a son of the late Karl and Maria (Fuchs) Lang. He was a member of Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church, Allentown. Karl and a member of the Austrian-Hungarian Veterans Society. Survivors include siblings, Robert, Ella Düh and Berta Drauch, in Austria. 6. IMPRESSIONS OF THE BURGENLAND In our desire to bring you pictures of the Burgenland and your immigrant villages of origin, BB Vice President and Membership Editor Hannes Graf is building new web pages called "Impressions Of The Burgenland." Click on the subject BB Homepage index. Please wait for the pictures to load. With help from Robert Bauer, Hannes and wife Elfie are touring the villages as they find time and taking pictures, which are added to the web pages. A new group has just been added. Hannes writes: "Last week we had a ride from Königsegg in Lower Austria (10km from Burgenland) following the Tauchental (Tauchen Valley) from its source to Neumarkt im Tauchental, where we made many photos. Some of them I added for the Impressions-page. Newsletter continues as number 172A.

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 172A DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Our 13th Year - Issued monthly as email by G. J. Berghold) February 29, 2008 (c) 2008 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved ~SEE THE "BURGENLAND BURGER"~ (A Filled Grammelpogatscherl), By Chef Gerhard Windholz From Neusiedl am See (from Bob Strauch)~ http://burgenland.orf.at/magazin/imland/mahlzeit/stories/258674/ ~Recipe~ http://burgenland.orf.at/magazin/imland/mahlzeit/stories/258818/ The second section of this 2-section newsletter includes: 1. Phonetic Spellings Can Be Very Misleading 2. Taste Of The Burgenland - Kipfels Again 3. Midwest Annual BB Picnic 4. Fastnacht Fervor 5. Burgenland Wines 6. Immigrant Correspondence 7. Allentown, PA, German Sommerfest Changes 8. Typical BB Listing - Typical Reply 1. PHONETIC SPELLINGS CAN BE VERY MISLEADING Correspondent writes: I found an entry in a 2001 BB newsletter - something about immigrants living in New York? (ED. Addresses and villages of origin of ethnic magazine subscribers.) Rosia Neubauer could be my grandmother - she was from Chanigraben - does this mean that these people were residing at the address with the person shown? Newsletter Entry: KROBOTH, Engelbert, aus Chanigraben, und Rosia NEUBAUER, aus Rabfiditsch, Ungarn. 326 E. 91. St. NY. NY. Reply: Yes to your question, but the spelling of the village name was phonetic. It actually is Tschanigraben (Hungarian name was Sandorhegy). Roman Catholics attended church in Rönok (Hungary) and the municipal office was in Rabafüzes. Today it is in the Burgenland of Austria in the district of Güssing. Rabfidisch does not have a "t'. Correct spellings as you may know are extremely important when using computer search engines. You'll notice from below that the Neubauers have lived there since at least the 1700's. Neubauer is a fairly common name in this area. My g-grandmother was a Neubauer from nearby Lutheran Eltendorf. Tschanigraben Was a part of Inzenhof until ca. 1800. Spelling of the village name in the church records: 1736 Schonagraben, 1765 Chanigram, 1789-1802 Sandorhegy gewöhnlich (usually (called)) Sconagraben, then Tsonagraben, Csanagraben and Tsanagraben. Very rarely mentioned pre-1789, therefore early surnames can be located only from that time onwards. Surnames of Tschanigraben 1789-1802: NEUBAUER, ARTINGER, STUIBER, KROBATH, SVETALICS, KÖPPEL (KEPPEL), PAMER, BRUNER, JOST, MULZET, NIKLES, MEHLMAUER, FALUSI, TAKERER, KONRATH (KONRAD), ZIMITZ. The FALUSI are known to have lived in Güssing throughout the 17th century. The dead, like those of Inzenhof, were originally buried near the St. Emerich church, and children went to school in St. Emerich (Szent Imre). Since 1893 Tschanigraben has its own cemetery. At that time, the school had been established in house nr. 6. First teacher was Godefried LOTH, who died 28 Apr 1858 aged 65. Further teachers: 1858-62 Michael NEUBAUER (teacher of Tsch. and Inzenhof), around 1864 Michael GLÜCKSHOFER (only in Inzenhof). His successors were Ida KERSCHBAUM, Franz JOST (after 1870), Johann SCHREDNER (in the 1880ies), MAYER, Andreas LOIKITS (until 1895). From 1895 the children went to school in Inzenhof. Inhabitants: 1812 - 151; 1929 - 189 Source: Dr. Josef Loibersbeck's series "Um den Eisenberg", published in "Volk und Heimat" 3/1957; summarized and translated by Albert Schuch 10 Nov 1999 2. TASTE OF THE BURGENLAND - KIPFELS AGAIN Correspondent writes: I found your site and I am not a member but I am hoping you can help me. I misplaced my Kipfel recipe from my Aunt Hildegarde, who is 89 years old. I am too embarrassed to call and ask for it and my family is eagerly waiting for me to deliver these to them for Christmas. All the internet site recipes are not the simple recipe. I know it has cream cheese, eggs, flour and butter. Other recipes call for yeast, sour cream etc. and I know her recipe did not include those items. Can you help me? Reply: There can be no Austrian or German recipe for Kipfels that uses cream cheese, something not available in Austria. Philadelphia Cream Cheese is an American product exclusively. It was probably substituted for sour cream at some point and thus became a family recipe. I don't see why you couldn't substitute equal quantities, although a cup might be a bit much. I'd try adding enough to make a pliable dough. The following is from our newsletter no. 94. Filled Kipfels The legend is that these were first made by a Viennese baker following the defeat of the Turks after the first siege of Vienna. They were formed in the shape of the Muslim crescent to commemorate the end of the siege. We found it was easier not to form the crescent (tubes break if not done just right), although you can try it. Do not confuse kipfels with vanilla crescents which have no filling, the dough containing crushed almonds. These are easy to form into crescents. Here is our favorite recipe: Cream: 1/2 lb Butter (can be half shortening), 4 Tbsp Sugar, 3 Egg Yolks (save whites), pinch Salt, rind of 1 Lemon, 1 cup Sour Cream. (Try substituting 1/2 cup Phila. Cream cheese and 1/2 cup milk?) Add: 4 cups Flour, 2 tsps. Baking Powder, 1 tsp. Baking Soda Knead well and chill 20 minutes or longer. Make 4 balls and roll out in half confectioners' sugar and half flour (about 1/8 inch thick). Cut rolled dough into 2.5-inch-wide strips. Fill center of each strip (lengthways), roll sides together and seal, cut strips into about 3-inch lengths (size you want kipfel to be). Place on cookie sheet with sealed side down (ends can be open if filling is not too moist, or pinched shut). A nice touch is to brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle lightly with sugar before baking. Traditional way is to dust with powdered sugar before serving. (Do not store with powdered sugar - it will take on moisture and pastry will get soggy). Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown. Nut Filling: 1 lb. (more or less) English walnut meats (or almonds) ground with 2/3 cup sugar (use fine grind). Add enough warm milk to make moist and hold together. Spoon and form filling into center of dough strips using just enough to fill and allow bringing sides together into a tube. Some variations include adding rum or honey to the nut mixture instead of milk. Marmalade Filling: Use same dough as above but cut into 2.5-inch squares. Put 1/2 tsp stiff jam (apricot is nice) in center of each square. Pinch 2 opposite corners together, sealing with beaten egg white. Bake in 325 degree oven. If jam is too thin, it will run out into sheet and may burn. To thicken, cook jam over a double boiler or make a stiff filling using sugar and cooked dried apricots. You can also fill with "Lekvar" (prune butter). Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving. Store in covered tin to keep from drying out. Should be soft inside, firm outside. Kipfel Variation (added for this issue) The above recipe makes a small cookie size kipfel. They are small but you can always eat more than one! On an early trip to Austria I went to an A&O store to buy some picnic supplies and found some large kipfels, about six inches in length with lots of filling. You only had to eat one and they had been made from a raised yeast dough. I never found the recipe for this variation, but I liked the larger size; made a great breakfast pastry. Recently I experimented with the canned biscuits found in the supermarket dairy sections. By flattening them to about 1/4 inch, brushing with melted butter, filling with canned nut or poppy seed mix (Solo or Baker brand), forming into crescents, sprinkling with sugar and baking per container instructions, a very nice large substitute kipfel can be easily made. They resemble the A&O kipfels. 3. MIDWEST ANNUAL BB PICNIC (from Dean Wagner) (ED. Note: Every year a group of our members from the midwest hold a picnic near Minneapolis. It attracts a few dozen of our members who meet to discuss family history, share ethnic food and enjoy an ethnic picnic. Unfortunately, I have not been able to attend these functions and my present health precludes my attendance this time. If you live within striking distance of the site, I'm sure you'd enjoy the event.) Member Dean Wagner writes: The date for the Burgenland Bunch Picnic has been set. I reserved the pavilion at Trapp Farm Park in Eagan, Minnesota for Sunday, August 10, 2008 from 10AM to 4PM. I'll be out of town for the next month, so if you have any questions, I'll be back in the beginning of March. 4. FASTNACHT FERVOR (courtesy Bob Strauch) (ED. Note; Bob Strauch is a master of Burgenland things culinary and he again shares local Lehigh Valley, PA, articles concerning Fastnachts. Our own Martin's (Food Fair) supermarket imported some from the Valley and I was able to enjoy my annual dozen. See the following, as copyright prohibits our publication. This year's major point involved the use of lard for frying; article says only lard provides the authentic taste. I've found Fastnachts all over Europe but there they are called Krapfen. A raised unfilled doughnut by any other name tastes just as good.) "Fastnacht fervor" http://www.mcall.com/features/all-fastnachtlede.6236830jan23,0,763535.story (see also "Related Links") "Real Fastnachts? Nix besser!" http://www.mcall.com/news/opinion/letters/all-erb.6242448jan25,0,1481001.story Fastnacht recipes: http://www.mcall.com/features/all-fastnachtrec.6228511jan23,0,5006107.story Greek Fastnachts?: http://www.mcall.com/features/food/all-vallosfastnacht.6234296jan23,0,4250798.story Fastnachts: It's all about fat http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-5fastnacht.6257214feb04,0,5575163.story 5. BURGENLAND WINES Member writes: The February 8, 2008 issue of the Wall Street Journal had a feature page about the red wines of Burgenland. A visit to the library would provide access to the issue. Sorry I could not advise sooner. 6. IMMIGRANT CORRESPONDENCE Few of our Burgenland immigrants had much education (the US sixth grade level was probably about average) but they were not illiterate. As a result there was correspondence with the homeland. The Burgenlandische Gemeinschaft (BG) magazine has been publishing some of this correspondence, but not many letters have survived. Postcards with their pictures have had a better survival rate. The problem with both is that they are often written in German script or Hungarian - not easy to translate. Recently our BB editors have translated some old postcards and notes written on the reverse of some old photos and were successful in providing a few of our BB members with these translations. Another of our editors has recently translated a letter (note the one recently forwarded by Fritz). The next issue of the BB newsletter will feature this translation, as it is a typical example of correspondence shared by immigrants and their homeland families. While the BB does not offer translation services, we would be interested in receiving copies of this type of correspondence in the possession of our members. If you scan or copy them (perhaps digital photos in jpg format) and email them to me or BB president Tom Steichen, we'll consider them for translation and then perhaps publish the results. Be sure that the material contains the family surnames and the villages of origin. We will also share them with the BG for publication in their magazine. Of course we would edit them in order to remove sensitive matters. We cannot guarantee that all will be translated, nor can we tell you how long it might take. By sending us this material you agree to allow us and the BG to publish. 7. ALLENTOWN, PA GERMAN SOMMERFEST CHANGES (courtesy Bob Strauch) Organizers of a previously reported festival honoring the area's German heritage are scrapping plans for stand-alone festivities that will instead become part of Allentown's annual Mayfair arts celebration. Sommerfest was to highlight German music, food and crafts for four days in June at Cedar Beach, less than two weeks after Mayfair ends its five-day run there. Mayfair will take place May 22-26. It was decided that it made little sense to schedule two events so close together. It's hoped that the German fest may help boost Mayfair's attendance, which has suffered in recent years. 8. TYPICAL BB REQUEST - TYPICAL REPLY What can you expect when you list your data with the BB? Often you'll get a reply like this one. Original message Subject: BB New Member Information Sender_Name: Gregory (Greg) B. Kuzmits From_Email_Address: gmkuzmits(a)bluemarble.net Town_State_Country: Bloomington, IN (Formerly from South Bend) Surname_1: KUZMITS Village_1: Kroatisch Minihof Surname_2: FERENCY Village_2: Kroatisch Minihof Reply:Greg, Welcome to the Burgenland Bunch. I am one of the volunteers who receives automatic information on new members. The Austrian phone directory at http://www.etb.at/ lists 10 entries for Kuzmits (including the alternative spelling Kuzmich) in Kroatisch Minihof, and has one entry for the name Ferenczi. The LDS have films with the Roman Catholic parish records of Kroatisch Minihof. The records start 1871, apparently the year when Kroatisch Minihof became its own parish. Previous recordings were in the nearby parish of Nikitsch, which was also the place for civil recordings which started in October 1895. Regards, Fritz Konigshofer, Bethesda, Maryland 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/ We can also be reached from the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft web site. Use our website to access our lists and web pages. Burgenland Bunch Newsletter (c) 2008 archived courtesy of RootsWeb.com, Inc. P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798. Newsletter published monthly by G. J. Berghold, Winchester, VA. Newsletter and List Rights Reserved. Permission to Copy Granted; You Must Provide Credit and Mention Source.