Stollen

 

Dating from the 12th century, and symbolizing the Holy Child wrapped in cloth, this traditional German Christmas cake is made from a rich yeast dough with dried fruits.

The recipe that I found for stollen has the dough wrapped around marzipan. I wonder if anyone reading this blog might have a recipe without the marzipan. I'd love to have you share a recipe for stollen if you have a good one.

Traditional Christmas Tree Ornaments

 

During the cold winter months in Germany, glassblowers often kept birds in cages to offer them shelter and to enjoy their melodies. These birds gave craftsmen companionship and inspiration for creating new ornament moulds. Birds are symbols for joy and happiness. They are said to be messengers from God and the embodiment of souls.

 

Long ago in Germany, the famous pickle legend came to be a fun game for the entire family. No one knows who, what, or why, but it's a Christmas tradition to be enjoyed even by the most shy. Hidden in the branches of every Christmas tree, children of all ages hunt for the pickle in green. The younger the child the bigger the pickle is. As we grow, the pickle size gets smaller and presents big challenges. Hunt for the pickle; search for it, but your hands must be behind. Do not touch the tree, or you'll lose the prize in mind. If you find that hidden gurken, you are the lucky one, as there is a special present waiting for you.

German Christmas Party

 

 

 

 

The Intermountain Chapter AHSGR had a fabulous Christmas party! We enjoyed a meal of German foods and deserts while we visited with each other and shared Christmas traditions and memories. (Hopefully I can share some of those with you in posts that will follow.) The decorations and holiday spirit was wonderful as well. We had a game exchanging tree ornaments which was lots of fun. We closed our December party singing beautiful Christmas carols in German. It was a memorable event that left me feeling grateful for my heritage, friends, and family.

Christmas Party

Our Intermountain Chapter Christmas party will be held on December 11 at the home of Carol Harless and Shawnette Malan, 10001 Hook Drive, South Jordan. We will meet at 12:00 noon. Everyone should bring a Christmas ornament to exchange. German food will be served. There will be German brats, two sides, and a dessert. Cost for dinner is $10.00. Please RSVP with Dee by December 4th.

Future Chapter Member

 

Zachary White, grandson of Intermountain Chapter member Sharon White, is in his German lederhosen costume ready for next year's Oktoberfest.

Try These Out

Here are a couple of sites that might be helpful in your research:

https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Portal:Russia (It has a German link which lists resources at the LDS library.)

http://feefhs.org (An umbrella organization that has some good links. It provides a forum focused on a single country or group of people to exchange information.)

And, did you know that AHSGR is on Facebook? Check it out. Who knows, maybe you can connect with someone there that might help you in your research.

Thanksgiving Greetings

I want to take this chance to tell all of my genealogy friends just how thankful I am for you! It is such a blessing to have others of the same heart and mind to help and encourage me in the research that is so important to me. I am thankful for the heritage my ancestors gave me and hope to repay them by finding them and their story.

I found this quote and thought you might enjoy it as much as I do:
"In all of us there is a huger, bone-marrow deep, to know our heritage- to know who we are and where we have come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning. No matter what our attainments in life, there is still a vacuum, an emptiness, and the most disquieting loneliness."
Alex Haley
Author of Roots

November Meeting

The next meeting for the Intermountain Chapter AHSGR will be held Saturday, November 20, at the home of Shawnette Malan and Carol Harless, 10001 Hook Drive, South Jordan. This planning meeting will start at 1:00 P.M.

Pat and Shirley Ansley will provide the raffle drawing basket.

Food assignment: everyone is to bring appetizers. We will eat the appetizers during the meeting to try to not have it last so long.

Bring the surnames of your ancestors and the villages they came from.

Hope to see you there!

From Generation to Generation

 

 

I really wish that the top picture came out clearer so you could make a better comparison, but I was amazed when I saw them together. The smaller picture is my grandmother, and the larger is my daughter. I don't know all the factors that determine what is passed on genetically, but the genes were strong in this case. At nearly the same age, the resemblance is incredible. Since this is my grandmother's birthday month, I thought I'd share this personal connection. Maybe you have had the same experience. If not, pull out those old pictures. You might be surprised!

Wonders of the Web

 

It's sad but true that families are not always connected. I loved the idea of having a big brother, but had no real memories of him. When I was in high school I had been told he might serving in Vietnam, but that was about it. My first real encounter with him came shortly after this. He came for a short visit and bought each of us older girls a record album. I thought he was all that. This is my one and only interaction with him. He went back to his life in the northwest, and I went on with mine. Years later he died, and I have always felt sad that we had no real history together. In fact, I didn't even have a picture of him. Then one day while fiddling on the internet, my younger brother came across a high school web page that had this picture of him. Wow! Imagine how thrilled I was to finally have a picture. He had already changed a lot from this picture when I was in high school, being much stouter and very tough looking. But, I treasure this gift from the web that allows me to finally have his picture. Keep looking for whatever it is... maybe you'll find it too.

Intermountain Chapter Attends Oktoberfest

 

 

 

 

Saturday, September 25,the Intermountain Chapter of AHSGR attended the Oktoberfest held at Snowbird. We had a terrific time listening to polka music and eating German food. The highlight of the day for us was riding the tram to the top of Hidden Peak to hear the Alphorns echo through the peaks. Some of us took the opportunity to hike and ride the Peruvian Chair lift as well. We had a wonderful time celebrating together as a chapter and appreciating our German heritage. The weather was perfect, and we all went home with great memories.

Members of the Intermountain Chapter of AHSGR are invited to Suzanne H. Dodge's house on Sept 18, at 1:00 to silk-screen print your tee shirt(s). All you will need to bring is a white tee shirt (or shirts), and we will silk-screen print them with the AHSGR logo, to wear to the Oktober Fest on the 25th. If you are unable to come on the 18th, you may mail your shirt(s) to her. They will be done for you, and be at the Sept 25th meeting, where you can get them.

Her mailing address:
Suzanne H. Dodge
3029 Constitution Dr.
West Valley City, UT 84119-3009

Put This on Your Calendar

Mark your calendar for the next chapter meeting. It will be September 25th.

Bill Dellos, 2011 SLC convention chairman, got some updates from Patti Sellenrick that he wants to share with everyone. We will have a convention meeting at 12:00 noon. Instead of having a regular chapter meeting, we are planning to go to the Oktoberfest at Snowbird. We will check out the vendors and eat German food there. We will leave after the convention meeting at 1:00 P. M. and carpool or caravan there. The entry to the Oktoberfest is free, but the tram cost is $12. The Alpenhorn players will be performing in the afternoon and you need to take the tram to hear them.

The meeting will be at the home of Sharon White, 3285 E. Ruskin Court, Sandy.

Report for August

 

 

The August meeting for the Intermountain Chapter of AHSGR was well attended. We would love to have even more, so please come. As you can see, we always have a great spread of food! We are busy and gearing up for the 2011 AHSGR Convention to be held in Salt Lake City. We had a report from those who just attended this year's convention in Lincoln, Nebraska. The theme for 2011 is 'Footsteps From the Past To the Future', and will be held July 31st to August 7th. We will be having lots of fun for our meeting next month, so be sure and watch for information on what is coming up.

August Meeting

The next Intermountain Chapter AHSGR meeting will be August 21st at the home of Shawnette Malan and Carol Harless, 10001 Hook Drive, South Jordan. The board will meet at 12:00 noon, and the general meeting will start at 1:00 P.M.

Food assignments:
Salad: S-Z
Entree: A-Ha
Dessert: He-R

We will have the "Favorite Intermountain Chapter Recipes" that Shawnette Malan typed and printed that we sold in Lincoln. They are $7.00 each. Sharon can also mail these. (Postage and mailer will cost extra.) Come ready to buy some--we need to make more for the 2011 SLC convention.