My Father
Leopold was born in Marktheidenfeld Germany on February 6,1911, oldest son of Salomon and Hermine Freimark née Adler. The other brothers were Ludwig, Friedrich and Siegbert. Salomon had decided what careers each son should persue: Leopold -engineering; Ludwig – teaching: Friedrich and Siegbert – business; which is what actually happened. Their father, Salomon, was a blacksmith, but also an inventor of a foot-operated hammer that allowed a blacksmith to operate the hammer without the need for an assistant to hold the object being worked on. [insert patent here]. He manufactured the hammers and sold them as far away as Egypt. He also had one of the first electric motors in Marktheidenfeld and later added machinery for the manufacture of wire mesh. When it snowed the mail horses’ horseshoes had to be changed to horseshoes with spikes so that the horses would not slip. Leopold and Ludwig remembered having to hold the horses and keep them calm while the horseshoes were changed, and then getting a ride on the horse. Some of Ludwig’s older daughters recall having to watch over the wash that was spread on the grass down at the end of the street by the Main River. Their job was to keep the geese away.
Salomon, clearly a hardworking and ambitious man, ignored pain he had in his stomach and failed to see a doctor until his appendix burst, at which point physicians from Würzburg University came to Marktheidenfeld and operated on him on the kitchen table. He died overnight from a hemorrhage. Leopold and Ludwig had to be sent to an orphanage and were followed a year later by Friedrich. Only the youngest, Siegbert, was kept at home. Hermine was set up in a millinery business by her brother, which she operated from her house.