The following information was supplied by Alma (Harrer) Maechtle. It was written by two of his daughters, Alma (Harrer) Maechtle and Olga (Harrer) Decker.
GREAT, GREAT GRANDPA HARRER
Name: Gotthold Harrer
Parents: Johann Michael Harrer and Karoline (Schieber) Harrer
Born: 1873 in Zuffenhausen, Germany (four brothers, one sister)
Father's profession: Schule master (School teacher)
Gotthold Harrer came from Germany as a teenager, possibly 16-18 years of age. He was a rebellious youth, constantly arguing with his father as to what profession he should enter into. At that time Germany, a country always warring with other countries, was in a bad state of affairs. Food and jobs were scarce. There were several different types of schules one could go to. A Schule that taught math, science and languages, a Schule that taught the classics, or a trades Schule. Gotthold wanted to be a baker, his father wanted him to be a banker. From little on, he loved to help mamma bake bread, kucken, schneckens and strudel. We Harrers have inherited a love for baked goods from him. A baker need never go hungry.
Another reason why Gotthold came to America as a teenager, was the law in Germany that if you did not attend a school of higher learning, you had to enter the Army for one year. It was a requirement that all boys had to enter the military for one year to serve and protect their country. Germany was and still is very militaristic. The Fatherland must be protected at all times. Several other countries in Europe still have this law. Gotthold had heard that you did not get much to eat and that they were very strict in the Army and the pay was just survival pay. No way was he going into this.
Gotthold's mother realized that her son and his father would never come to an understanding so she figured a way out for him. He became an apprentice to the local baker who had a dream of going to America as soon as he could gather enough funds to buy passage on a boat for his family. When the time came for the baker to leave Germany, mother Harrer had saved enough money so her son, Gotthold, could go along and be a baker in America. She had two other sons in America already and they were prospering very well. One son, Adolph, was a cigar maker, a very worthy profession, only the rich people could purchase his hand-made cigars. The other son, Albert, became an ordained German Lutheran Minister. Both of these men were in Milwaukee where there was a great German population that they could serve.
When Gotthold, who could not speak one word of English, arrived in New York City, he was treated very badly by the baker from Germany. He had to work long hours, sleep in a shed without heat, and was given little food to eat. He also had to take a horse drawn cart filled with fresh bakery and go from house to house to sell the bakery and was not allowed to return until all was sold. He finally got up enough nerve to leave the baker and find another baker to work for. He also started to go to a school to learn the English language so he could become a naturalized citizen of the United States. He was a very lonely and sad boy and missed his mother dearly.
Gotthold worked his was across the US to Milwaukee in his early 20's to be near his brothers. But being the argumentative and rebellious type of person that he was, he did not get along with his brothers. For many years he became a baker on the north side of Milwaukee near third street and Wright Street. There he lost most of his hair because a baker had to wear a white cap at all times and perspiring made his hair stop growing. He was proud though and had several attractive wigs made out of human hair which he wore proudly. He was also a liquor distributor. Then he bought the RAILROAD HOUSE in Port Washington. Here he operated a saloon and boarding house for men who got off the train and came looking for work in the foundries in Port Washington. Most of these men could not speak English, so they liked to come to his boarding house as both Gotthold and his wife Elsie spoke several foreign languages and also understood them.
He always bragged about the bigness of the strawberries in his homeland and the beautiful forests so thick with pine trees. He always said that the best beer was made in Germany and also the most tasty pretzels to go with it. The secret of the good pretzels was that just before they are baked, they are brushed with beaten rotten eggs. Pretzels were originated in Germany.
Even though he became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 9/10/1912 he always loved his Fatherland and missed his mother. Around 1925, he saved enough money, and left his wife and three children in Port Washington while he traveled to Germany to see his mamma and to bathe and drink of the sulphur spring waters to help cure his homesickness and rheumatism. He stayed for a month.
Gotthold Harrer loved to dance the German waltzes and would take his children up in his arms and waltz them around the dinning room tables and sing to them the German songs that were so beautiful.
Gotthold Harrer applied for several civil service jobs but was never accepted because of his ties to Germany. There was discrimination even in those times.
Even though he did not want to go into the Army in Germany, he was a very patriotic and militaristic man. He enlisted in the Spanish-American War, but was not accepted. He loved parades and the flag of the United States which he always saluted. He was most proud when his son enlisted in the Army and another son enlisted in the Navy and said that the greatest honor a parent could have was that if his sons could serve their country that has given their father so very much.
Gotthold Harrer sired 6 living children, three sons and three daughters. One son a graduated mining engineer, one son a master tool and die maker, one son a professor at the University of Wisconsin. Two daughters were administrative secretaries and one a buyer for Grants Dime Store in Milwaukee. He has 16 grandchildren and 36 great grand children to date.
Gotthold taught his children to use their "heads" and to work hard. Because he forbid us to waste time "READING", we spent every minute out of his sight reading everything we could and loved and yearned to read. And we, too, are a rebellious group of people.
GREAT, GREAT GRANDPA HARRER
Name: Gotthold Harrer
Parents: Johann Michael Harrer and Karoline (Schieber) Harrer
Born: 1873 in Zuffenhausen, Germany (four brothers, one sister)
Father's profession: Schule master (School teacher)
Gotthold Harrer came from Germany as a teenager, possibly 16-18 years of age. He was a rebellious youth, constantly arguing with his father as to what profession he should enter into. At that time Germany, a country always warring with other countries, was in a bad state of affairs. Food and jobs were scarce. There were several different types of schules one could go to. A Schule that taught math, science and languages, a Schule that taught the classics, or a trades Schule. Gotthold wanted to be a baker, his father wanted him to be a banker. From little on, he loved to help mamma bake bread, kucken, schneckens and strudel. We Harrers have inherited a love for baked goods from him. A baker need never go hungry.
Another reason why Gotthold came to America as a teenager, was the law in Germany that if you did not attend a school of higher learning, you had to enter the Army for one year. It was a requirement that all boys had to enter the military for one year to serve and protect their country. Germany was and still is very militaristic. The Fatherland must be protected at all times. Several other countries in Europe still have this law. Gotthold had heard that you did not get much to eat and that they were very strict in the Army and the pay was just survival pay. No way was he going into this.
Gotthold's mother realized that her son and his father would never come to an understanding so she figured a way out for him. He became an apprentice to the local baker who had a dream of going to America as soon as he could gather enough funds to buy passage on a boat for his family. When the time came for the baker to leave Germany, mother Harrer had saved enough money so her son, Gotthold, could go along and be a baker in America. She had two other sons in America already and they were prospering very well. One son, Adolph, was a cigar maker, a very worthy profession, only the rich people could purchase his hand-made cigars. The other son, Albert, became an ordained German Lutheran Minister. Both of these men were in Milwaukee where there was a great German population that they could serve.
When Gotthold, who could not speak one word of English, arrived in New York City, he was treated very badly by the baker from Germany. He had to work long hours, sleep in a shed without heat, and was given little food to eat. He also had to take a horse drawn cart filled with fresh bakery and go from house to house to sell the bakery and was not allowed to return until all was sold. He finally got up enough nerve to leave the baker and find another baker to work for. He also started to go to a school to learn the English language so he could become a naturalized citizen of the United States. He was a very lonely and sad boy and missed his mother dearly.
Gotthold worked his was across the US to Milwaukee in his early 20's to be near his brothers. But being the argumentative and rebellious type of person that he was, he did not get along with his brothers. For many years he became a baker on the north side of Milwaukee near third street and Wright Street. There he lost most of his hair because a baker had to wear a white cap at all times and perspiring made his hair stop growing. He was proud though and had several attractive wigs made out of human hair which he wore proudly. He was also a liquor distributor. Then he bought the RAILROAD HOUSE in Port Washington. Here he operated a saloon and boarding house for men who got off the train and came looking for work in the foundries in Port Washington. Most of these men could not speak English, so they liked to come to his boarding house as both Gotthold and his wife Elsie spoke several foreign languages and also understood them.
He always bragged about the bigness of the strawberries in his homeland and the beautiful forests so thick with pine trees. He always said that the best beer was made in Germany and also the most tasty pretzels to go with it. The secret of the good pretzels was that just before they are baked, they are brushed with beaten rotten eggs. Pretzels were originated in Germany.
Even though he became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 9/10/1912 he always loved his Fatherland and missed his mother. Around 1925, he saved enough money, and left his wife and three children in Port Washington while he traveled to Germany to see his mamma and to bathe and drink of the sulphur spring waters to help cure his homesickness and rheumatism. He stayed for a month.
Gotthold Harrer loved to dance the German waltzes and would take his children up in his arms and waltz them around the dinning room tables and sing to them the German songs that were so beautiful.
Gotthold Harrer applied for several civil service jobs but was never accepted because of his ties to Germany. There was discrimination even in those times.
Even though he did not want to go into the Army in Germany, he was a very patriotic and militaristic man. He enlisted in the Spanish-American War, but was not accepted. He loved parades and the flag of the United States which he always saluted. He was most proud when his son enlisted in the Army and another son enlisted in the Navy and said that the greatest honor a parent could have was that if his sons could serve their country that has given their father so very much.
Gotthold Harrer sired 6 living children, three sons and three daughters. One son a graduated mining engineer, one son a master tool and die maker, one son a professor at the University of Wisconsin. Two daughters were administrative secretaries and one a buyer for Grants Dime Store in Milwaukee. He has 16 grandchildren and 36 great grand children to date.
Gotthold taught his children to use their "heads" and to work hard. Because he forbid us to waste time "READING", we spent every minute out of his sight reading everything we could and loved and yearned to read. And we, too, are a rebellious group of people.
The following information was supplied by Alma (Harrer) Maechtle. It was written by two of his daughters, Alma (Harrer) Maechtle and Olga (Harrer) Decker.
GREAT, GREAT GRANDPA HARRER
Name: Gotthold Harrer
Parents: Johann Michael Harrer and Karoline (Schieber) Harrer
Born: 1873 in Zuffenhausen, Germany (four brothers, one sister)
Father's profession: Schule master (School teacher)
Gotthold Harrer came from Germany as a teenager, possibly 16-18 years of age. He was a rebellious youth, constantly arguing with his father as to what profession he should enter into. At that time Germany, a country always warring with other countries, was in a bad state of affairs. Food and jobs were scarce. There were several different types of schules one could go to. A Schule that taught math, science and languages, a Schule that taught the classics, or a trades Schule. Gotthold wanted to be a baker, his father wanted him to be a banker. From little on, he loved to help mamma bake bread, kucken, schneckens and strudel. We Harrers have inherited a love for baked goods from him. A baker need never go hungry.
Another reason why Gotthold came to America as a teenager, was the law in Germany that if you did not attend a school of higher learning, you had to enter the Army for one year. It was a requirement that all boys had to enter the military for one year to serve and protect their country. Germany was and still is very militaristic. The Fatherland must be protected at all times. Several other countries in Europe still have this law. Gotthold had heard that you did not get much to eat and that they were very strict in the Army and the pay was just survival pay. No way was he going into this.
Gotthold's mother realized that her son and his father would never come to an understanding so she figured a way out for him. He became an apprentice to the local baker who had a dream of going to America as soon as he could gather enough funds to buy passage on a boat for his family. When the time came for the baker to leave Germany, mother Harrer had saved enough money so her son, Gotthold, could go along and be a baker in America. She had two other sons in America already and they were prospering very well. One son, Adolph, was a cigar maker, a very worthy profession, only the rich people could purchase his hand-made cigars. The other son, Albert, became an ordained German Lutheran Minister. Both of these men were in Milwaukee where there was a great German population that they could serve.
When Gotthold, who could not speak one word of English, arrived in New York City, he was treated very badly by the baker from Germany. He had to work long hours, sleep in a shed without heat, and was given little food to eat. He also had to take a horse drawn cart filled with fresh bakery and go from house to house to sell the bakery and was not allowed to return until all was sold. He finally got up enough nerve to leave the baker and find another baker to work for. He also started to go to a school to learn the English language so he could become a naturalized citizen of the United States. He was a very lonely and sad boy and missed his mother dearly.
Gotthold worked his was across the US to Milwaukee in his early 20's to be near his brothers. But being the argumentative and rebellious type of person that he was, he did not get along with his brothers. For many years he became a baker on the north side of Milwaukee near third street and Wright Street. There he lost most of his hair because a baker had to wear a white cap at all times and perspiring made his hair stop growing. He was proud though and had several attractive wigs made out of human hair which he wore proudly. He was also a liquor distributor. Then he bought the RAILROAD HOUSE in Port Washington. Here he operated a saloon and boarding house for men who got off the train and came looking for work in the foundries in Port Washington. Most of these men could not speak English, so they liked to come to his boarding house as both Gotthold and his wife Elsie spoke several foreign languages and also understood them.
He always bragged about the bigness of the strawberries in his homeland and the beautiful forests so thick with pine trees. He always said that the best beer was made in Germany and also the most tasty pretzels to go with it. The secret of the good pretzels was that just before they are baked, they are brushed with beaten rotten eggs. Pretzels were originated in Germany.
Even though he became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 9/10/1912 he always loved his Fatherland and missed his mother. Around 1925, he saved enough money, and left his wife and three children in Port Washington while he traveled to Germany to see his mamma and to bathe and drink of the sulphur spring waters to help cure his homesickness and rheumatism. He stayed for a month.
Gotthold Harrer loved to dance the German waltzes and would take his children up in his arms and waltz them around the dinning room tables and sing to them the German songs that were so beautiful.
Gotthold Harrer applied for several civil service jobs but was never accepted because of his ties to Germany. There was discrimination even in those times.
Even though he did not want to go into the Army in Germany, he was a very patriotic and militaristic man. He enlisted in the Spanish-American War, but was not accepted. He loved parades and the flag of the United States which he always saluted. He was most proud when his son enlisted in the Army and another son enlisted in the Navy and said that the greatest honor a parent could have was that if his sons could serve their country that has given their father so very much.
Gotthold Harrer sired 6 living children, three sons and three daughters. One son a graduated mining engineer, one son a master tool and die maker, one son a professor at the University of Wisconsin. Two daughters were administrative secretaries and one a buyer for Grants Dime Store in Milwaukee. He has 16 grandchildren and 36 great grand children to date.
Gotthold taught his children to use their "heads" and to work hard. Because he forbid us to waste time "READING", we spent every minute out of his sight reading everything we could and loved and yearned to read. And we, too, are a rebellious group of people.
GREAT, GREAT GRANDPA HARRER
Name: Gotthold Harrer
Parents: Johann Michael Harrer and Karoline (Schieber) Harrer
Born: 1873 in Zuffenhausen, Germany (four brothers, one sister)
Father's profession: Schule master (School teacher)
Gotthold Harrer came from Germany as a teenager, possibly 16-18 years of age. He was a rebellious youth, constantly arguing with his father as to what profession he should enter into. At that time Germany, a country always warring with other countries, was in a bad state of affairs. Food and jobs were scarce. There were several different types of schules one could go to. A Schule that taught math, science and languages, a Schule that taught the classics, or a trades Schule. Gotthold wanted to be a baker, his father wanted him to be a banker. From little on, he loved to help mamma bake bread, kucken, schneckens and strudel. We Harrers have inherited a love for baked goods from him. A baker need never go hungry.
Another reason why Gotthold came to America as a teenager, was the law in Germany that if you did not attend a school of higher learning, you had to enter the Army for one year. It was a requirement that all boys had to enter the military for one year to serve and protect their country. Germany was and still is very militaristic. The Fatherland must be protected at all times. Several other countries in Europe still have this law. Gotthold had heard that you did not get much to eat and that they were very strict in the Army and the pay was just survival pay. No way was he going into this.
Gotthold's mother realized that her son and his father would never come to an understanding so she figured a way out for him. He became an apprentice to the local baker who had a dream of going to America as soon as he could gather enough funds to buy passage on a boat for his family. When the time came for the baker to leave Germany, mother Harrer had saved enough money so her son, Gotthold, could go along and be a baker in America. She had two other sons in America already and they were prospering very well. One son, Adolph, was a cigar maker, a very worthy profession, only the rich people could purchase his hand-made cigars. The other son, Albert, became an ordained German Lutheran Minister. Both of these men were in Milwaukee where there was a great German population that they could serve.
When Gotthold, who could not speak one word of English, arrived in New York City, he was treated very badly by the baker from Germany. He had to work long hours, sleep in a shed without heat, and was given little food to eat. He also had to take a horse drawn cart filled with fresh bakery and go from house to house to sell the bakery and was not allowed to return until all was sold. He finally got up enough nerve to leave the baker and find another baker to work for. He also started to go to a school to learn the English language so he could become a naturalized citizen of the United States. He was a very lonely and sad boy and missed his mother dearly.
Gotthold worked his was across the US to Milwaukee in his early 20's to be near his brothers. But being the argumentative and rebellious type of person that he was, he did not get along with his brothers. For many years he became a baker on the north side of Milwaukee near third street and Wright Street. There he lost most of his hair because a baker had to wear a white cap at all times and perspiring made his hair stop growing. He was proud though and had several attractive wigs made out of human hair which he wore proudly. He was also a liquor distributor. Then he bought the RAILROAD HOUSE in Port Washington. Here he operated a saloon and boarding house for men who got off the train and came looking for work in the foundries in Port Washington. Most of these men could not speak English, so they liked to come to his boarding house as both Gotthold and his wife Elsie spoke several foreign languages and also understood them.
He always bragged about the bigness of the strawberries in his homeland and the beautiful forests so thick with pine trees. He always said that the best beer was made in Germany and also the most tasty pretzels to go with it. The secret of the good pretzels was that just before they are baked, they are brushed with beaten rotten eggs. Pretzels were originated in Germany.
Even though he became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 9/10/1912 he always loved his Fatherland and missed his mother. Around 1925, he saved enough money, and left his wife and three children in Port Washington while he traveled to Germany to see his mamma and to bathe and drink of the sulphur spring waters to help cure his homesickness and rheumatism. He stayed for a month.
Gotthold Harrer loved to dance the German waltzes and would take his children up in his arms and waltz them around the dinning room tables and sing to them the German songs that were so beautiful.
Gotthold Harrer applied for several civil service jobs but was never accepted because of his ties to Germany. There was discrimination even in those times.
Even though he did not want to go into the Army in Germany, he was a very patriotic and militaristic man. He enlisted in the Spanish-American War, but was not accepted. He loved parades and the flag of the United States which he always saluted. He was most proud when his son enlisted in the Army and another son enlisted in the Navy and said that the greatest honor a parent could have was that if his sons could serve their country that has given their father so very much.
Gotthold Harrer sired 6 living children, three sons and three daughters. One son a graduated mining engineer, one son a master tool and die maker, one son a professor at the University of Wisconsin. Two daughters were administrative secretaries and one a buyer for Grants Dime Store in Milwaukee. He has 16 grandchildren and 36 great grand children to date.
Gotthold taught his children to use their "heads" and to work hard. Because he forbid us to waste time "READING", we spent every minute out of his sight reading everything we could and loved and yearned to read. And we, too, are a rebellious group of people.
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