Wordless Wednesday ~ Oma and the twins ~

This is my maternal Oma, Liselotte Haf née Kaiser~Saule

born ~ 19 Dec 1913 in Zurich, Switzerland

died ~ 05 April 2010 in Augsburg, Germany . . . holding my twin uncles,

Helmut Haf  ~ 1940 ~ 1994 and Adalbert  Haf  ~1940 ~ 2004  

::|---------------------------------------------------|::

                                                                         

Remembering my Grandmother, Liselotte Haf née Kaiser~Saule ~

~ Unvergessen ~ 

On this day, six years ago, my maternal grandmother, Liselotte Haf née Kaiser-Saule,   (1913 ~ 2010), passed away peacefully in her sleep. Oma was 96 years old . . . she lived a long life.

Oma survived her city, Augsburg, being bombed and having to take her twin boys to a shelter while my mom was carted off to a farm outside the city for safety for several months. She raised three wonderful children and was there for my grandfather, Adalbert (1907 ~ 1968) when he was shot in the shoulder while serving in the war.

How I wish I could sit and talk with her about all those experiences and learn more about her life . . . she is very missed but I know she is with my mom, Elfriede (1933 ~ 2010) her twin sons, Helmut (1940 ~ 1994) and Adi (1940 ~ 2004), and my grandfather, doing what she did so well, taking care of her family . . . we love you Oma ~





Photo taken at my wedding reception on, Sept. 24, 1988, in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Webb, my mother and father-in-law. My Oma was visiting from Augsburg, Germany, so we planned the wedding around her visit . . . what a blessing it was to have both Oma and my mom with me that day.

Sentimental Sunday ~ Book Page of Margarete Saule nee Kaiser ~

~ Margarete 'Gretel' Saule nee Kaiser ~

22 July 1888 ~ 28 May 1972

A page from my Haf ~ Kaiser Family Book 

As I created this page for the book I am putting together on my maternal Haf~Kaiser, line, I recalled the few wonderful memories of my great-grandmother, Margarete, aka Gretel. She was a very small framed lady . . . always very warm and loving to me . . . I am so glad that I was able to know her in my lifetime. She had such a sweet smile. I love these photos of her home and how I was there when I was little.

When I was three, mom (1933~2010) and I left Germany, I didn't see my great-grandmother again until 1967 at Christmas time and it was a most memorable time indeed . . . memories to create more pages for my book - I hope to share those pages from time to time here on my blog.

Wordless Wednesday ~ In Memory of my Great-Grandmother, Margarete ~

Margarete Saule née Kaiser 

~ My maternal Great-Grandmother ~ 

22 July 1888 in Schmerold, German

28 May 1972 in Augsburg, Bayern, Germany

(Background is a scanned memorial card from a maternal German family member)

Wordless Wednesday ~ A Haf Family Vacation ~

~ A Haf Family Vacation ~ 

My maternal German family

In the 1930's (no date on back of photo).

My Oma, Liselotte Haf nee Kaiser~Saule, (1913~2010) is on the left with the glasses

and my Opa, Adalbert Haf (1097~1968 is at the front of the boat in the light suit. I do not know the names of the other family members. 

Wedding Wednesday ~ Joseph and Maria Beierlein

 

Joseph Beierlein and Maria Saule

Maria Beierlein nee Saule, is my grand step-aunt . . . step-sister to my Oma, Liselotte Haf nee Kaiser-Saule (1913~2010).

I found this wonderful wedding photo among the photos that my mom, Elfreide Haf-Serafin (1933~2010), brought back from Germany in April of 2010. I noticed aunt Maria's flower bouquet is very similar to my mom's bridal bouquet in this → photo - both so beautiful.

I remember very little of aunt Maria and I spent some time today attempting to find records on her but was unsuccessful . . . time to call my auntie Gitta in Augsburg.

Remembering my Oma, Margarete Saule née Kaiser ~

 

~ Margarete 'Oma Gretel' Saule nee Kaiser ~
22 July 1888 ~ 28 May 1972
Augsburg, Germany

Be it remembered, forty~one years ago today, my Oma Gretel passed away. I remember her well and I remember where I was on May 28th, 1972. Oma was so sweet and so tiny.
~ Rest in Peace dear Oma ~


 

Happy Birthday, Dear Oma ~

 

Today, my (maternal grandmother) Oma, Liselotte Haf  née Kaiser-Saule (1913 ~ 2010) would have been 99 years old. Oma was born in Zurich, Switzerland. 

What a wonderful day that was . . . 

Happy Birthday, Oma, we love and miss you!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Oma Gretel and me ~

 

~ Margarete 'Oma Gretel' Saule nee Kaiser ~
22 July 1888 ~ 28 May 1972
Augsburg, Germany

 

~ Gini Webb nee Haf ~

Playing on the same balcony that my Oma Gretel is 

seated at in the photo above.

Augsburg, Germany

ca 1954

Wordless Wednesday ~ Little Liselotte ~

 

~ Liselotte Haf nee Kaiser-Saule (1913 ~ 2010) ~ 

Oma (grandmother) to yours truly, the keeper of our family history ~ 

Tombstone Tuesday and On This Day ~ Peter Saule born in 1883 ~

Peter Saule, born on this day in 1883 ~

Nordfriedhof Cemetery, Augsburg, Germany

"Unvergessen"

(unforgotten)

                             My maternal great grandfather, Peter Saule will never be "forgotten".

Peter Saule, born on the 2nd day of November 1883 in Waldberg, Germany, passed away fifty three years ago today...the 20th day of May 1957 in Augsburg, Germany.

Peter Saule was actually my step great grandfather. He married my great grandmother, Margarete Kaiser (1888~1972)  when my Oma, Lieselotte Kaiser-Saule Haf (1913~2010) was just six years old.

Sadly, I do not remember anything about him but I know that I was around him for a short period of time before mom and I left for the U.S.  Mom remembers him quite well, so thru her, I plan on getting to know him much better.

My great grandfather Peter, was a mortician and a funeral director for the Nordfriedhof Cemetery and Funeral Home in Augsburg, Germany.

When I first saw the photo of my great grandfather (here and in the above collage), I could not take my eyes off of it! The back of the photo is a post card. It's to my understanding that if the photo is smooth, it was not mass produced by the mortuary to hand out to family members. This photo is smooth and was sent to my mom from a family member, believing it to be an original photo. 

The back of the photo has the photographers stamp that reads:

Photohaus Carl Mader, Augsburg-Oberhausen-Zollernstrasse 31 (address) Telefone 31238.

In my handwriting: Peter Saule b. 02 Nov 1883 d. 20 May 1957, Gini's great grandfather.

German funeral customs were that the deceased would be placed in one of the rooms in the "viewing gallery"  with an open casket, surrounded by flowers and candles.

The viewing gallery was a hallway of rooms with glass fronts.  Family members were allowed to stay with the deceased until the burial.  To this day, viewing rooms are still customary, my Oma was placed in a viewing room. However, in the early sixties, this tradition changed in that open caskets were no longer permitted.



The memorial card with the Cross on the front (to the right of photo), opens to a beautiful card/obituary shown below the photo of Peter.   The German word "Unvergessen" meaning, "unforgotten" is printed  below the Cross in the lower right corner.

At the top in the middle of the opened card reads:

Zum stillen Gedenken

To quiet Remembrance

In the middle of the opened card is the newspaper obituary that my great grandmother attached reads:

In Gods holy will, we lost after severe illness, my dear good Husband, our best Father, Grandfather, Great Grandfather, Step Father, Father-in-law, Brother, Brother-in-law, and Uncle. 

 Mr. Peter Saule

Prior Town Mortician

at the age of 73 1/2

Augsburg, Tunnelstreet 12, Gersthofen, Solingen, New Jersey, Kalifornien, on 20 May 1957

In deep sorrow: Margarete Saule, Wife with children and relatives.

The memorial service is taking place on Wednesday the 22nd of May 1957, at 10:00 A.M., in the Thadaus Church, the burial the same day at 14:30 P.M. in Nordfriedhof Cemetery.

I love the bouquet of flowers image that is to the left of the newspaper obituary.  This card along with a note from my great aunt Anni, came in the envelope (in the above collage) with a black border...traditional stationary used when a death occurred in the family.

Peter's funeral service memorial card reads:

In holy memory and in prayer
to my loving Husband,
our good Father,
Grandfather and Great grandfather,
Brother and Uncle

Mr.
Peter Saule
Born on 2. Nov. 1883 in Waldberg
Died on 20. May 1957 in Augsburg
----
A dear fathers heart is resting from all earths sorrows, he is free of pain and sorrow
and is home with God.
He only hurt us once thru his death, he always loved God and us in happiness, pain and destitute and God gave him eternal rest!
------------------------------------------------------
Josef Mayer, Augsburg 3

On the other side of this funeral card and below the depiction of Jesus reads:

Father, not our will, but yours shall be!

Sources: My dear and wonderful mom who translated each and every word! She is the owner of all the documents used in this post, I now get to be the keeper of them, thank you mom.

November 2nd, 2010 ~ This is a repost...the information in this post is all I currently have of my great grandfather Peter, at this time. 

                                                                   

 

Wordless Wednesday ~

                                                        

I had a wonderful surprise from Terri Kallio over at "The Ties That Bind". Terri was so kind to repair this old and dear photo of my Oma (grandmother) and my great grandmother, Margarete. Thank you so much Terri, you did a beautiful job and I am smiling ear to ear!

Here is the restored photo by Terri ~

As you can see, Terri removed what looked like a tear on my great grandmothers dress, starting at her neck and on down to the top of her arm. Looks wonderful! I love this photo.

Give Their Face A Place ~ 21st Edition of Smile for the Camera

My decision to honor my mother, Elfriede Haf and my maternal grandmother, Lieselotte “Oma” Haf, the women in my history, was not difficult at all. Both of these women have made such difference in my life as well as in so many others lives. This is a great opportunity for me to share their history and for them to see what a positive influence they continue to have in our family.

My Oma has lived thru some very difficult times in her lifetime. She never knew her father and sadly that missing piece from our family line is a link none of us will probably ever know about. When she was very small (unknown dates) her mother, my great grandmother Margarete Kaiser met and married, Peter “Opa” Saule. Opa adopted my Oma, changing her name to Lieselotte Saule, she would later marry Adalbert Haf. My Oma is 96 years old and still lives in Germany.

1933 in Augsburg, Germany my Oma gave birth to my beautiful mom, Elfriede Haf. In 1940 Oma gave birth to my twin uncles, Adalbert and Helmut, they have both since passed, strangely enough from the same illness, 10 years apart. This was very difficult for my Oma to endure.

In1944, during WWII, the bombing increased in Augsburg to it’s heaviest period. All school children were evacuated, separating my mom and other children from their families for a year. The children were transported to farms and villages for their protection. Mom remembers how much she missed her family, wondering when she would see them again or if they even survived the bombings. Oma and the boys were taken to air-raid shelters where they remained safe. Many homes were destroyed during the bombings, however, my Oma's home survived with minimal damage. Mom remembers the day her father came to take her home; transportation was no longer in effect due to the advancing invasion; they walked from the village to Augsburg taking a day and a night, a time she will never forget!

Oma has always been so close to my heart, she is the one that started me on hot peppermint tea when my tummy was upset...she’s also the one that let me have sips of ‘Blackberry Schnapps’ and German eggnog! She always made sure that she would send me German goodies every Christmas, once mom and I came to the United States. Oma made a major difference in my life and gave me strong German roots.

Once here in the United States, there was no holding mom back! In 1958, mom started working for Montgomery Wards in Monterey, California. This was the start of a lifelong career in Women's Fashions and she was darn good at it too! Mom was also an excellent seamstress and made all of my clothes for many years.

In 1960, mom was transferred to the San Jose Montgomery Wards Department Store, where she climbed the ladder of success quickly. She was the first woman ‘Merchandise Manager’, and then she was recruited to set up the Western Region on the ‘Computerized Merchandise Replenishment System’. Mom was then promoted to the first woman’ District Merchandise Manager’ and then on to the first woman ‘Regional Manager', directing 41 stores. At one point mom was the ‘Merchandising Director’ for the Central and Northwestern region, which is Northern California, Oregon and Washington, while simultaneously raising me. I don’t know how she did it, but she was always there for me, the best mom in the world. In 1990 she was transferred to the Southern Region, entailing the Southern California and Nevada area, until 1994.

I remember her having to travel quite a bit between New York, Chicago and various parts of the United States, I was grown and on my own at that point.

Mom always lovingly referred to Montgomery Wards as "monkey wards"!

Mom retired in 1994

~ Here's to giving your Faces a Place, Mom and Oma, the women in my family history ~

 

The word prompt for the 21st Edition of Smile For the Camera is "Give Their Face A Place." March is Women's History Month and you are asked to picture women back into history. The unknown, known and unsung women who are often the foundation of our family history. Give Their Face a Place. The interpretation is yours.

This was written for the 21st edition of Smile for the Camera: Give Their Face A Place, to be hosted by footnoteMaven and celebrate woman back into history.


                                                                     

Great Oma Margarete's German Marble Cake~

For the upcoming Holiday 2009 edition of the GeneaBloggers cookbook. Now is the time to gather those favorite holiday recipes along with any photos and stories that help illustrate how important the recipe was to your family. For details on how to participate, head on over to Geneabloggers.

The family history of our marble cake~

The little girl on a relatives lap is me! great Oma Margarete ~ 1888~1972 ~ sits next to my Opa all the way to the right. My two uncles Helumt and Adi (twins) are standing along with my cousin Meggi who was always near and protective, even as I grew older! This photo captures one of the many visits held on each Sunday!

My Oma (grandmother), my Mom and the author of this blog, grew up on this German Marble Cake! This cake is my childhood favorite out of any of the German dishes my mom made. Mom would make this cake just about every Sunday, and I would get to lick the bowl too (best part)! It’s great with coffee or tea.

Every Sunday afternoon in Germany, tradition would be that the family members would get together for coffee at my great -grandmother, Margarete Kaiser Saule’s home. This German Marble Cake was part of that tradition at every visit!

Little did she know it would be passed all the way down to me! Thank you Mom, Oma and great Oma, I will continue to pass this recipe – with pleasure!


~ My Great Oma Margarete's German Marble Cake ~
♥
1 cup soft butter

2 & 2/3 cup sugar (2 or up to 2 & 2/3 cups)
2 & 2/3 cups flour
4 eggs
1 package vanilla sugar or 1 teaspoon vanilla essence/extract
2/3 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 pinch of salt
½ cup of milk (add additional milk slowly if needed for smoother batter)
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon powder sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a fluted tube pan or bundt pan.

In a large mixing bowl, crème together the softened butter, sugar and vanilla essence/extract until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

In a separate mixing bowl, sift and combine the flour, corn starch, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and blend together thoroughly.

Pour half of the yellow batter into greased pan. Add cocoa powder to remaining batter and blend. Slowly pour the cocoa batter on top of the yellow batter. Carefully (not too much or you will loose the effect), draw the knife several times through the batter, creating a marbleizing effect.

Bake for one hour or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in pan for 20 minutes, invert onto a plate or cake plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!


Mom lives about an hour and thirty minutes away from me, she drove down and stayed with me during Thanksgiving week. As we sat together, mom translated this recipe from German to English, she shared tradition and stories about this marble cake. Our time together was very special. Thank you mom, you are the best!

Photo now owned and held by Gini Webb (further research to be done on other relatives in photo).

Happy 126th Birthday, Great Opa, Peter Saule~

My great grandfather, Peter Saule was born on this day, November 2nd, in the year 1883 in Waldberg, Germany ~ died the 20th day of May in 1957 in Augsburg, Germany.

Great Grandfather Saule was actually my maternal step great grandfather. I have not researched my Saule line as of yet, so I have very little information on him or family members.

Peter Saule married my great grandmother, Margarete Kaiser Saule (1888~1972) when my grandmother "Oma" (as I call her) Lieselotte Haf was only six years old, Oma is still living in Germany.

Opa Saule's occupation in life was a Mortician. Opa also managed the goings on at the cemetery. As I gathered this little bit of information from my mom, she said, "he was a very quiet man, and I had a lot of respect for him." I am looking forward to researching the Saule family. As to the identity of my natural maternal great grandfather, I'm afraid I will never know, unfortunately, no one knows who that was.

The photo is of my great grandmother Margarete Kaiser Saule, my Oma~~ Lieselotte Kaiser Saule Haf and my great grandfather, Peter Saule.

Happy Birthday Opa!