This portrait of George Washington was painted by Augustus Weidenbach (AKA Karl Augustus Weidenbach, part of the “Painter Weidenbach” family) in 1876.  At the time, he was probably living in Baltimore Maryland, where he was a professor and artist.

The painting is a reproduction of an original portrait by Gilbert Stuart, and is signed “A. Weidenbach” in the lower left corner.  It is archived in the Library of Congress, where you can obtain a print of the painting, and even see the original!

(We visited Washington DC recently…I wish I had known about this!)

Here’s the Mysterious part…
American art history references describe him as Augustus Weidenbach (1853-1869) or C. Augustus Weidenbach (fl.1853-1869), suggesting that his American paintings date from 1853 to 1869…but this painting was done in 1876…seven years AFTER his (alleged) death!

Even more mysterious…he usually painted landscapes.

According to the German Beer Institute, it is pronounced ”veye-tssen-bock” (NOT “wisen-bock”!)

“A Weizenbock is the strong version of an unfiltered Weissbier or Hefeweizen. It is usually made with 60 to 70% wheat malt (German law requires that a Weizenbier, regardless of strength, be made from at least 50% wheat). The other 30 to 40% tend to be so-called Pils, Vienna or Munich malts. These are pale to amber, and sometimes slightly caramelized barley malts that give the beer a full-bodied mouthfeel, a rich and satisfying malty finish, and—depending on the barley malt’s color—a more or less opaque appearance. While regular Bockbiers are lagers, Weizenbocks are all ales. They are fermented with a special yeast that gives the brew a slightly spicy, clove-like flavor.”

Weidenbach, Weizenbock…close enough.  Prost!

In 2008, David Weidenbach, Director of Public Services in Southgate, WI needed to replace the tattered awning over the walkway leading into the Southgate Executive Golf Course clubhouse.  Instead of just putting up another limited-lifespan canvas awning, he put together a project with the Southgate Downtown Development Authority to install an awning made up of solar panels that serve the dual purpose of providing shelter and electricity.

Floodlights were removed, and replaced with LED units.  Old fixtures were replaced and high-efficiency bulbs were installed.  The electricity generated by the new panels goes a long way toward providing the lighting used by the facility, which is primarily used during the day.

The solar project cost $28,000, but Weidenbach estimates that it will pay for itself in energy savings in 5 to 6 years.  With a life expectancy of 10-15 years, the panels will more than pay for themselves in the long run.

(That’s not actually David in the pic, but it is the actual awning.)

Link: Full Article from the News-Herald

Heinrich Weidenbach, a Leutnant d.R. in the 2./Artillerie-Regiment 26, was awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold medal on September 25, 1942. This medal was awarded for bravery and outstanding achievements in combat for those who had already earned the infamous Iron Cross 1st Class medal (Eisernes Kreuz 1 Klasse.)

Links:

• Heinrich’s listing on ww2awards.com
• Details about the German Cross in Gold medal

Here’s a couple of lovely little interviews with Ron and Lita Weidenbach who have been running Hawaii’s largest Tilapia farm, The Hawaii Fish Company (without electricity!) on the north shore of Oahu.  They raise their Tilapia, along with Chinese Catfish, and Striped Snakeheads for sale in local restaurants and markets, They work with students from local schools to promote the future of Hawaiian Aquaculture.

Born in 1945 in Stendal, Dieter lost his father at an early age.  He was initially an athlete, but his career was cut short by an injury and his interest turned to the arts.

He was eduated in art, art history, and design at such schools as the Erweiterte Oberschule, Karl Marx University (now the University of Leipzig), and the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig.  He then traveled to Moscow as an exchange student in 1968.  In 1970, after the birth of their daughter Claudia (1969), he married the painter Helga Melges.  He graduated in 1971 and became a freelance artist in Weissenfels.

In the following years, he traveled a little, studied, and became a university lecturer.  He eventually applied for permanent exit from the GDR and left East Germany.  He settled in West Berlin with his daughter, and was finally able to travel unrestricted to Italy and France.  He eventually moved back to Weimar in 1993 after the German Reunification, and still lives there today.  His second daughter, Agnes Sophie, was born in 2001.

In 2000 he bacame a lecturer at Fachhochschule Erfurt University of Applied Sciences.  His works have been displayed in Weissenfels, Berlin, Cologne, Aachen, Dresden and in the Saarland.  He primarily paints landscapes and portraits, but has also created sculptures.

• A collection of his work and his biography are available at Kunstmarkt.com
• Here is a video that features Dieter talking about his exhibition opening in Weimar.
• Here is another video that features Dieter discussing his I Paint My City project. And dancing. You can even see him at work painting a portrait about 2/3 way through the video. The music & sound effects are worth the watch.

Google Translate is the bomb, BTW.

According to the 1860 census, Henry Weirdenbach lived in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.

Perhaps it was his actual name.  Could have been a typo.  Might have been a descriptive flourish by the census taker…the truth is lost to history…

Lita Weidenbach is an actress who played the role of “Rell” in the 2004 film, The Big Bounce, starring Owen Wilson, Charlie Sheen, Morgan Freeman, Gary Sinise, and Willie Nelson (awesome.)  It got a 16% splat on RottenTomatoes.com (not so awesome.)

Adam Weidenbach played the role of “Coffee Shop Loser #2″ in the 2001 short film, One Angry Dwarf.  Sadly, this movie is not available at Amazon or Netflix, and has no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but I did find a few angry dwarves on YouTube.

Uli Weidenbach, economist and sociologist, screenwriter and freelance journalist, directed the documentary Black September – The Olympic Murderer Munich ’72 – True Story (Deutschland: Schicksalsstunden – Von der Wannseekonferenz bis zur Wiedervereinigung), which is available for purchase…in German (with English subtitles!)  reviews are mixed, but I can’t read them.

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One more city named Weidenbach!  This Weidenbach is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Lahn, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany.

I can’t find much about this city online.  It’s not as visible as the other two Weidenbachs.  If anybody can help, please drop me a line.

• Wikipedia Page
• The three pictures I can find are on Panoramio
• The local weather report