been sick and forgot my recipe book. Will get it out soon.

retreat

Yes, I have been a bit distracted in my research. With Christmas (Weihnachten) upon us it is time once again to think back to the special things that keep Gramma and Grampa alive for me. It is especially important this time of year because the weather is so frightful and the memories keep me warmer than a roaring fire. The foremost memory, beyond the Christmas balls from Wollworths and Kresge's, beyond the silver tinsel and the decorated styrofoamballs hanging in the dining room window is the strudel at the end of Christmas dinner.
Eggnog really was too rich an accompaniment to such a decadent desert even if one had only a single slice. But who could eat only one? The butter, the sugared sultanas and all the powdered sugar.... mmmmmmmmmmmmm. I think what made it most special was that it only appeared at Christmas. And it took 3 months to make.
I thought that would get your attention. It didn't take 3 months from mix to bake. That is only a short prep, an overnight trip to the fridge and a quick assembly the next day. If you don't include the resting time it only takes about 40 minutes and the recipes makes two loaves. Just before he had that last bout, Grampa promised me that he would teach me how to make it since mom was never interested. He said that he always made it the last week of October so that it had a good eight weeks in the freezer. A day in the fridge and then the rest of the time in hte freezer. It is called mellowing.
This extra step is what allowed the raisin and nut flavor to penetrate the dough from the inside out. It is also most likely what made it taste so heavy. I don't think it needs that long. I made that loaf in 2005 three days before the dinner. The other reason for freezing it is so that it can be cut while still fairly rigid and thus would not crumble as badly on the plate as if it were cut and served "fresh". Since it turned out so well, I don't feel bad about not putting this out there until now as there is still plenty of time to churn out a loaf or two before Christmas.
I also have to admit I almost lost the recipe with my last disorganized move. So in the next post I will publish the Holiday Yeast Cake recipe and tell you again what I know about it. I would have loved to have a photo but I am not able to make one this year and it never occurred to me that it would be necessary to photograph something like that. But if we don't then what happens when we lose our marbles later in life? or worse... a recipe book as priceless as our family traditions?
It was almost losing the recipes, Grampa's, Dad's, Mom's and some of my favorites from my friends' families that inspired me to post. But I also don't want to be the only person who knows how to make it. Brian's reaction when he saw it was priceless... something I wish I had a photo of. It's the kind of reaction everyone in this family is entitled to have and experience. I have found too much divisiveness within the parts of our story I have found. It should not remain a generational burden. So, don't hold your breath but tune in tomorrow or Saturday for the recipe.
Frohe Weihnachten Familie!

Search I: 2000

I spent a few years in college. During the first few classes we were supposed to get familiar with search engines. Google was still refining its engine and we were playing with dogpile and others that are rarely used now. So the first thing I did was plug in Gerbstadt for a people search.

In 2000 there were 11 people living within reach of Google's search engine with the surname Gerbstadt. Genealogic research indicates all 11 of those people to be related. Among those Gerbstadts: Dr. Christine Gerbstadt, dietitian and published nutritionalist; David Gerbstadt of Pennsylvania, artist and blogger; a couple of Wayne County, MI realtors; and a physicist or genetic engineer... I couldn't pin point him.

clarification

The Gerbstadts that I have traced are from North/Northwestern Germany while the names originate in the East. There is at least 600 years of migration to get from Thuringa/Sachsen/Bayern to Hannover and Hamburg. The names and places were the result of trying to document my guess as to the sefinitions of the surnames. I did not expect to find castles and cities and such.
I have written to an administrator in Gerbstet with the hope that he can put me in touch with the organization that erected miniatures of famous but ruined places in that region and within the city itself. If anyone can tell me where and when the name started and who the cities' founders and protectors were it would be that historical society. Will let you all know when a response arrives.
As for the particulars that I know, I am still trying to write something up regarding the research. Even though this is for the family, I'd hate to plagerize.

A new lead

So Kevin tells me that the only other thing he knows for certain is that Gramma was originally from Leipzig.

Leipzig is just a few minutes from Merseburg. Merseburg at one time was the Rieger-Bezerk of Sachsen. That is to say, a regional seat of the district of Saxony, Prussia. This is the information contained in the Wappenbuch under the heading of Gerbstaedt. A town of Gerbstadt lies just north and west of Leipzig in a region of Mansfeld. Schloss Lauenstein lies about 200 miles south of these cities.

This connection, though tenuous, leads me to believe that I have been on the right track as far as locating the origins of Gramma's family name. I had not suspected to find a historic connection between the two families. I had thought due to the creation of a Gerbstadt crest, that the Gerbstadts were ennobled before the Lauensteins. Now I see that is not the case due to extensive quartering of the Lauenstein crest which pertains to this region of Lauenstein. The Gerbstadt crest is not quartered though two shields appear next to each other on the field. Either the crest began with a blended family or the family blended with another after its initial creation. In either case, the crest indicates that the landed status of the Gerbstadt family did not continue into another generation.

So what is the likelihood either set of grandparents belonged to a noble family? Excellent, though not in a way that you might imagine. I doubt, given Gramma's Jewish heritage, that she herself is descended from nobility. It is most likely that they belonged to a German noble through acquisition, the surname indicating possession rather than birthright.

time to play "What do You Know?"

"Not much. You?" Is the audience response for the NPR talk show. I feel like it should be mine for anything that has to do with this quest. It would seem from the last family conversation that i can't trust some of what mom told me. She's the one who said that Gramma never learned to speak English. In the follwing I will list what I heard by accident that has always stuck with me, the things that were direct answers to questions and some of the cryptic things Grampa said to me.

• Grampa had a brother Wilhelm: served in WWI, and was lost. Naturally I assume that meant that he had died. The helmet and service revolver that Grampa kept in the third bedroom was said to have belonged to Willie.
• David Gerbstadt said his uncle was Wilhelm, that he emigrated and that he worked in a bakery in dearborn in the 1930's
• Grampa talked with Marty Killian about several places in the old country associated with the family: Schwabia, Bavaria, Bohemia, Hamburg, Hannover and a large old church there that was kitty corner from the family bakery, and a place called Sachsen.
• Grampa's dad was a baker
• Grampa worked in the bakery as a kid and hated math, especially math involved in recipe division and multiplication
• Mom called Gramma a Bohemian when I was being just like her and mom didn't like it. She called Gramma a Bavarian when we did homework.
• Grampa talked a few times about Orlamunds.

What does it all amount to? Leads to be sure... but beyond that only time will teall.

Dredging the past

Many would say that the past is best left in the past, that it can serve no purpose to expose the pain and misery that our descendants suffered. I have always advocated knowing the truth, past to present. The past is a complete education; an ancestor's misery can be our road sign to avoid pitfalls. The past can also inspire and instruct. A family history is so much more than a bunch of facts and figures, though those are important too. I have always believed that. Until I talked to Kevin last night.

He didn't know that Grampa had a sister.

You see, I always have assumed that because Anne's kids are older than us, that they knew more about the family than did we. After all, they had years with Grampa when he was younger, more vibrant and capable of remembering in greater detail... not that his mind was ever dull. They would have done the same homework requiring the construction of a family tree... I thought. Apparently that was not always the back to school assignment of choice for teachers then. So I tell Kevin about Erna as he had not read the blog yet. And he didn't know.

How could he not know about her? How could he not know about Willie either? And this makes me wonder how much more I want to know. I mean, what could make siblings disavow any knowledge of each other? I was told it was about a recipe and working in the bakery. David Gerbstadt of PA said the same thing. But since I didn't know that Gramma Ada was Jewish, I wonder if the recipe was just a convenient disguise for bigotry in the family. And here is the thing... David knew about Grampa. We just didn't know about David and his family. so I wonder, again, what keeps you from acknowledging your siblings to your children and grandchildren?

It is sad. And I don't think I want to know. I almost idolize Grampa for the contributions he made to my becoming who I am. How will I feel about him if I find out that he was the reason there was a fight and he was the one who would not forgive? But what if I find that I like these other cousins and we become friends? Would Grampa think it was betrayal to like someone he clearly did not? Is even looking a betrayal of Grampa's love?

Of course, I could be too close to the whole thing since it is my family and there are generational patterns playing out even now with my own siblings. Grampa had told someone about Willie... mom and Anne fought about namesakes. And I remember several occasions where Gramma Olive rode Grampa about it, resulting in better details for the homework. I just wish that I remembered more than I did. I think. But still... no one mentioned Erna except to tease Aunt Anne about a name she said was not hers. How does this happen? Do I want to know?