BINNEY---GOW---HANMER---MEISSNER---POMNITZ

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

  1.  Purpose of this Newsletter
  2.  Family Stories, Events and Biographies:
       »  Searching for a NEW EDITOR - Ed Pomnitz, Sr.
       »  A Job Well Done - Ed Pomnitz, Sr.
       »  Fall Season Reflections - Jim Gow
       »  July 2004 Reunion PLANNED - Art Meissner
  3.  History
       »  Vacationing in History - Chuck Pomnitz
  4.  "Passages": Births, Anniversaries, Deaths
  5.  Family Projects:
       »  Family T-Shirt Now Available!!
  6.  Pomnitz Family Fund Report - Ed Pomnitz, Sr.
  7.  Services Offered To Family Members
       »  Photo Gallery II
       »  Automated Subscriptions
       »  Chat Room Access
       »  Personal Web Space
       »  Internet Dial-Up Service
  8.  Newsletter Mechanics:   
       »  Format & Layout of the Newsletter
  9.  Contact Information:
       »  How to subscribe/unsubscribe
       »  Where to send articles & news
10.  Notizen Aus Dem Ziegenstall (Notes From the Goathouse)
       »  Perspective
11.  Next Newsletter Date
12.  Final Quote

1.  THE PURPOSE of this newsletter:  to note and share items of possible interest for the "greater Pomnitz Family".  The 184 family names mentioned in the Family Tree are listed at http://www.pomnitz.net/history/surnames_list.htm.   Please do send me suggestions or ideas for future newsletters:  they will be taken seriously.

2.  FAMILY STORIES, BIOGRAPHIES AND NOTES OF INTEREST:

SEARCHING FOR A NEW EDITOR - by Ed Pomnitz, Sr.
Art Meissner has resigned from the Editorship of the Pomnitz Family Newsletter, effective after the November 1st (this) issue is sent out.  He indicated it was a hard decision, not taken lightly, after many considerations.  This provides an opportunity for another Family member to have a part in keeping the Family informed and aware of one another and the whole "clan".

I, as webmeister and 'publisher', am asking you to help me with the task of finding a new Editor.  Help me out:  Would YOU consider being the (new) Editor?  Do you know of another Family member you can RECOMMEND for the job?  Here's what is involved in being Editor:

	1. Soliciting news/articles/etc.
	2. Putting together (editing) articles and information received from family members 4 times a year.
	3. Sending the basic text to me (Ed) via E-Mail which I then post on the website the last night of the quarter.
	4. Seeing that a printed copy is mailed to about 15 or so Family members who do not have access to e-mail.

The E-Mail mailing is now all automated, with the e-mail list pretty much self-maintained on the website.

Inherent in the job of Editor is the need to CONTINUALLY contact people of ALL FIVE branches of "The Family", encouraging and soliciting articles and data for inclusion in the newsletter.  The Editor also has the opportunity to assist Edwin (Publisher) and Charles (Historian) (via e-mail) in the continuing research of family history, to the extent he/she has time and inclination.

Remember, this job REQUIRES NO EXPERIENCE IN ANYTHING WHATSOEVER.  You only need to humor the publisher (humoring the readers would be a plus) and a slight understanding of English!  A computer would be helpful!  Please give this whole thing some thought and then let me know.  It will be a great help to me and to the whole Family.  You can contact me using any of the following:

Via e-mail - Webmaster@Pomnitz.net By phone - (440) 842-6968 or by US Mail: 7891 Marlborough Ave. Parma, OH 44129

I look forward to hearing from you.
       (Salary is not negotiable - $0.00/hr.)

My love to you all !

Ed Pomnitz, Sr.

A JOB WELL DONE - by Ed Pomnitz, Sr.
Yes, Art is stepping down as our Editor.  Art has done a FANTASTIC job of putting our Newsletter together.  If Art hadn't stepped forward, we would have never gotten our Newsletter off the ground.  You've been privy to some of Art's humor in his editorials, "Letters From The Goat House".  I've been privy to much more and will certainly miss the levity that was exchanged in our E-Mail and phone conversations during the process of meeting each publication.  Art has endured the difficulties in our process of migrating our mail list... on multiple occasions.  Art has endured my verbose explanations divulged in "computerese" (which is much like pig-Latin) of "things gone wrong" in past publications.

Beyond meeting our publication schedule.  Art was always on top of things such our Family Reunion announcements.  Art did a tireless job of communicating with our hosts and making sure we were all aware of the Reunion dates, times and planned events.  Though last summer's unfortunate "SARS" outbreak lead to cancellation of the 2003 Reunion, Art coordinated with Don and Marion McKeown and all of us to arrive at our 2004 reschedule.

There's a lot more I should say, but I think it would be great if each and everyone of you dropped Art a quick note thanking him for his tireless effort and terrific job.  Without Art, we'd never had a Family Newsletter!  THANKS ART!

You can reach Art... Via his "civilian" E-Mail address - a.meissner@worldnet.att.net or by US Mail to the Goat House at: 15 Three Oaks Road Rhinebeck, NY 12572-2675

FALL SEASON REFLECTIONS - Story by Jim Gow
Each year at this time my mind goes back 20 or 30 years to Max Fergusson's antics on CBC Radio.  Posing as Marvin Mellowbell he would ask people on Toronto's main street, "What have you to be thankful for this Thanksgiving?" Invariably his question would elicit the "dangdest" tales of woe that could be imagined.

One of the funniest I remember was that of a guy from Cape Breton who, as a member of the crew of John Cabot's re-created ship, had been training hard for the re-enactment of Cabot's voyage.  He explained the lengths the organizers had gone to ensure that everything about the ship, including the sailors' diet, was historically authentic.  The upshot of all this authenticity was that our friend had been shipped up to a Toronto hospital for treatment of a bad case of scurvy!

If Mellowbell were to pose his question to me today, he would hear no tale of woe.  I have many, many things to be thankful for, not the least of which is that I and my fellow-Ontarians have at last been freed from the tyranny of the rock-hard mind-blocked Right!  I must admit that my joy at our deliverance is somewhat tempered by the fact that I do not warm to Mr. McGuinty, and my concern that he is a man of limited ability.  But heck, Marvin, I am blessed with a good family, good health, and sufficient wealth, and I guess a guy can't have everything.

JULY 2004 REUNION PLANNED - by Art Meissner
FAMILY REUNION SET FOR JULY 17 - 18 , 2004 IN FERGUS ONTARIO.  Donal and Marion (Gow) McKeown are looking forward to hosting our gathering.  Please check our website for details and updates.  If you don't have online access, please contact our 2004 hosts, Donal & Marion McKeown at the following address:

Donal & Marion McKeown
619 Old Orangeville Road
Fergus, Ontario N1M2W4

Online Details:  http://www.pomnitz.net/reunions/pomnitz2004.htm

3.  HISTORY - VACATIONING IN HISTORY by Chuck Pomnitz

Pat and Jim and the older grand-children were kept busy all summer with work and school.  Matt, however, took an eight week course in Pharmacy in addition to his other studies.  He was fascinated with the course and will take an examination in November, which will qualify him as a pharmacy technician.  He may elect to pursue this field.  All his studies have been in the medical line.

Helen and I joined Barb and Glenn , and their four children up at Mackinaw City for a grand mini vacation.  This area is beyond description in natural beauty and in historical context.  Mackinaw Island lies in the Straits of Mackinaw, the connecting link between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.  Here also in the Mackinaw Bridge which leads to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Lake Superior.  It is also a popular route to Canada via Sault Ste Marie.

Through these waterways pass much of the commerce of the world.  Ships flying a great variety of foreign flags can travel a thousand miles from the Atlantic into the hinterland of the United States via the St. Lawrence Seaway, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, The Detroit River, thence into Lake Huron.  There in upper Lake Huron the ship's objective may be Lake Superior and the great port of Duluth , Minnesota.  Iron ore and wheat are among many of the objectives of this long voyage.  Other ships may elect to traverse the Straits of Mackinaw into Lake Michigan and head down to Chicago and other ports.  There are ports of call in Canada and the United States along the entire route of this seaway.

Now back to Mackinac Island where we spent a marvelous day.  Transportation to the island is by hydro-foil boats.  Glenn and the boys took their bicycles along because there are wonderful scenic roads through-out the island.  There are no motor vehicles on the island so it is very safe for bikes or hiking.  The less athletic of our group took the carriage ride around the island with a great guide who knew every detail of this wooded paradise.  He pointed out the Military Cemetery where British and American soldiers are buried.  We soon came to a huge fort built on a promontory with a beautiful vista overlooking the town and the water.  The fort had been established by the French and later occupied by the British and then the Americans.

Back on the mainland, a grand dinner closed out this memorable day.  There was a mutual resolve among our group and that was to return here some day.

A little postscript, on Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, a representative of King Louis XIV of France... In July of 1701, Cadillac led his flotilla of canoes down through Lake St. Clair and entered the broad river later named the Detroit River.  On July 24,1701, Cadillac and his party chose the spot where Detroit now stands as the best place to build a fort.  He named his little post Fort Pontchartrain in honor of a friend in the French court.  In time it came to be known as the Village of the Straits (ville de troit).

Cadillac could not have visualized, to any degree, what his early exploration would ultimately lead to...  the large cities of Detroit and Windsor, the industries fronting this waterway, the huge freighters carrying the raw materials or the produce of two great nations.  Cadillac Square in Detroit in named for Cadillac as is the largest hotel.  One of the later hotels is named the Pontchartrain continuing the French tradition.

All best wishes,

Chuck

(Historical facts quoted from "Michigan, Yesterday and Today" by Ferris E, Lewis)

4.  PASSAGES:  EVENTS REPORTED SINCE THE LAST NEWSLETTER (births, graduations, marriages, deaths, careers):

	WEDDING:  Congratulations to Leonard (Spike) Miller and Ashleigh Church  who were married September 19, 2003 in Cleveland, Ohio.  Spike is a 35 year old IT Project Manager and Ashleigh is a 27 year old Global Resource Manager.  Spike and Ashley spent their honeymoon in Bora Bora.  They are currently residing in Nashville, TN.
	BIRTH:  October 9th, 2003 - Joshua Evan Engel, son of Joshua Engel and Jennifer Dewille.  Joshua was born at 7:41 pm and checked in at 7 lbs. 8 oz. 20 in.  Josh and Jenny live in Parma, Ohio.  Congratulations Josh and Jenny!

  Please send your announcements to editor@pomnitz.net.  

5.  FAMILY PROJECTS:

FAMILY T-SHIRT ARE AVAILABLE!! -A Pomnitz Family T-Shirt are available.  Full ordering information is at http://www.pomnitz.net/wc/t-shirts.htm.  You just HAVE TO KNOW a couple things about the shirts: 1) - The graphics printed on each shirt were graciously designed and donated by Kathy Kelm-Cronin (daughter of June Meissner Kelm).  Kathy is founder and Director of NISDA (Nantucket Island School of Design and the Arts).  You can get a peek at what she does by going to http://www.nisda.org. 2) - The Tag inside the neck of the drawing of the Coat of Arms says "Einfuhr Aus Deutschland" ("Imported from Germany").  That means YOU, not the shirt.

6.  THE POMNITZ FAMILY FUND REPORT - (A Note from Ed Pomnitz, Sr.):  The greatest significance of our Family Reunions, our Family Newsletters, our Family Tree Database, Family Website and ongoing Research that they help us to:  1) Understand our rich heritage...  2) Stay in touch with one another...  3) Allow "lost leafs" to find us!

THANKS to our contributors, we'll be able to stay online through the end of this year.  As you can see by the Family Fund Report, we have $7.14 towards 2004.  We are now in need of $148.26 to remain online to the end of 2004.

YOU can help out through the purchase of a family T-Shirt or by simply making a contribution.  All NET PROCEEDS from our T-Shirt sales go towards the Family Fund!  We STILL have a little bit (-$21.87) to go to pay for the initial run of T-Shirts.

FAMILY FUND REPORT - From Ed Pomnitz, Sr.

------------------------------------------
Balance May 1st, 2003
------------------------------------------
$     .34
======

------------------------------------------
Receipts
-------------------------------------------
$ 84.50 - Mail-In Contributions
$   0.00 - Profit From T-Shirt Sales
======
$ 84.50

------------------------------------------
Disbursements
------------------------------------------
$  38.85 - Web Hosting Pomnitz.com & Pomnitz.net  06/01/03 - 09/31/03
$  38.85 - Web Hosting Pomnitz.com & Pomnitz.net  10/01/03 - 12/31/03
======
$  77.70

------------------------------------------
Current Balance
------------------------------------------
$    7.14
======

If you desire to make a contribution to the Pomnitz Family Fund, you can mail your check or money order to:

Myra Pomnitz 7891 Marlborough Ave. Parma, Ohio 44129

7.  SERVICES OFFERED TO FAMILY MEMBERS:  Please contact Ed Pomnitz regarding these services at webmaster@pomnitz.net.

	PHOTO GALLERY II:  Family members can load their own family photos directly onto our website for all to see.  The Pomnitz Family Web Photo Gallery II can be found at: http://www.pomnitz.net/pg/gallery_ii.htm. We would like to see at least one photo of each family member posted here.  You can include a title and description of your photo as well as "keywords" to help others search for your information.  Please follow the categories that have been supplied.  If you require a new category, please E-Mail webmaster@pomnitz.net with the photo category you would like to see added. Join in the FUN.  Registered family members can post new photos, leave comments and even vote on any of the photos in this area. Registration is simple.  Just use your FIRST and LAST NAME when asked for a USER NAME.  Then select a PASSWORD of your choice and provide a valid E-Mail address.
	AUTOMATED NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTIONS: Our automated subscription service is fully automated.  You can subscribe or un-subscribe from this newsletter online.  You may also elect to receive Web Update Notices.  An update notice will let you know when something has been changed or added to our website.  To subscribe or unsubscribe go online to: http://www.pomnitz.net/news/newsletter/subscriptions.htm.
	CHAT ROOM ACCESS:  The family website now offers family members (only) their own 'chat-room', where you can (at no cost to you) chat with others anywhere in the world.  You can find it in the "In Touch" area, http://pomnitz.net/intouch/index.htm and just click on "Family Chatter".  This area requires a USER ID and PASSWORD.  Contact webmaster@pomnitz.net for your password.
	PERSONAL WEB SPACE:  Family members may request personal web space for the sole purpose of creating and maintaining their own family site.  Your family's web address will be similar to "http://yoursite.pomnitz.com".  If you are interested in web space for your individual family, please contact webmaster@pomnitz.net for further information.
	INTERNET DIAL-UP SERVICE:  Family members are offered an economic way to get to the Internet as well as having e-mail AND their own Web Site, if desired.  Ed Pomnitz' computer consulting company (FXtra) which handles the technical side of "Pomnitz.net", is also able to offer Family Members a low-cost connection to the Internet, called "EZDial".  A special offer for low-cost EZDial is available in both the US and Canada, is economic ($15.95 USD per month) and reliable, with no pop-up ads, no-spam, privacy (does not sell your e-mail address), no set-up fee, free web space, unlimited access.  If you are interested and want to join-up, you need to go to http://www.fxtra.com/deal and enter this PIN number when prompted: "ae80701".  If you need more information before you do, contact Ed at webmaster@pomnitz.net via e-mail.  The added benefit to us all is that Ed's company will donate another $2.00 per month to the Pomnitz Family Fund, which helps to underwrite our website and our other family activities.

8.  NEWSLETTER MECHANICS:  TROUBLE VIEWING THE NEWSLETTER IN THIS FORMAT??:  Please notify editor@pomnitz.net to describe any problems you are having.  This Newsletter is composed and sent to you in "html format".  Some subscribers may not have computers capable of handling html or graphics in their e-mail.  If you are having difficulty with this E-Mail, go to the Newsletter section on our family website.  http://www.pomnitz.net/news/newsletter/index.htm.  You can print a copy if you wish.

9.  CONTACT INFORMATION:  To Subscribe or Un-subscribe to this Newsletter, or to correct names and addresses, please do so online at:

http://www.pomnitz.net/news/newsletter/subscriptions.htm

or send a regular postal letter to the address below.

PLEASE DO SIGN OUR GUEST BOOK on your next visit to The Pomnitz Family Web:  http://www.pomnitz.net.

SEND E-MAIL REPLIES TO editor@pomnitz.com.  Replies by regular postal mail may be sent to Art Meissner, Editor, Pomnitz Family Newsletter, 15 Three Oaks Road, Rhinebeck, NY 12572-2675, (845) 876-6407 OR TO OUR ASSOCIATE EDITOR!!, Nancy Meissner, at nlmeissner@aol.com.

10.  NOTIZEN AUS DEM ZIEGENSTALL (Notes From The Goathouse):  By Art Meissner, Editor.

"Perspective".  That has been one of my rewards in being Editor of the Pomnitz Family Newsletter.

In order to be 'Editor', I've had to visualize the Whole of the PBMHG Clan.  ("PBMHG"=Pomnitz/Binney/Meissner/Hanmer/Gow.)  It now includes swelling numbers of other family names who've come to be associated through marriages, now for about a century and a quarter. (It's up to 184 names, now!)

Our Family, descended from Ida and Adelbert, is now large enough that we can find among us the many facets of what it means to be human, from birth through death, just about every day: Conception, birth, schooling, graduations, falling in love, marriage, births, employment of all kinds, even unemployment and hard times; success and failure; joy and despair; dreams and fears; elated healthiness to mind-boggling depression and suffering of illness-even-unto-death.  Our family contains and displays all of what makes up human life. Our stories are humanity's stories as well.

Being Editor has made me grapple with the larger picture of who we are, and what we are about. "Perspective."

This is one reason, of all things, that I picked the title of "Notes from the Goat House" for the Editor's Column.  I had to start somewhere.  This 'somewhere' for me happens to be our old-now-fixed-up farmhouse we've been living in for almost 30 years.  Our house is nestled in the middle of what is now woods, with no neighboring houses to be seen even when the leaves are down.  It is a rural-oasis in what has become the well-populated Northeastern USA.  (Some say 'over-crowded'.) But why 'goats'?

It seemed appropriate a couple decades ago to try goat-keeping for a while: This had been a farm with livestock, crops, hardscrabble living for a couple centuries.  The house's history includes several bank mortgage foreclosures in the 19th and 20th centuries, illustrating the hard life here, for some very hard working families over time. 

Keeping a few goats seemed to be the perfect 'minimalist' approach to seeing what life with livestock is about. Goat-keeping has mutated into being 'kept-by-goats'.  They have a life of their own, and are very quick to include-you-in their concerns.  They love to be brushed, petted, paid attention to, and have a way of simply coming to you when you are sitting with them: staring at you while they calmly chew their cuds, swallow, and start chewing a new cud again... endlessly drawing you in to talking with them.  Step out the back door and you'll find one or more goats looking down from their yard, watching to see what you will do.  They listen very well, indeed.... forcing me to find the words to overcome the doubt I thought I saw in their eyes.  In their kind and gentle way, they helped me hear what I am thinking and feeling as I attempt to answer their unspoken questions.  They are my sounding-board.  They had no qualms in telling me when they thought I was foolish or off-base!

This is where I am and where I start from in being Editor of the PBMGH newsletter.  It seemed natural for me to discuss our family with these goats who listen intently, cock their heads and ears at certain words or over certain stories I tell them about us... They draw me out to explain our Family more and more to them. You can see this has been a 'real trip' for me. -- In fact, I read them the draft of this column, and their ears perked up and they sniffed the paper as if they'd heard something new.  I was flattered.

But now we've come full-circle.  This is my last "Notes" column as your Editor.  It has been fun and fascinating to help set up and organize what and how the Newsletter would be.  Now it is time for a younger PBMGH'er to take it into the future.

But, one final word as Editor: Do give some thought to our Family: in size, location, condition, experience.  Some one or more of us is going through all the normal human experiences every single day: Elation through bereavement; joy through pain and sorrow; birth through death.  Visualize, too, that today our Family includes persons of many of our earthly nationalities, races, different cultures, societies and language groups, as well as assortments of age, states of health, accomplishment and more.... Fascinating and compelling!

It has helped me appreciate one historic prayer which seems to sum-up our human experience in two sentences.  It is a prayer that is several hundred years old: - I commend it to you... to all of us... as a bit of Love from the Past to see us into the future: -

"O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen, the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done.  Then in Thy mercy grant us a safe lodging, a holy rest, and peace at the last; through Jesus Christ our Lord...."

Bless us all... Art Meissner

PS - Ed Pomnitz, our Webmeister, has asked me to write GoatHaus Notes for future newsletters, whenever it is possible.  I'll pass on any notes from the goats when they give me permission.  But sometimes they just don't say a thing.

PomBinMeiGowHan

11.  NEXT NEWSLETTER is tentatively scheduled for February 1, 2004.  It will contain a summary of then-current Family news as well as any articles submitted by family members.  Please help by submitting newsletter items no later than January 15, 2004.  You do not have to do a lot of writing:  Just list WHO in the Family did WHAT, WHEN, and WHERE.  ("How" and "Why" are optional.)  We will edit it for a future issue.  THANKS!