Simone's Family History

Killaly, Saskatchewan Elevator and tracks c. 1994

2026-03-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

Photo by Simone Hoedel 1994

Killaly, Saskatchewan Elevator and tracks c. 1994, just before the elevator was taken down and the tracks ripped out. I was there visiting my grandparents in town, and guessed these structures were not going to last much longer. I was right.

Here are my other grandparents (Hoedel), and my dad, Claude Hoedel in front of the Killaly elevator in about 1942. Ewald Hoedel was the Saskatchewan Pool elevator manager during those years until his untimely death in 1949.

Early Settlers to Mariahilf, Saskatchewan, 1900 - 2 (republished with transcribed text)

2018-01-03T11:14:00.001-08:00

Early Settlers to Mariahilf, Saskatchewan, 1900 - 2

(republished with transcribed text)

2017 Edit: I have transcribed the following pages so that the text can be indexed by Google, making the info more useful for researchers, genealogists, and family history buffs. The age of the male head of the family seems approximate, but one could cross reference this list with other birth and death records I have to make it more accurate. Including the name and maiden name of the wife in the family, which would be useful.

Note that the list includes the name of the husband, the number of children, but no mention of the wife. At all. Which says a lot about the status of women in those days (ie. non-existent)

2026 edit: Found it! Text was taken from "50 Golden Years: Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the founding of St. Mary’s Church, Grayson, Saskatchewan, Canada"

(originally I got this content years ago courtesy Willy Thiele. )

Killaly Immigrants 1900 - 2

"1900

The stream of immigrants continued as indicated below. We cannot vouch for the absolute accuracy of the year of arrival, the ages, or the number of children. In a chronicle of this nature, errors are bound to occur. 'To err is human', However, we trust that any survivors who might see these annals will be indulgent and regard only our good will, and as to the deceased, we have no fear of incurring their just wrath.

Anton Ottenbreit, 40, four children
Leonard Mayer, 35, four children
Joseph Neuman, 35, four children
Anton Rieger, 30, two children
Joseph F. Flegel, 35, three children
John L. Huber, 35, four children
Eva Hartman, 55, widow, one child
George Hartman, 25, single
Adam Hornung, 25, two children
George Lang, 25, single
Karl Lang, 28, single
John Stepan, 35, four children
Andreas Bank, 45, five children
John Bank, 22, single
Frank Bank, 20, single
Robert Schultz, 35, two children

1901

Adam Huber, 45, five children
Emil Zaleski, 35, four children
Mathias Gelowitz, 39, six children (father of George M. Gelowitz)
Joseph Zimmer, 30, three children
Isidore Zimmer, 25, single
Karl Zimmer, 20, single
Mathias Huber, 50, four children
John Huber, 30, single
Michael Huber, 25, single
Karl Juri, 40, four children
Heinrich Duczek, 35, four children
John Duczek, 20, single

1902

Joseph Hicke, 45, five children
John Hicke, 20, single
Philip Hicke, 18, single
Isidore Riese, 35, four children
Theodore Krull, 50
Peter Krull, 25, single
John Englad, 45, one child
Anton Exner, 30, two children
Michael Exner, 23, single
Stephan Koslowski, 50, four children
Emil Koslowski, 20, single
Paul Stradecki, 38, five children
Ignace Stradecki, 70
Wenzel Stradecki, 35, two children
John Zimmer, 30
Bernard Zimmer, 23, single
Josepha Zimmer, 50, widow with four children
Joseph Zimmer, 21, single
Anton Zimmer, 19, single
George Zimmer, 18, single
Wenzel Appel, 35, four children
John Ruehr, 50, five children
Christian Ruehr, 18, single
Anton Lenhard, 70, widower
Alexander Lenhard, 30, single
George Lenhard, 30, single
Rosie Rieger, 60, widow
Joseph Rieger, 35, two children
Mathias Rieger, 22, single
Isidore Rieger, 20 single"

Note: Killaly pages courtesy Willy Thiele

Early Settlers to Mariahilf, Saskatchewan, 1896 - 1899 (republished with transcribed text)

2018-01-03T09:49:00.001-08:00

Early Settlers to Mariahilf, Saskatchewan, 1896 - 1899

(republished with transcribed text)

Note that the list includes the name of the husband, the number of children, but no mention of the wife. At all. Which says a lot about the status of women in those days (ie. non-existent)

2026 edit: Found it! Text was taken from "50 Golden Years: Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the founding of St. Mary’s Church, Grayson, Saskatchewan, Canada"

(originally I got this content years ago courtesy Willy Thiele. )

"1896

The year 1896 witnessed the arrival of six families and two bachelors from Gallicia (sic) and one founding family from Bukowina - a total of 44 souls - to constitute the 'founding fathers', so to say, of our community. These were as follows:

John Bruch, 50, five children,

John Kletchko, 55, four children,

Stan Bulla, 40, three children,

Fred Mansiak, 40, four children,

Andreas Rogalski, 35, five children,

Martin Schoenhoffer, 50, one child,

Joseph Michalski, 25, single,

Adam Kunderman, 25, single,

John Hubenig, 45, eight children.

1897

1897 brought the following additions:

Heinrich Exner, 45, five children

Anton Exner, 22, single

Anton J. Flegel, 45, four children

Anton Rieger, with one orphan

Jakob Lichtenwald Sr., 23, single

1898

The following year seems to have been fruitful in settlers. It greatly swelled the young growing community, bringing new life and new activity. From early spring till late fall they kept streaming in to found new homes.

Anton Exner, 40, four children

John Exner, 40, two children

Joseph G. Flegel, 45, six children

Anton G. Flegel, 35, four children

John Hornung, 50, six children

Joseph Hornung, 25, single

Frank Hornung, 23, single

Michael Hornung, 20, single

John Holitzki, 40, six children

John Novak, 40, six children

Heinrich Holitzki, 30, three children

Adam Nestman, 30, three children

Wilhelm Hanoski, 50, four children

Sebastian Hanoski, 53, five children

Anton Ludwar, 50, four children

Jakob Ruehr, 30, two children

Joseph Lang, 40, four children

Caspar Beutel, 50, six children

Jakob Dietrich, 40, four children

John Dietrich, 30, three children

John Fuchs, 50, four children

George Fuchs, 30, four children

Frank Fuchs, 25, two children

Jakob Ludwar, 45, four children

John J. Flegel, 50, five children

George Baer, 50, four children

1899

While 1899 witnessed a drop in the number of settlers, it too brought its representatives in the following:

Joseph Schlechter, 46

Michael Rieger, 55, four children (Father of Mrs. George M. Gelowitz)

Daniel Flegel, 55, five children

Peter Rieger, 50, four children

Frank D. Flegel, 20, single

(Footer: Page twenty-nine)"

St. Elizabeth Parish History (from Willy Thiele's site) c. 1983

2018-01-03T09:40:00.002-08:00

I found this file online years ago on Willy Thiele's site. I can no longer access that site, (http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/3203/) which was written in OLD 1994 html code, so I am trying to republish some of that info here, including this file I found on St. Elizabeth Parish History, c. 1983, with some minor corrections on spelling etc.

"St. Elizabeth Parish History

The origin of St. Elizabeth's Parish in Killaly dates back to the year of 1892.

Mr. Johann M. Bruch left his native village of Bronndorf near Lemberg, Galicia early in 1892 to verify the prospects advertised in the Old Country regarding the acquisition of land on the Western Prairies. Soon he was on his way back home to move his wife and family to their new homestead. His nephew Konrad Kletschko, joined the family group. On June 22, 1892, they moved from Grenfell to the selected homestead on Sw. 34, Tp. 19, R. 7, W. of 2, two miles west and ~2 mile south of Mariahilf Church. This land is now owned by Dennis Waldbauer of Neudorf.

In 1893 Mr. Johann Hubenig from Rosch near Czernowitz (Bukowina) and Mr. Johann Kletschko, father of Konrad, with their families followed. They found temporary shelter on the homestead of Johann Bruch, the patriarch of the Catholic settlement that was to become known as "Mariahilf." With the advent of the C.P.R. line going through the district, this developed into the Killaly Parish.

In 1895 Father Woodcutter (ed. anglicized?) and Father J. E. Zerbach, diocesan priests from the Mission of Kaposvar celebrated monthly masses in the homes of Mr. Johann Bruch, Mr. Anton Exner and others.

In 1899 the Catholic population of Mariahilf or what is now known as St. Elizabeth's Parish had increased to such an extent that it warranted the visit of Archbishop Adelard Langevin of St. Boniface to administer the sacrament of Confirmation to fifty-four young men and women. This important event took place on the Bruch farm on May 8, 1899.

In 1900 the Mariahilf Church was built six miles south of the present village of Killaly by Fr. P. J. DeBresson, O. Praem. After the turn of the century the Oblate Fathers from Winnipeg, Fr. Albert Kulawy and Fr. August Suffa, took turns in ministering at Mariahilf. They were followed by Fr. Marcus Kasper.

In 1907 an Oblate Community was established in Grayson to care for the whole area. In 1921 the Mariahilf Church was destroyed by fire. The second chapel was built in 1926 which still stands today, not so much to be used henceforth as a place for divine worship, but as a reminder of the faith so cherished by the forefathers.

In 1910 the Catholic people began to build a church in the village of Killaly. Before the work was finished, a storm swept through leaving the church in ruins. This did not deter the people from attaining their objective.

The church was dedicated to St. Elizabeth and both churches of the district: Killaly and Mariahilf, were served by the Oblates of Grayson. It was Fr. Kasper from Grayson who looked after these two places until 1911. He was followed by Father Edward Hess, who served until 1915. Following Father Hess came Father Francis X. Rapp, who served until 1925; Father James Schnerch, who served until 1926 and finally Father Anton Bergmann, until the fall of 1929.

In 1929 Father P. J. Schwebius, O.M.I. (1929 - 1933) took up residence at Lemberg and served Killaly from there. His successor Father Joseph Schulte, O.M.I. (1933 - 1935) resided part-time in both Lemberg and Killaly.

In September 1935, Father J. Fuchs, O.M.I., took up permanent residence in Killaly in a rented house. Lemberg now remained a mission to Killaly until appointment of a resident priest in 1939. In the years of 1936 1944 under the direction of Father Fuchs, O.M.I., the parishioners of Killaly started a Rosenkranz (Rosary Society), which formed the ground work of the present St. Elizabeth Society.

Father Joseph Riedinger, O.M.I. (1944 - 1951), succeeded Father Fuchs and in 1945 - 1947 built a larger church which was blessed by Archbiship M. C. O'Neill on July 3, 1948.

Father Joseph Schneider, O.M.I., came to Killaly (1951 1955) and during his time in Killaly, bought the first parish car. He was then succeeded by Father John Rheidt, O.M.I., from 1955 - 1972. In 1957 Killaly was blessed with one of their young men, Adam Exner ordained as a priest. The new perish rectory was built in 1959 under the direction of Father John Rheidt, O.M.I. The present church was designed by architect McCudden, built and then blessed on July 6, 1970 by Archbiship O'Neill. After 17 years in Killaly, Father Rheidt, O.M.I., retired in April 1972 to live in Edmonton.

Then from 1972 - 1978 Father Patrick Herbst, O.M.I., moved to Killaly from Lemberg. In March, 1974 the Parish celebrated as Father Exner, O.M.I., became Bishop of Kamloops, B.C. In 1977 construction began on the Parish Centre.

In August, 1978, Father Clem Novakowski, O.M.I., succeeded Father Herbst. In July, 1980, the parish of Killaly celebrated Father Clem's 25th anniversary of ordination to the Priesthood. This event was a first for St. Elizabeth's Parish. February 14, 1981 marked the official opening of the Parish Centre in Killaly. During the summer of 1982 Killaly celebrated the installation of Bishop Exner as Archbishop of Winnipeg.

In August, 1983, our present pastor Father Joe Frey, a diocesan priest, succeeded Father Clem Novakowski, O.M.I. Father Frey resides part-time in Killaly and part-time in Grayson. This parish at the present has 84 families."

Thanks to Willy Thiele's site

The History of Germans from Bukovina

2017-03-30T09:49:00.001-07:00

by Simone Hoedel, originally published Dec 28, 2008

German immigrants began arriving in Bukovina after the Austrian annexation in 1775, but emigration and repatriation reduced the Bukovina German population considerably.

The name Bukovina, or Buchenland means Land of the Beech Trees. Bukovina was first made a crownland of the Austrian Empire in the eighteenth century, but the rich history of this eastern European borderland principality goes back many centuries. Located in today's northern Romania and southwestern Ukraine, Bukovina was historically a border region overtaken through the years by armies of the east and west, north and south.

In its early history, it was invaded by Huns, Avars, Mongols, Tatars, Ruthenians, Vlachs, and Turks. From the 14th century, Bukovina was part of the Principality of Moldavia. In the 16th to 18th centuries, it was in the Ottoman Empire, before it was taken over by Russia in 1769. When it was annexed by Austria in 1775, Bukovina was a sparsely populated, multi-ethnic region, including Moldavians, Jews, Gypsies, Armenians, Hungarians, and Ruthenians.

Bukovina in the Austrian Empire: 1774 - 1918

Bukovina and other eastern regions were strategically important as buffer states for the Austrian Empire. Soon after arriving, the Austrians began a state sponsored immigration program to the region, to boost economic activity. Poles, Jews, Ukrainians and Romanians migrated on their own from neighbouring regions. Although Germans had settled in the region for centuries, immigrants from German regions began arriving in increasing numbers after the Austrians' heavy recruitment drives.

One of the first groups of Germans to colonize Bukovina at this time were the Swabians, who arrived in 1782 - 1787 via the Banat region, an area in present day eastern Serbia and western Romania. Mostly peasant farmers, the Danube Swabians, or "Donauschwaben", came from Swabia, Hesse, Bavaria, and other regions of Austria, and travelled to the Banat area in boats on the Danube River, which snakes through the south of this area.

German Bohemians from the Bohemian Forest drove another wave of German immigrants, beginning in 1793. Bohemians were recruited to settle in Bukovina to establish and work in specialized industries such as glass making and forestry.
"Zipsters", Saxons from the Zips region in Hungary, along with Transylvanian Saxons, began to arrive in Bukovina in 1784 to work in iron, silver, lead, copper, and salt mines.

German Emigration to North America

Due to decreasing economic opportunities and political strife in the region, many Bukovina Germans began to emigrate once again by the end of the 19th century. Many of them travelled to the US and Canada by ship, and some emigrated to Germany and South America. Those who left Bukovina during this time settled in large numbers in Kansas, Colorado, Illinois, Washington, USA; Saskatchewan, Canada; and Rio Negro, Brazil.

Romanian Bukovina: 1918 - 1944

During World War One, Bukovina was a battleground in the Austro-Russian war, and eventually came under control of Romania, as a result of the Treaty of Saint Germain. With the break-up of the Austrian Empire in 1918 came the dissolution of many Austrian institutions in the region. Romanianization of public schools, universities, government, press and cultural institutions marginalized most minority ethnic groups in the province.

Russian Annexation of Northern Bukovina and German Umseidlung: 1940

World War Two brought a wave of refugees into southern Bukovina after northern Bukovina was annexed by Russia in 1940. Agreements between Germany, Russia and Romania allowed the repatriation of Germans from Bukovina to German held territory, often in Poland. In the fall of 1940, 95,000 ethnic Germans from Bukovina embarked on train journeys to the Third Reich, often spending months first in resettlement camps, or sent to fight in the German army. At the same time, Jewish people in the region were rounded up and sent to the infamous concentration camps, where many thousands were murdered or died, especially in Transdinistria to the east. When Germany was overrun at the end of the war, the repatriated Germans who had settled in Poland and other German held land, were once again refugees when the Red Army approached.

After World War Two, northern Bukovina became part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, while southern Bukovina remained in control of Romania. Although always an ethnic minority in the Bukovina region, after the war, only a handful of ethnic Germans remained in the region.

Sources:

The History of Bukovina, by Dr. Sophie A. Welisch
Between East and West: Across the Borderlands of Europe, by Anne Applebaum
A Case of History Cleansing in Romania, Eastern European Quarterly, by Randolph L. Braham
Reflections and Reminiscences: A Bukovina German Tells His Story, by Jakob Welisch
The Bukovina Society of the Americas

Links:

The Bukovina Society of the Americas

Simone Hoedel

Traditional potato pancakes like grandma made

2014-10-13T12:36:00.000-07:00

A perfect potato pancake lunch with plain yogurt, a sliced boiled egg, and a dusting of smoked paprika.

One of our family’s favorite lunches when I was growing up was potato pancakes. On the farm in Saskatchewan, my grandma, Rose Holitzki, usually served them with boiled eggs, some of her canned tomatoes and either sour cream or cottage cheese.

So I finally got the recipe for Perfect Potato Pancakes from my Auntie Renee. This is one of my favorite potato dishes, and of course completely traditional for us. Adapted from the Holitzki Cookbook.

Perfect Potato Pancakes

Ingredients

4 large potatoes
2 eggs
½ c. chopped onion
½ c. flour
1 tsp. Salt
1/8 tsp. Pepper
Salad oil

Method

Grate potatoes, place them in cold water for 15 minutes.
Drain potatoes into colander lined with clean dish towel. Squeeze out as much water as possible.
In a bowl, mix together shredded potatoes, beaten eggs, onion, flour, salt and pepper.
Spoon out mixture to a flat disk 4-5 inches across in a frying pan with a small amount of oil. Flip over. Cook until lightly browned.
Serve with sour cream, applesauce, salsa, cottage cheese, or plain yogurt.
Makes 16.

Renee (1999)

(& Simone)

Holitzki Genealogy book available

2013-06-27T14:34:00.001-07:00

CD Cover of the Holitzki genealogy book

Elaine Senger and Irene Hanowski worked many years to write a genealogy book on my great grandparents, (Johan) John and Margaret Holitzki and all their descendants (Anna and Joseph Stradeski, Theresa and Wenzel Hanoski, Wenzel and Amy Holitski, Sigmund and Magdelena Holitski, William and Elizabeth Holitski, Eva Holitski, Margaret and Mathew Lepinski, Elizabeth Holitski, John Holitski, Frances Holitski, Martin and Rose Holitski, Barbara Holitski, and Mary Holitski). It is no longer available in print, but can be purchased as a CD (see info below). I talked to Elaine about her experience researching and writing this book.

Simone: When and why did you first get inspired to write a book about the Holitzki family line?

Elaine: Another cousin had started doing one of the families, interviewed my mother, but it never got completed. So the reason I did the book was because of my mother, she wanted it so bad but had passed away before she could see a completed copy.

Simone: Who else was involved in researching and writing this book and how did they help?

Elaine: To the best of my knowledge at this time, Irene Hanowski and I put together this Holitski family history. The information is from the people that sent their information by mail or when I interviewed by phone. Sister Francis came to Kelowna a couple of times and edited the info.

Simone: Who did you talk to in Grayson and what did they say?

Elaine: I went to the original homestead, I think it was on Jack and Joanne Holitski's farm. He helped with getting Uncle Sigmund's info. That's when I took the laptop computed and small scanner. At the same time, we went to see Mary Kreiser, and a Sapara that lived in Killaly. I was also gathering info on the Dobjanski line. My husband and friend, John Vielvoye, took the camera, taking pictures of all the Grayson, Killaly church records.

Simone: What kinds of obstacles did you encounter in putting this book together?

Elaine: For the Holitski family, I didn't run into any problems, but with the Anton Stradeski family, I did run into a few problems.

Simone: If you did another family history book, what would you do differently?

Elaine: I pretty much did all the books the same. I started with Zimmer, then Stradeski, my husband Jack's family line Bengert, then Holitski. My friend Evelyn Veilvoye was an Ottenbreit-Hornung (she is your Aunt Margaret Kostiuk's cousin through Allan), we completed the Hornung / Rieger Book, at the same time we worked on the Rutland History book, and completed it. The last family book that I wrote was Jack's family - Senger from the Allan, Sask. area. Evelyn and I also did a small Fr. Pandosy Mission Book. At present I have gathered all the info about St. Theresa Parish and am up to date with its history, as well as keeping up the history of our CWL (Catholic Woman's League) in our parish.

Simone: Did you discover anything in your research that surprised or impressed you about our family history, our ancestors etc. (good or bad)?

Elaine: No, after doing this much research on families. Other than each family had its own kind of personality. For example Zimmers and also the Riegers - spontaneous, happy go lucky, friendly. The Holitskis - they are shy, quiet, spiritual and compassionate, I haven't seen anything negative.

To purchase the CD, contact Elaine:

By post:

Mrs. Elaine Senger
535 Montgomery Rd., Kelowna, BC, V1X 3C6.

Email: senger@shaw.ca

The total cost of the CD is $25.00, which includes taxes, postage & handling.

--

Mariahilf Church and Graveyard

2012-04-09T12:02:00.000-07:00

"In 1900 the little colony got together and built a longish building which was a church, school and teacherage combined. John Holitski had his birthday in early September and a strong devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The Feast Day was celebrated on Sept 8, so he suggested the church be named Mariahilf. The homesteaders’ first years were full of hardships and poverty so they readily agreed to the name." -from The History of Mariahilf, quoting Katherine Ludwar (nee Bruch)
Photo: Simone Hoedel, 2000

The resting place of a few of my ancestors, the Mariahilf Graveyard, south of Killaly, Saskatchewan, is a good spot for researching family history. I started this historical journey here in 1994, as a video documentary project, interviewing my grandparents Martin and Rose about our family tree and origins. With the help of my grandfather, Martin Holitzki, I got hold of a copy of the detailed record of the plots, lovingly and meticulously inked by the local priest, Reverend John Fuchs, OMI. The 100 page document includes lots of background family information, including names of parents. Here is my transcription of the two pages relating to the adult section of the graveyard. I created an HTML table to contain all this info.

Mariahilf Graveyard: West

Adult Section, East of Driveway

Row 1:
Joseph Riess	Anton Hanowski	Isador Bar	(vacant)	Anton Flegel	Rosalia Flegel	Karl Lang
d. 1904	d. 1898	d. 1900		d. 1902	d. 1903	d. 1904
Row 2:
Wenzel Dittrich	(vacant)	Elizabeth Sapara (Dittrich)	Michael Rieger	Juliana Hornung	Daniel Hornung	George Bar
d. 1907		d. 1909	d. 1909	d. 1912	d. 1913	d. 1913
Row 3:
Anton M. Exner	Amelia Exner	Heinrich Exner	Appollonia Hornung	Juliana Exner (Flegel)	(vacant)	Elizabeth Bar
d. 1919	d. 1924	d. 1931	d. 1926	d. 1927		d. 1928
Row 4:
Johann Hornung	Paulina Flegel	Anton Hanowski	George F. Klein	Anthony Hy. Exner	Maria Exner	Sebastion Hanowski
d. 1931	d. 1935	d. 1935	d. 1937	d. 1938	d. 1959	d. 193?
Row 5:
Frank Flegel	John J. Holitzki
1900-1948	1907-1948
Row 6:
Joseph Flegel
d. 1949

Interior of Mariahilf Church, south of Killaly
Photo: Simone Hoedel

Mariahilf Graveyard: East

Adult Section, Location of Graves flow West to East, rows beginning at North

Row 1:
Maria Lang	Anna Hubenig	Maria Kreiser (Weckend)	George Flegel	Johannes Flegel	Maria Zimmer	Joann Huber	(vacant)
d. 1903	d. 1903	d. 1904	d. 1905	d. 1905	d. 1907	d. 1909
Row 2:
Theresia Fuchs	Johann Fuchs	George & Maria Klein	Maria Fuchs	Michael Fuchs	Peter Rieger	(vacant)	(vacant)
d. 1914	d. 1915	d. 1913	d. 1916	d. 1949	d. 1916
Row 3:
Maria Dittrich	Elizabeth Holitzki	Elizabeth Lepinski	Johann M. Holitzki	Jacob Doshanuk	Catherine Exner	(vacant)
d. 1929	d. 1929	d. 1930	d. 1941	d. 1941	d. 1943
Row 4:
(vacant)	Anna Rogalski	Andrew Rogolski		Julianna Flegel		(marker)
	d. 1944	d. 1946		d. 1946
Row 5:
				Helen Haas	Frank Haas
				d. 1976	d. 1960

Mariahilf cemetary, south of Killaly, Saskatchewan. My aunt Marge (she's in the background) and I visited my great grandfather Johann Holitzki's grave in 2004. View is towards the northeast.
Photo: Simone Hoedel

Anton Rieger -- Isador Exner farm near Killaly, Saskatchewan

2011-12-31T19:48:00.000-08:00

Some of my ancestors, including Johann Holitzki, were at the Anton and Barbara Rieger homestead near the Qu'Appelle Valley (in about 1905?) for a house-warming celebration. Later, in 1929, Isador Exner bought this home.
Many of these immigrants had just come over on ships from Bukovina, in present day Ukraine. This picture was in my grandparents' (Holitzki) possession in about 2000. Charlotte Holitzki researched the names of the people in this photo.
Front row:
Johann Zimmer, Tony Baumgardner, Peter Rieger, Anton Zimmer, (with son John), Karl Zimmer, John Rieger, Mike Zimmer, (child) Barbara Zimmer, Isadore Zimmer.
Middle row:
Joe Rieger, Johann Holitzki (Charlotte misidentified as Martin H), Anton Rieger, William Hanowski, Henry Exner.
Back row:
John Baer, Peter Zimmer, George Zimmer, Lena (Lazar) Zimmer, Pauline (Stradeski) Zimmer, Mrs. Holitzki (Margaret, wife of Johann?), Mrs. Vispale (Hanowski), Joesepha Zimmer, Johanna (Bereslaw) Zimmer, Anna Exner, Mrs. Exner, Mrs. Baumgardner (Dietrick), Mary (Wihlidal) Zimmer.

This house has been torn down now I hear, but was still standing a few years ago when my aunt Marge and I went exploring in the area. The porch was gone, but the distinctive brick and stone work was solid. In fact the structure was now being used as a grain bin.

Photos taken by Simone Hoedel.
Info on identity of people in the above photo by Charlotte Holitzki.

Homebrew: Home grown innovative entrepreneurialism from Grayson, SK’s past

2011-09-27T21:44:00.000-07:00

From the Grayson History Book, published in 2005.

“Good and bad homebrew has been a part of the Grayson Heritage. There are many stories of making, drinking, hiding, and transporting the unlawful spirits. During hard times, it provided extra income for some families. It was not all fun and games, the alcoholism, family disputes, and fines caused many problems.

The following recipe was included for a lighthearted look at a past era."

Read more in The Medium.

Why Germans are called krauts

2011-09-04T09:57:00.000-07:00

Sauerkraut means sour cabbage in German. Since Germans tended to eat a lot of it at the time, they were called "krauts".
My ancestors were Germans who migrated to Bukovina (now in the Ukraine) in the 18th century, and then to Canada in the late 19th. But we called cabbage rolls "holishkes" for some reason, the Yiddish name for cabbage rolls. Czernowitz, Bukovina, where my great grandparents immigrated from, was at that time a melting pot of mostly eastern European ethnicities.
Read more of my article at The Medium.

All my Ancestors....

2011-09-03T19:28:00.000-07:00

I was thinking it would make a great sit-com. Seriously, though, I cropped some mug shots of my parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and one great great grandfather, and decided to share them here. These shots are mostly taken when they were in their prime: 20 - 30 years old.

L to R: Julianna Exner, Ambrose Hoedel, Margereta Dietrich, Ewald Hoedel, Adeline Holitzki,
Michael Baumgartner, Rosalia Zimmer, Johann Holitzki, Rose Ottenbreit, Claude Hoedel,
Martin Holicki, John Ottenbreit, Anna Dietrich, Martin Holitzki, Elizabeth Baumgartner.

Eulogy for my dad, Claude Hoedel, died 2006

2010-06-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

Eulogy for Claude Hoedel, written and delivered by Simone Hoedel January 18th, 2006

Good morning everyone. My name is Simone. I want to thank you all for being here to remember my father, Claude Hoedel.

Claude was born in 1938 in Killaly, Saskatchewan. Both his parents, Elizabeth Baumgartner and Ewald Hoedel, grew up in German speaking households in this small farming community where most families struggled to make ends meet.

Claude was the youngest of 6 children in the Hoedel family. His father, Ewald, farmed just outside Killaly on the family homestead, and later moved the family into Killaly where Ewald worked as the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Agent.

Like my father, Ewald was a popular, intelligent and athletic fellow who liked his drinks. Ewald died in a boating accident in 1949, when my father was only 11 years old. I believe this was very hard for the family, especially for Claude. (See Ewald's bio)

My father was good in school and excelled at Sciences and Math. He was also a top-notch athlete. He admired his uncle, Jimmy Baumgartner, who was a famous baseball player in this area at that time.

Claude fell in love and got married in 1959 to Adeline Holitski, a local girl. They moved to Saskatoon where my dad went to the University of Saskatchewan to get his engineering degree. I was born in Saskatoon in 1961.

Our little family moved to Regina in 1964, where my dad worked for the Saskatchewan Power Corporation as an engineer. My 2 brothers, Craig and Shawn, were born in 1964 and 1966.

We moved to Alberta for a year or so, then in 1974 my dad found a job with BC Hydro. We lived in Port Coquitlam, BC for most of those years growing up. In BC, dad worked as the Superintendent of Gas Pipelines for the Fraser Valley.

In his spare time, he took up curling, and won a lot of championships as a skip. He also played on a team with my mom, Adeline, and together, they won a few trophies.

In 1982, dad returned to Regina to work for SaskPower and later TransGas. The family lived in a lovely home in Lakeview, which is a nice area. Dad did his best to provide for the family and be a husband and father.

My father, truthfully, struggled with an alcohol problem that curtailed his success and happiness. Although he always cared about us, sometimes we were in competition with the bottle for his affections, and this of course, cause a lot of grief.

Despite this problem, Claude worked until he retired in 1999. But after retirement, he began to suffer from more and more health problems. Years of heavy smoking and drinking took their toll, and he declined physically and mentally until he died last week.

I want to tell you how he died, because I was there.

These past few months, Claude was mostly in the hospital receiving treatments. But starting New Years Eve, he stayed in the Executive Suite at the Delta Inn in Regina, because that was the only smoking suite available. He was very elated: “Wow! I made it,” he said.

But a few days later, he was readmitted to the hospital with a blood infection and he declined very rapidly.

I spent some time watching TV beside him in the Palliative Care ward at the Pasqua Hospital. He was at this point, not really responding to the world around him. He had received his Last Rites.

I was watching the news when I heard a little groan from Claude, so I went to the bedside to see if he was okay. Claude was staring wide-eyed at the ceiling with a blissful, childlike expression on his face. I’d never seen anything like it before.

I said to him: “What cha lookin’ at, dad?” and looked up at the ceiling tiles he seemed to be staring at. When I looked back at him, one tear had escaped his right eye, and I wondered why he was crying.

But this was actually his last moment.

I marvel at how a person who struggled personally for so many years could find peace at the very end of his life like this. You can be sure Claude left this world spiritually pure, like the moment he was born. I was there to witness it. And we can all feel good about that.

Thank you.

Rose Holitzki's Eulogy: 1917-2009

2009-01-12T09:37:00.003-08:00

Rose and Martin Holitski, August, 2000

Rose Holitzki: 1917-2009
Martin Holitzki: 1910-2010

Eulogy written by Simone Hoedel

Good morning, everyone.

I want to thank you all for being here to remember my grandmother, Rose Holitzki.

Grandma was born Rose Ottenbreit on the farm south of Grayson Saskatchewan in 1917. Her mother, Rosalia Zimmer, and father, John Ottenbreit, immigated from Bukovina Austria at the turn of the century when they were quite young. The family, as with most in the area, all spoke German at home. The homestead site, by the way, is just down the road from her son Cyril's place.

Rose's family, the Ottenbreits, struggled to survive and make a living like everyone else in this farming community, especially in the Depression era of the 1930s. As you can imagine, grandma, who was 12 years old when the Depression hit, learned some pretty tough lessons on being frugal and thrifty from her mom and dad and other folks in the community.

Rose Ottenbreit had three brothers and four sisters, whom she was very close to all her life. Mary, the oldest, was born in 1916, and Rose was born a year later. Gertie, John, Betty, Ann, Edwin and Winfred followed. Her mom, great grandma Rosalia, was an excellent seamstress, and made all their clothes by hand or with a manual Singer sewing machine that she pumped with her foot. It's no wonder that this sewing talent was passed on to grandma, who picked this up from her mother, along with crocheting.

Rose worked in the late thirties milking cows in Neudorf. She met Martin Holitzki, a very eligible bachelor, at her sister Mary's wedding in 1938. Since Martin was looking for a wife, when he saw Rose sitting at a table with her sisters, all pretty and delicate, he was smitten. They got married in 1939, just as the World War was starting in Europe. After living in the Holitzki home for a short time, Martin and Rose bought some land right next to the Qu'Appelle Valley. That's where they farmed and raised a family of 5 children until they retired to Killaly in 1983. The land, according to grandpa, was in bad shape: it was all twitch grass, and so it had to be plowed. Martin at first used horses and a plow, until he was able to buy a tractor.

I was always amazed at grandma's incredible resourcefulness. Her sense of thrift and making something out of nothing was unparalleled, and an inspiration in these tough times.

What people remember about Rose is her green thumb. She always had what I thought was a thriving, massive garden. We were often sent out to the garden to pick some peas, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and raspberries, for lunch or dinner. Grandma grew a lot of potatoes, cabbage, onions, beets, some of the staples of the local diet. In the summer and fall, she would can hundreds of jars of delicious preserves, and place them on shelves in the cellar. She also put away hundreds of pounds of potatoes in a bin in the basement, for the winter months. Grandma raised chickens, and butchered and froze them herself, again for food supply for those long hard winter months.

On top of that, the Holitzkis had 12 cows they had to milk every morning. Grandma sold some of the milk, and using a milk separator, she made butter and cottage cheese out of the milk as well. In the summer, I remember the whole family would bring their pails and pick pounds and pounds of Saskatoons in the Coulee right next to the farm. Grandma would then make jams and other delicious desserts out of the Saskatoons.

Rose's children grew up with almost everything being homemade, and they were practically self-sufficient on their farm. There was none of this heading out to Wal-Mart or Superstore every other day when you ran out of something. No - when the family was out of milk, grandpa or grandma or one of the kids got bundled up to head to the barn to milk the cows; when you were out of bread, you spent the morning baking; when you needed some meat for tonite's dinner, you went to the barn with the axe and butchered a chicken, so grandma could make a nice roast out of it later. When you needed clothes, you got together some fabric and thread and possibly a pattern, and grandma would sew an outfit herself. But a lot of the time, grandma and the rest of the family just made do without, because going grocery shopping in the middle of winter was most of time just not possible.

In fact, farm life at times was very lonely as well, because of the winters, and the long distances to the nearest neighbour. This isolation was very hard on grandma, and took a toll on her health. Nevertheless she enjoyed visiting her friends and family when they could. After attending church on Sundays in Killaly, Martin and Rose would often visit her sister Mary and Bill Novak, who lived in town, and they would play cards and talk in German, apparently so the kids couldn't understand what they were saying.

Martin and Rose's first child, Adeline, was born in 1940. Cyril was born a couple of years later. Marge, Renee and Howard followed. The children remember their mother as a good mom and wife, religious, thrifty, hard-working, and resourceful. The children grew up close to the land, learning the farm business: wheat, cattle, dairy, gardening. Their mother and father were good parents and good providers, despite all the hardships.

Grandma's Catholic faith was also very important to her. The family would get together every night to say the rosary, and the family went to church every Sunday. Apparently grandma could recite the rosary in Latin.

Soon, after their daughter Adeline got married in 1959, Rose and Martin became grandparents, a role they enjoyed. Rose and Martin are proud grandparents to 14 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.

We were all very privileged and lucky to have enjoyed Rose's company for so long, and are very sad she is leaving us. But she lived a good long life, and inspired us all with her soft strength. And like her garden which thrived under her care – with her watering, weeding, pruning, fertilizing - she knew exactly how to tend to her children and grandchildren to make them grow strong and resilient. We will all miss you Rose. Good bye, and as your mother Rosalia said:

“Stay always True and Honest
Until the cold grave
and never stray a finger's width from God.”

Thank you.

Grayson Polkafest, 2005

2008-12-31T09:49:00.000-08:00

Here is a number from Grayson's very last Polkafest, held in the summer of 2005

People who settled in the Grayson / Killaly area of Saskatchewan were immigrants from Bukovina, Austria.

The History of Germans from Bukovina

2008-12-28T15:02:00.000-08:00

German Settlement and Emigration in Austria's Eastern Crownland

German immigrants began arriving in Bukovina after the Austrian annexation in 1775, but emigration and repatriation reduced the Bukovina German population considerably.

read more of my article here

Killaly / Mariahilf, SK Immigrants 1903 - 1918

2008-12-27T16:12:00.001-08:00

2026 edit: Found it! Text was taken from "50 Golden Years: Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the founding of St. Mary’s Church, Grayson, Saskatchewan, Canada"

(originally I got this content years ago courtesy Willy Thiele. )

Killaly / Mariahilf, SK Immigrants 1900 - 1902 (republished with text)

2008-12-27T16:04:00.000-08:00

Early Settlers to Mariahilf, Saskatchewan, 1900 - 2

(republished with transcribed text)

Note that the list includes the name of the husband, the number of children, but no mention of the wife. At all. Which says a lot about the status of women in those days (ie. non-existent)

Killaly pages courtesy Willy Thiele. (web page may not be accessible anymore)

Killaly Immigrants 1900 - 2

"1900

The stream of immigrants continued as indicated below. We cannot vouch for the absolute accuracy of the year of arrival, the ages, or the number of children. In a chronicle of this nature, errors are bound to occur. 'To err is human', However, we trust that any survivors who might see these annals will be indulgent and regard only our good will, and as to the deceased, we have no fear of incurring their just wrath.

Anton Ottenbreit, 40, four children
Leonard Mayer, 35, four children
Joseph Neuman, 35, four children
Anton Rieger, 30, two children
Joseph F. Flegel, 35, three children
John L. Huber, 35, four children
Eva Hartman, 55, widow, one child
George Hartman, 25, single
Adam Hornung, 25, two children
George Lang, 25, single
Karl Lang, 28, single
John Stepan, 35, four children
Andreas Bank, 45, five children
John Bank, 22, single
Frank Bank, 20, single
Robert Schultz, 35, two children

1901

Adam Huber, 45, five children
Emil Zaleski, 35, four children
Mathias Gelowitz, 39, six children (father of George M. Gelowitz)
Joseph Zimmer, 30, three children
Isidore Zimmer, 25, single
Karl Zimmer, 20, single
Mathias Huber, 50, four children
John Huber, 30, single
Michael Huber, 25, single
Karl Juri, 40, four children
Heinrich Duczek, 35, four children
John Duczek, 20, single

1902

Joseph Hicke, 45, five children
John Hicke, 20, single
Philip Hicke, 18, single
Isidore Riese, 35, four children
Theodore Krull, 50
Peter Krull, 25, single
John Englad, 45, one child
Anton Exner, 30, two children
Michael Exner, 23, single
Stephan Koslowski, 50, four children
Emil Koslowski, 20, single
Paul Stradecki, 38, five children
Ignace Stradecki, 70
Wenzel Stradecki, 35, two children
John Zimmer, 30
Bernard Zimmer, 23, single
Josepha Zimmer, 50, widow with four children
Joseph Zimmer, 21, single
Anton Zimmer, 19, single
George Zimmer, 18, single
Wenzel Appel, 35, four children
John Ruehr, 50, five children
Christain Ruehr, 18, single
Anton Lenhard, 70, widower
Alexander Lenhard, 30, single
George Lenhard, 30, single
Rosie Rieger, 60, widow
Joseph Rieger, 35, two children
Mathias Rieger, 22, single
Isidore Rieger, 20 single"

Note: Killaly pages courtesy Willy Thiele

Lutheran graveyard, Killaly

2008-12-23T16:06:00.000-08:00

I visited the Lutheran graveyard on the west side of Killaly a few years ago, and took down what names and dates I could read. Here is the list:

John Armbruster 1892-1923 (father)
(? gravestone broken up) daughter of J. Eberley (mother)
Christina Rilling: mutter
Gordon Schich, b. Sept 24, 1931, d. July 10, 1942
"Hier ruhen die geschister(?)":

Irma Martha Mattern, 4 Monate Att.
Erna Katharina Mattern, Gest. am Marz 1923 friede eurer asche(?)

Hansen 1930, Rest In Peace
Serfas, Mary Martha, 1931-32
Elizabeth Mattern 1889-1957
Victor Mattern 1884-1973
Walter Victor Mattern, Dec 18/36-Oct. 31/98
Anna Hack 1868-1964
Alwine A. Weiber (mother) 1893-1968
Heinrich A. (?Weiber) (father) 1882-1976
Elizabeth Gagnon 1900-1988
Rosina Sapara June 15 1881-May 30, 1960
Ann Meister 1948
Bernhardt Gerhart 1895-1950
Alfred J. Assman, Apr/22-Aug/50
Arnold O. Schultze (gunner RCA), 29 Jul. 1960 Age 40
John B Asman 1938-1995
Gordon Lutz Nov 29, 1930-Jan. 13, 1937
Jeunette Noretta Waldbauer, 26 Nov '37-29 Nov '37
Michael Leik Oct 10, 1954, birth and death
Ella Schick July 24/'28-Oct. 7/'38
Shirley Lutz 1936-39
Dennis A. Jahnke 1952-54
Peggy - daughter of H. and M. Baumgartner, birth and death Dec. 1/'45
June Mabel Daunheimer '42-'43
Hilda Baufeld 1940-41
John A. Schick 1866-1944
Joseph Leik 1878-1943
Appalonia Leik 1879-1948
Karl Assman 1894-1972
Sophia Assman 1900-1979
Herbert A. Jahnke 1924-61
Jahnke - Arthur 1894-1979, Ida 1896-1972
Karl C. Assman 1934-74
Emil Ellerman (father) 1870-1951
Ellerman (mother) ?
August Bachmann 1865-1953 (father)
Wilhelmina Bachmann 1870-1969 (mother)
Blaus:
- Christina 1882-1964
- Philip 1879-1968
Theodor Tank Mar 5/ 1913-June 24/ 1957
Theodor Gustav Tank 1886-19(?62)
Martha Helen Tank Dec. 3, 1892-Nov. 12, 1980
Tank:
- Son - Emil 1925-1992,
- Son - Eric E. 1922-1985,
- Daughter - Erna 1914-1989

Early Settlers to Mariahilf, SK, 1896 - 1899

2008-12-22T11:09:00.000-08:00

Early Settlers to Mariahilf, SK, 1896 - 1899

Note that the list includes the name of the husband, the number of children, but no mention of the wife. At all. Which says a lot about the status of women in those days (ie. non-existent)
Killaly pages courtesy Willy Thiele. (http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/3203/)

"1896

The year 1896 witnessed the arrival of six families and two bachelors from Gallicia (sic) and one founding family from Bukowina - a total of 44 souls - to constitute the 'founding fathers', so to say, of our community. These were as follows:

John Bruch, 50, five children,
John Kletchko, 55, four children,
Stan Bulla, 40, three children,
Fred Mansiak, 40, four children,
Andreas Rogalski, 35, five children,
Martin Schoenhoffer, 50, one child,
Joseph Michalski, 25, single,
Adam Kunderman, 25, single,
John Hubenig, 45, eight children.

1897

1897 brought the following additions:

Heinrich Exner, 45, five children
Anton Exner, 22, single
Anton J. Flegel, 45, four children
Anton Rieger, with one orphan
Jakob Lichtenwald Sr., 23, single

1898

The following year seems to have been fruitful in settlers. It greatly swelled the young growing community, bringing new life and new activity. From early spring till late fall they kept streaming in to found new homes.

Anton Exner, 40, four children
John Exner, 40, two children
Joseph G. Flegel, 45, six children
Anton G. Flegel, 35, four children
John Hornung, 50, six children
Joseph Hornung, 25, single
Frank Hornung, 23, single
Michael Hornung, 20, single
John Holitzki, 40, six children
John Novak, 40, six children
Heinrich Holitzki, 30, three children
Adam Nestman, 30, three children
Wilhelm Hanoski, 50, four children
Sebastian Hanoski, 53, five children
Anton Ludwar, 50, four children
Jakob Ruehr, 30, two children
Joseph Lang, 40, four children
Caspar Beutel, 50, six children
Jakob Dietrich, 40, four children
John Dietrich, 30, three children
John Fuchs, 50, four children
George Fuchs, 30, four children
Frank Fuchs, 25, two children
Jakob Ludwar, 45, four children
John J. Flegel, 50, five children
George Baer, 50, four children

1899

While 1899 witnessed a drop in the number of settlers, it too brought its representatives in the following:

Joseph Schlechter, 46
Michael Rieger, 55, four children (Father of Mrs. George M. Gelowitz)
Daniel Flegel, 55, five children
Peter Rieger, 50, four children
Frank D. Flegel, 20, single

(Footer: Page twenty-nine)"

Killaly Immigrants

2008-12-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

Old Homes of New Americans

2008-12-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

Notes: Published in 1913, by Francis E. Clark. This is an old travelogue on the Bukovina, Transylvania region. Apologies for the picturesque, and today, somewhat offensive language. The whole book is online here.

Old Homes of New Americans

On the Easternmost Edge of Austria-Hungary

The Bukowina and Transylvania

Chapter 15

The Varied History of the Bukowins -- Its Many Rulers -- At the Window of the Schwarzer Adler -- The Many Sights of Czernowitz--The Dangers of Photography - Transylvania, the Switzerland of the East -- An Heroic People -- Stanch Protestants -- The Eccentricities of the Old Nobles -- A Bit of Dry Humor -- Advice to the American Globe-Girdler.

The Bukowina, though now a province of Austria, was originally a part of Transylvania, which now belongs to Hungary; so for the purposes of this book we may conisider them together in the part of the work devoted to Hungary, since they are contiguous provinces, with many of the same characteristics of climate, natural scenery, productions, and people.

The seven hundred thousand people of the Bukowina were organized as a separate crown land of Austria about the middle of the last century. For two hundred and fifty years before 1777, when it was ceded to Austria, it was ruled by the Turk and suffered the unspeakable horrors of frequent wars, its soil often being dyed red with the blood of its sons.

It is a mountainous country, with the exception of the valley of the Pruth, its chief river; and its only considerable city is Czernowitz, its capital. Come with me to the Schwarzer Adler (the Black Eagle) in Czernowitz, and let us see what is novel and interesting from the window that overlooks the principal square of the town. Do you confess that you never heard of Czernowitz before? Yet it is a city with fine public buildings, a flourishing university, an archbishop's palace, and a history stretching back for hundreds of years.

The view from our window is peculiarly fascinating, because it reveals so many types of the genus homo. There is the hobble skirt of 1912 walking the street with the sheepskin coat of 1219. There is the latest obtainable Paris peach-basket hat hobnobbing with the bright plaid shawl thrown gracefully over the head, and looking a thousand times more beautiful and comfortable than the flaunting foreign headgear.

There is a group of students with bright German corps caps, sabre scars on their cheeks, and a big dog tagging their heels. They are passing a group of barelegged peasants from the country, in woolly skin coats and caps. There are Ruthenians, Poles, Jews, Saxons, and Roumanians, the latter race probably outnumbering all the others.

The market, which is constantly in operation from early morning until midnight, is a blaze of colored costumes, highly colored fruit, and colored lamps at night. Oranges, lemons, apples, grapes, figs are displayed, while the market-women have borrowed the gold of the orange, the pink flush of the apple, and the purple of the grapes and figs with which to dye and embroider their skin coats, which are often most elaborate and costly.

There goes a primitive watering-cart, consisting of a hogshead mounted on wheels, with a long, flexible leather spout sticking out behind. As the cart is driven along the dusty street, a man walks behind, swinging the spout from right to left, and leaving a meagre trickle of water behind him.

If America does not know much of Czernowitz, Czernowitz is never allowed to forget America. Half a dozen steamship agencies flaunt the Stars and Stripes, and invite the passerby to take a steerage passage for the land beyond the great water. An "American House Pullman" directly opposite our hotel sells "Walkover" shoes and other familiar articies of wearing apparel while American photographic establishments abound, where you can obtain twelve "stuck" (postage-stamp size) of your counterfeit presentment for sixty heller or twelve cents.

If you should not care to buy your pictures at the rate of a cent a copy, but wish to take photographs of the natives, you will have no easy task, for you will be besieged by a pushing, eager mob all anxious to be "took." Old market-women will peer into the finder and will pose beatifically for their pictures, until half a dozen small boys crowd in front of the lens and destroy the focus.

So alarmed was I lest my wife, who was trying to take a picture in the market square, should be crushed by these too eager aspirants for the immortality of the camera, that I had to crowd my way through, pushing boys to right and left, until I made a path for her to escape to the hotel.

Bukowina is not by any means the least interesting part of Francis Joseph's dominions. Much of it is peopled by Roumanians, who pride themselves on being descendants of the old Roman legionaries and speaking a language more like the ancient Latin than the Italians themselves. This pride of race has received a severe shock from the researches of some modern scholars, who deny the Latin origin of the Roumanians.

The compatriots of these Roumanians have established an independent kingdom of their own in the land across the border from the Bukowina. Roumania is indeed the most prosperous of all the smaller kingdoms of southeastern Europe.

Bordering on the Bukowina and also on Roumania is Transylvania, the most picturesque of all the domains of Hungary: This is the Switzerland of southeastern Europe. Here high mountains, bold granite crags, gentler hills clothed with forests to their top, rushing streams, feathery waterfalls make the region of the Carpathians exceedingly attractive. They only need to be better known, and to have more and better hotels, to rival the most celebrated mounitain resorts in the world.

Transylvania has played no mean part in the history of Europe. Like the adjoining parts of Hungary, her task was to repel the hordes of Turks who were constantly crossing her borders and ravaging her fair territory. Since the Transylvanians were the nearest neighbors of the Turks, they had to bear the brunt of the battle, and right bravely did they stand, time and time again, between the rest of Europe and the terrible armies of the Mussulmans, while Germany, Austria, and France looked on in apathetic

selfishness.

All Hungary was engaged in this centuries-long conflict of Christian against Moslem, but she had to look at times to Transylvania for her leaders. The Transylvanians were stanch Protestants after the Reformation, and when Ferdinand II inherited the crowns of Bohemia and Hungary, and began to persecute the Bohemian Protestants, the Hungarians elected a brave Transylvanian noble, Bethlen Gabor, as their king. He flew to the rescue of Bohemia; but when at the disastrous battle of the White Mountain the Bohemians were overwhelmingly defeated, Bethlen Gabor had to give up the crown of Hungary and retreat to the fastnesses of Transylvania.

We are told that the old Transylvanian nobles were a class by themselves, retaining their old feudaI customs long after the rest of Europe had given them up. Some of them reveled in their eccentricities. There are stories of an old noble who was found dressed in ancient Magyar clothes, drilling a flock of geese as though they were soldiers. Another was accustomed to camp out in his park in summer, striking his tents in the morning and pitching them again at night; while yet another of whom we have heard, who wished to keep his guest for a longer visit, had the wheels of the guest's carriage taken off and hung up in a high tree, where only a certain gypsy could climb to get them down. The gypsy was then sent out of town, and the enforced visit of the guest was continued.

The dry humor of the old Magyar nobles of Transylvania is illustrated by a story told by Mr. Colquhoun in his book, "The Whirpool of Europe" One of these nobles, though rich, was noted for his shabby clothes. On one occasion a young farmhand desiring another farmhand and seeing this shabby old man, cried out, "Hi! old man, do you want some work?" The old man nodded assent. "Well, you can come along tomorrow and look after some sheep. Bring any of your bits of things or animals with you; there's plenty of room on my farm." The next day, as the young farmer walked across his fields, he saw a cloud of dust coming up the road. Presently there emerged from it a herd of cows, horses, and sheep, hundreds of animals with their drovers.

This cavalcade swept past the astonished man, and behind it was a huge wagon, creaking and groaning, laden with heavy furniture, in front of which sat his shabby acquaintance of the day before. "You told me to bring my animals and bits of things," said the old man; "and there they are."

While the chief landed proprietors of Transylvania are Magyars and Saxons, the bulk of the population are Roumanians, and from their ranks go largely the emigrants to America. Of the one hundred and sixty-seven thousand emigrants from Hungary in a single recent year, seven eighths of whom went to the United States, about one sixth, or nearly thirty thousand, spoke the Roumanian language. That this people has large capacity for self-rule, and that they will Prosper wherever they take root, is shown by the extremely flourishing condition of Roumania as compared with many of her neighbors.

Brasso (or Kronstadt, as the Germans call it), the chief town of Transylvania, is a bright and enterprising little city, most beautifully situated, with fine mountains to the east, and the interminable rich plains of Hungary stretching to the west as far as Budapest. I would advise the American globe-girdler, who is seeking for new worlds to conquer, to spend a summer in Transylvania. He will find no more charming scenery and no more hospitable and likable people, no more genuinely primitive and interesting life and customs, in the five continents than among the Carpathians of Transylvania.

MOLODIA: The Rise and Fall of the Only Catholic Swabian Parish in Bukovina

2008-10-15T22:42:00.000-07:00

Check out this link to some old family history from Bukovina, from 1770s to 1940:

MOLODIA: The Rise and Fall of the Only Catholic Swabian Parish in Bukovina
by Norbert Gaschler, priest emeritus

Excerpt:

"Origin of the Molodians. “Seven years after the [Austrian] occupation the first German settlers came via Hungary and the Banat to Rosch and Molodia, which was already a larger community at that time. . . . The settlers for the most part hailed from southwestern Germany, the Rhine-Palatinate, the Rhineland, Hesse with actually no Swabians among them. The strong German Bohemian or German Moravian influence appeared later in Rosch.”[S]

A good decade later one reads: “The origin of all of the first colonists cannot be ascertained. . . . Only four families remained. However, new settlers soon arrived, especially from the Bohemian lands. These included the families of Rieger, Kisslinger, Hornung, Muschig, Neumann, Klein, Hicke, etc. Others came from Switzerland such as the Brodern family; still others from Swabia such as Hartmann, Huber, etc.”[B]

From the few pages of the marriage bans register, which, according to Reverend Hornung are actually the oldest original Bukovina church books that we have in the West, we can conclude that there is a list of names in Molodia not linked to the families which settled in 1782. So, for example:

1809 Maria daughter of Ignaz Exner, resident
1816 Martin Grandl (=Krandl), Molodian colonist, with Susanna Müller, widow
1823 Friedrich Hank, husbandman in Molodia, and Theresia Bitay, Molodia
Johann Rieger, husbandman in Molodia, and Magdalena Dittrich, Molodia
1824 Peter Huber, Molodian servant and Catharina Klepsch – Rosch
Johann Hirschmüller-Rosch and Marianna Hubert in Molodia
1825
Franz Anton Weckend of Molodia with Anna Kunzelmann – Rosch
Ignaz Wolf, peasant’s son of Molodia with Marianna Flegel, Molodia
Josef Klein, husbandman from Molodia with Josepha Muschik, Derelui"

another excerpt:

"Emigration. “The great emigration to Canada began in 1898 and lasted uninterruptedly until the war. It can be stated with assurance that at least 50 percent of the total population immigrated to Canada, particularly to the region of Regina/Saskatchewan. In 1908 P.J. Kasper OMI, the pastor of Maria-Hilf, Saskatchewan, a settlement founded by Germans from Molodia, came to Molodia for a visit at the request of his priest.”[S]

Mariahilf, the name of the settlement, shows that it was faithful Catholics who had left Molodia and not the worst of people. According to reports by visitors (1974) these emigrants not only remained true to their faith but also to their “Swabianness” until recent times. And it is to the honor of all emigrated Molodians that Der deutsche Katholic im Ausland (The German Catholic Abroad), Bonn, No. 6/1974 reported: “Regina, Canada, Pope Paul VI appointed Dr. Adam Exner, OMI, from the German family from Regina, as Bishop of Kamloops in British Columbia. . . His parents emigrated from the former Austrian crown land of Bukovina. . . .His 80-year-old mother was able to attend his consecration.”

They Came...

2008-01-09T11:13:00.000-08:00

They Saw....

2008-01-09T11:04:00.000-08:00

Simone's Family History

Killaly, Saskatchewan Elevator and tracks c. 1994

Early Settlers to Mariahilf, Saskatchewan, 1900 - 2 (republished with transcribed text)

Early Settlers to Mariahilf, Saskatchewan, 1896 - 1899 (republished with transcribed text)

St. Elizabeth Parish History (from Willy Thiele's site) c. 1983

The History of Germans from Bukovina

Bukovina in the Austrian Empire: 1774 - 1918

German Emigration to North America

Romanian Bukovina: 1918 - 1944

Russian Annexation of Northern Bukovina and German Umseidlung: 1940

Sources:

Links:

Traditional potato pancakes like grandma made

Perfect Potato Pancakes

Holitzki Genealogy book available

Mariahilf Church and Graveyard

Mariahilf Graveyard: West

Row 1:

Row 2:

Row 3:

Row 4:

Row 5:

Row 6:

Interior of Mariahilf Church, south of Killaly Photo: Simone Hoedel Mariahilf Graveyard: East

Row 1:

Row 2:

Row 3:

Row 4:

Row 5:

Anton Rieger -- Isador Exner farm near Killaly, Saskatchewan

Homebrew: Home grown innovative entrepreneurialism from Grayson, SK’s past

Why Germans are called krauts

All my Ancestors....

Eulogy for my dad, Claude Hoedel, died 2006

Rose Holitzki's Eulogy: 1917-2009

Grayson Polkafest, 2005

The History of Germans from Bukovina

Killaly / Mariahilf, SK Immigrants 1903 - 1918

Killaly / Mariahilf, SK Immigrants 1900 - 1902 (republished with text)

Lutheran graveyard, Killaly

I visited the Lutheran graveyard on the west side of Killaly a few years ago, and took down what names and dates I could read. Here is the list:

Early Settlers to Mariahilf, SK, 1896 - 1899

Killaly Immigrants

Old Homes of New Americans

MOLODIA: The Rise and Fall of the Only Catholic Swabian Parish in Bukovina

They Came...

They Saw....

Interior of Mariahilf Church, south of Killaly
Photo: Simone Hoedel

Mariahilf Graveyard: East