FRANK X. & LOUISE RIEDY FAMILY

Frank Riedy was born in Lisle on February 23, 1855. His roots are recorded in Hilsenhein, Germany, as far back as 1711, beginning with Albert Johann Riedy. When Frank was 14 years old, he and his brother Albert were sent to school in Teutopolus, Illinois, for six months to take a short course in language and arithmetic. This was their only formal schooling. Later he relied on a book written and published by J. L. Nichols of Naperville, Illinois called “Methods of Business and Everyday Problems.”

When Frank was 24 years old, he went to California to look to gold and then on to Oregon where he worked in the wheat fields near Mt. Shasta, driving a 20-horse team on a binder. Frank returned to Lisle and married Louise Winckler in Ss. Peter and Paul Church on October 18, 1881, by Rev. August Wenker. Frank rented a farm and later purchased it from his father, Martin. The farm was located on Chicago Avenue, just east of what is now Naperville Country Club.

For the first few years of farming, Frank sold his milk on a daily route in Naperville. Among some of his friends and customers were the Drendel, Reuss, Kohley, Dieter, Seiler, Weigand, Hiltenbrand, Ehrhart and Wehrli families. In 1885, his tax bill was $8.71 signed by E. Houser.

Frank and Lousie had nine children – six girls and three boys. They were Anna (Meyer), Lena (Rechenmacher), Olive (Cantwell), Nora (Hinterlong), Coletta (Bannister), Marie, Julian, Dewey and Emmett. They all helped on the farm. During the early years, the family had hired many to help with the farm work and hired a girl to help with the household chores. They became part of the family. Louise made Sophie Yackley, one of the helpers, her entire wedding outfit. The family gave her a nice wedding. At the end of the day, the hired helpers always joined the family for conversation, jokes, and games. Most of the hired men were recent immigrants.

August was a very busy time of year because of threshing season. Joe Holter would come at 4:30 a.m. to fire up the boiler to make a head of steam to begin threshing as soon as the neighbors would do morning chores to get there. Usually 18-24 men came to help. They looked forward to a wonderful noon meal of roasts, fried chicken, fresh lettuce, and vegetables from the garden as well as pies and cakes for dessert. The first week of March was the annual butchering even which was a weeklong affair. Outside fires were lit to scald the hogs. The men butchered and the women mixed the sausage meat with seasonings in huge tubs with their hands.

In 1900, the weekly bath was simplified when the family purchased a tin bathtub. It was made by Sam Engleschall and installed in a tiny closet. It had a drain, but the water had to be carried from the stove by pail.

Riedy School District #73 stood for 91 years just two blocks from the farm. All nine children attended school there, and Nora and Marie taught there. Frank was on the board of the school for many years as President and Clerk. Once a year, there was a Box Social and the students always performed at the end of the year. Gypsies or horse traders often used the school for night accommodations on the weekends and during the summer.

For recreation, the family drove into Naperville on Saturday evenings and Sundays to visit friends. The men often gathered at the Pre-Emption House to play cards. The Riedy family had an old pony Maude. She was gentle, but to keep the girls from riding her, the boys put cockleburs under her saddle blanket.