Stollenwerck Mania!
Saturday, September 11, 2004
A little on the role I played in motivating Jamie to start this Blog...
It was July 4th weekend and my wife Allyson and I decided that rather than go away for the Holiday weekend, we would take day trips to nearby areas we had always wanted to visit. We had lived in Connecticut for about 10 years now, 7 years together as married people, and had always talked about visiting certain places that were in easy driving distance from our home in Westport.
The top 2 on our list were Watch Hill, RI and Litchfield County, CT. Our timing was very undefined, so we decided if we actually made it to Watch Hill, we would try to look up my relative James, with whom I had briefly spoken and emailed a few years back.
I believe we drove to Watch Hill on Saturday in the late morning; we have a friend with a home in nearby Hopkinton, so we had long heard how gorgeous it was in Watch Hill, but the town far exceeded our expectations. It is amazingly picutresque but also very personal and restrained in its charm. It is a real jewel and it was very clear why James had settled there.
Anyway, we had lunch, walked along the beach, and decided before starting the roughly 2 hour trip home to Westport to see if we could look up James. Allyson played a particularly key role at this point in the "re-uniting" of the Stollenwerck clan, as it was getting to be the late afternoon and I was a little nervous about possibly disturbing Jamie's Holiday and showing up announced-- but my brilliant wife said something like "dummy, when else are you going to have a chance like this, of course he will want to hear from you"-- and she was right as usual.
Jamie's number was listed in the book as was his address, so we drove towards his house and placed a call. As Jamie has written on this blog, he was home, he told us we had to immediately come in and visit, and we had a great time with him and Debbie. We learned about his kids, and subsequently I have been able to meet both Samantha and Adriane who are just fantastically personable, friendly, charming, talented people of whom Jamie is understandably and overwhelmingly proud.
Now my whole family is fired up about getting to know our relatives and sharing stories via this blog. More about and from them to follow.
Posted by Jeff Stollenwerck
¶ 10:41 AM 0 comments
The top 2 on our list were Watch Hill, RI and Litchfield County, CT. Our timing was very undefined, so we decided if we actually made it to Watch Hill, we would try to look up my relative James, with whom I had briefly spoken and emailed a few years back.
I believe we drove to Watch Hill on Saturday in the late morning; we have a friend with a home in nearby Hopkinton, so we had long heard how gorgeous it was in Watch Hill, but the town far exceeded our expectations. It is amazingly picutresque but also very personal and restrained in its charm. It is a real jewel and it was very clear why James had settled there.
Anyway, we had lunch, walked along the beach, and decided before starting the roughly 2 hour trip home to Westport to see if we could look up James. Allyson played a particularly key role at this point in the "re-uniting" of the Stollenwerck clan, as it was getting to be the late afternoon and I was a little nervous about possibly disturbing Jamie's Holiday and showing up announced-- but my brilliant wife said something like "dummy, when else are you going to have a chance like this, of course he will want to hear from you"-- and she was right as usual.
Jamie's number was listed in the book as was his address, so we drove towards his house and placed a call. As Jamie has written on this blog, he was home, he told us we had to immediately come in and visit, and we had a great time with him and Debbie. We learned about his kids, and subsequently I have been able to meet both Samantha and Adriane who are just fantastically personable, friendly, charming, talented people of whom Jamie is understandably and overwhelmingly proud.
Now my whole family is fired up about getting to know our relatives and sharing stories via this blog. More about and from them to follow.
Posted by Jeff Stollenwerck
¶ 10:41 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Samantha Stollenwerck's First CD Release Is This Month. Here's A Review.
http://www.samanthamusic.com/
Posted by Jamie Stollenwerck
¶ 5:00 PM 0 comments
http://www.samanthamusic.com/
Posted by Jamie Stollenwerck
¶ 5:00 PM 0 comments
The Gunfighter's Site.
There was lot of talk in the news about patriotism last month because the national election is coming up. Swift Boat veterans from Vietnam have a problem with John Kerry. I went to school with John and knew him. He was a senior. I liked him too, but his classmates didn’t. I was an underclassman and was astonished someone with his stature would even talk to me. That’s a subject for another posting, though.
Stollenwercks were represented in Vietnam by Commander Stolly Stollenwerck, F-8 Crusader Jet Fighter Pilot. The Crusader was the last U.S. fighter designed with guns as its primary weapon. Read all about it at The Gunfighter’s Site. Great pictures and lots of links. Go here to see pictures of Commander Stollenwerck then and now (1996).
Posted by Jamie Stollenwerck
¶ 1:59 PM 0 comments
Stollenwercks were represented in Vietnam by Commander Stolly Stollenwerck, F-8 Crusader Jet Fighter Pilot. The Crusader was the last U.S. fighter designed with guns as its primary weapon. Read all about it at The Gunfighter’s Site. Great pictures and lots of links. Go here to see pictures of Commander Stollenwerck then and now (1996).
Posted by Jamie Stollenwerck
¶ 1:59 PM 0 comments
Born about 1700, Died 1768
Clockmaker
German
In the 1700s people everywhere marveled at the musical clocks of Michel Stollenwerck. After his death, one of his contemporaries remarked that Stollenwerck's products "can be transported into the remotest lands, will complete the taming of barbarian Nations, who have already been filled with admiration upon seeing [his] productions...." The writer continued with proof: "Some [clocks] by Stollenwerck transported to China, Mongolia, Turkey, and amongst the Hurons, have enchanted the sovereigns of these vast countries."
Born in Germany, Stollenwerck settled in Paris around 1730. He was a relatively wealthy man, living near the Place Dauphine, a quarter of Paris where only the most fashionable craftsmen were found. He sold most of his products himself, a fairly unusual occurrence at a time when wealthy patrons preferred to purchase their goods from merchants such as the marchands-merciers rather than from the actual craftsmen. His clientele included rich aristocrats and connoisseurs of fine mechanical pieces.
Although Stollenwerck made clocks and watches with traditional movements, he specialized in highly technical mechanisms for clocks that showed the movements of the planets or had musical chimes and planispheres.
Posted by Jamie Stollenwerck
¶ 11:03 AM 0 comments
Sunday, September 05, 2004
This is Adriane and me and Poppie The Dog last Easter. Adriane is 23 and lives in New York. Poppie is 3.
Posted by Jamie Stollenwerck
¶ 4:42 PM 0 comments
How This Blog Came To Be.
Over five years ago, I was talking to my sister Mary Stollenwerck Lynch on the phone. Mary is seven years older than I. She said,” Did you know there's another Stollenwerck in Greenwich?" Mary still lives there.
"No," I said. "Where?"
"In Byram," she said. Byram is a section of town down by the Long Island Sound.
"Have you ever met him?" I said. I assumed it was a guy.
"No."
"Have you ever called him?"
"No." she said. "No reason to."
"Oh." I said. "How'd you find out he's there?" Why would she be looking up the name Stollenwerck?.
"Someone else found him. One of my friends...can't remember who."
I made a mental note to look the name up myself. It's been a long time since Mary used the name Stollenwerck.
So I went onto the internet to do a search. Up popped Stollenwerck, J., Greenwich, CT. with the phone number. I called and I think I left a message. It went something like this, "Hi, my name is Jamie Stollenwerck and you don't know me. I live in Rhode Island and my sister Mary, who lives in Greenwich, said your name is in the book. I thought I'd call because we share this unusual name and we must be related. Here's my phone number. Give me a call if you want to. I understand if you don't. Our family is from Greenwich originally. We don't know any other Stollenwercks and would like to find out about you." And I left my number and hung up.
Within a day, the phone rang and someone asked for me. He said, "Hi, this is Jeff Stollenwerck. You called and left a message on my machine."
I said, "Hello, Jeff. You are the man. Thanks for calling back. Who are you?"
Jeff said, "Well, I'm from Texas and I've got a job in Greenwich. I do financial analysis."
I said,” Jeff, I know this sounds crazy but we were raised in Greenwich and everyone there knows us. But we never heard of you what with the last name of Stollenwerck and all."
"That's because I got out of school not too long ago and haven't lived here long." It occurred to me Mary was the only one left in town and her married name is Lynch. Even if Jeff looked up Stollenwerck in the book, he wouldn't have found it.
"Jeff, how old are you," I said. I can't remember what he told me other than it registered he was in his late twenties. Based on this I said, "Jeff, I figure your father is my brother Dick's age and I'm five years younger than he."
Jeff and I talked a little bit about our families...who was where and how old...and it soon became time to end the call. We exchanged email addresses and said So Long. I emailed him and said how great it was to talk with him and he forwarded it to his father. His message read, "I think you should know about this," and his father replied with a few salutations. After that, we lost contact.
Five years or so went by. Then last spring my phone rang.
"Hi, it's Jeff Stollenwerck. Remember we talked with each other a bunch of years ago?"
"Sure, Jeff," I said, "What a pleasant surprise to hear from you. What’s up?"
"I'm here in Watch Hill with my new wife Allyson. I wasn't married when I talked to you before. We live in Westport now and are up here sightseeing and I thought I'd give you a call."
He had my full attention. "Jeff, where exactly in Watch Hill are you?" I wanted to have him over to our house.
"I'm at the end of your driveway."
I looked out the window and a Range Rover was parked by the mailbox. I told him to get on in here.
So Jeff and Allyson visited with Debbie and me for a while. Fun! I showed them around our house, which has many pictures and paintings of various Stollenwercks. They said they could see the family resemblance and I bet it meant something to be able to put a name with a face. It did to me. That visit goes beyond the scope of this blog, except to say Allyson remarked about what it was like to marry into a family with Stollenwerck for a last name. My hope is Jeff and Allyson join in on this website and will write their own account of what it was like to meet an alien Stollenwerck.
By coincidence I was at a cocktail party during the summer and on my way out I was introduced to a woman who asked me if I was from Dallas. I said no, why? She said,"I'm from Dallas and I grew up across the street from Ruth Stollenwerck. I was walking today and I saw your name on a sign in front of your house. I didn't know if you were from Texas or what."
When it rains it pours.
After that, I began thinking of a way all Stollenwercks could get in touch with each other...if they want to. Jeff has met Samantha and Adriane at one of Samantha's performances in New York. Samantha's a musician. Jeff's parents are coming east at the end of October and we've been invited to meet them. I began to think about putting up a Stollenwerck website but never got around to it.
Then I was installing a Google tool bar on my browser and one of the options is "Blog This!" I followed the links and discovered the perfect way to start building the Stollenwerck family tree millennium style. My idea is to get enough content on this blog from the Stollenwercks in my immediate family. After that, I'm going to search for all the Stollenwercks with email addresses and invite them to submit information for postings. The format will be a photo blog, which means each posting will have a picture attached...at least as much as possible. It could be great. It could be a bust. Call me irresponsible, call me irresistible...
That's it. Background. Raison d'Etre. Strategy for the future. Whatever. I've got many ideas about what to put on this blog...but to start with, I need contact from family members with their story, pictures and so forth. Please send me news of any kind to post so other Stollenwercks will read them and be inspired to take part.
Be A Part Of Stollenwerck Mania.
Posted by Jamie Stollenwerck
¶ 2:50 PM 0 comments
"No," I said. "Where?"
"In Byram," she said. Byram is a section of town down by the Long Island Sound.
"Have you ever met him?" I said. I assumed it was a guy.
"No."
"Have you ever called him?"
"No." she said. "No reason to."
"Oh." I said. "How'd you find out he's there?" Why would she be looking up the name Stollenwerck?.
"Someone else found him. One of my friends...can't remember who."
I made a mental note to look the name up myself. It's been a long time since Mary used the name Stollenwerck.
So I went onto the internet to do a search. Up popped Stollenwerck, J., Greenwich, CT. with the phone number. I called and I think I left a message. It went something like this, "Hi, my name is Jamie Stollenwerck and you don't know me. I live in Rhode Island and my sister Mary, who lives in Greenwich, said your name is in the book. I thought I'd call because we share this unusual name and we must be related. Here's my phone number. Give me a call if you want to. I understand if you don't. Our family is from Greenwich originally. We don't know any other Stollenwercks and would like to find out about you." And I left my number and hung up.
Within a day, the phone rang and someone asked for me. He said, "Hi, this is Jeff Stollenwerck. You called and left a message on my machine."
I said, "Hello, Jeff. You are the man. Thanks for calling back. Who are you?"
Jeff said, "Well, I'm from Texas and I've got a job in Greenwich. I do financial analysis."
I said,” Jeff, I know this sounds crazy but we were raised in Greenwich and everyone there knows us. But we never heard of you what with the last name of Stollenwerck and all."
"That's because I got out of school not too long ago and haven't lived here long." It occurred to me Mary was the only one left in town and her married name is Lynch. Even if Jeff looked up Stollenwerck in the book, he wouldn't have found it.
"Jeff, how old are you," I said. I can't remember what he told me other than it registered he was in his late twenties. Based on this I said, "Jeff, I figure your father is my brother Dick's age and I'm five years younger than he."
Jeff and I talked a little bit about our families...who was where and how old...and it soon became time to end the call. We exchanged email addresses and said So Long. I emailed him and said how great it was to talk with him and he forwarded it to his father. His message read, "I think you should know about this," and his father replied with a few salutations. After that, we lost contact.
Five years or so went by. Then last spring my phone rang.
"Hi, it's Jeff Stollenwerck. Remember we talked with each other a bunch of years ago?"
"Sure, Jeff," I said, "What a pleasant surprise to hear from you. What’s up?"
"I'm here in Watch Hill with my new wife Allyson. I wasn't married when I talked to you before. We live in Westport now and are up here sightseeing and I thought I'd give you a call."
He had my full attention. "Jeff, where exactly in Watch Hill are you?" I wanted to have him over to our house.
"I'm at the end of your driveway."
I looked out the window and a Range Rover was parked by the mailbox. I told him to get on in here.
So Jeff and Allyson visited with Debbie and me for a while. Fun! I showed them around our house, which has many pictures and paintings of various Stollenwercks. They said they could see the family resemblance and I bet it meant something to be able to put a name with a face. It did to me. That visit goes beyond the scope of this blog, except to say Allyson remarked about what it was like to marry into a family with Stollenwerck for a last name. My hope is Jeff and Allyson join in on this website and will write their own account of what it was like to meet an alien Stollenwerck.
By coincidence I was at a cocktail party during the summer and on my way out I was introduced to a woman who asked me if I was from Dallas. I said no, why? She said,"I'm from Dallas and I grew up across the street from Ruth Stollenwerck. I was walking today and I saw your name on a sign in front of your house. I didn't know if you were from Texas or what."
When it rains it pours.
After that, I began thinking of a way all Stollenwercks could get in touch with each other...if they want to. Jeff has met Samantha and Adriane at one of Samantha's performances in New York. Samantha's a musician. Jeff's parents are coming east at the end of October and we've been invited to meet them. I began to think about putting up a Stollenwerck website but never got around to it.
Then I was installing a Google tool bar on my browser and one of the options is "Blog This!" I followed the links and discovered the perfect way to start building the Stollenwerck family tree millennium style. My idea is to get enough content on this blog from the Stollenwercks in my immediate family. After that, I'm going to search for all the Stollenwercks with email addresses and invite them to submit information for postings. The format will be a photo blog, which means each posting will have a picture attached...at least as much as possible. It could be great. It could be a bust. Call me irresponsible, call me irresistible...
That's it. Background. Raison d'Etre. Strategy for the future. Whatever. I've got many ideas about what to put on this blog...but to start with, I need contact from family members with their story, pictures and so forth. Please send me news of any kind to post so other Stollenwercks will read them and be inspired to take part.
Be A Part Of Stollenwerck Mania.
Posted by Jamie Stollenwerck
¶ 2:50 PM 0 comments
