This photograph was taken in March 1921 in front of “our” Scherak family inn in Kamnica near Maribor, where an important general assembly of the volunteer fire brigade was held. Among other decisions, they resolved to continue using German as the command language of the Freiwillige Feuerwehr in Gams.
Leopoldina’s future husband, Ivan (Jochann) Scherak—seated third from the right—must have been very proud of his role among the firefighters. Later that same month, on 27 March 1921, he gave the photograph to his fiancée with the inscription “Volunteer Fire Brigade Kamnica; In memory, from your loving Hansi.” Exactly eight years later, the Kamnica firefighters—his neighbours, friends, and colleagues—accompanied him on his final journey to the Kamnica cemetery.
