dence is New Hampton, IA. Their children are Annette, Amy and Andrew. Duane married Sharon Larson 14 Jun 1969. They live in Cedar Falls, IA. Their daughters are Lori, Lisa, and Leanne. Larian married Margaret Schambers 2 Jan 1970. They reside in Ft. Atkinson. Dianne married Robert Schenfenbuel 5 Jun 1971. The marriage dissolved 1989. Their children are Brad, Brian, and Becky. She resides in Cedar Rapids, IA. Charles married Marie Schmitt 7 Jun 1975. Their daughter is Nikki. They reside at Fort Atkinson.

Arthur and Evelyn Riha resided in the Fort Atkinson area all their lives. Before Arthur’s death he was a retired farmer and school bus mechanic for many years for the Turkey Valley School district. Prior to this he was associated with Riha Motors, former location of Rausch Auto Sales located on Main Street of Fort Atkinson.

Evelyn Riha is a very dedicated church-goer, homemaker, gardener and socializer who enjoys playing cards and spending time with her grandchildren and families.

Arthur was born 24 May 1912 and passed away 29 Mar 1978. He was buried at St. John’s Catholic Cemetery, Ft. Atkinson. Evelyn was born 9 Feb 1913 and still resides near the town of Fort Atkinson.

Riha, Charles, Marie and Nicole

(Marie Riha)

Charles “Chuck” Riha, the 7th child of Arthur and Evelyn (Leibold) Riha was born  at Winneshiek County Memorial Hospital, Decorah, IA. His siblings are: Gerald (Antigo, Wl), Robert (Charles City, IA), Alvin (New Hampton, IA), Duane (Cedar Falls, IA), Larian (Larry) (Fort Atkinson, IA), and Dianne Schaufenbuel (Cedar Rapids, IA).

Marie (Schmitt) Riha was born at Palmer Memorial Hospital, West Union, IA, the second child of Arthur and Agnes Schmitt. Her siblings are Theresa “Terri” (m. Cal Drew, Decorah), Irene (m. Tom Frantzen, AltaVista, IA), and Wilma (m. Robert Meyer, West Union). Both Chuck’s and Marie’s ancestry originates in the countries of Czechlosvakia and Germany.

Chuck received his elementary education at St. John’s Catholic School, Fort Atkinson and his high school education at Turkey Valley Community School, Jackson Junction, IA. During this time he lived with his family along the Turkey River, Anderson Additions, northwest of Fort Atkinson in Washington Twp. Throughout high school Chuck was employed at the Fort Atkinson Nursery. After graduating in 1973 he worked for White Farm Equipment for 5 years at which time he married Marie Schmitt.

Marie received her elementary education at St. Luke’s Catholic School, St. Lucas, IA, Fayette Co., and her high school education at Turkey Valley Community School, Jackson Junction. At that time, Marie lived with her family on the family's farms 5 miles southeast of St. Lucas in Auburn Twp., Sections 7, 15, 16, and 21. During high school Marie was employed at various part-time jobs throughout the St. Lucas area along with numerous babysitting jobs. After graduation in 1972 Marie spent the summer working on the family’s farms and later attended Kirkwood Community College for Liberal Arts, Cedar Rapids. While attending college Marie worked at the Village Inn Pancake House and a short time at Rockwell Collins. In the fall of 1973 Marie returned to the St. Lucas area to once again help on the family’s farms. Marie was also employed at the Kitchens of Sara Lee, New Hampton, Chickasaw Co., for the next 15 years.

On 7 Jun 1975 Chuck married Marie (Schmitt) at St. Luke's Catholic Church, St. Lucas, IA. The marriage was solemnized by Rev. Richard A. Bohr. After a honeymoon to Florida, the couple resided at 207 Grove Street S.E., Fort Atkinson.

In 1979 White Farm Equipment experienced a major layoff in its company which affected Chuck’s employment. So, at this time, Chuck chose to return to school. He attended N.I.C.C., Calmar, from 1979-1981, majoring in Accounting. From 1981-May 1983 he attended Upper Iowa University, Fayette, graduating Summa-Cum-Laude with a degree in Accounting and Business Administration. During this time, the residence changed to 271 st Avenue, Fort Atkinson, which was Chuck’s home place along the Turkey River.

In Jan 1984 Chuck started a job with Schoeneuer, Musser, & Co., PC., Osage, IA. The following fall, he started a new job with Tops Business Forms, Osage, as Piant Controller, where he remains today (1996).

Nicole “Nikki” was born to Chuck and Marie at the Winneshiek County Memorial Hospital, Decorah. Shortly after this time Marie left her employment with Sara Lee to spend more time with her newborn. During her spare time, she worked on chronicling the Riha family history and continues to compile the project today. Other volunteer projects that she was involved in were the Dvorak’s Celebration held in 1993 at Spillville. IA; assisting in the writing of the Fort Atkinson's Centennial History Book and other community projects 1994-1995. During this period Marie also worked at several part-time jobs which include working for Turkey Valley School from 1992-1993, Huber’s True Value Hardware and Grocery - 1993 through the present, and most recently, employment for the Calmar Courier, Calmar.

Besides the numerous part-time jobs, Marie’s other interest are being involved with the family’s farms, shooting pool league, golfing, collecting antiques, and spending time with Nikki.

Chuck's interests are spending time with Nikki, motorcycling, woodworking, golfing, and watching science fiction movies. Chuck is a member of the South Winneshiek Area Community Group and the Fort Atkinson Library Board.

Today (1995-1996) Nikki attends St. John’s St. Luke’s Catholic School, St. Lucas as a second grader. Her hobbies are gymnastics, swimming, playing the piano, reading, camping, hiking, and discovering fossils and unique rocks. Her favorite pet is “Friskie”, her cat.

The Riha family is a member of St. John’s Catholic Church, Fort Atkinson. They are proud of their Czech and German heritage and are glad that their ancestors chose to immigrate to the United States to give their generations to follow the opportunity of freedom and prosperity.