Jeff Haeberlin, the 50 year-old patent attorney, has Swiss roots. However, from which canton his ancestors come from, he does not know exactly. The census simply reads “Switzerland”. But he feels like a descendant of 3rd generation immigrants as an American, a stout baseball and Louisville football fan, and a Swiss… in that order!
Thanks to his father, he was registered at birth as a member of the Gruetli Helvetia Society. But only since graduating has he been actively involved in the association, which today still numbers around 120 men with a Swiss background - many of them also with family connections. “Today, I am the youngest member of the Board of Directors; most of them are in their 80s. In fact, the oldest member of the organization, Dominic Ehrler, will be 100 years old this year.” The Swiss Hall was for decades the “home” of the Gruetli Helvetia Society and more generally of the Swiss immigrants in Louisville.
Again and again, our interviews feature memories of this legendary Swiss Hall, which hosted major festivities - the Swiss Picnic in August, Christmas and dance parties, as well as Sunday meetings after attending services. Jeff: “We unfortunately had to sell the Swiss Hall in 1993 for financial reasons.” At one time there was a bar open for the guests, with bowling, cards, and ping pong. The guests formerly enjoyed dancing, singing, celebrating, and eating. However, now only the inscription “Swiss Hall” remains. With the decline in the number of members, it was no longer possible to maintain the property.
“As a lawyer and responsible for the finances, it was clear: we had to sell house and park - the whole property. We lost money with the property. That was a pity, of course, but inevitable. There were fewer and fewer Swiss events, and for the last seven years the Society had simply rented space in a nearby neighborhood location called the Mooselodge. Here traditional meetings take place every first Wednesday of the month; between 20 and 30 members are usually present. June and December are the big meetings… with a buffet. There are always a lot more people - 50 to 80 - at the big meetings.”
The Gruetli Helvetia Society is a men’s organization, the women are in the Swiss Ladies Society and then there is the Swiss Charity Society - all three work completely independently - only at the big events come together. “To my knowledge, the Gruetli Helvetia Society and the two organizations are the only surviving Swiss organizations here in Louisville. I would surely have heard, if there were more.”
The monthly events are well structured and the business portion of the meeting usually takes between 15 and 20 minutes. After the business meeting, the members enjoy socializing with food and drink. “We follow our agenda and for example, when someone dies, we have a moment of silence. We also report when a member has a serious illness. Also important is the ‘pledge of allegiance to the U.S.A.’ at every meeting - this is an official opening ceremony of the meeting.
The Swiss flag is occasionally displayed at the meetings, usually around Swiss National Day.” Jeff Haeberlin is the Treasurer, responsible for the financial affairs of the Society, along with an Entertainment Committee, a Membership Committee, and others. “A member can basically be any man of Swiss descent. In the Swiss Ladies Society, the members must be of Swiss origin.”
The statutes of the Society are from the year of foundation 1850 - the last time they were updated was in 1993. With all the rights and duties, tasks, batches and responsibilities, they are listed in a 23-page booklet of which each member is given a copy. “We attach great importance to the fact that the statutes are followed; new members swear by this.”
The Gruetli Helvetia Society has supported the project “Einsiedeln Elsewhere” from the start - and Jeff Haeberlin has a good part in it. He instantly thought the concept had potential - yes, he says he is enthusiastic about the project. He knows Einsiedeln from a trip to Europe in 2012. He visited the monastery village because he knew that many members of the Gruetli Helvetia Society had roots in Einsiedeln. “The Louisville members kept telling me about Einsiedeln - but I was planning a route that did not take me to Einsiedeln. Frankly, I was not so sure that I would even find Einsiedeln, despite GPS… until I finally saw the sign on the street in Biberbrugg. I was reassured that the direction was right! Although I only stayed in Einsiedeln for a short time, I was very impressed that such a small village had such a huge monastery.”
In addition, through the “Einsiedeln Elsewhere” project, Jeff learned that Louisville is home to many more Swiss than originally realized. “I thought that most of us were in our organization, but that’s not the case at all. The call to register for the new project brought a large number of other Swiss families onto the scene. I wish that at least the children and grandchildren of our active members would join our organization again. That would be great. It is difficult to generate interest in the organization by the younger generations - so I do not hold much hope. But if only one new young member joined because of an interest in the project, that would be great - who knows!”
