"Yes, of course. We have an agent we can contact and have a place by this afternoon. It will be completely furnished. How do I know," he chuckled. "Because my friend just left for Australia. You'll love the place."
The last thing Cliff requested was that whenever Ingrid Warner came to the bank; give her whatever she asked for. Mr. Weiss never batted an eye. He was used to eccentric rich folks.
Later back at the hotel he told her he couldn't get married without his commanding officers permission. He would request that permission soonest he could. She got tears in her eyes as she knew he would be leaving her alone in a foreign country. He asked her if she would rather go back to the town and stay with friends or remain here. She said, "No, I'll stay here. I'll see if I can find some work to keep me busy. I know it's too early yet, but I think I'm with child. That means in nine months I'll have something to keep me busy."
Cliff was thinking that if it was safe why not have his sister come stay with her. Alice would love Europe. He, later on the way to dinner, sent off another wire to that effect.
A week later his commanding officer had Cliff fly out to England along with some other pilots. By then he had the news that Alice was on her way by passenger ship. Ingrid would meet her at the airport. Swiss Air had some DC-3s that carried passengers in and out of Switzerland. Sure it was a little risky, but for a twenty two year old woman like Alice, she was pumped to go.
Back in New York, at Juniors' house, a family meeting and reunion was in full swing on a Sunday in May. JB had the floor. She was talking about California and its Stanten Agriculture business. JB said, "You know for an old lady, I still love to do business. We just purchased 1000 acres in the Napa Valley to grow grapes for wine. As soon as this damn war is over I can hire some experts from France to choose the right variety. Also, the Imperial Valley looks the best for expansion. Well, all of this is boring to you, but the family coffers are filling up fast.
Willie here is, as he decided, to retire to his ranch. We've hired a manager to replace him. The strain has been too much. I really don't know how much longer we can pump oil out of Texas and Oklahoma before it dries up. While the oil is still there, I think we ought to sell all of our oil wells. I like the idea of Junior and Florida. Fruit is a good product. Well enough for now."
Willie left the room and Junior closed the door to address the family. Adam, Luke, JB were the principals of this meeting. Junior said, "I've placed the bible in a safety deposit box. All of you are registered to open it at any time. As you know the maps and instructions are enclosed. I've since set up the Stanten Foundation. We all have our own funds and Swiss accounts. The remainder is locked up tight as father wished. There's enough in a Swiss account for future Stanten's for many years to come. If anyone wants to see the numbers of the foundation see our lawyers. When the war ends, which is sooner than most realize, me and Martha are going to Florida. Adam and Luke you will take over the running of the companies. JB will continue until she gives up the ghost, I guess."
"I'm going until you guys bury me in Golden with the rest of our family. When Alice and Penny reach the age of maturity, along with the war ending, they can assist me in the agriculture business if they so desire. Clifford will be changed from the war. Justin is too young yet. Big changes will occur after the war ends. I think we, Adam and Luke, along with Junior of course, should advise our relatives and let them choose what they want to do."
All agreed with her and raised their glasses in a toast. The evening was taken up by family history and future endeavors. Clifford with his new female friend would be a surprise in the making. For now, Alice was on her way to Switzerland to keep her company. Any experience is educational, Junior expressed while talking about Alice.
Penny, nineteen years old and a student of Smith College, sat thinking about the future. She was envious of Alice being able to go to Europe. She thought she would learn a lot and enjoy the west coast after graduation. She could live with her Aunt JB. It was a good idea, she thought.
June 1944
Ingrid held a sign up with 'ALICE' written on it at the airport. The sign wasn't really necessary as she was the only passenger under forty to get off the plane. Alice saw her name and waved with a broad smile. Ingrid was very embarrassed as once she realized the Stanten's were very wealthy and she was so poor, it made her feel small.
Alice never hesitated and hugged her future sister-in-law. They conversed in French. After picking up her travel bags, they went to Ingrid's new house. It was a large two story affair but the top floor had been let out when war broke out in 1939. The first floor was very specious and the place came with a maid, cook and a kind of butler. The butler was with Ingrid and had fetched the bags. They were placed in a taxi and off they went.
Even though Alice was a bit off time wise, being young helped her get over the time difference. Once Alice had freshened up, they had a nice dinner together. After dinner they talked about any and all things, but Ingrid in particular, wanted to talk about her brother Clifford. Of course Alice wanted to hear the story of his escape from German occupied Austria.
Ingrid told her new friend everything, including their making love. Alice was not shocked, but asked her to continue. Two hours later she had completed her story complete with hiding in the back of a sheep truck buried under some straw with Randy.
Ingrid asked her about Clifford and his life back home. Alice said, "He is a very strong willed man. All of the Stanten men are intelligent and very strong minded family men." She went on to tell her about Joel Stanten back in 1860 and on up to the present time. Ingrid was simply amazed.
"If Cliff said he wanted to marry you then that is just what he will do. Nothing would stop him and he would never lie to you. We Stanten's never lie except to stretch the truth a bit when we do business. Indeed we realize we are very rich and wouldn't have to work a day in our lives, but we must do our part while on this earth. Just to take up space is against our family tradition and against God's ways. It might not appear that way, but we share our wealth in many ways. Our steel mills are all union and never have we suffered a strike or worker walk out. The same can be said of our shipyards and so on throughout the decades. We've only just met, but I can see my brother is a very lucky man. It would seem strange that he was shot down, parachuted not so far from your house, then you found him napping by a creek. I guess God does move in mysterious ways. Now, sorry Ingrid, but I'm a little tired. Let's call it a night and I want to go shopping tomorrow and eat some wonderful food."
The next day, after breakfast, it was news that was broadcast by not only radio, newspaper, but word of mouth. The Allies had invaded Europe in France. Most felt it was the beginning of the end for the Third Rich and despot Hitler.
Ingrid and Alice sat in a small restaurant having tea and yummy cheese and bread. Coffee was still hard to come by due to the war. Ingrid asked Alice, "What does this mean for Cliff?"
"Well, as I understand it, he'd already completed his required missions. He was an instructor when they asked him to take a big wig general on a bombing run. Again as I understand it that general is in a pow camp in Germany. Whether or not Cliff will fly more missions is beyond me. Knowing him he'll volunteer to do his part no matter what."
"I'll tell you Alice and that is I'm sure I’m carrying his baby. I just missed my monthly and can sense a new life developing."
"I think from now on we'll call you Mrs. Clifford Stanten. Also, let's go see that banker guy and ask for his help. Additionally, I'll send a wire to my father about the situation. Don't worry all will be well. Now with this invasion business we should make a plan for the war ending."
Actually it was not until the next year when World War II ended in the defeat of both Germany and Japan.
In England Cliff had asked for and received permission to marry. He wasn't required to fly anymore. He was promoted to light colonel and gave the bomber pilots strike orders.
A few months later, after the Germans pulled back, both Ingrid and Alice flew to
England. Only the banker and Adam Stanten knew what it took to pull a few strings to bring a couple together. In September they were married. It was very difficult to find housing as the Germans had bombed the hell out of London. Also the outlying areas were crowded also.
After an exhaustive search, they got lucky and found a small two bed flat about thirty miles from base. Alice helped Ingrid settle in and then she took a ship back to New York.
-XXV-
1945 ~ 1955
The next decade was economically rewarding, but not without some of the downside that comes with prosperity. By 1955 the Stanten family could see the end of the tunnel when it came to making steel. With the end of the war came a strong world economy. The two brothers, Adam and Luke, could see Europe and Japan entering the market with abandon. To remain competitive they would have to completely remodel their mills. It was decided they would keep making steel until it became unprofitable. Also the shipbuilding was slowing down after the war. The end of things didn't look promising for the future. The oil wells were a tough rode to hoe too. California held a promise of oil as Texas and Oklahoma were playing out.
After Clifford and Ingrid came to America, bringing with them baby Dirk Stanten, they first settled in New York City. After Cliff resigned and mustard out of the military, they moved to California. For the next five years Cliff learned agriculture business from his Aunt JB.
California was booming and so was the automobile traffic. Ingrid noticed Cliff didn't seem as happy as once was. On a very hot summer night she asked, "Cliff, you seem to have something bothering you. I'm your wife and best friend. Tell me what you're thinking?"
Cliff looked her and his five year old son who was a toe head like his father and mother. The little guy was a handful, but what five year old isn't, he thought. Then he said, "Honey, I know I was only there for a short time with you in the mountains, but I was very happy there. The air was fresh and clean and not a lot of people like here. What say we take a vacation and visit the old cabin in the mountains?"
They left the next week and five years later had still not returned. They kept the old place, but found some property closer to town and not up the mountain so far. The first thing was to build a home. It was a complete log house out of pine trees. Randy was on his last legs, but seemed to remember the old homestead when they visited it.
Cliff found he could purchase fine bottom land to raise domestic animals. By 1955 he was the largest land owner in the region of Lienz. They raised both sheep and cattle. As the years went by, they bought out two dairy farms. Cheese was highly sought after from the Lienz area.
*******
In 1946 both Junior and his wife Martha died within a month of each other. They never did grow any oranges. However, both died peacefully and were buried in the family plot in Golden, Colorado.
JB hung on until almost 1955 when at seventy six she collapsed in her vineyards in Napa Valley. She too was taken to Golden.
The two sons' from Junior, Adam and Luke, remained at the head of the Staten Empire. Alice at thirty three replaced her Aunt JB and Penny age thirty was traveling Europe sowing her oats as her father said. Justin at twenty two was still in college working on a law degree at Harvard.
Adam was sixty five and going to retire soon. Luke he was only sixty and full of energy. Luke expressed to his older brother one day that Justin was flunking out of law school. He just didn't have the drive of other Stanten males. Luke said, "He wants to discover where his life is going from abroad. I told him he was of age and he could do what he wanted to. Janice is scared to death he will do something crazy. Be that as it may, he says the first stop is Switzerland to pick up some spending money. Let's see how long that lasts as I hear he loves to gamble. Damn Adam, where did we go wrong on this one?"
Justin did go to Switzerland and he did pick up some spending money. By 1963 he was dead broke. His father refused to help him. He would give him a job, but no cash. Sadly, they never heard from him again. His mother was never the same. She died of heart failure and soon thereafter, Luke had a major stroke.
Adam was left holding the reins to a multi-billion dollar company. Even though times were good, the family was slowly being in an attrition way; losing love ones way too early.
1956 ~ 1968
Dirk Stanten held dual citizenship with Austria and America. He'd come to America in 1962 to attend Harvard as the previous Stanten males did. In 1965 he was just over twenty years old. The Vietnam War was being waged. He was exempted because he was going to College. Actually, as he was deemed gifted, he was fully qualified to be in any university.
He graduated in the spring of 1966 and like his father, joined the military as a pilot. He felt it was his duty to serve his country regardless of the protests going on. He chose the Navy and wanted to fly off carriers. He used some pull from his uncle and was soon training to become a carrier pilot.
A year later he was assigned to the USS Enterprise and was flying A4-F carrier jets. Dirk loved flying and wrote his father every week telling about the training and such things. His father read with pride, but had sinking feeling in his stomach about Vietnam and the disliked war.
Dirk had two sisters after he was born. They both stayed home and never left the country. His father wrote that Anna and Angel were both still studying in Salzburg. Both were in the division of natural science. In particular, earth science. They loved the land and devoted their lives to studying about what makes up the earth and its ever changing landscape.
Cliff wrote to his son saying, "Dirk my boy. It's no use to tell you to be careful as I know you will be. When we fly over enemy territory we are in the hands of God. In the war you're in, is unlike my war. It might be similar in many ways, but the politics are vastly different. For example, we could see what Hitler was doing at all times, but in Vietnam nothing is clear and or designed for a clear cut cause. Unlike us, with a goal to reach, all bets were off as were the gloves: a fight to the finish. Our government in the USA is or has not set down clear directives and orders. I fear our boys and men are being used as pawns for a bigger agenda. Be that as it may, Dirk, you've a job to do so go do the best you can. Mother and I will pray for you of course."
When Dirk read that particular letter his eyes became moist. At that time they were steaming to the region near the Gulf of Tokin. It was the fall of 1967 and typhoon season in Asia.
Most of the first missions were to bomb supply lines being used by the Viet Cong near Bien Hoa. Dirk loved to discover a human or animal convoy of supplies and drop bombs as he was ordered. After the New Year, he and his fellow pilots began bombing raids into North Vietnam. This was highly dangerous as SAM missiles were taking a heavy toll on American aircraft.
On April 1st, a SAM found its mark on Dirk's A-4. He was forced to bail out like his father did back in 1944 over Germany. Dirk realized he was in trouble as only bad reports were coming out of the North where in Hanoi the American pilots were taken. The prison was euphemistically named 'The Hanoi Hilton.' Captain Dirk Stanten was only 23 at the time of his capture. At that time he was a shade over six foot tall and weighed in at around 175 pounds.
For the next six years Dirk languished in prison. As he and other were released in 1973 it amazed many a professional that most of these fine men came out alive and fairly well off. It was a tribute to their training and to their commitment that brought them home to once again merge with family and society.
-XXVI-
1973 ~ 1993
When Dirk had his physical he weighed in at 135 pounds. He resigned his commission and flew to Austria to be with his parents. With TLC he regained his strength and will power to relive life again. He was about to turn thirty years old. He found life calm and serene in Lienz.
On December 28th he celebrated his 30th birthday with family and neighbors. Dirk shook his head thinking about how long he'd been gone from here. He left when he was a teenager to Boston and Harvard. Now he was working on the farm instead of practicing law. How ironic he thought. He'
d been sitting outside on a wooden bench bundled up in a warm coat. February was still winter in Austria. His father came out and said, "Son, are you doing okay? We are worried that all those years in North Vietnam took its toll on you."
"No, really father, I'm doing fine. I'm just wondering what I should do with my life now. I'd like to have a family soon. I really don't want to practice law in America. It makes me ill to see what has happened to my old commander and chief the president. Have you any ideas father?"
"Well, money is no problem," he snickered. "You've got millions to do whatever you like at your disposal. Also, now that you're over twenty five it's my duty to tell you a story. This story is for all male Stanten only upon turning the age of twenty five. This oral tradition was instituted by your great, great grandfather. It's a rather long story, so as its too cold out here for my old bones; how about we go to my office where a nice wood fire is burning?"
Dirk followed him to his office. He closed the door and locked it. Dirk was puzzled at locking or even closing the door. However, he said nothing but waited while his father composed himself and began the story.
"Son, this story takes some powerful faith, but indeed it's the true history of the Stanten line. It all began with Joel Stanten in 1860 when he was eight years old holding the hand of his father while Will Stanten slowly died from a gunshot wound." Cliff watched his son react to the beginning of the story, but saw him remain focused and attentive. Cliff gleaned that this posture Dirk possessed came from being highly educated and being a prisoner of war.
Golden Stagecoach Page 15
