Fritz Krieg, 1899 Biography

KRIEG, FRISCH

Posted By: David Reineke (email)
Date: 12/3/2006 at 19:15:39

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:

Fritz Krieg

The bearer of this name is the master shoemaker in the friendly little town of Breda, a thoroughly capable professional who learned his business from a master in Germany and has worked constantly at his trade. Since he is a very charming and affable man who serves his customers honestly, he has earned the best support of all the citizens of Breda and the vicinity.

Mr. Krieg, whose name is rather warlike [Krieg means war in German], is a very cheerful South German. He was born on the 1st of November 1850 in Stetten, in the Kingdom of Wuerttemberg. After his mandatory school attendance, he learned the trade of shoemaker and after a successful apprenticeship, he was formally accepted as an honorable member of the guild. As a member of the society, he naturally strapped on his knapsack and [in his travels] sought to expand his practical knowledge in the creation of various types of footwear. Thereafter, he also sought to try his luck in the promising land of America, and so he crossed the ocean in the late fall of 1876, and with the herring pond [German slang for Atlantic Ocean] behind him, he set foot on American soil on the 1st of November, 1876. He made his way immediately to Carroll, Iowa, and after he had worked there a few years with a master, he set up there for himself in 1883. In September of the same year, he married Miss Anna Frisch, a respectable young lady. In October 1890, he established a shoemaker shop in Breda, where he also opened a shoe store. In the big fire of April 1898, his store was totally destroyed, but soon thereafter he obtained a building lot where he erected a new store, and where he now conducts a profitable business.