Volume 7 No. 2 - June to December 1997

PAUL LOBSINGER FAMILY - from left, Paul Lobsinger, daughters Lavina Carolina, Phoebe, Tillie, Mary, son Edward, and wife Katharina (Otto). Life was good in Bloomington, IL., where Paul farmed, and raised horses. Then Will Starkey came to town, and the sky fell in.

After moving to the Cherokee Strip, "Professor" Will Starkey, 2nd from left in front row, organized the Braman Cornet Band in Braman Oklahoma. Lavina Carolina Lobsinger, who had by then become Mrs. Will Starkey, led an adventuresome life following him around the country where ever his music led him.

Before long, the101 Ranch Rodeo and Wild West Show Cowboy Band, was organized by "Professor" Will Starkey, right of drum, front row. His music added color, emotion, excitement, and entertainment to the Western extravaganzas put together by Col. Zack Miller and the Miller Brothers. The shows gained fame and notoriety, traveling across country and ocean to thrill audiences everywhere.

The Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Rodeo and Wild West Show used the Cowboy Band to drum up excitement where ever they were setting up tents and arenas. Here the Cowboy Band was in downtown "Santone" (San Antonio) Texas. Will Starkey, Band Leader, at far right with Coronet.

Lavina Lobsinger Starkey, right, with her sister Mary Lobsinger Franklin. Both were daughters of Paul and Katharina (Otto) Lobsinger. Lavina became the wandering cowboy musician's wife. Mary married a veterinarian whose son was the subject of our April 1993 newsletter. Lavina's husband Will Starkey, left, poses pistol in hand, with Cheyenne Chief Thomas Carlyle on the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch near Ponca City, OK.

Lavina Carolina Lobsinger Starkey
- A Cowboy Musician's Wife -

Up the road a piece from where Will Starkey was born, near Centerville, Missouri, was where Jesse James' folks lived. Gives you an idea of the neighborhood. But to get it all in perspective, the time was maybe March of 1877.

Will didn't turn out to be a gunman, though. He grew up to be a showman; a Band Master; "Professor"; an accomplished musician on violin, cornet, and many other instruments.

About that same time, in Bloomington, IL., Paul and Katharina (Otto) Lobsinger were working their homestead, raising corn, horses, and kids. Their newest daughter, Lavina Carolina Lobsinger would appear the following June 23, just about harvest time.

Will Starkey was already the Director of the Hudson, IL., City Band by the time he was nine years old... if you can believe believe the old records. By the time he was 16, he and Lavina Carolina Lobsinger had met, courted, and married in Galesburg, IL. (1893).

Lavina's life as a farmer's daughter ended abruptly as she became the traveling musician's wife. Gigs in Chicago in 1895... first child (Gertrude) born there on December 29, 1897. Second child a couple of years later. Infant Katherine Marie died shortly after her birth, and the family moved back to Bloomington by 1900 where Will led the Hudson Band and Orchestra in concerts. Third child, Lorene, arrived in March 1901.

Meanwhile, Paul Lobsinger worked the Illinois dirt, cussed the winter cold that aggravated his asthma, traded horses, and harvested corn. About the only exciting thing that ever happens on a corn farm is harvest. Except for that one year when the sky fell.

It was a clear night and Paul and Katharina were relaxing on the porch after a hard day. The children were asleep. The night was clear and crisp and the stars were as bright as they used to be back in Canada before the couple came south.

Suddenly the sky lit up like daylight and a brilliant shooting star streaked across the sky. But instead of burning out like so many others Paul had watched, this one thundered closer and closer overhead and finally smashed right into the middle of his corn field, where it lay smoldering in the bottom of a six foot crater. It took several days to cool down.

Well sir, that was excitement. Paul and some friends decided to dig that monster meteorite out of the ground. It was solid iron, they guessed, and it weighed over 600 lbs.

Paul wrote home about that. He didn't write home often, especially since the folks were still sore at him for marrying Kathrina, but that shooting star was something to write home about, no matter how sore they were at him.

Paul's father Joseph Lobsinger was a respected farmer of increasing wealth in St. Agatha, ON., back in Canada. He had a wagon, of course, but also a "Carriage" in which he took his wife Marie Anne (Weber) and family of six sons and one daughter to the Catholic Church every Sunday.

He built the family a commodious two story stone home with walls up to 27 inches thick. He had acquired land enough to accomodate six average farmers, and his horses were known as the best and fastest in the county.

In the old country - France, where he was born in the village of Langatte, he had inherited the title of "Count", like his father Jean Louis and his grandfather Antoine before him. But the title was more a family curse than a blessing, especially when the guillotine began falling on nobility during the French Revolution in the late 1700s.

That may have been one reason Joseph and his brothers Antoine and Michel came to the new world. They were staunch Catholic, highly connected, and hard working in a time when it was probably not a good idea to be any of those things. In the new world, titles didn't matter. Joseph was called "Mr." Lobsinger by all who knew him.

And so it was quite a blow to the father when the son decided to marry outside his Catholic faith. Lutherans were bad enough. Let alone to a Quaker, or a Mennonite, or whatever she was!

When word of the meteorite arrived at the elder Lobsinger household, Joseph commented that God would surely not miss the next time.

Joseph never did reconcile himself with son Paul's wayward marriage; he ordered that Paul's inheritance be cut to one dollar.

***

In 1893 there was a big land run scheduled for September 16th. The U.S. government was opening up what was known as the "Cherokee Strip." It was a huge chunk of northern Oklahoma Territory that had recently been stolen from the Cherokee Indians for little or nothing.

Our disinherited, asthma afflicted corn farmer Paul Lobsinger and his faithful companion Kathrina listened to the stories of hundreds of pioneers heading west to join the run for free land. Free land! Just for pounding a stake in the dirt. Land rich enough to grow just about anything a farmer might want to put in the ground.

Why, some of the fellows who had been there and seen it - they called 'em Sooners - said that staking a claim was gonna be the hardest part of the deal because you had to get to the land office and back before the stake sprouted leaves. The weather was wonderful compared to Illinois winters, they said. And there was gonna be a big demand for good horses in the newly settled land.

Paul missed the land run by a couple of years, but couldn't stand it any longer. In fact, it seemed like half of Illinois and most Bloomington couldn't stand it any longer. The Bliss family moved to Oklahoma Territory; the Franklins moved down; the Starkeys, the Kohlers, the Wises and the Hiatts and all the rest. Either in time for the run, or shortly after.

Paul loaded his wagon with children, supplies, and his 600 lb meteorite and headed to Oklahoma, where he bought a stake near Braman from the fellow who got it in the run. The Starkeys were right behind them.

It was about 1902, maybe a bit later, when Will Starkey, his young wife Lavina, whom he called "Lu," and their two kids Gertrude and Lorene arrived in Braman. They came with the Wises, the Franklins, the LeMarrs, and of course, Paul and Kathrina Lobsinger and the rest of the kids.

Paul Lobsinger's first item of business was to establish a permanent home, bust the ground, get good breeding stock, and find a part time job as telegrapher for the Santa Fe Railroad spur that passed through town.

Will Starkey's first item of business was to establish the Braman Cornet Band. By 1903 he had appointed himself Director; E.R. Kohler, manager; D.M. LeMarr, president; Jno. Felible, secretary; and J.L. Wise, treasurer. The first concert was on Saturday evening, April 11, 1903. By May, they were booked in Hunnewell, KS., and in August they played for the Baptist Young People's Union in Braman.

Miss Lobsinger was Chairman of the event. Phoebe Lobsinger was Lavina Starkey's sister. Although she was deaf from an early age, she was an attractive young lady who caught the eye of one Professor Taylor, who performed vocal selections with the band. Braman folklore has it that Phoebe created quite a stir in town when she eloped with Mr. Taylor, leaving a local beau behind in the dust. But that's another story.

The demand for entertainment on the prairie was insatiable... Starkey played concerts, parades, celebrations of one kind or another, in quartettes, at speeches, during plays, for grand openings, for grand closings, wakes and even Indian War Dances. For a quarter, you could soak up Will Starkey's music deep into the night. Soon, the Starkey Players were expanding into serious drama. They produced "The Emigrant's Daughter" in which Lavina portrayed the "Prairie Spirit, Queen of Mysteries." Next they took on comedy with "Joe the Waif" with Lavina again in a key position.

Lavina's acting career came to an end in 1905, and by March 9, 1906 her fourth child was born. The Starkeys named their newest daughter Noalene in honor of their neighbor Noalene LeMarr. The LeMarrs were good friends and had acquired considerable land. They, and others like the Wises and the Franklins, were doing well in Braman, Oklahoma. They had land. The Starkeys had fun.

When the first big oil boom hit the Braman area, the folks with land did very well indeed. The first joint well produced by the area land owners poured forth 5,800 barrels of black gold every 24 hours. Suddenly, a quarter a pop for admission to a Will Starkey concert no longer seemed like big easy money.

It was time to move on for Will Starkey and his family. This time he'd go for land. They moved to Hooker, Oklahoma, which is 19 miles from the end of the world, and Will attempted to farm. The family lived in a dugout on the new homestead, which was essentially a hole in the ground with a big box over it. This time they had land, but no fun. No oil, either.

Will Starkey Family- At the Dugout in Hooker, OK., in the Spring of 1906 - from left, Mrs. Beach the schoolteacher, Lavina (Lobsinger) and Will Starkey holding Noalene with Gertrude and Lorene in front.

Will was a musician. A hungry one at that. So the "Professor" headed to the nearest town and organized another band, this time in Guymon. His band greeted trains, and hosted quarter concerts once again.

While Will was in Guymon greeting travelers, Lu was sitting up all night chasing snakes out of the dugout. It was, after all, about the coolest place for miles around. Her older two children, Gertrude and Lorene attended school in Guymon, traveling back and forth by school buggy.

It was in this snake infested dugout on May 10, 1908 that William (Bill) Albert Starkey, Jr., arrived at 13 lbs. Will, Jr.'s mother was not an easy person to upset, but having a 13 lb. baby by herself on the plains of Oklahoma while her husband was playing a trumpet in some saloon near the edge of the world did not set well with her.

Somebody decided it was time to move on again. The Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Rodeo and Wild West Show was becoming a national sensation featuring real cowboys, actual wild Indians, daredevil stunt riding, colorful costumes, elaborate reenactments, and famous celebrities. The show was headquartered near Ponca City, OK., and it had everything but a band.

So Professor Will Starkey became the first leader of the 101 Ranch Traveling Band. Silent cowboy film star Tom Mix was just a stunt rider for the Miller Bros., in those days. One evening Mix visited the Starkeys and bounced Lorene on his knee for a little bit. Then he stole a horse from the Ranch and rode off into the sunset until he reached Hollywood, CA., and signed up with the movie people. Starkey suspected the horse Mix was so fond of on screen was the same one he took from the 101 Ranch that evening.

Starkey had the same wonderlust as Mix. He left the 101 Ranch as well, this time headed back to his hometown in Missouri. From there, with a friend named Charles Franklin, he moved the family to Orlando, FL., where they opened a silent movie theatre and presented occasional musical concerts directed by "Professor" Starkey. By this time his children were becoming accomplished musicians, and Lorene would often perform cornet solos.

Life was almost normal for the Starkey family while they lived in Florida, but the movie theatre barely made payroll and Will had the urge to move on again.

Back to Missouri - where their oldest daughter Gertrude wound up married to the son of family friends, and just as quickly divorced with a son she had to leave behind. Her family, by then was in Nebraska.

Will and Lu got real jobs at a boys industrial school and life returned to normal for awhile. Noalene and Bill, Jr. continued to practice their music, and were good enough to be selected to play for the first broadcast of KFKX Radio out of Hastings Studio. It was a coast to coast NBC production.

In the meantime, daughter Lorene grew up and married Ralph Atkinson Johnson and had a daughter Ruth before their divorce.

Daughter Gertrude had remarried to a Spanish-American War veteran named Percival Madill and moved to San Jose, CA., where they had three children - Lola, and twins Harry and Marguerite. She sent back glowing reports about the wonders of the new land to her folks. Lorene and Ruth moved to California, too.

His new found Nebraska stability was too much for Will Starkey and he began to dream about those stories of wealth and beauty in California. By 1924, he couldn't stand it any longer and left by himself to go see the Pacific State for himself. He eventually settled in French Camp, CA., where his daughters Lorene and Gertrude and some other family friends had ended up.

Will's long suffering wife Lavina and the two remaining children, Noalene and Bill, and their dog, Doc, left Kearney, NB., on Labor Day, 1924 to make the trek to California in their 1923 Model-T Ford.

It was a three week journey, but they stopped to visit relatives in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas on the way. Lavina kept a diary of the trip...

"July 31st. ...We made sure to camp near an electric lamp, with due regard to all the tales of hold-ups, murders, robberies, and such. There were several men camped fairly close to us. Although they did seem very quiet and did not bother to speak to us even, we felt no better, for we knew that even robbers and cut-throats are quiet at times. But with morning and daylight, our senses were somewhat restored, and we felt that we had been very foolish. One of them said good-morning and we got a good look at them and saw that they were really a bunch of fine looking young men. In need of shaves, it is true, but they had been out in the harvest fields, and proved to be young college men from the east who were getting a good look at the country and earning some money at the same time. I think maybe we were just a bit disappointed for our first night out had turned out to be a very tame affair afterall. One thing it did for us, it caused us to be less suspicious of others and to judge more kindly."

And so the long journey began, with adventure after adventure related by Lavina in her diary... stories of campsite floods along the way, visits with relatives in Braman, flat tires, beautiful scenery, mountain passes, and so much more even Lavina could hardly find words to describe it all.

They stopped often, visiting friends along the way, and of course visited the Franklins and Wises and others in Braman. It was maybe a special stop for Lavina, who visited the Braman Cemetery to remember her parents, Paul and Kathrina Lobsinger who had found their final resting place together beneath a 600 lb. meteorite engraved with their names that served as a marker. Paul had died on January 29, 1907, just months before Oklahoma became a state. His beloved wife Katharina joined him a few years later, on August 21, 1913.

Lavina did fancy herself quite a photographer, for some reason, but her diary did not bear her out on that point... an almost daily entry says something like "Took a picture of the Peak, ate our supper and went to bed. But the pictures didn't turn out for some reason."

"The prevailing style of architecture here is adobe. Got one good picture of a"dobby" house."

"We saw the Deaf School (in Santa Fe) and took a picture of that too. The others we took that day were no good."

"It was here we saw an old church (in LaGuna), with images built in the gable. Noticed it too late to try for a picture, which may be just as well, for so many of them did not turn out well anyway."

By August 22, they had crossed the Great Divide at an elevation of 9,000 feet. The next day they came to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. It was "not at all like we thought it would be, but so wonderful that I can not describe it. We got a few good pictures of it, and will never forget it, no matter how much more we may see. The sun was just right to show up all the wonderful colors, altho it seems to me it must be beautiful at any time of the day. ... Here is where Zane Grey wrote the Rider of the Purple Sage, and here the photoplay of the book was made. The most predominating color was red, of every shade, from bright red to maroon..."

At the Grand Canyon, Noalene ran to the railing and "skinned the cat" over the canyon rim, a stunt that almost cost Lavina a heart attack, but later made for a great story that was retold many, many times. "We saw the Hopi Indians dancing the Victory Dance and the Eagle Dance. They had a large building with various things on exhibition... we went into the store where they sold Navaho blankets, bead work, jewelry and post cards... Had a good night of it here."

Several gold mines and "some of the most wonderful mountains you could ever imagine" later, they found themselves facing a hard, hot west wind "and it seemed like it was blowing right out of a red hot furnace. We found out the next day that it had been 126° at Needles, so no wonder we thought it was hot."

Lavina's diary says nothing about the two day vehicle breakdown Barstow, CA., just as their journey was coming to an end. She had to wire Will for money to pay for repairs and enough extra to finish their trip to French Camp.

"Oranges (were) selling for five cents per dozen; grapes, all kinds, five cents a pound, and so on, the fruit stalls are all along the roads, every few miles, and such a display of fruits and vegetables. It looks like an exhibition at a fair," she reported on August 31st.

And finally, they were "home."

"We were so happy to be there we just ached," Lavina wrote on the final day of the long journey, "Noalene put a record on the victrola and she and William danced all around the room. Then we hunted up the cupboard and had lunch."

The reunited Starkey family settled in, built a home across from their daughter in French Camp on Dudley Lane. Young Bill finished high school and played in dance bands in Stockton. One vocalist he often accompanied was a youngster named Anthony Martino who you probably know better by the name of Tony Martin.

Lavina finally had her own home. A real place to settle down. No more traveling. But Will Starkey had turned sour over the years and had become an alcoholic and a womanizer. The final straw was one day when Will came home drunk and abusive and it took both Lavina and her daughter Lorene to tie him down in bed. The next day Professor Will Starkey handed a note to his grand daughter Ruth and told her to give it to her grandmother in a week. Then he walked out of the door and disappeared.

Alone again, Lavina Carolina Lobsinger Starkey divorced Will in 1935 and continued to work for many years at the Stockton State Hospital until she retired and enjoyed many years of traveling. Her last years were spent in a nursing home in Sonora, where she died at Sonora Community Hospital on April 25, 1967.

Her granddaughter Ruth searched for Will and finally located him in Tacoma, WA., where he had turned his life around but never remarried. He died in Tacoma on July 23, 1964, a retired music teacher.

(Editor's Notes: The above account of the life of Lavina Carolina Lobsinger Starkey has been compiled from much factual historical data perforated with periodic gaps which have been filled with bursts of creative fiction for the sake of a good story. The photographs and information on the Starkey family and related material come courtesy of Lorraine A. Oneto-Leigh of Pinecrest, CA., a grand daughter of Lavina, daughter of Noalene Starkey Oneto. She also provided the photograph of the Paul Lobsinger family. Information about Paul Lobsinger and his ancestry prior to the Bloomington, IL., era has been collected from many sources by this newsletter.)

Dawn (Lobsinger) and Chris White

Dawn Lobsinger Weds Chris White

Just over a year ago this September, Dawn Heather Lobsinger and Christopher Andrew White were married, on the 14th. She is a Ph.D. candidate in Biochemistry at the University of Ottawa... and by now probably has defended and graduated with her Doctor's degree.

Dawn is the daughter of Neil Francis and Virginia Dorothy (Roeder) Lobsinger. Her grandfather was Edward Lobsinger who was married to Kathleen Dietrich.

Following the wedding the couple honeymooned in Spain, visiting Madrid, Alarcon, Calpe, Granade, Toledo, Segovia, and other places, as well as spending a couple of days in Amsterdam, The Netherlands before returning home to Ottawa. (dawn@ civich. ottawa.on.ca) (House of Louis) (dawn@civich.ottawa.on.ca) (cawhite@ccs.carleton.ca)

Romanian Lobsinger Family Relocates In
Ancestral Black Forest Area Of Germany

In July, Sharon (Lobsinger) Wilson, (SJWilson@sympatico.ca) was searching the Internet for European Lobsingers when she ran across two names - one Martin Lobsinger in Stuifenwig, Alfdorf, and another in Schorndorf, Wurt., Germany.

Sheron, who is the daughter of Laurier and Verna Irene (Sachs) Lobsinger of Hanover, ON., relayed their addresses to the Lobsinger newsletter, and we dropped a note to both addresses, hoping to hear from some real European cousins. What we found out was totally unexpected!

We received a letter in German from Anna Beiltz, daughter of Martin Lobsinger of Schorndorf, Wurt. She is the sister of the other Martin Lobsinger in Alfdorf. Anna and her family live in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany, but her family for many generations, was from Romania.

Her father, Martin Lobsinger was born in Schoenau, Romania, as were his ancestors back to about 1750! Martin is a retired construction worker. His daughter Anna has been working on her family history. When Martin received our letter, he referred it to her.

According to Anna, the ancestors of her family came from Malterdingen - the Black Forest area of Germany. About 1750, the family moved to Siebenbuergen, Romania. According to Anna, the family lived in Romania generation after generation until World War II.

"There were lots of hard times, and especially my father's generation had a lot to endure, World War II and the effects of it. My Father was sent to Russia during the dispossession and was forced to live under the communist's government," Anna reports.

But in 1990, following the collapse of the Iron Curtain, the family returned to Germany where they are trying to build a new life in their ancestral homeland in Southwestern Germany, near the Black Forest.

The family of Martin and Anna Lobsinger consists of Helmuth Martin Lobsinger, their son, who lives in Alfdorf with his wife Annemarie and two children, Thomas Lobsinger and Sebastian Lobsinger. Anna is one of two daughters, the other is Hedwig, who has a son named Hannes. Anna says they are the only seven people she knows of who have the name Lobsinger spelled the same way we do.

Anna received her information on the family from a church pastor in Schoenau, Romania, named Wilhelm Capesius, and another pastor named Ferdinand Barck in Malterdingen, the ancestral home of the family. According to Pastor Barck, "Malterdingen is located in the vineyards of the Black Forest mountains, about 12 kilometers from the Rhine River, and 25 kilometers from Freiburg. Lobsingers do not live there any longer. I ask myself why and where to has the family so vanished without any trace? I have not received an answer."

It is interesting to note that there is a "Freiburg" in Illinois and another one in Ontario, and Lobsingers have lived in both towns during the past 150 years.

We have sent all of the past issues of the Lobsinger newsletter that we have available to Anna Bieltz so that she and her family can catch up on what the Lobsingers on this side of the world have been doing since 1840, and we hope to hear more from her in the future.

 Just For Fun...Thermodynamics Exam Revisited

(Editor's Note: Last issue we ran a humorous bit about a professor who gave a Thermodynamics Exam asking if Hell were exothermic or endothermic, and one student's response. We, of course, invited Bishop Tom Lobsinger of Whitehorse, YT, to comment, and he, of course, couldn't resist. Here's what Bishop Tom has to say on the whole heated matter:)

by Bishop Tom Lobsinger

Recon it wouldn't be right if I didn't take up your challenge and throw out a few personal remarks about this VERY important question about the possibility of hell freezing over.

First, I must admit to having to look up the meaning of the terms "exothermic" and "endothermic". I'm not sure that those words were even around when I took Physics classes.

Theologically speaking, it seems that it might be a good thing to be reminded that hell even exists. But as to the number residing therein or entering therein, do you know that in all of Sacred Scriptures there is no mention of anyone being sent there? No doubt we all have our list of special people whom we think are heading in that direction (perhaps even relatives)!!

The question then, is not how many are already in hell, or at what rate it is being filled up and expanded, but rather how to keep the hell out of there.

The "good news" is that God loves each of us unconditionally and doesn't want us there at all, but to be part of his eternal family. All that takes is to make an effort to love one another (even relatives).

END OF SERMON

From The Mailbag...

John Fronchak, Kitchener, ON., sent us a note in September to bring us up to date. He reports that is wife Theresa (Lobsinger) passed away in 1993, but since then his family has also had several additions in the way of grandchildren. He also asks that we send the paper to his daughter Cindy Logel in Keswiek, ON. and we are pleased to add her to the mailing list. (House of Louis)

Barney Lobsinger, now an 83 years young, is tackling the Internet these days and enjoys hearing from other Lobsingers around the world. If you would like to send Barney an e-mail note, his address is barney@mnsi.net. I'm trying to remember to put everyone's e-mail address in the newsletter, so don't be surprised if Barney drops you a note! (House of Louis)

We received an e-mail message from Bob and Teresa Tischart, (kaitlyn.t.@ampsc.com) who are members of the Tschirhart clan with a shorter version of the name. We and they have common ancestors and relations and have swapped computer files. (House of Louis)

Harold and Lois Lobsinger, Stratford, ON., wrote us a short note to advise that they are now new grand parents of a baby girl, Jenna Nicole, born on July 22, 1997. Parents are Mark and Donna (Masur) Lobsinger. Jenna Nicole will join her sister Bryn at the home. That's two grandkids we didn't know existed yet! Send us the kid's addresses and we'll add them to the mailing list. (House of Louis)

Gordon and Yvonne Lobsinger, Kitchener, ON., are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter Maureen Anne to Matthew Raymond Bonneville, Gravenhurst, ON., The marriage took place on Friday, June 13, 1997 at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Kitchener. Father Daniel Lobsinger, C.R., brother of the bride, officiated. The bride and groom are residing in Kitchener. Likewise, send address and we'll add them to the mailing list. They are using son Kevin Lobsinger's email address. Contact them or Kevin at kelobsin@cousteau.uwaterloo.ca (House of Louis)

Elberta Rix, Hamilton, ON., writes requesting to be added to the mailing list. She is the daughter of (my great aunt) Amelia (Lobsinger ) and Edwin Detzler. Glad to have you aboard! (House of Peter)

All the way from merry old England comes a note from Sister Janet Mikol, SSND, who says Liverpool is having an unusually warm and sunny summer. She is "regretfully" moving back to Canada just when the weather finally gets nice over there. But after 11 happy years on the other side of the Atlantic, she will be returning to Burlington, ON., where she has been appointed Community Treasurer for the sisters. "It's a far cry from working pastorally among the poor in Liverpool," she laments. (House of Louis)

Patrick and Cheryl Walsh, Bellevue, AB., raided their US coin collection and sent us a bunch of coins for the postage fund. And they arrived safely, by the way. We have also made a note of the new address. They used to live in Blairmore, AB. Cheryl informs us of the 1993 death of Julietta McIntee of Pincher Creek. She was Patrick's great aunt, and the subject of several articles in the early years of the newsletter. She had traveled east with the Welsh's to visit with her sister Bea Long in Buffalo, NY., where she suffered a stroke. (House of Louis)

I think we finally got computer disc files transferred to Robert Maslen. We gave up and used the mail system instead of electronic transfer. Haven't heard from Bob recently, so I presume they worked, or else he gave up! (House of Louis)

Elisa M. (Lobsinger) Richardson has sent several address changes during the past 6 mos or so. She and husband Scott are in the military and move around quite a bit. Latest word is that Scott is now a recruiter in Portland, ME. (House of Louis)

John and Maureen (Lobsinger) Keane, Mukilteo, WA., dropped us a nice note by email (jkeane@uswest.com) in July, to pass on some corrections to the chart we printed on Maureen's dad, Clarence Lobsinger in the last edition. We're glad to get anything that improves the accuracy of the data base. John is a true Irishman, born on the Emerald Isle. Says he always took his ancestry for granted because they all came from the same area of Ireland. Not so with the Lobsingers! He also reports that Clarence Lobsinger passed away on January 1, 1994, and that their son's name is Micheál, Gaelic for Michael and is pronounced Mee-hawl. Things like that we'd never know if someone didn't tell us. Micheál is 20 years old and is in his Senior year at the University of Washington majoring in Computer Science. Maureen is a noted nutritionist and author with nine books in print and over one million sold, ranging from her first book "Juicing for Life" to her most recent "What To Eat If You Have Cancer." (House of Louis)

Dr. Tony Lang (langa@atlas.geomatics.com) emailed us in June with his new address and an update on what's going on in his family. Tony completed requirements for his Ph. D. a couple of years ago. He defended his thesis in May 1995 and moved shortly thereafter from Toronto to East York, ON. He is currently working with Geomatics International, a firm that does consulting in environmental issues, forestry, geology, mining and business geographics. The firm has landed international contracts in Nigeria, Romania, Czech Republic, Jamaica, and Indonesia, and Tony hopes he'll get to do some international travel. Geomatics has also signed an agreement to develop and build GM's in-car navigation system. Tony has been writing environmental impact assessments and doing wildlife surveys associated with the expansion of TransCanada PipeLines Limited's facilities in Canada to feed demand for natural gas in the northeastern U.S. In June, he was working in Saskatchewan in the Great Sand Hills and other places, so he got to see his family again in Regina. Tony's mom, Leona (Lobsinger) Lang flew to Toronto when his Saskatchewan work ended and spent some time visiting with him and his wife Sarogini and their daughter Renata. They also all attended the Lobsinger reunion in Mildmay this summer. He says there were about 80 people there and plenty of food. Leona brought some old photographs and spent much time trying to get the people in them identified. They also met Detective Paul Lobsinger of the Metro Toronto Police, whose name he has seen in the Toronto newspapers occasionally, as well as many other family members. (House of Peter)

Carol (Lobsinger) Lane, Arnold, MO., sadly reports the loss of her husband Robert on January 1, 1997. He had been ill for many years with cancer. She also sent us her son Jeff's new address in DeSoto, MO., and says they really look forward to the newsletter. "For a long time we didn't know there were any other Lobsingers but the few around here. Now, I feel a kinship with all Lobsinger," she says. (House of Michel)

Bob Lobsinger and friend Keith Snider prepare the BBQ'd Pig this summer for the annual Flying Dutchmen's Summer Picnic at the Kitchener-Waterloo Remote Controlled Model Airplane Club's flying field. Bob also serves as Treasurer of the organization.

Heather M. Lobsinger (hml@tresca.aero.ufl.edu) reports she graduated from the University of Florida in May 1996 with honors and a degree in aerospace engineering and has decided to stick around for grad school to get her Masters degree! She has since completed her first year in grad school and at least another to go on that project. At the time she wrote us in June, she was in Ann Arbor, Michigan working as a summer intern at Ford Motor Company getting an idea what an engineer does - and getting paid pretty well at the same time, she grins. Heather reports that her boyfriend of the last three years, Michael Stoll, proposed to her at the top of the Tybee Island Lighthouse near Savannah , GA., on April 26th, and they are now engaged. The unofficial date for their wedding is May 23, 1998. Mie is also an aerospace engineer who graduated from the Naval Academy in 1992 and is now a helicopter pilot flying the SH-60B Seahawk. He is stationed in Mayport, FL. They met at the University of Florida when he was briefly stationed at the ROTC unit there three years ago. Recently, he has been on a 6 month deployment, and Heather flew to Greece for a visit with him near the end of July. He returned home in October. Heather reports her folks, Philip A and Carolyn (Harrell) Lobsinger, West Palm Beach, FL., have moved into a new house right on a golf course and seem to be happy with the change. Her sister Stacy turned 21 on June 25th and friends took her to Pleasure Island and Disney World. Stacy is one class away from her Associates degree at community college and hopes to continue her education at a university. (House of Peter)

Bea (Lobsinger) Long, Cheektowaga, NY., says her dad, Johannes Francis Xavier Lobsinger, used to mention his uncles immigrating to Canada via Montreal from Alsace Loraine. But we are of German birth, she adds. In response to Bernice (Lobsinger) Maslen's question in the last newsletter, Bea says she has a picture of Grandma Caroline Gehl Lobsinger who resided in Carlsruhe. She would be happy to have a copy made. (House of Louis)

 Rev. Wayne L. Lobsinger sent us a notice of change of address from Hamilton to Kitchener, and we've taken care of that little chore so he should get this newsletter by Christmas, we hope. (House of Louis)

Eric B. Lobsinger, (crueloik@hotmail.com) emailed us in May that he has become engaged to Akiko Yamamoto of Sekiyado-machi, Japan. Eric has been dating her for over three years, and finally got up the nerve to ask her to marry him. Eric says he will send pictures and a wedding date later. He says the hardest part was having to ask her mother for permission to marry her in Japanese. "It was no small task to emeorise the lengthy plea and to say it with the feeling I have. (House of Michel)

Sellena Armstrong and Jordan Dorion

Nancy Ann Armstrong, Elliot Lake, ON., sent us updates on several addresses, a couple of birth announcements, an obituary which we already ran, and some other news last May just in time to be late for the last issue. She is one of our lost souls and has missed the past several issues, so we sent them to her to catch up. Her daughter,Sellena Marie Lucille, was born February 17, 1995. Jordan Robert Dorion was born September 7, 1995 to Darcy and Christine (Armstrong) Dorion. They are the first two grandchildren of Robert and Patricia (Lobsinger) Armstrong. Pictures of both in here somewhere. (House of George)

Jack H. Bass, son of Dorothy (Lobsinger) and Hatton F. Bass dropped us a short letter and photos of the grave marker of his great grandparents Josephine (Emil) and Joseph Carl Lobsinger. They are buried in a designated historical cemetery in Klacken Creek, MI. (House of Joseph)

We received word of the recent death of Melvin Lobsinger of Kissimmee, FL., from his wife Dolores, who also asked that we add their daughter Carol Robbins to the mailing list. Welcom aboard, Carol. (House of Peter)

Patrice Nedinis, Calgary, AB., sent us a new address so that we can get her back on the mailing list. We haven't heard from her in a couple of years and wondered where she went. She has two children, Tamara Leigh and Jason Cole. (House of Peter)

Deaths and Funerals

Robert L. Lane

Lane, Robert L., on Wed. Jan. 1, 1997, beloved husband of Carol J. Lane (nee Lobsinger), dear son of the late Lelia Mae and Edward Lane, dear father of Deborah L. Graham (Steven), Roger K. Lane (Ruth), Marlene A. Goveia (William), Jeffrey L. Lane (Laura), grandfather of Amanda, Kristin and Andrew, brother of Ruth R. Curtis, Paul W. Lane, Leslie D. Lane, Sue B. Williams and the late Edwin H., Clyde R. and James A. Lane. He was also preceded in death by his stepfather David Everett Roberts, son-in-law of Irene Lobsinger, our dear uncle, cousin, and friend.

The funeral service was conducted on Saturday, January 4 at the First Baptist Church of Arnold, 2012 Missouri State Road. at 10 a.m. Interment Shepherd Hills Cemetery. Visitation was Friday, 4-8 pm at the Heiligtag Funeral Home, 1081 Jeffco Blvd. Arnold, Mo. Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church of Arnold Building Fund. Mr. Lane was a Deacon, Sunday School Dept. Director and faithful servant to the Lord and the Church for many years. (House of Michel)

Melvin Lobsinger

Melvin Lobsinger, 75, of Rancho Drive, Kissimmee, FL., died September 12 in St. Cloud.

Born February 7, 1922 in Kitchener, ON., he moved to the area from Buffalo, N.Y., in 1969. He was a retired manufacturing representative and was an Air Force veteran of World War II.

Survivors include his wife, Dolores Libsinger, Kissimmee; sons, Paul M., East Aurora, N.Y., Bruce M., Clarence, N.Y., Glenn M., Raleigh, N.C.; daughters, Diane Reiman, St. Cloud, FL., Carol Robbins, Winter Park, FL., sister, June Stevens, Plymouth, MI., and 14 grandchildren.

Services were held September 15 followed by graveside services at Highland Memorial Gardens.

Grissom Funeral Home, Kissimmee, was in charge of arrangements.

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