my parents\' story

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1 9 5 9 J U L Y 2 0 0 9 G EIGER Family z Every Excuse to Fail z Born in Bavaria during the reign of the 3rd Reich both Frank and Erna lost family members and the stability usually needed to build character and resilient adults. AS A CHILD ERNA ENDURED 206 BOMBINGS FRANK & ERNA--50 YEARS TOGETHER She remembers returning to the pile of rubble that had once been her home and feeling the bitterness of seeing her tricycle mangled and burned hanging from some plumbing protruding from the wreckage. On another occasion the bomb hit the house where she was staying while she was using the bathroom. After the explosion she could not open the door. When others came to rescue her by breaking the door down she saw that the rest of the house was missing--obliterated by the bomb. Where many children have memories filled with chocolate chip cookies and vacations to Yosemite Frank’s and Erna’s are very different. They had every excuse to fail yet they chose to be thankful for the kind people that helped them and to seek and share all the joy they could find in difficult times. Los Vegas This city is not known as a good place to build a lasting marriage yet it was here fifity years ago that Frank Geiger and Erna Broderek exchanged wedding vows in one of those “assembly-line” wedding chapels.. “It’s not the place that counts,” Frank says, “It’s the integrity of the people willing to do what it takes to honor their vows!” the

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Page 1: My Parents\' Story

1 9 5 9 J U L Y 2 0 0 9

GEIGER Familyz Every Excuse to Fail z

Born in Bavaria during the reign of the 3rd Reich both Frank and Erna lost family members and the stability usually needed to build character and resilient adults.

AS A CHILD ERNA ENDURED 206 BOMBINGS

F R A N K & E R N A - - 5 0 Y E A R S T O G E T H E R

She remembers returning to the pile of rubble that had once been her home and feeling the bitterness of seeing her tricycle

mangled and burned hanging from some plumbing protruding from the wreckage. On another occasion the bomb hit the house where she was staying while she was using the bathroom. After the explosion she could not open the door. When others came to rescue her by breaking the door down she

saw that the rest of the house was missing--obliterated by the bomb. Where many children have memories filled with

chocolate chip cookies and vacations to Yosemite Frank’s and Erna’s are very different. They had every excuse to fail yet they

chose to be thankful for the kind people that helped them and to seek and share all the joy they could find in difficult times.

Los VegasThis city is not known as a good place to build a lasting marriage yet it was here fifity years ago that Frank Geiger and Erna Broderek exchanged wedding vows in one of those “assembly-line” wedding chapels..

“It’s not the place that counts,” Frank says, “It’s the integrity of the people willing to do what it takes to honor their vows!”

the

Page 2: My Parents\' Story

More Reasons To Succeed Initiative Frank was told someone would meet him at the dock when his ship came into New York. He had the address of a great aunt that lived in Miami, Florida, but had little concept of how far away that was. After waiting for hours on the dock Frank decided to go to Florida so took a cab to the Greyhound bus station and purchased a ticket to Miami. He arrived in Miami in the wee hours of the morning so used his remaining money to take a cab to the address he had been given. He found a grand old Southern style house with the large veranda holding piles of newspapers. He made a bed among the news papers. Daylight came and Frank slept on until voices--some in German, some in English--expressing wonderment at who this was. As his sleepy mind struggled to figure out where he was he heard someone say, “It must be him--there’s his suitcase, but HOW did he get here?” That initiative served Frank and later his family well.

Industry Frank had apprenticed as a baker in Germany so soon went to work making Ger-man pastries in a local bakery at $1.25 per hour. The owner of the bakery noticed that his business was growing. In particular one young lady came in every afternoon to purchase the Chocolate Eclairs Frank had baked that morning. Finally the manager asked the steady customer, “How can you eat so many of these?” She replied, “They aren’t all for me, I have a girlfriend here from Germany and she loves them and shares them.” Well the manager replied, “Our young baker that makes them is from Germany also--maybe you should bring your friend by to meet him.” But that is not “the rest of the story.” Erna also possessed and displayed initiative and industry.

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Page 3: My Parents\' Story

The Geiger Counters Over the years the family has grown to include four children and seven grandsons and the challenges have changed--changed from “child-bearing” to “child-rearing” to “how do you pay for college tuition?” to “how do you survive financially when a corporate merger cuts a vice-president’s position?” to “how do you survive cancer or a quadruple by pass surgery?” to “will our daughter come home safely from Iraq?” to “how will I ever survive without my life-long partner?” The challenges change but the answers have remained the same, Initiative, Industry and Integrity. Only now a new dimension has been added: Implicit trust in the Almighty. The things that really count with the Geigers are Family, Faith and Fun finding the joy in living even in tough times.

These are the reasons the marriage and the family thrive!

Page 4: My Parents\' Story

Initiative Integrity & Industry “My mother was changed by the trauma of the war and later an abusive marriage.” Erna said. “She had left me in the care of others and fled to America. Years later when I could join her here I could see immediately that she was not the mother I had known in childhood. She became very protective and would not let me take a job.” Erna saw a help wanted ad for someone to be a companion and driver for an elderly couple from Canonsberg, Pennsylvania. She knew it would require tact and skill to get her mother’s consent so she called the couple explaining that she would like the job but needed her mother’s permission. “Would you come meet my mother to convince her I would be safe working for you?” Erna asked. The couple agreed and after an extensive interview permission was granted. For two and a half years Erna lived and worked with the Pennsylvania couple who were snow birds--spending about six months in Florida every winter. In the winter of 1958 Erna discovered the delicious German Chocolate Eclairs. By February 1959 she met their German baker.

Integrity Frank’s work and wages were a barrier to social life. Erna and her girlfriend invited Frank to go places with them but Frank was unwilling to go unless he could pick up the tab. “I will never let others pay my way, especially my date.” Frank said emphatically, “If I can’t pay, I can stay.” Soon Spring took Erna back to Pennsylvania and Frank’s initiative, industry and integrity generated an invitation to help open the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas. Erna went to visit him there. As she left Frank said, “The next time you come out we will get married.” Frank called Erna’s mother to ask permission. The reply was short and curt--NO. But the elderly cou-ple for whom Erna worked gave their blessing and a friendly warn-ing, “Treat her well or we’ll come after you. We know where you live.” That’s how Erna and Frank found their way to the wedding chapel in Las Vegas July 9, 1959

Continued from page 2