Who’s Adventure Do You Love?

How do you describe someone who loved adventure like Onkel Ed? He was actually my grandfather’s uncle. His name was Ewald Otto Vongehr, or Otto Ewald, but we just called him Onkel Ed. I really don’t remember meeting him as I was a toddler when he passed away. I remember being forced to stay in the car when my mom went to visit his widow, Tante Helen, before she passed away two years later.

Looking at that big house, I remember thinking about how much fun it must be to inside and see the mysterious things it had to contain. No more than four at the time, it made a lasting impression, Onkel Ed, always intriguing me.

Where Do You Start?

Ed had an interesting start to his adventures. The story is that he “ran away” from home when he was 16. He left East Prussia around 1903 and joined the merchant marine in Hamburg and sailed on a ship that ended up in New York. Rumor is that he jumped ship in New York. I don’t know if that is true, but he settled down there for a time. He married and joined an import/export business. That business took him to China. He lived in China for many years.

His daughters were born there. Apparently, he also struck up a friendship with Chang Kai Shek, the President of China. He eventually had to leave China when the Communists took over. That ended that phase of his adventure.

Always Some New Adventure

He settled in Los Angeles, California. He missed out on a few big deals like telling Lucky Baldwin no to some barren land north of LA. The Baldwin Hills hold large oil reserves. He didn’t miss out in his early days of trans-Pacific travel. He landed in San Francisco days after the great quake, where he ran into a young Italian who was trying to rebuild San Francisco in his own way by selling shares in his new bank, The Bank of Italy. It is known today as Bank of America, and Ed prudently invested in some shares which paid great dividends for him.

Why is Onkel Ed so important to me? Ed did not forget his family in East Prussia. He sponsored a cousin and a nephew to immigrate to the United States. That nephew is my grandfather. Ed’s philanthropy changed the course of his life and my mother’s life. I wouldn’t be here today without Onkel Ed.

Perhaps I am just an emotional fool, but I feel a great sense of debt to that wonderful adventurer. While I don’t do things like he did, I do know that I want to impact others’ lives for good. I hope you do too. When we seek opportunities to do good, we change the world. Sometimes, that good takes a bit of courage to attempt. Perhaps you will ask Why Me? Take a moment to learn why it should be you. I know you are up to the task.