Archive for the ‘Swiss-California Stories’ Category
One Night Only in LA, at the Beverly Hills Women’s Club: The History of the De Büren Family
Welcome to LA, Jean-François de Büren!
(Event Details & PDF Poster)
Art Show with Jean-François de Büren at the Historic Beverly Hills Women’s Club
Our very own Helvetic.LA contributing editor, designer, writer, historian, genealogist, and aspiring filmmaker, Jean-François de Büren has been passionate about his family history for as long as he can remember.
For the past 10 years he has actively worked on the story of his Swiss, Argentine & American roots. Jean-François’ presentation will cover his 800 year family story as well as highlight his current creative endeavors surrounding his heritage.
Soldiers and Statesmen. Adventurers and Artists. The History of the de Büren family.
Covering over eight centuries of history, in the United States, Switzerland and Argentina, the de Büren family saga is replete with passionate tales of soldiers, statesmen, adventurers and artists. From the blood-drenched battlefields of Europe to the steaming jungles of South America, from the fertile pampas of Argentina to California’s Central Valley, the tale of the de Bürens reads like a great novel — evoking the grand sweep of history as well as its telling details, bursting with complex intrigue, fascinating personal stories, and the most compelling of family dramas.
In addition to the presentation Jean-François will showcase family heirlooms, as well as engravings, drawings, sketches, watercolors and sculpture made by family members during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
Jean-François grew up in Northern California is a dual Swiss and American citizen and is active in the local Swiss community. He will publish this year his great-great-grandfather’s journals chronicling a two-year journey through the Americas of the 1850s.
As a companion to the book, Jean-François aims to retrace his Ancestor’s expedition for a documentary film. He is also writing a screenplay for a feature film set in Switzerland that centers around his deaf-mute ancestor. Additionally, Jean-François writes about Swiss emigration to California, and is currently working on the Swiss-American version of the popular Swiss board game Helvetiq.
WHEN: APRIL 8, 2011, 6:00 – 9:00 pm
WHERE: Beverly Hills Womens’ Club
1700 Chevy Chase Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
DETAILS:
6:00pm Cocktails & Light Buffet
7:00pm Presentation
$ 40. – Members & Guests
$ 60. – Non-Members & Guests after April 5
RSVP by April 5, 2011: info@bhwomensclub.org
PARKING FYI:
Access to the Parking lot is off Benedict Canyon,
just south of the Clubhouse.
Would you kindly forward this PDF to potentially interested family or friends, and invite them to join Jean-Francois de Büren’s soirée?
“The Grand Tour” Preview (PDF)
Jean-Francois de Büren, April 8th, Beverly Hills Womens Club (PDF)
21st Century Ticinesi in California: the Dairy Farmer
As seen on the airwaves:
The California Milk Advisory Board‘s latest advertising campaign introduces you to the Carinalli’s, Giacomini’s and the Airoli, Curti and Giacomazzi Families;
Meet the children of “Ticinesi“, southern Switzerland‘s emigrees of the 1800’s: today’s California Dairy Families
Westward
On Friday evening I was priveleged to attend the book signing for Westward by Swiss author Susann Bosshard-Kälin at the Robert Mondavi winery. The book revolves around 15 portraits of Swiss women who immigrated to the United States in the 20th century. “The fifteen stories show women standing between two worlds, two cultures, and two languages, – but above all people who have shaped their lives and world with a zest for life, with humor, courage, equanimity, and wisdom.” The event specifically honored two of the California-Swiss women interviewed in Westward, Anna Conti-Tonini and Margarit Mondavi Biever Kellenberger.
Robert Mondavi Winery
The event was held in a private room at the winery which opened onto a breathtaking vineyard. The sun set slowly over the hills, bathing the room in an amber glow as friends of the honorees mingled and drank wine.
Historian Loe Schelbert, an eminent scholar on American immigration and the Swiss in the United States originally provided the author with the idea for the book. Schelbert noted in an early conversation with Bosshard-Kälin that “documentary sources of women emigrants are little known, although women acheived just as much as men either by themselves or as mothers or partners.”
After conferring with Schelbert at his home near Chicago, Bosshard-Kälin went on a muli-year journey across the U.S. in search of unique Swiss immigrant stories. One of her daughters also tagged along and is responsible for the wonderful photos within the collection.
The author signing copies
Anna Conti Tonini, one the women interviewed would immigrate to California and marry a man whose family had also come from Ticino. She still has vivid memories of the Ticino of her youth. “Milking was a daily task, and in the summer making hay was the main task for us children. Two cuts yearly, one at the end of May when the meadows were full of flowers, the second cut in July or early August… We had little money, but we lived well… We never went hungry. We fed ourselves from our own vegetables, potatoes, milk, butter and cheese.”
In a great passage, another interviewee, Magarit Mondavi, wife of Napa Valley legend Robert Mondavi, summed up her love of Switzerland, appreication for the United States and outlook on life this way: “I have lived in Switzerland but a quarter of my life. And yet something from that time remains in my heart. I like to travel every year to my old homeland. But I feel American through and through. The opneness and freedom in this country are wonderful. I could realize my dreams. Bob told me many times, ‘If you have a job that you like you don’t have to work another day in your life. And then, do it as well as you can.’ These were good tips from Bob. In my life, I have found much I like to do, much that give me joy.”
Bosshard-Kälin’s collection of interviews are both touching and inspiring. They are a testament to the human spirit and should not be missed.
Copies of Westward can be purchased through the Swiss American Historical Society, Book Editor, 2523 Asbury Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201.
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