Emil Kaelin, Milton’s father, came to the rescue. Since then the 19th century documents (founding documents, protocols, membership lists, meeting minutes, old library books, etc.) have been preserved in a large steel cabinet in one of the storage buildings on his farm. Things Swiss had always been important in his family’s life; hearing stories from his grandparents and as a child he often spent time with his parents at Swiss Hall.
at Gruetli Helvetia Society picnic at Gilbert’s farm, 2007.
“I grew up with Swiss music. My father and his brothers and sisters all played either accordion or piano, playing polkas, waltzes, schottisches, and yodeling. My grandmother and several aunts could really yodel. The Swiss Hop dances were legendary on Saturday nights. Swiss immigrants and their descendants kept close to each other. Some of that has faded over the years, but is not gone.” The Gruetli Helvetia Society is the last Swiss bastion in Louisville and Milton has been one of the dedicated members. He has held all of the officers’ positions in the society, except secretary, and was one of the first junior members when it was started in the early 1960s. “At present we are just about one hundred members, and still all only men.
In 1850, when it was founded, the society’s main goal was to help and support the new immigrant members with financial aid if necessary. Many were from the region of Einsiedeln - from Egg, Willerzell, Gross, and Euthal - among them my great-grandfather Anton Jacob ‘Andy’ Kaelin of Willerzell who emigrated to America in 1880. Today the society has no support function, but serves as a social meeting place.”
Milton lives outside Louisville near Mount Washington in Bullitt County on a small farm in a house he and his father, Emil, built in 1982. He has about 300 pigeons that he raises and exhibits at fairs and pigeon shows. He has raised them along with his father for over 50 years. Looking after them means, he is not able to take any long trips, such as to Switzerland, as there would not be anyone to take care of all the birds.
Milton was stationed from 1970 to 1972 near Nurnberg in Germany as a soldier in the US-Army. “In 1971, I went with a fellow soldier to Einsiedeln. We drove to Switzerland and to the monastery village but could only stay for a few hours, because it was on a weekend and we had to be back on Monday for work. I found it to be very beautiful and wondered why my ancestors would ever have left! I am very interested in my Swiss heritage, and would like to know more about my ancestors, possible relatives still living in Einsiedeln, and the meaning of the name and the family coat of arms.”
