Table of Contents
Editor
Homepage
Reactions to COVID-19
Family tree painter
Members write (New Zealand)
Miscellaneous
Dear relatives and acquaintances, valued members and friends of our family association
The board of the association of the Stirnimann-Stirnemann families wishes you all a happy new year. We wish you health, satisfaction, prosperity in all matters and joy in life and with people.
We look back on a crazy year. Something extraordinary happened, we all experienced it, and the media did theirs and the world literally held its breath. Many have noticed that paralyzing social and economic life not only restricts people, but that the measures taken threaten companies that can promote poverty and lead people into isolation. In these days, weeks and months it has become clear how important social life, being together among people is, what importance friendships and family have. Because a society only lives if the togetherness can be physically lived. The crisis makes it clear: Digital substitutes such as Skype, WhatsApp, video conferences and distance learning and ghost games on TV cannot replace real shared experiences.
For me as the president of the association, this means that we try to live up to the association's purpose and organize opportunities (new events) at which the members of our widely scattered family can meet. We keep in touch with our distant relatives through the newsletter. We look forward to your reactions and wish you an entertaining read.
In the hope that the current madness will soon come to an end, I greet you warmly.
Moritz Stirnimann, President
Homepage www.stirnimann-stirnemann.ch
The idea of renewing the association's homepage has been in the minds of the board for a long time. The fact that our webdesigner software was no longer supported by the host (our program was simply too old) forced us to set out for new shores. Josef Stirnimann-Tura, who has maintained our website for years, started looking for a suitable program at the tender age of 74.
“Weisch, meinte er, do git‘s so vel, me weiss chum, wo afo…" A young freak recommended the Wordpress software to us and I asked Josef whether he would still like to do that to himself and get into it again to think about a program? - He's still in the mood for something new, he said, "muesch mit em Chopf ja öppis mache ond de graue Zälle Fueter gäh..." And they got food. - I defined the content, wrote the texts, Josef took care of the technical ... But in the end it wasn't that simple, and after optimistic beginnings we suddenly found ourselves on the mountain. Nothing worked anymore, we were afraid of losing the data, afraid that everything would disappear into the depths of the network. So we got help from the aforementioned "freak", a web designer. - That gave us new momentum and the result is impressive: the work has not yet been completed, but our website can be found on the Internet.
What does our new homepage do?
Family research, the question of origin, ancestry comes up in many biographies at some point. If you ask yourself this question today, simply enter your name "Stirn (i / e) man" on your mobile phone, tablet or lap-top and see what's coming ... and Google will get around 300,000 entries and very high up, first and foremost, the family association Stirnimmann-Stirnemann.
On our homepage you will find useful information about names, origins and the family coat of arms. You will find the statutes, information on association life, events, honorary members, etc. All circulars since 1974 are filed in the archive. You can find a few pictures. The site is still under construction. However, our aim is to present family history on the homepage and to activate an archive that is easy to access. Our content offers those interested in brief basic information about the family and the association. So the material keeps the focus on family history. However, if you discover content that you consider problematic, we ask for your feedback to Moritz Stirnimann (info.familienverband@bluewin.ch).
COVID-19
Reactions from family members around the world.
The editors have asked various members of the association around the world how they have cope with the hitherto unknown measures of their governments. The following are the answers from Storbeck (Germany), Colmar (France), Bloomington (USA), Inverness (Great Britain).
Germany, Brandenburg, Storbeck: Reiner and Ilona Stirnemann
Moritz, thank you for your lines and many greetings from the Mark Brandenburg.
The COVID virus also has us firmly under control, although the number of cases in Brandenburg is still relatively low.
Our lives changed in 2020 in that we recently retired. This is a fundamental change, but one that we enjoy and get along with very well. At the moment we cannot fulfill our greatest passion, traveling, but we are healthy and we move around a lot in nature, which we have enough of. Our children and grandchildren are also in excellent health.
We longingly await the time when we can move freely again without worries, then we will certainly be on the road again in Switzerland. Until then, say hello.
Ilona and Reiner
France, Elsass, Colmar: George Stirnemann
Hello Moritz and greetings to all Stirnimann and Stirnemann
Time goes by, I'm getting older, which is why you don't see me as often anymore in Switzerland. I take comfort in living in the only Swiss building in Colmar, L’Arlesheimerhof, where the Bishop of Basel lived before the French Revolution of 1789 when he visited Colmar. This city was part of its bishopric. Recently I had two surgeries, but everything is fine again. These operations at the hospital were not related to COVID19: fortunately my family is not affected by this virus for the moment. We remain hopeful and I take advantage of the confinement to settle current affairs and also to classify all my historical documentation collected for years. There are of course also many papers concerning the Stirnimann and Stirnemann. There are the association documents, but also my research in the Gränichen archives, and everything I have been able to gather on the family in France, in Switzerland and in the world. If one of the members of the association does some research, he can come and consult this documentation at my place at the Arlesheimerhof in Colmar. There are quite a few things, but not all. Be careful, take good care of yourself, cordial greetings to you Moritz, to your family, to those who are dear to you and to all.
Georges Stirnemann
Our travel guide George Stirnemann 2017 in Colmar
USA, Indiana, Bloomington: Walt Sternemann
Living with COVID-19 in the United States has been quite difficult, as I am sure it has been everywhere. With the initial social distancing shut down and the continued limits placed on people, we have seen severe effects on the economy. Restaurants, theaters, music events and even sporting events, most conducted without people in attendance has cost the people serving those events to lose their jobs and many businesses in those areas to fail.
In our case, being retired, we were very active in these areas going to theater, music, and sporting events regularly. We really miss doing these things as they were our chief method of entertainment. We also love eating in local restaurants which is now very difficult.
Since Terri and I are both retired neither of us have jobs to be concerned with but we have several children who have been effected in their work life. One daughter who is a graphic design specialist has worked completely from home using her computer and internet connection. Another works in the insurance industry can work primarily from home but has to report to her office occasionally. A daughter-in-law who is an elementary school music teacher has had to work a combination of at home and meeting children in school. She is very concerned about the risk. Our son who just recently finished graduate school has had a few Zoom interviews, but has not been able to find a job as companies are just not hiring. Another son who is conductor of a Civic Orchestra has been putting together virtual concerts where he tapes the musicians separately and then combines them into a concert for the internet.
Terri and I did have two of our children plan to get married in 2020 before we knew of COVID- 19. Our daughter, originally had a large event planned with over 200 people invited. The event planners were very good about allowing her to continue with the event. Everyone in attendance (only 96 people came) were required to wear masks and tables were distanced so only family groups were in close contact. Thankfully no new cases of the disease were reported as a result. My son who was scheduled to get married in October and his wife decided to postpone their planned celebration until next year but still had the wedding ceremony with only parents and siblings in attendance. We held the wedding in our back yard on what turned out to be a beautiful day with colorful fall foliage and everyone was very happy.
Walt Sternemann
Walt and Terri with their daughter Emily
UK, Schottland, Inverness: Angela Mary Stirnimann-Smith
Angela Mary Stirnimann-Smith loves the Scottish castles (in the picture Raite Castle in the Highlands) but also misses the beautiful Swiss lakes, especially Lake Lucerne
“Half of Scotland is currently in the second lockdown,” explains Angela Mary Stirnimann-Smith, who has lived in a village near Inverness for five years with Gregor Andreas Stirnimann, son of Lia Stirnimann from Tamins GR. Sylvia Alice Mary Rose Stirnimann, born in 1990, lives in the same household. She works in the retail trade and is also the landowner's assistant on a private castle. Quite optimist, says Angela Mary Stirnimann-Smith about the crisis: "Because there are only take-aways, you save a lot of money!" The Scots have got used to wearing masks. And because a shop keeps closing in the Highlands, in some areas you don't even notice the lockdown, says Ms. Stirnimann, who always exudes a happy aura and is known in the neighborhood in Croy as a “jolly woman”. In her free time, she enjoys wandering the dunes east of Inverness, an area known as the “Riviera of the North” in the Victorian era when the English discovered travel. She also likes to attend the monks' vespers in the old monastery complex “Pluscarden Abbey”. There she regularly lights a candle for her family.
Angela Mary Stirnimann-Smith
Visit to a family tree painter
Heidy Schenker-Stirnimann, our actuator, has fulfilled her dream of having her own family tree. She received the work in February of last year. An opportunity for the editors to meet the font and family tree painter Christine Mathis.
The storm "Sabine" has just subsided this Tuesday, the weather is still changing as it wants, unfriendly the light changes from gray to sunshine and again to gray. Our route leads us to Ennetbürgen, and there near the lake where the Engelberger-Aa flows into the Vierwaldstättersee. Ms. Mathis is waiting for us and leads us into a room that is both living room and studio. The product of meticulous design work, Heidy's family tree, lies on the work table.
Heidy Schenker with Christine Mathis (right)
Ms. Mathis has been designing coats of arms, documents and family trees for thirty years. And there is also a coat of arms on the wall that comes from a local monastery. "I have the assignment to draw the missing family coat of arms of a religious woman on the board.” On the walls there are family trees of various families and versions. It all started with an apprenticeship as a script painter in the 1970s, she says. Then, after completing her apprenticeship, she switched to church restoration at the Stöckli company in Stans. "At the beginning I was allowed to leach altars, later I dealt with the versions of figures and finally I was allowed to help with the restoration of large church paintings". During ten years she acquired extensive knowledge in this position. - My learning was “learning by doing”. She came across family tree painting by chance, and the draft of her first work (a family tree of the Grüter family) was created during an Alpine summer on Alp Arhölzli, on the Buochserhorn. Further family tree pictures were first taken among friends next to children and the household.
As a member of the “Central Swiss Society for Family Research”, Ms. Mathis also deals with family research. She knows the archives and books, knows where to find what. A lot of things come to light during this work, light and dark, which is often exciting. Then she talks about the difficulties of modern family research. In a time of blended families and any choice of family name, family research in the traditional style becomes almost impossible. Perhaps there will be other family trees in the future?
The coffee is finished, it's time to leave. Rich in impressions and with a large roll of paper under our arms, we make our way back. The sky over Buochs has become a little darker, the water of the lake is rippling. The storm warning lights are flashing and over in the canton of Schwyz it seems to be snowing.
Moritz Stirnimann, February 12, 2020
How is a family tree created?
The pictures are created when family research has identified the line of ancestors and put them on paper. The source documents are the generation sheets, which are then displayed in an image. After a preliminary discussion with the client, a draft is created that contains all the data. This is checked by the client, then he gives the "good for execution". Ms. Mathis now transfers the corrected draft to “elephant paper or parchment” and designs everything according to the specifications. The whole process takes 40 to 50 hours.
In addition to family trees, Ms. Mathis also creates baptism certificates and certificates for clubs and companies. In addition, she deals with coats of arms, which she effectively stages, because coats of arms are a must on family trees.
Members write:
Stephan Mark Stirnimann, Bauma ZH, * 1976
My five years of apprenticeship in New Zealand
My name is Stephan Mark Stirnimann and I am therefore a scion of the Ruswil family of the Stirnimann family.
After an intensive training period as a private helicopter pilot at Zurich Airport, my father Gregor A. Stirnimann generously enabled me to train to become a flight instructor. And this with an "exotic note", because the three countries Canada, Australia and New Zealand were in the running. New Zealand finally won because of its topographical diversity and because the owner of the flight school there really knew how to answer my questions quickly and in detail. So in October 2002 I went with my "Siebensachen" to the country with kiwi and fern leaves as national symbols.
One door after the other opened
With a portion of trust in God, with courage and a certain mischief, I arrived on the evergreen North Island as a 26-year-old "greenhorn". I settled in quickly, so well that I made numerous new friends not only at the "North Shore Helicopter Training" flight school, but also at my new home in Orewa, which in Maori means "place of the rising sun". The reader may already guess: a planned three-month training course to become a professional helicopter pilot turned into a five-year stay, regularly interrupted by visits to my old home. As a sign of fate, I felt the chance of additional training as a flight instructor and a subsequent multi-year position through the flight school.
Homesickness for home
Although I was at the "peak" of my flying career in spring 2007 (very experienced with almost 1000 flight hours!) And I had taken my new friends very close, the five years were of a kind of "conflict" between the new ones and accompanied the old homeland.
Stephan Mark Stirnimann and Andrea Sarah Escher
Back home
It took a good year before I could feel completely "at home" in Switzerland again. In any case, my "children's room" with my parents in Gockhausen near Zurich was left as it was when I left. Visits to my grandmother Lia Stirnimann in her Graubünden chalet, many mountain hikes and love finally made me arrive. With "deserved spurs" and a lot of experience in my backpack, I successfully worked as a helicopter pilot for several years, with sightseeing flights over my beloved Swiss mountains and landings on the glaciers, especially on the Hüfigletscher (UR) at 3000 m Height.
On to new shores
Because of a color vision problem, I was refused a professional pilot's license in Switzerland. This forced me to reorientate: At first I worked as a journalist, but the teaching activity, which I was enthusiastic about as a helicopter flight instructor, led me to the Brugg University of Applied Sciences, where I am now training to be a kindergarten teacher and primary school teacher. I'm looking forward to it this new calling and working with children!
Editor's note
Stephan Mark is the grandson of Dr. Theodor Stirnimann, a founding member of the association. At that time he was responsible for the statutes. In the 1983 circular (see homepage), Prof. Joseph Stirnimann wrote an obituary on Theodor Stirnimann's eventful life. Stephan Mark's parents are Gregor Andreas and Angela Mary Stirnimann in Iverness.
Of life and death
Also this year we received some reports of deaths of members and relatives of both sexes. We thank family members for their notification and offer our sincere condolences to all.
The Lord give eternal rest to all deceased - And the eternal light shines on them - He let them rest in peace.
Call to the members
Stories and biographical notes bring the newsletter to life. We encourage you to contact the President when you have stories / anecdotes to tell. The President is also happy to write or edit such for the newsletter. We look forward to information and mailings (info.familienverband@bluewin.ch).
Family association in their own right
We call on our members to make family members, children and grandchildren / granddaughters aware of the association and to motivate them to join. It is also possible to give away the membership! The board is happy about every new addition!
Homepage
Information about the association and how to order articles can be found on the homepage www.stirnimann-stirnemann.ch.
Mailing address
Association of the Stirnimann / Stirnemann families, Moritz Stirnimann, Lindenhausstrasse 4, 6005 Lucerne
Enclosed: Payment slip for the membership fee 2021 of CHF 15.00 PostFinance No. 60-23600-0, IBAN CH62 0900 0000 6002 3600 0
We thank you very much for a prompt transfer of your membership fee - you will make the work of our cashier a lot easier if you transfer the payment within 30 days. Many Thanks!