Elsie Richter

Birth: She was born in Ellen, about 10 miles east of Bremen, Germany on March 12, 1884. Came to America on June 11, 1901 aboard the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse -- which was the largest steamship in existence at the time.

Family Information: Married to Adolph Richter.

Mother of Elsie, Sophie, Billie, Bertha (Birdie), Fred (Bud), Juanita and Bobby. The three eldest children were not colonists.  

Description:  

Pre-Colony History: She arrived at the colony on the bus from Chicago with three of her youngest children -- Bertha, Juanita and Bobby in November of 1933. Her husband arrived with their huge furniture van two hours later.  

Home in Colony: According to her memoirs, they were given an old colony house where she used to break through the floor and skin up her legs.

Job in Colony: She first worked cooking in the hotel dining room where Mrs. Matz was delighted to have her -- she enthusiastically welcomed the "Deutsche Kochin".

In January 1934 she was nursing a bad foot and was off from her job in the hotel kitchen -- Mrs. Ogden and Nona Crotts prepared the evening meals in her absence.

In December 1934 she and Cy Horney were doing the bulk of the work about the bakery and cannery. Her bakery crew looked "spic and span" in clean white uniforms and the shop was kept neat and dust free. When Violet Dix left the cannery to work at the laundry, she also was in charge of the peanut butter making.

Eventually, (in 1935) due to health problems, she was forced to resign from this position due to health reasons and she joined her husband in the commissary.  

Other Info:  

Post-Colony History: Left the colony in May, 1935 to return to Chicago.  

Death:  

Sources: U.S. Census: 1930; Handwritten Memoirs of Elsie Richter; "Llano Colonist": November 4, 1933, November 11, 1933, January 20, 1934, August 18, 1934, December 22, 1934, February 16, 1935, April 13, 1935, May 25, 1935