" One who lets slip by the opportunity to serve another
misses one of the richest experiences life has to offer."
                                           Pali Text

[Ed. Note: This is an edited e-mail from me to Peter Gaul. I share it with our family members to facilitate an understanding of some of the wishes we share for the preservation and appreciation of the history of our family.]

To Peter Gaul:

As I have shared with many others, my motivation for creating the gaulnews.com is my effort to thank you for all you have done and to  attempt, in my own feeble and limited way, to continue the wonderful  tradition you started in sharing the news of our family.

By the way, the emphasis upon Luxembourg, which is obviously a heritage that we can be very proud of, stems from the fact that no one in the Earling-Dennison-Harlan area of Iowa exhibits or displays any recognition of a connection to this country. I am not certain that many of our relatives are even aware of their past. However, if you travel just a few miles south, you find Danish flags everywhere. There are Danish gift shops, Danish restaurants, a Danish Museum, Danish Heritage Center, streets lined (literally lined) with Danish flags, etc. etc. Which is fine. I am proud of them too.

But what about the beautiful, colorful little country, with a relatively unknown history, called Luxembourg. There is not even one flag flying. Not one. Not anywhere! And I have to ask myself, why? Why can we, who are the decendants of this marvelous country, that FEW of the Gauls really know anything about, why can we not promote a knowledge of our heritage and do it with pride. [the Danes do!] Why is there not even one flag flying. Why is there not a Luxembourg Museum located in this area. What of a restaurant with a menu that features the food of Luxembourg. Do you know what cuisine is offered there? I don't! I know so little, that it is embarrassing. Which is one reason I have added three convenient links on the front page of gaulnews.com. These are to the fabulous National Museum of Military History, founded and directed by one of our family members, Roland Gaul, radio Luxembourg (some of our family members didn't even know they had a radio station, readily available on the world wide web) and a link directly to the Grand Duchy Luxembourg. These are fabulous resources if you are interested in this country.

Prior to his death, I suggested that my Uncle, Tony Gaul, donate his property for the purpose of establishing a museum to honor our heritage. He listened carefully to the idea, but nothing ever happened. I think he really liked the idea, but at his age, and in his condition,  it was to much to contemplate. But I still think a museum should be pursued. Even a modest one would educate and inspire generations to come. And I think the Gauls would support it - once someone seriously started an initiative to put the idea into motion.

Did you realize how much of the history, the color and beauty of the many families that came across the ocean is being lost over time. Many of the artifacts, photos and treasured memories that could be recorded, are quickly disappearing as even the generation of my Aunts and Uncles is passing away. Once the heirlooms, letters, photographs, toys, furniture, recorded history, etc. are passed into the convenient receptacles of trash cans and antique shops, they are gone forever.

The fear of this tragic loss, of the precious connection with our past, is why I have emphasized the country of our heritage on this family website. You are the dedicated pioneer that thought enough of us to collect, care for and disseminate our history.

And you know what - everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, appreciates that more than you will ever know. I have spoken with and corresponded with so many people who mention the tireless efforts of Peter Gaul and Dewie Gaul and what they have done for us. They are grateful and I am grateful. No one that mentions gaulnews.com forgets to remember you. You are much loved for your efforts.

I truly look forward to hearing from you. And THANK YOU again, on behalf of everyone. We truly appreciate and love you.

Bill

" We cannot live only for ourselves.
A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men;
and along these fibers, as sympathetic threads,
our actions run as causes,
and they come back as effects. "
                                           Herman Melville

" Sooner or later
we all quote our mothers. "
           Bern Williams

4-26-07

Dear Virgil,

Again, thanks for another great e-mail. This technology is just fantastic. There is no reason why our family members cannot be in constant contact to share our news, beliefs, philosophy, great humor and, most importantly, our love for one another.

My son, Alex, and I are endeavoring to make it even easier to communicate with one another through the gaulnews.com by having what I call the, "family communicator". It would provide instant e-mail to members of the family by allowing us to simply click on a name and send an e-mail. We have not been able to work out all the details as yet (to prevent others from having access to e-mail addresses) but Alex assures me that we will in the near future.

My idea is to provide the name and location (city & state) along with a brief bio so that everyone can get a feel for the person that is listed. Alex is so busy with college, work and other things presently that it looks like we will need the summer to finish this project.

I am assuming that you grant permission for me to post your e-mails on our family website, gaulnews.com. If you need for me to withhold any items, please inform me as you send information.
 

The photo with now President George Bush can be found at: www.andersonschool.net. Click on ABOUT THE SCHOOL then click on ADMISSION PROCEDURE. Next, scroll down to the second photograph appearing lower down on the admission procedure. I selected this location for the photo to increase readership. This page is looked at by almost all people making an inquiry. Naturally, we are very proud of our time spent with the Governor. Good luck in locating the photo. If you need more assistance I will call George and reschedule the photo op. OK, maybe I can't. Strange how a promotion makes you less accessible.

Please keep us informed of any more news. And "thanks again". It was truly a pleasure to hear from you.

Bill

Ed. Note (from Alexander Anderson):

To view PDF documents you must have adobe reader installed on your computer. You may download it by clicking here. After it has finished downloading, simply click on the file that you have downloaded and follow the instructions for installing it.

" The thing that impresses me the most about America
is the way parents obey their children. "
                                          King Edward VIII

4-25-07

WHAT A RELIEF!!!!  I have copied Joe St. Hilaire on this, because when I 
had forwarded your reply to Larry to Joe, he got the same
impression that I was afraid I had.  I can appreciate the problem,
because I don't know where our Iowa farmers stand politically, either.

All I know is that they are a great group.  I just went to Larry's brother-in-law's 
funeral services here in Albuquerque.  He was Larry 's twin sis's
husband and had been vice-principal of Pius X High School here for a 
number of years.  

I will be sending your kind note to some of Joe's brothers and sisters, and Joe, 
so they can be brought up to date on your school site.  This 
system of mine is kind of a Mickey Mouse one, so I haven't yet found the 
picture of Bush, etc., but Joe and his gang are more computer literate,
so they'll do better than I have so far. I'll go back and work it out.  We don't
have to worry about your computer literacy.
   
If the previous attachment doesn't come thru again,....... not to worry.  I was 
just ragging the local drive by news about burrying favorable news and 
highlighting other, Page 1 versus Page 10, as usual.

Hasta!, for now.  (That is an exclamation mark rather than an l, but
you can expect any such from my typing.)

Have a great day (or evening)!!!   

Virg

" Until a child can meet reality, he must live in fantasy.
But he must create his own fantasy.
And it is television's primary damage
that it provides ten million children
with the same fantasy,
ready-made and on a platter."
                                                  Marya Mannes

4-25-07

Dear Bill,

I was a bit handicapped in reviewing your terrific site, because I don't have the PDF Format available.  But what a pleasure it was to review the beautiful institution you have built.

Not that I, or they, could afford what appears to be a great bargain, all considered, but I feel badly that the grand children are all in high school now. I presume, however, that all of your students are day students, because I find no listing of B & R charges.

I will be forwarding your note to my four living children for various reasons, and I'm sure that they will go ga ga over your ideal format.  I had noted that my daughter-in-law was an attorney in San Antonio, but I didn't realize at the time that you both have degrees from Baylor.  Though my son is conservative, she is very active in the Democrat party.  Their son, Andrew, will be a senior in high school next school year, and then he will be going on to Baylor also. 

My son, Grant, was fortunate to earn an Air Force commission at my alma mater, Loyola Univ. of Los Angeles, now Loyola Marymount, so they will enjoy reviewing your fine offerings.  They all will. 

My Son, Greg, is a prosecuting attorney in Redding, CA and is the genealogist for our side of the family tree.  He made up a beautiful tree ("family bible") for our side , which includes the great St. Hilaire's, but it's difficult for him to find time to prod people to keep the data updated.  I'm sure he will love this contact and should be able to supply you with info now and then. 

Steve is an electronics engineer with Raytheon in Portsmouth, RI and his youngest son is going to a very classical school there which is run by the Benedictines, so I'm sure they will be comparing formats. 

My daughter is a teacher in a very fine school district in Temecula, CA and will be retiring in about four years to follow her avocation of genalogy.  So, reviewing your fine school will be a natural for all of them.  How proud you must be.

To ramble like this, you can tell that I have been on the shelf for a long time and have no real understanding of why.  At the age of 84, and the youngest of five children, I am the only one of the brood left.  One never knows.

I should leave you with one thought, though, and that is that you will find the St. Hilaire family on this side the most active and exciting.  My cousin, Winifred, Fr. Meinrad's only sibling, was a farm wife and had a very close knit family of 10 or 11 (I'm too lazy to run upstairs to give you the exact figure right now.), but Joe, who is the registrar for a state university in Bellingham, WA, will be your best contact there.  He's a terrific gentleman and very well educated.

They have two big upcoming events:  Fr. Meinrad's "would-be" 100th birthday in May, and Ken's ordination to the priesthood in June.  Joe does the publishing of their TREE, so most of the information is funnelled to him.  Fr. Meinrad had a lot to do with the previous 50th reunion.
  
At this point you can thank me for saying good night, but I must thank you most sincerely for giving us another person to be truly proud of.  I hope the school is doing as well as I know it must, and the old adage still holds, "If you want to get something done, give it to a busy person."

Have a great day (or evening)!!!  

Virg

" The more one pleases generally,
the less one pleases profoundly. "
                                Stendahl

"The real purpose of books
is to trap the mind
into doing its own thinking."
                                     Christopher Marley

"Every single problem that you have in your life
is the seed of an opportunity for some greater benefit."
                                           Deepak Chopra

Click the link below to see wonderful article featuring Melbourne Village (Florida)  Mayor Steve Gaul
[Thanks to Peter Gaul for sending this information]

Click here to view in adobe reader

"The most useless day is that in which we have not laughed."