The name here is Paul Strebe. Along with my wife Barb, we have been researching the Strebe ancestors about 15 years now. We live in the state of Wisconsin about 100 miles north of Milwaukee. We are both 71 years old and have been married 52 years.
I had been working the past 40 1/2 years at Gilbert Paper Company here in Menasha. My position as a Color Engineer and the fact that I was forced to learn how to use the computer has helped in my genealogy quests. After 37 years on shift work I had been working days (sometimes very long ones) implementing a behavioral based safety process. After two and a half years we have the system up and running with a solid foundation. I have just recently turned the process over to a co-worker and as of August 1,2000, I have been officially retired from the Mead Corporation.
Barb and I first met while we both were stationed at Fort McClellan, Alabama with the US Army. I met her one Saturday afternoon and asked her to marry me later that night. Ten days later we were married in Trenton, GA. Since we both were in the Army we didn't have any honeymoon. In fact I had to have her back to her barracks by 9:00pm. Eight days later I shipped out to serve a tour of duty in Germany. I came home on leave 1 week before our first daughter arrived. We never managed that honeymoon. Barb passed away on August 20th 2009.
What got me started in this search was a letter from Paul Hans Strebe. He was a student at that time at the University of Wisconsin. His classmate was the son of one of my old high school classmates. Somehow the name of Paul Strebe came up and my old buddy said he had gone to school with a "Paul Strebe". Well, one thing led to another and I received a letter from Paul. I guess that was a total surprise to both of us that there was more than one Paul Strebe. The next letter I received was from Mrs William Rindfliesch(Ethel Strebe) in Spencer Wisconsin. I learned from Ethel that there were Strebe's that settled in Fond Du Lac and Marathon counties here in Wisconsin.
Since both my parents had already past on, I turned to my Aunt Marie for any information on my Grandpa's family. This information led me to the library and a search of the census films from the 1800's, and to this day I am still searching.
What started with two brothers starting families here in Wisconsin has turned into a monumental search. It has not helped that the two lines seemed to have separated and went their own way. I have no explanation as to why the lines have drifted so far apart but I can't remember as a child any conversions by my parents about other Strebe's. I grew up thinking that all the Strebe's that existed were my Aunts, Uncles or 1st cousins. Even today it has been much easier for Barb and I to get information from the deceased than it is from the living. During the course of my research I have been fortunate enough not only to correspond with other Strebe's that are researching but also to meet several of my distant cousins. It was through these meeting and letters I learned that there was more Strebe lines out there then I have ever dreamed off.
My research has led to nine separate Strebe lines. My dream is to link them all to one common ancestor. We had talked about other lines having family reunions and would it not be great to have one big event and get all the lines together for a grand reunion. Sounds impossible?? I thought so at first but with all the modern technology at our finger tips I truly believe it can be accomplished. The first step in that direction would be a creation of a newsletter.I now have a forum on the site for exchanging information. The second step could be a meeting of all the Strebe's that are now researching and combine all our efforts into a single database and format. Perhaps then all the lines that are out there could then be linked together. It could also be decided what type of newsletter, how often and the best way to get it out to everyone. If we can get this up and running I guess the final step would be the planning of a grand reunion. With just a little effort by everyone I firmly believe this can be accomplished.
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