Out With the Old

Ah, one of my digital toys tools has outlasted the projected life span … namely, the HP Ipaq 2495b shown here.  I purchased it in 2006 and loved using it, a combination personal planner and pocket computer.

It ran Windows Mobile 5.0 and was great for checking email and playing Bubble Breaker.  Responding to email was a bit more challenging as I had to use a stylus to input a message.  That is, until I bought a folding keyboard that use Bluetooth to pair with it.  However, the keyboard worked only sporadically so that “solution” wasn’t ideal.

The compact size made it truly portable.  Checking email or a database of my ancestors was the ultimate in convenience.

But time marches on and eventually I could only charge the battery by using the cradle it came with and connecting it to my desktop computer.  Then for some reason, in the later part of its life, it would no longer connect to some wi-fi spots.

So, Ipaq has been recycled to the digital dump at a local electronics store.  But the next generation has arrived in the form of a smart phone and tablet computer.  (I’m partial to the Android operating system.)

And, like my 1969 Rambler, Ipaq will always hold a soft spot in my <virtual> memory.

Orgelknozert mit Gerti Görtz, Weihnachten 2011

A highlight of our trip to Germany was visiting St. Martinus Kirche in Nettesheim, the parish church where my husband’s great-grandfather, Mathias Löhr was baptized. At the conclusion of the tour, we were honored with a selection of hymns played by Gerti Görtz.

Imagine my joy when earlier this year Klaus Erdmann sent us a recording of a concert given by the same organist three days after Christmas. It somehow seemed to transport us back to St. Martinus!

With permission, I’ve shared copies of the sound files with Jim’s siblings.

These are the photos of the organist, organ, and a Christmas scene at the church.

(Click image for a larger view.)

Locating and Visiting the Grave of Sister M. Julitta

Earlier, in a series of six posts, I detailed the life of a great-aunt, Mary Catherine Naescher, who joined the Franciscan Nuns of Perpetual Adoration in Lacrosse, Wisconsin, and took the name Sister Mary Julitta. Records show she is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Carroll, Iowa. Sometimes genealogy discoveries come slowly and this one was made only recently. So a nice day in May was the occasion for our visiting her grave.

The location of her burial was given in her obituary as Mount Olivet Cemetery. But locating it in a good-sized cemetery was going to be a challenge. (I have long ago abandoned the practice of walking anything but a very small cemetery “hoping” to find a desired grave.) So the plan was on to locate it as efficiently.

According to the publication Carroll County Iowa Cemeteries (available at the Iowa Genealogical Society Library), her burial site was in the designated area two, row 8, grave 14. Using the map included and comparing it with one on Google Maps, I could make a calculated guess for the location. Also, correspondence with convent archivist said it should be in the southwest area of the cemetery.

We knew by the cemetery listing there were other nuns from her convent buried there. I reasoned the stone markers would be fairly simple and uniform. This photo shows the Franciscan area of graves:

The earliest of the Franciscan nuns markers in this section was dated 1881 and the latest was 1966.

Sister Julitta’s marker has only her professed name Julitta and the dates 1881-1937.

The top of the stone is engraved with Sister M.

Marker located in the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration section.

Although I never knew my great-aunt, having read her autobiography and located her grave site has added a chapter to my family history of this relative for whom my mother was named.

Okke Sievers, 1882-1885

There is a first time for everything, and recently my husband, Jim and I, along with our good friend Dee Lindaman tried our skills for the first time at repairing the tombstone of a brother to my grandmother.   (In preparation, Dee had alerted cemetery personnel we were going to attempt the repair.)  Okke Sievers died as a young child and his grave is marked with a cylindrical stone mounted on a base.

The cylindrical base had become loose and it was probably only a matter of time before it might be damaged beyond repair. These photos show some of our work and the completed repair.

We removed the top portion (it would slide off), leveled the base and added fill dirt to stabilize it.  Despite the small size, it was still quite heavy.  We cleaned the base first by sweeping any loose accumulation of dirt and then using only water.

After we thought the base was straight, Dee Lindaman used a level to ensure it was.  We had to make several adjustments before we were sure the base was level.

Jim placed masking tape to prevent the adhesive from spreading beyond the intended area.

Resting from our labor.

The finished repair with the stone firmly mounted on the base.

Two other stones we cleaned.  The Mutter stone was cleaned, leveled and remounted on the base, the Vater stone still needs to be leveled.

Our trio is not about to take up repairing stones as a career anytime soon.  It is hard work!  But it was gratifying to have accomplished this small job.

Family Memories of Building Dedication Event

One of the highlights of the Lohr building dedication celebration was the occasion to visit with other relatives whom we see only on an infrequent basis. It’s always a delight to keep in contact with nieces, nephews and in-laws. And now we’re into another generation with great-nieces and nephews.

We also were in attendance at a dinner where one of my husband’s “Johnson cousins” was honored.  He is the gentleman who first helped me connect with this branch of Jim’s family.

And the day also provided a few memories: the house my parents lived in many years ago once stood on the site now occupied by the Lohr Building. (The house has been refurbished and moved to another location in Brookings.)

Also, I had the opportunity to visit with a high school classmate and we reminisced about families and our lives from days gone bye. Ah, could it be that 42 years have passed since we marched to the graduation strains of Pomp and Circumstance at Bridgewater, South Dakota?

Jim and I also spent time visiting with his former college roommate and long-time friend and his wife.   The passage of time has only strengthen their friendship.

The daughter of a woman who was a co-worker with (in the late 1930s) and longtime friend  and roommate of my mother also introduced herself to me.  We chuckled how our “daring” mothers would go to an evening movie by wearing a coat over their pajamas.  Their wild streak is still talked about to this day!

Two informal pictures of the day:

Jerry Lohr speaking at the dedication:

Lohr Building entrance:

Lohr Building at South Dakota State University

The Foundation Building at South Dakota State University was recently renamed for Jerome J. (“Jerry”) Lohr .  Approximately, thirty-five family members were there to help celebrate this memorable event.

Jerry’s leadership, generosity, and impact at SDSU (“Hurrah for the yellow and blue”) has truly created a “culture of giving” at South Dakota’s land-grant university.

(The scanned text from the dedication program is difficult to read so I have entered it below)

Jerome J. “Jerry” Lohr is widely considered one of South Dakota State University’s most influential and impactful alumni because of his extraordinary generosity and leadership on behalf of the university.

Lohr grew up in rural South Dakota, the oldest of five children born to Walter and Frances Lohr near Raymond in Clark County. He earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from SDSU in 1958 and his master’s degree in civil engineering from Stanford University in 1959. From 1961 to 1965, he serves as a research scientist and captain in the U.S. Air Force with duty at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field.

Lohr created successful companies in California. J.Lohr Properties developed land and built custom homes, condominiums and town-homes in Santa Clara and Monterrey counties. The J.Lohr Winery was found in 1974 with national product distribution beginning in 1979.

Lohr always maintained his roots in South Dakota and his connection to his alma mater. He joined the Foundation board in 1988 and served as board chair from 1992 to 1994. He was chair of the university’s first comprehensive campaign, Visions for the Future, from 1994 through 1998. He co-chaired SDSU’s second campaign, It Starts with STATE: A Campaign for South Dakota State University, from 2007 through 2012.

His awards from SDSU include Distinguished Alumnus (1983) and Distinguished Engineer (1998). His Foundation involvement was so profound that the organization created the Jerome J. Lohr Award in 1999 to recognize members of the Foundation’s Council of Trustees who demonstrate exemplary volunteer leadership and outstanding philanthropic support.

The Foundation leadership voted to name the building in Lohr’s honor in April 2012 “in recognition of his personal generosity and his work to create the ‘culture of giving,’ that has helped transform South Dakota State University.”

Lorh has three children: Steven, Cynthia and Lawrence. His first wife, Carol, passed away in August 2008. On October 10, 2009, Jerry married Jolene Johnson Barber, a 1959 SDSU graduate.

Words From a True Genealogist

Jane Delger, a friend of mine, has been working for a number of years on an immigration database called OGF “Auswanderer.”  It contains the names of many emigrants from the area of Oldenburg,Germany, among them many who had Ostfriesen relatives or connections.

Her recent comments capture a moment in the life of every genealogist who has become involved with doing online research while also trying to keep abreast of daily household duties:

“This emigration database could turn into a lifetime of work for a dozen people, easily. I usually have five screen open at once, checking German church records, ancestry.com, and findagrave.com, at the least. It is a lot of work, and I can’t do it too much or the laundry starts to pile up, but I do enjoy it when I can put together the pieces.”

Hmmm, I can relate to that feeling!  It’s all too familiar.