by Peter Klopp
My apologies to our relatives and friends in North America, who do not know the German language! This video done entirely in German is based on an audio tape that Mother (Mutter Köhm) had sent to us in the month of May 1966 to congratulate us in typical Kegler tradition with a poem, which she had composed herself for the occasion of our wedding.
My grandmother Johanna attended a teacher’s college in Stettin. Her hometown was Hirschberg in the Giant Mountains. Her father, the headteacher Ludwig Engel, had chosen this institute of higher learning, because in contrast to all the others only female students were educated here. Now it so happened that a young customs officer by the name of Bruno Kegler was a guest at her cousin’s place. On the wall of the apartment hung Johanna’s picture, and Bruno curiously asked who she was. He was being informed, and he in turn asked if he could pass on a greeting to the cousin. He was permitted to do so. When Johanna during her semester break was at home in Hirschberg, she received one day a letter with a strange handwriting with the even stranger address, “Dear honorable Miss!” She laughed and showed the lines to her parents. She read out that the writer had requested a meeting with her so he could pass on her cousin’s greeting. Father Ludwig immediately said, “You will write that there will be no such meeting, because you happened to be in Hirschberg just now.” Johanna sat down at once and wrote her refusal on a tiny little letter card. The envelope landed into the mailbox, while her father was overseeing it from the balcony, and Johanna contentedly spent the rest of her vacation.
When she was back again in Stettin, Bruno wrote another letter to Hirschberg, The letter was opened, but at least was forwarded to Johanna in Stettin. It contained the repeated request to pass on the greetings. Johanna showed the message to her classmates, who warned her about the forceful handwriting. Nevertheless she responded to the letter and gave a time and place, a café, for the date. All her classmates wanted to come along!
As a sign for recognition Bruno had indicated that he would wear a gray suit with a white carnation in the buttonhole. Johanna wanted to wear a white dress and a white scarf.
When she showed up at the appointed time in the café, she saw … two gentlemen in gray suits, and nobody had a white carnation in the buttonhole! But one of them rose, walked up to her and introduced himself – and it was like if they had known each other for years.
For Johanna a wonderful time now began. They saw each other as often as they could; they went on hikes together and enjoyed steamboat excursions.
To the two old ladies, from whom he was renting furnished accommodation, Bruno said already after their first date that he had just got acquainted with his future wife. Without saying anything to Johanna he wrote to her parents, described his economic status and his family and asked to pay them a visit. That being granted, they met and got to know each other, and on April 29th, 1930, Johanna and Bruno got married. They were a very happy couple and consolidated their happiness with the births of their children Hartmut, Elisabeth and Jürgen.
Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not its twin. Barbara Kingsolver
Biene and I once witnessed an accident while driving to Vernon over the icy highway on a cold December morning. The car ahead of us showed some extremely erratic behavior and seemed to be out of control as we saw it slipping and sliding on a curvy downhill stretch. A few seconds later, it had collided with an oncoming pick-up truck. Fortunately, nobody was seriously hurt. The truck driver and his pregnant wife emerged unharmed from their vehicle, while the owner of the small passenger car was frantically running around, often looking down over the edge of the ravine on the other side of the road, as if he had lost something during the accident. He did not seem to care much about the occupants of the truck that he just had run into and kept shouting anxiously, “Lucy, Lucy, where are you?”
A few months later, a police officer knocked at our door and presented me with a subpoena to make myself available as a witness at the Vernon Court House. Memory is defined as the mental capacity of retaining and reviving impressions or of recalling previous experiences. My particular memory of the accident on the Monashee was very accurate, and I assumed that it revealed the truth and nothing but the truth. However, when the Crown prosecutor quizzed me on the details, I realized that logical thinking had filled the gaps created by the bizarre behaviour displayed by the man who had caused the collision. I did not know that the concern for a little dog could be more important to anyone than the well-being of one’s fellow human beings, especially if you were responsible for causing their harm and grief. My logic demanded that the man was calling his female companion who might have been thrown out of the vehicle and might have been severely injured. I am mentioning this incident to increase awareness at the very start of my project that things are not always what they appear to be and to be aware of the potential flaw in the relationship between memory and logic. Distorting reality as a result of this flaw then becomes a major problem for anyone attempting to describe personal experiences of the past. Continue reading
Our son Mathias and daughter-in-law Pamela enjoy an occasional visit in our cozy home in Germany. Below the picture gallery showcasing the entire family, you can also watch a short video of Papa Mathias teaching little Alessia to respond to the rhythm of the music in the background. She also enjoys – that is plain to see – a hug from her brother Frederik.
Even though the video quality was not very good, the message is loud and clear. We have a little girl, who loves music.
Note: This article was entirely written in German. You will find it in the P. and G. Klopp Story under the heading Stories in German. There you can read about the difficulties of finding the right scope and basis for any genealogical endeavor. Norbert also writes about the potential legal pitfalls that may dampen your enthusiasm for family research. I translated that paragraph and posted it below.
“I want to throw some light on another aspect. In spite of all the fully justified interest in the documentation of family history and in the fortunes or misfortunes of the people’s background one must cautiously and discreetly deal with such information and carefully deliberate as to what is suitable for the ‘general public’ and as to what one should keep to oneself. A close relative, who had dealt with the matter much more thoroughly, had to endure some bitter experiences. To gather information he had written to all family members, who were still alive, a questionnaire and the request for pictures and information. Furthermore he published the pertinent data on the worldwide web. There Mrs. X read that her father had died of disease Y. As far as she was concerned, he had gone too far and threatened to sue, unless he immediately took it off the Internet.
What Arrow Lakes community is named after a man jailed for embezzlement? The answer, likely to surprise many, is Fauquier. Frederick George Fauquier’s incarceration was a severe aberration in an otherwise distinguished career that included many government appointments. Indeed, he emerged from prison virtually unscathed: no one seemed to think any less of him for it. Born in Woodstock, Ontario, to an Anglican bishop, Fauquier came to West Kootenay in 1893 and was appointed mining recorder, police officer, and notary public at Nakusp.
His diligent service was recognized in 1900 when he was transferred to Revelstoke and named stipendiary magistrate, justice of the peace, government agent, assistant lands and works commissioner, assessor and collector, vital events registrar, and gold commissioner. Something, however, went wrong. In August 1901, a government auditor was dispatched to Revelstoke to look into irregularities in the gold commissioner’s office. Fauquier was arrested at home and charged with misappropriating $100 in public funds while mining recorder at Nakusp. He was released on $2,500 bail.
“The greatest regret is expressed in town at this unfortunate affair as Mr. Fauquier is not only personally popular but has proved himself both at Nakusp and here a most acceptable and capable official,’’ the Revelstoke Herald wrote. The Kootenay Mail added Fauquier “had many warm friends” who would have repaid the money had they known it was missing before the auditor arrived.
“It is evident that Mr. Fauquier had been making an effort to straighten matters up as he has been offering for sale his ranch in the lower country,” the newspaper said.
When Fauquier next appeared before a judge, he was further charged with stealing $2,097 in land sale money between Oct. 15, 1900 and Aug. 21, 1901 at Revelstoke as well as $811 in taxes collected from the Imperial Bank on June 22, 1901. The earlier Nakusp charge was dropped. The auditor produced a list of land transactions for which no receipts existed, ranging from $3 to $213. The auditor also presented a statement showing Fauquier received $819 in taxes, while the books recorded only $8. Fauquier was committed for trial, and released again on $12,000 bail. Several more prominent businessmen stepped forward to post sureties.
A few weeks later, however, Fauquier pleaded guilty. The motivation for the crimes was never explained. His lawyer only said he took the money “to pay claims that other men would have ignored.”
And while there was no justification for the offense, “it had always been Mr. Fauquier’s intention to replace these monies,” the Kootenay Mail wrote.
“Mr. Fauquier had a wife dependent on him and also a family, and was without other means than this property. He was prepared, if he got his liberty at no distant date, to repay every cent he had taken.”
The judge sentenced him to two years in the provincial penitentiary. It’s not clear how much time he served (nor if he ever repaid the money he stole), but around 1904, he returned to his ranch, later known as Fauquier’s Landing, or just Fauquier, and began growing fruit. Overall, despite his transgressions, Fauquier’s kept his reputation intact. In 1911, he was spoken of as a potential candidate for provincial office, and upon his death in 1917 at age 65, his obituary was adulatory.
“Always of a bright and cheerful nature Mr. Fauquier was universally liked and highly respected by all who came in contact with him,” the Nelson Daily News wrote. “He was the most extensive fruit grower on the lake, his orchards being considered among the models of British Columbia.”
Fauquier was buried in Nakusp. Although his crimes were whispered of in his namesake community, they are not recorded in any history book.
The Peter and Gertrud Klopp Family 