Christmas Ornaments
The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree during the Christmas season is believed to have started in Germany during the 1500s. Our early Hagenbuch ancestors certainly knew and practiced this custom before coming to...
Tagged: Ethel “Brandt” Gutshall
More Family Icons & Their Stories
A little over a year ago my father and site co-founder, Mark Hagenbuch, wrote an article examining the importance of “family icons.” These are objects that are prized by families for the stories attached...
Do Our Ancestors Matter Today?
Do our ancestors matter today? And, if they really do, why? This was the question I asked myself after a conversation with my maternal grandmother, Ethel “Brandt” Gutshall. Ethel, whom I call “Oma” (German...
Making Sauerkraut: A Pennsylvania Deitsch Tradition
It was hardly a surprise when, this past summer, my parents told me that they were going to start making their own sauerkraut. My family does, after all, have a reputation for tackling some...
Family Icons
The word icon is defined as “a thing that is revered.” In past articles many pieces of family history have been written about and described that fit this definition. Photos, books, documents, certificates, and...
