2023 LEISZ FAMILY REUNION IN TURTLE LAKE, WISCONSIN—A BIG SUCCESS!
2002 Leisz Family Reunion
EXPLORE PHOTO GALLERY BELOW
CLICK ON ANY OF THE PHOTOS BELOW TO BEGIN VIEWING THE PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE 2002 LEISZ FAMILY REUNION IN TURTLE LAKE. THESE IMAGES ARE PAGES FROM A SCRAPBOOK THAT CO-PLANNER DENISE LEISZ CREATED AFTER THE REUNION. ENJOY!
Photo Gallery
MARY MIELKE, LEFT AT CENTER. MARY IS THE GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER OF LEISZ BROTHER LEOPOLD.
Words of love from a descendant
"Monday, the day after the reunion ended, I returned to St. Ann's Cemetery.
I had flowers to put on my grandparents' graves and wanted to take a few minutes to walk through the cemetery, something I had done many times in the past with my mother.
This time, however, it was different.
I walked from headstone to headstone, locating Leisz family members who were buried there.
I paused when I came to a small heastone. The letters were worn and barely legible. It read 'Mary Leisz: Born June 16, 1840; Died July 31, 1918.' As I stood at my great-great grandmother's grave, I marveled at the strength and courage she had 109 years ago when she left her home with five of her six sons to begin a new life in a new country.
I located the graves for John, Leopold, Mary Minnichsoffer, Frank, Anton and Michael. I located the graves of their children and their children's children.
I stood in the quiet that the cemetery offered and felt a closeness with family that I have not felt before.
I realized how strong the Leisz family ties were. This family came to America from Europe. Some traveled together, some traveled later, but they all settled in the same community.
They lived and died together. They are buried together. They are the bond that brought over 100 of us together the first weekend of August 2002—to celebrate family."
Pat Humphries sings Phil Ochs
"Hands"
©1972 Phil Ochs Estate
I've seen the hands of the laborer lifting all the loads.
Granite stuck to their fingers as they built the canals and the roads.
Now they're cleared and the bridges span,
Rivers paused by a power dam
And now, the hand of the laborer is reaching out to you.
Chorus: Oh, the hands, hands, hands
That work to build the land, land, your land.
The labor of the woman and the man
Working with their hands.
I've seen the hands of the miner digging out the coal.
Black dust stuck to their fingers as they lived their lives in a hole.
Now the rock it's still under the ground and the mine is closing down.
And now, the hand of the miner is reaching out to you.
Chorus
I've seen the hands of the lumberjack, forests swaying in the breeze.
Splinters stuck to their fingers as the lumber was torn from the trees.
Now the wood from your timbers tall has built your buildings from wall to wall.
And now, the hand of the lumberjack is reaching out to you.
Chorus
I've seen the hands of the farmers plowing across the field.
Topsoil stuck to their fingers as the earth was split by the steel.
Growing all that they could grow to fill your tables row after row.
And now, the hand of the farmer is reaching out to you.
Chorus