1888 LIVINGSTON COUNTY PORTRAITS AND BIOS

CONRAD MUNZ

CONRAD MUNZ, WHOSE FARM IS LOCATED ON SECTION 25, AND IS CONSIDERED THE FINEST IN THE TOWNSHIP OF PLEASANT RIDGE, WAS BORN IN THE CANTON OF THURGAN, SWITZERLAND, ON THE 29TH OF APRIL, 1841. THIS CANTON IS IN THE NORTHEASTERN PART OF SWITZERLAND, AND IS SEPARATED FROM BADEN BY THE RIVER RHINE. IT HAS AN AREA OF 270 SQUARE MILES, AND A POPULATION OF ABOUT 100,000, OF WHOM FOUR-FIFTHS ARE PROTESTANTS. THE SURFACE IS UNDULATING AND FERTILE, AND THE COUNTRY IS WATERED BY THE THUR, THE SITTER AND MURG RIVERS. AGRICULTURE, SPINNING AND WEAVING ARE THE CHIEF OPERATION OF THE INHABITANTS. THE PARENTS OF MR. MUNZ WERE JACOB AND ELIZABETH (ALTWEGG) MUNZ, WHO WERE NATIVES OF SWITZERLAND. THE FATHER WAS BORN ON THE 4TH OF SEPTEMBER 1812, DIED JUNE 21, 1858. HE WAS BY OCCUPATION A FARMER AND WINE DEALER, AND ACHIEVED CONSIDERABLE REPUTATION FOR THE VINTAGE OF HIS WINES. THE MOTHER WAS BORN IN SWITZERALND JULY 29, 1822, AND DIED JAN. 3, 1861. THEY WERE BOTH DEVOTED TO ZEALOUS CHRISTIAN WORK. THE NAMES OF THE CHILDREN WERE AS FOLLOWS: CONRAD, JACOB, IDA, EMIL, ANNA, JOHN AND WILHELMINA, TWO OF WHOM DIED IN INFANCY.

MR. MUNZ CAME TO AMERICA IN 1873, AND LANDED IN NEW YORK OCTOBER 28. HE CAME ALMOST IMMEDIATELY TO LIVINGSTON COUNTY, AND PURCHASED 120 ACRES OF LAND, TO WHICH HE HAS ADDED FORTY ACRES. HE HAS ERECTED A FULL COMPLEMENT OF FARM BUILDINGS, ALL OF WHICH ARE CONSTRUCTED WITH A VIEW TO COMFORT AND BEAUTY. HE HAS PUT IN OVER 30,000 TILES AND HAS, THEREFORE, A MOST COMPLETELY DRAINED FARM. TAKING ITS APPOINTMENTS THROUGHOUT MR. MUNZ HAS AS FINE A FARM AS THERE IS IN PLEASANT RIDGE TOWNSHIP, AND HE HAS RECENTLY PURCHASED 104 ACRES OF VERY EXCELLENT LAND NEAR FAIRBURY, LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

AUGUST 29, 1871, MR. MUNZ WAS MARRIED IN SWITZERLAND TO CATHERINE BLUMER, WHO WAS BORN FEB. 2, 1849. TO THEM HAVE BEEN BORN THE FOLLOWING CHILDREN: FRIEDA, ANNIE, DAVID, PAUL, JONATHAN AND CONRAD. TWO CHILDREN DIED IN INFANCY. MR. AND MRS. MUNZ ARE BOTH MEMBERS OF THE OMISH CHURCH, IN WHICH CHURCH THEY WERE BOTH RAISED.

MR. MUNZ IS AN ENTERPRISING CATTLE GROWER, AND RAISES A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF HORSES, BUT DOES NOT MAKE ANY PRETENSION TO CULTIVATING BLOODED HORSES, HE HAS ON HIS FARM A LARGE VINEYARD, AND EACH YEAR MANUFACTURES FROM SIX TO EIGHT BARRELS OF WINE. MR. MUNZ PROCURED THE PAPERS WHICH MADE HIM A FULL CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES ONLY ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO. HE HAS NOT TAKEN A VERY ACTIVE INTEREST IN POLITIES, CARING NOTHING FOR OFFICE-HOLDING, AND THE ONLY OFFICIAL POSITION HE HAS CONSENTED TO HOLD WAS THAT OF SCHOOL DIRECTOR, FOR WHICH HE WAS EMINENTLY FITTED BY EDUCATION. IN HIS NATIVE COUNTRY MR. MUNZ RECEIVED A HIGH EDUCATION, AND WHILE IN THAT COUNTRY HE WAS ENGAGED MOST OF THE TIME AS BOOKKEEPER AND CLERK IN A LARGE SILK AND DAMASK FACTORY, A POSITION WHICH REQUIRED CONSIDERABLE KNOWLEDGE OF BUSINESS. AT ONE TIME IN SWITZERLAND HE WAS QUITE WEALTHY, BUT REVERSES OVERTOOK HIM WHICH SWEPT AWAY THE GREATER PORTION OF HIS FORTUNE. HE IS NOW ONE OF MOST ENTERPRISING AND SUBSTANTIAL MEN OF THE TOWNSHIP IN WHICH HE RESIDES, AND ENJOYS THE CONFIDENCE OF EVERYBODY WHO KNOWS HIM.

CONRAD MUNZ, SR., AN ESTEEMED CITIZEN, PASSES

WAS NINETY YEARS OF AGE - WAS FOR MANY YEARS IDENTIFIED WITH BUSINESS INTERESTS OF FAIRBURY.

CONRAD MUNZ, SR., ONE OF FAIRBURY’S HIGHLY ESTEEMED CITIZENS, AND WHO FOR YEARS HAD BEEN IDENTIFIED WITH THE BUSINESS INTERESTS OF THIS COMMUNITY, PASSED AWAY MONDAY EVENING AT 9:30 O’CLOCK AT HIS HOME, 546 SOUTH FIFTH STREET, OF UREMIC POISONING, FOLLOWING AN ILLNESS OF TWO WEEKS. HE WAS AGED 90 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AND 16 DAYS.

FOR 58 YEARS MR. MUNZ HAD BEEN A RESIDENT OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, AND FOR 43 YEARS HAD RESIDED AT FAIRBURY. MOST OF THE YEARS SPENT AT FAIRBURY WERE ON HIS FARM AT THE SOUTH EDGE OF THE CITY. HE WAS A MAN OF ABILITY AND ENERGY, AND THE MORE THAN TWO SCORE YEARS SPENT HERE WERE YEARS OF ACTIVITY FOR HIM IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT FOR MANY YEARS HE WAS INCAPACITATED BY THE AMPUTATION OF ONE OF HIS LEGS. HE STARTED THE GROWING OF SORGHUM ON HIS LAND AFTER MOVING TO FAIRBURY, AND IN 1889 BUILT A PLANT FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF MOLASSES, EQUIPPING IT WITH MODERN MACHINERY, AND ENLARGING IT IN 1895. IN 1907 HIS PLANT BURNED, BUT MR. MUNZ REBUILT AGAIN USING MORE MODERN MACHINERY, AND TURNING OUT THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF MOLASSES YEARLY, AND GIVING EMPLOYMENT TO MANY PEOPLE. ANOTHER ENTERPRISE WHICH MR. MUNZ DEVELOPED WAS THE MUNZ SAND AND GRAVEL PIT, WHICH HAS BEEN FOR SEVERAL YEARS PAST OPERATED BY HIS SON, CONRAD MUNZ, JR. AT ONE TIME HE EXPERIMENTED ON THE RAISING OF TOBACCO ON QUITE A LARGE SCALE, BUT IT NOT PROVING A PROFITABLE VENTURE WAS DISCONTINUED.

MR. MUNZ WAS WELL INFORMED MAN, BROAD IN HIS VIEWS, AND ALWAYS CONSIDERATE OF HIS FELLOWMEN. A GOOD CITIZEN AND A KIND FATHER, HE WILL BE MISSED IN THE COMMUNITY AND HOME.

MR. MUNZ WAS BORN IN SULGEN, SWITZERLAND, APRIL 29, 1841, SON OF JACOB AND ELIZABETH ALTWEG MUNZ, AND THE OLDEST OF A FAMILY OF NINE CHILDREN, ALL OF WHOM HAVE PRECEDED HIM IN DEATH. HE RECEIVED HIS EDUCATION IN HIS NATIVE COUNTRY, AND THERE AT AZMOZ ON AUGUST 29, 1871, WAS UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO CATHARINA BLUMER. IN 1873, MR. AND MRS. MUNZ AND DAUGHTER, FREDIA, NOW DECEASED, CAME TO AMERICA, SETTLING ON A FARM NEAR FORREST. MRS. MUNZ PRECEDED HIM IN DEATH SEVERAL YEARS AGO. THE FOLLOWING CHILDREN SURVIVE: ANNA AND LYDIA, AT HOME; MRS. KATHERINE GUTWEIN, OF FRANCESVILLE, IND.; MRS. ESTHER RAPP, OF HIGHLAND PARK; DAVID, PAUL, JONATHAN AND CONRAD, JR., OF FAIRBURY. THERE ALSO SURVIVE 22 GRANDCHILDREN.

THE FUNERAL SERVICES WERE HELD YESTERDAY MORNING FROM THE CHRISTIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH, AND WERE LARGELY ATTENDED. THE REV. MARTIN STEIDINGER OFFICIATED, AND INTERMENT WAS IN GRACELAND CEMETERY.

MRS. CONRAD MUNZ, SR.

MRS. CONRAD MUNZ, SR., ONE OF THIS CITY’S HIGHLY RESPECTED CITIZENS, PASSED AWAY LAST FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, AT THE AGE OF 77 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AND 10 DAYS.

CATHERINE BLUMER, DAUGHTER OF MR. AND MRS. DAVID BLUMER, WAS BORN IN AZMOOS, ST. GALLEN, SWITZERLAND, ON FEBRUARY 2, 1849. SHE GREW TO YOUNG WOMANHOOD THERE AND WAS MARRIED IN HER NATIVE TOWN IN THE SUMMER OF 1871 TO CONRAD MUNZ. THEY CONTINUED TO MAKE SWITZERLAND THEIR HOME UNTIL THE WINTER OF 1873, WHEN THEY CAME TO AMERICA AND SETTLED ON A FARM NORTH OF FORREST IN PLEASANT RIDGE TOWNSHIP. THEY RESIDED THERE UNTIL 1888, WHEN THEY SOLD THAT FARM AND PURCHASED THE PLACE WHERE THEY NOW RESIDE, WHICH ADJOINS FAIRBURY ON THE SOUTH.

TO MR. AND MRS. MUNZ ELEVEN CHILDREN WERE BORN, TWO OF WHOM PASSED AWAY IN INFANCY. THE CHILDREN, WHO TOGETHER WITH MR. MUNZ SURVIVE, ARE: MRS. SAMUEL SCHARLACH, DAVID, PAUL, JONATHAN AND CONRAD, JR., ALL RESIDING IN OR NEAR FAIRBURY; MRS. CATHERINE GUTWEIN, OF FRANCESVILLE, IND.; MRS. ESTHER RAPP, OF EVANSTON, AND MISSES ANNA AND LYDIA, AT HOME. THERE ALSO SURVIVE 19 GRANDCHILDREN.

MRS. MUNZ WAS A LOVER OF HER HOME AND UNSELFISH IN HER DEVOTION TO THOSE NEAR AND DEAR TO HER.

THE FUNERAL SERVICES WERE HELD ON MONDAY MORNING FROM THE CHRISTIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH, AND THE LARGE ATTENDANCE, MANY OF WHOM WERE PRESENT FROM A DISTANCE, TOLD OF THE HIGH ESTEEM IN WHICH SHE WAS HELD AMONG HER ACQUAINTANCES. REV, ROBERT BAHLER, OF REMINGTON, IND., AND REV. BENJAMIN GUDEMAN, OF CISSNA PARK, EACH SPOKE AT THE FUNERAL SERVICES, THE FORMER IN GERMAN AND REV. GUDEMAN IN ENGLISH. BURIAL WAS IN THE MUNZ FAMILY LOT IN GRACELAND CEMETERY.

CONRAD MUNZ 1841 - 1931

(WIFE) CATHERINE (BLUMER) MUNZ 1849 - 1926

(DAUGHTER) FRIEDA (MUNZ) SCHARLACH 1872 - 1927

(DAUGHTER) ANNA MUNZ 1875 - 1960

(SON) DAVID MUNZ 1879 - 1955

(SON) PAUL MUNZ 1880 - 1954

(SON) JONATHAN MUNZ 1882 - 1967

(SON) CONRAD MUNZ, JR. 1887 - 1961

(DAUGHTER) LYDIA (MUNZ) NUSSBAUM 1893 - 1994

(DAUGHTER) CATHERINE (MUNZ) GUTWEIN ???? - ????

(DAUGHTER) ESTHER (MUNZ) RAPP ???? - ????

MRS. SAMUEL SCHARLACH

MRS. SAMUEL SCHARLACH PASSED AWAY AT HER HOME IN SOUTH FIFTH STREET, WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AT 3:15 O’CLOCK. SHE WAS AGED 55 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AND 4 DAYS.

FRIEDA MUNZ WAS BORN IN SWITZERLAND, JUNE 27, 1872, A DAUGHTER OF MR. AND MRS. CONRAD MUNZ. WHEN A YEAR OLD SHE CAME WITH HER PARENTS TO THIS COUNTRY, THEY LOCATING IN PLEASANT RIDGE TOWNSHIP, NORTH OF FORREST. LATER THEY MOVED TO WHAT IS NOW THE MUNZ HOME PLACE JUST SOUTH OF THIS CITY.

ON JANUARY 4, 1925, SHE WAS UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO SAMUEL SCHARLACH, WHO TOGETHER WITH HER FATHER, CONRAD MUNZ, SR., AND THE FOLLOWING BROTHERS AND SISTERS, SURVIVES: DAVID, PAUL, JONATHAN, CONRAD, JR., OF FAIRBURY; MISSES ANNA AND LYDIA, AT HOME; MRS. KATIE GUTWEIN, OF FRANCESVILLE, IND., AND MRS. WILLIAM RAPP, OF JACKSON MICH.

MRS. SCHARLACH HAD SPENT PRACTICALLY HER ENTIRE LIFE IN THIS VICINITY, AND HELD THE RESPECT OF ALL WHO KNEW HER.

THE FUNERAL SERVICES WILL BE HELD THIS MORNING AT 10 O'CLOCK FROM THE CHRISTIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH. INTERMENT WILL BE IN GRACELAND CEMETERY.

MISS ANNA MUNZ DIES AFTER HIP INJURY

MISS ANNA MUNZ, 85, DIED AT 5:45 P. M. SUNDAY AT THE HOME OF HER SISTER, MRS. LYDIA NUSSBAUM, WITH WHOM SHE HAD BEEN MAKING HER HOME.

SHE HAD BEEN ILL ABOUT TWO WEEKS FOLLOWING A FALL WHERE SHE HAD BROKEN HER HIP.

SERVICES WERE HELD AT 10:00 A. M., TUESDAY, DEC. 20, AT THE COOK FUNERAL HOME, AND AT 10:30 A. M. AT THE APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAN CHURCH. INTERMENT WAS AT GRACELAND CEMETERY.

MISS MUNZ WAS BORN JAN. 12, 1875, IN PLEASANT RIDGE TOWNSHIP, A DAUGHTER OF CONRAD AND KATHERINE BLUMER MUNZ. SHE CAME TO FAIRBURY IN 1887 AND HAS LIVED HERE SINCE.

SURVIVING ARE TWO BROTHERS, JONATHAN AND CONRAD, FAIRBURY; THREE SISTERS, MRS. KATIE GUTWEIN, FRANCESVILLE, IND.; MRS. ESTHER RAPP, EAGLE CREEK, ORE.; AND MRS. NUSSBAUM, FAIRBURY.

A SISTER AND TWO BROTHERS PRECEDED HER IN DEATH.

BEARERS FOR THE SERVICES WERE ALL NEPHEWS, VIRGIL MUNZ, HARTZELL MUNZ, PERRY MUNZ, JON MUNZ, HARVEY GUTWEIN, AND EDWIN GUTWEIN.

DAVID MUNZ, 76, DIES YESTERDAY

DAVID MUNZ, 76, DIES AT 6:10 A. M. YESTERDAY AT THE FAIRBURY HOSPITAL. FUNERAL SERVICES WILL BE FRIDAY AFTERNOON AT 2 P. M. AT COOK’S FUNERAL HOME, THE REV. FOSS, PASTOR. INTERMENT WILL BE IN GRACELAND CEMETERY.

HE WAS BORN JULY 12, 1879, ON A FARM IN PLEASANT RIDGE TOWNSHIP, A SON OF CONRAD AND CATHERINE BLUMER MUNZ, IN OCTOBER OF 1887. MR. MUNZ PURCHASED THE WEAVER FARM ON THE SOUTH EDGE OF FAIRBURY, AND THE FAMILY MOVED TO THEIR NEW HOME.

DAVID ATTENDED FAIRBURY SCHOOLS, AND MARRIED ANNA WESSELS JAN. 14, 1909. THEY EAST OF FAIRBURY UNTIL NOV. 29, 1949, WHEN THEY MOVED TI THEIR HOME AT 106 WEST MAPLE STREET.

SURVIVING BESIDES HIS WIDOW, ARE A SON, FRED, OF FAIRBURY, AND A DAUGHTER, MISS HELEN, OF PAXTON, AND THE FOLLOWING BROTHERS AND SISTERS: CONRAD AND JONATHAN , MISS ANNA, MRS. BEN NUSSBAUM, ALL OF FAIRBURY; MRS. FRED GUTWEIN, FRANCISVILLE, IND.; AND MRS. WILLIAM RAPP, ESTACADA, ORE.

HE WAS PRECEDED IN DEATH BY A BROTHER, PAUL, AND A SISTER, FRIEDA.

MR. MUNZ ATTENDED THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

SERVICES FOR PAUL MUNZ YESTERDAY

FUNERAL SERVICES FOR PAUL MUNZ, WHO PASSED AWAY AT THE FAIRBURY HOSPITAL MONDAY MORNING AT 4:30 O’CLOCK WERE HELD FROM THE COOK FUNERAL HOME YESTERDAY AFTERNOON AT TWO O’CLOCK. THE REV. JOHN FOSS OFFICIATED AND INTERMENT WAS IN GRACELAND CEMETERY. MR. MUNZ, WHO HAD BEEN A PATIENT AT THE HOSPITAL FOR A MONTH, WAS AGED 74 YEARS, TWO MONTHS AND 24 DAYS.

THE PALLBEARERS WERE PERRY MUNZ, JONATHAN MUNZ, FRED MUNZ, EDWIN GUTWEIN, HARVEY GUTWEIN AND IVAN ORTMAN.

MR. MUNZ WAS BORN NORTH OF FORREST IN PLEASANT RIDGE TOWNSHIP, AUGUST 21, 1880, A SON OF CONRAD AND CATHERINE (BLUMER) MUNZ. WHEN HE WAS JUST A BOY THE FAMILY MOVED TO FAIRBURY WHERE HE HAD SINCE RESIDED.

ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1914, HE WAS UNITED IN MARRIAGE TO MISS JENNIE WESSELS AND THEY RESIDE ON THE MUNZ FARM, A MILE SOUTH OF FAIRBURY.

SURVIVING ARE HIS WIFE; A SON, DEAN, AT HOME; A DAUGHTER, MRS. WILMA JEAN WHITLOW, OF MUNDELEM; TWO GRANDCHILDREN; THREE BROTHERS, DAVID, CONRAD AND JONATHAN, OF FAIRBURY; FOUR SISTERS, MISS ANNA, MRS. BEN NUSSBAUM, OF FAIRBURY; MRS. KATE GUTWEIN, OF FRANCISVILLE, IND., AND MRS. WILLIAM RAPP, OF THE STATE OF OREGON.

SUNDAY RITES FOR JONATHAN MUNZ, 84

FUNERAL SERVICES FOR JONATHAN MUNZ, 84, WERE HELD SUNDAY, AUG. 20, 1967 AT THE COOK FUNERAL HOME. HE DIED FRIDAY AT THE FAIRBURY HOSPITAL, WHERE HE WAS A PATIENT THREE DAYS.

REV. J. J. BROQUARD OFFICIATED WITH BURIAL IN GRACELAND CEMETRY. PALLBEARERS WERE VIRGIL, HARTZELL AMD FRED MUNZ, JON GOEMBEL, RICK GOEMBEL AND JIM SUTTER. TAKING CHARGE OF THE FLOWERS WERE FREDA, ROSEMARY, TONI AND HELEN MUNZ.

MUNZ WAS BORN DEC. 29, 1882, IN PLEASANT RIDGE TOWNSHIP, A SON OF CONRAD AND CATHERINE (BLUMER) MUNZ. HE MARRIED GERTRUDE STORTZ NOV. 10, 1909, IN PONTIAC. SHE DIED LAST APRIL 19.

SURVIVORS ARE TWO SONS, JONATHAN AND OTIS, BOTH OF FAIRBURY; THREE DAUGHTERS, MRS. VIOLA GOEMBEL, MRS. LEONA SUTTER, BOTH OF FAIRBURY AND MRS. MARY LORCH, CHENOA; THREE SISTER, MRS. KATIE GUTWEIN, FRANCISVILLE, IND.; MRS. LYDIA NUSSBAUM, FAIRBURY, AND MRS. ESTHER RAPP, OREGON CITY, ORE.; NINE GRANDCHILDREN AND A GREAT-GRANDCHILD.

HE WAS PRECEDED IN DEATH BY FIVE BROTHERS, TWO SISTER AND TWO GRANDCHILDREN.

CONRAD MUNZ, BUSINESS MAN HERE FORTY YEARS, DIES.

CONRAD MUNZ, JR., 74, ESTABLISHED IN THE ICE, SAND, AND GRAVEL BUSINESS HERE FOR 40 YEARS PRIOR TO RETIREMENT IN 1955, DIED AT 12:50 P. M. THURSDAY AT THE FAIRBURY HOSPITAL. HE WAS A LIFE LONG RESIDENT OF FAIRBURY.

SERVICES WERE CONDUCTED AT THE COOK FUNERAL HOME SATURDAY AT 10 A. M. AND AT THE APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAN CHURCH AT 10:30 A. M. BURIAL WAS IN GRACELAND CEMETERY.

HE WAS BORN NEAR FORREST, IN PLEASANT RIDGE TOWNSHIP, JULY 28, 1887, THE SON OF CONRAD AND CATHERINE BLUMER MUNZ. HIS FATHER AND MOTHER MOVED TO FAIRBURY 74 YEARS AGO, IN 1887, AND PURCHASED 200 ACRES OF LAND AT THE VERY SOUTH EDGE OF TOWN.

IN 1895, WHILE BURYING A HORSE FOR JOHN BOLLIGER, GRAVEL WAS NOTED BENEATH THE TOPSOIL THUS BEGINNING THE FAIRBURY SAND AND GRAVE WORKS. CONRAD, JR., WAS PROPRIETOR UNTIL ITS END IN 1940. THE PLANT BOASTED OF A PUMPING CAPACITY OF 100 TO 200 YARDS A DAY.

WATER IN BOTH THE SANDPIT AND NEARBY INDIAN CREEK LED TO THE MUNZ ICE BUSINESS. THE COMPANY PRODUCED FROM 1,500 TO 2,000 TONS A SEASON. MR. MUNZ ALSO BOUGHT SEVERAL HUNDRED TONS OF ICE COMMERCIALLY TO FULFILL NEEDS OF FAIRBURY CUSTOMERS.

ICE CUTTING OPERATIONS CEASED IN 1945, WITH THE ADVENT OF MORE AND MORE ELECTRIC REFRIGERATORS. THE WAREHOUSE BURNED TO THE GROUND IN 1948. DURING THE MIDDLE THIRTIES, CONRAD, JR., WAS ONE OF THE PIONEERS IN SELLING MODERN ICE REFRIGERATORS.

IN 1934, HE SOLD 41; IN 1935, 67; AND IN 1936 HE APPROXIMATED 90 SALES.

HE MARRIED IDA METZ JUNE 10, 1914, IN LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

SURVIVING ARE HIS WIFE; THREE SONS, VIRGIL, HARTZELL AND PERRY; ONE DAUGHTER, MRS. VIRGINIA WINTERLAND, ALL OF FAIRBURY; THREE SISTERS, MRS. LYDIA NUSSBAUM, FAIRBURY; MRS. KATIE GUTWEIN, FRANCISVILLE, IND.; MRS. ESTHER RAPP, OREGON CITY, ORE.; ONE BROTHER, JONATHAN, FAIRBURY; AND SEVEN GRANDCHILDREN.

HE WAS PRECEDED IN DEATH BY TWO SISTERS, FRIEDA AND ANNA, AND TWO BROTHERS, DAVE AND PAUL.

CONRAD, JR., BECAME MANAGER OF THE SAND AND GRAVEL BUSINESS AFTER HIS MARRIAGE IN 1914; HOWEVER HIS FATHER CONTINUED IN THE FAIRBURY STEAM SORGHUM WORKS UNTIL 1926. HE DIED IN 1931. THE MUNZ SORGHUM WORKS WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1889, ENLARGED AND REMODELED IN 1895, AND DESTROYED BY FIRE AND REBUILT IN 1907.

THE LARGEST YEAR’S RUN WAS 29,000 GALLONS OF SORGHUM IN 1902. PEAK OUTPUT WAS 60 GALLONS OF SORGHUM AND SIX BARRELS OF CIDER AN HOUR.

WHEN MRS. MUNZ DIED IN 1926, CONRAD, SR., GAVE UP HIS SORGHUM BUSINESS, WHICH EMPLOYED ABOUT 18 PEOPLE, AND THE MACHINERY WAS DISMANTLED AND SOLD AS OLD IRON. AT ONE TIME, MR. MUNZ, SR., WHO WAS BORN SWITZERLAND IN 1841, EXPERIMENTED ON THE RAISING OF TOBACCO ON QUITE A LARGE SCALE, BUT THIS PROVED TO BE AN UNPROFITABLE VENTURE.

MR. MUNZ, JR., FURNISHED MUCH OF THE SAND AND GRAVEL FOR THE FAIRBURY STREETS WHEN THEY WERE BRICKED AND PAVED IN THE 1920’S.

THE MUNZ PROPERTY IS STILL PRODUCING SAND AND GRAVEL, NOW UNDER LEASE TO HOWARD ARNOLD. PITS HAVE BEEN DUE ON THE WEST END OF MUNZ LAND FORMERLY BELONGING TO THE LATE GILBERT EVANS.

LYDIA NUSSBAUM

LYDIA MUNZ NUSSBAUM, 100, A LIFETIME FAIRBURY RESIDENT, DIED AT 4:49 A. M. SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 1994, AT FAIRVIEW HAVEN NURSING HOME, FAIRBURY.

HER FUNERAL WAS AT 10 A. M. TUESDAY AT APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAN CHURCH, FAIRBURY. CHURCH MINISTERS OFFICIATED.

BURIAL WAS IN GRACELAND CEMETERY, FAIRBURY.

PALLBEARERS WERE TOM MUNZ, BILL MUNZ, JIM MUNZ, BOB WINTERLAND, JIM SUTTER AND JON GOEMBEL.

VISITATION WAS MONDAY AT DUFFY-PILS MEMORIAL HOME, FAIRBURY, AND TUESDAY AT THE CHURCH.

MRS. NUSSBAUM WAS BORN JULY 17, 1893, IN FAIRBURY, A DAUGHTER OF CONRAD AND CATHERINE BLUMER MUNZ SR. SHE MARRIED BEN NUSSBAUM MAY 10, 1941, IN FAIRBURY. HE DIED SEPT. 18, 1975.

SURVIVORS INCLUDE A STEPSON, WILMER, DAYTON, OHIO; THREE STEP GRANDDAUGHTERS; AND A STEP GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER.

FOUR BROTHERS AND FOUR SISTERS PRECEDED HER IN DEATH.

MRS. NUSSBAUM, A HOMEMAKER, WAS EDUCATED IN FAIRBURY SCHOOLS. SHE WAS A MEMBER OF APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAN CHURCH, FAIRBURY, AND ENJOYED SWIMMING AND SKATING, WHICH SHE TAUGHT TO FAMILY MEMBERS.

FAIRBURY BLADE

FEB. 5, 1992

SUBMITTED BY HARTZELL MUNZ

CONRAD MUNZ SR. CAME TO AMERICA WITH HIS FAMILY IN 1873, FROM THURGEN, SWITZERLAND; WHERE HE WAS BORN ON APRIL 29, 1841.

THE FAMILY SETTLED IN LIVINGSTON CO., SETTLING FIRST IN THE PLEASANT RIDGE TOWNSHIP WHERE MUNZ ERECTED A COMPLEMENT OF FARM BUILDINGS ON THE 160-ACRE TRACT HE PURCHASED.

THE FAMILY SOLD THIS LAND TO THE STORTZ FAMILY IN 1887 AND PURCHASED 204-ACRES THAT ADJOINED THE CITY OF FAIRBURY ON THE SOUTH SIDE, AND IS NOW REFERRED TO AS THE MUNZ FARM.

MUNZ MARRIED CATHERINE BLUMER ON AUGUST 9, 1871. ONE CHILD, FRIEDA, WAS BORN IN SWITZERLAND AND EIGHT MORE WERE BORN IN LIVINGSTON COUNTY. FIVE WERE BORN IN PLEASANT RIDGE TOWNSHIP AND THREE IN INDIAN GROVE TOWNSHIP.

IN 1892, AFTER FALLING ASLEEP WHILE TRAVELING HOME BY TRAIN FROM ONE OF HIS MANY BUSINESS TRIPS PROMOTING HIS SORGHUM, MUNZ WAS INVOLVED IN A CRIPPLING ACCIDENT.

THE TRAIN MADE A STOP NORTH OF THE DEPOT TO TAKE ON WATER AND COAL AND WHEN IT STARTED TO MOVE UP TO THE DEPOT TO LET OFF PASSENGERS. MUNZ AWAKENED AND, THINKING HE WAS MISSING HIS STOP AT THE FORREST DEPOT, GRABBED HIS BAGS AND STEPPED OFF THE MOVING TRAIN, FALLING UNDER THE WHEELS. THE WHEELS ON THE TRAIN ONE LEG AND THREE TOES ON THE OTHER FOOT.

THERE WAS NO DOCTOR AVAILABLE, BUT SOMEONE KNEW ENOUGH TO APPLY A TOURNIQUET SO THAT HE DID NOT BLEED TO DEATH. FRIENDS LOADED HIM INTO A BUCKBOARD WAGON, PULLED BY TWO HORSES AND BROUGHT HIM HOME. A DOCTOR FROM FAIRBURY TOOK CARE OF THE LEG. AS THE WAGON PASSED GRACELAND CEMETERY. MUNZ IS SAID TO HAVE SAT UP AND PROCLAIMED. "I’M NOT READY FOR THAT PLACE YET."

ACCORDING TO THE FAMILY, HE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN VERY POPULAR WITH SOME PRESENT DAY LAWYERS. HE SAID THE ENTIRE INCIDENT WAS HIS OWN FAULT AND REFUSED ANY DAMAGE SETTLEMENTS THAT THE RAILROAD OFFERED.

DESPITE THE EFFECTS OF THE ACCIDENT, MUNZ CONTINUED TO BE AN ACTIVE PART OF THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY OF FAIRBURY FOR MANY YEARS.

MUNZ DEVELOPED MANY COMMERCIAL VENTURES ON HIS FARM SOUTH OF TOWN, INCLUDING THE PRODUCING OF SORGHUM AND BUILDING A PLANT IN 1889 FOR PROCESSING THE SORGHUM.

IN 1895 HE ENLARGED THE PLANT, WHICH WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED BY FIRE IN 1907 AND A NEW LARGER AND MORE MODERNIZED PLANT WAS THEN BUILT. THE NEW PLANT COULD PROCESS 60-GALLONS OF SORGHUM PER HOUR 29,000-GALLONS PER SEASON.

THE FAIRBURY STEAM SORGHUM WORKS

CONRAD MUNZ’S SORGHUM PLANT IS NOW IN FALL OPERATION. THERE ARE EMPLOYED THERE AT THE PRESENT TIME 45 MEN - 30 DURING THE DAY AND 15 AT NIGHT. 120 TONS OF CAIN IS PUT THROUGH THE CRUSHERS EVERY 24 HOURS AND THE JUICE IS TURNED INTO SYRUP OF THE FINEST FLAVOR JUST AS FAST AS IT IS GROUND OUT. MR. MUNZ’S PLANT IS EQUIPPED WITH THE MOST IMPROVED FACILITIES AND IT IS AN INTERESTING SIGHT TO WATCH THE TURNING OF THE DARK GREEN JUICE WHICH COMES FROM THE CAME INTO THE GOLDEN SYRUP. THE PLANT IS KEPT NEAT AND CLEAN AND THE QUALITY OF THE SYRUP TURNED OUT IS THE VERY BEST.

SORGHUM WORKS BURNED

MONDAY MORNING AT 2:00 O’CLOCK THE MUNZ SORGHUM FACTORY WAS DISCOVERED TO BE ON FIRE AND BY DAYLIGHT THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE WAS A MASS OF RUINS, ONLY THE SMOKESTACK AND BOILERS REMAINING STANDING. THE BLAZE HAD MADE A GOOD START BEFORE IT WAS DISCOVERED BY NEIGHBORS SEVERAL MILES AWAY, AND FROM THE FIRST IT WAS SEEN IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO SAVE THE BUILDINGS. THE RAIN FRIDAY DELAYED THE WORK AND THE MEN HAD LAID OFF, TO BEGIN WORK MONDAY MORNING AT 6:00. THE FIRE HAD BEEN KEPT IN THE FURNACE, SO THAT THE WATER WOULD BE HOT TO START EARLY. THE FIRE STARTED IN THE EAST END OF THE BUILDING , FULLY 60 FEET FROM THE FURNACE, AND IN THE ROOM IN WHICH WAS STORED THE KEGS OF SORGHUM. IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO GET AT THE 3000 GALLONS OF SYRUP HERE TO ROLL OT INTO THE OPEN, AND ONLY A FEW EMPTY KEGS WERE TAKEN FROM THE BUILDING. THE LARGE VAT, WITH A CAPACITY OF 5,000 GALLONS AND CONTAINING ABOUT 500 GALLONS, WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED, THE SYRUP FROM THIS AND THE BURNING KEGS FORMING A GREAT POOL OF SCORCHED LIQUOR FULLY A FOOT DEEP AND SPREADING OVER SEVERAL HUNDRED SQUARE FEET OF GROUND. OF THE TOTAL OF 3000 GALLONS IN STORE AT THE TIME THERE WAS A COMPLETE LOSS OF 500 GALLONS, WHILE ABOUT 2500 GALLONS HAS BEEN SCOOPED UP AND WILL BE SENT TO SOME REFINERY TO BE REFINED. THIS WILL PROBABLY NET ABOUT $200 OR $300

THE PRESS WAS NOT INJURED MORE THAN TO LOSS ALL THE WOODWORK AND CAN BE SAVED BY FIXING UP AND BEING REFORMED. THE ELDER MILL WHICH WAS RUN IN THE SAME BUILDING WAS ALSO COMPLETELY DESTROYED.

MR. MUNZ PLACES HIS LOSS AT ABOUT $5,000, FOR BUILDINGS, MACHINERY AND DESTROYED SORGHUM, WITH NO INSURANCE, SINCE THE INSURANCE COMPANIES WOULD NOT INSURE SUCH STOCK. THE PRESENT BUILDING HAD BEEN BUILT BUT A FEW YEARS AND THIS SUMMER MR. MUNZ HAD INSTALLED CONSIDERABLE NEW MACHINERY. HE HAD IN 150 ACRES OF CANE THIS YEAR, OF WHICH FULLY 40 ACRES ARE STILL STANDING. MR. MUNZ WILL FEED THIS TO 200 CATTLE HE IS FATTENING FOR THE MARKET. ONLY TWO CAR LOADS OF SYRUP HAD BEEN SHIPPED TO THE CHICAGO MARKET AND A THIRD CAR LOAD WAS TO HAVE BEEN SHIPPED SATURDAY, BUT OWING TO SOME DELAY WAS LEFT OVER TO BE SHIPPED THE FIRST OF THIS WEEK.

THE FIRE ALSO THROWS OUT OF COMMISSION THE SAND PUMPING STATION. WHICH WAS RUN BY THE SAME BOILERS AS THE FACTORY. THIS MAY DELAY BUILDING OPERATIONS IN THIS CITY FOR A FEW WEEKS UNTIL ANOTHER BOILER CAN BE RIGGED UP, SO THE PUMP CAN AGAIN BE OPERATED.

IT IS NOT KNOWN HOW THE FIRE STARTED AND NOBODY SEEMS TO HAVE AT LEAST SOME FAINT IDEA OF HOW IT COULD HAVE STARTED. THERE IS SOME TALK OF INCENDIARY ORIGION, BUT THIS IS VERY DOUBTFUL. MR. MUNZ DOES NOT INTEND TO REBUILD THE FACTORY, BUT WILL SETTLE DOWN TO QUIET FARM LIFE. THIS THROWS UPWARDS OF 50 MEN OUT OF WORK AND IS A SERIOUS LOSS TO THE BUSINESS FACILITIES OF THIS VICINITY, AS IT WAS THE LARGEST FACTORY OF ITS KIND IN THE STATE.

THE PLACE WAS THROGED MONDAY WITH CITIZENS VIEWING THE REMAINS OF TANGLED PIPES AND BARREL HOOPS AND BRICKS.

CONRAD MUNZ REBUILDING

CONRAD MUNZ DECIDED TO REBUILD HIS SORGHUM WORKS SATURDAY AND HAS HAD A BIG FORCE OF MEN AT WORK ALL WEEK. HE HAS ONE BUILDING UP ALREADY AND EXPECTS TO BE ABLE TO GO TO WORK MAKING MOLASSES NEXT WEEK. THE NEW PLANT WILL BE FRAME COVERED WITH CORRUGATED IRON AND WILL BE EQUIPPED WITH THE LATEST FACILITIES AND UP-TO-DATE IN EVERY WAY.

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THE LAST SORGHUM WAS PROCESSED IN 1936. ALTHOUGH MUNZ WAS 85 YEARS OLD, HE CONTINUED TO MANAGE AND SUPERVISE THE YEAR’S PRODUCTION. THE SMOKE STACK STANDING JUST EAST OF THE INDIAN CREEK GOLF CLUB HOUSE IS ALL THAT REMAINS OF THE SORGHUM MILL TODAY.

MUNZ ALSO INSTALLED A LARGE CIDER PRESS ON THE FARM AND NEIGHBORS FROM MILES AROUND BROUGHT THEIR APPLES BY WAGONS FOR THE PROCESSING OF CIDER. THE PLANT COULD PROCESS 6 BARRELS PER HOUR AND DURING A GOOD SEASON 21,000 APPLES WOULD BE PRESSED.

THE GOOD SAND AND GRAVEL DEPOSITS ON THE FARM WERE DISCOVERED BY ACCIDENT WHILE BURYING A DEAD HORSE AND A GRAVEL QUARRY WAS BEGUN.

THE FIRST DIGGINGS WERE DONE ON HIGH GROUND AND WAS KNOWN AS DRY PIT. BUT SOON WATER WAS REACHED AND A PUMPING PROCESS WAS STARTED, GIVING RISE TO THE BODY OF WATER KNOWN TODAY AS THE "MUNZ PIT" WAS DEVELOPED.

MANY TONS OF SAND AND GRAVEL WERE SHIPPED BY RAILROAD FROM THE PIT.

THIS WAS BEFORE MACHINERY SO ALL THE LABOR WAS HANDLED WITH SHOVEL AND GOOD OLD MANUAL LABOR.

WAGONS WERE FILLED AT THE PIT AND TAKEN TO RAILROAD SIDING WHERE A RAMP HAD BEEN BUILT SO THAT THE GRAVEL COULD BE SHOVELED OVER THE SIDES ON THE RAILROAD CAR.

HOWARD ARNOLD DEVELOPED TWO MORE PITS ON THE LAND, THE LAST FINISHED BY JEFF KILGUS TWO YEARS AGO.

THE PIT ITSELF BECAME THE SITE OF MANY VENTURES. SOME ENTERPRISING YOUNG MEN, DECIDED IN 1915 THAT SOME MONEY COULD BE MADE BY COMMERCIALIZING THE SWIMMING THAT WAS VERY POPULAR IN THE COMMUNITY.

SWIMMING SUITS WERE RENTED OUT AND PERMITS SOLD. THIS LASTED A FEW YEARS.

ANOTHER ENTERPRISE DEVELOPED AT THE FARM AFTER THE PIT WAS DUG WAS THE HARVESTING OF ICE IN THE WINTER FOR SUMMER SALE.

THE FIRST ICE, TAKEN OFF THE CREEK, WAS HARVESTED AROUND THE YEAR 1900. CONRAD MUNZ JR. EVENTUALLY TOOK OVER THE ICE HOUSE AND CONTINUED IN THIS BUSINESS FOR OVER 40 YEARS.

THE LAST ICE WAS HARVESTED IN 1947, WHEN THE ELECTRIC REFRIGERATORS TOOK OVER AND THE ICE DELIVERY ENDED. THE ICE HOUSE LATER BURNED DOWN. THEY HAD BEEN LOCATED BETWEEN THE CREEK AND THE PIT.

ONE OF THE MOST DISASTROUS ENTERPRISES ATTEMPTED ON THE FARM WAS THE PRODUCING OF TOBACCO. HUNGARIAN IMMIGRANTS WERE BROUGHT IN TO RAISE THE DROP AND LIVED IN MUD HUTS THEY HAD BUILT ON THE FARM.

THE CROP GREW WELL AND IT WAS HARVESTED, BUT WAS FOUND NOT TO BE ANY USE FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING. IT WAS SAID THAT PEOPLE TRIED TO USE THE TOBACCO CROP FOR CHICKEN NESTING AS A CONTROL FOR LICE, BUT THE CROP ENDED UP BEING DESTROYED.

COAL MINING TOOK PLACE ON THE COOK FARM EAST OF THE MUNZ FARM. A LEASE WAS SIGNED FOR THE MINING OF COAL. THE MINE SHAFT LOCATED NEAR THE MUNZ FARM AT THE EAST END OF WHAT IS NOW THE ENTRANCE TO THE TIMBER RIDGE SUBDIVISION, SOUTH OF FAIRBURY.

THE SLAG FROM THE MINE WAS PILED OUTSIDE OF THE SHAFT WHICH IS PART OF THE HILL ENTERING THE PRESENT TIMBER RIDGE AREA.

SLAG FROM THE MINES HAD NO APPARENT USE AS COULD NOT BE USED FOR FILL BECAUSE IT NEVER PACKS DOWN SOLID AND PROHIBITED ANY VEGETATION GROWTH.

ONE STILL SEES THESE PILES AROUND. IN THOSE DAYS FARMERS WOULD COME FROM MILES AROUND IN THEIR WAGON TO GET COAL.

DURING THE COLD WESTHER IT WAS NOT UNUSUAL TO SEE 30 OR MORE WAGONS LINED UP FOR COAL.

THE MINE CLOSED AROUND 1930. THERE ARE VERY FEW RESIDENT LIVING IN FAIRBURY WHO WORKED IN THE MINES.

IN 1926, A GROUP OF FAIRBURY BUSINESSMEN LEASED THE NORTH PART OF THE FARM THAT INCLUDING INDIAN CREEK, AND DEVELOPED A GOLF COURSE. THE COURSED WAS NAMED THE INDIAN CREEK GOLF COURSE. THE MUNZ’S DONATED THREE ACRES WHEN THE CLUB HOUSE WAS BUILT AND THE REST OF THE LAND IS STILL LEASED TO THE CLUB.

HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL NEWSLETTER RESEARCHER