German Immigrant William Reinhart

"We walked up Broadway, our father and mother in the lead, and the eight little ducklings following behind." (William Reinhart)

David's barbershop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn courtesy http://www.bklynlibrary.org/ourbrooklyn/williamsburg/.

Born in Milan, Italy, William Reinhart was one of twelve children born to a glassware manufacturer from Stuttgart, Germany.  His much older brothers, who served in the German military, warned their father that war was imminent and that if he didn't want to serve, he should leave the country.  In 1909, Mr. Reinhart immigrated to America.  His wife and children followed a year later, enduring a 21 day boat ride in close quarters over "The Big Pond".  "We walked up Broadway, our father and mother in the lead, and the eight little ducklings following behind."  Little William and his siblings had never seen tall buildings before.  

Looking west on Broadway along the elevated train tracks circa 1920's? courtesy http://wahcenter.net/about/about-the-landmark-building/.

The family settled in a cold water flat in a German neighbourhood in Brooklyn.  A short time later, two men from Tammany Hall, the New York Democratic headquarters, paid the Mr. Reinhart a visit.   In exchange for his pledge to vote Democrat, along with his eight children, the Tammany men said that they would secure his citizenship papers in six months (normally a five year process).  Mr. Reinhart, smelling a rat, refused.  Every since William could vote, he has voted Republican.  As an adult, William was hired at an international steamship company where "he worked his way up from a lowly billing clerk to traffic manager".  As of 1997, William was alive and well living in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (https://www.amazon.com/Ellis-Island-Interviews-Immigrants-Stories/dp/0760753091)

Ellis Island immigrants circa early 1900's courtesy 

http://peopleleap.com/educational-services/bps-blog/.

Nukel, Lachen & Washlappen

My husband Rob, the son of German immigrants, spoke only German until he attended school at 5 years of age.  He also attended German school every Saturday morning until he was in Grade 7. Although his parents have long since learned English and he no longer speaks German on any consistent basis, he has retained much of the vocabulary.  Occasionally a German words slips past his lips, words that the rest of us have adopted.

When Thomas and Jacqueline were babies they sucked on a "nukel".  While the official German word for a soother is "schnuller", "nukel" is the company that makes soothers.  It is the equivalent of English speaking North Americans using the term Kleenex rather than tissue.

When we go to the beach at Long Point, we wear "lachen".  We can never find "lachen" big enough for Rob's feet, though, so he usually wears a pair that are one size too small.  

When we wash the dishes, we use a "washlappen".  In my house, we called it a J-cloth, but the term "washlappen" sounds so much more fun.  The "washlappen" literally laps up the water.

When someone seems to thrive on chaos in his or her life, he exhibits "schweinerei" or "a pig's mess".

Jacqueline's giant stuffed green animal is a "frosch".  Jacqueline chose Mr. Froggo, out of her giant stuffie pile, to travel to Boston with us a couple of weekends ago.

The furry black creature named Midnight that lives in our house is a "katze",  Rob's mom used to refer to their pet as a "katze" and we kept the tradition going.  Midnight eats "katze tuna" and drinks "katze milk".

At Christmas time, our kids open an "Adventskalendar" or Advent calendar; the original version, without the chocolate, was started by German Lutherans.

When I tuck Jacqueline in each night I say:  Guten nacht"  "Schlaff gut!  (Good night!  Sleep well!) This is a holdover from when Rob used to say goodnight to me in the Teacher's College dorm.  I was on the 4th floor, he was on the 1st.

It goes to show you that what you learn as a child often stays with you for the rest of your life. Maybe our children will pass some of these German word on to their children.

https://www.onlinebabystore.com.au/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/t/n/tn_hb1.jpg