There have been several Braunhart men who have served in the military. And yes, some served in the German army in World War I.

In honor of all who served, no matter the country, here are a few photos of them in uniform.
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Leo Metzner, the father of my dad's first cousin, was in the U. S. Army in World War I.  The following article was written as a tribute to him at age 88.  It was written in 1983 and published in the Las Vegas Sun newspaper on Veteran's Day.

The article describes some of his adventures while in England and France in 1917 and 1918.

Let's just say that a case of the measles, contracted while being shipped over seas - saved his life.

Thank you Leo, for your service.

What is it about the men that some of my female ancestors chose in the late 1800s?

I have written previously about Hattie Isaacs, whose boyfriend was George Permien in 1899. The crass way to put this is that George knocked her up, promised to marry her and then deserted her.

Hattie responded by having George arrested for felony betrayal and then he spent time in jail, as the court case took several months. Hattie ultimately lost the case and their child Geraldine Isaacs was born in Oakland, California June 12, 1899.

Well folks, we have another one. This time the deed was done in New Orleans, Louisiana where Salome Carillon, who is the grandmother of my Dad's cousin Gloria Metzner, was knocked up by Joseph Mott Jr.   Salome had him arrested and charged with abduction for the purposes of prostitution.

Below is one of the newspaper articles from that case.

As you can see, her impregnator was quite the popular fellow as he impregnated ANOTHER woman and quickly married her.

In New Orleans, daughter Pearl was born on June 12, 1893. Salome married John Metzner on February 25, 1894 and he became Pearl's father.

Being a teenage single mother in that era must have been very difficult, even though both Hattie and Salome married another man quite soon after the birth of their daughters.  It did affect them obviously, as both had multiple marriages.

What is it with these guys?  Responsibility was definitely one of their strong points.  They deserved their time in the slammer, just for being so irresponsible and unaccountable.

Actually my ex-cousin-in-law once removed, but who's counting? Hal Borne (born Cecil Harold Steinborn) was a bandleader and composer of popular music, best known as the music director for RKO Studios for Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers from 1931-1940. Later, he was the band leader for the Tony Martin and Ginger Rogers' touring shows. He also wrote the music for one of the last Marx Brothers movies "The Big Store" and was a songwriter ("Tenement Symphony", "I'm Building Up to an Awful Letdown"). Here is a photo of Fred, Hal, and Ginger on the set of "The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle" in 1939: 

He was married to my father's cousin Gloria Metzner, whose stage name at that time was Gloria Dea.  She was a child magician; dancer in the Earl Carroll's Vanities in Hollywood and the Billy Rose Aquacade at the San Francisco World's Fair; and later an actress in several movies and serials.  She and Hal were married in the 1940s.  Here is a photo of them together in 1945: 

My great aunt, Martha Heyman, was married twice, once to Harry Christopher, and once to Leo Metzner. It is fascinating to me that her first marriage to Mr. Christopher lasted less than 3 months: 

Fortunately, her second marriage (and final one) to my great Uncle Leo Metzner lasted over 50 years (unfortunately she passed 2 months after their golden anniversary).  They changed their last name to "Day" in the 1940's: 

So who knows what lies ahead after a wedding, sometimes pain, sometimes bliss, sometimes both! 

My dad's cousin - Gloria Metzner, who went by the stage name Gloria Dea when she was in the movies in the 1940 and 1950s, started her entertainment career as a magician.  Her father, Leo Metzner, performed in local circles as "The Great Leo."

The following are two articles, regarding Gloria's magical exploits - one at age 7, and one at age 11.  She later took her act to The Hotel El Rancho Vegas, the Las Vegas Strip's first casino resort.

There have been many in the family who have been in the entertainment industry as musicians, actors, writers, magicians, and dancers. Some have actually been in the entertainment industry making a living, while others performed as a hobby or sideline.

My first cousin, once removed, (my Dad's first cousin) Clyde Pound, has been a pianist, keyboardist, arranger, musical director, etc. for over 50 years. He started with the Dukes of Dixieland and through his career has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, Hawaii, Colorado, and now Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was musical director for the Hungry I nightclub in San Francisco and has been musical director for and played with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Liza Minelli, Dizzy Gillespie, and many others.

Another one of my Dad's cousins, Stafford Repp was a television and movie actor, best known for the part of Chief O'Hara on the television series Batman in the 1960s. He started his career in San Francisco repertory theatre after serving in World War II. He moved to southern California where he subsequently appeared in character roles in hundreds of television shows and movies.

Stafford Repp's sister, Elisabeth Repp, was a television writer. She was a writer for the pilot episode of the long running TV soap opera - "General Hospital".

Yet another of my dad's cousins was Gloria Metzner, whose stage name was Gloria Dea. Her father, Leo Metzner was an amateur magician known as "The Great Leo". She started her career as a child magician and performed at The Hotel El Rancho Vegas, the Las Vegas Strip's first casino resort.

Later she danced as part of Earl Carroll's Vanities in Hollywood and the Billy Rose Aquacade at the San Francisco World's Fair. She later was in several movies and serials. She was in the "King of the Congo" serial with Buster Crabbe in the starring role of "Princess Pha". 

Although she had small parts in many successful movies such as "Around the World in 80 Days", she also had a small role in what has been called the worst movie of all time - Ed Wood's "Plan 9 From Outer Space". She currently lives in Las Vegas.

The first of Gloria's husbands was Jack Statham, who was a bandleader who also played the accordion. Her second husband was Hal Borne, most famous for being Fred Astaire's rehearsal pianist, as well as band leader for Tony Martin and Ginger Rogers' touring shows. He also wrote the music for one of the last Marx Brothers movies "The Big Store". Here is a photo of Gloria and Hal in 1945.

Clyde Pound's mother and father had a vaudeville show. Henry Pound had a group that was looking for a piano player. Mynette Heyman was hired and they got married shortly thereafter. Myn and her first cousin Edith Markheim Stone played together later in life for senior groups as "The First Cousins".

Arthur Heyman was a "smoothie dancer" and won several awards for his dancing later in his life.

My great grandfather Joseph Marks was a vaudeville agent and my great great uncle Isaac Marks was a stage manager for several San Francisco musical theatres in the late 1800s and early 1900s.