Clippings     

Josef Nieland's 80th Birthday

Actualy There Should Be 69

The Ruhrwacht, Oberhausen, Germany, Tuesday, June 19, 1962

Yes, altogether there are 69 of them, namely 12 daughters, 3 sons, 52 grandchildren, and one great grandchild and naturally the head person—the old gentleman in the back on the stairway, he is Number 1—that everyone in the picture, big and small (and about a dozen and a half more family members), want to congratulate today. Mr. Josef Nieland of 8 Michel Street, Osterfeld is 80 years old today and his whole extended family is gathered around him.

Photo: Josef Nieland with his extended family on his 80th Birthday. Josef is standing on stairs at back. Click image to enlarge

Born on June 19, 1862, Josef Nieland learned the carpentry trade. As a journeyman, he traveled around and ended up in Bavaria. After his military service and an injury in the First World War, he started work in the railroad industry as a civil servant. He soon earned the confidence of his colleagues as a deputy in the south Osterfeld railway station, and until 1932 he was Chairman of the Switchmen in Osterfeld. In 1945 he lost his wife in a tragic accident (she drowned in a car accident in Lippe River). Also hard was the sudden loss he encountered one of his two brothers in America who had visited him in 1956 after 61 years. (We reported at that time about the: "Visit After 61 Years".)

The birthday boy is still physically and mentally very spry and, yes, he knows all of his 52 grandchildren and the one great-grandchild by name.

The Ruhrwacht wishes our old faithful reader yet many years of health and good fortune in the circle of his large family!

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