Message Board

Hi Guys,

You're both quite correct, Ingrid is Latvian. Yes James there is quite a Latvian community here in Ausrtralia and Ingrid's father is in a retirement village mostly with latvian residents.

I was back in Germany only a week ago at the end of a vacation but on this occassion did not visit B-gaden as time was very limited and I only got as far as Rosenheim, where I stayed with friends. I avoided my 11th visit to the O-fest.

Bill you wrote earlier of all the changes in B-gaden and I have seen the same slow change over the years during my visits there. You have to admit however that despite the changes we would have preferred not to have seen......the beauty persists, as do our memories.

Regards to all

Doc,.

I believe she was from Latvia. 

I know many Latvians that left and ended up in Austrlia.  One such person was George Mikelsons.  He was a young boy that traveled from Latvia to Germany and the DP Camps.  His family left Germany and went to Austrila where he grew up and learned to fly.  He was a crop duster in Australia. 

In 1949, when George was 12, they emigrated to Australia. There, Mikelsons' father--a former child prodigy who had played the violin throughout Europe--worked as an English interpreter for Latvian and Russian immigrants.  George was 23 when his family ended in Indianapolis.  His father was offered a position with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.  As time went by he (George) borrowed enough money to buy his first airplane.  That was the start of ATA airlines.  In Latvian ATA means “have a great day”.  To Americans it ment American Trans Air.

JIM