Genealogy is quite the rage and Connie’s brother Ron has
caught the bug. He has traced the
Lintz (aka Linz, Lins, Linss) family back 700 years to Alsace Lorraine. Ron, the consummate story-teller,
wasn’t satisfied; he has fictionalized his findings into a novel about brothers
who immigrated to America to start a brewery. The trail went cold in Michigan but when he heard about a
South Dakota branch of the family he enlisted Connie to Track them down.
As soon as I saw Jim I knew we were in the right place. He is a bear of a man, larger even than
Ron! One of the staff at Lintz
Brothers’ Pizza in Hermosa directed us to his ranch and called to give him a
‘heads-up.’ Jim looked at us
skeptically as Connie explained her mission but he, too, soon caught the fever. He made copies from a local history
with photos of John Jacob Lintz who actually helped carve Mt. Rushmore!
John Jacob isn’t the only celebrity. Jim himself served several terms as a
representative and a senator in the state assembly. His brother, a giant among men, wrestled professionally as
‘Sheik Ali’ or some such and one of his sons plays basketball for Yale.
Jim is a hard-working, god-fearing man with a deep distrust
of the federal government and I didn’t give him any reasons to jump down the
throat of a skinny liberal like me.
And while I know ranchers and farmers have it tough it is hard to feel
sorry for a guy whose 1500 acres are worth nearly ten million dollars.
