Hillbilly ?

[Tasmandevil]

@tbox61,
Ah Cologne, Cologne is very close to me, only about 100 km away. Last summer we visited our son in the USA. He is a soldier there. We were in Canada (Niagara Falls), Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Washington. My son lives in Reston Verginia. The trip to the USA has been my biggest experience so far.

[Tasmandevil]

fiddlesticks

Hello,
The name Pfeiffer is very common in Germany. Especially where I live so in the southwest of Germany. I think the name has its origin in the Spielmaszügen (music bands) of the German princes, these had almost always private armies. These armies included musicians who, when the army went to battle, played the whistle to encourage the mercenaries.

The name Pfeiffer also occurs in Austria and Switzerland. But not as often as in Germany.

Best regards

[DiLeon]

In War, they got rid of the books, the art, and the artist, the highly educated, in order to create a new more powerful country. I am from the class of artist that lived all over Europe and even Russian that was sent to Siberia. Stalin banished people to Siberia to die in winter and starve and work. 20 million people died. Some lived and escape and came to America.....although this was not easy as some will tell stories of horror. Life in history as I see it ....it like the Game of Thrones. On my mother's side,....family went to the west and were cowboys. Major survivors to live.

I have never been to Germany. I traveled to the Middle East, Bali, Thailand, Japan, Cambodia, and lots places no one wants to go when I was young. I wanted to see real people and real history. My life then was like Raiders of the Lost Ark....very insane.

[Nomad]

https://www.buzzfeed.com/copyranter/...oK5#.uap0njmY5

[tbox61]

Fiddlesticks,
There are lots of Pfeifers in this area...it is usually spelled with one 'f'--it is not that uncommon that they may have dropped the other 'f ' at some point in time. That is a pretty common Germanic surname with the Volga Germans. There is also a town in Ellis County here in Kansas that is named Pfeifer.

My last name is Boxberger, and there are many people with last names of some of the towns in the Volga region...Rohr, Pfeifer, Schmidt, Schmidtberger, and on and on...they brought that with them from Germany.

As Tasman indicated, Catherine the Great was German and enticed most of the people to move to the Volga region to settle there. It didn't turn out to be the utopia they were told it was. After a certain amount of time, they figured they needed to leave, and then most came to America in the 1880's to settle in this part of Kansas. A lot of families ended up in Colorado, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Those that stayed past the 1920's were persecuted by Stalin, shot, starved or sent to the gulags in Siberia. I wouldn't be here typing this if my fore fathers hadn't been brave and emigrated to the US!

Just a bit of history for you all...

[fiddlesticks]

fiddlesticks

Hello,
The name Pfeiffer is very common in Germany. Especially where I live so in the southwest of Germany. I think the name has its origin in the Spielmaszügen (music bands) of the German princes, these had almost always private armies. These armies included musicians who, when the army went to battle, played the whistle to encourage the mercenaries.

The name Pfeiffer also occurs in Austria and Switzerland. But not as often as in Germany.

Best regards

I think I read Pfeiffer was thought to have come from one who played the Pfeiff. My German heritage is on my mothers side. Two of my uncles love polka music and play the concertina. Musical ability skipped me entirely though I do enjoy listening to all types of music.

[fiddlesticks]

Fiddlesticks,
There are lots of Pfeifers in this area...it is usually spelled with one 'f'--it is not that uncommon that they may have dropped the other 'f ' at some point in time. That is a pretty common Germanic surname with the Volga Germans. There is also a town in Ellis County here in Kansas that is named Pfeifer.

My last name is Boxberger, and there are many people with last names of some of the towns in the Volga region...Rohr, Pfeifer, Schmidt, Schmidtberger, and on and on...they brought that with them from Germany.

As Tasman indicated, Catherine the Great was German and enticed most of the people to move to the Volga region to settle there. It didn't turn out to be the utopia they were told it was. After a certain amount of time, they figured they needed to leave, and then most came to America in the 1880's to settle in this part of Kansas. A lot of families ended up in Colorado, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Those that stayed past the 1920's were persecuted by Stalin, shot, starved or sent to the gulags in Siberia. I wouldn't be here typing this if my fore fathers hadn't been brave and emigrated to the US!

Just a bit of history for you all...

Thanks. There is much to explore on both sides of the family. I believe the German side of the family came over shortly before or after WWI. Though some did stay. They settled in Iowa.

[lionslair]

I have three standing on my shelf. They are 100+ years old - carved by my Great Uncle Martin. Namesake. They were carved from cartoon characters in a Men's magazine while he was a doctor and no one in the office. He lost his life in the great plague die off in Chicago. They kept running out of doctors and drafted him in Indianapolis Indiana. He left his beloved wife and a valuable Trust with a working farm supporting her and the men who worked the farm. Farm is now in the best of friends of hers, a daughter that is. Some of these hill billies might have gun fights between families while others do fantastic art in wood and sewing. Back woods Booze for themselves until the outside found them. Usually a small gene pool that typically gives the worst in mind and thinking. Kissing cousins comes from like background.

[Tasmandevil]

fiddlesticks

Then you have the music in the blood. Today the flute players in military bands are called "Pfeifer". They play on small short pipes. These pipes are also called "Picolo"

Often, parades today, when participants march in historic soldier's uniforms from past centuries, can see these "pipers" accompanied by drummers.

I think so now I have better explained where the name "Peiffer" came from.

Best regards
Jakob

[drhandrich]

tbox61 wrote "We raised our own gardens, butchered our own meat, and pretty well were self sustaining." and this too can readily refer to either hillbilly or redneck and they'd be proud to answer to that.

[tbox61]

tbox61 wrote "We raised our own gardens, butchered our own meat, and pretty well were self sustaining." and this too can readily refer to either hillbilly or redneck and they'd be proud to answer to that.

That is exactly right! The last place we looked when things got tough were handouts from the government.

My dad passed away in 1977 right before my 16th birthday. My mom was the head cook at one of the local elementary schools, and she sat me down right before I started my junior year in high school.

She told me that I qualified for free meals at school, but in no uncertain terms was she going to apply for that! So, I pitched in and actually made enough money with part time jobs to pay for my school lunches.

I still had enough time to participate in sports, have fun, and graduate 12th out of 115 in my class.

I figure that good work ethic has helped me in my career. I am a banker now with a 4 year college degree along with a MBA in Finance, and there is nothing derogatory to me about being called a hillbilly or a redneck!

They would be both terms I would wear with pride!