A CALL FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES

Heidi Boettcher of Altenburg heard from a family member in Germany that she might receive a call from the New York Times.

The Times had been working on a series of articles surrounding the 10-year anniversary of the fall of Berlin Wall.

Boettcher escaped from Germany just 17 months before the Berlin Wall went up. Her younger brother remained behind in Germany. Both look at the world very differently with their German and American influences."I was talking to my cousin's wife and she was telling me excitedly The New York Times is coming to interview us. By the way, they might want to interview you, too,'" said Boettcher.

The reporter, Roger Cohen, first interviewed Boettcher's younger brother in Germany and then made the trip to Altenburg, Mo.

Her cousin's son attends the university in Magdeburg, Germany. There, he met an American student who does some work with the New York Times. He knew that Cohen was searching for a family divided by the Berlin Wall. Boettcher and her brother seemed a perfect match.

Their story was told on the front page of The New York Times last Sunday. The Times has a Sunday circulation of more than 1 million.

Boettcher and her husband, Albert, are parents of 11 children: Barb Bierman of Chester, Ill.; Timothy Boettcher of Georgia; Deb Darnstaedt of Jacob, Ill.; JoAnne Boettcher of Cape Girardeau; Andy Boettcher of Perryville; Liz Ritter of Cape Girardeau; Maria Bartoe of Georgia; Becky Boettcher of Cape Girardeau; Rudie Kennedy of Texas; and Sara and Stephanie, who still live at home in Altenburg.