SEPTEMBER 2000

Welcome to the first on-line, updated, new-and-improved (or at least, new-and-different) version of our beloved (?) family newsletter, the Uhl Chatterbox. I have to admit, I bowed to the pressure from several family members to resurrect it. I must admit too, I missed it myself. I guess it's just a natural thing for me to be communicating with others. (Or, as others might say, I just like to talk a lot!)

You will probably notice a few differences. When I analyzed my reasons for stopping the newsletter in the first place, I realized that part of the problem was the time commitment. You cannot imagine how long it took to write up each newsletter, get the formatting just so, then print it all off, staple them, mail them. And don't get me started on costs. You probably remember that I had a real "thing" about using pretty paper. I also think I was supporting a part time employee at Canada Post with the stamps. I must say though, I had a lot of generous contributions from some of you (you know who you are) which helped defray the costs.

There was also the whole "deadline" thing. Now that was my own fault, I created the deadlines in my head and was just as stressed as all get-out if I didn't meet them. I have decided that this time things will be different. I will do a new edition of the newsletter whenever it seems like a good idea! Meaning, whenever I have enough info from others, or a particularly special announcement, I will just get at it. It may come out once, twice, three times a year. I don't plan to make it necessarily regular. No pressure there!

I also will not be making special phone calls or e-mails to get news from people. I will just go with whatever I have accumulated. If there is no news about one particular family branch, no big deal.

Any of you who know someone who might like to read this, but happens to be "computer free" in their household, just invite them over, or print it off, or tell them "too bad, get a computer".

I welcome suggestions for ways I can change/improve the newsletter. I may or may not use those suggestions in future issues, depending on my mood at the moment.

Also, I plan to use pictures as well, so if you want to see pictures of your family, you have to send them. I don't want to use tons and tons of pictures because that can get a bit too complicated.

I will be dropping some things from the previous format, no more Birthdays, Anniversaries, etc. We should all know that by now anyway. Also, the grown grandkids won't have their own separate headings. There will be headings on Dad & each of his kids and their related spouses, kids, etc.

I think I've rattled on long enough here. Enjoy!

DAD & EVELYN

Dad & Evelyn have had a pleasant and fairly quiet year. They have had company on several occasions. Jo-Anne was home for several days in May and stayed with them. Allan & Carol dropped in for a short visit. Jim made a surprise visit at the same time. Jim & Maryann were both down in June for the Southey car show as well. They haven't ranged too far from home this past year, preferring to work in their garden, pick berries for all those yummy jams Evelyn makes, and go into Strasbourg to see what's new around there.

JIM & MARYANN BRANCH

Jim finally got his car that he ordered at the Southey car show in June. He was able to pick it up in Calgary after it went through all the "customs stuff". It is a white 1991 Chrysler TC by Maserati. He's very pleased with it. It is both a hard top and soft top convertible. In May Jim flew in to Regina for a short reunion when Jo-Anne was home. In June, Jim, Maryann & Reg all went to Southey for the car show. Reg returned home right away but Jim & Maryann took some vacation. They spent a few days in Earl Grey, then headed down to Weyburn to visit Don & Char and other relatives. Jim & Maryann were back in Saskatchewan near the end of August. They attended a birthday celebration for one of Maryann's relatives in Weyburn, went to Earl Grey to visit Dad & Evelyn, dropped in at Strasbourg, met up with Don & Trudy at a car show in Saskatoon, then
home to Alberta. Rather a busy time. Most recently they have been spending a bit of extra time with Joy & Reg's girls as the girls adjust to their Mom being away.

It has been a busy summer for Joy, Reg and the girls. They are building a new house near Barb, still in Fort Sask. By the time Joy returns from Bosnia, Reg will have everything all done and she can just move right in with the family already there. Reg's Mom was visiting from Ontario for a few days in July. Joy went to Winnipeg mid-August for the final "exercise" before being sent overseas. After that she was on leave so she could spend time with her family. It's been a pretty emotional time. She expects to be home for a few days just after Christmas, then gone again until sometime in April.

Sonya moved into her new apartment early in July. Her new address and phone number are: Sonya Uhl, Apt. #1, 1637 Salisbury Ave. (just like the steak, only different), Port Coquitlam, B.C., V3P 1X3 (604)945-9393. Sonya also has a new e-mail address at home. It is: sr_uhl@hotmail.com She is enjoying living on her own with only her little cat for company. Sonya was in Alberta for her birthday weekend in August. She spent time with the folks and Joy's family. It was Brandi-Lee's birthday the next day so they celebrated together. She was back again for Labour Day weekend so she could spend more time with Joy before she headed to Bosnia. She also just purchased her first brand new car! It's a 2001 Kia Rio, gold in colour, 4 door and 4 cylinders (one for each door I guess).

Steven & Meredith are still in the house they had been sharing with Sonya. They will soon be moving to a new apartment in Burnaby with one other room-mate. They headed to Alberta for a couple of weeks in August. Meredith spent a few days helping her Mom & StepDad move to Innisfail. Then they both spent time with Jim & Maryann as well as with Joy's bunch. Steven recently became manager of the computer department in a London Drugs store in Vancouver, on the corner of 41st and Victoria. Do drop in if you're in the neighborhood.

JEANNE & FRED BRANCH

Jeanne and Fred have been busy with all the usual stuff. Jeanne is on the internet now, thanks to Brandy & Craig and their spare equipment. She is loving it and I certainly hear from her more often. Their e-mail address is: jtriffo@hotmail.com

Whenever you get a busy signal on her phone it's because she's on the computer. It's a great hobby and she feels that she's learning a lot about all kinds of stuff. They also helped out by doing some baking to provide some of the "munchies" at the gift opening party at Jackie's after Cory & Jess' wedding.

Terry, Judy and Daniel have been having a wonderful summer. The "great white north" hasn't felt very northerly this past summer. They've had record high temperatures. They bought themselves a beautiful new boat and had it out on the lake all summer long. Now summer is over so Terry & Judy are both back at work and Daniel is happily back in school again.

LARRY & SHARON BRANCH

Larry celebrated his 50th birthday in July. They had a crowd of their old friends out for that. They had Larry & Sharon's folks in for dinner a few days later. They took a short holiday this year late in July when they went to Rapid City, South Dakota for a few days. After that Sharon got busy with making pickles and cleaning up the garden.

Amber was busy early in the summer picking saskatoon berries and selling them. She is looking forward to her last year at school this year.

Dylan has started his own home page and it can be found by pressing the "Links" button on my home page. Of course it's devoted to his favorite subject - motorcycles and living in the fast lane!

http://rm_king.tripod.com/motocrossjunkies/index.html

Dylan has made his own motocross course on their land and he was busy with that all summer. He's had a few accidents and injuries but that just means he takes after his Dad.

JO-ANNE & ROY BRANCH

Things have been pretty busy here, as usual. Roy has been working on several different contracts to create computer programs for companies and enjoys it a lot. Some are local, some are in the U.S. Jo-Anne (I never know whether to talk about myself in the first person or not so I will probably bounce around a little) started taking a Medical Transcriptionist course in August. It appears there is a shortage of medical transcriptionists in the province and she aims to help remedy that situation.

Jo-Anne was home to Saskatchewan in May for a week and had a wonderful time with all the family. It was the first time she was home during Diane's birthday since they were little kids so that was a nice change. Diane & Gerry hosted a great family barbecue and a lot of people were there for that. Jim flew in for the weekend as well, surprising everyone because he had earlier said that he couldn't make it. Jo-Anne actually went to the Earl Grey bar for the first time in her life, along with Jim, Allan & Carol. Had a great time!

Our latest hobby has been building a new home page and including lots of family stuff. If you are reading this, you have already seen it! That has taken dozens, possibly hundreds of hours to write, scan pictures, program. It's been great fun.

The Tall Ships were visiting Halifax Harbour in July and we spent about 5 days solid on the waterfront looking at those spectacular ships. It was one big party downtown and everyone had a great time. There were about a million tourists in town for it so it sure was a shot in the arm for the economy.

We went to Liscombe Lodge for a couple of days in September. One of Roy's clients gave us a certificate. It's a beautiful lodge in an isolated area along a river, about 170 km from Halifax. Just perfect for a bit of rest and relaxation.

Susan & Rob had company in July when Susan's Mom, Alvina, was down from YK for a visit. She spent a couple of weeks. There was a lot of visiting and shopping going on. Rob has been getting in a lot of hours working construction. Susan took a couple of weeks vacation when her Mom was down and has been quite busy the rest of the time. Alex was involved in soccer this summer, playing twice a week and scoring lots of goals. Believe it or not, he actually wanted to go back to school in September. I guess boredom will do that. Erica has been learning to count and practicing looking like a real cutie-pie. (She's quite good at that) She is happy to report that she toilet trained herself in a matter of just a couple of days part way through the summer. She just didn't think her swim suit looked good with a diaper under it. Susan hit a bit of a lucky streak at Bingo in September. She won $500 one Sunday and $1000 a couple of weeks later! Just in time to replace all 4 tires on her car.

GERMAN BRANCH

No family newsletter would be complete without a section on Axel, our favorite connection to our German heritage. Axel and Petra are now living together in Freiburg. He is working with a smaller company there now, in the heart of the Black Forest, a beautiful area of Germany. Petra started her new job there in September. They have a lovely flat on the main floor of a building. A huge improvement over his place in Heidelberg which was a 5th floor walk up! They had a lovely vacation on their motorcycles this past summer and I will include their own words to describe it:

The days we spent were mostly perfect. We started off to Engelberg in Switzerland the first day, staying at a youth hostel there. The Swiss youth hostels have a standard that compares to a Motel 6, only half the price. That's okay if all you need is a place to stay for the night. The next day we toured several Swiss passes, most of them above 2000m altitude, moving on to Lake Megozza near Lago Maggiore where we camped. The next day on to Lago d'Orta, again camping on a nice site high above the lake. Then on to the Riviera. We had plenty of sun there, spending two days on the beach (we all got a little sunburn from that). Then some thunderstorms in the back country the next day. We learned that we were just visiting the lake used for collecting the rain for Genova's water supply. They built the dam in a secifically rainy area... We rode up to Rovereto near Lake Garda. A historic little town with lots of beautiful buildings to visit and nice roads to ride in the area. We spent two days there. From there up to Switzerland again. We looked at the hostel at St. Moritz, but they charged twice the price of an average hostel (not unexpectedly, though). So we rode on to Linzerheide, also a ski resort, crossing two more wonderful Alp passes. From there we rode home the next day.

RELATIVELY SPEAKING

Wendy & Dick Eddy celebrated the graduation of their only child, Chris, early in the summer. Ingolf & Elinor were there, as well as Gerry, Diane & Frank. Chris got a job immediately after school was finished and is also on the waiting list for Palliser in Moose Jaw where he plans to take a Business/Computer course. They took 2 weeks of vacation in August and got a lot of camping done all over Sask., as they usually do. They went to Emma Lake, Duck Mountain & Rowan's Ravine. At the end of the summer they attended a Brevig family reunion at Fort Qu'Appelle. Unfortunately, their summer was marred by some very sad events. Wendy's cousin, John Kenney, was killed in a car accident on the way home to Alberta from the reunion. He and his wife were heavily involved in organizing the reunion. He leaves behind his wife and 2 children. Then, later in September, Dick's Mom passed away in Saskatoon.

Mom's sister, Aunt Janette, has moved back to the Okanagan - again! She and John got an apartment in Kelowna after they sold the house in Regina. There is always a lot of fun traveling and visiting for Janette to do when she lives in B.C.

Cousin Brian and his family have been busy and happy. Brian finished his computer course, right up at the top of the class too. He had been working for Sears for the past few years, but started a new job with a trucking firm in the late summer. That job will utilize his computer skills. He has been doing some programming on the side and enjoys it very much.

I also heard from Herman & Veryl's daughter, Jade, recently. She is living in Edgerton, Alberta and wanted to pass her e-mail address along to the family. It is:
bjtribe@telusplanet.net Jade was in Regina in July and was visiting with Jackie. In September they had a visit from cousin Michele and her family. It was a very nice reunion because Michele & Jade haven't seen each other since they were 15! They both have sons going to the same college. Jade and her husband Brad have 3 children still at home. She also told me that she heard from Uncle Erwin recently and that he and Joan are in the process of moving to Langley. She reports that her Mom, Veryl, was in Strasbourg area recently and visited some of the relatives. Jade is hoping (as many of us are) for an Uhl family reunion again one of these days.

Cousin Patty and her family have been having a good summer. They were in Sask for a very short visit early in July to get their camper from Dave & Nancy's homestead. Patty's husband, Art, has started a new job as VP of Information Technology for TCPL in Calgary. Their two little girls, Jordan & Jessica are both looking forward to the start of the new school year. Jordan is going into grade 4 and Jessica will be starting grade 1.

Fern & Ken have been as busy as ever with their business and with their kids and grandkids. The grandkids are ages 11 and 5 now. Aunt Margaret continues to be in good health. Lorne & Barb were visiting with Fern & Ken in July.

Have heard from Mom's cousin, Cliff Ebenal. His home page is in my web-site under "Links to Sites". He was headed out to B.C., Washington, and Oregon in August. An Ebenal branch was planning a family reunion. While there he planned on looking up some of Mom's brothers. He also got his last two kids married off this past summer so now all he and his wife have to do is sit around and wait for more grandchildren.

ANNOUNCEMENT

We have had another family wedding! On September 23, 2000 Cory married Jessica Seffelaar. They were married in Regina at Rosewood Park Alliance Church. A reception was held after the wedding and was attended by family members and friends. All were invited back to Jackie & Wayne's house after the reception for drinks and conversation. The following day the gift opening took place at Jackie & Wayne's house as well. We all wish Cory & Jess the best in their future together.

UPCOMING EVENT!

On January 13, 2001 there will be a memorial service to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Mom's death. It will be held at Diane & Gerry's home, same as the fifth anniversary memorial was. Diane & Gerry want everyone to know that all family, close relatives and friends are invited to attend. Pastor Lois has promised to be there again. I do think that this really is a "must attend" for all of us siblings, and of course whoever else would like to come is welcome.

I expect we should be thinking about preparations. Anyone who is planning to attend may want to discuss food preparation with Diane. Some sort of pot luck arrangement would probably be the easiest to deal with.

Remember, block it off on your calendar now, Saturday, January 13, 2001. The time hasn't been officially set yet but as the date draws closer it will be easier to choose a good time.

COMMUNICATION WANTED

As many of you probably know, Jim & Maryann's oldest daughter, Joy, is now in Bosnia doing her tour of duty. She is badly missing her husband and 4 daughters, not to mention the lifestyle we all take for granted here in Canada. She welcomes all letters and e-mails and promises to write back to all who write to her. Her e-mail address there is:

mail294q@dnd.ca

Her "snail mail" address is:

A58 428 397 Cpl Francis J.E.
1 GS Bn 1st Line Tpt
Camp Black Bear, Velika Kladusa
P.O. Box 5003 Stn Forces
Belleville, ON K8N 5W6

Now I am going to include a few lines that she wrote to me in an e-mail so that you have a sense of what things are like there:

I am doing alright. I have some bad days and good days. I really need the e-mail you send me. It keeps me in touch with the real world because I feel pretty cut off here. I miss home a lot but I try to keep busy and its a little easier. The lifestyle here is dated back about a hundred years with a little technology here and there. You can drive through some towns that have nothing and have horse and wagons to get around. In the meantime you are being passed on the blind corners by Mercedes and BMWs. There are some cities that are richer than others and you see small satellites on the apartment buildings. I don't know where I am going for my R&R but I am thinking about just going to Zagreb so that I can do some Christmas shopping. We should get to pick our dates in the next week or so when everyone gets their act together but I won't hold my breath. We do have 2 leave centers set up for us: one in Budapest and one in Split but there isn't much to do in the winter so shopping will suffice nicely. Maybe for my second R&R I will go to Austria or something a little farther and I will take a train. The people I work with are pretty good so that makes things here a little easier. I moved into my ISO (like a small ATCO trailer) yesterday so now I have a real bed and a place to hang my clothes and set up my pictures. The food here is okay but I have been eating alot of salads. They eat a lot of goat here but they don't serve that in the camp.

I am going to join a few of the clubs here - I was thinking of the woodworking and computers. You need something to keep you occupied. One thing I have learned here is to appreciate what you have because there are those in other countries that have next to nothing. The kids here are not as spoiled as ours with CD players, computer games, toys and the like. We do not have a walking out privilege so we are confined to camp unless you have to go to another camp for business. We are also limited to a 2 beer max per night that cannot be stockpiled. So in other words, I guess I am grounded for 7 months. Could always be worse - we could be getting shot at!! You can breathe easy there is no shooting here anymore, only mines everywhere, but you stay on the hard pack and you will be fine. But with me being in 1st line transport I won't be going out as much as the other transport section who are out daily.

The weather here has been inconsistent to say the least. One day its raining and 15 and the next day it is 30 and hot and muggy. We went for a walk today on one of our approved routes that goes up to a castle. We didn't actually go all the way up to the castle because it is a 13 km walk but we did go 8 kms. The countryside is beautiful here with rolling hills and mountains everywhere (its a long way from Saskatchewan flat lands). . . It was quite the walk and the local people are so nice. I got passed by a horse and cart and that just reminds me of reading something in a historical romance novel and it is hard to believe it actually still happens. The country is so picture perfect that it is hard to believe that it is the second most mined country in the world, but not to worry, no matter how beautiful it is there is not enough money in the world to make me leave the hardstand. It just goes to show that looks can definitely be deceiving.

ALLAN & CAROL BRANCH

Things have been pretty busy with this crew. The senior's complex that Allan had been working so hard on is being completed now and people are moving in. That means he is now busy with selling the homes of those who are moving in to the complex.

Carol sang with her group, Solstice, at the Canada Day festivities in Saskatoon. Her brother Gary got married in August and she was quite active in selecting music for the wedding. She and her sisters all sang. Allan & Carol are expecting to be involved in curling again this winter.

Trevor recently finished instructing on a CF Junior Leadership Course (Reserve forces) from May 05 - Aug 04 2000. Just before that he instructed on the same course, only Regular forces, from Jan - end Apr. He took some time in the summer to relax as well, doing some roller-blading, mountain biking, trail running, hiking, and this year just started fishing around the area. He spends as much of his spare time as he can with his girlfriend, Corinne.

Chris drove to Edmonton to visit with his friend in the spring. He was down in the Strasbourg area visiting in May. In July he got a new job title: Programmer/Analyst. He is quite pleased with that and really enjoys his job.

Kelsey has been busy working as much as she can and is considering furthering her education as well. Recently she started working for her Dad, helping organize his real estate business.

DON & TRUDY BRANCH

Trudy, Nicole & Justin attended a family reunion in North Dakota at the end of June. Lots of people there and everyone had a great time. Naturally, Don was busy with his truck at that time and couldn't attend. Don & Trudy both had a busy summer, what with the truck, kids coming and going, all the usual stuff. They attended a major car show in Saskatoon at the end of August. They managed to meet up with Jim & Maryann there and spent some time with Allan & Carol. Don picked up the retiring teachers, Larry & Linda Doetzel and Lowell Lanigan, in his convertible and escorted them to the school for some ceremonies in their honour. I will include later in another part of the newsletter a text of the parting words that he had for them.

Danielle & Nicole attended a Korn concert in Saskatoon in July with some other friends. Nicole was quite busy with her summer job in Strasbourg. She was involved in recreation activities for kids. Nicole got her driver's licence early in July and has been bombing around wherever and whenever she can ever since. Justin had a lot of friends out to visit over the summer.

JACKIE & WAYNE BRANCH

Jackie and Wayne spent a week in early August on a trip to Sturgis, South Dakota. They travelled around the area and spent time at the big "motorcycle meet". It was mostly Harley bikes at the meet but they always have a few other types of bikes there. Jackie also took the week prior and the week after the trip off for vacation.Wayne was actually home on Canada Day this year and had a long weekend. That's unusual for him because he's usually busy trucking. They had a big family barbecue at their house. Wayne was also home in May when Diane & Gerry hosted a family barbecue and he was able to attend that for a change as well. They had a number of people in to visit after Cory & Jess' wedding on the 23rd of September and again the next day for the gift opening.

Cory is still working and spending as much time with his boys as he can. He surprised us all in August with a wedding announcement. He & Jess married on Sept. 23.

Brandy was working in Public Relations at the Exhibition in Regina in August. They asked her to come with them for the Saskatoon Ex as well. In September she started a part-time job at "Things Engraved". She expects to get a lot of hours in with Christmas just around the corner. She & Craig have done a lot of work on their yard this year too.

Denise took part in a "Canada Sings" concert in Vancouver for 5 days in April. She was part of the Balfour School Choir group. They managed to get some sight seeing in while they were there. She also managed to do a lot of babysitting in the summer and looks forward to starting grade 11.

DIANE & GERRY BRANCH

It was a very busy summer for Diane & Gerry, as always. Things may be different for them in the future though. As many of you know they have recently put their business up for sale. They've decided it's time to be a bit "less busy" and they are also wanting to have a new challenge in their lives. Anyone who has a serious offer to make for the business is more than welcome to do so. If it gets sold through this newsletter I will be looking for a commission. Gerry did have a chance to rediscover his golf clubs this past summer and found it to be a wonderful way to unwind a bit. He & Dick Eddy played together on one special occasion, taking on their sons, Frank & Chris. Never count those old guys out - they wiped the course with those boys! Diane seemed to spend her entire summer pushing ice cream in the store. Certainly better than a lot of other things that get pushed on the streets these days. They were entertained this past summer when a house came down their street. Yes, a house, basement and all. It was being moved from Bulyea to Strasbourg and it was quite an unusual sight, particularly with the basement still attached. Reminded me of the good old days when we used to have John Klenk (with his "mickey" under the seat) moving houses for our family. And speaking of houses, Diane & Gerry had a large deck built on to their house this summer. It sure worked great when they hosted the family shindig when Jo-Anne was home to visit.

Frank had an eventful summer. He worked a lot in the store and also attended basketball camp in Regina where he managed to take the spotlight. He finished with a medallion, 4 pendants, 4 records. Because of his exceptional playing abilities he was invited back to join an elite team for the prestigious North/South tournament in Regina. He bought a new car earlier in the year, a blue Cavalier. While he was waiting for the other one to be sold it sustained heavy hail damage while parked at DiGer's. SGI decided to write it off and the whole thing was quite a lucrative deal for Frank. Other than all that work and cashing cheques, he still managed to get in a fair bit of socializing.

Niki also had a great summer. She spent a few days in the summer at camp. However, her favorite past time involves "art work" outside of their store. She went through 27 pounds of sidewalk chalk. (I haven't actually verified that amount, I'm quoting her Dad there and you know how he exaggerates!) Now that the fall is here she is busy again with her swimming lessons in Regina and her music lessons in Earl Grey.

ABOUT TOWN

Three long time teachers have retired from William Derby School in Strasbourg after teaching for 30 years - Lowell Lanigan, Linda & Larry Doetzel. Following is the text of the note that Don wrote to Linda & Larry in a card he gave them, thanking them for the job they did in our town. I think he said much the same things that many of us who knew them would have said. In Don's words......

Linda and Larry:

I've been looking for some profound words to use that cover the previous 30 years that you have spent in Strasbourg. Since none came to me I will just tell you in my own words how I feel.

First, I thank you for teaching my kids the same way that you taught me, with respect and caring and talking to them like they are adults and not just kids. I thank you for keeping your teaching talents in this town for 30 years and not moving on to bigger and “better” places. I also thank you not just for teaching, but for having the stamina and judgment to stay in this town (and province for that matter) for the duration of your employment. In a prairie town whose greatest export is the minds of good people, it is great to see people who have the courage to stay in these places and help make them a great place, not just to come from, but to live in.

Linda, in school I never had an interest in language, as the years pass I have more and more interest in writing and communicating my thoughts to others. Larry, I was here for your first year of teaching and my kids are in school for your last year of teaching. We have enjoyed the friendship, teasing and trust you have shown us over the years.

In summary, thank you, not for the last 30 years, but the first 30 and I look forward to seeing you around for the next 30.

Don.