BB News No. 120 dtd 31 Jul 2003

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 120 DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) July 31, 2003 (c) 2003 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved) ***THERE WILL BE NO AUGUST NEWSLETTER - NEXT NEWSLETTER, NO. 121 WILL BE SEPT. 30*** 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 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. ***BURGENLAND BUNCH ANNUAL PICNIC*** The 2003 Midwest Burgenland Bunch Picnic. The date is Saturday, 2 August.The time is 10:30 - 4:00. We have a change in location this year. It is as equally hard to find as Wabun Park in Minneapolis where the previous picnics have been held, but the facility is much nicer with a large pavilion with 2 fireplaces and right on a lake. The park name is Trapp Farm Park and it is located in Eagan, Minnesota. Hope to see you there! Please view the BB website for maps and details. Hap Anderson BB NEWSLETTER INDEX This edition features an index of the last 20 newsletters beginning with number 101. Our index can be scanned (or searched) on-line-see Staff Masthead at the end of each "C" edition for address. Print this if you would like a file copy. Also, newsletters 49A & B have a two year (1997-1998) alphabetic index and no. 100 has an index of the best of the BB articles. These can be found in our archives. I have found that when searching for specific data, it is best to try a computer on-line search first. When that doesn't work, scan these. This first section of our 4-section newsletter includes the beginning of the index (nos. 101-114): No. 101 11/30/01 *Editor's Files Destroyed By Virus *Taste Of The Burgenland-Roast Goose *Rohrbach an der Teich-Village Cross *Heiligenbrunn And Gasthof-Hotel Krutzler No. 101A 11/30/01 *Old Burgenland On The Way To Köszeg *Cantas Felix Choir Visits Holy Trinity Church *Rummaging Around the Records In Burgenland *Visits To Szt. Emmerich's Kirche No. 101B 11/30/01 *Burgenland Trip Report-Barbara Groh * Winter Park, Florida-American Hungarian Society *Agendorf (Agfalva, Hungary) Lutheran Pastors & Script *Austrian Museum-NYC Opens No. 101C 11/30/01 *Village History-Rumpersdorf *What The BB Is All About *What To Do After Joining The BB BB News No. 102 Dec. 31, 2001 * (105th) Birthday Of Oldest Burgenland Inhabitant * 3 New Village History Books Published * Village History Series Continued (Weiden bei Rechnitz) * Graben-Ditch Or Valley? * Virus Consolation * Governmental Compensation-1921 * Apples-Fruit Of The Burgenland BB News No. 102A * Meaning Of Bunch -Again * Apples-Addendum * Anglican Church-Vienna * Visiting The Homeplace-Mischendorf * Lehigh University-Burgenland Descendant Alma Mater BB News No. 102B * The Hungarian Calvinist Congregation of Oberwart-Part 1 (including a brief history of the Oberwart border region) BB News No. 102C * Junk Email-Spam-Porn * Stop Spreading Viruses & Worms * New York Austrian Museum * St. Kathrein Records Being Digitized * Historic Burgenland Video * Site For Austrian Cookie Recipes * Earliest Croatian Records? * BB Songbook Website BB News No. 103 Jan. 31, 2002 * A Very Special Gift * Burgenland Weekend-Sacred Heart Parish-Allentown, PA * Burgenland Wine Availability * Euro Replaces Schilling * Burgenland Border * Treaty of Trianon * Spam Response BB News No. 103A * Instant Family History * Burgenland Books (German) BB News No. 103B * The Hungarian Calvinist Congregation of Oberwart-Part 2 BB News No. 103C * Graz Commerce Expo * Homepage List Problems * Güssing-Civic Leaders (1497-1750) * Burgenländische Gemeinschaft News * Lehigh Valley, PA Breweries * New Ambassador To Austria BB News No. 104 dtd Feb. 28, 2002 * That First Burgenland Visit II * Siege of Vienna II-Book In English * Taste of Burgenland-Apple Strudel BB News No. 104A dtd Feb. 28, 2002 * Trip Report (Sankt Johann)-Ed Labahn * Güssing Civic Leaders 1750-1850 * Croatian Cookbooks * Museum Of Hungarian Speaking Jewry BB News No. 104B dtd Feb. 28, 2002 * The Hungarian Calvinist Congregation of Oberwart-Part 3 BB News No. 104C dtd Feb. 28, 2002 * Immigrant Story (Mandl & Weber, Grieselstein) * Trip To Austria-Pictures * War Monument Names-Grieselstein and Maria Bild * Taste Of The Burgenland-Pumpkin Seed Oil * News From Riedlingsdorf BB News No. 105 dtd March 31, 2002 1. Burgenland Governor (Landeshauptmann) Niessl To Visit 2. New LDS Civil Records 3. Austrian Foreign Ministry Website 4. BB Songbook Enlarged 5. Burgenland Activity (Bad Tatzmannsdorf)-Chicago 6. Canadian Olympic Skier -Burgenland Descendant? 7. Dutchman Tschida? 8. Sacher Torte 9. Burgenland Coat-Of-Arms BB News No. 105A dtd March 31, 2002 1. Addendum To Oberwart Story 2. A Night In Stremer Berghäuser (Strem) 3. Village Names-Again 4. Countries Listed On Census And Ship Records BB News No. 105B dtd March 31, 2002 1. On-line German-English Dictionary 2. BB Archive Monthly Search Report 3. Taste Of The Burgenland-Senator's Nüssen Kipfel 4. New Roads Change Burgenland 5. World Gen Web Project Sites 6. Taste Of The Burgenland-Spätzel-Nöckerl 7. St. Kathrein and Szentpeterfa Records Captured BB News No. 105C dtd March 31, 2002 1. Chicago Reunion-Bad Tatzmannsdorf 2. Links & The Internet 3. Unger Trip-2001 Part I BB News No. 106 dtd April 30, 2002 1. Burgenland Delegation ToVisit US & Canada 2. Death Record Found-Poppendorf 3. Lehigh Valley Brewery Update-Allentown 4. Long Time Member Writes-Halbturn 5. Rudersdorf & Vienna Connection Found? -Heiligenkreuz 6. New Listing For Fritz Königshofer 7. Burgenland-Learn Each Little Piece BB News No. 106A dtd April 30, 2002 1. Ellis Island Burgenland Translations 2. 5th Annual Midwest BB Picnic 3. New Member Searches 4. History Of Szt. Peterfa -Book 5. New Britain, CT - Burgenland Enclave BB News No. 106B dtd April 30, 2002 1. Recollections of Jews from Burgenland-Schlaining 2. On-line German Dictionary Correction 3. Güssing Civic Leaders 1853-1953 4. Taste Of The Burgenland (Gurken) 5. Finding An Elusive Changed Name-Tonkovic To Tonk 6. LDS Communications-Digitized Records-Szentpeterfa & St. Kathrein 7. Kroatisch Minihof BB News No. 106C dtd April 30, 2002 1. Unger Burgenland Trip-2001 Part II 2. Burgenland Plate Puzzle BB News 107 Index dtd May 31, 2002 1. Burgenland Delegation Visits US & Canada 2. News From Riedlingsdorf 3. Low Airfare To Austria 4. More On Ellis Island Translations 5. Bukovina & Galicia 6. Founder's Weekend-Sacred Heart, Allentown, PA 7. "Splitter"-Fragments From Members BB News 107A Index dtd May 31, 2002 1. Jewish Gravestones Returned To Güssing 2. Burgenland Cemeteries 3. Güssing Cemeteries 4. Burgenland-Committee for Jewish-Christian Relations 5. Burgenland Commuters 6. New Microfilm Rabafüzes (Raabfidisch) Birth Records 7. Heritage Quest Magazine-Beginner's Choice BB News 107B Index dtd May 31, 2002 1. Where Do We Live? 2. US Census 1930 3. International Roots Conference 4. Burgenland Dish Question Answered 5. Namensforschung-Questions Answered BB News 107C Index dtd May 31, 2002 1. Austrian-American Clubs 2. Coplay Saengerbund To Celebrate 85th Anniversary 3. BB Welcome Address To Austrian Delegation 4. A Visit Home-Allentown, PA 5. Using Google Search Engine BB News 108 Index dtd June 30, 2002 1. Burgenland Delegation Visits New York 2. Be Careful Of Those Names 3. Robert Strauch Joins BB Staff 4. Thank You Letter-Austrian Delegation 5. Two Useful Books 6. Germanic Migration-Dr. Edward Brandt BB News 108A Index dtd June 30, 2002 1. History Of Emigration From Neusiedl am See 2. Toronto Visit-Note From Dr. Andrew Burghardt 3. Toronto Visit-Note From Helmut Jandresits 4. Chicago Oberwart-Bad Tatzmannsdorf Reunion 5. Splitter (Fragments From Members) BB News 108B Index dtd June 30, 2002 1. Burgenland Tourism Is Booming 2. Wisconsin Local History & Vital Records 3. Burgspiele Güssing (Güssing Castle Productions) 4. Steinbrunn-Village Names 5. Anna Kresh Featured in Butler, PA News BB News 108C Index dtd June 30, 2002 1. Stuck? Check Nearby Villages 2. Thank You From Landeshauptmann Niessl 3. Correspondence From Bob Strauch 4. Correspondence From Tom Glatz BB News No. 109 dtd. July 31, 2002 1. Ellis Island Immigration Requirements 2. Austrian Decennial Census 3. Moschendorf Book 4. Deutsch Ehrensdorf Article-Leser Series 5. Güssing Cultural Events 6. Recollections Of Jews From Burgenland 7. New Section Added To Homepage-House List 8. Email Notice Posted To BB Homepage 9. International Roots Conference Cancelled BB News No. 109A dtd. July 31, 2002 1. Late Australian Immigration 2. Narda And Novosels-A How-To Example 3. Trip To Austria & Burgenland-Stubits 4. Cuckoo Bird 5. Note From Gerhard Lang-Burgenland Activities BB News No. 109B dtd. July 31, 2002 1. Sign At Entrance To Pamhagen 2. Taste Of The Burgenland-Gurken (Pickles-From Elfie Resch & Hannes Graf) 3. Burgenland And The Bath BB News No. 109C dtd. July 31, 2002 1. News From The Lehigh Valley-Bob Strauch 2. Burgenland In Former Days-Gerhard Lang BB News No. 110 dtd Aug 30, 2002 1. Trip To Güssing-Tantsit 2. Burgenland In Former Days (continued from 109C) 3. New Meixner Ethnic Music Catalog Available BB News No. 110A dtd Aug 30, 2002 *GERMAN-AUSTRIAN-BURGENLAND TRIP (from Tom Glatz-Chicago Corresponding Editor) BB News No. 110B dtd Aug 30, 2002 1. German-Austrian-Burgenland Trip (continued from 110A) 2. Salt Lake City Family History Center Trip -Paukowits 3. Hianzen German English Dictionary 4. Correspondence From Austrian Ministry Of Foreign Affairs 5. News From The Lehigh Valley (Bob Strauch) 6. Bad Tatzmannsdorf/Oberwart Area Reunion In Chicago Oct. 12 BB News No. 110C dtd Aug 30, 2002 1. Flooding In Europe-Burgenland OK 2. Unger River Trip-Rhine- Main- Danube 3. Early Migration To The Bakony Region (Chrisbacher) 4. Evening At The Teutonia Männerchor (Kresh) BB News No. 111 dtd Oct. 31, 2002 1. News From The Recent Fuller Park Neighborhood Reunion In Chicago (Tom Glatz) 2. Ljubljana, Slovenia And Trieste, Italy (Albert Schuch) 3. Newsletter Returns & Spam 4. Ladislaus Batthyány To Be Beatified BB News No. 111A dtd Oct. 31, 2002 1. Rhine-Mosel River Trip 2. Photo Copying Church Records With Digital Camera 3. Source Of Hungarian Village Data (Joe Jarfas) 4. Pernau-To Be Austrian Or Hungarian 5. "Lilli Marleen" Composer Dies (from Bob Strauch) BB News No. 111B dtd Oct. 31, 2002 1. Churchill On Hungary-Albert Schuch 2. Wenzel Family & Arpad Jahrmann-Tom Glatz & Emma Wenzel 3. October Is Family History Month-Ellis Island Records 4. Szt. Peterfa Death Records-Frank Teklits 5. BB Mentioned In Austrian Website-Fritz Königshofer 6. Is It Legitimate BB Email?-Anna Kresh & Hap Anderson 7. Austrian Phone Book Online-Fritz Königshofer BB News No. 111C dtd Oct. 31, 2002 1. Correspondence From Margaret Kaiser 2. "Splitter" From Anna Kresh 3. Walter E. Pomper Joins The BB 4. St. Francis Club Allentown-Bob Strauch 5. Translation Service Offered 6. Burgenland In Former Days (continued from 110) - Gerhard Lang BB News 112 Index dtd Nov. 30, 2002 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 BB News 112A Index dtd Nov. 30, 2002 BURGENLAND TRIP REPORT: 11-21 SEPTEMBER 2002 - Robert Eder BB News 112B Index dtd Nov. 30, 2002 1. Name Hamedl 2. A Vist To Kukmirn & Eisenhüttl-Rosenkranz & Sinkovics BB News 112C Index dtd Nov. 30, 2002 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 BB News Special Xmas Edition 2002 BB News 113 dtd. Dec 31, 2002 1. Mogersdorf/Mayer & Korpitsch Families -Bob Strauch & Denny Mayer 2. Splitter From Rust-Gerhard Lang 3. Splitter Re Rhine-Mosel River Trip-Elaine Grace 4. Croatian Holiday Traditions-Margaret Kaiser 5. German Names of Present Hungarian Villages BB News 113A dtd. Dec 31, 2002 HISTORY OF POPPENDORF (Part 1- by Fritz Königshofer) BB News 113B dtd. Dec 31, 2002 HISTORY OF POPPENDORF (Part 2- by Fritz Königshofer)-continues from Part 1 in newsletter 113A: BB News 113C dtd. Dec 31, 2002 1. Searching For A Town?-various 2. Xmas Greetings From Original BB Member-Eric Kumbusch 3. Burgenland Immigrant From Uruguay-Albert Schuch 4. Burgenland In Former Days (Part 5, continued from 111)-Gerhard Lang BB News No. 114 dtd Jan. 31, 2003 1. Linking A Burgenland Descendant From "Down Under"-Bruce Klemens 2. Another Emigration Reason-Giles Gerken-Albert Schuch BB News No. 114A dtd Jan. 31, 2003 1. Biking The Burgenland-Tom Webb 2. Midwest BB Picnic 2003-Susan Peters 3. Batthyány Query BB News No. 114B dtd Jan. 31, 2003 1. Some Neuhaus am Klausenbach Families-Ernest Chrisbacher 2. Burgenland Immigrants Of St. Paul, MN-Book Review-G. Berghold 3. Julius Meinl Coffee House-Chicago 4. First Immigrants Continued-BG 5. Taste Of The Burgenland-Bean (Böhnen) Strudel-BG & Bob Strauch 6. Hungarian Philharmonic USA Tour-Joe Jarfas, Margaret Kaiser 7. Culinaria Mailing List-Bob Strauch 8. Taste Of The Borderland-Raised Strudel Source? BB News No. 114C dtd Jan. 31, 2003 1. Status of Szt. Peterfa & St. Kathrein Record Update-Frank Teklits 2. Immigrant Obit-Catasauqua, PA-Bob Strauch 3. Burgenland In Former Days (Part 6, continued from 111)-Gerhard Lang 4. Burgenland Super Bowl Someday?-Hannes Graf 5. Splitter From Vienna-Hannes Graf Newsletter and index continues as no. 120A.

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 120A DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) July 31, 2003 (c) 2003 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved) This second section of our 4-section newsletter includes: 1. The Balance Of The BB News Index (nos. 115-119) 2. An Unusual Immigrant Itinerary 3. Margaret Kaiser Joins BB Staff 4. DNA Sequence Proves Germanic Migration Of My Maternal Clan 5. Lehigh Valley Ethnic Events-R. Strauch 1. BALANCE OF BB NEWS INDEX BB News 115 Index dtd Feb. 28, 2003 1. The Downside Of The Internet 2. Meaning Of "Erben" On Church Records 3. Church Of St. Agnes, St. Paul, MN 4. Taste Of The Burgenland-Strudel Availability 5. Update Your Listing! 6. One Thousand BB Member Countdown! 7. Join The Burgenländische Gemeinschaft-Tom Glatz Writes 8. St. Agnes, St. Paul, MN Book Review Reply-Dale Knebel 9. Eisenstadt Jewish Ghetto Family Reply 10. Southernmost Burgenland Lutheran Parish BB News 115A Index dtd Feb. 28, 2003 1. Lutheran Church In Bernstein 2. First Immigrant Family From Breitenbrunn? 3. Artinger Request From Norway BB News 115B Index dtd Feb. 28, 2003 1. Burgenland Fasching In The Past? 2. Lehigh Valley, PA Immigrant Deaths 3. Burgenland Food Talk- Pastry 4. Hungarian Lists 5. Use Albert's Village List & Klaus' Maps 6. Would You Answer These Requests? BB News 115C Index dtd Feb. 28, 2003 1. An Interesting Name-Nemethy 2. Use Latitude & Longitude To Identify Place Of Origin-Bob Unger 3. Burgenland In Former Days (Part 7, continued from 111)-Gerhard Lang BB News No. 116 Index dtd Mar. 31, 2003 1. Eisenburg-Eisenberg -County (Hungarian Vas)-Village In Hungary & Austria 2. Austrian American Cultural Society-Pittsburgh, PA 3. BB-BG Membership-Chicago 4. About Your Editor 5. Email To Members Returned As Undeliverable BB News No. 116A Index dtd Mar. 31, 2003 1. Meadowlands, MN Burgenland Enclave-St. Joseph's Parish 2. Request From Markt Allau (Albert Schuch) 3. Book "Braut-Sprüche und Braut-Lieder" (Albert Schuch) 4. NYC Hungarian Genealogy Conference (Margaret Kaiser) 5. Burgenland Displaced Persons Camp (Kaiser & Bob Strauch) 6. Genealogy Workshop-Allentown, PA BB News No. 116B Index dtd Mar. 31, 2003 1. 1000th Member Joins Burgenland Bunch! 2. Reading Hungarian Records BB News No. 116C Index dtd Mar. 31, 2003 1. First Immigrants-Andau 2. Taste Of The Burgenland-Splitter (Strudel & Fastnachts) 3. Dr. Franz Batthyány Beatified 4. Latest(?) Immigrant From Schachendorf 5. Burgenland In Former Days (Part 8, continued from 111)-Gerhard Lang-delayed 6. Hupfer From Oberwart? 7. More From Chicago BB News No. 117 Index dtd April 30, 2003 1. Safe To Drive In Hungary? 2. Family Information Concerning Batthyány Beatification 3. A Welcome Email To Our 1000th Member 4. More Information Concerning Batthyány Beatification 5. Burgenland Today-Vas (Moson-Sopron) Yesterday-Castriferrei Earlier? 6. Cantus Felix Sings At Batthyány Beatification BB News No. 117A Index dtd April 30, 2003 1. Splitter From Pittsburgh 2. Some Thoughts About The BB 3. New Hungarian Book 4. German Translation Possibilities 5. Taste Of The Burgenland-Noodles With Cottage Cheese 6. First Immigrants-Mosonszolnok (Zanegg), Hungary 7. Want To Find Some Austrian Products? 8. Note From Gerhard Lang BB News No. 117B Index dtd April 30, 2003 1. American-Hungarian Day 2. Another Spam Query 3. Source Of Name Fangel 4. Hungarian Jewish Genealogy Sources 5. German Translation Help BB News No. 117C Index dtd April 30, 2003 1. Burgenland In Former Days (Part 8, continued from 111)-Gerhard Lang 2. Origin Of Term "Ban"-As In "Ban Of Croatia" BB News No. 118 dtd May 31, 2003 1. Burgenland Family History Help For Latest Generation- (Zwetolitz-Rabafuzes) 2. Glatz Name From Bavaria? (Glatz) 3. Oratorio Honoring St. Ladislaus To Be Held In Horitschon, Burgenland (Heinz Koller) BB News -No. 118A dtd May 31, 2003 1. Canadian Archives-Huber (Ilmitz-Unterschützen)) 2. News From Königsdorf 3. Viennese Pastry Shop In Chicago 4. Burgenland Band Concert-Chicago July 20 5. Allentown & Bethlehem, PA History Book Reviews 6. Lehigh County, PA Historical Society Proceedings 2002 7. More On "Ban" Definition BB News -No. 118B dtd May 31, 2003 1. Splitter (Fragments) From The Burgenländische Gemeinschaft News No, 382 2. 1000th Member Congratulatory Note From Burgenland Lt. Gov. Steindl 3. More On Vasvar (Vas Megye) 4. Weinzirl Surname In South Dakota (from Robert Thullner) 5. Comments & Forwarded Material From Our Staff & Readers 6. New Edition Of The Rudersdorf Bankerlsitzer Website-Peter Sattler 7. Lehigh Valley, PA Events & Tratsch-Bob Strauch BB News -No. 118C dtd May 31, 2003 1. Burgenland In Former Days (Part 9, continued from 111)-Gerhard Lang 2. DNA & Genealogical Links-The Seven Daughters Of Eve 3. Hungarian Village-Rabahidveg 4. How To Determine Nationality? BB News No. 119 dtd June 30, 2003 1. Taste Of The Burgenland-Gulyas Soup-Goulash Soup 2. More Members Tour Burgenland-Pum 3. Zuberbach and Narda 4. St. Bernard's Church, St. Paul, MN 5. Canadian Burgenland Immigration Records 6. Zwetolitz School Project Awarded An "A" (see BB News No. 118) BB News No. 119A dtd June 30, 2003 1. Was Mom Really A Citizen?-Bob Eder 2. Why Wasn't A Border Village Ceded To Austria (or Hungary)? 3. Purpose Of Ethnic Organizations Like The BB and BG? 4. Burgenland Composer Michael Brand (Mihály Mosonyi)-Fritz Königshofer 5. Finding Villages-Spelling-Spelling-Spelling! 6. How To Find New Member Data 7. Austrian Band At Musikfest 2003/Bethlehem, PA-Bob Strauch BB News No. 119B dtd June 30, 2003 1. Online Genealogy Classes 2. Croatian And Other Records In The Burgenland Parishes Of Szt. Peterfa and St. Kathrein 3. Was Meint "Heimat"? (How Is "Heimat" Defined?) 4. Some Help For A Lehigh Valley, PA Query (Vollman) BB News No. 119C dtd June 30, 2003 1. BB Statistics 2. New Member Extraordinary! 3. Heimattreffen in Grossdorf/Vaskeresztes (from Bob Strauch) 4. Ethnic Joke Of The Month (learn a little German) 5. Add Village History To Family History 6. Preparation For Emigration? 2. AN UNUSUAL IMMIGRANT ITINERARY My first trans-Atlantic trip took me to England twice during the Korean War. Later my wife and I went there again. We followed this with a three week auto trip to Austria and Bavaria with two of our children. This introduced us to the Burgenland and we've been back often. It became obvious that we were 100 years too late, if we expected to experience Europe as our ancestor's knew it. I did notice; however, that the further east and south one went, the further back in time. In the Balkans, wagons drawn by horse and even oxen were still in use and donkeys were often seen as beasts of burden. It was also possible to see native costume and other signs of old Europe. When not in the Burgenland, we began to travel further east. One place that intrigued us the most was the semi-tropical Dalmatian Adriatic coast of what was then Yugoslavia (1980's), now Croatia (since 1991). Twice we stayed in Hvar on the island of Hvar as well as Dubrovnik and this soon became a magic place for us. It all came to end in 1990's when Yugoslavia fractured and broke into independent countries. Internal strife put an end to tourism, but I still read about Dalmatia. I also hope to return some day since the Balkan troubles seem to be at an end. Recently I found "The Bridge to Dalmatia - A Search For The Meaning Of Place" by Francis Violich, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. In this book I found an unusual immigrant itinerary. Dalmatia (Croatia) sent many immigrants to the Americas and since the southern routes via Trieste and Genoa were lengthy (involving a trip across Italy or by boat down the Adriatic and across the Mediterranean), many used the northwestern route via Vienna, basically the same routes followed by Burgenlanders. In May of 1871, one John Tadich, an acquaintance of the author's family, left the village of Starigrad (on the island of Hvar) for California. He went by ferry to Split on the mainland via the neighboring island of Brac where he joined the party of the author's grandmother. From Split they took the Austrian Lloyd boat to Trieste and then the train to Vienna. (Ed. Note: ferrys still connect the islands.) They spent time in both places, visiting the sights. They then took the train to Hamburg via Berlin. From Hamburg, a cross channel steamer took them to Leeds, England then to Glasgow, Scotland by train. Staying in Glasgow for two days they embarked on the steamship "Sidonia" for New York. Shaft problems forced their return after 5 days. They stayed at a boarding house while the ship was repaired. They were already thirty-five days from home. The trip to New York proceeded without further delay. In NYC they spent two days visiting the city (Ed. Note: It's fairly obvious these people were not impoverished) and then took a train for Chicago, Burlington and Council Bluffs. They crossed the Missouri River and went from Omaha to Sacramento and then on San Francisco. Mr. Tadich eventually became a successful restaurant owner and a prominent citizen. I recommend this book for anyone interested in Croatian family history or with a general interest in immigration. Francis Violich is emeritus professor of city planning and landscape architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. The Adriatic coast is a well-known European vacation spot rarely visited by Americans. 3. MARGARET KAISER JOINS BB STAFF I am pleased to report that Margaret Kaiser has agreed to join our staff as a contributing editor with the responsibility for the Szt. Gotthard area. This includes the western border villages of the district (Jaras) of Szt. Gotthard, Vas Megye, Hungary and most of those villages now in the Austrian Burgenland district (Bezirk) of Jennersdorf. You may have corresponded with Margaret and some of our staff met her in Allentown last year when we greeted the Burgenland governor and his entourage, so she is not a stranger. Margaret has been a BB member for some time and a very active correspondent, supplying information for newsletter articles as well as answering queries concerning villages in the Szt. Gotthard area, especially Alsó and Felsö Rönök and Rábafüzes, Hungary as well as those villages immediately across the border in southern Burgenland. Margaret is an experienced researcher of family history, with a proven knowledge of Internet and LDS genealogical sources. The BB staff now includes 17 volunteers. Our thanks to Margaret for her past efforts and her willingness to assist us in the future. Our new BB Masthead can be found at the end of newsletter section 120C. 4. DNA SEQUENCE PROVES GERMANIC MIGRATION OF MY MATERNAL CLAN In newsletter 118C-2, I discussed the use of DNA as a tool to trace maternal clan links. This was predicated on the book "The Seven Daughters Of Eve" written by Prof. Bryan Sykes, MA, Phd, DSc, University of Oxford. I mentioned that I would be utilizing the DNA program offered by Oxford Ancestors and would report on the results. I sent my DNA (ten brush samples taken from my inner cheeks) to England a few weeks ago and recently received their report. Considering what I know of my ancestors (traced and linked to the mid 1600's), I had no doubt that I was descended through the maternal line from ancestors living either in the Alpine regions or slightly east of there. This would put my DNA in what Oxford Ancestors calls "the clan of Katrine" although there was the possibility that, given western Germanic migration, it could be the "clan of Helena" which evolved just west of the Alps in France and Germany. The report states that my DNA mitochondrial sequence definitely matches those of the "clan of Helena" and not the "clan of Katrine." This places my ancestral origin some 20,000 years ago in the region which is now France and Germany. Migration east must have occurred numerous times between that point and the year 1650 when I first identified ancestry in the Burgenland, with indications that there was indeed, previous migration from western Austria, Bavaria, Styria and other Germanic areas. Since most of my ancestors were Germanic through all of the generations that I have linked, this is not a great revelation. That DNA places it on the western side of the Alps, thousands of years ago is an astounding and important revelation. I believe we can deduce from this that most descendants with continuous Germanic maternal ancestors in the Burgenland will show a DNA match with the "clan of Helena" - back 20,000 years ago; Hungarian descendants will probably trace to the "clan of Katrine" - 15,000 years ago and Croat descendants will trace to the "clans of Ursula - 45,000 years ago or Xenia - 25,000 years ago. Professor Sykes in his book "The Seven Daughters Of Eve" provides proof of what he calls the "clan of Ursula" migrating from the Mediterranean area northward into Europe about 45,000 years ago, based on DNA and mutational changes over time. Mutations occur on average every 20,000 years. If you have an interest in your DNA sequence, I suggest you read the book and contact Oxford Ancestors. I believe DNA allows us to establish a major ancestral root, but the lack of written records makes it impossible to establish all of the stems or branches. Obtaining your DNA sequence is expensive and the result will not furnish you with a pedigree, but if you ever wondered where you came from, it will provide an answer - at least between 10,000 and 45,000 years ago. You won't get much beyond 400 years checking church records. Once you do have your DNA sequence, you can compare it with others and possibly link to some other lines. This is something I'll be looking into next. 5. LEHIGH VALLEY ETHNIC EVENTS - AUGUST 2003 (from Bob Strauch) Aug. 1-3: St. Francis of Assisi R.C. Church, Allentown/PA. Annual Parish Festival and Homecoming. Music by the Russ Peters Combo (Fri.), Les Baer (Sat.) and the Joe Wolfer Band (Sun.). Polka Mass with the Freedomaires, Sat. 4:30 PM. Aug. 1-10: Musikfest, Bethlehem, PA. See previous newsletter for information on guest band from Austria. Aug. 3: St. Peter's R.C. Church, Coplay/PA. 49th Annual Parish Picnic and Homecoming. Music by the Joe Weber and Emil Schanta Bands. Aug. 23-24: Coplay Community Days, Coplay, PA. Music Saturday by The Bagpipers and Midnight Special. Music Sunday by the Johnny Dee Orchestra and The Naturalistics. Aug. 23-24: St. Peter's Evang. Lutheran Church, Allentown/PA. Oktoberfest 2003. Schnecksville Fire Company Pavilion, Schnecksville/PA. Music by Alpine Express (Sat.) and Richie Groller and the Jolly Bavarians (Sun.). Aug. 31: St. John the Baptist R.C. Church, Stiles/PA (Whitehall). Annual Parish Picnic. Newsletter continues as no. 120B.

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 120B DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) July 31, 2003 (c) 2003 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved) This third section of our 4-section newsletter includes: 1. Abbreviations Of Hungarian Terms In Records 2. Zapfel Family From Reidlingsdorf - Martina Pirsch 3. Message From Member R. Bubick 4. "The Graf-Lehner Family Tree" - Hannes Graf 5. Penna. Dutch (German) - Burgenlandisch Eppel-Apfel-Apple Dumpling Thread - Bob Strauch et al 1. ABBREVIATIONS OF HUNGARIAN TERMS IN RECORDS Janet Kozlay writes: I just ran across your old but excellent article in the Burgenland Newsletter on translating Hungarian church records. I have run across some terms that I have not been able to identify, and I wonder if you have ever run into these before. In a set of baptismal records from 1826, under "Conditio" I have found the following: Redem. Irred. Opidio (or opilio) Zingat(?) Panis. or Lanis. I have not been able to find anything remotely like these terms, in either Latin or Hungarian. Most of the entries use the first three terms, but of course I need the last one, which is exceedingly rare. If it would be of any help, the "Religio" is listed as "Acatholiy" (we do know they were Protestant). Reply: An interesting query. Generally the older (pre-1848) records are often in Latin as well as Hungarian, and abbreviations are used. I believe this may be what you have found. Conditio of course means "social standing," so if all of the following are listed under that heading, they must all have reference to position, occupation, title, etc. Could you tell us what parish records you are reading from? In addition it is always better to supply the entire phrase in which the term is used. It is easier to translate when words are shown in context. Some random thoughts: Redem.- redemptor-Latin - a farmer or buyer of taxes - tax collector? Irred.-?=? Opidio (or opilio) - from Latin oppidum - small town - village of? Used like "a baker from the village of Zingat"? Zingat(?)=not Latin? A place name? Panis. or Lanis. - Latin for bread-baker? I believe Acatholiy (Hungarian) means non-Catholic - not baptized Catholic - later you'd find Hungarian evangelikus (evang.) - or Lutheran Since I haven't been able to do all that well, by copy of this email I'm asking Fritz Königshofer for his opinion. Fritz writes: As for the first two terms (Redem. and Irred.), we would need to see copies of the actual entries. One immediate question is whether these were rare or frequent terms used by the recording priest. Opilio means shepherd or sheep-farmer. Zingat might stand for zingarus which normally means a Gypsy (Cigány). However, I have also seen zingarus as an equivalent for the term neo-colonus (new farmer?), though even there I am not sure on the meaning. The best approach is to follow people designated as zingarus into the periods where the Hungarian language was used for recording, in order to see the Hungarian term which was used to describe the status of the same person. The last term might mean lanio (butcher), or panificio (in abbreviated form "panif.," meaning baker). If the last letter is definitely an s followed by a period, it might mean lanionis ("of the butcher") but then there should be another term next to it such as filius or filia (son or daughter). The easiest way to help would be to be able to look at scans of these entries. As Gerry stated, the term acathol. means non-Catholic. Until the tolerance edict issued by emperor Joseph II in the 1780s, most non-Catholics were barred from attending church services in their own religion. Instead, their vital records were written by their Catholic priests who either wrote acatholic. or an abbreviation of the religion such as Luth. as the religion of these "nonbelievers." Of course, the term "acath." fell into disuse after the tolerance edict was issued. 2. ZAPFEL FAMILY FROM REIDLINGSDORF (from Martina Pirsch) On occasion a new member sends us a lot of information; too much to include in our lists. I've often thought it is a shame to lose this data as some member might be glad for it. Of course if a new member is contacted, the data can then be obtained, but people being what they are, I wonder how many members contact other members? Going forward, I plan to publish this type of family data, as illustrated below. Martina Pirsch, Laval, Québec. ZAPFEL, Reidlingsdorf. Settled in Montréal, Québec in 1958. Martina writes: My grandfather, Josef Zapfel was born in Riedlingsdorf October 22, 1919 (and recently died October 19, 2002). His parents, Johann and Maria Zapfel (both with the same surname at birth, both first cousins) married and had four children: Maria Zapfel, Teresia Zapfel (still living), Johann Zapfel (Lost in WW2 In Russia), and my grandfather, the youngest, Josef Zapfel. My grandfather came to Montreal Canada in 1958, My grandmother, mother and aunts quickly behind him. From what I know, we are the only direct decendants from our line of Zapfels to have immigrated to Canada at that time. Zapfel, I understand, is a very common surname in Burgenland, especially in the Riedlingsdorf, Pinkafeld area. There is a very large "Protestant" lineage of the Zapfel family in that region, and a smaller Roman catholic lineage (of which my grandfather was part). Apparently and according to my grandfather, religion differences were a very big part of distinction back in his day. He was engaged to be married to a lady by the name of Maria Zapfel (no-relation) who was part of the "Protestant" lineage and he was prohibited by his and her parents from marrying her due to these religious differences. Years after my grandmother's death, he contacted his old love and they exchanged many letters and phone calls. My grandfather had returned to his homeland a few times after my grandmother's death as well. On one occasion, I traveled with him to Reidlingsdorf/Pinkafeld. There are no people of our direct lineage who crossed the seas from my grandfather's generation to the present (that we are aware of), However; my grandfather did say that he had an aunt that came to Chicago before he emigrated, around 1915-1918. I think her name might have been Theresa. I do not recall to whom she was married, but apparently she married and had a son in Chicago. She later divorced and returned with her son, and re-married. Her son, a second cousin of my grandfather, might have returned to the USA at a later date, unfortunately the only person that could have given me the proper information was my grandfather and I never wrote the actual facts down! My mother's best friend is also a native Burgenlander from Gussing! I hope that all your members have a great time and success in finding their ancestors and family! 3. MESSAGE FROM MEMBER RE: GOULASH - R. Bubick Ray Bubick writes: As a BB member, I really appreciated the Goulash recipe you included in today's mailing. Both my father & mother were born & raised in Burgenland (my father in Grossmutchen & my mother in Nikitsch). The recipe(s) you included are very similar to my mother's recipe-- which I often make--- but I will try your recipe as well, as it sounds delicious. I have 12 first cousins living in either Vienna or in Burgenland, and I visit them about every other year. My last trip was in July 2002. Every time I go I have a wonderful and heart warming experience. On my last trip I took one of my sons so he could meet his relatives. I wanted him to be able to continue the family camaraderie, traditions, and closeness I have with my relatives after I'm gone. It was a wonderful experience for both of us. If any of the BB bunch are ever in the Denver, CO area, please let me know, and we can get together for some goulash:o) [Personally, I like the goulash suppe better!] Highlands Ranch, Colorado 4. THE GRAF-LEHNER FAMILY TREE - Hannes Graf (ED. Note: Hannes is one of our very busy editors. We'd be lost without him. He writes from Vienna:) I am now more than 2 and a half years in the Bunch. Some times I work on the member list, other times I work on the Burgenland Bunch song book and the Geographic member distribution and so on. But I almost forgot why I joined the bunch! I forgot the reasons from the beginning (when I volunteered to edit the membership list) and I now remember that I had some other goals. So I worked on my own genealogy lately, searching data and so on. I established my own family tree on the net and I have finished the first version. Some is incomplete, some is very good. I have much more ancestor data from my father's side (lower Austria) but it does not matter. Now everybody can search my 9 generations, back to 1693 (oldest birthdate) from my homepage. At the link "The Lehner-Tree" is the Family treemaker page of Linda Lehner, where the most of my data is also published. If somebody is interested, come in....liebe Grüße - hannes 5. PENNA. DUTCH (GERMAN)-BURGENLANDISCH EPPEL-APFEL-APPEL DUMPLINGS THREAD - (Bob Strauch et al) (ED. Note: there is much correspondence between members and I get copied on a lot of it. Bob Strauch never seems to run out of material. Always of great interest to me, he invariably covers Burgenland, Allentown, Penna. Dutch, German and FOOD! Bob has a small group of local Lehigh Valley correspondents and of all the subjects, food creates the longest threads. What follows is one of the latest.) *Bob forwarded a local newspaper article about Penna. Dutch food and the fact that a visiting band from Germany, who played at the Kutztown, PA fair recently, enjoyed it very much - particularly "Eppel Knepp." *Margart Kaiser responds: Thanks for this very interesting article. Naturally, however, every good article breeds more questions. What is Eppel Knepp? Possibly apple something? I ask because I know someone named Knepp. *Bob replies: When I sent out the article, I thought to myself "Margaret's going to write back asking about Eppel Knepp". They are a PA German culinary institution. Apple dumplings. Eppel = Apfel. Knepp = Knöpfe (buttons). We have Nockerln, the Schwaben have Spätzle, the Pfälzer have Knepp. In Switzerland they say both Spätzli and Knöpfli. They are all small dumplings. But one also hears the name Spotzn in Austria. The PA Germans also have a dish called Lewaknepp, little liver dumplings. The same as the small Lebernockerln or Leberspätzle that are put into soup. But I think that Knepp might also be a generic term for any kind of dumpling (just like the word Knödl can be used for different sized dumplings, or for things that aren't even a dumpling, per se. At some point, these terms began to be used very loosely). Eppel Knepp are hardly little dumplings resembling buttons. They really aren't even a dumpling. More a baked pastry. Peel an apple and sprinkle it with sugar and cinnamon. Lay it on a large square of rolled out pastry. Can be a regular pie dough. Can be a rich butter pastry. The four corners are brought up over the apple and sealed. Sometimes an extra small square of dough is put on top to extra-seal the dough. Some brush the top with beaten egg. Some sprinkle it with sugar. Then it's baked. Some like to eat it with milk poured over. I have a Swiss cookbook that calls them Äpfel im Schlafrock (Apples in Nightgowns). It says that Swiss mothers would prepare the apple dumplings, the children would drop them off at the town bakery on their way to school and pick up the baked product on their way home for an afterschool treat. When exactly were things that quaint? Leave it to Beaver à la Suisse. Just about every bakery in Central and SE PA sells apple dumplings. Just about every diner and "home-cooking" restaurant sells them. Not to mention every farmer's market. Anybody else have input concerning/fond memories of Eppel Knepp (apple dumplings)? * Your editor responds: My Pennsylvania-German Dictionary (M. B. Lambert - Schiffer Ltd. - 1924-reprinted 1977) doesn't list Eppel or Knepp. Eppel of course is Apple or appel (Pa-Germ.) with eppel as plural. They don't show Knepp at all which is strange as "schnitz und knepf" is a well known dish of dried apples, ham and dumplings. I ordered this once - didn't care for it. The dictionary does show "schnitz" as dried fruit - mainly apples. Lambert, in putting the dictionary together, had a tough time spelling phonetic words, just like us. We likewise can have much trouble going from German to the dialects to Pa-German, much less Hianzen. My German teacher at AHS (1947-48) told us you get a zero if you use any PA-German words in class! One of my local acquaintances who was an interpreter for the CIA told me there are about 400 German dialects including several that are close to Pa. German. Our BB newsletter archive has more on this subject. For dumplings, I like to use the word "Knödel" since my grandmother always used that word in talking about "Twestchten (did I spell that right? - I had a senior moment!) Knödel and they were my favorite. I ate them every day while staying at the Heiligenbrünn Gasthaus when last in Burgenland. While growing up, apple dumplings were ok - my Pa-German origin step-father (Carpenter - changed from Zimmerman in PA from Perry-Dauphin counties) liked them made with pie dough wrapped around a cored apple - with a heavy sugar syrup inside - lots of cinnamon and eaten with milk. I preferred the pie which my grandmother couldn't make properly, but which my mother did ok - Molly's mother (A PA-German named Silfies from Monroe County PA) made a superb pie and Molly improved on it. Greatest pie baker in the world but, with diabetes, I get it rarely any more. Local farm market (Frederick Co. Virginia) sells apple dumplings at $3.95 each! Another no-no. Apples were rarely used for pastry among our Lehigh Valley Burgenland relations except for strudel and later for a cake called "Apfel Flecken" -my grandfather Sorger ate his first apple pie when he traded lunch pail contents with a PA-German bricklayer friend. When Mom tried to duplicate it, it was a disaster and she rarely made it again. We wanted "strudel!" *Walter Pomper writes from Chicago: Dear GB, Don't know about Eppel Knepp but when you write about Zwetschken Knoedel (plum dumplings) the word is spelled like above per the Oxford-Duden dictionary. and I also know about Apfel Strudel. My wife, not a Burgenlaenderin but a Kaerntnerin still make both, only not often enough. Servus * Margaret Kaiser replies: I think it is Zwetschgen Knödel, not Twestchten. A favorite of mine. My mother rarely made these, as my Dad didn't care for them. When I was visiting family (relocated from the Burgenland to Germany), the lady of the house prepared Zwetschgen Knödel. When her children were young, they used to play a game as to who could eat the most at one sitting. The titleholder still remembered his record number. *Frank Teklits writes: I don't know anything about apple dumplings (Ed. - not a Croatian specialty?) - now Zwetschken Knoedel - that's something else again! *Bob writes: I think there was once a movie called "The Apple Dumpling Gang" (about a group of PA German gangsters?) Newsletter continues as no. 120C.

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 120C DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) July 31, 2003 (c) 2003 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved) This fourth section of our 4-section newsletter includes: 1. Burgenland In Former Days (Part 10, continued from newsletter no. 111) - Gerhard Lang 2. Message From Gerhard Lang In Rust 3. News From Chicago Lackenbach Event - Tom Glatz 4. Splitter (Fragments) From Correspondence FATHER LEOPOLD - CHILDHOOD GROSSHÖFLEIN (Part X) - Lang Translation At home, the "Lesewagen" ("vintage-wagon") was parked beside the "Presshaus" (a building, where the wine-press was located). The grapes were poured off the vat across a slide through a window into a "Quetsche" (crimper), pushed through that crimper into a concrete vat, from which the mash came into the "Presskorb" (a "basket" made of heavy wood trusses with slashes and holes to let the grape juice flow through). On top of this "Presskorb" heavy pieces of lumber were put, which with the aid of the "Pressbaum" pressed the juice out of the grapes. (The pressbaum was a heavy thick arbor, that connected the framework of the press to the stones - see below. My parents worked with a kind of such a press up to the early 1980's, but ours was a modern one - made of iron bars). The "Pressbaum" was connected to a spindle, which was pinned down to a big stone. That stone had to be hoisted often - even during the night - to get the effect of the "Pressbaum". The must (pressed juice) ran into a larger concrete-reservoir or was pumped directly into a barrel. The blue grapes were rubbed ("gerebelt") over a grid. The grapes then fell into a concrete vat for fermentation (a kind of pre-fermentation to get the pigment color from the grape skins), the stems remaining ("Kampl") went to the dunghill. The empty barrels were prepared with an "Einschlag" of sulfur. (a number of sulfur sticks -depending on the size of the barrel) - was burned inside the barrel in order to kill bacteria and mold. When I was a child, I always fled out of our cellar, because that sulfur irritated the throat (sulfur dioxide) and caused a cough. The barrels often had to be "gestiftet" (topped up) so that the wine wouldn't oxidize, destroying the taste. After the fermentation, the wine was "abgezogen" (transferred) into empty barrels and prepared for selling. (Rem.: "abgezogen" means that the "clear" wine was removed with a "Stechheber" - lifter - through the upper opening of the barrel, to keep the wine lees on the bottom). In those days wine was sold in "Gebinde" (barrel). The wine-buyers, innkeepers or merchants, came with the "Fasszieher" ("Weinsensal" - commissioner of the municipality) to the winegrower and bought the wine. Today the wine is filtered and bottled by the winegrower and sold that way or is delivered directly to the customers. During the time I attended primary school, we had our flat in the house where the "Konsum"-market was. There, in the middle of the village I had my friends, Treiber "Seppi", "Tinhof Stach" and the brothers "Tinhof Eisbär" ("Polar bear Tinhof" - Josef) and "Tinhof Schurl". Together we went cattle droving, bathing and we played together. What games did we play? At first, there were movement games. We played tag, one had to catch the others. The one who had been caught had to run after the others. "Verstecken spielen" (hiding) or "Eins, zwei, drei - abgepasst" (One, two, three - you're out)-hide and seek. One of us had to count up to thirty with his head turned against a wall. In the meantime, the others hid. The one who had counted had to search for the others. If he found another player, both had to run back to the starting point. The first there beat three times with his hand against the wall and shouted "eins, zwei, drei - abgepasst!" "Reifen scheiben" (driving hoops): A real hoop from a toy store was seldom available. As hoops we used rims of a bicycle or baby carriage or from a small farm cart. Even iron circlets of milk cans were used. The hoops were driven with a wooden stick. A favorite place was the "Ödenburger Straße" (Ödenburg road) from the Müllendorf crossway to the village. The hoop ran well on that gravel road. Today when I drive my car on that road, I often think: "On that asphalt our hoops would run well!" Nevertheless - due to today's traffic - this is impossible. (To be continued) Matthias Artner (part X) Arbeit und Brauchtum in Großhöflein (Daily work and tradition at Grosshöflein) Der Sautanz, Teil 1 (Killing day, part 1) Unlike townspeople, the inhabitants of a village conformed their daily life to the changing seasons. The cycle of the year has ruled country life for centuries. During that long time, customs and practice came to stay and became an inherent part of the village community. On cold winter days, when work in the fields was impossible, killing day was held. People were in want during the entire year, but on the day a pig was slaughtered, one had the chance to really eat well. That was also a reason for looking forward to Christmas. For the children, there was not much reason to look forward to Christmas presents. There was not enough money to shower children with gifts. A Christmas tree, decorated with homemade biscuits, a few apples and nuts, was a real great event. When there were some stockings and mittens, the surprise was perfect. "Christkind" has become richer and more open-handed in the last decades. Nevertheless, for all that, Christmas possibly was in former days a more cheerful family celebration than today. The last day of the year was not given to parties as today. People stayed home and nobody thought about fireworks and welcoming the New Year with a glass of sparkling wine. The children started their felicitation tour on New Year's Day, visiting all their relations, wishing a "Gutes Neues Jahr" (Happy New Year), hoping they would receive some hard cash - this was the tradition in former days. The cold days of December brought killing day (butcher day). Many people scheduled that day in sufficient time to have the first smoked meat ready for Christmas. Pigs were not only raised at farms; in almost every family, at least one pig was fed and raised. For about ten months the pig was fed before it was ready for slaughtering, weighing from 100 kilograms up to 250 kilograms. Killing day was a special event in which everyone took part. A few days earlier, the "Blunzenbrot" (a kind of bread, being a part of the filling of blood sausage) was baked and cut into small cubes. (To be continued) 2. MESSAGE FROM GERHARD LANG IN RUST Are we really at part X of the Matthias Artner / Father Leopold translations? Just as an old phrase says: "Dem Glücklichen schlägt keine Stunde" (The lucky man does not count the hours). It's really hot outside - about 30° Celsius, the cherries are ripe, pears, prunes and peaches can already be seen in the trees (we have the little ones called "Weingarten-Pfirsiche" -vineyard-peaches), the farmers tell me that the grain is two weeks earlier than usual. When Martina noticed our holiday plans she started writing a list of things to do in and around the house. Last week we cleared our cellar of junk, I had the tractor with a big wagon and drove two times to the city dump, but there are a lot of things left. I guess I've got something from my g.-g.-g.-g.-g.-grandfather's time. For next week we plan to paint the walls in our house - at least one floor. Let's see how far we can go! When my (bank) customers ask where we go on Holiday I tell them we'll go to "Balconia at Dahamas" (Balconia - balcony, dahamas --> from "daham", "dahoam" - sounding like Bahamas). I have been playing a lot of music and doing a lot of administrative work for Burgenland's Wind Music Association (Burgenländischer Blasmusikverband), we played "Radio Burgenland"-Frühschoppen last Sunday with Wulkatalmusikanten (www.wulkatalmusikanten.at) at Eisenstadt's "Gasthof Ohr" celebrating his 50th anniversary, was at a conference at Oberwart, maintained the Blasmusikverband homepage (www.blasmusik-burgenland.at), it's my job to put articles and fotos into the page, etc. A few weeks ago we went to a meeting at Hallein (Salzburg) for Blasmusikverband. It was a two day trip - starting Saturday. In the evening we wanted to attend an open-air concert of a "Blasmmusikkapelle", but an awful thunderstorm kept us off and we fled into a Gasthaus. On Sunday after breakfast we started home and made a short stop at Salzburg Hellbrunn castle, where we visited the famous water-plays of prince archbishop Marcus Sitticus. It was really funny seeing the people getting wet from the "surprises" of Marcus Sitticus. (ED.-fountains which catch the unaware). Yesterday our neighbor brought me two banks (benches) and a table for my garden - he also had cleaned his house of junk. But the banks look ok and on the table has one plank to change and needs a sanding and paint. We learn that a house and a garden means a lot of work to do and costs a lot of money, but we love it. I often say that watering the plants needs one hour a day, I'm planning to have sprinklers installed to have one hour more for recreation. Best regards, Martina and Gerhard (ED. Note: Gerhard is one of our charter Austrian BB members. He and his family then lived in Eisenstadt. We spent some time with them when we last visited Burgenland and met Gerhard's father who lived in the family home in Rust. Gerhard and Martina showed us Rust and treated us to an evening in a Rust Heuriger (wine cellar). Gerhard's father recently passed away and Gerhard now has the family home which he mentions as requiring much work. Gerhard is a very serious musician, he also works for a bank and has been translating the above series for us. We include a few of his messages as they do a great job of portraying family life in Burgenland.) 3. NEWS FROM CHICAGO - LACKENBACH EVENT (from Tom Glatz) Despite the fact that it was a Sunday evening, the Jugendmusik performed by the musicians from Lackenbach, Burgenland was a well attended event with just short of 300 people in attendance. We had been threatened with another series of violent thunderstorms all day & luckily the rain held off until just after their plane landed. John Radostits, our local BG president was admitted to the hospital early in the week and his condition is very serious following surgery. I was asked at the last minute to fill in for him. I went to the airport to meet them. Afterwards I went with them to their hotel. This morning I met them again for a tour of our Sears Tower. It was a busy weekend with only a few hours of sleep. Mr. Wild, the bandleader was very friendly! In the last two days, I spoke with almost all 27 members of the band. I told Mr. Wild about our Burgenland Bunch and gave him a copy of the newsletter. He was quite surprised that we existed and that someone like me, a second generation American, would find the Burgenland culture so interesting. I purchased the group's most recent CD for you & will be sending it off along with other things. This was the first BG Chicago event ever where BB members were also present. At my reserved table were: Carol and Roy Hansen and Carol's cousin Earl Gilly and wife Rosemary. Janet Alesauskas from northern Wisconsin attended with her cousin Laura Kasalo. Gail Chambers came with a friend of hers. Other BB members, who are also long time BG members, were John Radostits' brother Frank, Ed Wolf with wife Sharon, and Walter Gamauf and his wife. We were saddened by John's illness. Gerhard Kaes thanked me very much & asked me to thank you for putting kind words in the newsletter about his bakery. Herbert Rehling's uncle Karl Nika and wife Trudy gave me a publication from Herbert entitled Bad Tatzmannsdorfer Zeitung, Informationen des Vereines für Kultur, Umweltschutz und Ortsverschönerung. Included are lots of pictures and text in German from the Bad Tatzmannsdorf/Oberwart Reunion from last fall. I am sending this along also. 4. SPLITTER (FRAGMENTS) FROM CORRESPONDENCE * Member asks: Is there a readily available village directory for current citizens of a particular village? Reply: No - if you are looking for a particular family surname, use the Austrian telephone directory available from the BB URL list on the homepage. * I ask Bob Strauch: Do you have a table of conversion factors for German metric recipes? What do you use when a recipe calls for Topfen (Cheese)? Bob's reply: I prefer not to use German recipes because of the measurement problem and the differences in the ingredients, such as the Topfen/Cottage cheese problem. They're not the same. Cottage cheese is too wet. You could try putting it in a kitchen cloth and wringing out the moisture, but I think that will still be too wet. In the past I've tried using Farmer's Cheese or Pot Cheese (most of our supermarkets have it). Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Many people around here use a dry cottage cheese they get at a stand in the Allentown Farmers Mkt. I don't like it because the curds have a hard, chewy center. END OF NEWSLETTER BURGENLAND BUNCH STAFF (USA residents unless designated otherwise) Coordinator & Editor Newsletter (Gerald Berghold) Burgenland Editor (Albert Schuch; Austria) Home Page Editor (Hap Anderson) Internet/URL Editor (Anna Tanczos Kresh) Contributing Editors: Austro/Hungarian Research (Fritz Königshofer) Burgenland Co-Editor (Klaus Gerger, Austria) Burgenland Lake Corner Research (Dale Knebel) Chicago Burgenland Enclave (Tom Glatz) Croatian Burgenland (Frank Teklits) Home Page village lists (Bill Rudy) Home Page surname lists (Tom Steichen) Home Page membership list (Hannes Graf, Austria) Judaic Burgenland (Maureen Tighe-Brown) Lehigh Valley Burgenland Enclave (Robert Strauch) Szt. Gotthard & Jennersdorf Districts (Margaret Kaiser) Western US BB Members-Research (Bob Unger) WorldGenWeb-Austria, RootsWeb Liason-Burgenland (Charles Wardell, Austria) BB ARCHIVES (can be reached via Home Page hyperlinks) The BB is in contact with the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft, Hauptplatz 7, A-7540 Güssing, Burgenland, Austria. 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.