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THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 325 November 30, 2021, © 2021 by The Burgenland Bunch All rights reserved. Permission to copy excerpts granted if credit is provided. Editor: Thomas Steichen (email: tj.steichen@comcast.net) BB Home Page: the-burgenland-bunch.org BB Newsletter Archives: BB Newsletter BB Facebook Page: TheBurgenlandBunchOFFICIAL Our 25th year! The Burgenland Bunch Newsletter is issued monthly online. The BB was founded in 1997 by Gerald Berghold, who died in August 2008. |
| Current Status Of The BB: * Members: 3088 * Surname Entries: 9025 * Query Board Entries: 5874 * Staff Members: 13 |
This newsletter concerns: 1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER 2) WHAT SHOULD WE BELIEVE? 3) COVID... AND TRAVEL TO, WITHIN AND FROM AUSTRIA (by John Lostys) 4) HISTORICAL BB NEWSLETTER ARTICLES: - NEWS OF THE WEIRD 5) ETHNIC EVENTS 6) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES (courtesy of Bob Strauch) |
1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER (by Tom Steichen)  My
Covid note for the US comes from a hospital near where I live. From the Meritus Health website as of
Nov 8: "25 Covid patients are in the hospital, 22 of them, or 88%, are unvaccinated. There are eight Covid patients in
the intensive care unit, seven of them, or 87%, are unvaccinated. In the ICU, three patients are on ventilators, all are
unvaccinated."However, I want to add a short Covid note about Burgenland here too. As I started gathering information for this newsletter I began my new comments in the "Corona Virus in Burgenland" tidbit with the words "...things took a decided turn for the worse in Burgenland." Unfortunately, things continued to turn, as every time I rechecked the situation in Burgenland, it was worse. I'll let you read the tidbit for the details but I'll say here that I sincerely hope we do not head down that same trail. This month's random bits and pieces (Article 1) begins with a response to the obit of Andrew Burghardt... seems there are copies of his book available! Then we have another "100 years—100 places" item... this time the Zurndorf wind farm. Next I tell you about an episode of the PBS series, Wine First, that features Burgenland. Then I finish with a Christmas tree story involving Burgenland and Vienna. Our regular tidbits kick off with an extended monthly update on corona-virus happenings in Burgenland (and they are not good happenings) and also include the monthly BB Facebook report, book sales, an extended recipe and a cartoon-of-the-month. Article 2 is a member-assistance report wherein the research led me more than once to ask myself, What Should We Believe? This question arose because there were conflicts in the evidence. While I think I sorted it out correctly, have a read and see if you agree! Article 3 was provided by member John Lostys, who recently traveled to Austria and reported back on the then-current Covid-related aspects of Travel To, Within and From Austria. Even though that travel took place just a month ago, given the current increased restrictions in Austria (and Europe as a whole), I highly recommend that you double-check the projected requirements for the time you might travel. The remaining articles are our standard sections: A Historical BB Newsletter article (actually, an extended tidbit), Ethnic Events and Emigrant Obituaries.  Burghardt's Book: Last month, I ran the obituary of Professor Andrew F Burghardt, who specialized in political and historical geography. He was of interest to us because his Ph.D. dissertation was published in 1958 as National Academy of Sciences publication #587, called The Political Geography of Burgenland. Later, he expanded his research on Burgenland into a book, Borderland, A Historical and Geographical Study of Burgenland, Austria, which was published in 1962 by the University of Wisconsin Press.  That
obituary piqued the interest of BB member William Heine, who searched online for a copy of Borderland,
which he purchased and read quickly. As quickly, he wrote to tell me how much he enjoyed it. In our discussion that
followed, he noted that "I paid $21 for the book and $4 for delivery. Now there seem to be 4 hardcover books available
from about $12.50 to $17. Oh well. There was one collectible listed for about $89, but did not appear to be in as good a
condition as mine." I wrote a Borderland book review in 2013, shortly after I finished reading the copy I had obtained back then. In that review (found here), I noted that prices for the book had jumped to around $100 a copy after I bought mine (for $1.98!), so the current $10-20 prices seem a real bargain again. If you have an interest, I suggest you snap one up before prices rise again! I'll also note that we offer publication #587 on our website as a pdf file because, as a government publication, it is in the public domain (see: Political Geography of Burgenland.pdf). Beginnings of a Success Story—Zurndorf Wind Farm: As part of Burgenland's 100th Anniversary Celebration, ORF News has been running a "100 years—100 places" series. As I did last month, I'll tell you about another edition in that series. It was 24 years ago, on 1 June 1997, that the ground-breaking ceremony for Burgenland's first wind farm took place in Zurndorf. But it was a controversial project and almost failed because of a lack of funding. The then mayor of Zurndorf, Rudolf Suchy, who was a driving force behind the project at the time, said that, at the beginning, no one wanted to believe in the future and profitability of wind energy. "Above all, the economic conditions were so bad that politicians from all sides said: 'It's inefficient, you can't do that.' But you have to cope with that if you want to advance something. That didn't really bother me, it was even a bit of a driver, because you have to convince people. And it was achieved step by step," he said. When the Green Electricity Act passed in 2002, the expansion of wind power took off, and Burgenland played a pioneering role. Its Parndorfer Platte had the perfect conditions for wind power production, so much so that by 2013, Burgenland produced so much power from wind-generated electricity that it became the first Energieautarkie, the German term for an energy independent region, and the first large-scale eco-electric supplier to the European grid.  At the end of 2020, there were 437 wind turbines in Burgenland, more than a third of Austria's wind-power capacity. The largest wind power producer is "Energie Burgenland Green Energy" with 225 turbines that produce electricity for about 300,000 households and save 800,000 tons of CO2 annually. Wine First PBS Episode Features Burgenland: BB Member Nina Egert wrote to tell me about an episode of Wine First, an English-language wine and food show that airs on PBS. The episode of immediate interest visits one winery in Styria and two in Burgenland.  As the PBS teaser blurb about the show says, "Wine First is a series that matches delicious wine and food, taking viewers through some of the most beautiful European wine regions. Sommelier Liora Levi and food enthusiast Yolanda Año search for three wines that reflect the character of the area. The duo then challenge one renowned local chef to cook three dishes that complement the taste and qualities of each of their chosen wines." The episode features Burgenland winemakers Gernot Heinrich of Weingut Heinrich in Gols and Leo Hillinger of Weingut Leo Hillinger in Jois, along with winemakers Andreas and Alexander Sattler of Weingut Sattlerhof in Gamlitz, Styria, and a young yet celebrated chef, Harald Irka, of the restaurant Saziani Stub’n in Straden, Styria. While Nina planned to watch the televised broadcast on her local PBS station, this episode can also be viewed online at pbs.org/video/styria-burgenland-mCXFyN/, so you can enjoy it at your leisure without the need to track down a local broadcast time. If interested, the link to the Wine First page is: pbs.org/show/wine-first/. Burgenland Christmas Tree at the Vienna Town Hall Square: Burgenland had the honor this year of providing the Christmas tree for Vienna's Rathausplatz (town hall square).  The spruce
tree is 30 meters high and about 130 years old and came from the Esterhazy forests in the district of Mattersburg.The tree was jointly illuminated by Vienna's mayor, Michael Ludwig, and Burgenland's governor, Hans Peter Doskozil, during a (Covid-restricted) official ceremony on Saturday, Nov 13. Both the mayor and governor gave short speeches on the occasion, with Doskozil noting that "the 100th anniversary of Burgenland is also marked by the special bond and friendship between the youngest part of Austria and the federal capital. The Christmas tree should be a symbol of this bond." While Christmas markets are open this year, there are strict Covid regulations that must be observed during a visit, including at the Rathausplatz market. The market area is fenced and Covid-restriction checks take place at the entrances.  Corona
Virus in Burgenland: Austria continues with no entry restrictions for travelers arriving from the
United States other than a proof of vaccination, proof of recovery from COVID-19 or a negative Covid-19 test result that
must be presented upon entry.However, things took a decided turn for the worse in Burgenland with respect to the pandemic itself: on November 12th, ORF News reported that "Never before have so many new infections been reported in Burgenland within one day as on Friday." The seven-day incidence of new infections in Burgenland (the number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the past seven days) was 586 on that Friday. This compares quite poorly to the stable 90-100 incidence rate I reported last month. Correspondingly, the official quarantine count rose from the 600-800 range to nearly 2,900. ORF reports that Oberpullendorf and Güssing have the highest incidence rates, though rates have risen in all of the Burgenland districts. In response, the Hospital of the Brothers of Mercy in Eisenstadt has begun implementing their step-by-step Covid plan. Robert Maurer, the director of the hospital, says this is already leading to changes in the orthopedics and surgical departments. "Since we have now reassigned the intensive care doctors exclusively to Covid patients, we had to start postponing and canceling planned procedures." He also notes that their employees have been heavily burdened for over a year, so "ensuring care for Covid-19 patients is made possible by reducing capacity in other areas in order to pool staff for Covid care." The Mercy hospital is the designated Covid-care hospital for northern Burgenland. However, should the hospital reach its capacity, "then our overflow is the Hospital Oberpullendorf. If even that would not be enough, then we would move to the next stage in the step-by-step plan and then the Kittsee hospital would also be converted into a Covid hospital," said Maurer. Four days later, however, on the 16th, there was a change of plans... the Kittsee hospital was converted to a Covid-only hospital while Oberpullendorf (and other Burgenland hospitals) remained available for other operations. This change was made because, for structural reasons, the intensive care unit in Kittsee could only be run as a non-Covid or Covid ward; a mixed use was not possible. While I did not read anything official about the cause of this recent rise in cases, I suspect the cooler fall weather and the corresponding increase in indoor gatherings may be a reason. In the US, 22 states are showing notable rises in rates... most of those are northern states. In addition, the increased contagiousness of the Delta variant, which is currently the dominant variant in Europe, may be another reason. Although more contagious in general, it also appears to be significantly more contagious among children, the current least-vaccinated group.  As was indicated as a possibility last month, Austria imposed an initial 10-day nationwide "lockdown" for people (over age 12) who are neither vaccinated nor recovered that began November 15th. The government also repeated its appeal to increase the vaccination rate and indicated that further measures were possible, including an extension of this lockdown. While officials stated that the lockdown means that the restricted groups can leave their "private living area only in exceptional cases," there are many such exceptions, similar to previous lockdowns. You may leave "for important errands, for the way to work, to school and to outdoor recreation, to go to the doctor and other health services or to get vaccinated, for basic religious needs, and for trade to fulfill daily requirements [this allows visits to grocery stores, pharmacies and drugstores only]." However, going out to conduct trade that goes "beyond daily requirements" (including hairdressers and similar personal services), to access indoor sports facilities or restaurants, or to participate in social visits is prohibited. Austrian police at all levels have been authorized to check people for compliance "in the public space," as well as checking compliance in trade interactions. So now, every traffic stop comes with a request for "driver's license, vehicle documents and 2-G proof, please" (2-G refers to the German words geimpft and genesen for vaccinated and recovered).  In addition, there is a 3-G rule that applies to workplaces and workers: the third "G" is getestet = tested. As of November 15th, this third G is being strictly enforced. Prior to that, unvaccinated or unrecovered workers were allowed to wear FFP2 masks (equivalent to the N-95 masks in the US) in the workplace. That group still has to wear the masks when in the workplace but now are not being allowed entry without 3-G proof. There remain an estimated two million people in Austria who are affected by these measures, including an estimated 45,000 in Burgenland who are neither geimpft nor genesen. This state of affairs did not last long, however. On November 19th, the Austrian federal government and its state governors agreed on a more extensive lockdown for the whole of Austria and on a compulsory Covid vaccination obligation. The lockdown closures began on Monday the 22nd and were to last a maximum of 20 days, with reevaluation being carried out after ten days. As such, Austria becomes the first Western European nation to reimpose a full lockdown. The vaccination obligation is to take force February 2022. The lockdown means that, as of Monday, Nov 22nd, all hotels, restaurants, bars, museums, Christmas markets and cultural facilities are closed, as well as trade (except shops for vital daily needs). However, economic aid was expected to be available, though details were not given in the initial announcements. Schools and kindergartens were allowed to remain open. Use of FFP2 masks also became obligatory in indoor places, including workplaces and schools, and all non-essential medical procedures are to be postponed. Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein asked the population for understanding for the measures: "A lockdown is always an imposition. But it is the most reliable instrument to break the fourth wave." In October, the US Department of State issued a Level 4 Travel Advisory for Austria, advising U.S. citizens not to travel to Austria due to very high levels of COVID-19 cases. That is the highest travel advisory level, so the lockdown will not change that.  The
Facebook Bunch (from Vanessa Sandhu):Greetings Burgenland Bunch! The holidays are upon us! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! November was a bit quieter than usual, but December is always one of our busiest months in the Facebook group. We share recipes and chat about our family traditions. Join us for lots of festive fun! facebook.com/TheBurgenlandBunchOFFICIAL/ Member Tim Hermesdorf shared an interesting article about the 1890 population census and the fire in 1921 which destroyed large portions of it. This article explains why certain ancestors who arrived in the US prior to 1900 may be difficult to trace. archives.gov/publications/1890-census-1.html Member Lisa Barron Kauppinen posed a great question - unfortunately, we were all stumped! Can anyone answer this question? She writes “Has anyone heard of a miners guild in Hornstein in the 1880s? Do records for that exist? I am looking for information on a Martin/Marvin Sivacz, born about 1862. Thank you in advance.” If anyone has any information for Lisa, please email me at HooftyRN@msn.com and I would be happy to pass the information on to her! Member Roger Allen Davis asked a great question about the Boodl Knadl, a St. Nicholas-like figure that he remembered from his childhood. Member Irm Gard shared a great resource on this fun topic: zobodat.at/Burgenlaendische-Heimatblaetter.pdf Member Liz Peters noted that she saw a large number of illegitimate births while researching and asked if anyone had any insight as to the cause. An interesting conversation developed, and several members shared helpful information. Member Hannelore Billowitz shared a document entitled “Illegitimacy in Hungary 1880-1910” citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/10.1.1.1008.1789. Member Tammy Strasser shared an article entitled “The Social and Legal Reception of Illegitimate Births in the Gurk Valley, Austria 1868-1945” cambridge.org/social-and-legal-reception-of-illegitimate-births-in-the-gurk-valley-austria-18681945. That’s all for now! Stop by the group and join in the holiday fun. Stay safe and healthy! Take care! Vanessa  Update
for book "The Burgenländer Emigration to America": Here is this month's update on purchases of the English issue of
the 3rd edition of Dr. Walter Dujmovits' book "Die Amerika-Wanderung Der Burgenländer."Current total sales are 1622 copies, as interested people purchased 2 more books during this past month. As always, the book remains available for online purchase at a list price of $7.41 (which is the production charge for the book, as we purposely choose not to make a profit so we can avoid dealing with the income tax consequences and so you can obtain the book at as low a cost as possible!), plus tax & shipping. See the BB homepage for a link to the information / ordering page and for information about current discounts (there is at least one discount on price or shipping available most of the time... if not, wait a few days and there will be one!). It is the Christmas season and the book is an excellent must-have gift for the Burgenländers in your family... plus you do not need to tell them how little it cost! Burgenland Recipes:  This
is an fun idea for something to do if you're shut in and unable to travel to see family - a Zoom Bake! Monica Bugbee
and her friend Ben decided to choose a recipe and try making it at the same time, although they were states apart. Below is
the recipe, and Monica tells the story much better than I could, so... Poppy Seed Roll (by Hildegard Kohlmann in Newsletter #236, adapted for one roll by Monica Bugbee)  Zoom
has become a great way to stay in touch with friends and family over the past year. I live in South Dakota, and Ben, one of
my good friends, lives in Arizona. But sitting in front of a computer and just talking can get old, so we decided we would
try long distance baking. We would choose the same recipe, take the laptop to the kitchen, and bake desserts together!I learned about the Burgenland Bunch when my mother found Tom Steichen and Willi Schmidt quite by accident and they helped her to translate some family documents (see Newsletter #318). After discovering the recipe section of the Burgenland Bunch Newsletter,  I
suggested we try some Hungarian recipes. We chose a poppy seed roll using a recipe by Hildegard Kohlmann, published in
Newsletter #236. The original recipe makes two rolls, one poppy seed and one with
walnut filling, but I cut it in half to just make a single poppy seed roll. The adapted recipe is included here.As you can see from the pictures, neither of us managed to achieve the perfect thin swirl of poppy seeds and dough, but they were both delicious! And Zoom baking is great way to stay connected with faraway friends and family and end up with a tasty treat too! I hope some of you will try your own Zoom Bakes! Next time I will be attempting the same recipe but with walnut filling and working towards the illusive perfect swirl! Phase 1 - Dough Ingredients: • 1/4 cup granulated sugar • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 2 tablespoons butter • 1/2 cup hot milk • 1 package active dry yeast • 1/8 cup warm water • 1 egg • 2-1/4 cups flour (Note: High Altitude Hungarian flour is a necessity on the high plains of western South Dakota) Save for later: • 1 tablespoon melted butter Preparation: - Stir sugar, salt and 2 tbsp butter into hot milk. - Cool to lukewarm. - Sprinkle yeast over warm water in large bowl, stir to dissolve. - Stir in lukewarm milk mixture, add egg and 1-1/4 cup flour. - Beat at high speed with electric mixer for 2 minutes. - With a wooden spoon, gradually beat in remaining 1 cup flour. - Knead with hands until the dough is stiff enough to leave the side of bowl. - Place dough in lightly greased large bowl. Turn dough over to bring greased side up, then cover with a towel. - Let rise in warm place (85° F.) free from drafts until double in bulk - about 1 hour. Phase 2 - Poppy Seed Filling Ingredients: • 1/2 lb. poppy seeds, ground • 1 cup hot milk • 1/2 cup sugar • 1/4 teaspoon lemon rind, grated • 2 to 3 tablespoons butter • 1 teaspoon raisins • dash of cinnamon Preparation: - Cook poppy seeds in milk for 2 to 3 minutes, stir. - Mix with lemon rind, raisins, cinnamon, sugar and butter. - Cool. Phase 3 - Make Rolls - Punch dough down. - On lightly floured surface, turn out dough and cover with bowl. Let rest for 10 minutes. - Roll out dough about 15 inches wide and 20 inches in length. - Spread with poppy seed filling. - Starting from the wide side, roll up tightly, jellyroll fashion; seal by pinching dough edges with fingers, then roll back and forth so that roll is even all over. - Put on greased jelly roll pan. - Let it rise in a warm place (85°F) free from drafts, covered with a towel, until double in size, ~1 hour. - Preheat oven to 350° F. - Brush roll with 1 tablespoon melted butter. - Bake 35 to 40 minutes until golden. - Cool on wire rack.  Note:
Our recipes sortable list has links directly to the recipes or food-related articles published
in our past newsletters. You can access the list by clicking our recipe box (to the right). Thanks to the contributions of
our members over the years, we have quite a collection of Burgenland recipes, some with several variations.However, we have now used up our unpublished recipes... thus this recipe section will be dormant whenever we have no recipe to publish. So, if you have a favorite family recipe, please consider sharing it with us. We will be happy to publish it. Our older relatives, sadly, aren't with us forever, so don't allow your favorite ethnic dish to be lost to future generations. You can send your recipe to BB Recipes Editor, Alan Varga. Thanks! Cartoon of the Month:  |
2) WHAT SHOULD WE BELIEVE? A new member this past month, Jo Mercer, indicated on her New Member Information Form that she was interested in the Schutzenhofer and Feigl surnames from Grafenschachen. Specifically, she was interested in Lukas (Luke) Alois (Louis) Schutzenhofer (1881-1949) and Rosa E Feigl (1884-1973), who married in 1905 in East St. Louis, IL. Given the nature of the BB, we take this to mean she also has a research interest in the ancestors of these two people. As this was a very straightforward statement of her interests, I didn't give it further thought... that is, until BB Surnames Editor, David Hofer, shared with me his reply to Jo. David stated that "My family history includes the Schutzenhofers, so I am very familiar with the names and the village." He then proceeded to list what he felt appeared to be the most probable birth info (with parentage) for Jo's stated ancestors: 1880-8-18 Alajos Schutzenhofer father: Ferencz Schutzenhofer mother: Constantia Uitz (6 children) 1884-8-27 Roza Feigl father: Karoly Feigl mother: Anna Graf (10 children) house: born #61 (lived in 102 & 109) Now you should note that David listed an Alajos Schutzenhofer, not a Lukas Schutzenhofer. However, Jo had included "Alois (Louis)" in her text, which I presumed indicated a middle name... and we know first/middle name swaps were not uncommon, so this Alajos (Hungarian for Louis) seemed a reasonable choice. It was an additional sentence David wrote that made me ask myself, "What should we believe?" David wrote, "However, there is doubt about the Schutzenhofer born in 1880; as the records show him being married to an Agnes Tripam in 1906 (house 61)." And that sent me off on some research, as it seemed improbable that Lukas married Rosa Feigl in 1905 in the US and then Agnes in 1906 in Burgenland! After I had gathered some information on both names via FamilySearch (I also have access to Ancestry through my public library but did not use it for this initial research), I wrote to Jo (and David):
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3) COVID... AND TRAVEL TO, WITHIN AND FROM AUSTRIA (by John Lostys) ED: BB member John Lostys recently traveled to Austria and has kindly reported on the Covid-related process to fly via Austrian Airlines and Vienna's airport. He also gives us some information about masking expectations in Austria. Please keep in mind that the Covid situation is constantly changing, therefore the process and rules may also change. If you are considering travel to Austria, be sure to acquire current information. Below is his report about the situation and rules in the last days of October, 2021:  I
found the process very confusing when getting ready for my flight from Newark to Vienna. I went to the Austrian Airlines
web site to find the rules. There were tons of cases and exceptions, and they also passed you on to the Austrian Health
Ministry website. I also emailed the Austrian consulate in NY.Basically I had my CDC vaccination record. To be on the safe side, I went to CVS and had a Covid test within 72 hours of my planned arrival in Vienna. CVS put a rush on it, no extra cost. At the airport, they did not check my papers. They did tell me my paper surgical mask was not allowed on the plane and I had to have a N-95 mask. There was a vending machine there so I bought two N-95 masks for $12. The N-95 masks or FFP2 masks, as they are called in Europe, were pretty much the only ones I saw in Austria. You know how Vienna works: 95% of the people follow the rules and wore N-95s. But you might see a young person without a mask. This remaining 5% might eventually get ticketed by the police, especially on the trains and subways. You don't see too many paper surgical masks there, so some people will stare if you are not wearing a N-95 mask, especially the older people. The restaurants were pretty careful about checking vaccine proof (der Nachweis, auf Deutsch). To enter Austrian restaurants, museums, transportation etc., you needed proof of full vaccination or proof of a past Covid infection. They call it the "2-G-rule" (geimpft, genesen = vaccinated, recovered). For more details in English, see austria.info/en/service-and-facts/coronavirus-information/tests. My American "CDC Covid-19 Vaccination Record Card" was valid every time and every place I went. They are used to seeing American CDC cards by now. I did not get to Burgenland, only to Vienna and Niederösterreich (NÖ). My distant relatives in Burgenland moved to Fischamend, NÖ, after WW-II. It is the town next to the airport. After the war, there were lots of jobs at the airport and the chemical plants between Vienna and the airport. For my return flight, I got a Covid test (der Corona-Test) in Vienna two days before my flight. I showed up at 1 pm on Saturday at the park at Stubentor [U-Bahn station], Doktor-Karl-Lueger-Platz off the Ringstrasse (Die Test-Strasse). The test center is open 6 am to 9 pm every day of the week.  There
were a group of truck trailers in the open air of the park and you just went to one; you did not need to enter any
buildings. There was no wait time and their team spoke excellent English. It took just a few second for them to record my
name, birth date and passport number. They then gave me a small vial of a solution, a straw and test tube with my name on it
(die Gurgletest). I gargled the solution. With the straw, I placed the solution into the test tube, sealed the tube,
and handed back the vial. That was it. There was no charge for the test.The next morning, Sunday, I showed up at Stubentor at 7 am and the gentleman printed out the signed results with my name, birthday and passport number. It was signed by a medical doctor. The results were both in German and English. You can also have it sent as an SMS (text message) to your cell phone. Austrian Airlines has an app and a web site. I logged into the web site via the app, entered my details, a copy of my American "CDC Covid-19 Vaccination Record Card" and my Covid test result. The web site stated that they wanted the information between 12 and 72 hours before my flight to the USA and would reply at least 4 hours before my flight. About 2 hours after I entered my data on the web site, I got an e-mail from Austrian Airlines with my boarding pass. I was good to go home. On Monday I had no problem boarding my 10:45 am flight to Newark, NJ. There were also no problems clearing US Customs later that day. The test center web site is: coronavirus.wien.gv.at/teststrasse-stubentor/ Servus! John F. Lostys |
4) HISTORICAL BB NEWSLETTER ARTICLES Editor: This is part of our series designed to recycle interesting articles from the BB Newsletters of past years. The entry below, from 10 year ago, was part of the tidbits section. I hope it makes you smile! THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS No. 215 November 30, 2011 NEWS OF THE WEIRD My local paper runs an occasional column with title, News of the Weird, and one sub-section in the most recent edition was called Names in the News. As you might expect, these are names that either should never have been considered by the parents or were just way too predictable given the outcome reported. Here is what the column reported: • A man stabbed to death in Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Mr. Brent Stabbed Last, 29. • A distant cousin to Jared Loughner (the guy that shot US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords) who was interviewed about mental illness in the family: Judy Wacht. • A recently deceased man: Mr. Harry Palm. • A 15-year-old boy charged with murder: Shitavious Cook (I'm glad he wasn't a Chef!). This made me wonder how many weird names are in my family tree. I figured that, among the 18,000+ names in my family database, there would be a few... so I started to look. Here is a sampling: • Eva Abel (but no Adam or Cain!)
- A guy that works for Apple Computer: Sam Sung |
5) ETHNIC EVENTS LEHIGH VALLEY, PA Wednesday Dec. 1-Sunday Dec. 19: Christkindlmarkt at Steel Stacks in Bethlehem. Info: www.christmascity.org/christkindlmarkt/ Friday, Dec. 3: Maria & John at the Lancaster Liederkranz. Info: www.lancasterliederkranz.com Saturday, Dec. 4: Christmas Concert of the Lancaster Liederkranz Chorus at Zion Lutheran Church in Landisville, followed by dinner at the Lancaster Liederkranz with accordion music by Don Bitterlich. Info: www.lancasterliederkranz.com Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 4-5: Christkindlmarkt at the Reading Liederkranz. Info: www.readingliederkranz.com Sunday, Dec. 5: The Josef Kroboth Orchestra at the Coplay Sängerbund. Info: www.coplaysaengerbund.com Friday, Dec. 10: Kermit Ohlinger at the Reading Liederkranz. Info: www.readingliederkranz.com Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 11-12: German Holiday Market at Holy Ghost Roman Catholic Church in Bethlehem. Info: www.holyghost-church.org/ Sunday, Dec. 12: Christkindlmarkt at the Lancaster Liederkranz. Info: www.lancasterliederkranz.com Sunday, Dec. 12: The Dave Betz Band at the Coplay Sängerbund. Info: www.coplaysaengerbund.com Sunday, Dec. 19: Christmas Party with the Emil Schanta Band at the Coplay Sängerbund. Info: www.coplaysaengerbund.com Sunday, Dec. 26: The Jolly Bavarians at the Coplay Sängerbund. Info: www.coplaysaengerbund.com Friday, Dec. 31: Silvesterfeier at the Coplay Sängerbund. Music by the Emil Schanta Band. Info: mschanta@netzero.net Friday, Dec. 31: Silvesterball at the Reading Liederkranz. Music by The Alpenländers. Info: www.readingliederkranz.com NEW BRITAIN, CT Friday-Sunday, 1-8 pm: Biergarten is open. Austrian Donau Club, 545 Arch Street. ST. LOUIS, MO (none) UPPER MIDWEST (none) |
6) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES Maria Zach (née Weber)  It is with heavy hearts we announce
the sudden passing of Maria Zach, 80, of the Town of Poughkeepsie, New York, formerly of Mahopac, on November 13, 2021.Maria was born on September 8, 1941, in Pornóapáti (Pernau), Hungary to Eduard and Julianna (Purker) Weber. She and her family fled during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. After spending time in camps in Austria and in the United States, the family moved to Melrose Avenue, Bronx, NY, where she attended Walton High School. After she met Karl, they soon began their partnership in business and in life. Maria married the love of her life, Karl Zach on November 15, 1959, at the Immaculate Conception Church in Bronx, NY. Together they were blessed with two children Renee and Dennis. Maria worked alongside her husband Karl at their bakery, Zach’s Bakery in College Point, Queens, NY. Her greatest joy in life was her family. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. Maria was very proud of her Hungarian heritage and also was a member for over 50 years of Die Gemütlichen Enzianer, a group dedicated to upholding the traditions, dance, and customs of Germany. In her spare time, Maria “Mitzi” enjoyed gardening, cooking, and baking with her grandchildren. She had a special connection with animals and cared deeply for all of God’s creatures. Most of all, Maria loved to spend her time with family and friends. Of the many things she was loved for, her generous heart, her fun disposition, and her genuine soul made her special to all. Maria is predeceased by her beloved husband of 59 years, Karl Zach who passed away in 2018. She is survived by her loving children, Renee DeVincenzo and husband Richard, and Dennis Zach and wife Xenia, as well as her cherished grandchildren, Marissa Rubino, Michele Cordero and husband Caleb, Garrett Zach and Kyra Zach, and three wonderful great grandchildren, Stella Rubino, Nathaniel Rubino, and Addison Cordero, all of whom she adored, and each child held a special place in her heart. She is also survived by her beloved sister, Lottie Wechsler, and her many cousins, nieces, and nephews. Visitation will be held Sunday, November 21, 2021, from 12:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. at Cargain Funeral Homes, Inc., 418 Route 6, Mahopac, NY. A Mass of Christian Burial to celebrate and honor Maria’s life will take place at 11:30 A.M. on Monday, November 22, 2021, at Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 10 W. Stevens Avenue, Hawthorne, NY. Following the Mass, Maria will be brought to her final resting place alongside her beloved husband Karl at Gate of Heaven Cemetery. Funeral arrangements entrusted to Cargain Funeral Homes, Inc., 418 Route 6, Mahopac, NY 10541 (845)628-5655, www.cargainfuneralhomes.com. Anthony Fiedler Anthony C. Fiedler, age 101, passed
away peacefully surrounded by his family on November 26, 2021 in Lee's Summit, Missouri.Born on November 21,1920 in Rax, Austria, he was the son of the late Anton and Rose (Deutsch) Fiedler. Tony moved to the US with his parents when he was nine years old, settling in Brooklyn, NY. He frequently talked about his childhood in Austria and his time at St. Barbara's School in New York. He was a member of the U.S. Army I Company 311 Infantry from 1943-1946. During WWII, he served as an auto mechanic and military policeman, and was a Purple Heart recipient. After the war, he returned to New York and married Mary Talla in 1948. They moved to Allentown, PA , where Tony worked at Western Electric. A job transfer to the Lee's Summit location took them to Kansas City, where they settled to raise their three children as members of St. Catherine's Parish. Tony was an avid crappie fisherman and hunter, as well as an expert woodworker making various pieces of decorative items and furniture for his family. Tony is survived by his loving wife Mary of 73 years, whom he affectionately called Mitzel, and their children Carolyn MacDonald, Anthony (Michelle) Fiedler, and Joseph (Rita) Fiedler. He was a loving Grandpop to his five grandchildren, Jennifer DeForrest, Christopher Fiedler, Alicia (Joseph) Hyde, Tessa Downey, and Sara (Christopher) Price. He loved to sing his favorite German folk song to everyone and say, "Kinder sein kinder" of his nine great-grandchildren, Emma, Phoenix, Molly, Anthony, Walter, Cecilia, Aurora, Wilson, and Sullivan. Services will be held on Tuesday, Nov 30th at St Catherine of Siena Catholic Church with a visitation at 10:00 followed by Mass at 11:00. In lieu of flowers, please donate to St Catherine's Church. Please visit www.Muehlebachchapel.com to express condolences to the family. Published by Kansas City Star on Nov. 29, 2021 |
| END OF NEWSLETTER (Even good things must end!) |
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Burgenland Bunch Newsletter, copyright © 2021 by The Burgenland Bunch |
News
that was important to report to
Jo... and I had initially ignored it. That something was the text below the mother's name (shown to the right). It reads "r.k.
árokszállási kistelkes gazdának hajadon leánya," which translates from Hungarian to English as: "RC, unmarried
daughter of a smallholder in Árokszállás." RC is, of course, Roman Catholic, and Árokszállás is the
Hungarian name for Grafenschachen.