The summer of 1978, when Leif was three-and-a-half years old, we moved from the Kalb Army Housing Area to a brand new house in the German village of Sachsen bei Ansbach. It was built by one of the village residents, Hans Volland, and we moved in when it wasn't quite finished. Herr Volland had added many lovely details, from a Rococco ceiling in the living room to a marble entryway and stairwell. My mother said that the house looked like "a little cracker box" from the outside, but it was very spacious and beautiful on the inside. It was a terrific place to live, and a great improvement over the apartment we lived in in Fuerth. We had seven plum and two apple trees in the yard, a stone patio, and space for a lovely flower garden.
The house was in a new area of the village on top of a hill with a great view of the valley and surrounding towns. Leif loved climbing the trees. We also enjoyed hiking in the woods, picking berries there, skiing down the hill, and so much more. Peter A. and Leif went to the local German schools; Leif in the kindergarten where he loved his teacher, Frau Buhr.
During the two years we lived there, we traveled to many places in Germany and Italy, and enjoyed visits from my sister, Lannay, our friends the Fackrells, and Peter W's German cousin Wolfgang and his family.
These photos don't really do the house justice, since it looks rather bare, but you can't see the trees around it, or the front yard. They are:
1. Leif on the bulldozer which was in the driveway to construct it when we moved in late summer of 1978.
2. The front of Am Romer 9, Sachsen bei Ansbach, with our 1973 Ford Pinto, August 1978.
3. The front of Am Romer 9 showing the driveway down into the garage under the house, 1978.
4. Jerri's flower garden in the back yard at Am Roemer 9, Sachsen bei Ansbach, August 1979.
5. Peter W., Peter A. and Leif hiking in the snow in the Sachsen woods in January 1979. Leif was four years old.
6. Leif at Sachsen Kindergarten, December 6, 1978.
Posts
Loved the shots as well as the story. Lived in the same town with my mom who worked for DOD schools. She was a principal of the Ansbach schools from maybe 83 to 86. We first stayed at the Haus grunwald then moved into a private home that looked similar, sure it wasnt the same but the story strook a cord. I have lived in Japan for the last 25 years. Sorry for your lose. James Ashley.
ReplyDelete