Doris Fieg Holm Has New Address

Your editor recently received a home-made post card from Doris Fieg Holm, announcing a new stage in her life.  Doris writes:

"Wheel C Ranch now closing its gates -- sorry! 🙁  My new address:  9325 East Stockton Blvd., Rm. 116, Elk Grove, CA 95624.  Phone 916-425-4869. 

Have moved to senior housing with all convenient comforts - no work!  Still in Elk Grove - house will be on the market soon.  Am adjusting to ease of living.  Can still host my card parties here, with a chef to help (not bad at all!).  Love to all!!  Doris Fieg Holm"

Doris is the granddaughter of Carl and Emilie Fieg, who were the root stock of the American Fieg family tree.  We wish her well in her new digs, and encourage everyone to drop her a line.

Doris Fieg Holm surrounded by a few of her many relatives at the 2009 Fieg Family reunion in Cooperstown, NY.

Billy Adams Among Emmy Winners

"Mural" by Jackson Pollock

 San Fransisco photographer, Billy Adams, son of Bill and Marsha Adams of Sioux City, Ia., celebrated the receipt of an Emmy Award as a member of the production staff of the Iowa Public Broadcasting special "Mural: The Story of a Modern Masterpiece."

The award was for best cultural documentary and was presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Mid-America Chapter.

Billy Adams

The 58-minute production tells of the creation and exhibition of the late Jackson Pollock's $150 million painting, commissioned by the late arts patron Peggy Guggenheim in 1947.  The television special follows the painting's trans-Atlantic crossing from Venice, Italy, its presentation at the University of Iowa and its ongoing world tour, which included a showing in Sioux City.  The work of art will return to the new University of Iowa's new art museum in 2018.

Billy played a key role on a team of eight photographers in documenting the shipping and mounting process of the artwork, which has been praised as one of the most important artistic accomplishments of the 20th Century.

The show features commentary by art critics and connoisseurs, among them the actor and comedian Steve Martin, and Billy's parents appear briefly among the extras in the Sioux City footage of the video. 

A highly accomplished photographer, Billy is a graduate of the University of Iowa at Iowa City, where he formerly served on the photographic staff.  His work can be viewed at his website, www.billadamsphoto.com.

Notes on Hurricane Harvey

Friday August 25, 2017 - 8:30 p.m.
Glad I did my grocery shopping on Tuesday, before the hurricane was predicted to actually be a hurricane.  Even on that day, store clerks were unwrapping skids of drinking water.

I did stock up yesterday on water, bleach and paper plates, after hurriedly rescheduling a Girl Scout recruiting rally I was to conduct that night.  The storm was predicted to be a category 3 (as I write this, it has morphed into a category 4 with wind speed of 140 mph!). 

Joe and I had already brought in the outdoor furniture and potted plants.  I will leave out the hummingbird feeders as long as I can today for the little fellers.  Fixed steak Diane for dinner.

The ice chest is cleaned out, my brand new drink dispenser is full of water, in case we cannot use water from the tap later.  A gallon of water is in the freezer, to drink as it thaws (a trick we used when Joe, Emilie and I used to go camping in July to celebrate our wedding anniversary.  It is a cheap vacation, but pretty hot in Texas, and that icy water was a godsend!).

Called Mom yesterday and told her we would ride it out.  Have had several offers of places to stay from friends in Austin and San Antonio.  My birding buddy, Susan, called from her temporary digs in  Laredo.  They live in Rockport, which is under a mandatory evacuation order.  Tonight she and her husband, Paul, are drinking gin and tonics at Danny and Mona's, then tomorrow she will go birding early in the morning with the Laredo birding contingent.  I am jealous!

8:45 p.m.
Cooking a pot of beans for Joe -- what a funny request!  The power is still on -- T.V. has shown the storm's progress all day on all channels.  Press conferences with the mayor, video of slick streets, reflecting the street lights, that are devoid of traffic -- kind of like on Christmas Eve.

The T.V. folk must be exhausted, though they act as if they are not.  As I took down the hummingbird feeders, one of the hummers scolded me from the neighbor's tree.  Sorry, little guy!  Young grackles were flying awkwardly from tree to tree, pushed from behind by the wind -- what a time to learn to fly!

Joe has gone in to bed.  He predicts that the weather effects will be minor here.  As we are in the southwestern quadrant, he is probably right.

Texted Kimiko, in Victoria, where Harvey is headed.  She will hunker down and hope for a good outcome.  Several other people have texted asking if we are OK.  I sheepishly have to admit to still having power.

8:53 p.m.
Still have power -- for how long?  Wind in Rockport reported at 118 mph - as fast as a tornado!

Haha!  All four news reporters sitting at the news desk are looking at their electronics at the same time.  So funny -- so contemporary.

I just opened the front door.  Can't hear much inside, but outside the wind is roaring through the trees.  The cats sit at the open door, ears back, eyes bugging out.  The beans are almost done.

Emilie called earlier to see how we were doing -- Joe said, "We are making our wills."  Her BFF from college texted me to check on our status -- sweet of her!

9:05
The power just blinked off for a nano second.  Good thing Joe completed the one task I set for him today:  put batteries in the flashlights.

11:45 p.m.
 Just ended a call from a friend in Ithaca.  Good night!

Saturday August 26, 2017 - 8:15 a.m.
My cat, Mickey, and I took a quick stroll up the cul-de-sac - a couple of fences are down, one tree (trunk about 8" in diameter) snapped close to the ground, lawns are covered with fallen leaves and small branches.  I put the hummingbird feeders back up earlier, and the birds are swarming.  Gnatcatchers and titmice twitter from the branches up high.

Cool and pleasant outside, with no rain at the moment.

Emilie has (had?) job interviews in Pt. Lavaca Tuesday (postponed indefinitely), Austin Wednesday and Houston Thursday (probably ditto).  She is anxious to go to work, but Harvey says, "Not yet."

11:00 a.m. 
Today I have spoken with Anne and John Roman in their new home in Florida, and to Mark Roman, who is planning a trip to Hawaii mid-September with his girlfriend, who will be working there.  Must be rough.... LOL

Inca Dove calling in the back yard, "No hope... no hope,"  but things are getting back to normal.  Nary a car on the streets.  The news from just north of here is horrific, but only one death so far - someone caught in a house fire.  RIP.

Fieg Family Model T Sold for $3.75

Ford Motor Company observed the 100th anniversary of the pick-up truck this year, a milestone noted by the production of Model T conversions dating back to 1917, and the first true pick-up in 1947.   After-market conversion kits were sold with detailed instructions for the transformation.

1925 Model T Conversion Pick-Up

Max Fieg built such a conversion from a 1925 Model T Touring Car.  The car was made almost entirely of wood, and served Max and his family for a good many years.

Eventually the truck was retired and later it caught the attention of a passer-by.  He asked Max, "How much do you want for it?" and Max replied, "How much have you got?"  The prospective buyer said, "Three dollars and seventy-five cents."

Max Fieg in 1943

"That'll do," Max said.  After dropping a fresh battery into it and making sure it turned over, he pocketed the cash and watched his customer drive away.  The vehicle has not been seen in the family since that day.

Fanciful family lore suggests that some members of the Fieg generation from the early 19th century were wagon-makers, a narrow and exacting discipline, which may explain why the men (and women?) of Lothar and Max Fieg's generation were endowed with considerable carpentry skills.

The Model T has made some appearances in the Fieg family at other points in the 20th Century.  Frank Fieg, barely old enough to drive, worked as a taxi driver to earn enough to purchase a 1925 Model T of his own.  In the late 1930s, he was cruising in his "tin lizzie" from Cooperstown to Oneonta.  The vehicle, four cylinders with a top speed of 45 miles per hour, was already obsolete when it rolled off the assembly line in Detroit, and so was quickly passed by modern vehicles with six-cylinder and V-8 engines.

Frank was attempting to negotiate the sweeping curve at the Hope Hill intersection on Rte. 28, when a big V-8 roared past him, heading toward Hyde Park.  Frank knew the other driver would not be able to hold that curve at such a breakneck speed.  The car careened off the road and slammed into a stone mill and feed store, which stands there today in mute testimony.  The driver was killed.

Frank's son, Greg Fieg, had the occasion to ride in a 1917 Model T Runabout in a holiday parade in Venice, Fla. in 1997.  The car belonged to the late Army Col. John Morley, who served with Frank during the battle of Okinawa in 1945 (though they did not know each other).

1947 Ford pick-up

The first true Ford pick-up, an F-100, was built in 1947, initiating the F-series, now F-150s, which have been the best-selling vehicles in America for many years.  That truck, with its powerful flat-head V-8, heavy-duty suspension, and reinforced frame, filled a void in the marketplace.

Ford Assembly Line

At the time Ford Model Ts were entering the marketplace in 1908, other cars could sell for up to $5,000.  Henry Ford, watching an assembly line in a slaughterhouse, had the idea to adapt the technique to his automobile production, an efficiency that allowed for production of cars that sold for sometimes less than $400.  This made transportation affordable for most families in what the great industrialist called the "democratization of the automobile."

Henry Ford

By 1914 he boasted that you could have a Model T in any color, "as long as it is black."

Employment Updates: A Retirement and a Birthday

Kathy Clancy shares that her husband, Brian, retired from the Village of Cooperstown on April 30.  Brian was the public works superintendent, and had been a village employee for 31 years.  In addition to his paid position, Brian also served several terms as the village's fire chief.

For the whole story, and more, visit http://www.allotsego.com/reception-honors-retiring-cooperstown-dpw-superintendent/.

Hancock Concrete Products, the company where Bill Adams is employed, celebrates its centennial year in 2017.  A celebration was held July 3 in Hancock, Minn., with a luncheon and plant tours.

Bill, husband of Marsha Whiteside Adams, appears in a video history of the innovative company that designed the first precast box culvert in the U.S.   The video can be viewed on the Hancock Facebook page, or on Marsha's Facebook page.  (P.S. Bill is NOT in the photo below.)

The Graduate(s)

I have one word for you - CONGRATULATIONS!!

Don Roman announces that his son, Donovan, graduated from Mount Pleasant High School on June 4 with an International Baccalaureate degree.

For those of us scratching our heads, your editor appropriated this information from the IB website:  "Founded in 1968, the International Baccalaureate® (IB) is a non-profit educational foundation offering four highly respected programmes of international education that develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills needed to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world."

Donovan will attend RIT in the fall to study environmental engineering.  Here is a photo of Donovan (#7) with the other seniors on the Knights varsity lacrosse team at their last game. 

Katie Murphy, daughter of Jennifer and Don Murphy, graduated May 13 from high school.  Here is a photo of Katie with mom, dad and brother Keenan.

On June 13, Emilie Kestner, daughter of your faithful editor, finished up her studies at Abilene Christian University in Texas, receiving her Master's Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy.

Judy and Joe drove to Abilene from Corpus Christi, a six-and-a-half-hour drive, the night before the ceremony.  The next day, a flat tire on Emilie's car, necessitating the purchase of a new one, and the steep climb to the nosebleed section of the Moody Coliseum on campus seemed like omens, but the 3:00 event went off without a hitch.

Emilie will finish up some requirements over the summer, take her licensure exam on July 20 and be ready for those job offers to start pouring in (and so will her parents...)!

June Wedding for Stephen Clancy

Kathy Boggs Clancy and Brian Clancy of Cooperstown announced the marriage of their eldest son, Stephen Clancy, to Heather Place.

The ceremony took place on June 17, 2017 in Hartwick, N.Y.

The newlyweds will reside in the Clancy family home on Pine Blvd. in Cooperstown.

Heather yesterday posted this sweet sentiment on Facebook:  "And now I have the best mother-in-law ever." 

Best wishes to the couple for years to come!

Lisa Fieg Accepts New Position

Lisa Fieg has accepted the position of project coordinator at Caldwell Partners, an international executive search enterprise with world headquarters in her hometown of New York City.

This marks Lisa's departure from Russell Reynolds Associates, also an executive search firm based in New York, where she was employed for 23 years.

Lisa, 61, formerly worked for People Magazine and Morgan Stanley, both based in New York, and Thomson/Reuters, based in Toronto and London.  Caldwell is also based in Toronto.

Caldwell's world headquarters are located in the 44th story at 2 Grand Central Tower in Manhattan.  From her windows, Lisa has a view of the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building, and it is just across the street from her gym.  Caldwell searches out high achievers, visionaries and innovators and places them with major corporations throughout the world.

Lisa attended New York University, Pace University, and Delhi Tech. 

Nancy Fieg and her aunt, Lisa Fieg, enjoying pie at Bubby's

Run, Maddie! Run!

Maddie Shedlock, granddaughter of the late Annie Bookhout Morgan, is a cover girl!

A photo of Maddie, her dad Andrew and her brother Ryan was selected for an ad promoting a 5K run on May 13 in the Big Bend area of Florida.  The photo shows Maddie in a pink tutu and purple tee-shirt, running next to her dad under an arc of colored balloons.  Ryan stands at the left side of the arch, leaning toward them on his right foot and cheering them on.

The run is sponsored by an organization called Girls on the Run of the Big Bend, whose mission is to "inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running."

Maddie's mom, Denise Egan Shedlock, posted the photo on her Facebook page, proudly announcing the honor as, "So cool!"  Your editor is in full agreement!

New Twigz on the Family Tree

We have some new babies in the family!

On March 19, Laura and Valentino "Chief" Kasibante welcomed a baby girl at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Ga.  

Zionne Namusisi Kasibante was born at 12:09 a.m. and weighed 6 lbs. 15 oz.  Mother and daughter came through the delivery with no problems.

Writes Chief on his Facebook page, "She is so adorable, I love her so much already.... Dream come true.  I am the happiest man in the entire world now.  Thank you Jesus."


Dan and Jenny Bookhout have it all, too, from A to Z!  On Jan. 6, 2017 Miss Zadie Bookhout joined big sister Arwen in this wonderful world.  Grandparents Will and Diane Bookhout could not be more proud of the newest addition to their down-line.

Pass the cigars!

In Memoriam

In recent weeks, two members of our extended family have passed away.

Eleanor J. Williams, mother of Ed Williams, died on March 24 at 9:00 a.m.  Ed is the husband of Fieg cousin Sue Williams. 


Grave-side services, conducted by Colonial Funeral Home, were held at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Oh., and Eleanor was laid to rest beside her husband, the late Edward A. Williams, who died in 1987.  Eleanor Williams was born on April 1, 1920.

It is fitting that Ed's mother should be laid to rest in this particular cemetery, as it is the site of the mausoleum of President James A. Garfield, which was co-created by Ed's great-grandfather,  Joseph Carabelli, who immigrated to the U.S. from Italy in 1870.

Mrs. Williams had been in a great deal of pain and Sue writes in an e-mail, "She was really suffering (and) could barely talk above a whisper." 


In a brief e-mail, FFN roving reporter Greg Fieg said that Donald A. Roman died on Feb. 22, 2017.  Don was the brother of the late Bob Roman, husband to Dorothy Fieg Roman.   A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Don Roman, for whom Bob and Dorothy's middle son is named, was 97 years old and worked up until he was 93!  He was born on Aug. 8, 1919, and served as an Air Raid Warden during World War II.

Our condolences to the families.

Hermann Fieg Artwork Restored

Your editor is happy to report that two watercolors by Hermann Fieg, son of Carl and Emilie Fieg who immigrated from Germany in 1900, were recently re-framed by the artist's great niece, Diana Fieg Doyle.

The pictures had bounced around the family until they fell into Diana's hands, and she took steps to protect these family treasures, having them framed and put under UV glass so the works won't fade.  See for yourself!

 Additionally, Diana had an appraisal done on Uncle Hermann's horse painting on wood that was donated to the family by Doris Holm, niece of the artist, in 2012.  Diana reports that the appraiser thought that the painting was of sentimental value, but that a price of $400 to $500 might be put on it.

Roving reporter Greg Fieg has floated the suggestion that the wood painting be given to the Wall Drug Store in North Dakota, which houses a large collection of art and artifacts from the American West.  He will attempt to get consent from the management of Wall Drug and report back.