George Fischer is today’s birthday boy. He was born on January 4, 1899, so today would be his 127th birthday. George was the son of Edward and Katherine (Kuennel) Fischer. A previous story that highlighted George’s parents and some of his siblings was titled, Fischer Heartbreak. George was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. An image of George’s baptism record is pictured here.

George is found in the 1900 census at the age of 1. His father was a merchant in Altenburg.

George’s father was the proprietor of what was called the Fischer Cheap Store which was located in downtown Altenburg. Here is a photo of that store from back in the horse and buggy days.

When the 1910 census was taken, George was 11 years old. The Fischer home was located right next to the Fischer Store.

George was confirmed at Trinity, Altenburg in 1912. His confirmation record is pictured below.

George had his World War I draft registration completed in 1918. He was called a clerk at his father’s store in Altenburg.

George was still single and living with his parents when the 1920 census was taken. He was 21 years old and still working as a clerk in his father’s store.

Now, we will turn our attention to the woman who would become George’s wife. Her name was Adele Vogel, who was born on March 30, 1905. Adele was the daughter of Adolph and Magdalene (Spilker) Vogel. A post was written about Adele’s parents titled, Frohna Boy – Brazilian Missionary – Altenburg Preacher. Because her father was a missionary in Brazil in 1905, that is where Adele was born. Her father did not return to America until 1913 for medical treatment. Rev. Adolph Vogel then became the pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg in 1914. Because of her father’s missionary work in Brazil, we do not find Adele in an American census in 1910. In 1917, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation, the photo below was taken in front of Trinity, Altenburg. Adele would have been 12 years old at the time and certainly would be in this photo somewhere. There are a bunch of youngsters in front who look as if they were about that age. Adele might be one of the girls found there.

The first census in which we find Adele was the one taken in 1920. She was the oldest of the Vogel children at the age of 14. She had been confirmed in 1919 at Trinity. Below is Adele’s confirmation record followed by her 1920 census entry.

George Fischer married Adele Vogel on April 22, 1928. As you would expect, this pair was married at Trinity Lutheran Church, with Adele’s father performing the wedding. The church record for this event is shown below.

A Missouri marriage license for this couple can also be viewed.

An article was published in the Perry County Republican describing this wedding.

This photograph was taken of George, Adele, and their wedding party.

Our German Family Tree lists 3 children born to this couple. The first child was stillborn. My efforts to locate the Fischer’s in the 1930 census failed. I have every reason to believe that they were living in Altenburg at the time. After all, their daughter, Caroline Fischer, was born in February of that year. So, the next census I am able to display is the one taken in 1940. George was the proprietor of the Fischer Store. His father had died in 1939. There were two daughters in their household at this time.

The last census we can view is the one taken in 1950. Just one daughter was still living with them along with a young lodger who was driving truck for the mercantile store. Their daughter, Caroline, got married to Vernon Littge in 1950.

An article was published in 1959 in the Perry County Republican that told about George’s election to become president of the Citizen’s Electric Company.

Adele Fisher died in 1976 at the age of 70. Then, George got married again in 1978. His second wife was Lorna (Lohmann) Rauh. Lorna’s first husband, Martin “Max” Rauh had been working at the Fischer Store prior to his death. A post was written about the Rauh’s titled, Market Mates. George Fischer married Lorna Rauh on April 8, 1978. The two witnesses for this wedding were Vernon Littge, George’s son-in-law, and Dolores (Rauh) Schmidt, Lorna’s daughter.

George Fischer died in 1987 at the age of 88. George and Adele Fischer are buried together in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg.

Lorna is also buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery and identified as Lorna Rauh Fischer after dying in 1996.

Not long ago, our beloved docent, Caroline Littge, died. She served not only as a docent at our museum, but also was a teacher in many local schools for a lot of years. She would call today’s birthday boy, George Fischer, her father. Many old-timers around here remember George and his two wives.