BB News No. 112 dtd 30 Nov 2002

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 112 DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by Gberghold@AOL.com) November 30, 2002 (c) 2002 G. J. Berghold-all rights reserved) HOLIDAY GREETINGS TO ALL! NEXT NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 31. RECIPIENTS PLEASE READ: You are receiving this email because you are a BB member or have asked to be added to our distribution list. If you wish to discontinue these newsletters, email Gberghold@AOL.com with message "remove". ("Cancel" will cancel membership, homepage listings and mail.) Send address and listing changes to the same place. Sign your email with your full name and include BB in the subject line. Send no attachments or graphics unless well known to me. Please keep changes to a minimum. To join the BB, see our homepage. We can't help with non-Burgenland family history. Appropriate comments and articles are appreciated. Our staff and web site addresses are listed at the end of newsletter section "C". Introductions, notes and articles without a by-line are written by the editor and reflect his views. Please exchange data in a courteous and cooperative manner-not to do so defeats the purpose of our organization. This first section of our 4-section newsletter includes: 1. More On Using Digital Cameras To Copy Records 2. New Books For Genealogical Research 3. Oldest (?) Burgenland Immigrant Dies In Northampton, PA 4. More Spam Concerns-Norm Pihale 5. Burgenland Bunch Hears From Nepal -Hannes Graf 6. "Hemo" First Name?-Lea Buzby 7. Burgenland Music & Weather "Splitter" From Gerhard Lang 8. Definition-Grundherr & Grundherrschaft-Fritz Königshofer 9. Güssing Football Team-Family Names-Bob Strauch 10. Some Help From Austria Offered-Theresia Andruchowitz 11. Number Of Pages Available from the BB Home Page-Tom Steichen 12. Klaus Gerger Appointed BG Liaison 1.MORE ON USING DIGITAL CAMERAS TO COPY RECORDS We received the following from Kodak concerning 4 mega pixel cameras. Subj: Sophisticated Simplicity in a New Digital Camera From: quick_takes@email2.kodak.com (Kodak Digital Team) *** Sophisticated Simplicity *** It's the digital camera you've been waiting for. With stunning picture quality, high-performance features, and sophisticated simplicity. And a world-class Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon lens. Which means amazing sharpness and image quality, even when you make prints as big as 20 x 30 inches! Check out the powerful new 4-megapixel KODAK EASYSHARE LS443 Zoom Digital Camera. http://www.kodak.com/gldm/QT-Site-LS443Main? http://www.kodak.com/gldm/QT-Store-Prem50? 2. NEW BOOKS FOR GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH (From: Margaret Kaiser Burgenlaenderin@aol.com I am forwarding this announcement. (ED. Note- Felix Gundacker is an eminent Austrian genealogist.) : Forwarded Message: Subj: [AUSTRIA-L] new books for genealogical research From: office@ihff.at (IHFF) To: AUSTRIA-L@rootsweb.com Dear members! I just have published new books: -a genealogical gazetteer of Austria today -a genealogical gazetteer of Slovenian Republik today -a new register of all new Vital Statistics in the Czech Archives, which have been collected in 2001 and 2002 -7 single registers of all Vital Statistics in the Czech Archives (Plzen, Litomerice, Trebon, Praha and Praha Mesto, Zamrsk, Opava and Olomouc, Brno and Brno Mesto) -start of the "reprint" of the Sommer-books of Bohemia additional information, price and shipping costs on my site - in English and German. Ing. Felix Gundacker professional genealogist for Austria, Bohemia and Moravia IHFF Genealogie Gesellschaft mbH Pantzergasse 30/8 Austria, A-1190 WIEN email: office@ihff.at http://www.ihff.at 3. OLDEST (?) BURGENLAND IMMIGRANT DIES IN NORTHAMPTON, PA (courtesy Bob Strauch and Allentown Morning Call) November 2, 2002 Mary E. Legath, 102, of 552 Washington Ave., Northampton, died Nov. 1 in her home. She was the wife of the late Robert J. Legath. She worked for the former Universal Pants Co., Northampton, before retiring. Born in Deutsch Ehrensdorf, (Burgenland) Austria, she was a daughter of the late Robert and Margaret (Unger) Kopfer. She was a member of Our Lady of Hungary Catholic Church, Northampton, and its Altar and Rosary Society. Survivors: Daughters, Anna Kuklinca, with whom she resided, Mary Demchyk of Northampton; three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, a great-great-granddaughter. Copyright (c) 2002, The Morning Call 4. MORE SPAM CONCERNS (Norm Pihale) In a message dated 10/31/02, Norm Pihale writes: "With all the virus talk there is a related area of concern: spam. All of our e-mail addresses are out there naked on the BB site and web pages. I get a great deal of spam on the address listed there and find that I must check the account first with a handy utility for deleting mail from the server. It's called Quick Delete. It shows all your mail, addresses, headers, etc. and then lets you delete what you want from the server. This is an excellent and free program. Could also be a virus stopper by letting you see what your e-mail program is going to download (before it does). http://www.yeti-soft.de/eng/index.html It would be nice if someone could figure a way to hide or obscure our addresses so that only legit inquirers could access them. Easier said than done, I'm sure. Thanks for your time and a great newsletter." Answer: Norm-we've considered this-as you say easier said than done. It can be done but makes file maintenance a bear. Klaus Gerger came up with a shield concept some time ago but the BB staff opted to keep the status quo for a lot of valid reasons. The thrust of our website is to allow interested parties to easily contact us. It's hard to do anything without damaging that concept. Email unfortunately is going the way of the telephone and CB as regards to privacy. Each of us has to decide whether the good aspects exceed the bad. Thanks for your kind words and concern. 5. BURGENLAND BUNCH HEARS FROM NEPAL (from Hannes Graf) In a message dated 10/30/02, lagraf1@chello.at writes: Some days ago, a lady wrote to me. She is from the Burgenland and married a man from the USA. Both are teachers and living for 13 years in NEPAL. They are teaching at the American International School in Katmandu. They held a party on the 26th of October, (Austrian 4th of July.) during which they surfed the net and found the BB Songbook. She enjoyed listening to these songs many thousands of miles away from home. Now she is teaching the songs to young people in her school. Also the Hianzn-dictionary causes her to remember how to speak in a language she only heard a long time ago. Now the Nepalese boys and girls are singing the songs, because we made them available. ED. Note: Hannes-this is a great story-If we never hear about anyone else visiting our BB song and dictionary websites-it still would have been worth the effort. Let me know if you hear any more from her. (Hannes tells me he also sent her Elfie's recipe for Martini Gansl (goose). 6. "HEMO" FIRST NAME? (from Lea Buzby) In a message dated 10/27/02, LEABUZBY writes: I just returned from visiting family in the Allentown area and my sister showed me a grave marker in an 'Italian' section of the cemetery that listed a Hemo Simitz - have you ever heard of Hemo as an Austrian or German first name of would it be a nickname for another formal name? I had no luck using a search engine. Answer: Lea-I don't know why the burial was in the Italian section. Hemo is probably a phonetic spelling of Heino which is an old Germanic personal name derived from "heim" (home) like Heimbert, Heimrad. In modern times it's a pet form of Heinrich. It's mentioned in the Oxford Dictionary Of First names. Are you sure you didn't misread the engraving? If the "i" and the "n" run together it would look like an "m." (ED. Note: turns out this was a nickname carried over onto the grave stone.) 7. BURGENLAND MUSIC & WEATHER "SPLITTER" FROM GERHARD LANG From: gerhard.lang1@direkt.at (Gerhard H. Lang) At the moment I'm a little pressed for time due to a lot of musical projects. The wind-orchestra of Rust is training hard for our annual "Martinikonzert" at the interpretive center at Eisenstadt on Nov. 10th. The pieces are really high-level. About a week ago I took part in the annual meeting of Burgenland's Blasmusikverband (wind-orchestra association) and got the job of keeping our homepage up-to-date. We had an "Oktober-Fest" with "Wulkatal-Musikanten", a smaller band, playing Bohemian and Moravian music (Polkas and Waltzes). And in a few days (Oct. 31st) we are going to celebrate "World Savings Day", many people will come and visit my branch. Today we had an awful storm with squalls up to 150 kms/hour. In Grosshoeflein, a few fir-trees have been uprooted and the dormers on the roof of a house were torn off. At Neusiedl, the "Tree of the Guilds" had to be cut to the ground because of the danger of it falling onto cars and houses. In the district of Neusiedl, lots of houses were unroofed. But - thank God! - no people were hurt in Burgenland. I was afraid for my fir-tree in our garden, but it is still in position. All my flower-tubs with oleanders and all the other tub-plants were overturned. I use colored wood-chips for decoration and mulch. Now I've got colored wood-chips spread all over the yard. I'm happy that all the tiles are still on my roof! Martina does a lot of work in the garden - harvesting the last vegetables, preparing for digging up and planting some hardy flowers in the front garden. You see: some stress keeps you young!;-) With best regards, Gerhard P.S.: some links to Burgenland bands: http://www.blasmusik-burgenland.at/ http://www.mvrust.at/index2.html http://www.wulkatalmusikanten.at http://www.bbb-blasmusik.at/ 8. DEFINITION-GRUNDHERR & GRUNDHERRSCHAFT (from Fritz Königshofer) In a message dated 10/19/02, fritzkoe@mindspring.com writes: In my ongoing, often interrupted, attempt to translate to English the fragment of the History of Poppendorf written by my great-grandfather, for the BB newsletter, I have the problem of how to translate the frequent terms Grundherr and Grundherrschaft. Do we have a good translation into English? My English dictionary offers the terms landlord and dominion, but I wonder if these are correct translations. They don't sound right to me. Any suggestions? Answer: Cassell's Dictionary (my preferred source) defines Grundherr as lord of the manor so grundherrschaft would translate to manor, but I wonder if it is a strong enough (or too strong) a term for the Burgenland area definition? Oxford-Duden does not list Grundherr but limits itself to Grundbesitzer or landowner. Here again, I feel Grundherr signifies a greater social standing than mere land ownership. I then used Roget's Thesaurus to see if there were any English words that would fit the Lord of the Manor definition as it would have applied to our situation. I found the following under Possessor which their index gives for Lord-of the manor: Possessor, holder, occupant, man-in-possession, owner, proprietor, master, land-holder, owner, lord, laird, landed gentry, mesne lord, rightful-owner. There were others including the female versions of the above. I prefer mesne lord (or land possessor) but mesne is an old English feudal term so I'd revert to land-holder (landed gentry) or land possessor for Grundherr. For Grundherrschaft I'd use manor, estate or domain depending on the size of the land holding; estate for small holdings-manor if a large dwelling is involved; domain if a larger holding. Unfortunately, none of the above really conveys the definition that the German terms do. I interpret Grundherr as "property owner with high local social standing" and Grundherraschaft as his "holding." I'd have no problem if you used the German terms-our readers would probably know what they mean. We have two other German-English language "experts" in Bob Strauch and Inge Schuch. I'm copying them to see if they have any thoughts in this matter. 9. GÜSSING FOOTBALL TEAM -FAMILY NAMES (from Bob Strauch) Who'da thunk it? Burgenland's first American football team: "The Güssing Gladiators". The latest BG paper has a picture and a story about them. Check out their website: www.gladiators.at. Lots of familiar family names on the roster - Dragosits, Gaal, Jandrasits, Jani, Oswald, Santa. Maybe somebody has a relative on the team? 10. SOME HELP FROM AUSTRIA OFFERED-from Theresia Andruchowitz (ED. Note: Received this a few months ago and lost it in my files. It is very difficult to include everything we receive in a timely manner. If your interest includes these villages, you may wish to contact Theresia.) Theresia Andruchowitz;(witz@vienna.at); Vienna, Austria. Researching Mischendorf including the villages Kotezicken, Kleinzicken, Rohrbach a.d.T., Bachselten and Neuhaus. Can give help on these villages! Also Hannersdorf incl. Burg, Woppendorf and Welgersdorf. Member of LDS FHC, Wien. 11. NUMBER OF PAGES AVAILABLE FROM THE BB HOMEPAGE (from Tom Steichen) (ED. Note: During a recent discussion among the staff concerning updates to the BB Homepage, Surname Editor Tom Steichen mentioned our search capability. I was astounded at the amount of material we are offering. The following only shows pages reached by our search engine and does not include all pages -- e.g., member locations or songs -- a complete search capability has been addressed. When these pages are added to what exists in our Roots-L archives, there is no doubt that we are the largest English language source of Burgenland data extant.) Tom writes: The current search box on Surnames looks at a total of 295 pages (out of about 435 total pages) on the BB sites. 25 pages are on the Surnames site, 139 pages are on the Villages site, 9 pages are on the Home Page site, 2 pages are on the Members site, 19 pages are on the Maps site and 101 pages are on the House Lists site. The140 pages not searched are mainly the songs and member-location pages. Search statistics, for December 16, 2001 to November 10, 2002: 3407 total searches (2188 searches finding at least one page that includes the search item) with 80,003 total documents found (an average of about 36 pages found per successful search). With Hap Anderson's cooperation, a search box was recently added to the Home page... it searches exactly the same material that was searched from the Surnames page. 12. KLAUS GERGER APPOINTED BURGENLÄNDISCHE GEMEINSCHAFT LIASON Burgenland co-editor Klaus Gerger writes: From: ger@aon.at I also have news from the BG. Dr. Dujmovits asked me to join the BG staff and be responsible for Burgenland Bunch contacts. I accepted and the BG at their general meeting last week agreed (to the appointment). At the end of October we were glad to welcome(BB member) Jude Brearton for a weekend in Vienna. We also visited Güssing and the Wagner family. It was a fine time. (ED. Note: You may also contact the BG by using the address shown at the end of newsletter 112C.) Newsletter continues as 112A.

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 112A DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by Gberghold@AOL.com) November 30, 2002 (c) 2002 G. J. Berghold-all rights reserved This second section of our 4-section newsletter contains: BURGENLAND TRIP REPORT: 11-21 SEPTEMBER 2002 -Robert Eder Bobeder@cs.com 11 SEPTEMBER 2002! Finally, after years of consideration, and false starts, I found myself on board a British Airways 747 outbound from Miami, FL to London, enroute to Graz, via Frankfurt. Upon arrival at London, Heathrow, now 12 SEPTEMBER, whole fleets of aircraft were parked on the tarmac. Many travelers had chosen not to fly at this time because of the events that took place a year earlier. Arriving in Graz, I found my Avis rental car, a Skoda diesel. Driving in the busy city as darkness fell, I found myself quite lost. I asked a motorist to direct me to the Hotel Mercure. This helpful person, Dr. Ullrich Saurer, a lawyer, insisted that I follow him to the Mercure. There we enjoyed a glass of beer and became friends. I was to visit with him twice more in the following days. I slept 10 hours that first night. After breakfasting, I called Rudi Bertalanics. He and his daughter Karin are folk musicians. Their 4-piece group plays all over Burgenland and beyond. Bob Strauch had contacted the Bertalanics to advise them of my visit. They met me at my hotel the following day for sightseeing. I met my new friend Ullrich Saurer at lunch time. We had arranged to lunch at a little outdoor cafe located at the foot of the Schlossberg lift (elevator). We had a fine lunch and conversation. Finally, after many years, I enjoyed kraut strudel nearly like that prepared by my mother. After lunch, I visited the antique shops along the Kaiser-Franz-Josef Kai, where I found an antique corkscrew for my older son who has a fascination for all things wine. Then I took the lift to the Schlossberg............what fascinating views of Graz and surroundings. I visited all points of interest including the Garnisons Museum, a Military Museum overlooking the old town. Militaria has a special interest for me, as I have been a collector for more than 50 years. The weather was beautiful; sunshine with low humidity and the temperature 78 degrees. Later, Ullrich Saurer came to my hotel. His wife-to-be, Andrea Ernst, who teaches French and Psychology at a secondary school in Gussing, was supposed to meet us for dinner. She begged-off because of the lateness of the hour. So, Ullrich and I enjoyed our weiner schnitzel and beer (veal). I prefer veal, but I discovered that most restaurants serve pork...one has to ask. The following day, as promised, Rudi, Marianne and Karin Bertalinics appeared at my hotel. We went sightseeing in the Old Town and on the Haupt-Platz. The ladies shopped while Rudi and I visited the Armory Landeszueghaus to view tens of thousands of weapons and armor.......some dating to the 1400's. The walls, center racks and ceilings are lined with swords, pikes, shields, long guns, pistols, armor etc. Unbelievable! It is said that this equipment is sufficient to arm 30,000 troops. We enjoyed early dinner at the outdoor Gambrinus Keller, which is located in a lovely square shaded by large trees. The nudelsuppe was delicious. We went to Bertalanics home for dessert. They live comfortably, having a wonderful house, with flower and vegetable gardens, swimming pool, and a fabulous grape arbor.....full of ripe grapes with their pleasing aroma. Rudi's Folk Band was one of several who were scheduled to entertain the following day, Sunday 15 SEPT, at a Street Festival - das Steirische Fest in Graz. I promised to visit them then at their location in a small square off the Haupt-Platz. They were scheduled to perform for one hour beginning a 10:00 AM. The morning of Sunday 15 SEPT was overcast and there was early rain. Fortunately, by 10:00 AM the sky had cleared and the sun shone. I taxied to the Haupt-Platz. Since the side streets were barricaded to accommodate the Festival, I walked the several blocks to the small square where the Bertalanics performed. Afterward we said goodbye. Later, I drove to Kukmirn. I stopped for lunch at Kirchenwirt Gasthaus in Eltendorf, as suggested by Gerry Berghold....a good choice. Traveling to Kukmirn on the Autobahn (A2), I was pleased to note that the countryside, with rolling hills, patches of forest, and small towns and villages were not unlike those near Allentown, Pennsylvania where I was born. It is easy to see why so many Burgenlanders settled in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. In Kukmirn there is a Gasthof operated by the Reinhold (Frankie) Fiedler family. I became aware of the Fiedler clan through my cousin Forrest Fiedler, whose parents operated an "American Gasthof" in Allentown, Pennsylvania for many years. Gerry Berghold, with his wife, lived there while he and my cousin Forrest attended Lehigh University. Forrest visited Austria some years ago and he is aware of the prominence of the Fiedler name in that area. He jokingly calls Frankie Fiedler uncle, though there is no known relationship. Frankie Fiedler is a busy man, inasmuch as he is also Burgermeister of Kukmirn and a bank officer. His apple orchards produce quality wine bottled under his own label. He gave me a bottle of his Kukmirner Apfelbrand which was bottled in 1982. I'll uncork this precious gift with family, at Thanksgiving. Frankie also presented me with two books relating to Gussing-Kukmirn history, with appropriate inscriptions in English and German. I treasure these. At Fiedler's, I met Frankie's wife Gerlinde, his daughter Sabine, and granddaughter Alena. Frankie was away on business so we chatted for an hour, over beer, of course. Fiedler's were not currently renting rooms and Sabine suggested that I stay at the Hotel Lagler which is only 3 KM from Kukmirn. We said Auf Weidersehen and I went off to "Lagler". What a delight! Lagler is built on a hillside surrounded by orchards and vineyards. It is more than a Hotel, having thermal baths and other health-oriented facilities. Their distillery bottles schnapps for which they are justly famous. All amenities are first rate. I enjoyed the sauna and thermal bath before dinner. The following morning I called another new friend, to whom I had been introduced before I left Florida. She, Maria Haas now lives in Gussing, though she did live in Mt. Dora, Florida for a number of years. Maria had volunteered to accompany me across the Austrian/Hungarian border to visit Pornoapati (Pernau), the birth village of my father and his ancestors. We agreed to meet at Fiedler's in Kukmirn and she would lead me to Gussing, drop-off her Mercedes, and go over to Pornoapati. As I was leaving the Lagler, the receptionist informed me that Frankie Fiedler had called and was on his way over to meet me. He led me to his Gasthof where Maria Haas was waiting. We were introduced and we, all three, drove to Frankie's home nearby where we enjoyed coffee and cake with his wife Gerlinde and son Mike. Afterward, as planned, Maria and I went on to Gussing, then to Pornoapati. We crossed at Schachendorf-Bucsu. There was an unexplained delay of fifteen minutes as the Hungarian Border Guard examined our passports and made a number of phone calls. Our first stop in the village, was at the home of Franz Pehr, who is a friend of Maria's. He lives with his daughter, granddaughter, and great-grand daughter. Before the Russian Occupation, Franz Pehr was a prosperous farmer and major landowner. The Russians carted off all of the farm machinery. Therefore the land lies fallow. With their machinery stolen, the farmers are deprived of their means of support. The land is available to farmers who have the means of production, but none have. So, since this village of 400 has no industry or commerce, the younger residents find work mostly across the border in Austria. Some travel as far as Vienna - about 150 KM. Older residents, like Franz Pehr subsist on small pensions. His house is large and sturdy, but there is little money for maintenance and improvement. We walked to the nearby cemetery where I photographed appropriate headstones and grave markers. In the cemetery we met visitors from Chicago - small world! Then, on the way to the home of a Margit Eder, we met Bernhard Schmalzel who is the church organist. Bob Strauch had alerted him to my visit. It was hoped that he could use his influence to arrange for us to visit the priest. At Margit Eder's home we talked about the "good old days". I showed her old family photos and Ellis Island Records, but no positive relationship between us could be established. Then, at the request of a fellow B-B'er, Stephanie Cooley, we visited the home of her aunt Anna Novogratz. Anna was skeptical at first, when Maria Haas, Franz Pehr, and I appeared at her gate. After a few minutes we were invited into the house and in the ensuing exchange of information, became friends. An arrangement was made to have an audience with the parish priest the following day at his residence. It was expected that we would be allowed to enter the village church and view the records. Maria accepted my invitation to dinner. We continued our conversation until 10:00 PM. We arranged to meet the next day at Fiedler's Gasthof as we had been invited to a wiener schnitzel lunch. The following day, 18 SEPTEMBER, was Maria Haas's birthday. I could not get a birthday cake on short notice, so I ordered apple strudel for 10 at the Lagler. We presented this to Maria after lunch. It was an unusual but delicious "birthday cake". After this, Frankie gave me a tour of his Gasthof and invited me to select a room of my liking and stay with them. I selected the room in which he and Gerlinde slept for twenty-five years before they built their present house. I found the huge bathtub irresistible. Maria Haas and I went to Pornoapati and met with our friend Franz Pehr. As it had been arranged to see the parish priest, we traveled to Fr. Gaal's residence. He is a young man...and busy. Our arrival coincided with that of a group of boisterous teenagers who were to have a lesson in religion. We four sat at a table and conversed....it was like the United Nations. I asked Maria a question in English, she asked Franz Pehr in German, Franz, in turn, passed the question to Fr. Gaal in Hungarian. The answer came back in reverse order. Fr. Gaal had only a record of births at his residence. I have this birth information from the Family History Center (The Church of Latter Day Saints). It was interesting, of course, to see the "actual" record of my father's birth etc. More interesting information was to be found later in the record books at the church. We visited a lady (Margaret) who lives close to the church......she has the key and access to the records. At Margaret's house she met us on her back porch where she had several record books lying on a table in full sun. I was appalled to see how casually these irreplaceable records were handled. But then, when one considers the state of the economy in Hungarian Burgenland and the absence of air-conditioning and humidity control, it is easier to realize that these "old books" do not have nearly the high priority that we place on them. From another point of view....it was a bit of good luck to have such easy access to these books. I located the marriage records for my grandparents in 1901, g-grandparents in 1877, and g-g-grandparents in 1849. I had much of this information from FHC microfilm but, some of it, particularly maiden names and names of witnesses, was illegible on the microfilm. I could not go back further than 1849 because the Russians destroyed earlier records. They also destroyed segments of newer records as well. Discovering this new information and just having the privilege of handling these records was exciting. Since Franz Pehr lives close-by we went to his house and visited with his family before saying auf wiedersehen. Incidentally, the bell in the Church is the oldest in Hungary at 1042 years. The townspeople buried it during the Nazi and Russian occupations, otherwise it would have been taken. The following day 18 SEPTEMBER, as I breakfasted at the Lagler, Frankie Fiedler appeared. He was attending a business meeting there. We had earlier agreed to meet at his Gasthof at 4:00 PM and go sightseeing, then meet Maria Haas in Gussing and have dinner. I spent the early afternoon touring the countryside. Being here is so much like being home in Allentown, PA. The people, with whose names I am completely familiar, could be my Jordan street neighbors. The cook at Lagler is Elfrieda Jandrisevits..........a next door neighbor. The names on the headstones at the Pornoapati or Kukmirn cemeteries are the same names one finds at the Sacred Heart cemetery in Fullerton, PA. Later, Frankie Feidler and I went sightseeing in the area then went to Gussing to meet Maria Haas. We enjoyed a local fish dinner at Vollmann's Restaurant at Neusiedl bei Gussing. Next day, Maria and I visited her hometown of Moschendorf. We visited the Wine Museum and photographed 350 year-old wein kellers. Her nephew, Helmut Dunst, lives nearby. We visited him at his home for schnapps. Then we went to his keller where we sampled new wine (still fermenting) to decide if it was "ready". A friend came by and joined us in our decision-making. After several glasses we declared it "ready". My son who has a fascination for all things wine - would think this a very amateurish method of deciding. Driving along the border, I observed many Austrian border guards, armed with assault rifles. I am told that they are trying to prevent illegal entry. Romanians, Turks and others have come by the thousand to share in Austria's prosperity. Almost every house has a dog to warn of approaching strangers. My last evening in Kukmirn, I soaked in my huge bathtub for an hour. When the last guests left the Gasthof, Frankie, Linda and I enjoyed a bottle of fine wine together. The following day Frankie and I breakfasted together and then said our goodbye.....we now are like brothers. We promised to keep in touch and visit each other. At noon I enjoyed a bowl of Linda's nudle suppe mit brot. We said our goodbye, and I left for the Pension Piegl which is located just 1/2 KM from Graz Flughafen. The proprietor, Christof Piegl was born in New York. The family moved back to Austria when he was nine years old. My Lufthansa departed as scheduled on 21 SEPTEMBER......to Frankfurt, then London. I was frisked in Frankfurt (both ways) and asked to take off my shoes on the return flight. Otherwise there was smooth sailing through customs. In Miami I remembered that I had one of Frankie Fiedler's apples in my bag which I ate. At the baggage carousel a "sniffer" dog detected apple aroma in my bag, but this was easily explained away. My Austrian/Hungarian sojourn was immensely successful thanks to my most helpful and generous friends in the Burgenland Bunch as well as many others. WUNDERBAR! (Newsletter continues as no. 112B)

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 112B DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by Gberghold@AOL.com) November 30, 2002 (c) 2002 G. J. Berghold-all rights reserved This third section of our 4- section newsletter contains: 1. Name Hamedl 2. A Vist To Kukmirn & Eisenhüttl-Rosenkranz & Sinkovics 1. NAME HAMEDL (ED. Note: I can't resist researching questions like this. It took many years to find the origin of my own name. This one was fairly easy.) Question: Judi Jacob Hamedl; HEYJUDE101@aol.com writes: I am trying to find the meaning of my husband's family name: Hamedl. Can you offer any advice as to how to do that? Answer: It's difficult to be certain, as the original meaning may have been changed to conform with local dialect (since it doesn't appear in modern dictionaries.) Some names like Schmidt (smith) still conform to the original, others like yours or Bergholde (hill-holding person or vineyard worker) do not. You might try looking in some of the "name" (Onomastics) books in your local library. They often include an index showing variant forms of names. Try finding Forstemann "Register Neuhochdeutscher Familiennamen" or Heintze-Cascordi "Die Deutschen Familiennamen"-both are in German. English books- G. F.Jones "German-American Names" doesn't list it nor does Ernest Thode "German English Genealogical Dictionary." If you split the name into two parts Ha and Medl, you find Ha *shortened Hamm* for horse collar and Medl *maker* or horse-collar maker -modern German Hammermann or Hammerer. It could also be a dialect form of hammer maker or smith. Just guesses on my part. I do believe the "Ha" may mean a sort of "enclosure" that could be other than horse-collar; so there are other possibilities. After replying to your email I had a second thought. Could the name be a German form of an Hungarian name or even purely Hungarian? Checking my two volume Hungarian dictionary I find "hám" for horse harness, halter or traces (horse). The "edl" is not so clear but in Hungarian "meid" means made. Putting the two together to make Hámmeid, contracting the double "m" -removing the "i" and adding the "L" to change "make" to "maker" we have Hámedl or "halter maker." In the absence of something better, I believe I've found your answer. 2. A VISIT TO KUKMIRN & EISENHÜTTL-ROSENKRANZ & SINKOVICS From: plevins@optonline.net (ED. Note-member Pat Rosenkranz Levins supplies her relatives with Family Notes-the results of her family history research. She shares this with us and thus supplies an idea others may wish to use for their own families.) October 2002 In this 2nd issue of Family Notes, I'll divert from my original plan to discuss the voyages our ancestors undertook as they traveled from Europe to America at the turn of the 20th century. This change is due to the wonderful discovery of my maternal relatives, the Sinkovics, in Eisenhüttl. While there are still lots of missing pieces, we were able to conclude that one of the last surviving Rosenkranz male relatives from Eisenhüttl married a widow with a son. This family was named Sinkovics; they had emigrated to Austria from Croatia. Later generations of the same family inhabit the exact homestead today, several decades from the start of this union. We spent some glorious time with Werner and Anna Sinkovics and their immediate family, who graciously welcomed us, strangers, from America. Our story follows: One of the more curious questions I've had about the Schueher and Rosenkranz families was how did they chance to meet. The 1st clue was found quite easily, once we toured the place that some of our Austrian relatives called home. Discovery of the Sinkovics-Rosenkranz Family Connection I had difficulty locating the town of Eisenhüttl initially. Once I found the town on the Southern Burgenland map, the next step was to attempt to find the houses or farms for our ancestors. I was able to identify at least four different house numbers from the micro-fiche records I viewed at the LDS Family History Center. House numbers are often included in the church and civic records for births, deaths, and marriages. Members of the Burgenland Bunch explained that house numbers were assigned in the chronological order in which the houses were built. [I strongly encourage all family members with Austrian relatives to join this very interesting group via (http://go.to/burgenland-bunch.)] With numbers 18, 32, 33 and 79 in hand, I inquired from the local municipal office how I could relate the original house numbers with their current house locations. Despite a few attempts using various suggested e-mail contacts, I received no responses. I concluded that I should have sent my request in German to facilitate a response. But with our pending vacation, time had run out for me to do more follow-up. We would have to just visit the town, see the sites and, maybe, get lucky locating the house numbers. What a wonderful surprise when I received two e-mails just before we were leaving. One was from Hannes Hirmann, who indicated that Eisenhüttl was so small that we could probably see the entire town in a quick visit and that the original house numbers would probably still be displayed on the houses. (I think Hannes is the civic administrator from Kukmirn.) In addition, the numbers are not in sequential order as are the addresses elsewhere. For example, on one side of the road you could have #18, #23, and then #5 in one row with even and odd numbers mixed. The 2nd e-mail came from an Ines Sinkovics. She said that of the four house numbers I had identified, only one was still standing - and her family, the Sinkovics, resided there. They understood that several generations ago, a Mr. Rosenkranz had married a widow, Mrs. Sinkovics, who had a son from her first marriage. Upon their death, the son inherited the house; it has been passed on down through that line ever since. Therefore, the Sinkovics are our in-laws! (Here's another great lead that needs to be researched to discover the identity of this husband and wife.) Ines indicated that her family would be glad to escort us on our tour of Eisenhüttl. Exploring Southern Burgenland We left Vienna early morning in March 2002 with a copy of Mapquest, a series of road maps and a full tank of gas for our rented Mercedes. The drive due south to Southern Burgenland should take a little over one hour. This section of the Autobahn (A2) twists and turns through the picturesque mountains. It was not possible to reach the 120+ kilometers (90+ mph) that we achieved on the straight route from Salzburg to Vienna. One of the more interesting sights along the way was the rest stop and its restaurant. It contained an aquarium and a bird sanctuary, where hundreds of birds perched, including parrots. Slides and other playground equipment for the children were interspersed throughout the restaurant. The cashier was located at the far end of the building after a maze of aisles through a large gift shop. We found our 1st turn-off point quite easily and slowed down to meet the local speed limits. The macadam road surfaces were well maintained and framed with Belgium blocks. Each little hamlet proudly proclaimed its name with the standard white and black colored sign. Scattered farms, hills and valleys dotted the outskirts. The central 'downtown' area included a small, white, wooden church structure with a modest steeple, either Catholic or Protestant, rows of pastel-colored stucco houses butting the roadway, and perhaps, a gas station or café. Initial View of Eisenhüttl We rejoiced when we saw the town sign, recognizing that we were entering the land where our grandparents had lived so long ago. We crept along, taking it all in on this early Sunday morning. The view of St. Georg's Catholic Church matched that of the picture snapped by Uncle George in the '70s, when he and his sister, Mary (Rosenkranz) Kane, visited. Since we were a little early for our scheduled arrival at the Sinkovics' home, we traveled on to the next town, Kukmirn, hoping to find some trace of our ancestors. On To Kukmirn I became aware of Kukmirn as the probable repository for the church and civic records associated with our Eisenhüttl-based family when I did the initial family research of LDS records. After passing the town sign, our gaze was drawn to a church with a large steeple up the hill. This may have been the place were our great-grandparents were married. Perhaps this place was also the site where our families were buried decades ago. We parked the car and walked up the hill to take a look. The door of St. Josepf's Catholic Church was locked so we walked to the adjacent cemetery to search the tombstones for any trace of Rosenkranz or Scheuher names. Cousin, George Scheuher, had sent me a copy of a picture of the black, marble, grave marker for Julianna and Paul Scheuher. They were the parents of George, Paul and Maria (Scheuher) Rosenkranz, who all immigrated to America. (We think there may have been a sister, Gertrude, who remained in Austria.) George told me his dad and uncles had received this picture in the late '30's from someone in Austria because the family had contributed to the purchase of the grave marker. While we were disappointed that there were no name matches, it was interesting to see the beautiful artistry of the marble tombstones and well-kept grounds. I was expecting to see a structure similar to that of the Rosenkranz' gravesites in Brooklyn, NY- where the markers are narrower, white-colored, lighter-weight, and made of tin. Here, however, each gravesite was adorned with either a marble façade or an above-the-ground wrought-iron grill structure. We had seen this same grillwork in downtown Innsbruck; they are quite beautiful. We stopped in the café for coffee and asked about the church. The proprietor and townspeople were very cordial and accommodating. We all tried to communicate with my very limited German and their infrequently-used English. They located the name of the Catholic priest listed in the telephone directory and attempted to call him but there was no answer. We also asked about the whereabouts of St. Sebastian Catholic Church. We originally thought this parish was located in Eisenhüttl based on a lead from cousin, George Scheuher. His Dad, XX, mentioned that the name of his new parish in Michigan was identical to the name of the church back in Austria. But alas, no one in the café had ever heard of St. Sebastian. We thanked our new friends and turned back toward Eisenhüttl to meet our Austrian hosts. (More on this mystery later in the article.) Return to Eisenhüttl It was very easy to find #18 since it was right on the main road across the street from St. Georg's Church, as Ines had indicated. Werner and Anna welcomed Ken and I into their home, making all of the formal introductions. Anna served delicious homemade cake and local wine. The special bottle of local wine, which they gave us to take-home, remains unopened, waiting for a special occasion. We gave the children a memory book of the World Trade Center with lots of pictures prior to its destruction; to the adults, we gave a lovely plant we had purchased in Italy a few days before. The Sinkovics speak and understand English very well - we were able to get to know each other and to begin to understand the relationships between the various people in our families. Werner and Anna Sinkovics have a 12-year old daughter, Ines and a 10-year old son, Thomas. Werner's Mom, Kristina, also lives with them. Later we met Werner's two sisters, Gerlinde Sinkovics, and Gabriele (Sinkovics) Frisch, and her daughter, Stefanie. Although the Sinkovics' home is technically a farm, it was not apparent from the road. The family house is located near the road with neighbors on both sides. Behind the house is another long and narrow building for animals. Werner is a small farmer who raises pigs. Anna is a teacher. We visited the cemetery where the Scheuhers and Rosenkranz are buried. Werner confirmed that the Scheuhers had been buried here and indicated the unoccupied space of grass. They did not know where the Rosenkranz' graves were located. The cemetery has many Sinkovics' graves. In the '70s there was a government ruling that any unattended graves would be cleared and prepared for reuse. The Scheuher tombstone was probably removed at that time since it had not been cared for in over 40 years. Werner is the mayor and the fire chief of Eisenhüttl. So we went to the fire house. They would be celebrating their 100 anniversary as a fire brigade later in the spring. Inside we saw wonderful pictures that adorn the walls. It was so special to see the Sinkovics' generations. Kristina's brother, Robert, who was killed in World War II, was shown here as a young man. This new structure serves as the town's primary social facility. Werner told me of the irony of receiving a copy of the e-mail I had sent to the Austrian civic authority in search of our family. I had addressed it to the Kukmirn office. Upon receipt, they thought it best to pass the request on to a knowledgeable, Eisenhüttl person for a reply. That person logically was the mayor. Imagine the surprise that Werner experienced when he read the e-mail and saw his own house as the subject! We went to St. Georg's Catholic Church, where there are several memorials to the many veterans of the wars. Here many Sinkovics are noted. The church was not open this Sunday and Werner explained that the local priest visits the four local churches once a month. They also have a Kreuzweg' or "Crossway" occasionally, where they can pray. Rosenkranz and Scheuher Meet One of the burning questions on my to-do list is "'How did Maria Scheuher and John Rosenkranz meet?" Did their romance start in Austria or blossom later in Manhattan? After seeing the former house of the Rosenkranz family and the land where the Scheuhers had lived, it was not too hard to get our 1st clue. Werner explained that the land next door, number 19A, was formerly owned by the Scheuher family. He understands that the last Scheuher woman married a Klanatsky; they had no children. When his neighbors purchased the house immediately behind, number 19B, they razed the house in front. While we do not know the details of this close relationship (yet), we feel that at least one Rosenkranz knew at least one Scheuher as a next-door neighbor! Was this John and Maria? Locating St. Sebastian Church When I inquired about St. Sebastian Church, no one was familiar with this name. But upon my return home, Ines did some research and informed me that there is such a church in Heugraben, a town, 3 kilometres from Eisenhüttl. So perhaps that church was closer to the Scheuher's home. We said goodbye to our new family members knowing that we would be able to keep in touch and continue our research via the Internet. We are very grateful to the Sinkovics for the hospitality they showed us during our visit. It was the highlight of our trip to Europe. We look forward to our next trip to Austria and hope we can welcome them to America sometime. Newsletter continues as no. 112C.

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 112 C DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by Gberghold@AOL.com) November 30, 2002 (c) 2002 G. J. Berghold-all rights reserved THE THANKSGIVING TURKEY AND THE MARTINI GANS'L ARE NOW JUST MEMORIES! This fourth section of our 4-section newsletter contains: 1. Request From Germany-Manfred Seidler 2. Concert-25 Button Box Accordians-Strauch & Kresh 3. Report On Oberwart Area Reunion Held In Chicago-Tom Glatz 4. Burgenland In Former Days (continued from 111)-Gerhard Lang 1.REQUEST FROM GERMANY - MANFRED SEIDLER (from BG-Güssing) Renate Dolmanits, BG Secretary, sends me a copy of a request recently received: Manfred Seidler, address 26419 Schortens, Weldenweg 36, Germany seeks relatives in the US and information concerning his parents' and grandparents' emigration. He supplies the following: The parents of his mother (Johanna Seidler, born Kanapesz) were Johann Kanapesz, born 15 Dec. 1877 in Tobaj; died 15 July 1956 in Tobaj (Burgenland) and Johanna Eberhardt, born 19 May 1880, Tobaj; died 16 July, 1948 Tobaj, at house number 50. They emigrated to New York, where on 31 Jan. 1905, Manfred's mother Johanna was born. After several years in the US, the family returned to Tobaj. About 1921/1922, his mother emigrated America and in 1926 married Manfred's father Alfred Seidler in New York. If anyone can help please write Herr Seidler at address shown. No internet address was given. There is a telephone number, 04421/70211. 2. CONCERT OF 25 BUTTON BOX ACCORDIANS (from Bob Strauch & Anna Kresh) (ED. Note-there is a strong possibility that we will see a series of concerts featuring ethnic Burgenland music, performed by an orchestra of 25-yes 25-button box accordions. See below:)) Re: BB-KONZERTE 2003 Bob Strauch writes: I'm sure that there will be no definite Lehigh Valley arrangements (for a concert) by Nov. 25th. I'm hoping that an item/mention in the next newsletter might arouse local interest/offers/organizers. Here's the info/initial request/contact info: The "Knopfharmonikaverein Südliches Burgenland" (Button Accordian Club of Southern Burgenland), under the direction of Walter Hödl from Poppendorf (Jennersdorf County) would like to come on tour to the USA/Canada during early August 2003 and is in search of contacts and concert venues. The group will consist of approx. 100 visitors, 25 of whom are musicians. Anyone interested in organizing a concert/event in their area is urged to contact the travel agent in charge of the groups arrangements directly for more information: Herr Manfred Ifkovits c/o Ring Tours Austria Marktplatz 3/2 A-7540 Güssing, Austria Tel.: (03322) 43 26 80 Fax: (03322) 43 26 80 22 E-mail: ringtours@aon.at Web: members.aon.at/mifkovit/ (ED. Note: There may be a concert in Pittsburgh!) Anna Kresh writes: To: ring-tours@utanet.at CC: Omaopavm, strauchfam@enter.net, GBerghold Herr Manfred Ifkovits, Your request was forwarded to me by Bob Strauch. Along with Bob, I am on the staff of the Burgenland Bunch online genealogy group and live in Western Pennsylvania. Herr Cor Van Maurik, president of the Teutonia Maennerchor in Pittsburgh, PA, is willing to assist you in arranging for a Knopfharnonikaverein Concert in their Saengerhalle. You may contact him (in German) at: Cornelius G. Van Maurik, Teutonia President Phone: 412-761-9467 (home) FAX: 412-761-0751 E-Mail: omaopavm@aol.com Teutonia Maennerchor 857 Phineas Street Pittsburgh, PA 15212 Phone: 412-231-9141 We all are looking forward to your visit. 3. REPORT ON OBERWART AREA REUNION HELD IN CHICAGO (from Tom Glatz) Report From Chicago: Bad Tatzmannsdorf/Oberwart County Reunion On Saturday, October 12, I had the honor of speaking at the Bad Tatzmannsdorf/Oberwart County Reunion, held at the Grace Fellowship Church in Mokena, Illinois. William Hosh and colleagues planned a very nice event. There was an interesting mix of people present. Some were in their twenties and thirties with probably little knowledge of their ancestors, but interested learning. A few came with quite a bit of ancestral information. Some Burgenland Bunch members present were Wayne Weber, Edward and Sharon Wolf, and Bob Fleck. BB member Herbert Rehling and his wife Helene came from Bad Tatzmannsdorf, Austria, for the event. We were very fortunate to have active members from the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft: Local BG vice president Karl Billisits, wife Charlotte, and Hermine Volkovits. Herbert's aunt and uncle Karl and Trudy Nika were also present. These people were very helpful in translating copies of church records that people had brought. Trudy also helped translating English into German for Wolfgang Unger, who interviewed several of us for the Burgenland ORF (radio). I spoke first about the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft and the Burgenland Bunch. I gave a very brief history of the BG and told about its purpose. I also brought Chicago source material and a few books including "Borderland" by Andrew Burghardt, and books by Everton Publishers. One is the Handy Guide To Austrian Genealogical Records and the other is Handy Guide To Hungarian Genealogical Records. The first book lists all parishes in the Burgenland and some of the other provinces of Austria. This includes the dates of when the records begin and lists the previous parish to which the town belonged. The second book is a general research book of Hungarian records. These books are now out of print. Burgenländische Gemeinschaft member Emma Wenzel gave an outstanding speech about her immigrant ancestor Johann Wenzel. She told of his role in starting Chicago immigration from Burgenland and of his being an agent for the North German Lloyd shipping lines. Emma also brought a few "Jahrbuchs" from Mariasdorf/Grodnau. The audience was captivated by Burgenland Bunch member Carole Sorensen. She gave a very lively and descriptive talk about her many trips to visit her relatives in Oberwart and Bad Tatzmannsdorf. She mentioned the different towns she visited and spoke of the cuisine. Carole shared her delight in finding her ancestors. Herbert Rehling told of his research. He brought a lap top computer, in which he has a database of thousands of Burgenland ancestors and descendents. Emma Wenzel discovered that her entire family was in fact in this database. Herbert presented me with a nice calendar of old photographs from Jormannsdorf which he had created. A good time was had by all. Several in attendance inquired as to the possibility of having a general Burgenland Bunch meeting in the future. I told them we would if we could receive the proper help and support. ATTENDEES (from Reunion Organizer William Hosch: gardener1@peoplepc.com) We had a head count of 80 people in attendance at the reunion. Guests came from: Wisconsin, Arkansas, Georgia, Utah, Tennessee, Los Angeles, Calififornia, Minneapolis, Minn. areas, Northern Illinois, & Chicago areas. The immigrant villages represented were Neustift bei Schlaining, Stadt Schlaining, Mariasdorf, Hannersdorf, Jabing, Neumarkt, Goberling, Oberwart, Stuben, Buchschachen, Markt Allhau, Bad Tatzmannsdorf, Unterschützen, Willersdorf, Pinkafeld, Kemeten, Dürnbach, Grosspetersdorf, Grodnau, Drumling, Neydef (Neudorf or Neuhodis?), Schönherrn, Jennersdorf (Jennersdorf district) Loipersdorf, and Miedlingsdorf. I don't have a complete guest list as many did not get registered. .I thank you & your guests for attending. I had many very favorable comments and e-mail with very positive response from the guests. Everyone had a great time, this is what I wanted to accomplish. This was to honor Herbert and wife Helene on their visit here. COMMENT FROM HERBERT REHLING In a message dated 11/14/2002, herbert.rehling@utanet.at writes: Hello Tom, thank you for attending our meeting in Mokena and for speaking. In my opinion, without you and Emma Wenzel the meeting would not have evolved into such a nice get together of Burgenlanders. You gave it a very special official touch. Thank you very much indeed. As for me, we had another two weeks of holidays in New Hampshire, staying with relatives there. Great days, but my final night resulted in a stay in hospital in Austria: I tore my Achilles tendon when showing off a typical Burgenland dance. You can imagine that my trip back to Austria was painful and seemed endless... Finally, I am back home again, recovering, and am able to do some work using my PC,but not much more ... I agree with your thoughts laid down below and hope that this meeting can develop into a BB event in the future... As soon as available I will send some photos taken at the meeting. Herbert Rehling Glockenstrasse 41 A-7431 Bad Tatzmannsdorf Burgenland, Austria mailto:rehlingh@utanet.at EDITOR'S COMMENT (from Gerry Berghold) Bill Hosch and Herb Rehling have my thanks for organizing this great event. Tom Glatz, Emma Wenzel and other BB & BG members who spoke or took part are also to be commended for their cooperation. This is the regional type of BB meeting or activity that we are trying to promote. We are LARGE organizations with great geographic dispersion and interests. We hope someday to be able to host a general BB-BG international meeting. Until that takes place, we strongly urge our BB membership in conjunction with our BG friends to continue to promote these local events wherein we further our ethnic ties and family history interests. 4. BURGENLAND IN FORMER DAYS (From: gerhard.lang1@direkt.at -Continued From Newsletter 111.) Father Leopold Prizelitz Autobiography (Part IV)-translated by Gerhard Lang. Father Leopold - Childhood: Petronell (Lower Austria) After WW I my father changed jobs, because it was not quite clear if Burgenland would stay in Hungary or be attached to Austria. As my father was a Hungarian citizen - being born at Grosshöflein -, he would have had to leave Austrian civil services. In the meantime he was offered a position as head of the "Konsum" an Austrian wide trade chain at his native place Grosshöflein. As an experienced merchant he decided to take that job, moreover life was cheaper in the country then in Vienna. We moved to my mother's parents in Petronell in early 1920. There I attended the 2nd half of the first year of elementary school. I remember one school outing to "Hundsheimer" mountain. We went by "Pressburg"-railway to Deutsch Altenburg and then climbed up Hundsheimer mountain. In July I came down with pneumonia and was so ill that my mother already had prepared the vesture and candle for my passing away. Because of the awful cough I had bellyache and the general practitioner from Petronell diagnosed peritonitis. Due to the high fever my mother made cold wet-packs. After a few days of fever my father consulted a doctor from Hainburg, who diagnosed pneumonia. He told my mother: "With those cold packs you saved the child's life." After a crisis of nine days I opened my eyes and saw a bag of dark-red cherries. I was cured. (To be continued) Matthias Artner (part IV) - The 1st Austrian Repbulic After WW I peace returned, but hunger and the fight for daily existence took the place of war. Everywhere there was a shortage of raw material and foodstuffs. No one wanted to deliver goods to Austria. Currency was devalued- in 1913 for 20.000 crowns one could buy a house, but in 1920 it bought one pig and in 1922 just 3 kilograms of bread. Prelate Dr. Ignaz Seipel accepted the office of Federal Chancellor in 1922. To reduce inflation he restored confidence in foreign countries and got a loan of 650 million gold crowns from the League of Nations. Thereon the new "Schilling"-currency was introduced, 10.000 crowns being equal to one Schilling. The year 1927 was a time of insurrection. Many well-armed militant groups arose, like the "Heimwehr" and "Republikanischer Schutzbund" which held meetings and maneuvers, during which disturbances often took place. These reached their climax in the "shootings of Schattendorf" where two people died. Some radical demonstrators also set fire to the Viennese palace of justice. The authoritarian policies of Federal Chancellor Dollfuß in 1932 and the critical political situation were characteristic for those times. There were many hundreds of thousands of jobless people and many of them were "ausgesteuert", meaning they received no subsidy at all. People became desperate and turned to political parties that promised remedies. Social Democrates and National Socialists stood in sharp contrast to the authoritarian state Patriotism-Front that appeared in 1934. As the police searched the headquarters of the Social-Democratic party in Linz for forbidden weapons, there was open rebellion. Over 300 people died. Although Dr. Dollfuß proclaimed a new Austrian Constitution on May 1, 1934 - starting with the words "In the name of God, from whom all the justice comes" - peace was still not established. A National-Socialistic wave of terror started, which led to a putsch during which Dr. Dollfuß was murdered in the Chancellor's office.The judges and mayors who led Großhöflein village in those hard days were Johann Steiner - 1927, Matthias Erdt - 1928 - 1931, Josef Zechmeister - 1932 - 1934, Philipp Tomschitz - 1935 - 1938. END OF NEWSLETTER BURGENLAND BUNCH STAFF (USA unless designated otherwise) Coordinator & Editor Newsletter: Gberghold@AOL.com (Gerald J. Berghold) Burgenland Editor: albert.schuch@gmx.at (Albert Schuch; Austria) Home Page Editor: hapander@spacestar.net (Hap Anderson) Internet/URL Editor: ARKRESH@AOL.com (Anna Tanczos Kresh) Contributing Editors: Austro/Hungarian Research: fritzkoe@mindspring.com (Fritz Königshofer) Burgenland Co-Editor & BG liaison: klaus.gerger@usa.net (Klaus Gerger, Austria) Burgenland Lake Corner Research: dkneb@tnics.com (Dale Knebel) Chicago Burgenland Enclave: tglatz@aol.com (Tom Glatz) Croatian Burgenland: , fteklits@comcast.net (Frank Teklits) Home Page village lists, eberau@mail.burgoyne.com, (Bill Rudy) Home Page surname lists: steichen@triad.rr.com (Tom Steichen) Home Page membership list: lagraf1@chello.at, (Hannes Graf, Austria) Judaic Burgenland: 71431.1612@compuserve.com (Maureen Tighe-Brown) Lehigh Valley Burgenland Enclave: strauchfam@enter.net (Robert Strauch) Western US BB Members-Research: rfunger@cox.net (Bob Unger) WorldGenWeb-Austria, RootsWeb Liason-Burgenland: cwardell@aon.at (Charles Wardell, Austria) BB ARCHIVES (can be reached via Home Page hyperlinks) BURGENLAND HOME PAGE (WEB SITE) http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org http://go.to/burgenland-bunch (also provides access to Burgenländische Gemeinschaft web site.) The BB is in contact with the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft, Hauptplatz 7, A-7540 Güssing, Burgenland, Austria. Burgenl.gem@bnet.at Burgenland Bunch Newsletter distributed courtesy of (c) 1999 RootsWeb.com, Inc. P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798 Newsletter and List Rights Reserved. Permission to Copy Granted; Provide Credit and Mention Source.