[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Polish-German culture

[Greg Mason]

Uta and others: Yes, my wife's family (from Lipno/Rypin area) has 
always had an Aloe plant and since I married my wife 39 years ago we 
also have always had such a plant and use it frequently.  Greg Mason
On Sep 14, 2004, at 5:54 AM, Uta Hdrtling wrote:

> Hello everyone,
> I have not yet introduced myself, although have replied a couple of 
> times to
> messages. My name is Uta Hdrtling, I am 30 years old, married, and I 
> live in
> Kassel, Germany. I am researching my maternal grandmother's ancestors 
> from
> Wilhelmswalde/Borowo near Lodz in Middle Poland. I have a large 
> collectiong
> for this village covering mainly the years 1800-1830, from which I can 
> give
> information if needed. (It may take some time until I can reply, 
> because I
> have to search through everything to find the entries. The strong 
> variations
> in spelling make it difficult to put this collection in a data base, 
> but I
> am working on it.) Several families from Wilhelswald left and went to
> Bessarabia about 1814, mainly to Kloestitz and Tarutino.
>
> Now bach to our topic. My grandmother Alice Patzer was born in 
> Wilhemswald
> near Lodz. After her wedding to my grandfather Rudolf Lengert they 
> lived in
> Neutomischel, Posen. I have thought much about your questions about the
> specific culture of these settlers. The only thing I could find in my 
> own
> family is the custom to usually treat illnesses without consulting a 
> doctor,
> as far as this is possible. My mother took us children to all te 
> medical
> check-ups offered here in Germany, but besides of this we have hardly 
> ever
> seen a doctor - we did not need him. Part of this are the Aloe Vera 
> plants
> my family owns for as long as we can remember. I have asked my mother 
> about
> this, and she told me, that her family "always" had these, even though 
> she
> has no idea whether they brought them with themselves when they had to 
> leave
> Neutomischel or whether they bought them or got them from relatives.
> However, she told me that all her Russian-German cleaning ladies have 
> asked
> her for layers of these plants. They knew the Aloe Vera, even though I
> cannot remember any of our other visitors who would have recognized 
> these
> plants. We use them to treat all kinds of cuts and bruises. I also use 
> it
> when my neurodermitis gets too bad for anything else. I would now like 
> to
> know whether others in this mailing list have the same custom.
>
> The only other thing my mother remembered as typical was an 
> exclamation her
> father used which sounded like "Cholera" (emphasis on the second 
> syllable).
> She says she has no idea what it means, but suspected that it could be
> Polish for cholera (what a surprise!).
>
> This is all for the moment.
> Uta
>
> _______________________________________________
> Ger-Poland-Volhynia Mailing List hosted by
> Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe http://www.sggee.org
> Mailing list info at http://www.sggee.org/listserv