Jan 24

Willshire’s Mr. Renner & Mr. Knape

Jack Renner.

The name sounded vaguely familiar to me, but it wasn’t until I looked up his photo in The Willow, Willshire School’s yearbook, that I remembered him.

Mr. Jack Renner, Willow, 1958

It was a long time ago that he headed the music department at Willshire and was my music teacher in the late 1950s. Since Willshire was a rather small school, he was the music teacher for the entire school, elementary through senior high.

Mr. Renner, Willow, 1959

He is shown directing the chorus and band in other yearbook photos.

Mr. Renner and the Willshire High School chorus, Willow, 1959

Under the direction of Mr. Renner, the Willshire High School chorus received Superior ratings. 

Mr. Jack Renner, Willow, 1959

Jack Renner, called Mr. Renner by his students, was my music teacher when I was in first and second grades. I don’t remember much about those music classes, just an image in my mind of Mr. Renner standing in the front of our music classroom, teaching us new songs, and trying to direct the singing of six and seven year-old students.

Mr. Renner, Willow, 1960

As I recall, Mr. Renner was soft-spoken and nice. He would have been about 24 years old at the time and Willshire was probably his first teaching assignment.

Looking through old Willow yearbooks, Mr. Renner was the music teacher between the music terms of Rosella Vining. Mrs. Vining taught music before and after Mr. Renner was there, and she taught history and English while he was there as the music teacher.

Jack Renner, Rosella Vining, Willow, 1960

The subject of Mr. Renner came up in a recent email, an email from the son of Ned Knape. Ned Knape was also a teacher and a coach at Willshire with Renner. The two men became life-long friends and Knape’s son brought Jack Renner’s musical career to my attention. Something I knew nothing about.

Willshire faculty, Mr. Knape & Mr. Renner, Willow, 1958

Mr. Renner taught music at Willshire for about 3 years, 1958-1960, and after leaving Willshire he made quite a name for himself in the music world.

Jack Lee Renner was born 13 April 1935 in Barnesville, Ohio. He received his Bachelor of Music Education from The Ohio State University in Columbus. He was a music teacher, professional trumpeter, conductor, freelance recording engineer, recording engineering consultant, record label executive, and public speaker. He made his first recording in 1962 and pioneered the development of the digital recording process for jazz, classical, and symphonic music.

He co-founded the Cleveland-based international record label Telarc in 1977. In 1978 he made the first symphonic digital recording and the first orchestral digital recording in the United States. Telarc made over twelve hundred recordings that were recognized with more than fifty Grammy Awards. Renner was nominated for 25 Grammy Awards and won eleven Grammys.

In 1990 he was recognized as an outstanding alumnus at The Ohio State University School of Music. He taught audio recording at the Cleveland Institute of Music for thirty years and received an honorary doctorate of Musical Arts from there in 1997. In 2004 he received the American Bandmasters Association’s Edwin Franko Goldman citation for his lifelong passion and promotion of concert band music in America. He retired from Telarc in 2006 but continued his music.

Jack Renner died 19 June 2019 in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, at the age of 84. He was survived by his wife and three children.

To think that he started his music career as a teacher in Willshire. I have it on very good authority that Jack Renner boarded at Dale and Bess Cowan’s house during the time he taught at Willshire. The class of 1959 invited him back to Willshire for an alumni banquet when they were the honor class. He directed a chorus of class members as entertainment at the banquet.  

What about his friend Ned Knape, who I do not remember at all. Knape taught high school classes and had little or no contact with the elementary students. He coached basketball and baseball in those years immediately after Willshire’s two state basketball teams in 1955 and 1956, coached by Mr. Games. Knape taught and coached at Willshire for about three years, 1957-1959.  According to his son, Ned was good friends with coach Don Black.

Ned Knape & Don Black, Willow, 1959

Knape taught history and was also was a driver’s ed instructor, bus driver, and senior class sponsor for the class of 1959. All that plus coaching.

Mr. Knape, Willow, 1958

Willshire bus drivers, Ned Knape, Willow, 1958

Ned Knape, 1959 Senior Class Advisor, Willow 1959

Ned Knape, Willow, 1959

Ned Knape, Willow, 1959

Ned Knape (1930-2014) was born in Ridgeville Corners, Ohio. He graduated from Valparaiso University in 1953, where he lettered in basketball and baseball. He received a master’s degree in education from Ball State and taught and coached in East Allen County Schools and in Willshire.

Some of you will remember one or both of these men, as a music director, teacher, coach, driver’s ed instructor, class sponsor, or bus driver.

What interesting stories and such fun looking through the old Willow yearbooks.

Sources:

Jack Renner (recording engineer), Wikipedia.com.

Jack Renner obituary, Legacy.com.

Ned R Knape, Find a Grave memorial no. 142649285, Decatur Cemetery, Decatur, Adams County Indiana; FindaGrave.com.

Jan 17

Bruno and The Babe

Mercer County’s own Bruno Betzel was a baseball star in the 19-teens and 1920s. In fact, he spent his entire adult life in the baseball field.

He was born in Chattanooga, Ohio, on 6 December 1894, the son of Heinrich and Anna Sophia (Kessler) Betzel. He was christened Christian Friedrich Albert Betzel, called Albert, and nicknamed Bruno. Albert “Bruno” Betzel is inscribed on his tombstone. His family moved to Celina when he was a young boy, sometime between 1900 and 1910.

Bruno was playing short stop for Celina by 1911, as seen in the photo below.

The Celina Democrat, 16 June 1911

Celina’s team in 1911: Betzel, ss; McComb, c; Frederick, p; Wenning, 1b; C Myers, lf; Ellis, rf; Meyer, cf; Betz, 2b; G Myers, 3b; and Jim Carlin, manager.

Bruno Betzel played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1914-1918, his major league career. After retirement from playing, he continued to play local ball for Celina for a time and managed several minor league teams.  

Mercer County followed Bruno Betzel in 1924:

BRUNO BETZEL HITTING HARD
Celina baseball fans have watched with much interest the splendid second base play of Bruno Betzel, local boy with the Louisville Americans association team, this year. In addition to performing in superb fashion in the field, Betzel has been hitting like a demon. On Sunday he got 6 hits in 8 times at bat and on Labor Day he made 3 hits in 7 trips to the plate…Rogers Hornsby of the St. Louis Nationals, nor “Babe” Ruth, of the New York Americans, have done much better than this.—Celina Standard, 5 Sep 1924.

Bruno knew some baseball greats. He roomed with Rogers Hornsby, played with Hank Robinson, managed Jackie Robinson, and once beaned Ty Cobb.

He also crossed paths at least once with Babe Ruth. In Lima, Ohio.

Bruno played for Celina, of course, and the Babe played for Lima.

It was the third and deciding game of the inter-county championship series. Each team had won a game and this game, played Friday 16 October 1926 at Murphy St. ballpark in Lima, would determine the winner.

The Lima News, 10 Oct 1926

Record crowds were expected.

…The coming of Ruth to Lima in an actual game of ball in which both sides will be out for blood is expected to mark a red letter day in the history of baseball in northwestern Ohio. Only the larger cities have been angling for his services…and this city will be the smallest in which he will appear as a regular player…The Lima News, Lima, Ohio, 10 Oct 1926.    

…it was apparent that the only way to win the deciding tilt from the lake town outfit was to get players who could smack the apple…

Lima brought in a couple big league and class AA players, Babe Ruth, Pittinger, Gilhooley, Heath, Butch Henline, star catcher with the Philadelphia National league club.

…Reports from Celina are to the effect that the club is also loading up for the fray. Berly Horne has been loaned to the Brunck club…Bruno Betzel, who will lead the Celina combination, is said to be guarding his lineup closely and it is possible that some other stars will be inserted at the last minute… The Lima News, Lima, Ohio, 10 Oct 1926.    

Berly Horne [Berlyn Dale Horne] was signed by Celina to help out in the pitching with Jacobs.

Game day. 15 October 1926, Murphy St. ballpark, Lima.

Over four thousand baseball fans reportedly attended the game.

There was a 10-minute batting exhibition before the game, and the Babe hit 11 balls over the fence, some going beyond the B & O RR tracks beyond the field.

Babe Ruth hit 2 home runs and had two 2-base hits. He was at bat 5 times, had 4 hits, 3 runs, 2 put-outs, and no errors.

Bruno Betzel was at bat 4 times, with 2 hits, 1 run, 3 put-outs, and no errors.

It must have been something to see. Babe played seven positions during the game. He started at first base, shifted to second, then short stop, third, left field, center field, and finally the pitching mound, relieving Settlemire for the last three innings.

…Celina came to life in the seventh with four runs and then ended up the with day with two more in the ninth…

Bruno was involved in a double play, Karch to Betzel to Heckler. Celina’s Heckler was hit by a ball pitched by Babe Ruth.

The Lima team consisted of Gilhooley, cf; Dugan, 2b, lf; Ruth, 1b, 2b, ss, 3b, lf, cf, p; Pittenger, ss, 2b; Hianke, c; Henline, c; Marquard, 3b, ss; Leis, lf.

The Celina team consisted of Karch, 2b; Heckler, 1b; Sandquist, ss; Betzel 2b; Poorman, lf; Harlow, cf; Wildermuth, rf; Landis, rf; Bixler, c; and Jacobs, p.

Some of these major and minor league stars were “Butch” Henline, Philadelphia National League catcher; Clarke Pittenger, Cincinnati Reds’ next year’s shortstop; Frank Gilhooley, Bruno Betzel, Mickey Heath, International and American Association League players.

In the end, Lima defeated Celina 11 to 7, winning the inter-county championship series.

The game lasted 2 hours 45 minutes. –The Lima News, Lima, Ohio, 16 Oct 1926.

Soon after this historic Lima game, Bruno Betzel would become the manager of the Indianapolis baseball team of the American Association, succeeding Ownie Bush. Bush would become the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. —Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, Cincinnati, Ohio, 3 Dec 1926

Finally, a genealogy connection. I am a third cousin once removed to Bruno Betzel, related through his mother Anna Sophia (Kessler).

Jan 14

Tombstone Tuesday-Jacob & Elizabeth (Ulrich) Weismann

Weismann, Jacob & Elizabeth (Ulrich) Weismann, St. Paul UCC Cemetery, Mercer County, Ohio (2024 photo by Karen

This is the tombstone of Jacob and Elizabeth (Ulrich) Weismann, located in row 5 of St. Paul CC Cemetery, Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Mother–Father
Elizabeth
His Wife
1844-1926

Jacob
1840-1927
WEISMANN

Jacob Weismann was born in Rheinpfalz, Bavaria, Germany, on 16 December 1840, the son of Philip and [?] (Eichler) Weismann. [1] Jacob’s wife Elizabeth (Ulrich) was born in Yettin Bach [Jettenbach, Rheinland, Bavaria?], Germany on 28 July 1844, the daughter of Philip and Maggie (Hatter) Ulrich. [2]

Jacob and Elizabeth married in Germany in about 1868 and at least four of their children were born there. In the spring of 1883 the Jacob Weismann family, consisting of Jacob, 42, wife Elizabeth, 39, and children Anna, 10, Caroline, 9, Carl, 3, and Edward, 3 months, departed Antwerp Belgium on the ship Waesland and arrived in New York City on 4 May 1883. [3]

In 1900 the Jacob Weismann family resided in Liberty Township, Mercer County, Ohio. Jacob, 60, a farmer, and Elizabeth, 56, had been married 32 years and four of their seven children were living. Two of their children had left home but Charles, 20, and Edward, 18, still lived at home with their parents. All the members of the household were born in Germany and all immigrated in 1883. [4] 

The family resided in Section 12 of Liberty Township, on Oregon Road, very near the Liberty-Hopewell Township line.

The 1910 enumeration of the Jacob Weismann family repeats much of the same information as the 1900 census. Two of their children resided with them in 1910, Annie, 39, single, and Edward, 28, single. [5]

Their daughter Anna Weismann died in Liberty Township on 15 January 1914, at the age of 43. [6]

In 1920, Jacob and Elizabeth lived very near to their son Edward and his family and near Jacob and Effie Bollenbacher in Liberty Township. Jacob, 79, was now a retired farmer. [7]

Elizabeth (Ulrich) Weismann, age 82, died in Liberty Township, Mercer County, on 22 September 1926. She was buried on the 25th. [2]

Widower Jacob Weismann, 86, died in Liberty Township, Mercer County, from bronchial pneumonia and heart disease, on 25 November 1927. He was buried on the 27th. [1]

Jacob and Elisabeth Weismann had the following children. Two other children may have died in infancy:
Anna Weismann (1870-1914)
Caroline Weismann (1872-1949), married Jacob Miller
Charles Weismann (1879-1933), married Catherine Siebert
Edward Weismann (1882-1959), married Myrtle Brough
Ludwig Weismann (1887-1887)

[1] “Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953,” Mercer, Jacob Weismann, 25 Nov 1927; FamilySearch.org

[2] “Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953,” Mercer, Elizabeth Weismann, 22 Sep 1926; FamilySearch.org.

[3] Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897, Records of the U.S. Customs Service, RG 36, NAID M237, Jacob Weissmann; Ancestry.com.

[4] 1900 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 85, dwelling 267, family 272, Jacob Weismann; Ancestry.com. 

[5] 1910 U.S. Census, Ohio, Mercer, Liberty, ED 119, p.13B, dwelling 294, family 251, Jacob Weiseman [sic]; Ancestry.com.

[6] “Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953,” Mercer, Annie Weismann, 17 Jan 1914; FamilySearch.org.

[7] 1920 U.S. Census, Mercer, Liberty, ED 140, p.7A, dwelling 124, family 137, Jacob Weisman [sic]; Ancestry.com.

Jan 10

Did Your Ancestors Have Multiple Names?

Rufnamen: Given name or German name; a person’s main given name by which they are usually known and called.

Before the 13th century A.D. ordinary German people were given only one Rufnamen. After the 13th century it became common to give a child two given names at baptism, although at times only one name was given.

But some children were christened with three or more given names. That practice was not common, but it did occur. Multiple given names were often the names of parents, other relatives, or baptismal sponsors. Many of these multiple names were dropped as the child matured and later records do not always use all the names the child was given at birth.

One German branch of my family, the Breuningers, liked to use multiple given names when naming their children.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, these Breuningers used just two names, like normal Germans. There was Hans Jacob Breuninger (1679-1758) and his son, Hans Ludwig Breuninger (1726-1782).

It was Hans Ludwig Breuninger who began giving his children three names. He named his daughter Anna Maria Catharina Breuninger (1762-1762) and his son Johann Eberhardt Heinrich Breuninger (1764-1823).

Johann Eberhardt Heinrich Breuninger (1764-1823) continued the tradition and christened three of his four children with three names: Johann Martin Friedrich Breuninger (1792-1858), Rosina Catharina Barbara Breuninger (1795-1795), and Rosina Catharina Barbara Breuninger (1796-1796). Yes, the two daughters had the same names. The first died in infancy and it was a common practice to reuse the name of a child who had died.

Johann Martin Friedrich Breuninger

The above Johann Martin Friedrich Breuninger (1792-1858) took giving his children multiple names to a whole new level, especially for his daughters. His children:

Carl Ludwig Friedrich Breuninger (called Carl) (1818-?)
Louis Frederick Peter Breuninger (called Louis) (1819-1890) [my gr-gr-grandfather]
Elisabeth Charlotte Juliana Louisa Breuninger (called “Eliza”) (1821-1872)
Johann Friedrich Ernst Breuninger (1822-1824)
Charlotte Elise Magdalena Breuninger (called Charlotte) (1824-1876)
Johann Christian Friedrich Ernst Breuninger (1826-?)
Charlotte Juliana Ernestina Wilhelmina Eleanora Breuninger (1828-1883)
Eva Charlotta Ernestina Eleanora Wilhelmina Breuninger (called “Lora”) (1831-1896)
Ernestina Frederika Elonora Breuninger (1833-1834)

That was pretty much the end of the multiple naming trend in my Breuninger family.

Except for daughter Charlotte Juliana Ernestina Wilhelmina Eleanora Breuninger (1828-1883), who remained in Germany although her siblings immigrated to America. She married Ernst Julius Huber and they continued the multiple name trend with their children, Ernst Julius Otto Wolfgang Huber, Friederike Ottilie Clara Julia Huber, and Julius Ernst Friedrich Wolfgang Otto Huber. Her siblings ceased using multiple given names in America.

“Louis” Friedrich Peter Breuninger (1819-1890)

What about all those names?

Before the Reformation, Roman Catholics were urged to name children after saints, martyrs, and angels. After the Reformation, Protestants used Biblical names to name their children, most names coming from the Old Testament.  

German children were usually given two names. Boys were usually baptized with the first name of Johannes/Johann/Hans and girls were usually baptized with the first name of Maria, Anna, or Anna Maria.

But they did not go by their first name. They went by and were known by their middle name and their surname. Their middle name was also used in legal records.

A family may have had children named Johann Friedrich, Johann Martin, Johann Ludwig, Maria Catharine, and Maria Barbara, but the children were known as Friedrich, Martin, Ludwig, Catharine, and Barbara.

Children were almost always named for one or more of their baptismal sponsors in German-speaking areas.

There are naming patterns, too, but children were not always named in the following manner, so you can’t necessarily determine parentage this way:

  • first born, named after father’s father
  • second born, after mother’s father
  • third born, after father of the child
  • fourth born and on, after uncles of the child

The same pattern applies to daughters but using the maternal side (father’s mother, mother’s mother, etc.).

Names are interesting and knowing how they were used may help with your research.

Jan 03

The Twelve Days of Christmas

We are in the midst of the Twelve Days of Christmas. It is still the Christmas Season and will be until Epiphany, 6 January. Epiphany, the day the three wise men arrived in Bethlehem for Jesus’ birth, is also known as Twelfth Night, Day of the Magi, Three King’s Day, or Eid al-Ghitas. I had never heard of that last name before.

For me, the Twelve Days of Christmas is a good thing. It is a breather after Christmas and a time to enjoy our Christmas decorations a little longer. I put up artificial trees, so I don’t have to worry about a dry evergreen tree dropping needles. Some consider it bad luck to take down the Christmas tree before Epiphany. That is not a problem here.

At home, growing up, we left our decorations up until New Years Day. We usually had some family gatherings the week between Christmas and New Years Day. My Schumm side of the family, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins, had their Christmas dinner that week, so we kept the decorations up for that.

Christmas at Cornelius & Hilda Schumm home, c1963.

Since it is totally acceptable to leave the Christmas finery out until Epiphany, I don’t rush to take down my decorations. Actually, some Christmas decorations may still be out on display in our basement for weeks after Epiphany. I change out the basement decor for the season, but I have scaled back to just three seasons, Patriotic, Halloween, and Christmas. That works very well and is minimal work. My Patriotic Season doesn’t begin until May so I still have plenty of time to put the Christmas decorations away down there.

At any rate, during each Christmas Season I enjoy the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas. It is a centuries-old song that is still popular today. The original song may have had French origins, but first appeared in print in an English children’s book in 1780. The gifts in the song are partridges, turtle doves, French hens, calling birds, golden rings, geese, swans, maids, ladies, lords, pipers, and drummers. Originally, the four calling birds were called colly birds, colly being old English slang for a blackbird, and the partridge in a pear tree was originally a peacock. Today’s version of the lyrics was created in 1909.

The Twelve Days of Christmas music

A question at Christmas party this year was how many gifts would you receive if you got all the gifts in the song. The answer takes a little more calculating than you think at first. The gifts are cumulative. You give each previous gift with each subsequent gift. That is, on each new day, you receive all the gifts previously given. That would be 12 partridges, 22 turtle doves, 30 French hens, etc, making the total number of gifts 364. Interesting that the number is one gift shy of a gift a day for a whole year. Of the 364 gifts, 184 are birds. Someone liked our feathered friends.

I did not figure all this out myself. The answer to almost everything is online and I do not like to think that hard for fun anymore. And for the mathematicians out there, the solution to the question involves Triangular and Tetrahedral Numbers and Triangular-based Pyramids. I’m not sure what all that even means.

What would all those gifts cost today? In 2024 the cost would have been $201,973. That cost should not be a surprise, with swans costing $1875 each and gold over $2600 an ounce.

Some believe there is a hidden Christian meaning to the song, used to secretly pass on Christian ideology.

Partridge in a pear tree=Jesus
Two Turtle Doves=Old and New Testaments
Three French Hens=Faith, Hope, and Charity (theological virtues)
Four Calling Birds=the four Gospels and/or the four evangelists
Five Golden Rings=the first five books of the Old Testament
Six Geese a-laying=the six days of creation
Seven Swans A-swimming=the gifts of the Holy Spirit/the seven sacraments
Eight Maids A-milking=the eight beatitudes
Nine Ladies Dancing=the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit
Ten Lords A-leaping=the Ten Commandments
Eleven Pipers Piping=the eleven faithful apostles
Twelve Drummers Drumming=the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed

We are on day 10 of the song today, Ten Lords a-leaping, plus all the other gifts from days 1-9. That’s a quite a crowd and a lot of poultry.

It’s a very catchy Christmas song and now I know what those Calling Birds really are.