Charlie Battery - Kleingartach
Scenes of Our Local Neighborhood - 1959 - 1969
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Leo Brach at Gesthaus Rose - Niederhofen
Hey Leo, come on back inside and have some schinkenwurst and a bier...!
This is the Gasthaus Rose sign mentioned two images above. If you look hard enough you will see some text just below the sign.
Written into a carved inset of the entrance frame lentil just below the sign, is some writing that is hard to make out, but it states the name Wilhelm Bleimaier, and below the name it states “Erbaut 1876”, or built in 1876
The more I study this image, I think what we have here is a builder who signed his work, much like an artist who signs a work of art, which is pretty cool...!
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Niederhofen Schulkinder
I think this is the Kindergarten through the 5th grade class at Niederhofen Elementary School.
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Residential Niederhofen - 1960
This was taken at the intersection of this straße and the Neiderhofen/Kleingartach road, the Gasthaus Rose is just behind us.
This photo and the one just below are taken from almost exactly the same spot, the only thing different is that they were taken 52 years apart
On the far right, and on the porch, it looks Großmutter is talking on her cell phone.
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Residential Niederhofen - 2012
The same view with the Gasthaus Rose behind the viewer.
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Funeral Procession In Niederhofen
I think this is the Kindergarten through the 5th grade class at Niederhofen Elementary School.
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Funeral Procession In Niederhofen
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Entering Niederhofen From Kleingartach
This how we got around... Walking...!
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Entering Kleingartach - 1960
Walking through the village ahead of me are the two Neils: Neil Watson and Howie Watson, again, not related.
I am really pleased to have a photo of Kleingartach. I regret not taking more photos of this village. It gives a good illustration of passing through a small country German village, with classic architecture and cultural life.
In this street scene can be seen several businesses advertising their services. On the far left hand side of the photo, at ground level and the first doorway, you can see the sign Friseur”. This person was a Hairdresser and/or a barber advertising their services.
The second sign is, again on the left, but up on the third level of the same building. This sign is advertising as a “Schneiderei”, or a Tailor, one who works with fabric and cloth.
And of course, a little farther down, on the right side of the straße is the wrought iron sign of the Gasthaus Sonne, which is illustrated in a detail photo just two photos below this one.
Our good friend Uwe Koch, who grew up in Kleingartach, tells me that as a child he received his first haircut at this “Freseur”. He also says that he likes this photo, because it really takes him back to his childhood.
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Entering Kleingartach - 2013
Sadly, some of the buildings that are in the above photo do not appear in this contemporary image of the village. However the buildings on the left, in the foreground, are still there. The Gasthaus Sonne appears to have been renovated, and there are some relatively new ones as well.
At the end of the street the building where the road curves around to the right, and on the right side of the street with the green stripe about half way up looks very new. Using the magnification tool in Photoshop, I was able to discern some of the letters on that green stripe, and even though the tree blocks the begining letter, I came up with the German word “Metzegerei, or Butcher shop”
In the German language “erei” is like adding the letter “y” at the end of a word. For example: the baker works in the bakery. In German it is der Bäcker works in die Bäckerei. Or, the tailor, der schneider, works in die Schneiderie.
Wrought Iron Work Detail
This is a detail of some nice Wrought Iron work signage taken from the image above. The whole theme of this area is the sun (sonne). Gasthaus Sonne, Sun Lane (Sonnengasse), and so the wrought iron work tries to reflect that theme.
I have tried to present a detail as clear as possible, but because the contrast is so poor it's difficult to see all of the subtleties of the iron work. However, the primary design is there for all to enjoy.
Place your mouse over the image until it changes. The yellow embellishments are probably brass, which weathers well and be periodically polished.
It seems that Herr Keppler was quite an enterprising person. His business includes a Gasthaus, Bakery, and Post Office.