The name German Bohemian Heritage Society encompasses a large scope and I am sure it was intended to grow into a much wider readership, because there are many different people involved in the "German Bohemian" group. There are some whose ancestors spoke the dialect of "Böhmerwäldlerisch" which is a Bavarian dialect spoken on both sides of the Böhmerwald. Another group are the "Egerländer" to the North along the Eger river, and their dialect is spoken from Mies going North to Ash and then East to Saaz and also across the border in the Oberpfalz from Marktredwitz, Bayreuth to Hof. It has a different tribal basis than Bavarian, because they are Franks. Along the Erzgebirge as far as Aussig, Saxon is spoken. There is yet another group from the Riesengebirge South, where we find a mixture of Frankish and Silesian. The name German Bohemian History Society includes them all. But so far, we have not traveled much outside the Boehmerwald area and, actually, there is a fort! une of information to be gathered from these more populated areas of our homeland. Let me remind you, that the majority of the German Bohemian people come from well known international cities where the largest population was not agriculturally employed, but where our ancestors were owning businesses that remained for many generations in the same families. Their main income was not farming, but they were making a living in their trade or craft. Many of our people were employed in the huge hospitality industry and hotels of Karlsbad, Marienbad, Franzensbad, Bad Teplitz, Bad Königswart, and many more. These places were in operation since the Middle ages and without reading or writing their communications would have been impossible. Another large German Bohemian population was employed in the porcelain industries from Eger, Falkenau, Elbogen, Karlsbad, Kaaden, Komotau, Dux, Brüx, Teplitz to Aussig, the latter famous for its Schicht Werke where soaps and chemicals were manufactured. There were the munitions factories in Bohemia and Moravia. There! were ore and coal mines and giving employment to many of our people. Then there was the infrastructure: like coal-fired gas production supplying gas to our major cities and geothermal heating from the earliest day when our hot springs were discovered that kept whole cities heated. At the end of the 19th century they even heated our roads from underground pipes to keep them free of ice and snow. There was a well developed musical instrument manufacture at the foot of the Erzgebirge, not just at Graslitz but at Neudeck, for instance, and others, and there were numerous fine Music schools, Business Academies, Polytechnical Institutions, Teachers Colleges and Universities. There were academically trained people as doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, preachers and the specialty training of our products that sold on the international market all over the world. The descendants of these people who immigrated are scattered throughout the US in non-rural areas finding a suitab! le place where they were able to reestablish their crafts. It would be nice to gather them into this GBHS group also. We may not forget the glass manufacture, ore, uranium and kaolin mining, the latter so rare that the finest porcelain was manufactured in our homeland for all Royal houses of Europe, and lets not forget the glass industry of the Riesengebirge around Reichenberg delivering their products to the whole world. There were the huge textile mills from Asch to Moravia. All this was in the possession of our people not only from the Boehmerwald, but also the Egerland and Riesengebirge encompassing our German lands in Bohemia and Moravia in what was collectively called the Sudetenland. It was a coveted very rich golden apple and ripe for picking! I am sure that the membership would grow in spades if descendants of these people were considered by finding a representation of their interest in the German Bohemian Heritage Society issues and they , in turn, can offer a wealth of pictures, records and information with an entirely different slant.... and making the picture complete! The majority of these people do not feel spoken to in this mostly agricultural group and you could significantly widen your membership by considering the majority of our German Bohemians. Aida Kraus