The Renners', circa 1924.  My mother, Anneliese, is standing next to big brother Hans.  My Opa, Wilhem (my namesake) and Oma, Katherine (my daughter Katie's namesake) are smartly dressed for a Sunday stroll in town.  If you haven't guessed by the names, my mother's side of the family is German.  My mother was born, and grew up in the beautiful city of Nüremberg, where my Opa (grandfather) was a Director of Sports Programs for the city.  When we came to France, in 1955, my mother and I lived with Oma and Opa for several months while we waited for housing to become available at the Air Force base.  Opa was retired then, but was the Athletic Director at a sports club, and lived there on the grounds.  They had baseball, soccer, and track fields, a swimming pool, and naturally, a beer garden.  I slept in a feather bed, with down quilts and pillows . . had the run of the club, and the companionship of an old German Shepard dog named "Lassie".  I still have quite vivid memories of those months, and of all the pampering and spoiling I received from my grandparents.  I remember my Oma, and the smells of cooking in her kitchen; roast pork, potato balls, potato salad, and the stack of beer kegs behind the club.  There was a peanut dispenser in the club . . and I bet I ate 30 pounds of peanuts in those months . . There were sporting events going on almost every evening, and my Opa would prepare the fields, do the linemarking, and then either coach a team, or be a Referee, and I remember being impressed seeing him in his ref uniform, with his whistle.  During that time, I started to learn to speak German, and after a short time, I was able to talk enough to get a Coca Cola from the bartender in the club, or confuse the dickens out of the German kids who came to events there.  Those days are some of my most treasured memories, a very special time for me.

This page is best viewed with a sense of Nostalgia.

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