Richard Ricke, 1899 Biography

RICKE, OLERICH, SCHELLE, FLIEGE

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 12/3/2006 at 19:10:49

I translated the following biography from Der Carroll Demokrat, a German-language newspaper published in Carroll, Iowa, between about 1874 and 1920. It was originally published in a special 25th Anniversary Edition of the paper on Friday, 20 September 1899. Information in brackets and notes at the end are my own explanations. It reads as follows:

Richard Ricke

Anyone who is familiar with Breda and the business community in this progressive little town is certainly also familiar with the name Ricke, since the bearer of this name has belonged to the merchant class of Breda since 1877. In the same year that Breda was laid out, Mr. Ricke moved from his farm in Kniest Township to Breda and opened a hardware business with Mr. Henry Olerich, Sr. In 1882, the men severed their business relationship, and Mr. Richard Ricke established a general merchandise business. Eight years later, in 1890, he partnered with Mr. Franz Joseph Schelle, and so the firm was then Ricke & Schelle. Once again, eight years later, Mr. Ricke took over the business on his own, and in that same year he built a solid business block building out of brick, in which the dimensions of the store were 25 feet wide by 100 feet long.

Mr. Ricke was born on the 12th of May 1843 in the District of Freren, Province of Hanover. He received his schooling there, and when he was 17 years old, he immigrated to the United States of North America. At first, he stayed for a time in Kentucky, then he made his way to Galena, Illinois, and in 1869 he came to the “Wild West,” the subsequently peaceful Carroll County, Iowa, where he worked at farming in Kniest Township.

Mr. Ricke has been married since the 3rd of January 1865 to the respected Miss Maria Fliege, and this marriage has produced three sons and three daughters.

Since he only keeps first-class goods and is thoroughly honest, we are able to highly recommend him to all of our readers.