Ruswil - October 1989 No. 15
Contents
Preface 1
New Members 2
The progenitors of the Stirnimann from Ruswil and Neuenkirch 3
The Etzenerlen outdoor school in Ruswil 4
See you in Storbeck 6
Strange things from Buholz 7
P. Dr. Hans Stirnimann 7
Eduard Stirnimann-Leuthold 9
We congratulate 9
We give our condolences 9
Our board of directors 10
Side dishes:
Preservation of monuments in the canton of Lucerne 1988 - Special print from “Yearbook of the Historical Society Lucerne”, vol. 7, 1988
Brochure: Kurt Lussi, Strange things from Buholz
Postcard for change of address
Preface
Dear relatives and cousins
Dear members and friends of our family association
A happy association year is over. When I think of the completed restoration of our family home in Lower-Rot, one can speak of a historic association year without arrogance. The 6th family conference, which this time took place in Neuenkirch, was once again honored by the visit of our dear members Heinz and Liselotte Stirnemann from the GDR. The conference was a success and lived up to the purpose of such an event. At its meeting on April 26, 1989, the board of directors critically reviewed this family meeting. They noted the following points that the board must continue to think about:
- the participation was mediocre
- Almost none of the Stirnimann families, who are based in Ruswil and Neuenkirch and are members, were present
- the younger generation was missing
Based on these findings, the board wants to start recruiting members this year. The aim is to make the younger generation aware of our association. This circular will be sent to everyone who has the name Stirnimann and whose names are noted in the telephone book. A new advertising brochure will introduce you to the association, and you will be welcomed by a letter from the board of directors. The best and most effective advertising is still your own and personal. The board of directors
The board therefore hopes for your cooperation. At our family conference last year, it was decided to increase our membership fee from CHF 10.- to CHF 15-. Our membership fee, which is very modest compared to other associations, should help us to better realize the goals of our association as set out in our statutes.
With the restoration of our family home in Lower-Roth in Ruswil, a long-cherished and endured wish of our association came true. The board of directors can proudly claim this exceptional transformation of the farmhouse with never-ending patience in small steps and great detail work. As a result, the cantonal and federal preservation authorities became aware of this unique Lucerne farmhouse and offered a hand to restore it. Without the well-founded scientific work of our Prof Dr. Joseph Stirnimann, such a restoration would very likely not have taken place or not at all. Thanks to his family research, he became aware of this house and immediately recognized the generosity with which this house had once been built. With a painful heart we had to watch for years how the building fabric was neglected. With his help, his knowledge, his contacts to the relevant authorities and his tireless work, the board succeeded in gaining the trust of the above-mentioned offices. Today the association is pleased that your main building is now shining again in its original splendor and has been classified by the federal government and the canton as a building of regional-national importance. The leading newspapers in German-speaking Switzerland reported on it.
In the recently published yearbook of the Historical Society of Lucerne, volume 7, pages 43 to 73, Mr. Klaus Niederberger, deputy monument conservationist of the canton of Lucerne, wrote a report with numerous illustrations and plans on the farm In the Rot, its owners, the building investigation and restoration of the local farmhouse published. The descendants of the Ruswil ancestors are of course primarily interested in the section entitled “The farm and the Stirnimann families” (p. 47 ff.). The author uses the research results of Prof. Stirnimann. It is understandable that he restricts himself to the bare essentials. It sketches the life stories of the seven generations of our family who lived in Rot from 1610/11 to 1821 and shows their economic, cultural and political influence in the former Ruswil office. I feel the need to express my heartfelt thanks to Mr. Niederberger for his masterful contribution on behalf of our family association.
Our association made a contribution towards the expenses of the colored illustrations, especially for the splendid color photo of the parent home on the cover of the yearbook. The publisher got us an inexpensive reprint of the article for our members. You will receive your free copy with this newsletter.
In cooperation with the Historical Museum in Lucerne, the board of directors will also have a model house made on a scale of 1:25. The director has agreed to display this house in the museum. The opening of the exhibition is planned in Ruswil. You will receive an invitation in due course.
This newsletter continues the series of articles on “The ancestors of the Stirnimann of Ruswil and Neuenkirch”. Last year the comprehensive school in Etzenerlen celebrated its 100th anniversary. On this occasion, our honorary president Hans Stirnimann-Haupt published a historical review in the local press, which we reproduce here in slightly abbreviated form. Dr. Knut Stirnemann would like to express our loyal solidarity with the members and friends of our family association in the German Democratic Republic. We also welcomed the contribution from Mr. Kurt Lussi, Ruswil, about his forthcoming publication of a first part of his in Ruswil collected legends. We recommend this book that is well worth reading, please note the enclosed brochure. As always, the congratulations and condolations are unfortunately incomplete. It is an exception if we are told one of these, we usually have to look for it ourselves from the newspapers. In our association, it is precisely with these messages that the familiar and the unifying elements come into play.
I remain, wishing you all the best and best regards
The President:
Josef Stirnimann
New Members
Roger Stirnimann, Landskronstrasse 93, 4056 Basel
Josef Stirnimann, Dr. med. vet. Zückenrain 5, 6017 Ruswil
Wealth, prestige, power, everything is insignificant and insignificant compared to the size of the heart - the heart alone is the only gem in the world.
Adalbert Stifter, Austrian poet
The Progenitors of the Stirnirnann of Ruswil and Neuenkirch
(Continuation)
The article by Claus Niederberger about the renovated farmhouse in Lower Rot, published in the latest yearbook of the Historical Society of Lucerne, is enclosed with this circular as a special print. The descendants of the ancestors, who lived in the venerable house, will read the author's remarks on family history, written with noticeable empathy and documented in every detail, with excitement. Some of the oversights made by the author are corrected below. This should in no way reduce the performance and earnings of Mr. Niederberger:
P.47: The farm in the Rot and the farmhouse in today's Lower Rot are the ancestral home of most of the Stirnimann families living in the canton of Lucerne today (with the exception of those from Gettnau, Knutwil, Pfaffnau, Reiden and Uffikon), but by no means the Stirnemann families of the canton of Aargau. The progenitors of most, if not all of the Stimimann families that can be verified in the canton of Lucerne since the 16th century, as is documented, were immigrated soon after 1531 (Battle of Kappel!) from Aargau (mostly from Uerkheim) in the northern canton to Lucerne.
P. 47: Hans Stirnimann-Bächler in the Rot gave Melcher Heine in Rüediswil a loan of 200 guilders in 1630, not the other way around, for which the latter set up a mortgage note in the amount mentioned in favor of Hans Stimimann on his Wolfsgruoben property in Rüediswil.
P. 47: The baptism date of Hans Jakob Stimimann-Bucher, the son of Peter Stirnimann-Bircher, is not 1605, but rather August 12, 1598 according to the baptismal register of the parish church in Willisau.
P. 49: Peter Stirnimann, the third son of Hans Jakob and Barbara Bücher, with the religious name Jost (Jodok) monk of the Benedictine abbey of Muri, left a diary written in Latin. At this early stage, diaries are very rare.
P. 49: Hans Stirnimann-Zimmermann, the second son of Hans Jakob and Barbara Bucher, died on April 23, 1675, according to a diary entry by Father Jost, during his brother Sebastian's pilgrimage to Rome.
5. 50 (family table): The wife of the progenitor Peter Stimimann was called Bircher, not Bucher.
In the above-mentioned yearbook of the Historical Society of Lucerne, page 50, the family tree of the seven generations of the Stimimann families is shown in red. Our circulars 11 and 12 talked about Peter Stimimann-Bircher (= 1st generation), and circulars 13 and 14 were about his sons Hans, Peter and above all Hans Jakob (= 2nd generation). In this and the next the other ancestors who lived in the Rot will be presented in the circular letter. The next of these is Hans Stimimann - Zimmermann, who took over his father's farm in the Rot. His brother Sebastian Stimimann-Helfenstein, who moved with his family to the Etzenerl farm, he inherited from his uncle Peter Stirnimann-Süess and founded the line there, will be discussed later in the section on the Etzener family. The Benedictine Jost (Jodok) will be honored in a separate article in one of the next circulars.
Hans Stirnimann-Zimmermann
Hans (Johann) Stimimann, the second son of Hans Jakob and Barbara Bucher, embodies the 3rd generation of the ancestors in the Rot. Hans was born around 1633/35 and was probably baptized in Buttisholz. The pastor failed to enter his baptism - like that of his brother Sebastian - in the baptismal register, which was not uncommon at the time. Hans married on January 17, 1661 in the parish church in Sursee, Elisabeth Zimmermann of Schenkon, the daughter of Peter Zimmermann and Anna Stoll who was baptized on July 21, 1645 in Sursee. The couple had two sons and three daughters:
Margaritha, b. Buttisholz, May 6, 1665, m. Geiss, July 24th, 1678, Meinrad Wandeier, farmer in Geiss, in Schlatt, Kirchmeier, d. Geiss (Schlatt), June 13, 1687
Peter, *b. Ruswil, June 26th, 1667, Sursee, January 19, 1688, Anna Maria Steiner from Grossdietwil, d.Ruswil (Upper Rot), March 18, 1741
Katharina, b. Oberkirch, February 20, 1670, m. Ruswil, January 27, 1687 Joseph Schmidli, Official Woman in Ruswil, d. Ruswil, February 6, 1714
Leonz, b. Buttisholz, 1.11.1671, m. Ruswil, 9.1.1691, Elisabeth Büölmann, from Nottwil, d. Geiss, 6.4.1741,
Rosina, b Ruswil, August 20, 1673, m. approx. 1693, German Wüöst, since 1702 farmer in Ruswil (Neuhus), Ammann, d. Ruswil (Neuhus), October 8th, 1740
Father Jost reports in his diary (p. 4) that his brother Sebastian made a pilgrimage to Rome on March 10 or 11, 1675, “during this pilgrimage my brother Johann (Hans) died leaving five children alive” (“sub qua peregrinatione germanus meus Joannes Stirneman, relictis quinque liberis viventibus, defunctus est »). Perhaps the farmer had worn himself out prematurely because of the work and responsibility for such a large farm. Since the children were minors, the brother Sebastian and his brother-in-law Walter Meyer, Huprächtigen, leased the farm including the Alp Schattsiten in Romoos for 5 years to Jöri Tobmann for an annual interest of 780 guilders and a tip of 4 talers. Of the numerous agreements in the lease, only two should be mentioned: the landlords reserve the right to 2 “salary in the Behusig”, namely “the parlor chambers” and “a first chamber”. With the exception of these two rooms, the entire house was available to the tenant. The tenant undertook to pay the widow, who had a room in Etzenerlen (and, as can be assumed, lived there with her children) 2 malter grain and 2 mütt oats per year.
Tobmann did not comply with the conditions of the lease or had not fulfilled the expectations placed in him. On January 28, 1677, Sebastian Stirnimann and Walter Meyer sign a new, 3-year lease with Sebastian and Augustin Büölmann; the annual rent was 670 guilders.
On September 1st, 1677, the inventory and division of the estate of Hans Stirnimann, which was informative for us, took place. His fortune was 16,647 guilders 26 shillings 5 pfennigs. The two sons Peter and Leonz each received 4,350, the three daughters 2600 guilders each, of which 1000 guilders in cash, the rest had to be paid out to them in installments of 200 guilders each.
On November 6, 1677, Sebastian Stirnimann, on behalf of the children of his deceased brother, acknowledged the payment of the maternal inheritance in the amount of 4107 guilders to Peter Zimmermann of Schenkon in the Michelsamt as the grandfather of the children.
The three daughters married into the leading families in the Ruswil area at that time. Katharina, who married the official man Joseph Schmidli, played the very first game. Rosina married German Wüöst, who later became Ammann of Twing Ruswil; he was the son of Ammann German Wüöst, farmer in the Buorehof, and the grandson of the official Johann Wüöst (1592-1669), farmer in the Vorder-Pfaffenschwand, at his time one of the richest and most powerful men in the whole of Ruswi. Father Jost recorded in his diary that Meinrad Wandeler, the the husband of the eldest daughter Margaritha, who was a farmer on the Schlau farm in Geiss,.
J. St.
1 State Archive Lucerne, Cod. 4135 Judicial Protocol, p. 107
2 Ibid. P. 113.
3 Mark Wüst, chronicle of the Wüst family from Ruswil and Sursee. Sursee 1985 (manuscript) p. 19 ff., P. 30 ff. And family tree.
The Etzenerlen outdoor school in Ruswil celebrated its
100th anniversary
It was almost 100 years ago on Sunday, October 30, 1988, since school was held for the first time on October 29, 1888 in the hamlet of Etzenerlen on the northern slope of the Ruswil Mountain. Everyone who went to school or is still going to school in the local school building celebrated the anniversary of “their school” on Sunday with a hearty festival. Of the 440 people invited, over 400 people from Etzen accepted the invitation.
The Etzenerlen Comprehensive School was founded in 1888. A request that the citizens of Etzenerlen and the surrounding area sent to the citizens of Etzenerlen and the surrounding area on November 15, 1887 made a significant contribution to this decision
Governing Council of the Canton of Lucerne. The original of this letter is in the Lucerne State Archives. It has the following wording (orthography according to the original):
Ruswil, Etzenehrlen, Nov. 15, 1887
To the high government councilor of Ct. Lucerne!
Respected and honored members of the government!
The undersigned will send you the request for the establishment of a primary school in Ezenehrlen and justify this request in the following way:
For many years there has been a need for a school on this mountain.
A high valley of considerable extent and a fairly dense population, always has a large number of school children. These are now partly distributed among the schools in the village of Ruswil, Budisholz and Nottwil, with journeys to and from school lasting over 3/4 hours. There is hardly an area in the canton of Lucerne of this size and number of children without its own school.
Every impartial person can convince himself of this fact with a cursory glance at the map, especially at a map showing the school conditions.
In particular, we describe the school district we are planning: Kropfmatt, Roth, Geisbach, Oberarig, both Merzenberg, Lätzentschoppen, Wixenrüte, (possibly still knitting and tufting) Saal, Buchmatt, Obereichig, Fluck, (possibly still Oberschwärzi) both Wisstannen, Halterhus, Ezenehrlen, Grissenegg and Elischwand, also Lindenhof. Ezenehrlen should be named as the center and location of the school.
The number 45 to 50 can reasonably be assumed as the average figure for the number of students.
It should be taken into account that the children of the farms mentioned were previously divided into three different school locations with long and difficult routes to school.
The construction of the planned school would significantly shorten the way for everyone, which should be called a special benefit, especially in winter.
(Here the financial point is explained in detail. On the one hand, this construction requires financial sacrifices, on the other hand, the school fees to Nottwil and Buttisholz are omitted, which brings relief.)
Experience has shown that those schools which are made up of children from the same community and especially from a narrower group of children perform better than those which are made up of different communities. The character, the talents, the way of life of the children of a close circle are more similar, the teacher knows and can get to know and treat them better. The supervision of such a school is also better.
Based on our legitimate reasons and cited facts, we ask you, respected, honored gentlemen, you want to meet our wishes in accordance within the same direction.
Hence the request:
They want to work towards the opening of a comprehensive primary school in Ezenehrlen in a suitable manner in the near future.
Draw with the utmost respect and devotion:
Here are the names of 33 Etzenerler farmers. The following names are interesting for our association:
Josef Stirnimann, Ezenehrlen
Johann Stimimann, Middle Ezenehrlen
Mariz Stirnimann, Etzenehrlen
Mathias Stirnimann, Ezenehrlen
M. Stirnimann, Rear-Etzenehrlen
Johann Stirnimann, Etzenehrlen
Alois Stimimann, Saal
The extensive and well-founded request of the Etzenerler farmers to the government council was crowned with success. The new school opened on October 29, 1888.
The following original letter provides information about the scope of the school district at that time:
Excerpt from the negotiation protocol of the Education Council of the Canton of Lucerne of September 13, 1888: With reference to the government council resolution of December 31, 1887 regarding the establishment of a school in Erzenerlen near Ruswil, the Education Council recognized the following on the proposal of the local council in July:
The school in question has been allocated the following properties until further notice:
Both Strick, Düfen, Recketschwand, Linden, Fuchsweid, Obereichig, Fluck, Buchmatt, Saal, Wixenrüti, Letzenschoppen, both Merzenberg, Ellischwand, Oberarig, Oberarigschür, Geisbachsäge, Upper-, Middle- and Lower Roth, Back, Middle and Front Loch, all three Kropfmatt, both Wisstannen, Grissenegg, Alterhus and Erzenerlen.
From a submission of this business to the government council until the question regarding the separation of the school in Rüediswil resp. Establishment of a fourth school in the village.
Communication of this finding to the municipal council and the primary school administration of Ruswil,
The Head Clerk
The new school was built on Moritz Stirnimann-Muff's farm in Rear Etzenerlen (now owned by the Sigrist family). The old cheese factory building was torn down down to the ground floor and a classroom and an apartment were built on it. This school, which is very primitive by today's standards, was in service until the fall of 1950, when the new schoolhouse was ready to move into. As a special case in our community, it should be mentioned that the old school house belonged to the farm owner. The community paid the rent.
In the first twenty years, Etzenerlen's pupil numbers were not translated for the standards still usual at the time. They fluctuated between 32 and 48. But then they climbed up and reached the maximum in the school year 1912/13 with 60 children. That was the alarm signal for the first downsizing of the school group. The farms Strick, Tüfen, Reketschwand, Lindenhof, Obereichig, Fluck and the Upper Klopfmatt were assigned to the Ruswil school district. Roth and the farm in Loch came to Rüediswil. The division was later changed several times.
Hans Stirnimann-Haupt
Among the teachers who taught in Etzenerlen, we also find Jost Stirnimann, the father of our Honorary President Hans Stimimann. Jost Stirnimann was particularly lucky to be able to work as a schoolmaster on his father's farm for 5 years.
We also find a Hans Stirnimann of Saal (the father of our cashier) with the local school attendants, who held this office from 1938-1959.
We would like to thank our Honorary President Hans Stirnimann very much for making his historical contribution to the Etzenerlen School available to us and for giving his consent to the shortened publication in the circular.
See you in Storbeck
In August 1989 our members Günter and Irene Stirnemann, Lucerne, and their son Knut, Zug, traveled with his bride through the GDR and visited our members there Heinz, Hans, Jürgen and Reiner Stirnemann and their families in Storbeck via Neuruppin.
This visit served not least to get to know the relatives found again, a relationship that had broken off over fifty years ago. Even as children, Heinz, Hans and Günter Stirnemann played together in Storbeck, but the war and the subsequent founding of the GDR caused the three cousins to be separated. While Heinz and Hans stayed at the Stirnemann household in Storbeck, Günter fled with his wife and son from the socialist state and in 1958 came to Horw / LU, the home of the Stirnimann / Stimemann families. It was not until 1984, when Heinz and his wife Liselotte visited Switzerland for the first time, that the long-lost relationship could be re-established.
What an experience it was also to see the homestead of the Stirnemann in the Mark Brandenburg and the typical village church of Storbeck in the generations of our ancestors have been baptized, married, and buried to visit.
In 1991 it will be 300 years since the Swiss emigrant Rudolf Stimemann (1673-1749) from Suhr (Bernese Aargau) arrived in Storbeck and established his household there. Dozens of Swiss families emigrated there at the end of the 17th century and have been able to maintain their Swiss traditions up to the present day. One of the few families of Swiss origin still living in Storbeck is the Stirnemann family. Heinz, who, like the Stirnimann family from Lucerne / Zug, is a direct descendant of that Rudolf from Suhr, has already applied to the Storbeck community to hold a family celebration in the anniversary year in order to celebrate the three-centenary.
Many thanks to our members and relatives in the GDR for the warm hospitality and the wonderful hours in Storbeck, Molchow and on the Neuruppiner lakes.
Dr. Knut Stirnemann, train
It is nice to follow the traces of one's family; because the genealogy of a family is for the individual that what the history of the fatherland is to the whole people.
Esaias Tegnér
Strange things from Buholz - a collection of legends
In Ruswil, I was once told, there were never many legends, and what was there has been forgotten in the meantime.
During folklore research, however, I came across - more or less by chance - this and that incident that I casually recorded. This initially indiscriminate gathering turned into a systematic search over time.
With the work published in October, a first part of the collected sagas is available, supplemented with folklore and above all historical information, as far as this information for the event are important. Strange things from Buholz are not only an inventory of the oral and written traditions of this area, but the collection also shows how Germanic beliefs and customs are reflected in contemporary narratives and still have evidence. While this first part is mainly concerned with the place of execution in Buholz, the castles of Wolhusen, the legendary Soppensee and the surrounding farms, in a second part, which will appear later, I will mainly summarize the legends about death and life after death. Days of Poor Souls will - in contrast to the present work - not cover a single area, but the whole community.
Kurt Lussi
Strange things from Buholz comprise a little more than 100 pages with around 40 sagas, 15 photos of the places where the strange things occurred, and a bibliography. The retail price is CHF 19.50. The subscription period for the reduced price has unfortunately expired.
The author, Kurt Lussi, Neuenkirchstrasse 17, 60] 7 Ruswil (Tel. 041 - 73 10 52) is happy to take orders. The collection can also be ordered through any bookstore or directly from the Willisauer Bote publishing house, 6130 Willisau.
We congratulate
Anton Stirnimann-Schöb, old hospital cashier, Wesemlinstrasse 20, Lucerne, founding member and first cashier, celebrated his 75th birthday on October 9, 1988
Moritz Stirnimann-Helfenstein, a former master cheese maker, celebrated his 80th birthday on July 29, 1988 in Winikon.
At the canton school in Beromünster, Guido Stirnimann, son of hairdresser Richard Stirnimann-Erni in Ruswil, successfully passed the federal Matura.
Hans Stirnimann-Helfenstein, community clerk in Neuenkirch, was elected president of the community clerk association of the Canton of Lucerne on the occasion of the general assembly on September 27, 1989 in Schütz with spontaneous acclamation. Until then, Hans Stirnimann served the community scribes association as secretary. We offer our heartfelt congratulations to the esteemed actuary of our family association on this honorable election and wish him every success in his responsible role.
We give our condolences
In Adelboden, Hotel Bellevue, Eduard Stirnimann-Leuthold, hotelier, died on February 14, 1989 at the age of 69.
In the Steinhof nursing home in Lucerne, Father Dr. Hans Stirnimann at the age of 79.
Walter Stirnimann-Kunz died in Mörigen on August 13, 1989 after a serious illness at the early age of 58. Walter Stirnimann was born in Ruswil (his father came from Saal farm) and is the cousin of the president and the cashier.
Werner Stirnimann, Rigistrasse 70, Lucerne, died on August 31, 1989 at the age of 79. The immortal came from Knutwil, where the Stirnimanns, who moved from Uffikon, have been settled since the beginning of the 17th century. The deceased was for many years head of the construction company Verzeri + Stirnimann AG,
On September 20, 1989, Mrs. Frieda Hüsler-Stirnimann, Ebikon, passed away at the age of 91. Her father came from the hamlet of Mittelarig, municipality of Buttisholz. The family, resident there since 1766, came from the Lower-Rot.
P. Dr. Hans Stirnimann
One of the most loyal and interested members of our family association was the Mariannhill missionary Dr. Hans Stirnimann. His ancestor Adam Stirnimann-Müller (* 7.3.1795) was born in our parent home in Lower-Rot. Anyone who was present at the founding meeting on September 8, 1974 in Ruswil should remember the spirited presentations with which Father Hans took part in the discussion about the statutes. P. Hans died on July 31, after a long period of suffering in the Steinhof retirement and nursing home in Lucerne, at the age of 79. His work as a missionary in South Africa, but above all his great work as an explorer of the African people of the Pangwa, deserve a respectful memory here.
Hans Stirnimann was born on June 10, 1910 as the third of the seven children of the married couple Alois and Marie Stirnimann-Tanner in Grosswangen. The father soon moved to Wolhusen, where Hans attended elementary school. The gifted and awakened boy wanted to study. He spent the first four years of high school in what was then the Beromünster middle school, and the 5th to 8th grade at the Einsiedeln collegiate school, which he left in 1932 with an excellent Matura. The student saw the goal of his life in the priestly profession. It speaks for his farsightedness and idealism, but also for the understanding and willingness of his parents to make sacrifices, that Hans decided from the beginning on a very demanding course of education. He first studied philosophy for one year at the University of Leuven in Belgium, followed by two years of theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and at the University of Friborg in Switzerland. In the meantime the student applied for admission to the Mariannhill Missionary Congregation. In April 1937 he made his religious profession. He spent the following years partly at the Piusseminar in Würzburg, partly in active service in Switzerland. On June 26, 1942, he was ordained a priest in Sion, and on August 15, he celebrated his festive primacy in Wolhusen.
More years of training followed. In autumn 1946 the young religious in Altdorf received the mission cross with six confreres in a Eucharistic celebration and with it the mission to work as a missionary in South Africa. He then worked for five years in Umtata under Bishop Josef Grüter of Ruswil and for another five years in Mariannhi. In 1958 Father Hans returned to Switzerland.
During this time the plan matured in him to make his future contribution as a missionary through the study of some African peoples. He was particularly encouraged in this project by the Steyler missionary Paul Schebesta, who - one of the most famous ethnologists of modern times - had researched the dwarf peoples in the Belgian Congo and others in Southeast Asia. At the age of 48, P. Stirnimann began his ethnological studies at the University of Friborg; he completed them in Vienna and completed them with a doctorate in Friborg in 1962. His dissertation “Nguni and Ngoni” received a lot of attention from specialist circles. P. Hans received a research assignment that took him to Africa in 1964 in southern Tanganyika in what is now Tanzania. With the financial support of the Swiss National Science Foundation, he devoted himself to his ethnographic and linguistic research there for six years. These were mainly the Pangwa, a small, little-known Bantu-speaking farming people. He learned several Bantu languages and acquired a thorough knowledge of the lifestyles and customs of this shy people. From this first expedition he returned to Switzerland in 1970 with a wealth of scientific material.
It took him several years to process and publish his research. He stayed repeatedly at the Institute for African Studies in Cologne and maintained lively contact with specialist colleagues from Swiss and foreign universities. In 1976 the University Press Friborg / Switzerland published the first volume of his publications in the series “Studia Ethnographica Friburgensia” under the title “Livelihoods and traditional crafts of the Pangwa from SW Tanzania”. In 1979 and 1983 P. Stirnimann published two more extensive volumes on social organization, the rites of life and a practical grammar of the language of the Pangwa in the same publishing house and in the same series. The last work, a dictionary of the Pangwa language, unfortunately remained unfinished; it is very much to be hoped that a specialist colleague will complete it.
Although he had already reached retirement age, P. Stirnimann traveled again in 1979 for a research stay in Tanzania. In 1984 a stroke put an end to his restless activity. However, he recovered surprisingly quickly, so that after 14 days he was able to fly back home with another missionary. Despite a slight recovery, his health and mental performance remained badly damaged. The last five years became a heavy emotional burden for Fr. Hans, who enjoyed an almost inexhaustible workforce throughout his life. He spent the last few months in the Steinhof in Lucerne, cared for by the attentive care of the brothers. On the evening of July 31st, death delivered him from his sufferings. On August 4th, his confreres, relatives and friends bid farewell to Fr. Hans Stirnimann in a worthy service in the chapel of the St. Josef Mission House in Altdorf.
The Eternal One was a unique personality. With his scientific work, which he began after mid-life and built up with exemplary discipline, perseverance and determination, this Lucerne missionary and researcher has achieved an achievement of lasting value, of which his closer home can rightly be proud.
Eduard Stirnimann-Leuthold, Adelboden
1920-1989 (father Eduard Stirnimann-Aegerter, grandfather Eduard Stirnimann-Faden, great-grandfather Leonz Stirnimann-Brun)
Eduard was born on March 9, 1920 in Ruswil, Kehrgut, where he spent his first years as a child and attended the 1st primary class in Rüediswil. St. Erhard and Sursee were his actual youth and school locations. He acquired thorough foreign language skills through years of internship in Lugano and Grenoble. He went to England and Holland for training in the hotel business and at the same time for further foreign language training. In the Amstel, the leading hotel in Amsterdam, he experienced the first two hard years of the war. A military contingent brought him back to Switzerland for the subsequent RS. Military service and seasonal jobs fulfilled the next few years. In 1946, experience, courage and a spirit of enterprise prompted Eduard to accept an invitation that the Abbessian state sent to a group of Swiss hotel specialists to rebuild the local hotel industry. Adaptability and understanding for different people enabled him to the lead of a bathing hotel with exclusively local staff. The guests also included Emperor Haile Selassie, whom Eduard was able to meet again in later years in Switzerland. In 1961 Eduard was able to lease the Hotel Bellevue in Hilterfingen and in 1965 acquire the Hotel Beau Site in Adelboden. Since it was not possible to adapt the hotel to today's requirements through renovation, Eduard decided in 1981, supported by his wife Marianne nee Leuthold and his sons Eduard and Daniel, who were entering the hotel business, to build a new building. The splendid hotel with apartment flats is a decoration of the village of Adelboden today. Unfortunately Eduard could not look back on his life's work from his retirement. Heart failure led to death within two days on February 14, 1989. With the relatives, a large group of colleagues and loyal hotel guests mourn the precious person.
Sayings of
Maria v. Ebner-Eschenbach
Austrian narrator
Where there are children, there is a golden age.
Started with awe, started well.
To grow old means to see.
Undemanding is bliss.
Age transfigured or petrified.
Subscription yearbook of the Historical Society of Lucerne
The yearbook founded by the Historical Society of Lucerne has been published for seven years, from which the attached special edition with the treatise on the parent home in Lower Rot in Ruswil has been taken. The magazine deals with topics related to the history and culture of the Canton of Lucerne. Our special edition gives you a good idea of the tasteful and appealing way in which the yearbook is edited and designed. We would like to recommend this valuable and inexpensive magazine to our members, especially the Lucerne residents, of course. The annual subscription costs Fr. 35.-. 1 issue appears per year. The subscriber is also a member of the Historical Society of Lucerne. The magazine can be ordered from:
Historical Society of Lucerne c / o Staatsarchiv Bahnhofstrasse 18
6003 Lucerne
Changes of address
We urgently ask our members to notify the board of directors about changes of address. This will make the cashier's job easier. Please keep the postcard enclosed with this shipment for a change of address.
Our Board of Directors
President: Josef Stirnimann-Haas, Realteacher, Unter-Sonnenbergli, 6017 Ruswil
Vice President: Prof. Dr. Joseph Stirnimann, Adligenswilerstrasse 11, 6006 Lucerne
Actuary: Hans Stirnimann-Helfenstein, community clerk, Alpenblick 5, 6206 Neuenkirch
Treasurer: Alois Stirnimann-Zihlmann, managing director, Im Latten 6, 6110 Wolhusen
Material administrator: Maria Stirnimann-Schenkermayr, Murgasse 1, 6017 Ruswil
Members: Othmar Stirnemann, manufacturer, Hubelstrasse, 6204 Sempach
Hans Stirnimann, vocational school teacher, Zugerstrasse 24, 6415 Arth
Heidi Stirnimann, at Reistweg 1 / Kniri, 6370 Stans
Honorary President: Hans Stirnimann-Haupt, teacher i. R., Rüediswilerstrasse 42, 6017 Ruswil
Auditor: Richard Stirnimann-Krieger, authorized signatory, Hubelstrasse 1, 6048 Horw
The President asked for contributions, communications and suggestions for the newsletter.
Enclosed: Payment slip for the 1989 membership fee of CHF 15.-