This Week's Article From the Beech Grove

Gravestone of Mark and Mary Hagenbuch 0

Mark, Mark, and Mark

Most of us find it curious when we run across someone who has the same name that we have, especially if our last name is Hagenbuch and our first name isn’t commonly used. I...

Bessie (Robbins) Sechler Remedy Detail 2

Home Remedies

Recently my father, Mark Hagenbuch, handed me a recipe book once owned by Bessie Mae (Robbins) Sechler (b. 1888, d. 1973). It was previously in the possession of Harold Sechler (b. 1923), who is...

Cromis and Sechler Family Members, 1936 5

New Year’s “Back in the Day”

New Year’s Day is celebrated in many ways. In our family on the Montour County farm, it was a day of traditional foods: pork and sauerkraut accompanied by fresh baked bread smothered in butter...

Holiday Baking Detail 2

Holiday Baking, A Family Tradition

Every year, as we approach Christmas and New Years, many families prepare for the time-honored tradition of holiday baking. Looking back, I can fondly remember platters stacked with pressed cookies, powdered snowballs, and sugar...

Baby Christmas Card 5

Christmas Babies

People born on holidays often see it as a double edged sword. Some of the holiday-born believe that the festivities take away from their birthday celebration. Others believe the holiday enhances their own personal...

Tintype of Women Playing Cards Detail 3

Oh, The People We Don’t Know! Part 2

The Hagenbuch Family Archives have a large number of unidentified photos, and many of these could be featured in future articles. Numerous ones are portraits—people with identities lost to time. Some are interesting to...

Christian and Susanna Hagenbuch Gravestones 1

Exploring Christian Hagenbuch’s Family

Some of our Hagenbuch ancestors have left us with more mysteries than others. Christian Hagenbuch (b. 1747, d. 1812) is one of these individuals. When I first began working with my father, Mark Hagenbuch,...

Haag Hotel Waiter 1900 Detail 0

Oh, The People We Don’t Know! Part 1

Three large collections of photos are in the Hagenbuch photo archives. The largest collection is, of course, the photos that are of people descended from my great great grandparents, William and Rebecca (Muffley) Hagenbuch....