We went to a 50th Anniversary party for Manny and Rosie Goetz last night. They thought they were going to someone else's surprise party, so you can imagine their surprise when it turned out to be for them. They certainly looked confused when they entered the room!
Jimmy used to work for Manny when the Goetz' were in Clifton, Va. They are both from Germany and speak heavily accented English. He always called Jimmy "Schim". All of their children were at the party and it was nice to see them again, too.
When they first arrived, trying to make their way through the throngs of well-wishers, their son was on the microphone asking them to come to the dance floor. He had made a large cardboard replica of a VW bus and it was propped up against the wall. He asked if they remembered the red VW bus they had while they were in Germany. After he got their attention placed solely on the bus, he started to talk about their sisters and brothers who were still living in Germany. Then he called, "Come on out!"
Her sister appeared. Rosie didn't realize who she was looking at, at first. Then came the tears and shouts of joy! Other brothers and sisters came out from behind the "bus" and everyone was jabbering in German. They had all come over from Germany just for this party. Most of us didn't understand a word they were saying, but we got the message.
I felt as if we were intruders, almost. Rosie couldn't stop crying. The brothers and sisters were crying; the adult children were crying with the aunts and uncles; the grandchildren were being hugged and kissed by people they didn't know, and a few of the great-grandkids had their thumbs in their mouths and you could tell they were wondering "What's going on here?"
There was a rather lengthy slide show of the family, starting with Manny and Rosie as babies. It was fun and there were lots of hoots and hollars from the family and guests as they were treated to pictures of Manny in his diapers and the kids naked on bearskin rugs.
As they used to say in the newspaper articles of parties and get-togethers: A good time was had by all!
About Me
- Janice
- Front Royal, Virginia, United States
- I grew up in a small town, left for the big city but came back to my small town to raise my children and I'm still here.
1 comment:
I found a Clem Family Heritage book among Mom's possessions. I'm going to mail it to you tomorrow or Monday. I figure you'll appreciate it and use it more than me. I know you and Brenda are into the family geneology and all of that (and Mom was getting into it, too). Please accept it. It will just sit with me and collect dust. I'd rather it be with someone who can appreciate it.
We also bought a house. We moved in about 3 weeks ago. It's a nice home, and we're both doing well. I hope everyone over there is doing well.
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