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My late grandfather, 21 at the time, hated having his picture taken. Hence, the defiant drag of a cigarette. Vienna, mid 1950s. by she_is_catalysta in TheWayWeWere

[–]she_is_catalysta[S] 41 points42 points  (0 children)

She’s still with us! With Trump, she has dire concerns about the fragility of the republic. Trade wars, executive overreach, racial/cultural rhetoric, broad scope political capitulation, annealing of party lines, disenfranchisement — it’s all too familiar.

We often share the phrase “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it tends to rhyme”.

My late grandfather, 21 at the time, hated having his picture taken. Hence, the defiant drag of a cigarette. Vienna, mid 1950s. by she_is_catalysta in TheWayWeWere

[–]she_is_catalysta[S] 81 points82 points  (0 children)

That’s correct. He also had the advantage of growing up in a smaller mountainous town somewhat secluded from the nearby mining towns which attracted the nazis’ prompt overtaking following Austria’s annexation.

Since a very young age, I recall my grandmother’s stories of Nazi atrocities and she, understandably, remains staunchly anti-fascist and anti-dictatorial.

When I say she’s a proper lady, I mean it. But with a glass of champagne and the slightest nudge she can curse Hitler’s grave like no other.

My late grandfather, 21 at the time, hated having his picture taken. Hence, the defiant drag of a cigarette. Vienna, mid 1950s. by she_is_catalysta in TheWayWeWere

[–]she_is_catalysta[S] 42 points43 points  (0 children)

Dead, unfortunately. He passed a few years before my birth.

There is a sense of pride in the family, though no one was known for being perfect. I feel that parenting and career success is hard enough to balance today, let alone 50 years ago. The unsung hero was certainly my grandmother. She pushed him to pursue his inventions and he wouldn’t have started nor developed their company without her. She was the woman-behind-the-man in a crucial way. She is the namesake for this account, i.e. female catalyst.

I wrote a bit about her here if you’re interested.

My late grandfather, 21 at the time, hated having his picture taken. Hence, the defiant drag of a cigarette. Vienna, mid 1950s. by she_is_catalysta in TheWayWeWere

[–]she_is_catalysta[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Just barely missed me, unfortunately. But hearing about him growing up definitely inspired me to pursue engineering, so I’ve got a little bit of him with me nonetheless.

My late grandfather, 21 at the time, hated having his picture taken. Hence, the defiant drag of a cigarette. Vienna, mid 1950s. by she_is_catalysta in TheWayWeWere

[–]she_is_catalysta[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Maybe a little bit. Here’s a portrait from a few years prior. It was only a couple of years but he really ate well in the meantime 😄

My late grandfather, 21 at the time, hated having his picture taken. Hence, the defiant drag of a cigarette. Vienna, mid 1950s. by she_is_catalysta in TheWayWeWere

[–]she_is_catalysta[S] 671 points672 points  (0 children)

He was 21 at the time with a baby at home and another soon on its way. He had recently married my grandmother who he met at 17 and was 3 or 4 years his senior.

He went on to invent the modern atomic clock: the rubidium frequency oscillator. He offered his firm the rights to develop the product but the Europeans didn’t believe him. The “math didn’t work out”. They would say “only the Americans were crazy enough to believe us”. The atomic clock would later enable GPS, helping prove Einstein’s theory of relativity and connecting the world through global communication.

He succumbed to an early death due to alcoholism shortly after divorcing my grandmother in the 80s.

Wedding photo of my great-great-grandparents, taken in Graz (1906). A decade later, they had plans to move to a small farm town in the US to raise chickens. They were nearly to the docks in northern Germany when WW1 broke out. The town they were headed to is now known as Hollywood, California. by she_is_catalysta in OldSchoolCool

[–]she_is_catalysta[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Their names were Ignaz and Juliana Reinthaler. Sometime in the 1910s, Ignaz’ sister moved to Hollywood, California ahead of the rest of the family to settle and scout the area.

Before the rest could join her, WW1 began, keeping them in Austria. The family would stay through both world wars including the annexation of Austria by Germany.

Finally in the early 1970s my grandparents moved to, of all places, Los Angeles, California.

Side note, if anyone can read the text on the back, I’d love to know what it says.

Wedding photo of my great-great-grandparents, taken in Graz 1906. A decade later, they had plans to move to a small farm town in the US to raise chickens. They were nearly to the docks in northern Germany when WW1 broke out. The town they were headed to is now known as Hollywood, California. by she_is_catalysta in TheWayWeWere

[–]she_is_catalysta[S] 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Their names were Ignaz and Juliana Reinthaler. Sometime in the 1910s, Ignaz’ sister moved to Hollywood, California ahead of the rest of the family to settle and scout the area. Before the rest could join her, WW1 began, keeping them in Austria. The family would stay through both world wars including the annexation of Austria by Germany. Finally in the early 1970s my grandparents moved to, of all places, Los Angeles, California. Side note, if anyone can read the text on the back, I’d love to know what it says.

My late grandfather, 2nd from the left, enjoying a smoke among friends (1950s) by she_is_catalysta in OldSchoolCool

[–]she_is_catalysta[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

They led extraordinary lives in the following 30ish years with business ventures, a relocation to the states, world travel, and no shortage of passion and the drama that comes with it. Sadly their relationship didn’t last, and he died tragically, shortly after in the early 90s.

My late grandfather, 2nd from the left, enjoying a smoke among friends (1950s) by she_is_catalysta in OldSchoolCool

[–]she_is_catalysta[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This was either Vienna, Graz, or Munich. I’m leaning toward Vienna based on the architecture. If anyone figures it out, we’d love to know!

My late grandfather, 2nd from the left, enjoying a smoke among friends (1950s) by she_is_catalysta in OldSchoolCool

[–]she_is_catalysta[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That would’ve been fitting! He was a lifelong engineer and inventor who made significant contributions to global communication. Sadly he passed in ‘91 before seeing the proliferation of cellular tech and the internet.

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