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The Bukovina
Society of the Americas P.O. Box 81, Ellis, KS 67637, USA Martha McClelland , President info@bukovinasociety.org |
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BUKOVINAFEST 1998
The Bukovina Society sends its heartfelt thanks to Prof. Dr. Kurt Rein of Munich for being with us at the 10th annual convention. He brought greetings from our affiliated organizations in Germany and our many friends there. From Thursday evening through Sunday morning a collegial group of people with Bukovina ties attended a variety of interesting historical and cultural presentations. Peak attendance was 150 at the annual banquet and dance. The speakers and presenters who were listed in the last newsletter and program all were very generous in giving of their time and talent to make the Bukovinafest a great success and we thank them. MEMBERSHIP NEWSNew lifetime members since the last newsletter, the first by
mail and other three
Two members have recently made donations to the society, a video tape of the Bukovina and Volga Germans Christmas customs from Dennis Massier and a cash donation for sending books to Bukovina from Joe and Bev Augustine. A taped copy of the program made during the Christmas 1998 season is available at the society headquarters for $12.00 or by mail for $15.00. The annual business meeting of the society was held during the Bukovinafest. The terms of board members Shirley Kroeger, Ray Schoenthaler, and Ray Haneke expired and they agreed to serve another term. Due to moving from the area, Alice Fox resigned and the unexpired term was filled by Frank Augustine.
BUKOVINA HOMELAND TOUR--1999
By Jode Garbe
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A visitor to the Ellis County Historical Society donated a copy of the Seattle Genealogical Society Bulletin, dated Summer 1995 for the Bukovina Society headquarters which featured an article by Mary Lee Rose about the Bukovina Germans in Lewis County, Washington. We are sorry that the staff of the museum was unable to get the donors name, but we send our thanks.
The Colorado Springs Independent of June 17-23, 1998 contained a very interesting article about life in Romania today, including the Bukovina district. While browsing the Barnes and Noble for local news while in the Springs for vacation, I came across the article written by Steve Scherer. Steve bartended for two years in Cripple Creek before leaving his Springs home for a job teaching English in Romania. He was paid the average wage over there, about $50.00 per month, and lived among the people which gave him a very close look and experience of the culture, traditions, and present lifestyle of the people.
The-May June, 1998 issue of the Romanian American Heritage Center, Jackson, Michigan, contained an historical photo of "The Executive Committee of the Bucovina Society, Detroit, Michigan in 1972." There have been other Bukovina societies in existence in this country, notably a German speaking group of Jewish people in New York with Bukovina ties. Dr. Kurt Rein pointed out that the first society after the Second World War was a Bukowina Deutsche Landsmannshaft in Israel. The reason the German organization adopted the name Buchenlanddeutschen Landsmannshaft was to avoid duplication. He has attended their meetings and said they still enjoy sitting around and telling jokes and stories in the German language.
Ray Haneke is representing the society in the formation of a group of cultural organizations in Ellis County and surrounding area. They have a common purpose of assisting each other with museum and tourism development Organizational meetings are being conducted with a name mission statement to be established.
GESCHWENDTNER
Renate Geschwendtner of Dingolfing, Germany came across the e-mail screen
this summer, so I wrote to tell her of the Geschwentner families in Ellis. She
wrote back that her husband Johann's ancestors are from around
Wasserburg-Upper Bavaria, therefore not related to the Kansas clan. She went
on to write that her mother's side is from Bukovina,
Edith Oberländer,
born in Eisenau. Her "ancestors were Zipsers who moved to Jakobeny and
Eisenau with the workers who were fetched by the aristocrat Ritter von Manz."
Other people from Eisenau live in Renate's hometown Dorfen and the neighboring
town Taufkirchen/Vils. They came during the resettlement of 1940 of Germans
from Bukovina. Renate is searching for the
surnames: Oberländer, Hennel, Pellon, Löffler, Gorskl, Christofori, Haas,
Benedik
and would appreciate information on the names which she has been researching
for 12 years. She has perused our web site and past newsletters and found the
article about
Ulrike Christofori
from 1996.
SHARON LEWCHUK
wrote to the Bukovina mailing fist, "Friday June 12, 1998 was a day of
celebration for our family. The 60th wedding anniversary of
Albert Richard Wolfe and Elsa Ida Wolfe (nee Klatt)
was held in Regina. Their grandson,
Christopher David Sulma married Sharon Lynn Rose Perkins
on the same day. Both couples were honored during the ceremony/ service
which was held in Trinity Lutheran Church in Regina. This is the same church
where Albert and Elsa were married in 1938. Albert is a direct descendant of
the Wolf family from Satulmare and Molodia, and the Sauer family of Satulmare
and Tereblestie. Albert and Elsa Wolfe are my parents, and Christopher
is my son.
There were many descendants of Bukovinians in attendance. The names of those guests are: Ast, Exner, Kroiter, Manz, Meier, Miller, Mirwald, Pfeifer, Radmacher, Rumpel, Sauer, Wendling, Wolfe who are all of German descent. Those of Ukrainian descent from the Bukovina are: Danylchuk, Hnatiuk, Lewchuk, Puscas, Shewchuk (Shevchuk). Other names which could tie in with some list members from Kansas are Radtke, Klat, Pidde, FIaun, Lindemann, Geisinger, Nachtigal, Tiefenbach, Fuhrman, Peilak, Timnick, Borgart. Many of these families emigrated from Volhynia (Russia) now the Ukraine near Kiev.
It was a fun time of exchanging memories and stories, renewing old friendships and forming new bonds. Because there were many people from all three generations it was a special day of sharing. We had many laughs and made many comparisons i.e. height, coloring, and because of our special qualities ... lengths of noses, etc. (Sorry for that, I couldn't resist :-)
Madeline Wenzel Turner attended. We were very pleased to have her as a guest and also her traveling companion Betty Mirwald. They flew in from Portland, Oregon to represent the American branches of the family tree.
I hope this is of some interest to members connected to the above names. We do still practice the tradition of large family gatherings for weddings as was done in Bukovina. The custom endures, although in an updated form. I also attended recently the 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration of Gertie (nee Wolfe) and Max Sauer at St Marks Lutheran Church in Regina. They are my 2nd cousins and descendants of Bukovinian."
MARIA BEER HONES
Karl and Elfriede (Beer) Flachs
of Waldkraiburg, Germany wrote a tribute to their aunt Maria on her 100th
birthday in the June issue of
Der Südostdeutsche.
Maria was born in Buchenhain (Pojana Mikuli) Bukovina on March 10, 1898 and
grew up among 12 children. She married
Josef Hones,
now deceased, in 1920. They had six children, four of which are still living
and helped celebrate her birthday. According to the article, two of Maria's
brothers, now deceased, migrated to Ellis, Kansas in 1909 which they pointed
out was the home of families from both Pojana Mikuli and Fürstenthal.
Both the Hones and Beer families came from Bohemia, Austria before migrating
to Bukovina.
According to society secretary Joe Erbert the brothers of Maria in Ellis were Andreas and Wenzel. Some of their children still live in the Ellis area. The Honas families in Ellis are connected to the Josef Hones family tree. Maria will soon be getting birthday cards from extended family members she has never before heard about or heard from. Gisela (Fuchs) Staab of Ellis, also born in Pojana Mikuli, remembers Maria from her childhood there.
1998 ANNUAL MEETING OF
BUKOVINA SOCIETY IN GUENZBURG
The 48th national meeting of the Bukovina Association was held during Pentecost in Guenzburg and was attended by three hundred members from all over Germany. Regrettably, attendance was considerably lower than at past meetings; particularly noticeable was the absence of the younger generation.
The two-day program featured a mixture of cultural, political, and entertainment programs. In the course of the many meetings, speakers presented reports about support programs in the southern Bukovina as well as reports from the various regional chapters. Other presenters focused on the work on the Chronicle of Rosch, genealogical research and the financial situation of this newspaper. In his concluding remarks Federal Chairman Ewald Zachmann emphasized the many positive aspects and praised regional associations for their dedicated work.
Following this segment of the program, the Raimund Friedrich Kaindl Association held its annual meeting. The President of the Association, Prof. Dr. Kurt Rein, offered a tribute to the recently deceased Bukovinian author Gregor von Rezzori. Rein also informed the assembly of the meeting of the Bukovinian in North America on August 13 which was organized by the Bukovina Society and of the fall meeting of the Kaindl Association.
A major address was delivered by Otto von Habsburg, a member of the European Parliament Dr. von Hapsburg again emphasized his close ties to the people of the Bukovina and reminded his listeners that they had every reason to take pride in their past accomplishments. He also expressed the hope that they, especially the younger generation among them, would become messengers of the kind of optimism needed to address European and global issues. Following Dr. von Hapsburg's speech, an ecumenical service was held in the course of which the speakers emphasized the ties to the churches in their old homeland notably to the diocese of Jassy.
The cultural program featured dancers in their traditional costumes. Musical entertainment was also provided by a brass band from Guenzburg with their rendition of the Bukovina March. The highlight of the meeting was the plenary assembly which began with a welcome by Federal Chairman Zachmann and greetings from the First Secretary of the Romanian Embassy in Bonn, Alexandru Irimia, who commented on the current situation in Romania and expressed his country's willingness to cooperate with the association. The keynote speaker was Dr. Georg Simnacher, a pillar of our association, whose speech about the many undertakings involving the Hilfswerk Bukowina, the Bukowina-Institut and the Bukovina Association was warmly received.
The meeting concluded with a speech by Erwin Misakewicz who proposed that our sponsor, Dr. Simnacher, be made an honorary Bukovinian in recognition of his numerous contributions to the peoples from the Bukovina.
The Bukovina Society of the Americas was invited to two programs of the Bukovina Institute of Augsburg held on August 1, 1998. A Literary-musical afternoon and the celebration of the 10 year existence of the Bukovina Institute.
Note: Larry Jensen e-mailed the Bukovina news group of Gregor von Rezzori's death. Larry sent the following from other sources, "Mr. Rezzori, who was born in Czernowitz only months before the start of World War I, is called one of the most serious writers in the German language." Several of his books, including his novel, "Memoirs of an Anti-Semite," and his non-fiction works, "The Snows of Yesteryear. Portraits for an Autobiography," and "Anecdotage: A Summation, " draw on his experiences of growing up in Bukovina, and on a return visit made to his birthplace in 1990. Jensen noted that several of Rezzori's books are readily available in English translations. These and his numerous other books can be found in public libraries and book stores.
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Persons tracing relatives who were part of the resettlement (Umsiedlung) to German lands from Eastern European countries may wish to purchase microfilm which contains their applications made around 1940. The German EWZ created these records which fell into American hands at the end of the Second World War. Copies are now in Washington D. C. at the National Archives. The toll free number for information is 1-800-234-8861. It was described as a genealogical windfall by Sylvia Hasenkopf. She said each application goes into detail about the individual applying, their spouse, birth date, date of marriage of the applicant, the parents names, their birth dates, their location of birth and death, children's names and birth dates and location, etc. It also indicates which "camp" they were sent to pending resettlement
Douglas Reckmann wrote a letter with his lifetime membership informing us of his Schwarzthal project. His grandmother immigrated from there to Portland, Oregon in 1910 as a baby with her parents. His family names include ANGER, BEER, BERNHAUSER, BINDER, FÜRST, JUNG, KOLLERMANN, KUBECK, SEEMANN, STRAUB, WEINFURTNER, AND WINTER. Along with a cousin, the project is to research all of the descendants of the early families of Schwarzthal. It is a parallel project to the "Bori Story." Most of the families from Bori had close links to Schwarzthal. Interested people can contact him at 3850 SE 40th, Portland, OR 97202, and e-mail at: reckmann@bukovinasociety.org
Thanks to Fay Schmahl Jordaens whose contact with Erich Slawski in Germany put us on to a web site that has an extensive family tree for the Schoenthaler family. The Randy & Patti Bertrand Family Home Page begins with Hans Schonthaler about 1632 in Feldrennach, Germany and traces descendants to Bukovina and America. Considerable Deutscher information is in this tree. <http://www.familytreemaker.com/ users/b/e/r/Patricia-J-Bertrand/index.html> Patti is also looking for information on the loader Befort and Rose Urban families of Ellis County, Kansas. e-mail her at: bertp@midusa.net or write to 108 S 1st Ave, Minneapolis, KS 67467-281
Doris Wastradowski <dwastra@worldaccessnetcom> would like help on the surname of Milecki. She has Catherina Milecki married to Maximillian Kosczuk, parents of Theresia Kosczuk who was married to Frank Ruhr. They resided in Rosch.
Raymond J. Manz, 300 Halifax North, Regina, Sask. Canada S4R 2W8 plans to write a Manz Family History and requests help for two items. "the town plan of Arbora and any old photograph reproductions."
Werner Zoglauer found the following introduction to a web site: "The breweries in the Rhön had a long tradition which goes back to the 16th century. It was the custom that the Kaltennordheimer (people) were able to brew their own beer in the community brewery. With its sale to the hostess (landlady) Margaretha Marshall and to the innkeeper and butcher Friedrich Christian Dittmar the two also received the brewing rights. He started with the beer sales and made it famous beyond the borders of the town. Friedrich Dittmar laid the foundation for the brewing tradition in his family. He also taught the trade to his son Gustav." Because of research on the name Margaretha Marshall (who married Philipp Erbert), this is printed in the hopes someone might find a clue here. The site is at <www.rz.tu-ilmenau.de/-schmidta/rhonbier.html>
To write for a copy of the SS application your ancestor completed, Social Security Adm, 4 M 5 South Block, 300 N. Greene Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. Use Form SS-5 or send a letter Re: Freedom of Information with death certificate or date of death. $7.00 if you know the number or $16.50 if you do not.
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