Your editor received this photo from cousin Marsha Whiteside Adams in 2020. The year may be 1973 or so. Thought we could all do with a smile.
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row, L to R: Lothar (Bud), Dorothy (Doc), Maxine (Mac), Franklin
(Frank). Front row L to R: Emilie (Em),
Philip (Phid), Florence (Flo), Glimmerglass |
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As the110th anniversary of his birth approaches, it is remembered that Henry "Hank" Fieg had a brush with death that included a common plot device in what otherwise would have been a melodramatic story: amnesia.
Hank, a passenger in a vehicle in Montclair, Pa. in the late 1930s, was hurt when the automobile crashed. Several others were injured and one was killed. Though he survived the incident with only a concussion and left the scene relatively unscathed, it was just the beginning of his mysterious saga.
Some time after the accident, Hank went missing for three weeks. His siblings, including Doris Holm, then age 10, asked their father Max Fieg where their brother had gone and when he would return.
Max bowed his head in his hands and cried like a baby, not knowing the answer or what had become of his son.
Needless to say his family was very worried and puzzled as to whether he would ever show up again. Had he run off to Mexico, joined the French Foreign Legion, been abducted by aliens?
We make light of it now, but it was a very painful experience at the time for them all.
Ironically, Hank finally turned up 1,800 miles away in Colorado with no explanation as to where he had been, how he got there, or what he had done during that time. Hank had suffered a loss of memory, forgetting even his own name. His whereabouts during his disappearance remains a mystery to this day.
Hank, a smoker, had a heart attack at age 40. He recovered and lived a full life with apparently no repercussions from the bout of amnesia.
He and his wife Carolyn built a house on Dodd St. in Milford where they kept two Siamese cats, and raised Carolyn's niece, Barbara Morgan, as their daughter, after Barbara's parents separated when she was three.
During World War II Hank, storekeeper first class, USN, served aboard a destroyer escort chasing Nazi U-boats in the North Atlantic. Because he was born at the outset of World War I, he was no doubt among the oldest on the ship at the age of 31 -- even older than the captain.
During his lifetime, Hank worked as a comptroller for a hotel in New Jersey. He later was employed as a salesman for The National Cash Register Co. and was transferred to Dayton, Ohio, rising to the rank of vice president.
He traveled the globe in his capacity for NCR and by chance visited Pforzheim, Germany, the original hometown of his family. Henry encountered an elderly woman there who remembered the Fieg family from the turn of the 20th century, and showed him the location of their homestead that had been flattened by allied bombers during the war.
Hank's nephew, the late Victor P. Fieg, and his wife, the former Jean Davie, also visited the site many years later and came away with a stone from the ruins of the building's foundation.
Cousin Sue Fieg Williams shared two photos of four very tan and healthy-looking Floridians. Looks like they are having a wonderful time (and don't we love the white tresses!).
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| Cousins Sue Williams and John Roman |
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| John and Anne Roman, Sue and Ed Williams |
Fieg cousin Emilie Kestner, 27, recently was granted full licensure as a marriage and family therapist in Texas.
The process to be granted these credentials involved 3,000 client therapy hours and 200 hours of consultation with a trained supervisor in the field, as well as a Master's Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy.
Emilie received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Tex. and her master's degree at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Tex.
Always interested in a deeper knowledge of human nature, Emilie is fascinated by how our communication shapes our reality.
Emilie is the daughter of Judy Fieg Kestner and Joe Kestner of Corpus Christi, Tex., and the granddaughter of Jean Davie Fieg of Greensboro, N.C. and the late V.P. Fieg, and the late Ernest and Caldonia Null Kestner of Virginia.
Congrats and best of luck in the coming years!
Colette Corkery of West Oneonta, N.Y. has graduated summa cum laude from the State University of New York Agricultural and Technical College at Delhi with an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts.
Colette, 19, daughter of Sarah Fieg Corkery and Kevin Corkery, has enrolled at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, a Catholic school, where she is seeking a degree in business management. She will matriculate in the fall.
Colette has been cooking since even before adolescence, and has posted instructional videos on the Internet. She has not yet decided what to do with her degree, but the culinary arts and business background will help her to hit the ground running when that time comes.
"Her cookies are a big hit in the family at holidays or any time," said proud grandfather, Greg Fieg. Colette's grandmother is Jacqueline Powell McAdams. Her great-grandparents are the late Frank and Marina Fieg and the late Mabel and James Powell.
In March 2020, Colette was initiated into the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society.
She is currently employed in the kitchen at Bella Michael's Restaurant, 57 River St. in Oneonta where she prepares Italian cuisine.
Nancy Fieg, formerly of Grimes, IA, married Daniel Lynch of Clifton Park, NY on Feb. 20, 2021 in Port Jervis, NY. at Cedar Lakes Estate. The wedding took place outdoors overlooking a snow-covered lake.
Nancy, 34, is a registered nurse at New York University's Langone Hospital in Manhattan and Daniel, 36, is the executive chef at Del Frisco restaurant in Hoboken, NJ. They will reside in Jersey City, NJ.
Nancy is the daughter of Dr. Edward L. Fieg, Col. USAF (Ret.), of St. Louis, MO and Karen White Fieg of Des Moines, IA. Her step-mothers are Ed's current wife Barbara Harris, and Dr. Terese Hennessey of Omaha, NE. Daniel's parents are Marjorie Lynch and the late Joseph Lynch of Clifton Park, NY.
The bride wore a ball gown with a chiffon skirt, lace bodice and three-quarter length sleeves, and a 12-foot train. The finger tip-length veil had been worn by Nancy's sister Emilie at her wedding.
The couple had an eight year courtship having met at the American Doll headquarters in Manhattan where Nancy was a waitress and Dan a chef.
Nancy is a graduate of the hospitality program at Iowa State and the nursing program at Rutgers University. Dan is a graduate of the culinary arts program at Schenectady Community College.
Their honeymoon will be announced at a later date.
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| Nancy Fieg and Daniel Lynch |
Close up:
On two-nine-two-nine a baby girl came into the world in Greensboro, N.C., the eldest child of Raymon G. and Marion Davie. In a nod to the Davie family's Scottish roots, the proud parents named her Jean.
Two brothers followed - Raymon and Norman - and the Silver Ave. home was full of kids polishing pennies on the carpet and playing with their dog, with Jeanie Beanie in charge all the time.
Raymon Sr. managed the local A&P grocery store, but when the depression hit they went back to their roots in Upstate New York, and lived on Uncle Henry's farm.
Marion passed away when Jean was just 16 years old, and she had to shoulder the responsibilities of running a household, shopping and cooking, while finishing high school. Her dad's sisters pitched in and taught her how to shop for the best prices, even if it meant driving to three or four stores to find it (LOL).
One day she went home to 10 N. Sixth St. in Oneonta with her BFF from high school, Dorothy Fieg, only to find Dorothy's older brother, Philip (a.k.a. Phid) lying on the couch reading, wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. Up the stairs he shot, in great embarrassment, to don a pair of slacks, but the arrow had been released from Cupid's bow, and Jean and Phid were eventually married on Sept. 2, 1950.
On the heels of wedded bliss followed Judy, Dide, Phyllis;
A career in advertising soon he plied.
When at night his work was done, home he drove. The
setting sun
Lit the arms of his family open wide, wide, wide,
Lit the arms of his family open wide.
Phid took over a photo studio in Kane, Pa. where Judy was born, worked as a reporter/photographer for a newspaper in Sidney where Diana and Phyllis hatched, and eventually went to work for GLF in Ithaca as an ad man. Jean was his partner in the many moves, making a cozy home for her family and becoming a wonderful cook (who doesn't remember humble apple pie??), while continuing to ply her passions for painting and poetry.
If you graduated from Ithaca High School in the mid-1950s your graduation photo may have been retouched by Jean, who worked from home for a local photographer, canceling out zits and wild strands of hair on the negatives. (She wore reading glasses while working, and Phyllis burst into tears the first time she saw her mom with those, those.... THINGS on her face.)
Ithaca - Dryden - Ithaca - Syracuse - Pearl River - all the cities and towns where Jean set up housekeeping were in New York, until Phid took a position with Ciba-Geigy in Greensboro, and that is where we find Jean today, in her snug and cozy home, working in the Fiegenhof Gardens, reading insatiably, and enjoying cards and letters and now Google Meets with her daughters and only granddaughter, Emilie V. (who'd a thunk it?).
So if you will, raise a glass and toast Aunt Jean, or raise your phone to your ear and give her a birthday call - 336-299-1006. You will most likely have to leave a message, but it will be gratefully received and probably acknowledged.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM - MUMSEY - GRAMAE - AUNT JEAN! WE LOVE YOU DEARLY!
World-class clarinetist and saxophonist, Al Gallodoro, who played in sets with Sarah Fieg Corkery's drummer husband, Kevin, arrived in Oneonta 40 years ago next year. His name can easily be spoken in the same sentence with Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and any other great clarinetists of the 20th Century.
A member of the Hartwick College faculty, and eponym of the H'05 Award for outstanding achievement in music performance by a student, he was notable for having played alto sax with the famed Paul "King of Jazz" Whiteman Orchestra in the 1930s and, later, bass clarinet for 12 years with the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini.
Fortunato Alfred J. Gallodoro (whose surname in Italian means "golden rooster"), had a career that spanned eight decades, playing until his death at age 95 in Oneonta on Oct. 4, 2008. Fieg cousin Allison Bookhout officiated at his funeral.
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| Al Gallodoro |
By any measure, he was one of the world's longest continually active performing musicians, having started his career in the city of his birth, Chicago, at the age of 13.
In addition to Toscanini, Al was conducted by Leopold Stokowski, Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Fiedler, Percy Faith, and Skitch Henderson.
He appeared with George Gershwin, Victor Borge, Dinah Shore, Sid Caesar, Les Paul, Bob Hope, Edgar Bergen, Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, Mario Lanza, Frank Sinatra, and Milton Berle. Al also appeared in the 20th Century Fox 1952 production of Ernest Hemingway's "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Susan Hayward.
The Gallodoro Serenade was written for him by composer Ferde Grofe. He was also the subject of a PBS documentary.
A member of the adjunct faculty and instructor, he trained numerous Hartwick College graduates to play the reeds, and was the recipient of an honorary doctoral degree from the school.
At the time of his death, he held the world's record for the most performances on the clarinet in Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," ten thousand. He played both classical and jazz selections, and was arguably the greatest saxophone/clarinet virtuoso in history.
The Al Gallodoro Music Memorial Fund is named for him, as well as the annual Al Gallodoro music award at Hartwick.
At the time of his death he had produced eight CDs and a music video, in addition to recordings with other artists. His production company was Chmusic Productions/Golden Rooster Records.
Take a listen to Al Gallodoro and the Beau Hunks playing a 1931 hit, "The Hour of Parting."
In 1920, Lothar Fieg established his business, Fieg Builder, at 3 Lewis St. in Oneonta, N.Y. He went on to build some of the most elegant residences in the city. As this year marks the 100th anniversary of his entry into the business world, grandson Greg Fieg has put together a photo spread of some of the lovely places that remain standing today.
Still a citizen of Germany, Lothar had been fired as an "enemy alien" from his supervisory position at the Corbett and Stewart Acid Factory, which supplied components for the making of munitions during World War I.
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| "G" for Gardner |
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| 106 Chestnut St. |
Another neo-Tudor at 148 East St. was at one time owned by the head of the journalism department at the State University of New York in Oneonta. It is a 2,180-square foot quaint and cozy home in an fairly affluent part of town. Lothar built it at the height of the Depression in 1932.
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| 148 East Street |
Because much of the economy was crippled,
woodwork such as sashes, wood frames, windows and other pieces were very
hard to come by, and the builder had to make do with odds and ends as
he could find them. A self-taught architect, he made the components of
the house come together like a jigsaw puzzle. It recently listed in
excess of $200,000.
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| Thornwood |
Briggs, owner of the Briggs Lumber Company, was the scion of a family whose history can be traced to the creation of hundreds of homes dating back to the 19th century. As such, he had an acute, discriminatory judgment concerning every builder in the area and, from among them, chose Lothar to build his own personal home.
Another very large structure, with a more utilitarian purpose, was built on the campus of the Upstate Baptist Home, now Springbrook, an institution for people with mental disabilities.
One of the more recent homes, the Russell House on Union St. was built to withstand an earthquake or tornado, with a steel I-beam frame.
A house was built at 6 City View Dr. for Elizabeth Lewis, a dietician for Homer Folks Hospital. It was the second of two houses of a planned development that was scuttled when Lothar died in 1958.
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| Woodchuck Knoll |
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| The Russell House |
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| 6 City View Dr. |
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| Todd's General Store |
Among them was Todd's General Store, which had been operated by Lemuel Todd of nearby Toddsville. Built in 1819, it was moved to Cooperstown at the end of World War II, with each joist, crossbeam, brick and sash painstakingly numbered for exact reassembly at the museum.
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| Filer's Corners Schoolhouse |
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| Blacksmith shop |
After much prodding and poking, your editor has added a link to the old Fieg family photo albums that were digitally scanned by Don Roman lo these many years ago.
To view the photos, click Fieg Family Albums on the home page of the blog. This is found under Photos, Sundry Links and goodies.
Enjoy!
Fieg cousin Janet (Holm) and her husband, Craig McHenry, have survived yet another major forest fire that threatened their community of Loyalton in the Sierra Valley, an hour north of Lake Tahoe in northern California.
The Loyalton Fire started Aug. 14 after
a lightning strike just east of town, about a mile from Craig's ranch.
It raced in several directions over the next couple of days, then
threatened the outskirts of town on Aug. 17, when firefighters took a
stand at the highway that leads into town and put
it out.
Fieg cousin Janet Holm McHenry, a prolific author of Christian lifestyle books, has earned the 2020 Jennifer Kennedy Dean Award from the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association.
Dean, who passed away in June 2019, was an author and speaker who wrote numerous books, studies and magazine articles specializing in prayer and spiritual formation. She and Janet were close friends, and Janet penned a lovely tribute published online in "Looking Up."
Warm congratulations to Janet!
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| Here is the original index card of the gingerbread recipe, transcribed in Flo's hand, from Florence Fieg's instructions. |
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| Standing: Janet, Pete, Roberta. The birthday girl is seated. |
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| Janet and Craig McHenry |
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| Steve and Roberta Martinez |
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| Joyce and Pete Holm |
At the event, Janet also received a publishing award. Her book,
The Complete Guide to the Prayers of Jesus, was given a Golden
Scroll Award (runner-up) for the Best Christian Living Book at the
Advanced Writers and Speakers Association banquet, held in conjunction
with the Christian Product Expo. 
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| Arwen Charlotte June Bookhout - betcha can't keep from smiling!! |
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