When Otto Rodekohr was asked, "Why did your parents choose Battle Creek as their future home?" he replied: "The main reason was because of their oldest son's health (that's me)." Asthma was his main problem and many years later he had to move again, this time to Colorado where he still resides.

To go back to 1904 — that was the year that John and Anna Rodekohr decided to come to the Battle Creek area and were encouraged to do so by Mrs. Rodekohr's sister, Mrs. Fred Tegeler, who had already settled there. Mr. Rodekohr left Corder, Mo. with a load of household goods, livestock and machinery. Later Mrs. Rodekohr and her children Otto, Louis, Edward, Adolph, Arthur, Carl, Hulda, Sewerna, and Frieda arrived by passenger train at nine o'clock in the evening. They were met by Mr. Rodekohr in a lumber wagon and were taken to their future home which was located on the farm now owned by Arthur Rodekohr. the house at that time was very small. The John Zohner family was still living in the house so the Zohner family and the Rodekohr family lived there together about six weeks. In April of this same year a big snow storm came up and so much snow fell that one could walk over the buildings on the snow!

Otto Rodekohr's first impression of Battle Creek was that it was a real business-like town. However, he had become confused in directions upon arriving in town (coming in by train at night) and to this day he is not "straight" in his directions when he comes to Battle Creek.

Recently Mr. Rodekohr and Ed Fuerst of Greeley, Colo. reminisced during a visit and talked about the families they remembered well as early residents of the area: the Eyls, Praeuners, Zimmermans, Lamperts, Reifs and Gardels.

Mr. Fuerst noted the business places in Battle Creek in 1881, the year that the Fuerst family arrived were:

Drug Store - George Hurford, (the post office was in the drug store), Hardware Store - Bob Maxwell, Dray Man - Ed Fuerst, Hotel and Livery Barn, Grocery Store - Billy Bates, Grocery and Clothing - Tom Dugher, General Store - John Hoover, Implement - Reimer Gardels.

Mr. Gardels was also a promoter of land sales. About 1881, he seemed to be the man who ran the town, a major without portfolio! One reason for this popularity was the fact that he ran a type of marriage bureau.

Early Battle Creek was a lively town and also a bit lawless. However, the Indians were peaceful and those who traveled through were mostly trappers. Fuerst remembered that cow-

140