BB News No. 194 dtd 24 Dec 2009

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 194 DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY December 24, 2009 (c) 2009 - The Burgenland Bunch - all rights reserved Our 13th Year, Editor: Johannes Graf 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 available online at http://www.burgenland-bunch.org Current Status Of The BB: * Members: 1767 * Surname Entries: 5649 * Query Board Entries: 4266 * Newsletters Archived: 193* 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 Home page at http://www.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 is also available, including pictures, tables and maps under http://www.burgenland-bunch.org/Newsletter/Newsletter194.htm This first section of our 2-section newsletter concerns: 1) HOMEPAGE NEWS 2) THE BURGENLAND BUNCH HAS A NEW STAFF MEMBER 3) SMALL 2009 REVIEW 4) HOLIDAY GREETINGS (by Tom Steichen) 5) ETL CHRISTMAS LETTER, 2009 (by Kathy Middendorf) 1) HOMEPAGE NEWS In 2010 something will change: the Newsletter archive is no longer supported by Rootsweb. So from NL 195 on, all will be sampled only at our Homepage. Charles Wardell retires from this work, which was so important from the start until now. The Staff-page has a new member included, Ron Markland join as St. Louis, Missouri Regional Coordinator. It is available at: http://www.burgenland-bunch.org/Staff/BB-Staff.html 2) THE BURGENLAND BUNCH HAS A NEW STAFF MEMBER Ron Markland became St. Louis, Missouri Regional Coordinator. Ron provides the following biographical sketch: I have most of my life lived in the St. Louis, MO area, with the exception of about a 10-year block of time when my wife and I lived on the East Coast. My brother and I worked in the family's electrical contacting business until the mid-1990's, when we closed the business and went on to other things. In 2006, while attending a Memorial Service for a cousin's husband, a discussion began regarding family history. My father's side of the family had an aunt who did a great amount of research regarding that side of the family; however, my mother's side lay dormant. Several family members gathered after the Memorial Service, and we quickly discovered that our family had failed to leave us with hardly any history of the family, and unfortunately, those that could have helped us had passed on. I happened to discover an envelope with my Mother's handwriting, indicating that my Grandmother Louise (Alosia) Aufner-Guenther had come from Eltendorf, in the Burgenland. Having been forcibly retired due to an accident, I decided to make the best of my situation and see what I could discover using the internet. Very quickly, I discovered the Burgenland Bunch website, and used it to its fullest. Reaching an impasse, I passed several emails to Gerry Berghold, who also had family from the Eltendorf area. One of my craziest moves was to send a letter in 2006 to the address listed in the 1858 census as the possible address of my grandmother's parents. Two months later I received a response providing data verifying my Grandmother's birth date and location. I managed to put all the data in a book format and circulate to family members. In November 2008, I received an email from a woman in Modling, Austria, asking if there might be some family tie. It turned out that she and I were cousins. Brigitte's grandfather and my grandmother were sibling. I had absolutely no knowledge of any family members who remained in the Burgenland. This resulted, in response from an offer from Brigitte, to make a visit to Vienna, Modling, and the Burgenland in May of 2009. A most wonderful experience, meeting family members that I had previously not known existed. This has resulted in a tie between us that still results in a weekly email or Skype session. As a result of this trip, I started a discussion with Hannes Graf, and upon his challenge to develop the group of Burgenland members in the Missouri area, I had no choice but to accept the challenge. I have found that there are many ancestors of people who immigrated from the Burgenland, in the early 1900's, and to my surprise a large percentage of them came from an area close to each other. There must have been a large support group that developed on both sides of the Atlantic. We hope to make as many family members aware of their heritage, and look forward to continuing to develop the Burgenland Bunch, both internationally, and here in the St. Louis Missouri area. 3) SMALL 2009 REVIEW [from Co-Editor Hannes Graf] 2009 was a special Year for me. It started with many new meetings and new connections. In June - July, I made my first plane trip ever and also my first visit in USA. 2000 miles in 15 days. I remember every house and every tree everywhere. . . . At the end of this year, my health become very bad. The diabetes' blood level makes big jumps over the day; sometime it's 500, next moment 45. So I am/was very tired all the day, cannot concentrate very well. Now I get a new medication and I hope, I come to a new "life" in January or February. Also my second love, the museum-railway, FrOWOS will gone. We don't get any support from government; in July, they promised the help, when press and TV was around; but now, nobody is remembering it. So it will close December 31, and we will see what happens. So my Christmas is not very nice in 2009, but life continues. . . . Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year! 4) HOLIDAY GREETINGS (by Tom Steichen) Holiday Greetings to each and all! Now I know why Gerry so seldom issued a December BB Newsletter: there is simply too much to be done at this time of year to construct a single intelligent article, much less a full newsletter! This year, an anything-but-normal situation--my pending retirement after 32 years with a single employer--compounds the usual "much too busy" situation. These last months I have been spending long and late hours at work trying to complete all the tasks I want done (and, maybe, a few tasks my boss wants me to complete). Recently, I have totally ignored my Christmas shopping (sorry, Mom, my gift will be late again) and I constantly tell my wife, "I'll do it next year when I'm retired." As of the date of this message, I am now down to two working days left before unused vacation carries me to my official retirement on the 31st. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Hannes Graf, our dutiful Newsletter Editor, greeted me this morning with a phone call from Austria asking when my annual holiday greeting would be ready; I could only stammer, "Oh, I suppose I should do that." (As you might guess, it had not even crossed my mind!) Hannes phoned because I have been highly negligent in answering e-mail messages these last few months (I'll get to them next year when I'm retired!) and he wanted assurance that I would answer! Hannes reminded me that I usually summarize the year, updating you on changes in membership, telling you what the BB has been up to and what new accomplishments or website additions I'm most proud of; but not this year (honestly, I promise I will do so next month!). Instead, I will close with the most important parts of the annual "Greeting" message, that being, my personal thanks to the BB staff and editors and my wish of a joyous holiday season and a productive 2010 for them and you alike! I'm looking forward to a less stressful, less demanding 2010, one where I get enough sleep, exercise and sunshine for my continued well-being. May your New Year be equally beneficial! Tom Steichen Winston-Salem, NC December 19, 2009 5) ETL CHRISTMAS LETTER, 2009 (by Kathy Middendorf) THE ETL ANNALS (Including the Bolster and Vogel families) Newsletter of an Austro-Hungarian family in America Christmas Edition, 2009 Reunion wrap-up: our bi-annual reunion in August of this past year was lightly attended. Those of us that did make it, however, had a grand time visiting and the weather was perfect. The site in Clearwater, (recommended by the George Ettl group), was a wonderful facility, spacious, with excellence kitchen space.. Thank you for recommending this site. The oldest in attendance was Clarence Ettel. Thank you and your family for coming and bringing your Dad.. And a big "thank you" to Marlys (Ettl) Kuperschmidt for bringing a video and book on Halbturn, the village of our ancestors. My own quickie trip to Rapid City found Sister Elaine in good spirits and well adjusted to their new monastery. It is a beautiful building and if any of you are in the Rapid City area, they do have guest rooms available, but only if you reserve in advance. Their guest rooms do fill up fast. On the way home, I had an opportunity to visit with Clara Kieffer in White Lake, SD. I want to thank the family members who took time from their busy schedule to come during the time I was there. It does saddens me that as family, we do not know each other as we should and are actually strangers to each other. So if any of you are scooting up or down I-90, White Lake is just off the freeway, stop in. I am sure Clara and family would appreciate it. ETL FAMILY HAPPENINGS: As I was touching base with family members, it seems to have been a quiet six months (since the last newsletter). However, some events have occurred on the Western Front: Once again, we have a Rodeo Queen in our relationship: Courtney Hauge, daughter of Jody Mathey Hauge, granddaughter of Delores Kieffer Mathey, and great-granddaughter of Clara Vogel Kieffer, was crowned South Dakota Rodeo Queen in July, 2009, for the second year in a row. She and her parents went to New Mexico to the National Rodeo Queen Contest in August, where she was 7th runner up. They all live in White Lake, SD Congratulations, Courtney. Ann Kieffer, daughter of Larry Kieffer, Howard, SD, and granddaughter of Clara Vogel Kieffer married Mark Ogle on August 15, 2009 in Kansas. Back in the state of Minnesota, Anna (Ettl) Tschida, informed me that her husband Herbert, had triple by-pass surgery on September 24th and then a pacemaker inserted shortly thereafter. He has recovered well according to Anna and whether he is now chasing her around the kitchen table, she did not divulge. But I will let you in on a secret: they will be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary this coming summer! Hang in there, Herb and Anna; our prayers are with you. BURGENLAND BUNCH UPDATE: The next Burgenland Bunch meeting will be on January 24th 2010 at the German-American Institute, 301 Summit Ave. St. Paul, MN Join us if you can. This group now has their own Web site: Burgenland Bunch Midwest. Check it out. I myself am working on this site with several other members attempting to list all immigrants from the Burgenland area who came to the Upper Midwest. My assignment on this project is specifically Stearns County, as a large number of immigrants came to this county. Are you familiar with any of the following names: Haider, Tschida (hum), Wegleitner, Pilles, Pitzl (believe it or not, I am also related to this family, but on my mother's side!), Fleischhacker, Gangl (hum), Salzer, Thell, Unger and Deutsch? Yes, the former Abbot of St. John's in Collegeville was a Burgenlander: Abbot Alcuin Deutsch! There are more, and if any of you can help with me with this project or know of any more names, please get in touch with me. Finally, I want to leave you with this thought: "None of us can boast about the morality of our ancestors. The record does not show that Adam and Eve were ever married." (Edgar Watson Howe) MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY NEW YEAR, AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL. Kathy (Ettel) Middendorf, vintage, 1945 Newsletter continues as number 194A.
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 194A DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY December 24, 2009 (c) 2009 - The Burgenland Bunch - all rights reserved The second section of this 2-section newsletter includes: 1) THE BEST MEMORIES (by Emmerich Koller) 2) CHRISTMAS GREETINGS (by several people) 1) THE BEST MEMORIES (by Emmerich Koller) An excerpt from Emmerich Koller's book, "Good Dogs Do Stray: Memoir of an Immigrant from Hungary." Christmas was the most joyful family celebration of the year. It was a feast that brought high expectations into a life that was defined by low expectations; it brought bright light into a normally drab surrounding; it brought joy into an otherwise serious existence; it brought harmony and goodwill into a family that often experienced stress and sometimes disharmony; and it brought food, rarely available at any other time of the year, to our table. Unlike today, presents definitely did not dominate the Christmases of my childhood. We expected very few gifts, and we received very few. Our parents' true gifts to us were the wonderful anticipation and the actual celebration of Christmas itself. We all loved Christmas because it was a very special time in the embrace of a family that celebrated together, ate together, prayed, and sang together. It was a magical time, impossible to import, export, or reproduce at any other time or place. And as we grew older, Christmas became an anchor to a time and childhood long gone. Santa Claus played no role in our celebrations.. Hungary's atheist Communists tried to introduce a secular substitute to Christkindl, but there was no room in our house for Télapó or Father Winter, as they called him. We waited with great anticipation for Christkindl to bring us the Christmas tree and our modest presents. People didn't run themselves ragged trying to buy presents, as is often the case today. There was no Christmas rush. No matter how big a family was, a brief trip to the local store or perhaps a few hours in Steinamanger sufficed to obtain the necessary presents. Secular Christmas carols, so common in America from November to the end of December, were unknown.. All songs had a religious content and were sung in church or at home. Before we even arrived at Christmas, there was Advent that lasted four weeks. It was the spiritual preparation for the great event. In practical terms that meant several things. First, we went to an extra early 5:30 AM Mass during the week, fortunately not on a daily basis, unless one of us boys was scheduled to serve. At home we placed a wreath, made with evergreen branches, on the bedroom table. Four candles were arranged on the wreath, one for each Sunday of Advent. Every evening we gathered around this wreath, prayed and sang religious hymns after lighting one, two, three, or four candles, depending on how close to Christmas we were. Into the center of the wreath, Mother placed the Kripperl with a supply of straw stems next to it, cut to the exact length of the crib. When in the course of Advent we performed a good deed, we were allowed to place a piece of straw into the crib. The goal, of course, was to fill the crib by Christmas Eve so Baby Jesus would rest all the more comfortably. Anna and Franz, the two oldest children, were secretly busy making decorations for the Christmas tree. During the war we gathered up and saved the pieces of aluminum foil thrown out of Allied bombers to scramble radar signals. They came in various colors. Now these articles of the war were being recycled to create symbols of peace. Using Father's sewing machine, Franz sewed several pieces together, mixing the colors.. Anna then cut out half shapes of stars, pears, or other fruits. Unfolded, they became shiny, three-dimensional shapes, perfect decorations for a Christmas tree. When the little ones were already in bed, cookies were baked and tied with string so they too could be hung from the tree. The same was done to apples and walnuts that were saved just for this purpose. Szaloncukor, an especially delicious candy made in Hungary and already wrapped in shiny, decorative paper, was to be hung as well. These items were all hidden somewhere until Christmas Eve. Unbeknownst to itself, the state made a yearly gift of a Christmas tree to the Koller family and probably to every other family in the village. There were no trees for sale in the village, yet every family had a tree on that night. One day during the week before Christmas Eve, as darkness approached, Seppl, my older brother, and I set out with saw and flashlight in hand to cut down our pre-selected tree. Then in the evening of the twenty-fourth, all clean and dressed up, we waited anxiously in the kitchen with Grandmother for the tinkling of the bell that would announce the arrival of the Christkindl. We were on our best holiday behavior and had stopped playing or bickering hours ago. We just sat on the kitchen bench quietly, straining our ears, barely breathing. One of us would whisper, "Did you hear that? I think I heard the bell." "Quiet! Quiet! Listen!" came a reply. "I think that was at the Fixls," said another. "Any time now." Then we heard Bodri bark outside. A new concern. Would Bodri scare the Christkindl away? What a silly thought. No one can scare the Christkindl away. Even as a child, He was already all-powerful. We tried to imagine His majestic appearance, surrounded by a blinding light, like an angel, only much brighter. There! The bell! No sweeter sound was ever heard! Anna and Franz came into the kitchen. Where have they been all this time? Shortly thereafter, Mother and Father arrived too. "Das Christkindl ist gekommen," Mother announced, as if we didn't know already. "We can now go into the Stube." With that, Mother opened the door to the bedroom. A most wondrous sight greeted us. There on the far side of the room on top of the dresser rose a magnificent Christmas tree. The smell of the pine tree, cut only recently, filled the air. Real candles, perched on nearly every branch, gave the room a heavenly glow. And the decorations! The angel hair! There was candy, wrapped in shiny paper, hanging in pairs from branches, and red apples and walnuts closer to the stem. Fruit and star-shaped cookies! A most beautiful sight! We just stared wide-eyed and admired every delicious detail. We didn't even notice that Father had started a fire in the Kachelofen. Now there was warmth in the air to match the warmth in our hearts. Father began to read the story of Bethlehem. We all listened intently. In our imagination we visited that stable with the shepherds. It looked just like ours. We knew Baby Jesus was warm because our stable was nice and warm too. With the story finished, we said the Our Father and the Hail Mary. Next, Father intoned Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht. Everyone joined in, and with full voices, we sang out the joy and happiness of this special night. An angels' choir couldn't have sounded better. Many more songs followed, in German, Hungarian, and even in Latin. We all knew the Gloria in excelsis Deo. Sparklers appeared from somewhere. Each one of us children was allowed to light one and hang it on a branch. This was the ultimate joy of our childhood. Life just didn't get any better than that. On this evening our cups were filled to overflowing. Only after we had exhausted all the Christmas hymns did we turn our attention to the presents laid out on the table. Seven little unwrapped piles. Each pile containing the same items: two pencils, an eraser, and a notebook. Not much. But we pretended they were the greatest of presents and thanked Mother and Father. All too soon, the candles, clipped to individual branches, were burning low and had to be extinguished. The first part of our Christmas celebration was over. Everybody filed into the kitchen to have a little snack of plain cake and linden tea. At 11:30 PM, it was time to go to church. Everybody was dressed in their winter best: overcoat, gloves, hat, shoes polished to a high shine. The entire family walked to church together in the dark through the falling snow. Along the way we admired other people's Christmas trees. The church was filled to capacity. Women and little children occupied the left pews, men the right pews, the choir loft, and the rear of the church. School children were up front by the sanctuary, girls on the left, boys on the right. Literally, everyone in the village went to Midnight Mass. Well, almost everyone. The teacher and his wife, the soldiers, the doctor, the pharmacist, and a few others, all non-Catholics, weren't expected to come. Exactly at twelve midnight, the church bells began to ring, announcing the start of the Mass. All candles were lit, all electric lights turned on. Having pulled out all the stops and playing furiously with all his extremities, the organist, Taschler Bernhard, an ex-seminarian, gave musical expression to the importance of this special night. The Mass itself was more festive than usual. The tone was set with a hymn everyone loved to sing: Hier liegt vor Deinem Angesicht, im Staub, die Christenschar. . . Verstoß uns Sünder nicht. Monsignor Illés, aware that his entire flock was in attendance and equally aware of the late hour, made his sermon shorter, and thus, more effective. The faithful sang all the louder in gratitude. Instead of the usual two altar boys, there were four in the sanctuary. They rang the Mass bells extra vigorously to the envy of the other boys like me who were not scheduled for this important Mass. By the time the congregation sang the Heilig, heilig, heilig, the exquisitely beautiful Sanctus from Franz Schubert's Deutsche Messe, all rancor, jealousy and ill-will among the faithful had melted away for the time being, and the villagers were ready as Catholics could ever be for the consecration and communion. A heartfelt rendition of Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht at the end of Mass made everyone aware that this was indeed a holy night. As we left the church, the promise of a delicious snack upon our return home heightened our mood and quickened our steps. Just as soon as we took our places around the kitchen table, we were treated to the grand finale of our Christmas Eve celebration: an open-faced sandwich made with our bread and our homemade Presswurst that had been saved for this meal in our smoke chamber since one of our pigs had been butchered in the fall. It was a delicacy of such quality that upon eating a slice or two, we all went to bed with a smile on our faces. On Christmas Day we went to High Mass at ten in the morning and ate dinner at noon: soup with homemade noodles, baked pork chops with horseradish sauce, roasted potatoes and preserved plums. No vegetables. For a while now, we had no fresh fruits and vegetables, nor would there be any till next spring. An occasional serving of sauerkraut, red beets, or pickles had to suffice. Gugelhupf, our dessert made by Mother, was served in the afternoon. With that, our Christmas celebrations were over. Twelve days after Christmas on Three Kings' Day, it was time to take down the tree and divide the goodies. Cookies, szaloncukor, apples, and nuts were divided equally among the seven children. Appearances, however, were deceptive. In the previous days, we had all entered the bedroom secretly and helped ourselves to the candy inside the wrappers. Now each of us had some wrappers minus the candy. No one complained much because we were all guilty. 2) CHRISTMAS GREETINGS (by several people) Includes pictures and is only available online at http://www.burgenland-bunch.org/Newsletter/Newsletter194.htm 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.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.