Family News

First Quarter 2019

Here we are again, well into another year and certainly feeling older. Upon the death of her aunt Anna, Evelyn in now the matriarch of the Doffek-Pink-Muller Clan. I am one of a base of over 60 aunts, uncles and first cousins born in the first third of the 1900s and many reaching a "biblical age" Still living are three of my father's cousins as well as three to six of my older first cousins from my mother's side. Its amazing we have lasted this long, all be it with some aches and pains and the assistance of modern medicine. and many doctors. Unable to walk very much, Evelyn continues to swim several days each week. I walk almost every day and after getting another cortisone shot, I anticipate again golfing by April.

January's highlight was undoubtedly watching Grand daughter Tayler being sworn into The New Jerrsey Bar Association and becoming an Assistant Prosecutor in Hudson County. Photo below shows Evelyn holding the Bible during the swearing in.

          Earlier in the month we had lunch with Carla & John at their new residence at the shore. To call it a work in progress is being kind. However, they are delighted and by this time next year the refurbishing should be complete and the drama behind them.
        Rounding out the month were: lunch here with Lisa & Karl, lunch in Bound Brook with the Shives, a band concert at the clubhouse, as well as the usual doctor's appointments.

        We headed off to Daytona Beach at the start of February for a three week visit with Werner & Angela (via auto train). Unfortunately, my back pain returned, and I was unable to play golf. That combined with Evelyn's limited mobility kept us indoors a large part of the three weeks. Our arrival the morning of Super Bowl Sunday allowed us to attend the "watching party" at Werner's new home.

The following Friday, Jeffrey came up for an overnight visit. Werner hosted an excellent dinner at his club for what could be considered an eclectic group. Included were: KC and her fiance Kevin, Angela's mother with her 2nd husband Robert, and Angela's daughter Christine.

        As in the past, we made a short visit to "The Villages" for lunch with Ev's cousin Cynthia. Also had several dinners with Werner & Angela including at the Germen restaurant on our last night.
       The trip home was uneventful, as was the last week of February in NJ. Uneventful also applied to the weather which was relatively mild, as it was for most of the Winter.

        March started with my cortisone shot which will hopefully allow me to continue to golf this year. On the first Sunday we were visited by Lisa & Carla with spouses in tow,while on the last Sunday Emma & Nick came up. Inbetween, there was not much going on except for the installation of a new telephone answering unit and Roku for an improved baseball viewing experience.

Fourth Quarter 2018

She managed to use it several times during the month. Thereafter cold and windy weather confined her new wheels to the garage until spring. The month ended with a pleasent visit from son Jeffrey and BIG DOG Major. They were on their way to Florida and were forced to drive since the airlines were not inclined to take a Bernese Mountain Dog.

We continue to enjoy the talented outside entertainment brought into Canal Walk. Early in November it was provided by the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, playing a program of "French related" classical music.Included were selections from Bizet's Carmen, works by Saint Saens, Dukas, Offenbach and ending with "American in Paris".

On the 16th, Jeff's girls and spouses showed up with Ford Hamilton our first great grand son. This was a momentus visit. w ford

On the 23rd we all celebrated Thanksgiving at Lisa & Karl's. At month end Lisa and I went to the Met to see Bizet's "The Pearl Fishers". The principals all sang well, especially to upcoming tenor, Javier Camarena. Inbetween all the above, we managed to have a new heating and air conditioning system installed.

The December holiday season arrived quickly. On the 17th Sidney & Nolan came by to help us put up the Christmas tree. Moving along into the season, Ev & I attended the Rotary Xmas Lunch where we were again entertained by the Somerville HS Choir. Taylor joined us at the Christmas Eve service at our church. She came earlier in the day to help Evelyn get ready for the Family celebration at our house on Christmas day. Joining Ev & I were Lisa and Carla with their families plus Nick, Nolan and Alex.

We were so busy eating and enjoying each others company that no one remembered to take the traditional family pictures. The above photo manages to capture (poorly) eleven of the thirteen attendees. Only Nolen and I, the photographer, are missing and Evelyhn, lower left, is not facing the camera. Fortunately, we are all still as good looking as we were last year so the lack of the annual photos are not a problem.

The final days of the year ended quietly for us. We enter the new year generously blessed. However,we are greatly saddened by the multitudes in our country and through the world that continue to experience war, poverty and injustice.

Second Quarter 2018

April again, as March, was colder than normal. Between the cold, wind and rain, it turned out to be the first April in memory that we did not play golf. We spent the first day, Easter Sunday at the Fritzingers along with the Ruggieris.

The following Monday Carla and I went into NYC to see Verdi"s Luisa Miller at the Met. Before hand, we had a nice walk along side Central Park. I could not resist taking a photo of the grand old Dakota. This was the home of John Lennon and the place he was murdered.

The opera was well done and of special interest because the aging tenor Placido Domingo sang the baritone roll of the father.

    Carla & John visited during the final week and the month ended with a very nice PBS broadcast of Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore.

    Things got much better in May. Not only were we able to regularly play golf but I also spent a week in Germany with my two sons.

    We arrived separately at the Stuttgart Airport the morning of Tuesday, May 8. Werner E rented a car and drove. Jeffrey and his GPS navigated, not without incident, as he initially started us toward the Hotel Krone in Stuttgart instead of the one in Gerlingen. Entry of the proper destination got us to our hotel and after check in we spent the afternoon acquainting the guys with old family sites which of course included the cemetery. In the evening we attended an illustrated presentation about the way Gerlingen had changed and grown during the past 60 years It was at the new Town Hall and we were with Roland & Sybille. By chance we also ran into cousin Gunter Pfund and his wife Monika. As would be the case throughout the week, each day would end at a local bierstube and then dinner.

    Wednesday, our first full day, started with a FULL breakfast at the hotel. As would be the case for subsequent days, this meal would carry us through the day up until bierstube time. Accompanied by Roland, we headed north to Sindringen, my mother;s birth town. This area,the Kochertal, is home to the old Kohlhammer families. Unfortunately, the deaths of my primary contacts eliminated the opportunity to visit cousins. We took a walking tour through the old town of Sindringen passing by the site where the Kohlhammer haus had stood. While we got to see the old "1000 year old church" we were not able to get inside.At the end of our walk we rested at the beirstube in The local Krone before heading toward Schontal.
    Driving along the Kocher we passed family towns such as Ernsbach and Christahofen as well as going through the walled town of Forchtenburg. Schontal is an impressive monastery complex on the Jagst river, founded in 1153, (worth a look @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sch%C3%B6ntal_Abbey), .Retreating back to the Kocher we continued on to Schwabisch. Hall and old medieval city (1276) with a magnificent church atop a hill with a long,wide stairway leading up to it from the Rathaus at the town center. After a few biers we headed back to Gerlingen our regular bier break and another excellent dinner.
    By Thursday the guys were ready for a break from scenery and old German stuff so, along with Roland & Sybille, we headed to the Porsche Museum. Returning, we stopped outside Gerlingen at Schloss Solitude and then again bier & dinner.
    Friday, just the three of us headed south to Hohenzollen Castle the ancestral seat of the Prussian Royal House. Surprisingly, it is still owned and operated by Royal Family descendants It is located atop a mountain 2805 feet above sea level, thereby providing a challenging "hike up the hill" for this old guy, we did have several short stops.( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohenzollern_Castle )
    Not surprisingly, on Saturday, the guys again opted for a car museum rather than another rural tour. The Mercedes Benz museum is perhaps a bit better than Porsche.but since they are both spectacular a comparison is meaningless. This time instead of driving, we took the train into Stuttgart and the bus to the museum Again,the Roland Krucks were with us. The Gerlingen train station sits directly behind the old Kruck/Zimmermann hauses, separated by the tracks. A large garden, hidden by a barn, and a parking area,are all part of the old Kruck haus. Since the Krone is only several short blocks away we were able to keep the rental car there thus avoiding hotel parking fees. Roland's mother Marianne still lives in the house so we were able to have several short visits with her, including a barn & garden tour.The Zimmermann haus is presently unoccupied since the deaths of the three older Pfunds.
    When we finished at the MB museum we bussed to downtown Stuttgart and toured the extensive plaza area with it's old and new castles, Opera house, park areas, restaurants and shopping areas.
    Our last full day, Sunday, was low key. We visited the Gerlingen museum and revisited the cemetery for more photos. During the afternoon we stopped by Lotte's again as she was feeling better than when we were there on Tuesday. Cousin Marianne Z Katz was also there. We later visited with Hermann Queck and Erika. Their daughter Suzanne was also briefly there. Finally closed out the day with dinner at one of the few restaurants open on Sunday night. Roland & Sybille came by later for a few final biers.
    Breakfast on Monday was earlier than usual but still substantial. Then off to the airport for our individual journeys home. My long layover in London was quite relaxing since I had entry into the executive lounge based upon my business class travel. Using long ago acquired travel miles, my round trip flight cost me $117 out of pocket.

Note: Trip photos are posted in the Photo/Travel section

While I was away our daughter-in-law Angela flew up from Florida and spent several days with Evelyn. They celebrated Mothers Day in Flemington with the Ruggieri//Fritzinger girls.

At month end the girls all came up for a Memorial Day Sunday visit.

In June everything returned to the normal slower pace. I golfed, Evelyn swam and we both continued to visit with various doctors. Our clubhouse events committee hosted an Opera concert that was most enjoyable, Later in the month PBS aired the new Met Opera production of Tosca,which was far superior to the ill stage one that had replaced the long running Zefferelli staging.. Toward month end, granddaughter Lauren stopped by for lunch carrying our future great grandson in "the incubator".he

First Quarter 2018

Well, we are into a new year and the world, despite some political ranting, has not ended. Never the less, our weather for the last three months sure seems to have reflected our lack of action on global warming. Since mid December temperatures here in NJ have whipsawed back and forth between well above and well below average. February was the warmest on record. It was 80 degrees on the 21st. March rolled in with cold weather and strong storms, including snow on the first day of spring. The final week fortunately stayed above freezing.

    Evelyn and I started January peacefully at home. No late year end party. Emma came up for lunch on the 6th and helped take down the Christmas Tree. On the 9th Carla came by. also for lunch. Evelyn's 83rd birthday was simply recognized by the two of us having a Sunday Brunch at the nearby Stagehouse Tavern. Lisa & Karl came to visit the next day bringing their well wishes.
    The month's cold weather kept us pretty much housebound except for church, grocery shopping and the usual doctors visits. Evelyn also managed to get to the indoor pool although not as often as she wished. Likewise, I managed to get out for most of my daily walks. There were several days that the weather was so bad that I did my walking at the indoor shopping mall.
    On the 28th we headed to the auto train, south of Washington, and took the overnight trip to Florida. By the next evening we were fully settled in at Werner's condo. The following evening he and Angela came by with pizza.

    Werner's availability during our visit was great. We played golf on the 2nd, they were with us for dinner at the condo the following evening and we had a mini Superbowl party at their home on the 4th.

During the week we managed to get out to dinner two more times. Angela was ill for the one at the club but was fine at the European Cafe. Also, she and Evelyn had a lunch date and Werner & I got in another round of golf. All the meals were great, the golf could have been better.
The last week of our visit included another fine dinner on Valentine's day. Werner & Angela then headed north to visit their girls.

Ev & I spent consecutive afternoons visiting Mary Cade in Gainsville and Evelyn's cousin Cynthia (below) at The Villages. Finally, on Saturday, we again headed to the auto train and the overnight trip home. We were home by mid afternoon Sunday.

The following Sunday, fully settled in again at home, we had dinner at the Fritzingers.

This month on the 18th saw the passing of our oldest cousin Beate Maisch. She went to her eternal reward a bit over two months before her 98th birthday. We have lost a wonderful human being as well as the most knowledgeable source of our family and Gerlingen history. She will be missed.

Beate, Gretel und Helmut Queck

March roared in with wind and rain and snow. Fortunately we did not lose power but our cable, telephone and Internet were out for 30 hours beginning on Friday at 6pm . No sooner were we plowed out and everything was again "normal" we got hit with a second storm on Tuesday. Again, snowed in for two and a half days. There was a bit of snow the following week and then another snowstorm the first day of spring.
On Saturday the 24th, with the weather much improved, I went into Somerville to the #enough demonstration, very interesting!

A PBS broadcast of the surrealistic opera, Exterminating Angel, provided a disappointing indication of the future of opera. Melody and beautiful singing was replaced by harsh recitative. Fortunately, I was able to take Lisa to the Metropolitan Opera where we saw Lucia Di Lammermoor and heard real singing, especially by Vittorio Grigolo as Edgardo. On the way in we passed through the World Trade Center and the completed Oculus transportation hub.

Even though the opera received excellent reviews, the house had plenty of available seating after everyone settled down.

    The month closed with bad news followed by good news: My top incisor tooth broke off and two days later the dentist "glued " it back on. This is just another example of the improved medical care we old people receive from advanced technology. Even though I often complain about much of the "new stuff" ie Facebook and Tweeting. I am always ready to benefit from the things that suit me.
    So, as Evelyn and I continue to plod through our eighties, we are thankful for all that we have had and that with which we may still be blessed, including my planed trip to Germany with my sons.

Fourth Quarter 2017

October was a month for dinners and doctors. Early in the month the Ruggieri girls invited us to their new apartment where Taylor prepared an excellent meal. They are renting the two upper floors of a stately old building on the end of Main Street Flemington.

Later in the month we attended an IHN Gala during which a member of our church was honored for many years of leadership in housing the homeless in our area. Five or six times each year the church takes its turn to house and feed from one to four families for a full week. At the end of the month Lisa and family provided us with another fine meal.

        The baseball season did not end well for Evelyn's Red Sox as they lost early in the playoffs. My Dodgers fared considerably better but lost the final (7th) game of the World Series. Locally, the weather was good for amateur sportsmen and we played golf every week.

        November was much like the previous month. The weather was good , allowing for another month of golf. Evelyn continued to use the indoor swimming pool. Carla and John came down for lunch and did some Fall garden cleanup work up. Emma came by for a lunch visit and we were invited to dinner by the Schives. Thanksgiving was a family affair at the Fritzingers with the Ruggieris.

        With December we got an indication of winter arriving. Our golfing days were canceled by rain and the good days were scheduled for mundane things such as doctors appointments. Never the less, I continued to walk almost every day until the 28th when the temperature never reached 20 degrees F. The rest of the month was just as cold and I was forced to take several trips to the Mall for my walks.
        One afternoon,Carla & John were down for lunch, Subsequently Taylor was here for Dinner and on the 16th Emma & Nick were here to have lunch and put up our Christmas Tree.
        Ev & I had a quiet Christmas Eve including church at 9:00pm.The girls, like wise, attended their churches. Christmas day would have been equally quiet except that my cousin Helga along with her son Brian & family stopped by for a short visit.

The Kruck family Christmas finally got started on Tuesday when our girls and their extended families came to our place. Updated pictures are again in the Photos/Christmas section. As previously mentioned, the last week was very coldand Ev & I mostly stayed in the house.

Well, the year is over and fortunately we are all still here and in various stages of good health. That's the good news. On the other hand, looking ahead to 2018, optimism appears to be in short supply except for the Stock Market (so far). Tribalism is growing; income gaps within countries and between countries are expanding; the increasing deterioration of the environment is at best being recognized, only partially addressed and sadly too often denied. Worst of all we are faced with two unstable world leaders controlling atomic arsenals. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! w Worst of all

Third Quarter 2017

        On the 23rd I was at a sparsely attended Von Steuben Society meeting. It appears that we German-Americans are not very interested in celebrating the contributions that our forebarers made to our history, not even the "Father of the American Army".
        The next evening Carla & I attended an excellent performance of "Der Rosenkaviler" at the Metropolitan Opera. This was apparently one of Renee Fleming's final appearances in a staged opera.
        As evidenced by the Easter weather, April was a great month for golf and we got out all four weeks.

        The good golf weather continued through May. Taylor came up for lunch on the 5th and we watched the "Bluray" DVD of the latest Harry Potter - Wild Beasts. On the 8th Lisa & I went to the Opera and saw "Der Fliegenden Hollender", again well done at The Met. Also, saw the recent production of Nabucco broadcast from The Met and featuring the ageless (but fading) Placido Domingo.
       Mid-month John came up for lunch and edged/mulched Evelyn's gardens. We also had the driveway commercially resealed, thereby being ready for summer. Mothers' Day was at the Ruggieri's.
        Family activity intensived toward months end with three college graduations in four days. Taylor got her Law Degree on the 18th from Rutgers in Camden NJ.
Two days later we traveled to Wilks Barre PA to see Emma get her Architectural Degree from Marywood and then we drove to Connecticutt where Alex graduated from Connecticutt College the following morning.

Before returning home we overnighted with Evelyn's long term friend Pauline and her husband Bob Hale. We closed the month with a visit from Carla & John.

After all the driving around the previous month it was nice to have a restful start to June. That included another Von S Soc. meeting. On the 12th I participated in a charity golf outing benefiting Cross Roads, a church camp. By the 14th hole my back was in bad shape and has remained so throughout the month - no more golf.
Thursday morning, the 22nd., once again found us heading for New England. Our granddaughter Lindsay would be married the coming Saturday and we were to be part of the entire weekends festivities. At the end of a almost nine hour drive, we managed to check into Marblehead's Harbor Light Inn, change clothes and get on the bus to the Gloucester harbor. There we boarded the Beauport Princess cruise ship to participate in the rehearsal party dinner.

The following day, except for an informal evening wine and reception, was left open for exploring the town.

The wedding and reception took place on a warm sunny afternoon overlooking the beach at Endicott College in Beverly Massachusetts.

Breakfast on Sunday concluded the weekend and thankfully all of us were safely home by evening, except the happy couple who were on the way to Hong Kong.

One final event! I checked off a long outstanding item on "my bucket list". For over 50 years I have been chasing the purchase of a Mercedes Benz. Finally, after all the children are through college, married, and even all granddaughters finished college, I was able to cross it off the list. A totally irrational, hardly justifiable but satisfying aquisition.

First Quarter 2017

        So, the first three months of the Trump presidency are over. While the world has not yet literally gone to blazes, it may creditably be argued that figuratively it is well on its way. We are now 1/16 of the way through. Some years ago the "POGO" character said "We have met the enemy and it is us". We did it to ourselves!

    In contrast to the larger world picture, in the little world of the old American Krucks January was boring if one ignores the medical episodes. Early in the first week (I was feeling fine) my doctor detected a heart irregularity and sent me over to the cardiologists. They then put me on a heart monitor for two weeks plus three days of tests. They found no major problems. Meanwhile, I was still undergoing physical therapy for my right shoulder and providing income for the dentist.
       Evelyn, despite some aches and pains, navigated through her bible study groups, history club and her swimming. We are "surf & turf", she swims and I walk.

Outside entertainment was limited to an excellent Harmonia Strings with piano concert, held at our clubhouse. Evelyn's 82nd birthday was celebrated the 17th with the Ruggieris

On the 28th & 29th, with medical clearance, we took the Auto Train to Florida.

The weather in Florida this February was the best we encountered in years. During the first week we, as customary, visited Evelyn's cousin Cynthia in The Villages as well as Mary Cade in Gainesville.

We also stopped by the Cade Inovation Center to see her daughter Phoebe & husband Richard. The latter gave us a brief tour of the present facility and a look at the Museum construction site which is expected to be open early next year.

Werner E's travel and work schedule was sufficiently flexible and we were able to play golf on all three Fridays we were there. This also allowed multi visits and dinner dates including another Super Bowl Party.

By the evening of the 18th we were again home safely and had missed the years first big snowstorm. The weather was pleasant considering it was mid-February. Hopefully we had avoided winter. All that remained was to finish up the postponed medical stuff and for me medical clearance for the removal of a Cataract in my right eye next month.

Carla, Lisa and husbands came up for dinner on March 5th, a very pleasant visit. Based upon the, so far, mild winter, we had entered March confidently. WRONG! The weather was cold and windy most of the month. We had a major snowfall on the 11th, which was the day my surgery was scheduled. the rescheduled event went well and after 6 days I was cleared to get on the golf course (weather permitting and the snow melting).

When it finally warmed up on the last week, it became rainy. Consequently, unlike last March when we played on 4 consecutive Wednesdays, this March we were shut out.

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