Membership Renewal
ZVA keeps the memory of Zichydorf and its people alive on its web site through your generosity. It also provides information on many associated villages. Please help us keep the site alive by paying our annual membership fee of a paltry $10.
Membership is based on the calendar year. Please check your dues status on the web site. Log in and go to “Your Profile” in the user menu and scroll down to “Dues paid to the end of: ____” If you have not yet paid for 2020, please remit your dues using one of the options described on the Membership page. I will downgrade unrenewed members on the web site in April of each year to give you plenty of grace. From September on, I will credit new members for the following year. If you are not connected to the Internet, send your dues to the address below and I will update you. Thanks for contributing to our common cause.
PayPal
Some of you may have noticed that we had a PayPal outage for a few months this summer. PayPal asked for our business registration number. I replied that we were not a business, did not have a number, and that we were not required to have one because our revenue was far below the threshold that required one. We were more like a book club or garden club. They replied with a canned response saying that we had to provide our business number. I replied with a similar explanation and they responded with a similar canned message. Then they locked our account. We went around in the same circle two or three more times. Finally, I tried phoning. Twice I spoke to people who seemed to understand the problem but were not authorized to fix it. They both said they would forward it to a supervisor who would get back to me. Neither did. Finally, after another email, they messaged me that I would have to withdraw our money, close our old account, and open a new personal account. I finally completed and tested that process a few weeks ago and we are now up and running again.
Faul Family History
Bertram Faul has traced his family to its roots in Zichydorf. His ancestor Adam Faul was born there in 1800. Adam’s father was Georg Faul, born about 1779 (based on his death date and age), but his place of birth is unknown. Georg’s parents were Josef and Barbara. does anyone know where to find this family? If you can help Bertram, please email him at b.faul@gmx.net. Please also send me a copy at gschwartz@myaccess.ca.
What Will Become of Your Family History Research?
In the past few years we have lost a handful or two of members who have passed away. What has become of their years of hard work? In most families only “the” genealogist has the dedication to keep the family history alive. What happens when the surviving family members have no interest? Where does it go? Will it survive? Will anyone ever see it again? If future family members want to know the family history , how will they find it? In several cases I have reached out to the families and offered to act as a repository for their work. In all but one case they have declined my offer. Our web page about our purpose and goals states, in part:
PURPOSE: Gather, share, and preserve information about Zichydorf and the immediately surrounding area and the families whose histories are associated.
GOALS:
3. Create a legacy of information for future generations.
ZVA would be proud to preserve and protect your legacy, whether digital or physical. Please consider this option and contact me to discuss options.
Zichydorf Familienbuch
You may recall that Helmut Kaiser removed his Familienbuchs from the internet due to European privacy concerns. A few days ago I found that the Zichydorf book is again online, at least temporarily, at http://zichydorf.ferienwohnung-otterberg.de/Zichydorf/Familiendaten/SIBU1.HTM
Canadian Museum for Human Rights
I had an opportunity to visit this museum in May of this year. It is quite excellent in many ways although, typically for such a project, there was lots of blank space. One disappointing (but unsurprising) shortfall though was the lack of any mention of the Donauschwaben in Yugoslavia after World War II. During the museum’s planning, I twice emailed one of the planners to raise awareness of this genocide, but I never received a reply. So, I was not surprised at the omission. On one hand, there have been so many genocides in history that maybe they felt they had to draw the line somewhere. On the other hand, were our people any less worthy of a mention than anyone else? I guess, like all human conflicts, the victors write the history and the defeated are forgotten.
Events in the Regina Area
On Wednesday, Nov. 6 Merv Weiss will speak at the Trinity Lutheran Church Hall, 1909 Ottawa St. on the topic “Crimea: A personal Connection” at 7 PM. Merv is very well known as a researcher and speaker in the German-Russian community. One branch of his family has roots in Crimea. Merv has traveled there and to Germany several times and has tracked down several distant cousins from once-lost branches of the family. His talk will be part history, part genealogy, and part travel guide. I have heard Merv speak on a couple of occasions and I am sure this will be an entertaining presentation. No admission, but donations are appreciated.
Some of us long time members have been meeting occasionally for “Mahlzeit” at the Regina German Club, 1727 St. John St. This event is held on the last Wednesday of most months from 5 until 7 PM and features German style food for $18/adult and $12/child. For details on this and other German Club events, including the Christkindl Market, go to http://reginagermanclub.ca/events/ and scroll down.
Henry Fischer
Some of you may have met Henry at the Donauschwaben gatherings in Oregon or Ontario. Henry has done several short translations for our group and the also the Georgshausen Homeland book and a Triebswetter book. Unfortunately, Henry had a bout of pancreatitis and gall stones a few months ago. After surgery and several tough weeks of recovery, he seems to be well on the road to recovery.
ZVA Regina Branch Meeting
Regina Branch will meet at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 24, at Access Communications, 2250 Park St. (north door by the ball diamonds). Please press the buzzer to notify an employee to open the door. Please mark your calendar and bring along a Zichydorf friend.
Zichydorf Village Association Newsletter
edited by: Glenn Schwartz
2114 E Laurier Cres., Regina, SK, S4V 0P6
Internet: http://zichydorfonline.org
http://www.facebook.com/ZichydorfVillageAssociation
email: gschwartz@accesscomm.ca