Gladys Engert was one of our museum’s beloved docents who served us for a lot of years. It is hard to believe that she died almost 5 years ago. Today, you will read this post about her parents. This story begins with our birthday girl, who Gladys would have called “Mom”. Here is a picture … More Gladys Engert’s Mom and Dad
I am traveling today, and it did not take me long to decide what old post to once again share with our readers today. That is because yesterday was the funeral of Clarence Schirmer, a longtime local resident who will be dearly missed in East Perry County. I know there are at least 3 characteristics … More Farewell to a Great Local Historian
Quite a few posts on this blog have been written about people who had the surname, Kassel. You will read another one today. It will tell the tale of one of the Kassel’s who originally entered the United States back in 1845. This Kassel man is also today’s birthday boy. George Kassel was born on … More One of the Original Kassel’s – George
I will share one of those stories today in which both the bride and the groom not only were baptized at the same congregation, but these two also went all the way to that congregation’s cemetery together. That type of tale was certainly more common back in the horse and buggy days. I will begin … More Hecht/Kassel – Lifelong Union in Uniontown
I will be attempting to tell the story of John Christian Kassel today. Plenty of Kassel’s have populated the areas of East Perry County and also Cape Girardeau County over the years, and I believe John Christian Kassel was one of the original Kassel’s to show up on the scene around here. John Christian Kassel … More John Kassel – Civil War Fife Player
In October of 2020, I wrote the story of Louis Kirmse in the post titled, First Marriage – Age 61. As the title states, Louis was unmarried for 61 years of his life. And when he got married at such a late time in his life, his bride was 22 years younger that he was. You … More The Other Reluctant Kirmse Groom
Roland Julius Gottlob Schuessler is today’s birthday boy. If he was still alive, he would be celebrating one of those special birthdays. He would be 125 years old. Roland was born on November 28, 1897, the son of Ferdinand and Juliane (Rabold) Schuessler. Roland was the first of 2 children born into this Schuessler family, … More A Slew of Schuessler and Steffens Surnames
Oscar Christian Kassel was born on this day 125 years ago. It is his story that I will attempt to tell today. Oscar was the son of Christian and Sulamith (Hopfer) Kassel, born on October 13, 1897. That already puts him a rather large group. Our German Family Tree lists 15 children born to Christian … More Frohna Machine Shop – Perryville Parts Guy
Lena Amalia Kassel is today’s birthday girl. She was born in Perry County, but, like so many other young women from this rural area, found work and a husband in St. Louis, and spent the rest of her life in the big city. Lena was born on October 7, 1898, the daughter of Phillip and … More One of the Schmidt-Kassel Couples
The city of Coffeyville, Kansas, seems to pop up on this blog once in a while. Today will be another story that ends up there. I’ve been thinking for a while now that Coffeyville might have to be classified as another one of those places that I call a Perry County suburb. A name that … More Ben Hemmann in Coffeyville
