These stories are family stories that are in danger of being lost if I don’t tell them. Their importance varies but together they give an insight into the life in the US during the mid to late 20th century and the early 21st century, a time of tremendous change. For example, I rode around my childhood neighborhood in a horse and wagon, helping a farmer sell vegetables, in contrast to the observation that  for the last 30 years I have flown every year to Europe.Another example of the change in the family is to view the differences in the family make-up between the way it was in the times of my great grandparents and the family as it is now during my time as a great grandparent.  The major differences are in the culture, language, diversity, education and travel.  During that span of time: the 1860’s until the present, there have been upheavals in our society, such as wars, economic recessions, views about what constitutes a family, modes of travel and Rights and Wrongs. Important examples are: culturally the family started as all German and now has many members of the family from different  cultures. My great grandfathers had minimal formal education and were skilled laborers whose wives worked in the home. Now the family consists of many members wiho are formally educated including both sexes and some having doctoral degrees.   Originally, the family membership was determined by blood or law, and now many members or the family are members of the family by choice, sensibility and love.

The family stories  that I can tell are based on my experiences in the family and my remembrances of stories that were told to me. There are, of course, some stories that are already lost and I apologize for not finding out more about them than I did. Ones that haunt me now are those concerning my grandfather Zimmer’s brothers who must have been quite interesting. I will tell one based on newspaper articles about his brother John who was murdered in 1894 in Covington. I will also include several stories based on old photos, writings of my father and photos from the past about Covington. Also, I think I should confine the focus of the families involved in the past to the families of the great-grandparents of me and my siblings. I know the names of all 8 of my great-garandparents and have photos which I will share of 4 of them.  My mother’s grandparents are: Henry Bueter, and  Martha Cassidy, Anthony Kreidler and Mary Magdelen Reiner. My father”s grandparents are: John Zimmer, and Barbara Metz, Henry Bockweg and Gertrude Massmann.

My grandparents are: Mary Kreidler Bueter, William Bueter and Frances Bockweg Zimmer and Charles Zimmer. Pictured below is my mother and her parents in 1930, before I was born.

 

THE ZIMMER FAMILY 1933

The Bockweg family, including my father and some of his siblings

The Zimmer – Bueter family in 1947