1975–1981 United States of America

Returning Home—With a Twist

After 13 months of camper life, traveling up and down South America, we finally rolled back into New York. And here’s the kicker—both Ursula and I were rehired by our former employers. Talk about luck!

Family Visits and New Beginnings
1975 was a whirlwind. In August, my father and Ursula’s dad came for a ten-day visit—the first time we’d seen them in four years. Showing them New York was a blast: Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Chinatown… you name it. And because we still had our camper, we even managed a few trips out of the city to Jones Beach and Bear Mountain.

At this point, I would like to recognize Norbert Fluhler, a Swiss jeweler who worked for Gübelin. We were truly fortunate to have known him. He was a godsend in more ways than one for us. It was Norbert who helped Ursula secure a part-time job with an engineer in Phillips Manor, which eventually led to her full-time position with the architect I. M. Pei. Norbert lived with his family in a lovely home in Croton-Harmon, on the Hudson River, and often invited us to weekend barbecues. Once, while he and his family vacationed on Cape Cod, he asked us to house-sit. We immediately fell in love with the area’s rural charm, and it became one of the reasons we later bought our own home just a few miles away. In later years, Norbert worked part-time at Wondering Things Gallery in Tarrytown, and I serviced his watches in my home workshop. Over time, we became close friends with the Fluhler family—a friendship we’ve always cherished.

Not long after, Ursula’s brother Wally arrived from Brazil for a three-month stay. By Christmas, he was off to Vancouver. Brazil hadn’t gone quite as planned for him, but he left with a newfound love for the country, some handy mechanical skills, and, of course, somewhat fluent Portuguese.

Meanwhile, the Swiss watch industry was in upheaval. Japanese electronic watches were storming the market, and Swiss companies were scrambling. Factories closed, firms merged, and thousands lost their jobs. I lucked out in the U.S., where my employer was eager to embrace the new technology. I was put in charge of setting up an electronic watch production line and trained at Hughes Aircraft in Newport Beach, California—a thrilling new chapter in my career.

Buying Our First Home
By 1976, we’d saved enough for a down payment on a house. We found a three-bedroom gem in Westchester County, about 90 minutes north of Manhattan, perched on two acres with a tiny lake and forest all around. What a dream!

Our company president, Mr. Grinberg, generously had the company lawyer handle the closing for us. He was delighted we were planning to stay in the U.S., and that same year, a new profit-sharing plan sweetened my solid salary, year-end bonus, and family health benefits.

Moving in was simple. We had only the basics—stereo, dishes, cooking utensils—and somehow everything fit in our camper and the trunk of our ’69 Cutlass Supreme. With help from friends Bernhard & Elisabeth and Heinz & Sigi, we got quickly settled.

The house had gorgeous hardwood floors. I can still hear our shoes echoing through the empty living room. On day one, Ursula tried baking a pizza… only to find the GE oven didn’t work. Luckily, Bernhard—recently hired as my shop foreman—jumped in, lit a fire in the fireplace, and baked it over the wood fire. Paired with a glass of Lancers Rosé, it was magical.

We ate on a makeshift table—a kitchen door balanced on moving boxes—laughing, savoring the pizza, and turning our empty house into a home. It was unforgettable.

Furniture was expensive, so I got busy building what we needed. First, a Swedish-style king bed, then cabinets, a solid maple dining table, and even a bar from the old kitchen door. Later, I designed a four-tier bookshelf stretching across the living room wall, complete with cabinets and speaker spaces. Step by step, the house slowly transformed from a shell into a cozy, welcoming home. Many of our Swiss friends who lived in the city came to visit us on weekends. It was never boring around our house!

In 1977, we bought a used Subaru 4WD—perfect for our winding 0.8-mile dirt road, especially in winter. We still had our VW camper and the ’69 Oldsmobile Cutlass, a generous gift from Heinz and Sigi. Around that time, Ursula learned to drive. Her road test had a memorable twist: it rained, she forgot the wipers, and left the windows open. The examiner just laughed and passed her anyway.

In 1978, my parents visited. We took them on a road trip to Niagara Falls, Eastern Canada, and New England. The forests stretching from Quebec into northern Maine left my father speechless—a rare sight!

By 1979, during the Carter oil crisis, we installed a multi-fuel furnace and mostly heated our home with wood. Surrounded by forests, I could gather enough deadfall each autumn to carry us through the long winters. Cutting, splitting, hauling, and stacking wood was hard work—but immensely satisfying, and a perfect balance to hours at work.

Career Milestones
By 1980, my company had become the North American Watch Corporation (public company) and moved to a larger HQ on 5th Avenue. I had steadily built the After-Sales Service Division, creating company-owned service centers in Beverly Hills, Miami, and Toronto, plus a network of authorized watchmakers across North America.

Supporting that network involved extensive travel, long days, and training seminars as the watch industry transitioned to electronics. I loved it, even with the chaos.

One seminar in Dallas still makes me chuckle: a watchmaker asked a question in such a thick Southern drawl I could barely understand him. I joked about his accent. Without missing a beat, he shot back, “You’re the one with the accent!” Touché.

North American Watch Corporation also offered management training—team building, leadership, time management—all of which proved invaluable over the years and into the future.

Decisions and Turning Points
Ursula and I occasionally visited Switzerland. We loved seeing family and friends, but after a couple of weeks, we always missed our life in the U.S. By 1981, in our early thirties, with steady jobs and our own home, we felt ready to settle permanently. That spring, we applied for U.S. citizenship and decided to start a family.

That summer, my brother Herbert visited with his wife Eva and daughter Nicole. One afternoon, Herbert and I were balancing a heavy beam standing on a ladder, when Eva called out from the kitchen window: “Ursula is pregnant!” We heard her, but first had to steady the beam and climb down to hug Ursula and congratulate her. Later, Eva teased me mercilessly for not reacting immediately—but the joy of that moment is unforgettable.

On December 17, 1981, Ursula—three months pregnant—and I stood in White Plains City Hall, raised our right hands, and became U.S. citizens. Emotional, proud, and a little dizzy from all the paperwork—but our American journey had truly begun.Read more