Friday, February 24, 2012
My Last Name Is Cegec
I'm friending 22 people on facebook with the last name of Cegec to find out about my relatives.
James Michael Cegec - Klarich
230 Ash St.
Oregon, Wisconsin 53575
U.S.A.
608 - 347 - 7792
Klarichjm@yahoo.com
To anyone that can help me,
I am trying to find out information about my grandfather Jacob Cegec and his wife Theresa who immigrated to the United States in the early 1900’s. His father, or my great grandfather was Michael Cegec. I am 65 years old and my father is deceased and was never able to tell me much about my relatives. His father. Jacob Cegec was killed in Milwaukee WI. In 1920 in an industrial accident when my dad was only three years old. His mother remarried a man by the name of Klarich and then his mother died when he was 16 years old. My dad’s step father had my dad’s last name changed from Cegec to Klarich in 1934 and my dad didn’t know that he could change it back when he left his step father a year later when he was 17.
My dad had a brother and sister that also died when he was a child and teenager and I was told that his parents had left some of their children behind in the old country and that they never made it to America. I believe that they were from Zagreb Yugoslavia or Austria but have no documentation as to when Jacob and Theresa came to America, what ship they came on or even the correct spelling of my grandmothers last or maiden name. I am looking for anyone with the same last name of Cegec to help me find more information on my Grandparents immigration to the U.S., any aunts or uncles or cousins or other relatives that I might still have in eastern Europe.
Great Grandfather Michael Cegec
Grandfather Jacob Cegec 05/01/1889 - 07-06-1934
Grandmother Theresa Estrajher 01-06-1881 - 10-17-1936
Thank you for your help in advance, it is greatly appreciated.
James Michael Cegec - Klarich
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Not Just Another VFW Funeral
I by no means want to sound like we don’t care about every funeral that we participate in as an honor guard. It’s called an honor guard because it honors the deceased person’s service to our country and we as part of the honor guard feel it is an honor for us to say thank you for your service to our country one last time.
The honor guard duty that will be done by my post, Post 20272, Oregon-McFarland-Brooklyn, will be especially meaningful to each of it’s members this Sunday and Monday because it will be for our Post Commander, Steve Lawrence. He was only 65 and his passing was completely unexpected. We will do a VFW Pass & Review Sunday evening at the funeral home and then do our three round volley firing at the gravesite on Monday. His wife will be presented with seven of the 21 shells fired and a commemorative coin representing his service in the Navy, to our country and our VFW Post.
I have only know Steve since I joined this post about a year ago, but he was a true example of someone who was proud of his service and was willing to help fellow vets in any way that he could. He was a past State of Wisconsin VFW Commander and just retired about a month ago as Wisconsin VFW Department Adjutant Quartermaster.
I felt a special camaraderie with him because he was my age, also in the Navy, was a Communications Technician, the same rate as me and also served in Vietnam. Our paths just never crossed until I moved to Oregon about 14 months ago. I did give him a hard time when I found out he was in 22 ½ years and never went to sea and I had only been in four years and clocked 80,000 nautical miles. I did have a lot of respect for him because he spent 18 months “in country” in Vietnam and I was always sitting, fairly safely, a mile off shore on board the Oklahoma City. He joined the Naval Reserve after his active duty where he stayed until he served for a total of 22 ½ years.
I had told him on a number of occasions how welcomed I felt by this post and him compared to other posts I had been in since coming back in 1970. I also told him how much I liked the people of Oregon and my church, St John’s Lutheran. He mentioned that he was a member and planned on becoming more active in church now that he had retired. Three weeks ago and the following week he was sitting in back of me and I was glad to see him there and to be able to share the sign of peace with him. The last time I saw him was on Tuesday, February 14th when our VFW Post presented the colors before the Oregon High School Hockey play off game. I helped him load the flags back into his car, told him to have a good week and that I’d see him latter. I didn’t see him in church this past Sunday, but not everyone goes every Sunday so I didn’t give it a second thought.
He passed away this past Tuesday morning some time before eight of us were doing honor guard for a 92 year old Oregon, WI., vet‘s funeral at our local cemetery. He had not volunteered to be with us that morning and I didn’t find out about his passing until I got a phone call later that evening. Once again this reminds me of my own mortality and that it’s time to get serious about the things I still want to do while I can do them. I always feel bad when it takes something like this to remind me of how precious and short life really is. I know he will be remembered for all of the good things he did for his fellow vets and that would be a great way for anyone to be remembered. Just my usual reminder to thank a vet for their service any time you get the opportunity to do so. I know all vets appreciate hearing those words.
The honor guard duty that will be done by my post, Post 20272, Oregon-McFarland-Brooklyn, will be especially meaningful to each of it’s members this Sunday and Monday because it will be for our Post Commander, Steve Lawrence. He was only 65 and his passing was completely unexpected. We will do a VFW Pass & Review Sunday evening at the funeral home and then do our three round volley firing at the gravesite on Monday. His wife will be presented with seven of the 21 shells fired and a commemorative coin representing his service in the Navy, to our country and our VFW Post.
I have only know Steve since I joined this post about a year ago, but he was a true example of someone who was proud of his service and was willing to help fellow vets in any way that he could. He was a past State of Wisconsin VFW Commander and just retired about a month ago as Wisconsin VFW Department Adjutant Quartermaster.
I felt a special camaraderie with him because he was my age, also in the Navy, was a Communications Technician, the same rate as me and also served in Vietnam. Our paths just never crossed until I moved to Oregon about 14 months ago. I did give him a hard time when I found out he was in 22 ½ years and never went to sea and I had only been in four years and clocked 80,000 nautical miles. I did have a lot of respect for him because he spent 18 months “in country” in Vietnam and I was always sitting, fairly safely, a mile off shore on board the Oklahoma City. He joined the Naval Reserve after his active duty where he stayed until he served for a total of 22 ½ years.
I had told him on a number of occasions how welcomed I felt by this post and him compared to other posts I had been in since coming back in 1970. I also told him how much I liked the people of Oregon and my church, St John’s Lutheran. He mentioned that he was a member and planned on becoming more active in church now that he had retired. Three weeks ago and the following week he was sitting in back of me and I was glad to see him there and to be able to share the sign of peace with him. The last time I saw him was on Tuesday, February 14th when our VFW Post presented the colors before the Oregon High School Hockey play off game. I helped him load the flags back into his car, told him to have a good week and that I’d see him latter. I didn’t see him in church this past Sunday, but not everyone goes every Sunday so I didn’t give it a second thought.
He passed away this past Tuesday morning some time before eight of us were doing honor guard for a 92 year old Oregon, WI., vet‘s funeral at our local cemetery. He had not volunteered to be with us that morning and I didn’t find out about his passing until I got a phone call later that evening. Once again this reminds me of my own mortality and that it’s time to get serious about the things I still want to do while I can do them. I always feel bad when it takes something like this to remind me of how precious and short life really is. I know he will be remembered for all of the good things he did for his fellow vets and that would be a great way for anyone to be remembered. Just my usual reminder to thank a vet for their service any time you get the opportunity to do so. I know all vets appreciate hearing those words.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Grandpas and Grandsons
At times I think my Grandson G tells better stories than I write and I know many that read this are probably saying, “well that wouldn’t be too hard.” He might even tell this one a little differently than I will. As a fiction writer I take the liberty to embellish and exaggerate and he tells stories with the imagination that only a five year old has. I think there is a writing gene and I think he’ll probably have it when he learns to write. I also have to admit that my embellishing also sometimes sneaks into my blogs.
Last Monday I had a bottom filling replaced just because my dentist thought it was getting old. No big deal. About the same time my grandson realized he had a loose bottom front tooth. We got to chatting about what a filling was and that I had not had a cleaning, dental x-ray or Novocain for fillings until I got in the Navy when I was 19 years old. It’s amazing, now that I know what I know, that my teeth are as good as they are. I tried to explain that with proper brushing, cleaning by the dentist during regular twice yearly check ups and fluoride treatments he may never have a filling or crown like grandpa.
No this is not the end of the story. Not yet! Late Friday afternoon I felt like I had something stuck between the new filling and the crown behind it. I went right to the floss that immediately got stuck. I pulled on the floss and the next thing I knew the crown was floating around in my mouth. I figured that the drilling a couple of days before on the tooth next to it or them pulling off the clamp around the filling had loosened up the crown. I called my dentist and she asked me to try to get through the weekend with ibuprofen and she would get me in on Monday.
We had been talking about the “Tooth Fairy” in anticipation of our grandson’s tooth coming out in the near future so when he saw my crown, in a plastic baggie, he asked if I was going to put it under my pillow. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try because I didn’t know if I could just have the original re-cemented or if I would have to get new one for $800. Needless to say the “Tooth Fairy” did not show up and there was nothing under my pillow. The good news is that my crown is securely re-cemented into my mouth and my dentist didn’t charge me for the visit or work. She agreed it might have been connected with the work she did a couple of days earlier.
I was the first one up this morning watching the Today Show, reading the paper and having my oatmeal when Grandson G came out to show me the very first tooth that he lost. I know he was a bit nervous about the whole thought of teeth falling out. I can’t blame him for not believing us that it really doesn’t hurt and that it happens to everyone and even happened to his dog when it was a puppy. It’s something he’s never experienced before so of course he was worried. I was happy to see that everything went well and that he now realizes that there is no reason to worry about loosing baby teeth.
I just wonder what the “Tooth Fairy” will put under his pillow and if the “Tooth Fairy” will remember that she missed me last night and maybe leave something for me tonight.
Last Monday I had a bottom filling replaced just because my dentist thought it was getting old. No big deal. About the same time my grandson realized he had a loose bottom front tooth. We got to chatting about what a filling was and that I had not had a cleaning, dental x-ray or Novocain for fillings until I got in the Navy when I was 19 years old. It’s amazing, now that I know what I know, that my teeth are as good as they are. I tried to explain that with proper brushing, cleaning by the dentist during regular twice yearly check ups and fluoride treatments he may never have a filling or crown like grandpa.
No this is not the end of the story. Not yet! Late Friday afternoon I felt like I had something stuck between the new filling and the crown behind it. I went right to the floss that immediately got stuck. I pulled on the floss and the next thing I knew the crown was floating around in my mouth. I figured that the drilling a couple of days before on the tooth next to it or them pulling off the clamp around the filling had loosened up the crown. I called my dentist and she asked me to try to get through the weekend with ibuprofen and she would get me in on Monday.
We had been talking about the “Tooth Fairy” in anticipation of our grandson’s tooth coming out in the near future so when he saw my crown, in a plastic baggie, he asked if I was going to put it under my pillow. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try because I didn’t know if I could just have the original re-cemented or if I would have to get new one for $800. Needless to say the “Tooth Fairy” did not show up and there was nothing under my pillow. The good news is that my crown is securely re-cemented into my mouth and my dentist didn’t charge me for the visit or work. She agreed it might have been connected with the work she did a couple of days earlier.
I was the first one up this morning watching the Today Show, reading the paper and having my oatmeal when Grandson G came out to show me the very first tooth that he lost. I know he was a bit nervous about the whole thought of teeth falling out. I can’t blame him for not believing us that it really doesn’t hurt and that it happens to everyone and even happened to his dog when it was a puppy. It’s something he’s never experienced before so of course he was worried. I was happy to see that everything went well and that he now realizes that there is no reason to worry about loosing baby teeth.
I just wonder what the “Tooth Fairy” will put under his pillow and if the “Tooth Fairy” will remember that she missed me last night and maybe leave something for me tonight.
Friday, January 20, 2012
A Taste From The Past
I have had a craving for my mother’s Sauerbraten for at least 10 years but I’ve been afraid to try making it even though I have her recipe. It has, however, followed the path of her German Potato Salad that she made for every special dinner or picnic that we ever had. Our Daughter has come the closest to making it taste the same. The reason is that she cooks like her Grandma Margie who had recipes written down, but also tasted as she cooked.
The other day while walking through the store I found the perfect chuck roast on sale and told everyone this would be on the menu for tonight. It marinated in vinegar, water, bay leaves, a whole cut up onion and 10 black pepper corns in the refrigerator for 48 hours. At 2:30 pm today I transferred the meat and marinade into a roasting pan and cooked it for two hours. I took it out and added 35 ginger snap cookies and a whole bottle of dark Karo syrup and put it back into the oven for another hour. I then removed the meat and tried to slice it up. It was so tender and done it just fell apart as I cut it. So far so good. The ginger snaps just dissolve so all that is left is liquid and onions, peppercorns and a bay leaf. This all gets put through a strainer and is the sauce or gravy, which gets put back into the roasting pan with the meat to warm through again while the dumplings simmer for 20 minutes.
German Potato dumplings. You either love them or hate them, even if you grew up with them. My son and I love them and wife calls them wall paper paste. It’s not her fault, she’s Danish. My son, wife and I agreed that I had done very good for the first try at sauerbraten and that I can make it again. I think we have a new convert to dumplings in my daughter-in-law. I’m almost sure my mother left something out of the recipe because my son and I agreed the gravy was too sour when we were putting it through the strainer so we added some brown sugar and it was almost perfect.
Sometimes you have to even read between the lines of recipes. Memories came flooding back with each bite of sauerbraten and dumplings that I ate. We usually had it only at Christmas and some special occasions. In this case I was able to go home again, if only through my taste buds, for a short time. Enough left over’s for another meal, probably on Sunday. I’ll just have to make some more potato dumplings because there was only one left. Guess those came out ok too.
Never be afraid to try something you haven’t done before, it might turn out better than you think.
The other day while walking through the store I found the perfect chuck roast on sale and told everyone this would be on the menu for tonight. It marinated in vinegar, water, bay leaves, a whole cut up onion and 10 black pepper corns in the refrigerator for 48 hours. At 2:30 pm today I transferred the meat and marinade into a roasting pan and cooked it for two hours. I took it out and added 35 ginger snap cookies and a whole bottle of dark Karo syrup and put it back into the oven for another hour. I then removed the meat and tried to slice it up. It was so tender and done it just fell apart as I cut it. So far so good. The ginger snaps just dissolve so all that is left is liquid and onions, peppercorns and a bay leaf. This all gets put through a strainer and is the sauce or gravy, which gets put back into the roasting pan with the meat to warm through again while the dumplings simmer for 20 minutes.
German Potato dumplings. You either love them or hate them, even if you grew up with them. My son and I love them and wife calls them wall paper paste. It’s not her fault, she’s Danish. My son, wife and I agreed that I had done very good for the first try at sauerbraten and that I can make it again. I think we have a new convert to dumplings in my daughter-in-law. I’m almost sure my mother left something out of the recipe because my son and I agreed the gravy was too sour when we were putting it through the strainer so we added some brown sugar and it was almost perfect.
Sometimes you have to even read between the lines of recipes. Memories came flooding back with each bite of sauerbraten and dumplings that I ate. We usually had it only at Christmas and some special occasions. In this case I was able to go home again, if only through my taste buds, for a short time. Enough left over’s for another meal, probably on Sunday. I’ll just have to make some more potato dumplings because there was only one left. Guess those came out ok too.
Never be afraid to try something you haven’t done before, it might turn out better than you think.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Twice In The Same Week
I really didn’t think it was possible to embarrass myself twice in the same week. Yes I did and yes it’s only Tuesday. Tuesday, January 17, 2012, my wife’s birthday. Her dinner request was to have “Taco Fest” at home. Our daughter-in-law has mastered the art of creating taco’s with everything you can think of with sides of chicken mole and home made guacamole. There are always adult beverages involved too. Beer and of course “Stinky Gringo Margareta’s.” Stay with me this is really headed somewhere.
I had to do honor guard for a funeral this afternoon, outside, temperature 20 degrees and wind blowing out of the north at 20 mph with real fine snow blowing. We also have one tomorrow with the same wind and temperature, but of course I said I’d do it again. Oscar, the coordinator and friend calls me on the phone when we have to do these. “Hi Jim, this is the Grim Reaper.” When he starts the conversation like that I know we’re going to do a funeral somewhere. He didn’t know the time for tomorrow so he said he’d call me tonight. I told him we were having a party for my wife tonight and would be home. He and the other guys were kidding that they were planning to show up. None of them did. A call came in about 6:30 pm and I didn’t look at the incoming number and answered, “party central“, just assuming it was “The Grim Reaper” to tell me where and when to show up tomorrow.
It was not the “Grim Reaper”. It was my 85 year old aunt wanting to tell me that she first got a birthday card in the mail for my wife today and that it would be late and to wish my wife a happy birthday. Now I had to explain the whole day so she wouldn’t think her nephew , who answered the phone, “Party Central”, was going nuts or worse yet had spent the whole day drinking. My aunt understood completely, I think. I really only had one beer with dinner and I didn’t stop at “The Main Tap” in town when we got done with the honor guard today to warm up.
Oh well! It could have been worse. It could have been someone from church on the phone. From now on I’m going to answer the phone, “hi, this is Jim” at least until I find out exactly who is on the other end. For those that read my blog yesterday, I let the other guys bend down to pick up the spent shell casings after we fired. I didn’t want a repeat of my holey Sunday. Any bets on how the rest of my week goes?
I had to do honor guard for a funeral this afternoon, outside, temperature 20 degrees and wind blowing out of the north at 20 mph with real fine snow blowing. We also have one tomorrow with the same wind and temperature, but of course I said I’d do it again. Oscar, the coordinator and friend calls me on the phone when we have to do these. “Hi Jim, this is the Grim Reaper.” When he starts the conversation like that I know we’re going to do a funeral somewhere. He didn’t know the time for tomorrow so he said he’d call me tonight. I told him we were having a party for my wife tonight and would be home. He and the other guys were kidding that they were planning to show up. None of them did. A call came in about 6:30 pm and I didn’t look at the incoming number and answered, “party central“, just assuming it was “The Grim Reaper” to tell me where and when to show up tomorrow.
It was not the “Grim Reaper”. It was my 85 year old aunt wanting to tell me that she first got a birthday card in the mail for my wife today and that it would be late and to wish my wife a happy birthday. Now I had to explain the whole day so she wouldn’t think her nephew , who answered the phone, “Party Central”, was going nuts or worse yet had spent the whole day drinking. My aunt understood completely, I think. I really only had one beer with dinner and I didn’t stop at “The Main Tap” in town when we got done with the honor guard today to warm up.
Oh well! It could have been worse. It could have been someone from church on the phone. From now on I’m going to answer the phone, “hi, this is Jim” at least until I find out exactly who is on the other end. For those that read my blog yesterday, I let the other guys bend down to pick up the spent shell casings after we fired. I didn’t want a repeat of my holey Sunday. Any bets on how the rest of my week goes?
Monday, January 16, 2012
Just One Of Those Days
Yesterday we stopped after church at our local grocery store for a couple of get well and birthday cards, a gallon of milk, some Chinese veggies and a roll of aluminum foil. My wife dropped the aluminum foil, and I, being the gentleman that I am, bent over to pick it up. You know what’s coming next. I heard the ripping sound that no one ever wants to hear when they bend over. Yes they did rip, all the way from the zipper to my belt in the back. I stood up and my wife assured me that as long as I moved slowly and didn’t bend over everything would be fine. Just another old guy shuffling down the isle to the check out. Now these were a pair of black dress pants that were not that old and I’m not that fat. Matter of fact I’m one of those guys without a butt. Everything was fine until we walked out the door and realized that there was a wind blowing. I must have looked pretty funny trying to get to the car holding the gallon of milk behind myself trying to hide the rip in the back of my pants. I still can’t figure out how it happened, but I got picked on relentlessly at home for the rest of the day and even today. It started out with did you get holy at church today? Take my word for it that it went down hill from there.
I think the teasing is over and I never did like that pair of pants anyway. After the first time I wore them I realized they were part wool and itched when ever I was some place where it was room temperature. This is finally a good excuse to get rid of them. Unfortunately I have a pair of blue pants that are identical. I even had a suggestion that I should acquire some black underwear for when I wear dress pants.
I have only done this once before and it was at the foul line while league bowling when I was in my mid to late 20’s. Luckily a waitress had some safety pins that sort of got me through the night. I remember the guys at the bowling alley giving me such a hard time that I left immediately after I was done. I think I got ribbing from every team we bowled against for the rest of that season.
Now that you have had a good laugh on me, think back, has this ever happened to you? My wife remembered that this had happened to one of her fellow teachers in Cedarburg and that he tried to use a paper stapler to make a temporary fix. Wonder how well that worked? Well, I guess we just have to learn to laugh at ourselves, hope no one saw us and that if they did, that the picture will not keep them awake at night.
I think the teasing is over and I never did like that pair of pants anyway. After the first time I wore them I realized they were part wool and itched when ever I was some place where it was room temperature. This is finally a good excuse to get rid of them. Unfortunately I have a pair of blue pants that are identical. I even had a suggestion that I should acquire some black underwear for when I wear dress pants.
I have only done this once before and it was at the foul line while league bowling when I was in my mid to late 20’s. Luckily a waitress had some safety pins that sort of got me through the night. I remember the guys at the bowling alley giving me such a hard time that I left immediately after I was done. I think I got ribbing from every team we bowled against for the rest of that season.
Now that you have had a good laugh on me, think back, has this ever happened to you? My wife remembered that this had happened to one of her fellow teachers in Cedarburg and that he tried to use a paper stapler to make a temporary fix. Wonder how well that worked? Well, I guess we just have to learn to laugh at ourselves, hope no one saw us and that if they did, that the picture will not keep them awake at night.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Reconnecting
It is never to late to reconnect with people we have known in the past. It sometimes happens by accident as it did for me yesterday. I saw an email address I thought might be for my high school track coach. For some reason I felt compelled to send him an email wondering if he was my coach H and if he remembered me after 47 years. I just wanted him to know that he was a very positive influence on at least one student during his teaching/coaching career. As a senior in High School I probably didn’t feel comfortable telling him how much he meant to me and what a great coach I thought he was. I’m glad that I finally got the chance to do that.
He emailed back last night, even though he was only hours away from leaving for a vacation in Hawaii, to let me know that he did indeed remember me, that my email meant a lot to him and that he would like to reconnect with me when he returned. If there is someone in your life that meant a lot to you or made a difference in your life take a minute to send them a note or call them. It can mean more to them then you will ever know.
He emailed back last night, even though he was only hours away from leaving for a vacation in Hawaii, to let me know that he did indeed remember me, that my email meant a lot to him and that he would like to reconnect with me when he returned. If there is someone in your life that meant a lot to you or made a difference in your life take a minute to send them a note or call them. It can mean more to them then you will ever know.
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