A close-up and personal look at Switzerland
This is a small slice of the story of an American immigrant, Henry. He was born in 1839 near Zurich in Switzerland. I want to tell you a little bit about Henry and his life in the United States around… Read moreA Point in time – 1860s when Genealogy meets the Civil War
November 24, 1972 was the day that Mani Matter died. But let me start at the beginning. Who exactly was Mani Matter and what did he do? If you’re Swiss, then of course you have heard of the man. You… Read moreA Point in Time: 1972 – Mani Matter
August 1st , Swiss National Day (similar to July 4th in the States), is approaching fast, so no better way to celebrate than by adding to your knowledge of Swiss history and the birth and forming of the nation a… Read moreA Point in Time: 1802 The War of Sticks
Between 1429 and 1731 Switzerland put a total of around 10,000 men and women on trial for witchcraft. About 60% of them were executed, usually burnt at the stake. A sad set of numbers. In 1782 Anna Göldin was the… Read moreA Point in Time – 1782 – Anna Göldin
Toilet paper was touted in 1857 as ‘The greatest necessity of the age!’ Looking at the empty grocery store shelves in times of the Coronavirus pandemic it’s probably true. History Without going into the dirty details, the first documented use… Read moreA Point in Time – 1857 – Toilet Paper
I apologize in advance. At the moment all you hear on the news is Corona, Corona, Corona. Still, there is no better time to take a look at a past influenza pandemic than now. What exactly happened about 100 years… Read moreA Point in Time – The Spanish Flu – 1918
“If that happens then I can call myself ‘von’”. I’ve heard many people make such exclamations. That means that you’d be somebody, somebody important or as they say in Swiss German you’d be “more better”. To be sure, the Bernese… Read moreA Point in Time: 1980 – Madame de Meuron
Some days the weather does strange things and doesn’t play by the rules. One day, a couple of months ago when I got up and looked outside, it was foggy. So? That can happen, like in the Fall. But wait,… Read moreA Point in Time: 1816, The Year Without a Summer
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