Reunions

There will be a meeting of the DEATSCH cousins for dinner on 5 July 2009. I had hoped to attend, but was not able to make the necessary arrangements. Had attended the ones held in July 2000, and July 2005. Nice to see everyone at a pleasant occasion, instead of at a funeral. And this will be the first one, where we, the cousins are the older generation. There are 30 of us left, ranging in age from 77 to 53. I am #21 of the original 36. Enjoy!

MY GREATGRANDPARENTS

John and his wife Catherine "Rummelhart",

second generation in America.
Their graves lie near his parents at the crest of the hill,

in St. Vincent's, west of Riverside, IA.

MY GRANDPARENTS

St. Vincent's Cemetery, west of Riverside, IA. My Grandparents, the third generation of Deatsch's to buried here. Their plot lies to the southwest corner of this lovely cemetery. There were 9 spaces originally. Their sons arranged for their spaces at time of Josephine's death in 1954. They secured 3 spaces, as Uncle Melo was not married at that time. He married late in life and lies beside his wife at Elm Grove, Washington, IA. Bernard and Sim each have 3 spaces.

MY PARENTS

My parents' stone at St. Vincent's Cemetery, west of Riverside, IA.

Memorial Day

This tall weathered stone stands at St. Vincent's Cemetery, west of Riverside, IA. It marks the graves of Sebastian John Deatsch and his wife Mary. My Great,great,great Grandparents. The first Deatschs to come to America. Nearby are the graves of their son, John Deatsch & his wife Catherine Rummelhart. Further to the west, are the graves of their grandson, George and his wife Josephine Birrer, my Grandparents. And immediately to the north of George's grave are those of two of their sons and the sons' wives. Sim & Alice and Bernard and Mary. The wives were sisters (Thompsons). Bernard and Mary are my parents. St. Vincent's is a lovely cemetery, well cared for, and peaceful. It lies amidst the cornfields and has several large trees. Rest in Peace.

My MOTHER'S Birthday

This date 1913, Mary Coletta Thompson was born. She and her twin brother, Wheelar were quite a surprise to their parents. Winifred Quinn Thompson had not seen a doctor until he was called to come and assist with the home birth. Winnie always laughed and said "Your first child takes all your time, so two can't take anymore!" Raised on small farms in Washington County, IA, Mary eventually graduated from Riverside Public High School. She attended the summer program for teachers at Cedar Falls, IA. She often spoke of how terribly homesick she was on this first time away from her home. She taught in local area rural schools for several years. The Quinns were of the Catholic faith and Winnie was married in the church and the twins were baptised, but circumstances intervened and they were not active participants. After she was grown, Mary took instructions and became an active Catholic. On January 2, 1936 she married Bernard Joseph Deatsch at St. Mary's in Riverside. They went to live at the Vernon Burr farm near Lone Tree, Ia, where Bernard was employed. The winter of 1936 was one of the worse weather seasons in Iowa history, followed by one of the hottest summers! Mary was an excellent cook and seamstress. In the 1950s, Mary survived a serious heart attack. In the 1960s and 70s, she would be diagnosed with maturity onset diabetes. In the mid 1970s, she suffered a stroke, which left her incapacitated, and at the same time she was loosing her vision to complications of the diabetes. Bernard took early retirement from his job at AMANA to care for her in their home in Parnell, IA. She died in September 1977 and is buried at St. Vincent's Cemetery, just west of Riverside.

Legacy

Many Deatschs have been gardeners. And in gardens all over Iowa and around the US grows a yellow bean called "Mollie beans". The seeds are dried and saved from year to year and handed down to other family members. Amelia and her parents were gardeners. They sold their excess produce. And from their garden came the beans we continue to raise to this day. Aunt Connie and Catherine Simon both shared Mollie beans with me. And my husband has planted them in his gardens and flower beds. When I attended the Mellecker reunions with my Father, there were dishes of cooked Mollie beans on the dinner table and there were sacks of them available for anyone to take home for later meals or to dry and use as seeds. Wouldn't the Brockmans be pleased to know that so many years after thir deaths this legacy would remain. Great Aunt Mollie is buried at St. Stanislaus Cemetery, (near Hills, IA) with her parents. Her sister Christina, was Josephine Birrer Deatsch's Mother.

Attic Files

From the ATTIC FILES
THE RIVERSIDE LEADER
Thursday, January 5, 1939

Bob and Connie Deatsch, Riverside's cowboy singers, will go to Des Moines on Saturday to make one of their appearances in the WHO Barn Dance Frolic broadcast.

Bill Deatsch at Tahoe

Several years ago, I was at a conference held at Incline Village on the shores of Lake Tahoe. I called Bill and he graciously agreed to drive over and eat dinner with me. He ask for my room number & I told him I would meet him in the lobby. He ask "How we would know each other? " I told him everyone says I look like my Mother, and he replied that he was told he looked like his Dad. When we met inside the front door, he wife laughed and told us-"They are right, you both do!" A nice evening, to add to the many very good memories of time spent with Aunt Martha & Uncle Shorty.

John Deatsch

8 March 2007

Nice article about John retiring after 28 years with Bloomfied Mutual Insurance in Spring Valley, MN. He's younger than I, also! Guess I need to quit! (working-eating)!!

Music

Music, music, music-- We love it all. Josephine played the piano and George played the fiddle. One grandchild's husband refurbished the fiddle and it was passed on to Connie's son, David. My Dad said his memory of the Christmas holiday was waking up to the sounds of Christmas carols played by his mother on their piano. My Mother's cousin, Sam Green tells me of the great musical evenings he spent in my Grandparents' home. We are a loud and boisterous group, whether we are talking, laughing, or singing! Connie and Robert, the two youngest would sing on the Radio at WHO Des Moines. For a time they traveled around the state with a group of musicians, under the WHO banner. We have a picture of them with their guitars and costumes. We contacted the station in the 1990, to see if they would have any tapes of that era, sadly they did not.

WHISPERING HOPE sung at the funerals and reunions.

Music makes us smile, music makes us cry.

David Krotz

THE HIGHLAND REVIEW published 5 March 2009 contained a picture and article about Aunt Connie's son, David. A nice review of his life and accomplishments. He spoke of his "roots" and connections to the Riverside area. It said he had retired...HMMMM... young for that. He is 6 months younger than I. Well! Guess he is old enough to retire. :)

1965

In the Fall of 1965, our family gathered at Riverside, IA for the funeral of George Deatsch (3rd generation). In the years that followed, 2 reunions were held. Circumstances did not allow me to attend.

In July 2000, a full day of activities was planned. George and Josephine had married in 1900 and their descendants met for Mass at St. Mary's in Riverside. We moved to the a/c basement to visit, view pictures, and eat lunch. A visit to the graves at St. Vincent's was made. And in the late afternoon, many of the group moved on to Iowa City and the home of Donna Deatsch, Elmer's widow, to continue eating and visiting. Bernard, Connie & her husband, and Uncle White's widow represented the 4th generation. Many cousins and their children and grandchildren were in attendance from all across the country(California, Ohio, Florida, Wyoming). I flew from Wyoming and attended with my Father, Bernard.

In July 2005, the cousins hosted a gathering at Lone Tree, IA. This day, only Bernard and Connie (4th) remained to join us. A meal and an afernoon of visitng was enjoyed by all. And once again, Dad and I were in attendance.

There is a meal planned for July 5, 2009 in Amana, IA. And we, the cousins (5th generation) have become the older generation. We number 30 (14 men and 16 women). And life goes on...

Lessons

Things I learned from my Father:

Hard work is its own reward
To do every job to the best of my ability
To do my share and a bit more
To do what needs to be done
To offer assistance to others
To give credit where credit is due
Bitterness destroys everyone
Reading is fun
Music is balm for the soul
Forgive and try to forget
Pray often
Laugh and love

Milestone

10 March 1909

My Father, Bernard Joseph Deatsch was born this day. The 4th generation in the United States. He died September 2005. Two of his Grandfathers had lived to be over 100 years old, and we had hoped he would remain in good mind, body and spirit and pass that milestones, but it was not to be. The third son of George & Josephine (Birrer) Deatsch, he grew up on small farms near Riverside (Washington County), Iowa. He attended Catholic schools, the first in his family to complete High School. He was an honest, good, hard working man. He loved the land, farming, tending a garden, trimming a hedge, mowing the lawn. He was married for 41 years, dying 28 years after his wife- on the same day in late September. He raised two daughters. He loved to read and work crossword puzzles. R.I.P.

Names

DEATSCH is a German name. In the mid 1800s, our ancestors came to America from the province Alsace, which lies between Germany and France. Speaking the German language and practicing the Roman Catholic faith. My cousins and I are the 5th generation. There were 41 of us, with 36 surviving to become adults, 20 males and 16 females, born over a 27 year span. Six men have died and currently we range in age from 77 to 53. The majority still live in Iowa, with the rest of us scattered from Florida to California and here and there in between.

Family

Families are fun and sometimes funny! At least mine is! As we learn more about our ancestors and their life and times, we get an insight into what life is really about. And it should make us humble, as we see the difficulties they endured and overcame. We take all our leisure and modern conveniences for granted. Genealogy is an addictive and rewarding past time.