On May 23, 2010 Schuttertal dedicated several memorial plaques to the emigrant families from Schuttertal. The occasion was the traditional reunion of the Modosch emigrants in Schuttertal. It was a proposal of deceased local historian Gerhard Finkbeiner to commemorate the pioneer families who left Schuttertal for better pastures, especiallly to the USA and Canada, the Batschka and the Banat, now both in Yugoslavia.
The plaques are an idea of Lawrence G. Fehrenbaker, now Bonita Springs, FL, a descendant of Schuttertal emigrants. Read how Mr. Fehrenbaker put his idea into reality:
"During a trip to Europe in June 2008, I was fortunate to spend several days with the late Gerhard Finkbeiner, who graciously showed me the homes of my Fehrenbacher, Schiele and Voegle ancestors and the surrounding area. During our visit to the 'Park on the Schutter', and after viewing the Modosch Memorial, I suggested a memorial or plaque commemorating the Schuttertal emigrants to the U.S.A. Herr Finkbeiner was most enthusiastic about my suggestion. Over the next several months we corresponded about the concept of a memorial design and the inscriptions. Unfortunately, Gerhard Finkbeiner died before our plans were finalized. Subsequently Burgermeister (mayor) Carsten Gabbert in Schuttertal proposed the concept of an illustrative plaques incorporating some of the ideas which Herr Finkbeiner and I had originally discussed. The design not only describes the Schuttertal emigrants to the U.S.A. but also the history of the Modosch emigrants and recognizes Herr Finkbeiner's contributions. The design concept of the emigrant memorials is similar to other descriptive plaques that one sees while visiting places of interest in the area."
The descendants of the migrants donated 2,000 US $ for the meorial plaques. The names of the donors are exhibited near the plaques.
N.B: The reunion of the Fehrenbacher families in Portland as mentioned on the plaque was in 1992, not in 2009 as the text on the plaque erreneously says. The correct year is on the German version of the plaque.
Two of the memorial plaques on the Modoscher Platz in Schuttertal.