The first Herman Dieterichs of whom we have information was born in a village northwest of Hannover, Germany about 1500. It is interesting to note that the Dieterichs in Germany were mayors, judges, merchants, bakers, and owners of property. The first Dieterichs who came to Iowa became farmers for several generations. The children of the recent generation became farmers, teachers, accountants, engineers, lawyers and doctors of medicine.

    Adolfine Dieterichs and her husband, Herman Mueller, and her brother, Herman came to Iowa in 1857. Another brother. Louis and wife arrived in 1860. His wife was Alexandria Rennaubert. The family history tells us that she was of French speaking ancestry. Her family had fled France and they were perhaps Huguenots. Tante Alex, as they called her, died when her fifth child was born. Later, Louis Dieterichs married a woman who had two children and the couple had seven more children. My grandmother, Emma Dieterichs Hartwig, always told how poor they were. One chicken was divided among 15 people. Gustav always got the back and Louisa the gizzard. I can't remember how the remainder was divided.

    It was customery to bury the hams in the oats. One summer when they took out the last ham,

the maggots had gotten into it. Emma said, "Poor ma sat down and cried."

    However, Emma also remembered the happy Christmas celebrations. When the children came to breakfast they found a sheet spread over the table. They sang songs and when the sheet was removed, they found handmade gifts at their plates and there was great joy.

    Most of these descendants live in the St. Ansgar territory. Names such as Hartwig, Rosenberg, Jensen and Tesch appear. Two large families of Roehrs live in South Dakota.

    The Mueller family descendants lived in Cedar township, Floyd and Rudd. One finds names such as Ahrens, Rohr, Troge, Bartz, Witzel, Tesch, Muller, Johnson, Kollman and many more.

    The name Herman runs through 13 generations. At one time four men in Mitchell County were named Herman Dieterichs. The oldest was grandfather or uncle Dieterichs. His son was known as "H.F." His nephew was Uncle Herman--the carpenter in St. Ansgar. Then there was a grandson who became "Little Herman." When the latter became a successful farmer, he was sometimes called Cadillac Dieterichs.

    Grandpa Dieterichs' wife was Anna Christine Kneisel. Before she was married she had worked as a domestic servant for Dr. A. H. Moore, Osage's first doctor. She was paid 75 cents a week.

    After she was married she made her own soap and lye by dripping water over ashes. There were 11 children born to this family.

    Grandpa Dieterichs was a religious man. He donated five acres of land for St. John's Church and parsonage. He was church treasurer for 57 years. It probably was a record in church history.

    My father "H.F." always said that he couldn't spell but that he could figure better than his teachers. He was a good mechanic and repaired his own machinery. The highlight of his life was in 1945 when he was allowed to go through the Willow Run Bomber Plant which was located near Dearborn, Michigan.

    I never go to Spring Park without being reminded that Grandfather Dieterichs always walked to the spring in winter to gather a milk bucket of water cress.

    The Dieterichs family has grown and prospered, and the stream that nourished the first families is the same as it was more than a hundred years ago--and the cress still grows there.