The Hirschy Newsletter

for descendants of Philip and Julianne (Frey) Hirschy
April 1996 No. 10

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LETTERS

Carolyn Elliott Fox 6.1.7.4.1 "Thank you
so much for all of your hard work on the
Hirschy Newsletter, and also for the
wonderful book. All the information is so
interesting."
I also wanted to thank Betty Scott for
her notation in the Oct, '95 Newsletter of
the death of my mother, Neva Zehr Elliott
on July 6, 1995. For years Neva continued
to gather any family information that she
could on her aunts, uncles, cousins,
nieces, nephews, etc. She kept many
little notes with birth, marriage, and
death dates as best she could. Her
efforts have been a great help, as I've
tried to put together a family genealogy.
She had a strong sense of 'family' and is
greatly missed.

In the last newsletter you learned about
our recent contact with descendants of
Lydia Hirschy Wurthner (3.6). We have bad
two letters since then from JoAnn Beamish,
the wife of Lawrence Beamish (3.5.3.2).
In them she tells about Larry's death from
Pick's Disease. More information on this
disease will follow.
Jan. 21, 1996 "First of all, I want to
thank you for sending me "The Hirschy
Genealogy" and I am enclosing a check to
cover its cost. We (our children and 1)
have had time only to browse portions of
it and have found@it very interesting. As
soon as I am able to devote more time to
it, I'm looking forward to reading more of
the story.
"I have some very sad news--my husband,
Larry (3.5.3.2), passed away on January
11, 1996, after 5.5 weeks in the hospital
and two weeks in a nursing home. He did
not recover from the pneumonia and
emphysema, which were a consequence of his
illness--Pick's Disease. He was only 66
but, as I had mentioned to you, he had
been ill for almost ten years. PD is an
insidious disease, and it was very painful
for us to watch him deteriorate. Our
worries are not over, however, as PD is
passed genetically via an autosomal
dominant gene according to the latest
medical findings.
"Larry had been enrolled in the

University of Michigan Alzheimer's
Research Program, and an autopsy was
performed by them. We will have to wait
for the final autopsy report to confirm
the diagnosis of Pick's, but his doctors
are fairly certain based on his symptoms
that is what he suffered from. I also
have enrolled Larry in the University of
Indiana Research Program. That is a
genetic research program and a sample of
blood was sent to them for their cell
bank.
"My son-in-law has been able to acquire
some information about Pick's Disease
through the computer at the pharmaceutical
company where he works. I will copy this
information, which had been published in
medical journals, as soon as possible and
send it to you under separate cover. you
mentioned that your brother is a retired
physician. Perhaps he could have access
to the same source of information through
the medical library at University of
Indiana School of Medicine.
"While paging through the genealogy, we
were very excited to find the picture on
page 40 of the Philip and Mary (Rich)
Hirschy home and the picture of Lydia and
her brothers on page 146. Both of these
were among other photos we found in the
cedar chest belonging to Larry's mother
Emma Wurthner Beamish. Up to now, we had
not been able to determine who these
people were. In looking at the picture on
page 146, we realized how strong a
resemblance Larry bore to Lydia's
brothers, particularly Noah. It sent
shivers up my spine when I saw this. One
of Larry's nephews also had an uncannily
strong resemblance to Jacob.
"We have some other pictures that I
would love to be able to identify. Some
day perhaps!
"Right now, as you can understand, I am
quite busy, but I will compile the
information you requested for our children
and for the children of Donald Beamish and
provide it to you as soon as I can.11

March 17, 1996. "I received a delightful
letter from Lois Trimble, but I am ashamed
to say I have not yet responded. I will
do that very quickly. I am enclosing a
copy of a photo taken of my husband,

Larry, in his early twenties so you can

see the family
resemblance.
"It is so sad
when family
members lose touch
with one another
as Lydia did with
her brothers.
Unfortunately,
even we know
little or nothing
of Lydia's life as Larry and his brother,
Don, never knew their grandparents,
and their mother, Emma, didn't talk about
them. I am enclosing the genealogical
information you wanted on our family.
This will at least fill in some of the
gaps. The information I'm sending you re
Donald Beamish's offspring is rather
sketchy, but I will get additional
information on the spouses and children
and send it to you at a later date. Also,
some of the information on page 180 was
incorrect: 3.5.1 Mary Christena Wurthner
b. 03-14-1894, d. 03-14-1971; 3.5.3 Emma
Wurthner d. 11-20-1971; 3.5.3.2 Lawrence
Neal Beamish B. 04-24-1929.
  "Keep in touch. I enjoy hearing from
you. it

  We extend our love and understanding in
the suffering you and your family
experienced in the sickness and death of
your husband and father, Larry. Thank you
*for sharing the information with us.

PICKS DISEASE
  The term "Picks Disease" is probably
new to most of the subscribers of this
newsletter. Several months 'ago JoAnn
Beamish phoned me to ask if I had ever
heard of Picks Disease. I said that I had
for an aunt of mine, Mable Hirschy Patrick
(4.5.7), had died of it. Now I am
wondering if there may have been other
relatives who had this condition without
it ever being diagnosed. Another relative
who may have had this condition is Anna
Hirschy Gisel (4.4) who died in a State
Mental Hospital in 1913 at 60 years of
age. She was institutionalized at age 53.
  Picks Disease (PD)is defined as a
progressive dementia (deterioration in
mentality) in which the frontal and

temporal lobes of the brain demonstrate
significant atrophy.
  The features of PD were first described
by Arnold Pick in 1892. Initially the
primary research focused on the behavioral
and psychiatric aspects of this disorder
Since the early 1950a research has focused
on genetic and microscopic aspects of the
disease.
  There are differences between the
affects of PD and Alzheimers Disease
(AD)although a definite diagnosis is not
possible except through autopsy.
  The onset of PD is earlier than AD. PD
has not been found in persons after the
age of 80. The risk of Alzheimer's
Disease continues to increase through the
life span.
  The following differences between PD and
AD have been noted:

Characteristic	PD	AD
Personality change Memory loss Disordered language Hallucinations Alcohol abuse Inappropriate behavior Hypersexuality Emotional distress	Early Late Early Never Common Early Common Rare	Late Early Late Common Rare Late Rare Common

Because the frontal and temporal lobes
of the brain are affected in PD, early in
the disease patients demonstrate
irritability, slips of the tongue,
distractibility, reduced initiative,
neglected hygiene and social inappropriate
behavior. In time mechanical repetitious
behavior is frequent such as hand
clapping, rhythmic grunting, repeated
singing of a song, use of a phrase,
changing into fresh clothes, or
incessantly washing hands and face.
Personality and social changes that are
first noticed by others are poor work
habits, and personal care, impaired
judgement, self-centeredness, and
impairment of social relationships. There
is little concern for others, and sympathy
is either not experienced or not conveyed.
Families who have or are experiencing
PD in a loved one undergo a very difficult
adjustment to the deterioration of the
person afflicted. Because PD follows a
genetic pattern, we felt it important to
give this amount of information on this
disease. More information can be obtained
from International Psychogeriatrics, Vol.
5, No. 2, 1993 from which much of the
above was taken.

A case study is written up in Nursing
Tines, April 20, 1983 under the title "A
patient with Pick's Disease."
If you have information on others who
have died with symptoms of Picks Disease,
would you share that information with the
Editor so that we might be aware of the
extent of this affliction.

A TRIP TO SOUTH TEXAS The editor, David Habegger, and his
wife, LaVeta, made a trip to McAllen,
Texas in March to participate in a reunion
of her Loganbill cousins. The reunion was
a meaningful event for it took place in
the area where LaVeta's grandparents,
Daniel and Barbara (Bixler) Loganbill,
lived for a couple of decades. They had
moved there from Geary, Oklahoma to engage
in citrus farming. Several Mennonite
families moved to the area, but no
Mennonite church ever developed out of
their move. Eventually they returned to
Geary where two of their daughters were
living.
The trip also provided the opportunity
to visit a number of Hirschy relatives who
live in various states.
The first visit was with Lois Trimble
(3.10.2) in Lexington, KY. We arrived at
the YMCA Retirement Home in mid-afternoon
and were able to have two hours with her.

David Habegger and Lois Trimble in her
apartment in Lexington, KY on 3/2/96.

Lois, at 91 years of age, is an active
and alert person. Though her eye sight is
poor she still walks up to two miles when
the weather is good, and she takes
responsibility for a sizable flower

garden that she has developed. Plants
were already showing through the ground
and Lois gets down on her hands and knees
to care for them. In our conversation she
told us about the cemetery in Berea, KY
where her parents, husband, and brother
and wife are buried. She also told of the
stone bench set in front of the
administration building of Berea College
in honor of her father.
The following morning we made a
pilgrimage to the cemetery to visit the
Hirschy plot in the Berea, KY cemetery.
The plot is easily found @or a sizable
native stone has been erected with a metal
plate bearing the name Hirschy. Lois told
us that Noah Hirschy expressed a desire
for such a stone after visiting the grave
of Louis Agassiz (1807-1873) a Swiss born
American Naturalist. His grave had a
natural stone marking his grave.

Stone marking the Hirschy Plot in the
Cemetery, Berea, KY.

It was meaningful to me to visit Noah's
grave since he started the Hirschy
genealogy. I benefited from the work he
did so am grateful for his contribution to
my life and to the lives of the rest of us
who cherish our family heritage.
We also located the stone bench that
stands near the street in front of Lincoln

Hall, the administration building of Berea
College. The inscription "The Hirschy
Elm" is still legible on the side of the
bench, though it is weathered. The tree
next to the bench is no longer an elm and
the original tree succumbed to the Elm
Disease a number of years ago. Likely
there are only a few people associated
with the college who know the history of
that bench. But it was meaningful to me
to see this tribute to a dedicated and
beloved teacher - Noah Hirschy.

The stone bench in front of Berea (KY)
College's administration building placed
in honor of Noah C. Hirschy (4.10).

Heading west we stopped for two nights
with David and Mary Zehr in Little Rock,
AK. While not Hirschy relatives, we were
invited to stay with them because of our
common interest in his great grandfather,
John Zehr. John Zehr was an Amish Bishop
who lived in Adams County from 1868 until
his death August 7, 1892. The January
issue of Mennonite Family History magazine
printed an article I wrote about this
extended Zehr family. David is a biology
professor in the University of Arkansas
where he does outstanding work with pre-
med students.
Our next stop was in Tyler, Texas at
the home of our my niece, Elaine Beals
(4.5.5.2.1) and family. We were welcomed
by her son, Stephen, until his mother
returned home. We caught up with events
iii the lives of the family. The next

morning we were given a tour of the clinic
which her husband, Dr. Ronald Beals has
established - Acute Care of Tyler.
Elaine, as a nurse, also works there.
  We then went on our way to Dallas and
Fort Worth to visit the Mennonite churches
with which I worked for eleven years while
on staff with the Western District
Conference
  We made a stop in Mesquite, Texas to
visit Jack and Edith Zehr (6.1 7.2.4) at
their place of business. They are owners
of Merry Miler, Inc., a van conversion
company. Jack gave us a tour of their
plant where they were just preparing the
necessary patterns to convert the new line
of Chevrolet vans. The models were
beautiful.
  Jack and Edith took us out to lunch to
an interesting restaurant, a converted
cotton gin. As we visited they told of
the book that Jack's daughter Kelly LaDuke
(6.1.7.2.4.2) has produced. As a
photojournalist she conceived the idea of
documenting the failures and fortunes of
the Lake Lucina Allstars little league
baseball team in which her son Mark was
playing. They live in Jacksonville, FL.
  Perhaps spurred on the clicking of
LaDuke's shutter, the five-, six-, and
seven-year-old players on the Lake Lucina
Allstars went on to win the citywide T-
Ball championship over the highly favored
and perennial winner Mandarin Allstars.
  These photographs will be featured in
LaDuke's first book, Allstars: One Team,
One Season, scheduled to be published by
Umbra Editions in cooperation with
Longstreet Press this spring. All you
baseball enthusiasts will love this book
of photos along with quotations from
various professional baseball players.

IN MEMORUM
  Jacob Musser (4.29.2) died at home in
Berne on Jan. 24, 1996 at the age of 74.
He retired in 1983 from the U.S. Post
Office where he worked 28 years in the
maintenance department. He later worked
part time in the maintenance department of
the Berne City Building and Berne Public
Library. Burial was in MRE cemetery.
  Jacob was the son of Jacob and Rebecca
(Hirschy) Musser. Rebecca was the 29th
child of Louis Hirschy (4).
We extend our sympathy and support to the
family.

THE CURRENT GENERATION

The April 2 issue of Fort Wayne's
Journal Gazette carried the following
photo of Esther 1. (Baumgartner) and
Kenneth E. Hirschy, Sr. (4.5.6.1). They
had observed their 50th wedding
anniversary on March 20. Congratulations
to you and best wishes.

Esther & Kenneth Hirschy, Sr.

MORE LETTERS
A New Year's letter from Dot (Dorothy
Armstrong 4.6.13.9) and Jack Beattie,
Kyle, Saskatchewan
  "It's been a busy year running back and
forth to the river to watch our house
grow. Jack wired it himself so that,
along with farming, kept him busy. We're
hoping to move in before heading South for
the winter. We have a beautiful view of
the river itself out of the Living Room
and Dining Room, plus the best view of the
new marina*which is being built. We-can
sit in our breakfast nook or on the back
deck and see the boats, wind surfers,
etc., come in and out! It's wonderful.
  "My brother, Bob (Robert Armstrong
4.6.13.11, had a stroke this spring and is
slowly learning to walk and swallow again.
My other brother, Jack [John Armstrong
4.6.13.61, had a triple by-pass and is
doing great.
  "A second cousin from Arizona (Jeanne
Habegger Crouthamel 4.5.5.2) visited us
this summer--it was great! It was the
third time that we have met since our
first meeting each other last summer in
Indiana at a family reunion.
  "Some of my family went to a school
reunion in Elbow, SK; we had left Elbow
when I was nine so we all met people that
we hadn't seen in 60 years. We knew most

of then however, because they looked just
like their parents. It was great fun!
  "We plan on having Beattie and
Armstrong reunions in the new house next
summer, but it would be great to see
anyone else who is in the area any time.
Anyone passing by Sask. Landing on #4
Highway, we are on the east side of the
highway and the north side of the river.
Just follow the signs for the campground
and the houses are just before then on the
same road--Sandy Ridge--Omache Bay. Most
of the people down there would know which
one is ours. Hope to see you!lo

  John L. Roth (6.5.2.3.1), Headmaster of
Wheaton (IL) Christian High School sent an
article on his school that appeared in the
Chicago Tribune Dec. 29, 1995.
  "Du Page County's oldest school is
celebrating its 140th birthday this month,
with it primary mission still the same as
the first day of class on Dec. 14, 1853;
delivering a Bible-centered education
focusing on the life and teachings of
Jesus Christ.
  "...it started as Illinois Institute on
what would become the Wheaton College
campus, by Wesleyan Methodists who wanted
a school emphasizing biblical teachings.
The Wesleyans, including Warren Wheaton-
for whom the city was named-sent their
children to eastern boarding schools, but
were upset that they did not take a stand
against slavery. And they opposed alcohol
consumption.
  "They needed a school to stand against
the flow of secular society ... and that
mission is still strong after 140 years.
  "As part of the school's emphasis on a
'Christian perspective,' teachers are
encouraged to weave biblical principles
into their instruction of secular subjects
such as history and science, Headmaster
David Roth said."

PUBLICATION INFORMATION   The Hirschy Newsletter is published
four times a year. Cost is $5.00 for four
issues.
  The editor is David L. Habegger, 6929
Hillsboro Ct., Fort Wayne, IN 46835-1818.
  If you have material you would like to
submit for publication, send it to the
editor.
  In correspondence please use the number
behind your name to identify yourself.

FAMILY NUMBER        NAME                            BIRTH        DEATH

3.5.3                Emma Wurthner                   10-05-1900   11-30-1971
     B. Midland, IN             R. Detroit, MI and Wixom, MI
     M. 10-28-1920 Fred Beamish, b. Nov. 1, 1898, d. Feb. 10, 1990, son James
         Beamish and Mary Doran.,
     Oc. Homemaker, he-factory worker, Ford Motor Co. Emma loved gardening
         and grew, canned a froze all her own vegetables and raised chickens.
         She did all kinds of beautiful needlework.
     Ch. St. William Catholic Church, Walled Lake, MI

3.5.3.1              Donald Frederick Beamish        06-25-1927
     B. Detroit, MI             R. West Branch, MI
     M. Marie Moreau

     3.5.3.1.1       Michael Beamish                 10-23-51
     3.5.3.1.2       Richard Beamish                 10-20-52
     3.5.3.1.3       John Beamish                    07-24-56     06-19-1995

3.5.3.2              Lawrence Neal Beamish           04-24-1919   01-11-1996
     B. Detroit, MI             R. Wixom, MI
     M. 02-01-1964 JoAnn T. Purcell, b. Jan. 18, 1937, dau.
           Carmen Daniel Purcell and Margaret G. Connors.
     Oc. Law Enforcement Officer, she-Homemaker and Secretary.
     H.  Reading, fishing, golf; she - cooking, needlework  and sewing
     Ch. St William Catholic Church, Walled Lake, MI
     He is buried in the historical cemetery - City of Wixom.

     3.5.3.2.1       Katherine Ann Beamish           08-22-1965
        B. Livonia, MI          R. Ypsilanti, MI
        M. June 11, 1988 James Adams Zisek b. Nov. 14,1964, son of John Zisek
             and Elaine Adams.
        Oc. Homemaker, Analytical Chemist, Computer Specialist;
              he - Chemist with MBA working in regulatory dept. with
              pharmaceutical company.
        H   reading, cooking needlework; he - reading and painting water color
        Ch. St. John Catholic Church, Ypsilanti, MI

     3.5.3.2.2       James Lawrence Beamish          03-04-1967
        B. Detroit, MI          R. Warren, MI
        Oc. Law Enforcement Officer, City of Troy, MI  H. Fishing, water
              skiing, computers.

     3.5.3.2.3       Edward Daniel Beamish           07-09-1970
        B. Detroit, MI          R. Wixom, MI
        M. 07-20-1996 Julie Stisko
        Oc. Student in accounting, works for General Motors.  H. Fishing,
               woodworking, computers.

180

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