The Durrenberger Family of Primisweiler, Allgau Region, Württemberg, Germany

Warren McKean "Buzz" Gordon Jr. was born July 1, 1919 in Little Falls, Morrison Co, Minnesota. He was the second of five children of Warren McKean Gordon Sr. and Georgiana St. Martin.

As a child, approximately 1930, the family moved to St. Paul, Minnesota where he attended Creighton High School for a short time. The family returned to Little Falls where Buzz attended Little Falls High School where he graduated in 1939.

After high school he joined the Minnesota National Guard and served his basic training at Camp Claiborne, LA. He was assigned to active duty at the start of World War II, 1942 and served in the European campaign. He served with the 5th Army in North Africa, Italy, and trained in Ireland and England. He received a Purple Heart for wounds received in Italy.

An article in the Little Falls newspaper read:

Sgt Warren Gordon Gets Purple Heart

Wounded in action in Italy January 3, Sgt Warren (Buzz) Gordon, son of Mr. And Mrs. W.M. Gordon, has received the Purple Heart award.

Warren received leg wounds when his outfit was bombed by about 25 German airmen. At the same time he was injured, one of his close friends, who was standing next to him was killed. It was the same bombing in which Sgt. John Patyk and Ronald DelaHunt were injured.

Buzz was released from active duty in 1945 and he returned to Little Falls. In the fall of 1945 he moved to Chicago to attend Northern Illinois College of Ophthalmology in order to pursue a career in that field. For personal reasons he dropped out of school and returned to Little Falls, Minnesota to live. It was there that he met his future wife, Patricia Mary Durrenberger, originally from Perham, Minnesota. They were married at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Little Falls in August 14, 1946 and celebrated their wedding reception at the Little Falls Country Club. Buzz and Pat had four children, all born in Little Falls. They were Warren McKean Patrick "Sandy" Gordon III (June 17, 1947), Suzanne Marie Gordon (January 10, 1950), Nancy Ann Gordon (August 20, 1954), and James Patrick Gordon (December 8, 1956).

In 1947 Buzz accepted civilian employment as a warehouse supervisor with the Minnesota National Guard at Camp Ripley, Minnesota, just 7 miles north of Little Falls. At the same time, he opened a tavern called the 34th Club on Highway 371 just north of Little Falls. He was a partner in this venture with Bill "Sonny" Arndt. They operated the tavern for about 18 months until it went out of business.

In late 1950 he was called back to active duty because of the Korean Conflict. He was assigned to Camp McCoy, Wisconsin where he served for several months years until being discharged for his recurring medical problems. During his absence, Patricia and children, Sandy and Suzanne lived in an apartment above the American Legion club near the Northeast corner of First Street and Broadway in Little Falls. In June 1951 the family moved to a small, two-story, 3 bedroom home at 114 8th Street SE where they lived for approximately 25 years and raised a family of four children.

During the late 1950's and 1960's, Buzz became involved as a volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America. In appreciation for his outstanding efforts, he received many awards including the Silver Beaver Award. In addition, he served as the President of the Central Minnesota Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

In 1973 Buzz received a disability retirement from his position as Chief Stock Controller at Camp Ripley due to his recurring stomach problems related to his service during World War II. In 1978, Buzz and Pat sold their family home and moved to an apartment about a mile from their former home. This is where they lived until his untimely passing in 1980.

At the age of 60, Warren died in his sleep on March 27, 1980 at the home of his nephew, Michael Morris, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He had traveled to Minneapolis to attend a doctor's appointment and was staying with his nephew for the evening. The cause of his death was listed on his death certificate as a subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Among other accomplishments, his obituary in the Little Falls newspaper said "Mr. Gordon was a World War II and Korean Veteran, a member of the executive board of Boy Scouts of America, and past president of Community Corrections. He was a member of Exchange Club, and a member of the Board of Housing and Urban Development. He was a past member of Knights of Columbus, Kiwanis, and an usher and lector at St. Mary's Church".

He was buried on March 31, 1980 at Calvary Cemetery in Little Falls with funeral services at the St. Mary's Catholic Church.

During Warren's adult life he was active in many civic organizations. He was:

1. Member of the Knights of Columbus from 1946 to 1950
2. Member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce from 1951-1953
3. Member of the Saint Mary's School Parent Teachers Association from 1953 to 1965
4. Member of the Entertainment Committee for the Little Falls Junior High School PTA from 1961-1962
5. Member of the American Legion from 1945 to 1980 and was the Finance Officer for two of the years
6. Boy Scouts of America activities:
a. Chairman of Troop 88 Committee 1948-1958
b. District Finance Officer for the Central Minnesota Council from 1958
c. Chairman of the Annual Drive for funds in the city of Little Falls for three years
d. Named Scouter of the Year by the President of the Central Minnesota Council of Boy Scouts of America in 1960
e. Vice President of the Central Minnesota Council of BSA from Non 1963-65
f. Awarded the Silver Beaver Award from the Cental Minnesota Council in 1964
g. Council Finance Chairman 1963-1965
h. President of the Central Minnesota Council of the Boy Scouts of America in November 1965

WILLIAM HUBERT WEIBLER
Written by Earl Weibeler

On June 8, 1837 my great grandfather, Wilhelm Hubert Weipler, was born in Butzheim Germany, a small town with a population of five- hundred in the Rhine Province near Cologne. He was the only one out of a family of thirteen to leave Germany for the New World. It is possible that poverty in the family, due to his fathers handicap, delayed his departure until he was thirty. His father had lost an arm in the Napoleanic War. He left Germany in1867. While going through Customs, his first name was Americanized and his last name was misspelled, according to the way it sounded to the Custom's Officer. His new name was William Hubert Weibeler. From New York he set out for Chicago. To reach Chicago, he boarded a train whose cars closely resembled those used to transport cattle. According to my information, he remained in Chicago only short time. While there, he stayed with relatives or friends from his home town, "William," or "W.H.", as he would later come to be known. He was an ambitious man, however he decided to leave Chicago, despite the opportunities it held. It seemed that he preferred a small town much like Butzheim, to a city the size of Chicago. His dislike for large cities and perhaps Chicago in particular, was later to cost him and his heirs a fortune.

After learning he had relatives living in Jordan, a small town in Minnesota, he made the long hard trip up the Mississippi River to St. Paul by riverboat, and then on to Jordan by stagecoach, or on the railroad which had just been completed. W. H. spent only a few days in Jordan visiting relatives because he soon found a job as a clerk, working for a Mr. Heyderstadt, a store owner from Belle Plaine, a small town seven miles away. Belle Plaine was very much like his home town in Germany. The population was around 497 when he arrived, but was to double within 25 years. He worked for Heyderstadt for only a few months. During this time he learned all he could about the operation of the store and about business in general. Heyderstadt's store was small, and there was much more to be learned at the large general store in the center of town, so he waited for an opening and then went to work for Jim Jordan as a clerk. Most of the men who came into the area were looking only for rich land along the Minnesota River to farm. Labor in town was at a premium, and anyone who was willing and available for steady work was paid a very livable wage. W. H. saved much of the money he made, and soon started looking for places to invest it. He bought tracts of land through out the town and in surrounding areas. By 1871, he opened up a confectionery in the front of the old Belle Plaine Hotel. Although he was still working for Mr. Jordan as an assistant or head clerk, his own small store was beginning to make him a reasonable profit. In 1872 he was approached by several other local business men for the purpose of buying land in the city of Chicago. A fire had recently swept through that city. W. H. rejected the idea. He did not think that a new city would be built over the site of the old one. A dislike for large cities may have also entered into his decision. Much of the profit he had made up to this time was on farm land in the area, so he invested his money in land in North Dakota instead. This land was to be sold later for nearly no profit at all.

On May 5, 1873, W. H. married Catherine Schmitt, the daughter of a local brewery owner, Christian Schmitt. He and his new wife took an apartment in the hotel over his confectionery store where was now working full time. Two years later, in the summer of 1875, Jim Jordan's general store burned to the ground. Jordan decided not to rebuild. He sold the land to W. H., who built a small wooden frame structure to house his confectionery, which was now expanding into a general store. As his sales increased, he expanded the store by building a warehouse in back for storage. With the increased space he began to buy merchandise by the carload. Soon it became evident that the building that housed his store was far to small. In1882 he tore down the old wood structure and replaced it with a larger brick structure. His was the largest general store in a town, whose population was near seven hundred. The store was divided into three sections, each was completely separate from the other by a wall. In one section, he sold clothing, in another, groceries and in the third, hardware. The rear and second floor of the building were his living quarters. These quarters were very large and decorated lavishly. At the time they were built, he had three or four children. Because he expected his family to grow, his home was designed with seven bedrooms. This planning was to pay off, for he was to have eleven children in all. The first floor in the rear of the store held the dining room and the kitchen. Above the kitchen were the maids' quarters, which consisted of three bedrooms. W. H. needed a number of maids, because he fed the eighteen clerks who worked in his store dinner each working day. His dining room was two floors high and measured fifteen by thirty feet. The dining room table was five feet wide and long enough to seat twenty people. It was covered by a lace table cloth which extended over the table on all sides. The living room was on the second floor. It was larger than the dining room. Behind the living room were the seven bedrooms. W. H. had running cold water on the first floor. He accomplished this by running a pipe under the road to the municipal well, which was forty feet from the house. This well had a windmill pump and a twenty foot high water tower.

The most unique aspect of his house was the large ballroom, which was adjacent to the living room. It was so large that it was sometimes used for basketball games. According to Harold Albrecht, the town historian, and author of several books about Belle Plaine, "Weibler Hall dates from the1870's". It was above the store owned by the same family. Up the stairs went crowds of Belle Plainites to the world of entertainment. These included home-talent plays, School entertainments, graduations, lectures, parish fairs, and dinners, wondering minstrel shows; even a Ringling Bros. Circus performance, athletic events, dances, masquerade balls--all the excitement in entertainment the town enjoyed.

The same year he built the store, W. H. bought the Dakota House which contained a hotel, a bar, and a restaurant. This must have been a profitable venture, for information I have, speaks of local hotels filling up with new faces each night. These people were passing through in search of new land to farm. W. H. did not undertake the operation of this hotel, he instead hired others to run it for him. He did the same with a drug store he built next to his general store. On a lot behind the general store he built another hotel. The front of the building still bears the name Weibeler on a metal plaque. He sold a section of land near the general store to a brother-in law for use in establishing the first bank in Belle Plaine.

W.H. was very much a part of life in Belle Plaine. The ways Weibeler Hall was used, shows he was culturally minded. This may have been spurred on by the pride he took in showing off his children's talents. He insisted that each one learn to play a musical instrument. A record of the school musical club in 1900, indicates that five of it's twelve members were his children. He was also involved in many of the town's civic enterprises. In 1896 he was elected Mayor. His campaign coincided with that of presidential hopeful, William Jennings Bryan. During his campaign Bryan made a train stop in Belle Plaine. Clara Weibeler, one of W. H.'s daughters, presented Bryan with a bouquet of flowers after his speech. W. H. was also a councilman, a member of the school board, and the River Commission. He was also one of the major contributors to the establishment of the Catholic Church, Sts. Peter and Paul. Those that remember him say that he and his family were almost always at church on Sunday. He would often invite friends over on Sunday by suggesting that they stop by on the way to church. He and his guests would then walk to church together. After the service they would then return home for a Sunday afternoon dinner. Although he was seldom late for mass, the priests had learned that they better not start the service without him. In the middle of the afternoon he would gather up his family and any lingering guests, and all would attend Benediction. When W. H. went to church, everyone went to church. William Hubert was literally the "Godfather" in Belle Plaine. He was present, in that capacity, for many of the christenings in town. He made one stipulation before he would consent to be the Godfather of a child. All of his godchildren had to take "Hubert" as their middle name. I have not been able to uncover the significance of this request. St. Hubert is the patron saint of dog-bite (hydrophobia) victims. Hydrophobia was greatly feared at that time.

W.H. raised his children strictly, as was the custom of the times. Besides requiring training in the arts, he also insisted that each child receive a higher education. He sent all of his children to a college in the area. With the education they received at the University of Minnesota, St. John's, St. Benedict, and Mankato, many of his children were attracted by life and opportunities which existed outside of the boundaries of Belle Plaine.

Kate was the only child to remain in Belle Plaine after her father's death in 1923. She continued to run the confectionery, which was a small part of the general store her father had established. In 1960, she closed the confectionery, and sold the entire building to the Coast to Coast Co. Today the building houses a hardware store, which is part of the Coast to Coast National chain. The living room and ballroom are used for storage, and the dining room, kitchen, and maid's quarters, all of which are in the rear of the building, are rented out as an apartment. Today, there are no Weibelers living in Belle Plaine. All the land and properties in and around town have been sold. The name of "Weibeler" is remembered only by those interested in the town's early history, or by those who frequented my aunt Kate's confectionery. The building bearing the Weibeler name, which W. H. had built as a hotel, is now a bar. While I was in Belle Plaine gathering information for this paper, I went into that bar. When I told the bartender that my great-grandfather had built the building, he appeared unimpressed, and responded with what I considered to be a disinterested "So"?

Although the name of one of Belle Plaine's early founders is nearly forgotten, it's a name like many others that helped to build the towns, large and small, which sprang up during the frontier period of our country.

Born in Wadena, Minnesota, on 15 March 1917, William J. Durrenberger graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1940 and was commissioned through ROTC. He then volunteered for active duty and trained at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, in ammunition manufacturing, followed by duty from 1940 to 1942 as Property and Transportation Officer at the Elwood Ordnance Plant in Illinois, a shell and bomb loading, assembly, and packing plant.
Following automotive maintenance training at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, and tank maintenance training at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois Durrenberger next served in 1943 as Tank Maintenance and Repair Officer at the Red River Ordnance Depot, Texas. Later that year overseas service followed as a Technical Intelligence Officer in the European Theater, specializing in German and Italian combat vehicles. He returned to the United States in 1947 to serve in the Office of the Chief of Ordnance (OCO) in Washington, D.C., first as guided Missile and Rocket Design and Development Officer then, from 1948 to 1951, as Technical Operations Officer, Rocket Branch.
Durrenberger continued his association with the Ordnance Department's burgeoning missile program, which increasingly centered on Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, where he reported for duty in 1951 as Director of Projects, responsible for coordinating the growing number of guided missile and rocket programs. In 1952 he was assigned as Assistant Director of the Ordnance Missile Laboratories at Redstone, an organization he helped create.
Durrenberger's range of talents continued to grow. Earning a Master's of Business Administration from Syracuse University in 1954, he returned to OCO to serve as Technical Director, Financial Management System Office, and then as Executive Officer in the Comptroller Office. In 1956 he returned to Redstone Arsenal as Chief of the Financial Management Office, Army Ballistic Missile Agency. With the establishment of the U.S. Army Ordnance Missile Command at Redstone in 1958, he was assigned as its Comptroller.
Following graduation from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in 1960, Durrenberger's career took yet another turn when he joined the J-4 Division (Logistics) of the joint United Nations and US Forces Command Korea as Chief, Logistic Plans Branch. In 1961 he returned to the United States to serve as Deputy Commandant, Ordnance Weapons Command, Rock Island, Illinois, and then as Chief of Staff when that organization was redesignated the US Army Weapons Command under the newly established Army Materiel Command.
In 1963 Durrenberger took command of the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts, where he was responsible for developing or improving a wide range of small arms, to include the M14 rifle and M60 machine gun. In 1965 he assumed command of the Army Tank-Automotive Center in Warren, Michigan then returned to Rock Island in 1966 as Commanding General of the US Army Weapons Command. He assumed his last active duty position in 1968 as Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4, later redesignated Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics, at Headquarters US Army Pacific. MG Durrenberger retired in 1970 after 30 years of distinguished service. He died on 11 June 2002 in Aurora, Illinois.