Elsa Oehmigen

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Elsa Oehmigen (born August 1, 1908 in Pinneberg as Elsa Voss ; † February 1995 ) was a German street musician .

She became known as the “last female organ grinder in Schleswig-Holstein ”, which is why “many daily newspapers and television [...] often reported about this woman”. According to a journalist, the Flensburg personality (in 1978) was “just as well known on the fjord as the rum.” The vernacular gave her the name Mudder Ömchen or the “Leierkastenfrau” ( Danish Lirekassedamen ), who in Flensburg as an original - im the sense of deviating from society Nerd - was.

Life

The daughter of a stonemason and Spielmanns it attracted Elsa Voss early with her parents and her seven siblings with a horse carriage - covered wagon across the country, where the family lived from revenue from the road music. She ended her nomadic life in Hamburg and married her husband there. In order to earn a living for herself and the two children who had emerged from the marriage, she began to roam the streets with the barrel organ inherited from her father . In 1947 the musician, whose real name was now Elsa Oehmigen, moved to Flensburg for the first time for a short time. 15 years later, she finally settled in Germany's northernmost urban district. With the organ barrel game operated on a trade license , Mudder Ömchen improved her low pension. When she couldn't be found in downtown Flensburg , the organ grinder wandered around the suburbs about once a month or gave guest performances, for example, in Husum , in Kiel at the Kieler Woche , in Niebüll or in Westerland . Since the reels were built in, the only melody that could be played was La Paloma . If she was in good shape, her charismatic, rough voice would also ring out over the squares, streets and courtyards of the respective place. For another song, for which new rollers would have had to be installed in a workshop, their financial means were insufficient. Invitations to private celebrations such as anniversaries, weddings or birthdays brought her additional income to street life .

In 1989, Oehmigen had knee and hip surgery and had to take a longer break. Meanwhile, a friend used the time to refurbish the instrument free of charge. In 1992 she fell ill with her knee again and had been dependent on care until her death three years later.

literature

  • Paul Philipsen: Flensburg originals . Ed .: Society for Flensburg City History eV 1st edition. Flensburg 1981, "Mudder Ömchen", p. 78-80 .
  • Gerhard Nowc: Moin Flensburg! Stories and anecdotes from the old Fördestadt. 1st edition. Wartberg Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2006, ISBN 978-3-8313-1694-6 , "I can't live without a barrel organ!", P. 5-8 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ City Archives Flensburg , accessed on February 13, 2014
  2. ↑ Grandma Oehmichen: A life with the barrel organ . Article in the Flensburger Tageblatt , issue of October 27, 2006, page 14
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Paul Philipsen: Flensburg originals . Pp. 78-80
  4. ↑ a b c d Gerhard Nowc: Moin Flensburg! Pp. 5-8
personal data
SURNAME Oh my, Elsa
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Voss, Elsa (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German street musician
DATE OF BIRTH August 1, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH Pinneberg
DATE OF DEATH February 1995