[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 108 (Thursday, June 27, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E676]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RECOGNIZING 100 YEARS OF THE HIRZEL FAMILY REUNION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 27, 2024

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize a milestone occasion in 
the life and history of one Northwest Ohio family. On June 29, 2024 the 
Hirzel Family will come together for the 100th time in reunion. I am 
pleased to include in the Record the family's history as told to me:

       ``In 1871, Alexander Hirzel of Diessbach in the canton of 
     Bern, Switzerland married Elisabeth Studer. They had five 
     sons and two daughters. After Elisabeth died, Alexander 
     married her sister, Marie Studer, in 1886. Alexander and 
     Marie had six sons and three daughters. The descendants will 
     gather on June 30, 2024 for the 100th Annual Reunion of the 
     Descendants of Alexander Hirzel and Elisabeth and Marie 
     Studer-Hirzel. Descendants have included 16 children, 33 
     grandchildren, 70 great grandchildren, 146 great-great 
     grandchildren, 208 great-great-great grandchildren--and still 
     growing with 45 great-great-great-great-grandchildren plus 
     hundreds of spouses.
       ``In the 1890s, the Hirzel-Studer family settled in the 
     Toledo area. The descendants have had a significant impact on 
     Northwest Ohio. In 1924, the family was involved in founding 
     the Swiss Hall on South St. Clair Street in Toledo. The Swiss 
     Hall served as a gathering spot for Swiss immigrants and 
     their descendants and also housed the Toledo United Swiss 
     Society. In 1974, the Toledo United Swiss Society sold the 
     Swiss Hall and joined six German societies in founding Oak 
     Shade Grove in Oregon, Ohio which is the location of the 
     100th Annual Family Reunion.
       ``Originally, many family members worked in the alcohol 
     business as bar owners and blew masters. Yet the family's 
     trajectory changed when Prohibition put them out of these 
     businesses. Beginning in 1920, the family started other 
     businesses. Alexander's son, Alfred, founded Alfred Hirzel 
     and Sons Greenhouses in what is now Northwood, Ohio. Alfred's 
     brother Carl bought a farm in Northwood and in 1923 
     established Hirzel Canning Company & Farms. Brother Ernest 
     started Hirzel Coal and Builder's Supply in Toledo. In 1924, 
     brothers Otto and Eugene started Hirzel Brothers Florist in 
     Toledo. Hirzel Canning Company & Farms and Hirzel Brothers 
     Florist still exist today.
       ``The reunion began as elders became concerned that the 
     family was growing and moving beyond the Toledo area, and 
     they wanted to establish an annual event that would bring the 
     entire extended family together. So in 1924, family members 
     organized the first Reunion of the Descendants of Alexander 
     Hirzel and Elisabeth and Marie Studer-Hirzel at the Hirzel 
     Canning Company on Lemoyne Road in Northwood. ``On June 30, 
     2024, for the 100th time in 100 years, the descendants will 
     gather to honor their Swiss and American Heritage and to 
     blend the generations and the branches of the Hirzel-Studer 
     family. Since inception, aside from a social gathering, the 
     family reunion has included a formal business meeting run by 
     Robert's Rules of Order with minutes recorded by a Secretary. 
     During this meeting, family members raise issues of concern 
     to the extended family, vote on resolutions and elect 
     officers. This business meeting has been an integral part of 
     the annual family reunion for a century.''
       The Hirzel family has been a cornerstone of business and 
     community leadership for more than 150 years. It is 
     astounding that they have been able to come together as a 
     family for 100 consecutive years. Yet, as successful and 
     noted as Hirzel Family businesses--now in operation through 
     the fourth generation--this annual family reunion 
     demonstrates the Hirzel family lives by a credo of Walt 
     Disney: ``A man should never neglect his family for 
     business.''
  We wish the members of the Hirzel family, descendants of Alexander 
Hirzel and Elisabeth and Marie Studer-Hirzel who came to this corner of 
Ohio so many generations ago, a reunion filled with love and laughter, 
joy and inspiration, reflection and memory. May they continue forward 
with full hearts as an intergenerational family that has distinguished 
itself personally and professionally for a century of American 
progress.

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