My mother’s family’s immigrant story began in Johnstown. C. Heinze emigrated from the very poor Palatinate region of Germany in 1878 and made his way to the coal mines of PA. He discovered that jobs were plentiful, and so were single women of marriage age, as he wrote his brother back home, urging him to come over.
As a very young child in the 1960s I remember meeting “Aunt Minnie,” a relation who lived through it. She was very old. The Flood was a part of our family history. We had that photo you’re using on the wall of our restaurant, among others documenting the event.
