^{The News}
Dedicated to Austrian-Hungarian Burgenland Family History

This newsletter concerns:

1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER

2) ROOTS OF THE CHERRY TREE

3) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE APOSTOLIC ADMINISTRATION BURGENLAND (by Josef Rittsteuer)

4) ELLIS ISLAND AND THE CENTRAL RAILROAD TERMINAL

5) HISTORICAL BB NEWSLETTER ARTICLES:
    - FOLLOW-UP TO BB NEWSLETTER #167 - FAMILY SOLAR (SZOLLER)

6) ETHNIC EVENTS

7) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES (courtesy of Bob Strauch)

More information about the Poropat Surname Project can be found here: familytreedna.com/groups/poropat-surname/about/background.



Some Austrian Schilling Notes Being Retired: It has been over 15 years since the Austrian Schilling last had legal tender status, as euro banknotes and coins became Austria's only legal tender on March 1, 2002. Regardless, the Österreichische Nationalbank (Austrian National Bank) continues to exchange Schilling banknotes and coins and will continue to do so for a yet unlimited period. The fixed conversion rate was set at 1 Euro = 13.7603 Schilling.

According to the National Bank, 8.5 billion Schillings are still waiting to be changed, this despite the fact that the Bank has maintained a roaming "Euro-bus" making stops all around Austria to bring the opportunity directly to the people to exchange the old national currency with little fuss and with no surcharge.

This past month, the blue Euro-bus moved through Burgenland, with stops in Güssing, Pinkafeld, Neusiedl am See, and elsewhere. What is different this time is that it is nearly the last opportunity to exchange two specific Schilling banknotes: the 500 Schilling bill with Otto Wagner on the front (=36.3€ =$43.17) and the 1000 Schilling bill 72.7€= $86.34) with Erwin Schrödinger on the front, which can only be changed until 20 April 2018. Those bills will become permanently invalid after that date. They join five Schilling banknotes issued before 1983 that have already expired and the 5 and 10 Schilling silver coins that ceased to be legal tender in 1969 and 1975. So, if you hold any of these notes, exchange them soon.

The National Bank's Euro-bus has been traveling through Austria for 15 years. During that time, about 50 million Schilling in notes and coins have been exchanged via the bus. However, most of the original 190 billion Schillings worth of notes and coins circulating at the start of 2002 were exchanged early on directly by banks.



"Integrationszentrum Burgenland" Opens in Eisenstadt: A new Integrationszentrum (Integration Center) has opened in Eisenstadt, as per the Integration Act 2017 law recently passed in Austria. The Burgenland Center is one of nine such permanent centers in Austria that are intended as a starting point for asylum seekers. Refugees are obliged to take the offered counseling, values and orientation courses, and German-language-learning courses.

The Burgenland Integrationszentrum consists of an office and a training room, where the eight-hour-long courses are taught. Refugees begin by signing an "integration declaration" during an orientation consultation, wherein they declare to respect the fundamental values and the legal and social order of Austria, as well as to comply with the statutory obligation to participate in and finish the offered courses.

The initial German-language course is taught in cooperation with health care providers and cover the value and orientation knowledge. Mastery of this material and the associated German vocabulary is required before graduating to the second course.

The advanced course is taught in cooperation with the Austrian Labor Market Service, teaching job-specific language skills. Again participation and adequate mastery of the material is obligatory.

Failure to successfully complete either course results in a reduction in social assistance or the need-based minimum allowance and precludes registration for work with the Labor Market Service.



Update for book "The Burgenländer Emigration to America": Here is this month's update on purchases of the English issue of the 3rd edition of Dr. Walter Dujmovits' book "Die Amerika-Wanderung Der Burgenländer."

Current total sales are 1197 copies, as interested people purchased 14 more books during this past month.

As always, the book remains available for online purchase at a list price of $7.41 (which is the production charge for the book, as we purposely choose not to make a profit so we can avoid dealing with the income tax consequences and so you can obtain the book at as low a cost as possible!), plus tax & shipping. See the BB homepage for a link to the information / ordering page and for any current discounts (and there is at least one discount on price or shipping available most of the time... if not, wait a few days and there will be one!).



Burgenland Recipes (now edited by Alan Varga): Cathy Polenz Stallone kindly provided the following two (related, in more ways than one) recipes, the first being based on a recipe from her mother, Anna Huber Polenz, who was born in Blumau at her maternal grandfather's house and grew up in Deutsch Tschantschendorf. The second, German-style recipe comes from the grandson of her mother's half-sister, Gunter Gablerits, who now runs the family farm in Blumau... apparently pumpkins being the major crop. As Cathy says, "Until recently, I did not know that my cousin in Blumau grew pumpkins and he produces an award winning pumpkin seed oil."

Why two recipes, you might ask? I'll let Cathy give the background: "I do a lot of baking at Christmas but only one recipe is from my mother: Vanilla Kipferl. Unfortunately, between my sister's children and mine, we have a rather large group who are highly allergic to nuts. This past Christmas it occurred to me that, sadly, my mother's recipe would probably perish with me. But then in early February, my cousin in Bad Blumau sent me a link to his website. There I found a recipe for Vanilla Kipferl made with pumpkin seeds!! The recipe is in German. As my German ist sehr schlecht and GoogleTranslate wasn't very helpful, I just used my mother's recipe and substituted pumpkin seeds for the walnuts. My nieces and nephews loved them. I am thrilled that all my family can now enjoy them!"

So, given we had recipes from both Cathy and cousin Gunter, I decided to run both, providing a translation of the German-language recipe. I'll warn you that the German recipe lists its ingredients quantities as weight in grams, so you will need a kitchen scale. Secondly, like many German recipes, baking temperature and time are not provided: you are just supposed to know! (but I suggest something similar to those in Cathy's recipe... you know, 177° Celsius and, yes, 10-12 minutes!).



NUT-FREE VANILLA KIPFERL (from Kathy Stallone)

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 1/2 oz. grated pumpkin seeds
1/2 lb. sweet butter (softened)
2 egg yolks
1/2 egg white
2-3 tsp. vanilla extract

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in bowl. Grate butter into center. Add eggs, egg white, and vanilla extract. Mix to combine all ingredients. Using about a tablespoon of dough, roll with palm of hand on table to form a cylinder measuring 2-3 inches and shape into a crescent. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned on bottom. Let cool and then dip in granulated or confectioners sugar to cover cookie. Makes 5-6 dozen.

Note: Ingredients should be cool, especially in summer.

Variations:
- Instead of pumpkin seeds, use 4 oz. grated walnuts or other nuts such as almonds or hazelnuts.
- Before dipping in granulated sugar, dip tip of one end in melted chocolate.
- After dipping in sugar, drizzle melted chocolate over cookies.



PUMPKIN SEED KIPFERL (from Gunter Gablerits)
gablerits.at/page_rezepte_kk.html

210 gm flour
180 gm butter
70 gm pumpkin seeds (ground/grated)
50 gm powdered sugar
2 egg yolks
salt
vanilla sugar (see Note below)

Crumble the butter into the flour, then mix with the grated pumpkin seeds, powdered sugar, egg yolk and a pinch of salt and process quickly into a dough. Let dough rest for half an hour then roll flat. Cut into small pieces and shape into crescents. Place on a baking pan and lightly bake. Remove and roll the baked crescents in vanilla sugar.



Note: Vanilla Sugar (vanillezucker in German) is a staple baking ingredient found in most German recipes for sweet treats like cakes and cookies. While you can buy it, doing so can be expensive in the US. Most people think homemade vanilla sugar has a better aroma and flavor than the commercially-produced counterparts, and it is easy to make.

How to make Vanilla Sugar: transfer 2 lbs. sugar (white, granulated) into a sealable container. Slice a vanilla bean lengthwise and place it in the container with the sugar. Push the vanilla bean down into the sugar for the greatest distribution of flavor. Seal tightly and leave the container in a cool place for 2-3 weeks, shaking the container every few days to help distribute the natural flavor evenly. Once ready to use, continue to store the sugar with the split vanilla bean. As you use it, occasionally refill the container with more sugar. The vanilla bean will continue to add flavor to the newly added sugar as long as it is still fragrant.

Equivalency: 1 tablespoon of homemade vanilla sugar equals 1 "packet". If you can’t wait for your vanilla sugar to be ready to use, you can put some vanilla extract in your batter and use regular, granulated sugar.



Reminder: We no longer have a "regular" source for Burgenland recipes. As evidenced above, a few readers have shared favorite family recipes, and we do have a reserve for a couple of months now, but if contributions stop coming in, we'll be begging again! So, please consider sharing your favorite Burgenland recipes or recipe books with us. Our older relatives sadly aren't with us forever, so don't allow your allow your favorite ethnic dishes to become lost to future generations. Send your suggestions to BB Recipes Editor, Alan Varga. Thanks!



Cartoon and Jokes of the Month:


In fairness to the men, ladies, it should be mentioned that you women pass along mitochondrial DNA (to both daughters and sons), and it also does not mix, so 'avoids hard work,' being passed on unchanged to every child ...and that's genetic too!

DNA Jokes:

- What did one DNA say to the other DNA?   "Do these genes make me look fat?"

- What did another DNA say to the other DNA?   "Stop copying me!"

- What does "DNA" stand for?   National Dyslexics Association.

  My best friend was deported back, to a poor Killea home
  Another sent to Swinbourne Isle, died of cholera alone
  The rest of were shipped to trains, bound for Midwest states
  Toward wild and stormy prairie lands and our prospective mates

Immigration officials pinned numbered tags, referencing the intended rail line, on the immigrants’ clothing before they were sent to the ticket office, where a dozen agents collectively sold as many as 25 tickets per minute on the busiest days. Immigrants would wait in areas marked for each independent railroad line in the ferry terminal. Railroad conductors used the tags to quickly determine what rail line an immigrant should be traveling on and what connections one had to make. Immigrants heading to all points west and south took government barges, docked at the rear of the main building, to the railroad depots in New Jersey, where they often had another long wait ahead of them before the immigrant train left the station.

However, that wait was not in the main terminal. The New Jersey terminals of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Central Railroad of New Jersey and the Erie Railroad, the Delaware Lackawanna & Western, and the West Shore Railroad each provided immigrant facilities separate from their main depot building, and passages connected the immigrant waiting rooms directly to the train concourses; therefore, immigrant passengers did not have to walk through the main terminal to reach their train.

The immigrant waiting room at the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal was located in its single-story, timber-construction ferry house, on the dock between the two northernmost ferry slips. Men’s and women’s toilets were the only amenities available and immigrants waited on wooden benches until their evening departure by rail. When the time came to board their train, they were directed up the narrow baggage concourse to the train platform, therefore bypassed the commuter waiting area and the nicer, wider commuter concourse, and directly to the segregated train waiting on the north platform, thus minimizing contact with commuter passengers.

Lest one think this arrangement was peculiar to Ellis Island and the New Jersey terminals, it was not. Procedures at other emigrant ports paralleled that at Ellis Island. For example, of Baltimore's Locust Point facility, the Jewish Museum of Maryland writes:

Following their examination, the immigrants were directed into “pens” and grouped alphabetically at the terminal. Their information was then verified, and they were redirected again. Immigrants remaining in Baltimore were led to another pen to wait for friends or relatives. Other immigrants went to the ticket counter and bought their tickets for trains heading west.

The Baltimore Sun proclaimed Locust Point to be “far superior” to Ellis Island, as the landing facilities, examination area, and train terminal existed “not only in the same building, but on the same floor...".

The subsequent railroad journey was long and arduous for immigrant passengers, and not only because of the distances involved. Poor accommodations and extra slow service also were characteristic of emigrant train travel.

In the United States, immigrant trains existed as far back as the founding of railroads. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was one of the first major companies to use special immigrant cars when it offered reduced rates to German immigrants in the 1840s. By the 1850s, most lines running from port cities utilized immigrant trains. Although the railroads and government argued that segregated travel offered protection for the immigrants at an affordable rate, in reality, the accommodations onboard, particularly in the eastern states, were miserable. Railroads used outdated passenger cars for immigrant trains or, more frequently, they permanently converted boxcars into passenger cars by installing wooden benches and adding windows to the car doors. Boxcars did not have the same spring construction as passenger cars, since they were not meant for human traffic; consequently, they produced a jolting ride.

Conditions on these immigrant trains were unpleasant, to say the least. Railroad companies did not provide any cushions for the hard wooden benches. And, before the introduction of the immigrant sleeper car in the 1880s, amenities such as water, toilets, lights and stoves for cooking were minimal, if present at all. Immigrants had to use the facilities and obtain food and water at stops along the way. Since stops lasted only about twenty minutes, many immigrants complained of not having enough time to get a meal.

Immigrant cars were often attached to freight trains, which ran on a much slower schedule than express, passenger and mail trains, which had the right-of-way on tracks. The slower journey added inconvenience and further expense for immigrants. Longer travel time meant that immigrants put more money toward purchasing additional food and also toward overnight boarding, if they had to wait long to transfer trains.



Improved conditions on immigrant trains occurred in 1879 with the introduction of the immigrant sleeper car, which provided room to sleep during the journey. Immigrant sleeper cars typically featured an upper and lower berth. The backs of the wooden seats could be folded down and joined at the center to form the lower berths on which passengers slept. The upper berths were closed during the day and lowered down, supported by iron rods, at night. The immigrant car, with its plain oak wooden interior, hard wood seats and cast iron fixtures, did not provide mattresses or cushions; immigrants had to supply their own or could purchase them onboard. Immigrants deemed these sleeper cars far superior to the original immigrant cars, where passengers had less room and had no choice but to sleep on the uncomfortable seats, on the floor under the seats, or even in the aisles.

Railroad companies ran extra trains for the immigrant that were not required to arrive at any certain time. Thus immigrant trains were delayed or rerouted frequently, especially in the east where more passenger and mail trains competed for the track.

The segregated spaces of the railways not only expressed American prejudices toward newly-arrived foreigners but also revealed, and effectually reinforced, a racial hierarchy present among the immigrants themselves. Railroad companies tried to increase immigrant traffic by catering to racial prejudices among the travelers themselves by advertising that they did their best to keep members of the same nationality together.

Hierarchies of class and race were also evident in the placement of the cars on a mixed train. Immigrant cars were located closer to the engines than the other passenger cars, which railroad officials placed further from the engine in order of increasing ticket cost. Not only did those passengers closest to the engine experience higher levels of fumes and noise, but they were also most in danger if an accident occurred.

When immigrants first entered the country they were isolated from American citizens at government receiving stations. The role of the railroad station as the modern city gateway contained deeper meaning at the east coast terminals, which were gateways to the country for immigrants arriving in America. These stations served as the literal and metaphorical point of departure for immigrants traveling further west to their new homes. Yet the immigrants who departed from these coastal terminals were denied the symbolic passage through the main building. Further inland, where immigrant traffic was a lucrative business for the railways, immigrants were allowed to enter the main terminals but still remained segregated from other passengers. Inland railroad officials believed that the immigrants who purchased their land and settled along their lines had the potential to assimilate into American life and become citizens. Traveling to their destination, however, they remained outsiders; railroad companies viewed them as unfit to interact with the American public. The train cars and railroad stations, in which the immigrant was marked as foreign and inferior, symbolized the transient state of the immigrants themselves—no longer part of their homelands and not yet citizens of their new country.