Re: shantz family from Hagerstown, Maryland
-
In reply to:
shantz family from Hagerstown, Maryland
Donald Shantz 2/21/04
Dear Donald Shantz: I am part of the Alaska Shantz family. My father was Donald Fred Shantz. He was a brother to your father, Richard, known to us as Dick. My father was in the US Army, but never made General.He retired at Lt. Colonel; it was a good career.When he died on August 18, 1994 we called a few Shantz's listed in Hagerstown but those we called didn't know him or the family. Surprisingly, however, a few days later his sister Gloria Carbaugh called. She had gotten a message about our call through someone who knew someone who knew someone.We were so grateful and had a real nice visit. I have regretted that I didn't keep in touch with her after that phone call. I hope you are still monitoring this site, Donald. I see your postings were in February and March 2004 so some time has passed. Funny that my google search last summer (2006)for Shantz Maryland didn't get me to your posting while today it did! I just hope you are still interested and checking. You can't know how familiar the names you listed are to me. There were five children born to my parents, Donald and Christina, the Alaskan woman you mentioned. Michael was born in 1951, myself in 1953, Mark in 1957, Donna in 1963 and Staci in 1965. In June 1967 our family visited Maryland. Dad had been in school in Ft. Benning, Georgia from December to June of that year and taken us with him. We were driving back to Alaska when we went to visit with his family. We met his mother, who we knew as Mamie. She was married to a man she called Pappy; Earl had died by then. We found them in a little town in West Virginia (Lee something, I think). They were living on some kind of little farm, the house had a hand pump for water as I recall and was too small to sleep the 7 of us! I remember visiting Gloria and Charles Carbaugh and meeting their children who we were so happy to find out were about our age (teens, anyway). I remember Charles Junior, Sandy and Clancy. We kids went to a county fair or carnival one night and the ferris wheel lights are etched in my memory along with driving on some dark country roads to get there and back. We visited Helen and Floppy; he was pretty sick by then. I don't remember children or cousins there; did they have kids? We also paid a visit to Paul and Mary. I bet we were in Hagerstown for just 2 or 3 days. I don't remember meeting up with your dad on that trip.I never knew he had children either.Are you an only child? It sure seems that you were named after my dad. What I'd heard about your dad was he'd come back from World War II way different than when he'd gone in; I think what's now called post traumatic stress syndrome might apply to him. I might have it all wrong and I apologize if that's the case. Anyway, I did see Dick in 1972 when I went to see Grandma (Mamie). She was living on Washington Street I think in a small apartment. I stayed one or two nights with her and your dad stopped by but it seems like he didn't come all the way in. During my growing up years there were a few letters from Mamie and some Christmas cards from Gloria, Paul and Mary and for awhile Helen and Floppy. I was always curious about the family. None of them, my dad included, were good about staying in touch and of course with him living so far away that was a pretty big obstacle, too. I had sort of become resigned to not knowing his side of the family so it's a happy surprise to have found your posting. My dad claimed his background was a little polack and the rest a "heinz 57" mix, which just never satisfied me. I always wanted to know if the Shantz name was German or what and I don't know that he knew (again "heinz 57"). I still don't know, do you? Last summer's googling found 13 Shantz's in an 1860 or 1880 census living in America at that time--all were from Ireland and all were located in Pennsylvania. So for the last year I've thought maybe we're Irish! It's an uncommon name. Except for dad's immediate family I've never met another Shantz. I'll write more after I know that you're still searching for family on this site. I hope you are! I want to know more.
More Replies:
-
Re: shantz family from Hagerstown, Maryland
Donald Shantz 8/01/06
-
Re: shantz family from Hagerstown, Maryland
Janet Kaiser 8/01/06
-
Re: shantz family from Hagerstown, Maryland
Donald Shantz 8/08/06
-
Re: shantz family from Hagerstown, Maryland
-
Re: shantz family from Hagerstown, Maryland