1. 1 9 5 9 J U L Y 2 0 0 9
the
GEIGER Family
FRANK & ERNA--50 YEARS TOGETHER
z
Every Excuse to Fail z
Born in Bavaria during the reign of the 3rd Reich both Frank and
Erna lost family members and the stability usually needed to
build character and resilient adults.
AS A CHILD ERNA ENDURED 206 BOMBINGS
She remembers returning to saw that the rest of the house
the pile of rubble that had was missing--obliterated by the
once been her home and bomb. Where many children
feeling the bitterness of have memories filled with
seeing chocolate chip
her cookies and
tricycle vacations to
Yosemite
mangled Frank’s and
and Erna’s are
Los Vegas burned very different.
This city is not known as a
hanging They had
good place to build a lasting
marriage yet it was here fifity from some every excuse
years ago that Frank Geiger plumbing to fail yet they
and Erna Broderek exchanged protruding from the wreckage. chose to be thankful for the kind
wedding vows in one of those
“assembly-line” wedding On another occasion the bomb people that helped them and to
chapels.. hit the house where she was seek and share all
staying while she was using the the joy they
“It’s not the place that
bathroom. After the explosion could find in
counts,” Frank says, “It’s the
integrity of the people willing she could not open the door. difficult
to do what it takes to honor When others came to rescue her times.
by breaking the door down she
their vows!”

2. More Reasons To Succeed
Initiative Frank was told someone would meet him at the dock when his ship came into
New York. He had the address of a great aunt that lived in Miami, Florida, but had little concept of
how far away that was. After waiting for hours on the dock Frank decided to go to Florida so took a cab
to the Greyhound bus station and purchased a ticket to Miami. He arrived in Miami in the wee hours of
the morning so used his remaining money to take a cab to the address he had been given.
He found a grand old Southern style house with the large veranda holding piles of newspapers. He
made a bed among the news papers. Daylight came and Frank slept on until voices--some in German,
some in English--expressing wonderment at who this was. As his sleepy mind struggled to figure out
where he was he heard someone say, “It must be him--there’s his suitcase, but HOW did he get here?”
That initiative served Frank and later his family well.
Industry Frank had apprenticed as a baker in Germany so soon went to work making Ger-
man pastries in a local bakery at $1.25 per hour. The owner of the bakery noticed that his business was
growing. In particular one young lady came in every afternoon to purchase the Chocolate Eclairs Frank
had baked that morning. Finally the manager asked the steady customer, “How can you eat so many of
these?” She replied, “They aren’t all for me, I have a girlfriend here from Germany and she loves them
and shares them.” Well the manager replied, “Our young baker that makes them is from Germany
also--maybe you should bring your friend by to meet him.”
But that is not “the rest of the story.” Erna also possessed and displayed initiative and industry.
Continued on Page 4

3. The Geiger Counters
Over the years the family has grown to include four children and seven grandsons and
the challenges have changed--changed from “child-bearing” to “child-rearing” to “how
do you pay for college tuition?” to “how do you survive financially when a corporate
merger cuts a vice-president’s position?” to “how do you survive cancer or a quadruple
by pass surgery?” to “will our daughter come home safely from Iraq?” to “how will I ever
survive without my life-long partner?” The challenges change but the answers have
remained the same, Initiative, Industry and Integrity. Only now a new dimension
has been added: Implicit trust in the Almighty. The things that really count with the
Geigers are Family, Faith and Fun finding the joy in living even in tough times.
These are the reasons the marriage and the family thrive!

4. Continued from page 2
Initiative Integrity & Industry
“My mother was changed by the trauma of the war and later an abusive marriage.” Erna said. “She
had left me in the care of others and fled to America. Years later when I could join her here I could see
immediately that she was not the mother I had known in childhood. She became very protective and
would not let me take a job.”
Erna saw a help wanted ad for someone to be a companion and driver for an elderly couple from
Canonsberg, Pennsylvania. She knew it would require tact and skill to get her mother’s consent so she
called the couple explaining that she would like the job but needed her mother’s permission.
“Would you come meet my mother to convince her I would be safe working for you?” Erna asked.
The couple agreed and after an extensive interview permission was granted. For two and a half years
Erna lived and worked with the Pennsylvania couple who were snow birds--spending about six months in
Florida every winter. In the winter of 1958 Erna discovered the delicious German Chocolate Eclairs.
By February 1959 she met their
German baker.
Integrity Frank’s work
and wages were a barrier to social
life. Erna and her girlfriend invited
Frank to go places with them but
Frank was unwilling to go unless he
could pick up the tab. “I will never
let others pay my way, especially my
date.” Frank said emphatically, “If
I can’t pay, I can stay.”
Soon Spring took Erna back to
Pennsylvania and Frank’s initiative,
industry and integrity generated an
invitation to help open the Stardust
Hotel in Las Vegas. Erna went to
visit him there. As she left Frank
said, “The next time you come out
we will get married.”
Frank called Erna’s mother to ask
permission. The reply was short
and curt--NO. But the elderly cou-
ple for whom Erna worked gave
their blessing and a friendly warn-
ing, “Treat her well or we’ll come
after you. We know where you
live.”
That’s how Erna and
Frank found their way
to the wedding chapel
in Las Vegas July 9,
1959