Imperial Valley press., 1937-05-23
By Virginia Lee Flanders

TEN TIMES in the past decade titled young
couple have come close to tragedy and death.
An equal number of times these two have threat
ened each other with separation and divorce. To-
gether they have faced disaster, persistantly
defed the blows of Fate and won at last a salts
tying victory over innumerable perils
These two courageous people are the Baron
and Baroness Romberg who today
healthier, happier and more confident than ever.
In the spring of 1928 in the Little Church
lound the Corner young Baron Won Romberg
Of Wiesbaden, Germany, was married to Emily
Hall of Santa Barbara, California in the pres
ence of a gathering of friends and relatives
which included the most brilliant names in social
and diplomatic circles of two continents. 1t was
the elimination of fairy tale romance that
began in 1922 in Cairo, Egypt. There, Baron
Romberg, travelling with his tutor and the Bar
onessto-be with her governess were introduced
by Cali Cali, the world famous magician on the
porch of Shepherds. 1t not exactly formal
introduction, as CALI Cali simply chose the two
youngsters to help with one of his tricks 1t was
a trick in which he gave shilling to the little
boy side of the porch and half crown
to the little girl on the other side. When the
trick was the little girl had the shilling
and the little boy the half crown, but they were
still opposite sides of the porch.
Although they saw another from time
to time at European resorts, they didn't get any
nearer than they were on the porch of Shep-
herds until five years later on the other side of
the world in Santa Barbara, California. There
they met at the debut party given for Emily by
her parents Mr.. and Mrs William Hall of Mon
tecto They remembered one another at once
and six months later their engagement was an
nounced, SO naturally everyone said it was fate,
but the little girl said she Just wanted to get
back her half crown.
Young Baron Won Romberg is the nineteenth
holder OF title more than thousand years old.
His grandfather, General Wilhelm Freiherr Won
urnbe. Z, was the first general of the southern
troops under Moltke in the Franco-Prussan War.
His father Captain Macmillan Freiherr Won
Nomberg, was page to the Kaiser, and the first
officer to be killed in the World War In his own
right the young Baron is a Knight Commander
Of the Holy Sepulchre and such is privileged
as cousin to the Crown to sit with any royal
family at State functions. He is also compan-
ION of justice of the order of Saint Lazarus
The Baroness is a member of many patriotic
and American historical societies. In recognition
nt her direct lineage that goes back to King
Henry the Second of England, she has been made
a member of the Sovereign Colonial Society of
Americans of Royal Descent. Her family have
always been active in the social and political
life of the nation and have numbered many dis
tinguished inventors. scholars and statesmen
among it's members
However the fates that brought these two
together threatened almost at once TO pull them
apart Shortly after their aerial honeymoon, in
the days when airplane honeymoons still
front page news ttheir names can be seen
graved on the gold plate at the Ambassador
Hotel in Los Angeles which commentaries the
first twenty-five air arrivals at the hotel) the
Baron was bringing back his plane from the air
races in Los Angeles, The Baroness had not ac-
companied him that day and was waiting the
field when she saw the plane which her husband
was plotting suddenly enveloped In smoke Some
thing had exploded in the motor, filling the cock
nit with smoke and flame Blinded and nearly
suffocated by the fire. the Baron was able to
control the plane sufficiently to make a dead
stick landing and salvage what remained of the
fuselage of his first airplane,
It was not long before he had another plane