Hoarders or Keepers?

Some of us have watched Marie Kondo declutter folks' homes. Some of us  have snickered at the genealogy memes where books are packed to the ceiling and the desk is nearly buried. Others have had to help clean out homes after loved ones have passed away. All this raises the question of what is worth keeping and what do we throw away?
Well, the Wenz family have traditionally teetered between being "keepers" and being "hoarders." But I am certainly thankful for what they've kept. Last week I wrote about Uncle Phil's photo album from his trip to France in 1937. https://keillorsmith.blogspot.com/2019/01/
But in addition to the photo album, I was the grateful recipient of a few other jewels:

 Now I know that Victor-Auguste Poulain was one of the first chocolatiers in France, "He believed that a commercial future in chocolate would be found by selling to the masses..." Thank goodness for M. Poulain! "Taste and compare!"

Fascinating letter by a Northerner visiting the south. Apparently Phil and a friend, Alfred W. Judge of Raynham Center, MA, made quite a trip around the south  with stops in Savannah, Jacksonville, Tampa, Mobile and New Orleans. Here's the text of the letter: Sunday, Dec 31, 1916

Dearest Mother,

Received all your letters so far I think, I left a change of address in Jacksonville. And no doubt you have received a letter in the meantime explaining why we left there. I am glad to hear that you are all well and had a good Xmas. Now there are a lot of folks that are expecting letters or cards but for reasons best known to myself they will have to wait maybe two weeks but I haven’t forgotten them. I’m glad you thought those letters were interesting that was what worried me.

The more I see of this country the better I like it. We called at the Information Bureau and they told us that we might stride (?) so work in an orange grove so we went out to see Mr. Trowell who owned it and met a man 70 years old and he certainly was some character. We had quite a talk but he said he couldn’t really afford to put us on but that if we got stranded to come back and he’d see what he could do. So it looks as if we couldn’t starve to death anyway. And all the people seem to be alike hospitable and solicitous. And it’s peculiar the way they trust anybody really it would do your heart good to see the difference of ways from the North.

I probably forgot to tell you on entering Sav. Harbor we passed several of those flat boats with the paddle wheel in the rear that haul cotton and such up and down the rivers they are wood burners you often read about them and they are a novel sight. Then on the way to Jacksonville we passed over a large river and there were several large rafts that shape maybe 75 feet long on with a sweep or two on them floating along with a couple of men aboard they were made up of large piles of lumber lashed together.

Down here a farmer turns his cattle out and the wander here and there at will it is all free range so walking along the country roads or wood one meets cattle and hogs most anywhere when ever they want a pig for dinner. They get on a horse and find their own which are all branded some way or another, and either (?) it or shoot it. A Barn is an unknown quantity the nearest thing to it is a rain roof on stilts and open work boards for maybe their sides. Houses are not much different in the country most residences are bungalow style and there are some very pretty ones. This is a record of weather and I don’t think it can be beat it certainly looks good to me. Note this is a government report. While the living is not much cheaper it is unnecessary to have heating fuel and warm clothes.

Another thing there are more fish in the bays rivers and lakes than you can shake a stick at and monsters too. It is surprising and such monsters. All kinds and color one with bars that looks like jailbird.

 It seems that Uncle Phil wrote to his French-born grandmother to ask about where his French ancestors were from. Here is the text of this 100-year old letter:

Private Philip H. Wenz 591547
Army Radio Section
Signal Corps No. 1
American Expeditionary Forces
A.P.O. 784

East Dedham Nov 6, 1918

Dear Philip I received your letter Nov 1 and was glad to get it. I am pleased you did not forget me, and am glad to hear that you are well. I do not know what to write to interest you. We are all well your Father and Mother were here yesterday and they are well. About my birthplace I do not know much about it as we left that place when I was about 2 years old and went to Haver (Le Havre) and left there to come here when I was 4 years old so you can see I do now know any one ther ebut the place I was born in Benfeld District of Schlestadt Department of the Lower Rhine. My father name was Francis Joseph Drach and my mother was Mary Louisa Selth before marriage. Father was born in Huttenheim canton of Benfelden Department of Bas Rhine and my mother was born in the same place I was. Your Grandfather Vautrinot was born in Leevers (Liepvre) in the department of High Rhine the place is about 2 miles from St. Marie aux Mines which is the boundary line and passes through the Voges mountains. Of course I do not know if any of our people are living now you might try if you get there I know that your Grandfather had uncles in the Crimean war and I think their names was Munier on his mothers side. There was 3 of them, your Grandfather. Father was in the Algiers and servied in the Light Infantry 22(?) Regement of the line he went through a good many battles with the arabs, and my father served in the second regiment Cuirassiers from 1832 to 1838. At the time he was born it belonged to the French, and in Franco-Prussian war it was surrendered to Germany. that is all I know I hope you will understand what I have written I am not much of a letter writer. I am well and so is Mary she sends her love and I hope you will be home soon and that I shall be spared to see you. Perry (Collins) has gone to the service that makes 5 grandsons I have in the army now. Take good care of yourself and see all you can. God Bless you and bring you home safe is my wish. Your loving Grandma. Write when you can I know it is hard in the front to have time to write good by.

There is no descriptive text with the photograph, but I believe that this is Uncle Phil's American Legion Post from Dedham, Massachusetts. Phil would be in the back row, just to the right of the American flag with his cap at a jaunty angle.

At the end of World War I, Phil was somewhere in France and his older brother Lt. Ned Wenz was in the United States Navy somewhere in the British Isles. I sure do wish there were photos from this reunion!

 Apparently Phil became a temporary journalist, chronicling their visit to France in 1937. I don't have all of the articles. I guess that's a project for my next visit home!

War ration books for the family: Philip, his wife Mary Catherine (O'Rourke) and their adopted daughter, also Mary Catherine. It was their daughter Mary whose passing provided us with this "hoard" of family history.

Uncle Phil's photo album

When ancestry.com first came online, I searched first through my brickwall line, the Wenz family of NY, NJ, MA and Germany. I found a Philip Henry Wenz on a passenger list, but in 1937. The date of our first Philip’s crossing has yet to be determined, and he passed away in 1907. When I mentioned it to my Mom, she knew all about it. Her Uncle Phil, the first Philip’s grandson and third namesake, had served with the U.S. Army in World War I. In 1937, he was invited as part of the American Legion to visit France as guests of that nation.

When Phil’s only daughter Mary, my mother’s first cousin, passed away, my mother had the task of cleaning out the house. Well, the Wenzes have been known to be keepers, so there were many items of historical value that came to me, including telegrams from WWI, a ration book from WWII, and a large and old photo album with “France” on the cover. It seemed very fragile and very old, but looked fascinating, full of photographs of the journey and events. Almost every photograph had a caption, and the captions included names of his friends. I wanted to scan it, but I was afraid of what damage I would inflict on it if I either took it apart or tried to scan it without taking it apart.

But after conferring with some folks whom I consider experts in the field, I felt more confident about taking it apart to scan on a flatbed scanner. It took a couple of hours, and I had to be systematic about it, but I finished! Glad I could get it done. The quality wasn’t as good as I would have liked, but at least it’s in a format that can be shared with both family and hopefully, descendants of the other folks in the pictures.

"Welcome at Versailles by French War Veterans at the Gate of Honor"

As I waited for each photo to scan, which took a few seconds since I scanned them at a higher d.p.i, I looked at the next one. As I saw the photographs of the war cemeteries and thought about what would be coming in just two years, I felt such heartbreak. As a species, we certainly don’t learn our lessons.

"Lafayette Escadrille Monument dedicated to the Americans who were killed while serving in that unit of aviation. Under this edifice is a long curved chamber containing marble caskets in which are interred those killed while flying and fighting for France. A beautiful monument."

"American Cemetery 5 miles from Paris at Suresnes. Star of David grave marker."

"Meuse-Argonne Cemetery near Romagne, France. Most of those buried here gave their lives during the Meuse-Argonne offensive, the greatest battle in American history."

"The immense field of white crosses arranged in long regular rows on the sloping hillside is a sight once seen will never be forgotten."

"Cemetery in foreground contains 150,000 graves of French soldiers! Over one million men were killed in this section, all unidentified bones were placed in marble caskets now resting in this monument."

"Figure illustrating silence to be so close to a million relics of a million who died in needless warfare compels vocal silence but impels the heart wrung cry of God have mercy!"

"Marshal Petain decorating Dan Doherty with 'Legion of Honor' emblem."

"Grave of American Red Cross Nurse Grace Malloch, Ecrouves Cemetery." 

I don't know if he knew her, but she was from the Boston area.

"Slumming on Queen Mary. Wenz, Jackson, Goretsky"

"The Jacksons - Goretskys - Wenzes"