Any of those dates work for me. I'll confess right now that I haven't had any luck in finding a speaker, so we should have a discussion about what the agenda will be. Eileen ________________________________ From: Timothy Ottinger <[email protected]> Sent: March 14, 2018 1:38 PM To: Donauschwaben Villages Helping Hands (DVHH) Subject: [DVHH] Re: Our May or June Get-Together Hi Anne, My husband and I are looking forward to coming again. June 2nd would be the best time for us. Judy On Wednesday, March 14, 2018 12:07 PM, anna dreer <[email protected]> wrote: Hello to all who attended last November’s meeting in Guelph and to those who wish to come to our meeting this spring. The meeting room we had in Guelph is available on the following Saturdays: May 26th, June 2nd and June 16th. Please let me know which dates you would like. Then I can confirm the booking. Anne Dreer

Sure it could. After Easter when I get my computer back. Hans > On Mar 14, 2018, at 8:10 PM, Darlene Dimitrie <[email protected]> wrote: > > Is this something that could be added to the http://www.dvhh.org website? > Darlene > > anna dreer wrote: >> Renate, >> I have no trouble translating it. The length of the article would be too >> long. It would have to be an attachment. The DVHH site does not take >> attachments. >> Anne >> >> -----Original Message----- From: Renate Thomas >> Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2018 6:14 PM >> To: Donauschwaben Villages Helping Hands (DVHH) >> Subject: [DVHH] Re: Time to whitewash the walls >> >> You can translate a piece at a time on google translate! So easy and fast. >> >> -----Original Message----- From: anna dreer >> Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2018 3:00 PM >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: [DVHH] Time to whitewash the walls >> >> Hello Darlene, >> In the Lowas book there is a step by step description of how the DS houses >> were built : ‘gestampft’. I could translate it, but it is nearly two pages >> long. Even with editing and shortening it it would still be more than a >> printed page. It would be a shame to have such information lost! >> What would you suggest? >> Anne Dreer >

Greetings List subscribers, There has been an ongoing discussion lately regarding the layout and construction methods for houses that were typical among the Donauschwaben.  I am in the process of translating a book about my father's village of Kischker called "Unvergessenes Kischker" (Unforgotten Kischker).  This book by Johann Lorenz has quite a bit of detail about house construction.  It is my understanding that when the Donauschwaben first settled in the Balkans, they usually built large, long "Kolonistenhäuser" (colonist houses).  These were simple houses that were 66 feet long, 18 feet wide and 8 feet high.  They had one main room, a kitchen, a pantry and a stable.  The walls were made of wood siding which was then covered with plaster.  The roof was thatched with reeds and the floors were simply stamped earth.  The original settlers were not happy with these primitive homes and had made a request to the monarchy for wooden floors, which was denied.The next generation of houses would be what Donauschwaben alive today would remember from their earlier years.  The following two excerpts are translated from the book:  The first homes were built with compacted earthen floors and roofs thatched with reeds.  In later years, the preferred construction method made use of clay bricks that were dried in the sun.  The most recently built houses had walls that were built with bricks that were kiln-fired, coated with plaster and then white-washed with lime.  Some houses were finished with coloured cement-based plaster.  A typical residential property consisted of a number of structures.  Since the lots were much deeper than wide, the houses were relatively narrow, but extended quite far back from the street.  Under one roof were the living rooms, kitchen, pantry, tool shed and livestock stalls.  Opposite the house stood the summer kitchen.  It was separate from the main house because of the high summer heat.  In earlier years, a large baking oven was built into the structure, so this kitchen was often called the “Backstube” (bakery).  Every yard had a pig stall that stood separate from the other buildings.  The gardens were located behind the enclosed yard.  Summer life centred around these cozy yards with their covered terraces, which ran along the entire length of the main house.  Even the poorer farmers had terraces, which were often adorned with many flowers.  The houses were 7 to 10 metres wide and the rooms were very spacious.  A living room or kitchen was often 16 to 22 square metres in area.  Ceiling heights were never less than 3 metres The first large brick furnace was built in 1892.  Prior to this date, all building bricks were manufactured in field ovens.  The process of producing such bricks was as follows:  Hammered rocks were laid on edge and piled in layers, 5 to 8 cm apart, to a height of 4 metres. The rows of rocks in each layer ran perpendicular to the previous layer.  A wall made of thinner rocks was built around this pile and the gaps between the rocks were sealed with clay.  Then 8 to 10 “fire holes” where opened in the wall, spaced approximately 2 metres apart.  Straw was inserted through the holes and then set ablaze.  Bricks made in this fashion were used to build the church, the community hall and the schools. Regards, Roy Engel

Hello Hans, I checked out your website where they stampft the Haus. You have some very nice clear pictures. Were they large like that or did you have them enlarged by a professional photographer? The article I have only has one picture. It is step by step and quite detailed, from digging a meter wide trench for the footing, to how they cut out the windows. Anne -----Original Message----- From: Hans Kopp via DONAUSCHWABEN-VILLAGES Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2018 7:54 PM To: Donauschwaben Villages Helping Hands (DVHH) Cc: Hans Kopp Subject: [DVHH] Re: Time to whitewash the walls I did already write an article on that topic in English Hans > On Mar 13, 2018, at 3:00 PM, anna dreer <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hello Darlene, > In the Lowas book there is a step by step description of how the DS > houses were built : ‘gestampft’. I could translate it, but it is nearly > two pages long. Even with editing and shortening it it would still be more > than a printed page. It would be a shame to have such information lost! > What would you suggest? > Anne Dreer >

https://hungaricana.hu/en/ http://thehungaryexchange.blogspot.ca/ https://www.hungaryexchange.com/ While on the hunt for an article on Barcs, Somogy County, I came across these sites. I browsed quickly through some of the Hungary Exchange. There is an amazing amount of digitized material on these sites. They seem well organized and easy to search. If I could read Hungarian fluently, I'd be in genealogy-heaven, but, there are a lot of hand-written records, which I do have a fair shot of reading and understanding. -- Darlene http://www.dvhh.org/membership/associates.htm#D

Is this something that could be added to the http://www.dvhh.org website? Darlene anna dreer wrote: > Renate, > I have no trouble translating it. The length of the article would be too > long. It would have to be an attachment. The DVHH site does not take > attachments. > Anne > > -----Original Message----- From: Renate Thomas > Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2018 6:14 PM > To: Donauschwaben Villages Helping Hands (DVHH) > Subject: [DVHH] Re: Time to whitewash the walls > > You can translate a piece at a time on google translate! So easy and fast. > > -----Original Message----- From: anna dreer > Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2018 3:00 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [DVHH] Time to whitewash the walls > > Hello Darlene, > In the Lowas book there is a step by step description of how the DS houses > were built : ‘gestampft’. I could translate it, but it is nearly two pages > long. Even with editing and shortening it it would still be more than a > printed page. It would be a shame to have such information lost! > What would you suggest? > Anne Dreer >

I am very interested. Most Saturdays and some Sundays in April look good for me. Dan Sedley > On Mar 14, 2018, at 7:25 PM, [email protected] wrote: > > Did not work out last year, but I am interested. I am out of town April 7 to April 15, 2018. > My mother, sister, my aunt and I escaped from Gakowa into Hungary in spring of 1947. My grandmother died of “typhus” and was buried in a mass grave in Gakowa. > Would be interesting to hear what your cousin heard or has to say. > > > Tony Selinger > [email protected] > > Sent from my iPad > >> On Mar 14, 2018, at 5:38 PM, Ray Schwartz <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> >> >> I'm interested >> >> >> Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S® 5 mini, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone >> >> -------- Original message -------- >> From: Noelle Giesse <[email protected]> >> Date: 3/14/2018 5:35 PM (GMT-05:00) >> To: "Donauschwaben Villages Helping Hands (DVHH)" <[email protected]> >> Cc: Raymond Reu <[email protected]> >> Subject: [DVHH] Re: Gathering in New York - April? >> >> I would be. Unfortunately it didn't work out for us last time. >> >> Noelle >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >>> On Mar 14, 2018, at 4:36 PM, Raymond Reu via DONAUSCHWABEN-VILLAGES <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> Hi all. >>> Wanted to see if there is any interest in a DS gathering in New York City in April. >>> I can probably leverage the fact that my birthday is in April and get my Wife and daughter to go. Also maybe a Gakowa descendant, a cousin, who lives on Long Island. >>> Was thinking about the same German restaurant from last time or Heidelbergs uptown which I am partial to. >>> Let me know if you are interested. >>> Ray >>> [email protected] >>> >> >> >

I did already write an article on that topic in English Hans > On Mar 13, 2018, at 3:00 PM, anna dreer <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hello Darlene, > In the Lowas book there is a step by step description of how the DS houses were built : ‘gestampft’. I could translate it, but it is nearly two pages long. Even with editing and shortening it it would still be more than a printed page. It would be a shame to have such information lost! > What would you suggest? > Anne Dreer >

Folks, it is crucial to mention time and place. The houses of the Banat villages around 1950 when I lived there, bore little resemblance to the houses of the early settlers in the 1700s. To start with the roof: virtually all roofs in the village were of thin red burned bricks. They lasted almost forever, but did not provide much thermal insulation: It was very hot in the attic during the summer. I remember very vaguely a house with a roof of cane, it was a kind of rare specimen. Some walls were still stomped ("gestampft"), made of a thick layer of earth mixed with chaff, which did provide superior thermal insulation, but in time the humidity from the soil tended to penetrate the foundation and move upwards. Also, the mice would dig channels through them. All the gables that I have seen were made of heavy burned brick. The basic ones were triangular, but the more expensive ones had more elaborate shapes with decorations, the so-called village baroque style. The bottom part of the gables had typically two large windows. The top part had two small, uncovered openings, and an inscription of the names of the owners (usually husband and wife) and the year of construction. Larger, more expensive houses had replaced the mud walls by bricks and added a basement used to store the wine barrels and some food items. The interior walls were plastered (with clay or cement?) and then painted. The painting consisted of a grounding in light colour, followed by stencilled patterns in one or more darker colours. There was an earlier discussion of this process on the DVHH list. The ceilings were white. The floors were mostly wooden, but some were very hard clay that felt like cement. The entire floor or only the walk-on sections were covered with rugs, often home-made from strips of textile material ("Fetzeteppiche"). Either the front or the side of the house formed the border to the street. They were no longer whitewashed, but painted in two colours: a darker "socket" about one meter high, and a lighter-colour upper part. The row(s) of trees in front of the houses were whitewashed. A fence or wall stretched along the rest of the lot, interrupted by a narrow gate for the entry of persons, and a wide gate for vehicle (mainly horse-drawn carriages). Adjacent to house and fence was a sidewalk paved with burned bricks. I know that it was not identical in all villages, but it was pretty much similar in the villages of the Banater lowlands ("die Heed"). Nick Tullius -----Original Message----- From: Glenn Schwartz [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: March 13, 2018 5:57 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [DVHH] Re: whitewashed walls and dung floors Two things: walls and floors. I do not have the benefit of having lived in Banat, so I am speaking just from hearsay. If I am full of baloney, I hope someone will set me straight. With respect to whitewashing walls, I believe it was for more than just esthetics. My understanding is that the walls were made of mud and straw bricks which were then plastered over with mud to make a smoother surface. Then they were whitewashed for appearance and _protection_. The whitewash protected the mud coating from wicking up water. Not sure if this was continuous from the water table or just from the surface when it rained. If you go to Banat today, you will find that most of these old houses are not well cared for and the plaster for the bottom three feet or so has fallen away. With respect to dirt floors, I have an account of Banaters building a sod house in Canada in which they somehow used cow dung to give the floor a smooth and polished finish. I am not sure if it was mixed with mud or just smeared on the dirt floor. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Glenn Schwartz President, Zichydorf Village Association (http://zichydorfonline.org) Searching: Schwartz, Kleckner, Schönherr in Zichydorf, Banat; Schüssler, Millecker, Lenhardt in Kudritz, Banat; Schwartz, Kory, Pierson/Person in Morawitza, Banat; Kalupsky/Chalupsky in Blumenthal, Banat; Bardua, Kandel, Heuchert in Kolomea, Galicia; Kuntz, Holzer, Kraft, Wolfe, Folk (Volk) in Kutschurgan, Russia; Macht in Volga, Russia. Email: [email protected] On 3/13/2018 2:58 PM, Rose Mary Keller Hughes wrote: > My mother told me about how it was her weekly chore to "do" the floors in her parents' home. They were dirt floor but with the weekly cleaning it had become almost like a ceramic floor. She would wash the floor and then, with a broom, she would create a design on the floor. It wasn't until my grandparents sent money home from America that a wood floor was put in (it was my grandmother's brother who put in the floor--he had a lumberyard in the village). My grandparents' primary reason for going to America was to improve their home and to buy more land for farming. > > Rose Mary > > -----Original Message----- > From: Nick Tullius <[email protected]> > Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2018 3:46 PM > To: 'Donauschwaben Villages Helping Hands (DVHH) ' <[email protected]> > Subject: [DVHH] Re: Spring - Time to whitewash the walls > > Hello Daniela, > > How to keep a Banat-Swabian home clean - before and after the War: > > http://www.dvhh.org/alexanderhausen/memories/cleanliness-eng-de~NT.htm > > Nick > > -----Original Message----- > From: Daniela Hieslmayr [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: March 13, 2018 2:54 PM > To: Darlene Dimitrie; [email protected] > Subject: [DVHH] Re: Spring - Time to whitewash the walls > > I don’t know much about how the house of my grandmother was build. > > 1,5 year ago I visited her home town Sotin. I stood before the house, she lived in. It was very nice, renovated and people lived in there. It has been the house of her Danube Svabian grandmother. My grandmother, her siblings and parents had a room in this house, where they lived. They had floors of mashed earth she told me (so maybe loam). > > It was the typical type of house, small front, way far long back and on the side a long corridor under roof with columns. She always says, that there was a „Vorzeigezimmer“. She says, it was the room with the window to the street. It was the prettiest room, but they never sat in it. Only in rare cases, when special visitors came or on holidays. > > Liebe Grüße, Daniela > > Am 13.03.18, 16:35 schrieb "Darlene Dimitrie" unter > <[email protected]>: > >> I was visiting a cousin the other day and we were talking about what >> life was like in Yugoslavia. >> >> We were talking about how the walls were constructed in their homes. >> She was telling me about when my grandparents built their own home in >> 1937-38, how my grandmother, who was very pregnant with her 7th child, >> would take the horse and wagon to somewhere in town where men would >> load the yellow dirt (loam, I believe) onto her wagon and she would >> bring it back to the house. They would roll wood and straw into the >> dirt for the walls to strengthen them. >> >> Nothing stopped my grandma, she still had a vegetable garden when she >> was 90 years old, and passed away the next year. I have a vivid >> picture >> in my head of her, heavily pregnant, dealing with the horses, wagon >> and the dirt. >> >> Every spring, the walls were whitewashed inside and outside to give >> their homes a fresh look for the spring. Does anyone remember what >> else went on in the springtime - besides the obvious, planting of the crops. >> >> Was wondering if anyone would talk a bit more about the construction of >> their homes. My mom's house had loam floors, which they would sweep >> every day. You were considered rich if you had wood floors Was the >> roof mud too? What about interior walls? She said that the walls were >> thick enough that it kept the temperature regulated, not too hot in the >> summer or too cold in the winter. >> >> Across the front of the house, the porch was covered with grapevines, >> which were for eating, as opposed to the ones in their vineyards, which >> were for wine-making. >> >> >> -- >> Darlene >> http://www.dvhh.org/membership/associates.htm#D >> > > > > > --- > This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. > https://www.avast.com/antivirus >

Did not work out last year, but I am interested. I am out of town April 7 to April 15, 2018. My mother, sister, my aunt and I escaped from Gakowa into Hungary in spring of 1947. My grandmother died of “typhus” and was buried in a mass grave in Gakowa. Would be interesting to hear what your cousin heard or has to say. Tony Selinger [email protected] Sent from my iPad > On Mar 14, 2018, at 5:38 PM, Ray Schwartz <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > I'm interested > > > Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S® 5 mini, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone > > -------- Original message -------- > From: Noelle Giesse <[email protected]> > Date: 3/14/2018 5:35 PM (GMT-05:00) > To: "Donauschwaben Villages Helping Hands (DVHH)" <[email protected]> > Cc: Raymond Reu <[email protected]> > Subject: [DVHH] Re: Gathering in New York - April? > > I would be. Unfortunately it didn't work out for us last time. > > Noelle > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Mar 14, 2018, at 4:36 PM, Raymond Reu via DONAUSCHWABEN-VILLAGES <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Hi all. >> Wanted to see if there is any interest in a DS gathering in New York City in April. >> I can probably leverage the fact that my birthday is in April and get my Wife and daughter to go. Also maybe a Gakowa descendant, a cousin, who lives on Long Island. >> Was thinking about the same German restaurant from last time or Heidelbergs uptown which I am partial to. >> Let me know if you are interested. >> Ray >> [email protected] >> > >

Im interested. Cell is 518-248-5522. - Brad Sent from my iPhone > On Mar 14, 2018, at 6:17 PM, Kathy Meany <[email protected]> wrote: > > I'm interested, and love Heidelberg's. > > Kathy Zollner Meany > > *Kathy Meany, CPTM* > Phoenix Learning Solutions, LLC > Tel: 914-762-2041 > Mobile: 904-614-0622 > www.phoenixlearningsolutions.com > > Visionary Solutions for Your Learning and Development Needs > > On Wed, Mar 14, 2018 at 4:36 PM, Raymond Reu via DONAUSCHWABEN-VILLAGES < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi all. >> Wanted to see if there is any interest in a DS gathering in New York City >> in April. >> I can probably leverage the fact that my birthday is in April and get my >> Wife and daughter to go. Also maybe a Gakowa descendant, a cousin, who >> lives on Long Island. >> Was thinking about the same German restaurant from last time or >> Heidelbergs uptown which I am partial to. >> Let me know if you are interested. >> Ray >> [email protected] >> >> >

I'm interested, and love Heidelberg's. Kathy Zollner Meany *Kathy Meany, CPTM* Phoenix Learning Solutions, LLC Tel: 914-762-2041 Mobile: 904-614-0622 www.phoenixlearningsolutions.com Visionary Solutions for Your Learning and Development Needs On Wed, Mar 14, 2018 at 4:36 PM, Raymond Reu via DONAUSCHWABEN-VILLAGES < [email protected]> wrote: > Hi all. > Wanted to see if there is any interest in a DS gathering in New York City > in April. > I can probably leverage the fact that my birthday is in April and get my > Wife and daughter to go. Also maybe a Gakowa descendant, a cousin, who > lives on Long Island. > Was thinking about the same German restaurant from last time or > Heidelbergs uptown which I am partial to. > Let me know if you are interested. > Ray > [email protected] > >

I might be able to come, and maybe even bring my father, depending on the date and such. -Linda On Mar 14, 2018, at 4:36 PM, Raymond Reu via DONAUSCHWABEN-VILLAGES <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi all. > Wanted to see if there is any interest in a DS gathering in New York City in April. > I can probably leverage the fact that my birthday is in April and get my Wife and daughter to go. Also maybe a Gakowa descendant, a cousin, who lives on Long Island. > Was thinking about the same German restaurant from last time or Heidelbergs uptown which I am partial to. > Let me know if you are interested. > Ray > [email protected] >

I can probably be there if it’s on a Saturday. I’ve never been to Heidelberg’s, would be nice to try a different place. Dan Larson From: Raymond Reu via DONAUSCHWABEN-VILLAGES Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2018 5:12 PM To: [email protected] Cc: Raymond Reu Subject: [DVHH] Gathering in New York - April? Hi all. Wanted to see if there is any interest in a DS gathering in New York City in April. I can probably leverage the fact that my birthday is in April and get my Wife and daughter to go. Also maybe a Gakowa descendant, a cousin, who lives on Long Island. Was thinking about the same German restaurant from last time or Heidelbergs uptown which I am partial to. Let me know if you are interested. Ray [email protected]

I am interested in attending again in April. - Brad Schwebler Sent from my iPhone > On Mar 14, 2018, at 4:36 PM, Raymond Reu via DONAUSCHWABEN-VILLAGES <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi all. > Wanted to see if there is any interest in a DS gathering in New York City in April. > I can probably leverage the fact that my birthday is in April and get my Wife and daughter to go. Also maybe a Gakowa descendant, a cousin, who lives on Long Island. > Was thinking about the same German restaurant from last time or Heidelbergs uptown which I am partial to. > Let me know if you are interested. > Ray > [email protected] >

I'm interested  Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S® 5 mini, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: Noelle Giesse <[email protected]> Date: 3/14/2018 5:35 PM (GMT-05:00) To: "Donauschwaben Villages Helping Hands (DVHH)" <[email protected]> Cc: Raymond Reu <[email protected]> Subject: [DVHH] Re: Gathering in New York - April? I would be.  Unfortunately it didn't work out for us last time.  Noelle Sent from my iPhone > On Mar 14, 2018, at 4:36 PM, Raymond Reu via DONAUSCHWABEN-VILLAGES <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi all. > Wanted to see if there is any interest in a DS gathering in New York City in April. > I can probably leverage the fact that my birthday is in April and get my Wife and daughter to go.  Also maybe a Gakowa descendant, a cousin, who lives on Long Island. > Was thinking about the same German restaurant from last time or Heidelbergs uptown which I am partial to. > Let me know if you are interested. > Ray > [email protected] >

I would be. Unfortunately it didn't work out for us last time. Noelle Sent from my iPhone > On Mar 14, 2018, at 4:36 PM, Raymond Reu via DONAUSCHWABEN-VILLAGES <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi all. > Wanted to see if there is any interest in a DS gathering in New York City in April. > I can probably leverage the fact that my birthday is in April and get my Wife and daughter to go. Also maybe a Gakowa descendant, a cousin, who lives on Long Island. > Was thinking about the same German restaurant from last time or Heidelbergs uptown which I am partial to. > Let me know if you are interested. > Ray > [email protected] >

Hi all. Wanted to see if there is any interest in a DS gathering in New York City in April. I can probably leverage the fact that my birthday is in April and get my Wife and daughter to go. Also maybe a Gakowa descendant, a cousin, who lives on Long Island. Was thinking about the same German restaurant from last time or Heidelbergs uptown which I am partial to. Let me know if you are interested. Ray [email protected]

Hi Anne, My husband and I are looking forward to coming again.  June 2nd would be the best time for us. Judy On Wednesday, March 14, 2018 12:07 PM, anna dreer <[email protected]> wrote: Hello to all who attended last November’s meeting in Guelph and to those who wish  to come to our meeting this spring. The meeting room we had in Guelph is available on the following  Saturdays:  May 26th, June 2nd and June 16th. Please let me know which dates you would like. Then I can confirm the booking. Anne Dreer

Hello Ronald, Most houses had a Gassatirl, (Gassentürl) a front entrance door from the street side to the Gang/open porch. My grandparents in Lowas made a another bedroom by enclosing the front part of the porch. The front door was made into window. Our house was a corner house fronting on two streets. Where the 'Paradistub' was at one end of the porch we had a Glasgang. It was a glass enclosure about the size of a room. Anne -----Original Message----- From: Ronald Zellner Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2018 12:05 PM To: Donauschwaben Villages Helping Hands (DVHH) Subject: [DVHH] Re: Time to whitewash the walls I was able to locate my grandparents’ house in Gluckovitz (now Vladimirescu). They came to America in 1911 and the house remained in the family until the 1960s. The layout was similar with an exposed walkway from the kitchen/eating area to the two bedrooms, there was a half wall along the outside. However, at some point the walkway was completely closed in making it part of the house and enclosing the entrances to the bedrooms. >