Fred "Buddy" Richter

Birth:  

Family Information: Son of Elsie and Adolph Richter.

Brother of Elsie, Sophie, Billie, Bertha, Juanita and Bobby Richter. The three eldest children were not colonists.  

Description:  

Pre-Colony History: He came to the colony in December, 1933 -- he arrived at 7pm on the bus and surprised the family "right royally". (He had been working in Chicago, so hadn't come when his family joined the colony in November, 1933).  

Home in Colony:  

Job in Colony: A clever auto mechanic and budding machinist; worked in the machine shop. Helped out in other places when needed, such as the sawmill, planting tobacco and at the Rice Ranch.

In 1934 Harry Layer was in charge of the machine shop, assisted by John H. Ribbing, Fred Richter, Leon Caves and Milton Maki. At that time the shop was well-equipped with "a large lathe, air compressor, power hack saw, drill press, planer, grinding wheels, tools and all equipment... [though] the machine shop's present need [wa]s a milling machine so that gears could be made." It had done "such important work as re-conditioning engines, cranes, sawmill equipment, Diesel engine parts, laundry dryer, and so on, in almost endless number."  

Other Info: He was one of the charter members of the EPIC (End Poverty in California) club who endorsed Upton Sinclair's candidacy for governor of California.  

Post-Colony History: Must not have been thoroughly satisfied with co-operative lifestyle, because he left a couple of times to take a job on the outside -- once to Beaumont, Texas though that time he returned after only a couple of weeks, but then left again sometime prior to May 1935 when the remainder of his family departed and that time he did not return.  

Death:  

Sources: Handwritten Memoirs of Elsie Richter; "Llano Colonist": December 30, 1933, March 31, 1934, April 7, 1934, May 26, 1934, July 14, 1934, July 28, 1934, August 11, 1934, August 18, 1934, September 8, 1934