WenkUSA

UNCLE CHARLIE

If you would have asked us children who their most favored person was the answer most likely would have been: Uncle Charlie.

As I think back to my earliest childhood memories Uncle Charlie stands out like a large bright yellow splash on a deep purple surface. He was a brilliant light that chased any shadows from a child's face.

It was Uncle Charlie who planned all the weekend outings with our family. He led the procession of three cars into the heart of the Black Forest where we would stop for a picnic and most likely my father and Uncle Charlie would spend a few hours painting some landscape while we children played games.

He drove a bright red sports car that was so small that it was hard for my Aunt and him to get into. Uncle Louis, who was the third party in the caravan had a slightly larger bright blue sports car and my father drove one of those square box Mercedes that was large and heavy and well suited to make our family of five comfortable. This was in the early thirties and caravans like this were not common. The children liked these trips because the driving was usually less than two hours and the destinations were always full of surprises and everybody had a wonderful time.

Uncle Charlie and aunt Marie, my father's half sister, had no children of their own at that time so they spoiled us with a lot of attention. My father died when I was twelve and uncle Charlie became my surrogate father. He continued to take us skiing and took me along on ski tours over large areas of the Black Forest. He also taught me alpine skiing on trips to the Swiss Alps.

Uncle Charlie was a master violin maker. He learned the profession in Basel, Switzerland building violins, violas and cellos. Later he started his own business and supplied many musicians with his highly esteemed instruments. He was also a master in repairing and renovating old instruments. Clients came from far with their favored instruments when they needed professional attention.

Charlie and I were always the best of friends. He was someone I trusted, someone I admired and felt lucky to know. As a child and as an adult I looked up to him knowing that each time we would do something together it was fun all around.

When Charlie and my aunt Marie had their own children I was getting married myself, starting a family.

Today, when my daughter comes to visit us in California with her husband and their two boys it reminds me of the many good times we had back in Switzerland. There is a special love and caring in the air and much fun doing things together. No wonder. After all Claudia's husband Dieter is Charlie's son and the two boys, Adrian and Lorenz, are the two grandchildren Charlie and I share. He is now 93 years old and until five years ago was still making and repairing instruments for his most cherished clients. He is a true master of the art of instrument building.

But his mastery of life is equally convincing.

STORYTELLER: Ernst Wenk (1923-)

PHOTO: Karl Schneider (1905-1998)