updated 2004
Descendants of Frank Luterbach
It is with a great deal of pleasure that I extend to each of you a heartfelt
welcome to theluterbachs.com. This site is designed to represent the descendants
of Frank Luterbach and Marianna (nee Scholz) Luterbach and their descendants.
This site will continue to reflect changes and additions so as to remain current
at all times. This, however, is dependent upon all members of the families.
To find out how, see the section on "updates" on this site.
By
Ed Luterbach
The history of our coat of arms as told to me is as follows:
Many years ago in a little village in Switzerland a Luterbach became a hero as a result of the leadership he demonstrated while defending the village from the Austrian tax collectors. It is told that the Austrians on a more or less annual basis would arrive in the village in a 10 by 10 army formation to collect taxes. The villagers would in turn organize themselves to defeat the Austrians. However, they had never been successful in their defense until one year when a Luterbach was in charge of the village's defense. It is said that instead of organizing the villagers in a 10 by 10 army style defense he got the villagers hidden on the roof tops, behind the tombstones in the grave yard and in the trees. Thus, as the Austrians marched into the village they were attacked by the sniper action of the villagers and were driven off never to return again. The coat of arms represents a soldier as outlined on the shield that is being carried.
My personal interpretation is as follows:
Knowing many of the Luterbachs as I do, I suspect that when it came to organizing the villagers our distant relative was somewhat tardy and as a result did not get the defense organized in a timely manner. Thus, he was forced to rely on his ingenuity and, miraculously, instead of being chastised, he became a hero. He had indeed invented gorilla warfare , a wartime strategy that remains in vogue even today.