Recognizing 100 Years of the Hirzel Family Reunion

Floor Speech

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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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