Londorf, a village in the Hessen state of Germany, is thought to be the Slushers' "ancestral home" in that we loose track of roots of our family tree there. The original immigrant, Peter Schlosser was the son of Johann Joost Schlosser who we believe was born in Londorf, although it appears he moved from Londorf later in life and is buried in Hilsbach, Germany. Family research indicates Schlossers living in the village of Londorf as early as 1605.

Jeff Slusher, his wife Patti, and sister Kathleen visited Londorf in June 2008 on the occasion of the town's 1,250th anniversary. Just imagine for a moment -- this town was over 1,000 years old before the United States was formed!

Mr. Gerd Schonhals, Director of the local museum and his wife walked us through the town, introduced us to many townspeople, talked of the town's history and culture, and encouraged us and other "Schlossers" to visit this beautiful place.

I couldn't help but see many similarities between Londorf -- with respect to both people and geography --and southwestern Virginia.. There are many working farms in the region and the 1,250th celebration highlighted their agricultural past as some of the photographs attest. Never before had I ever seen a Porsche tractor -- probably a good thing to have if storm clouds are moving in!

A local musical group, dressed in traditional costumes, performed regional folk music. Click here.