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Ruth M. Lommatzsch
In 2005 we observed the 92nd birthday of Mrs. Ruth Lommatzsch (Klemm). Ruth was a long-time Hillside resident and member of the Immanuel Lutheran Church of Hillside. Her research into the history of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Hillside, led directly to the discovery of the 1853 two-room schoolhouse.
Ruth Lommatzsch passed away on January 13, 2006.
We honor her with a short bio in two parts. “Ruth” from an August 2003 interview with Ruth Lommatzsch , by Lana Gits, member of the Research Committee, FHS and a portion of “The Lommatzsch Family History” by FHS Research committee chairperson, Shirley Slanker.
Ruth Lommatzsch was born on September 14, 1913, in Chicago, Illinois. She and her brother, Barnie Klemm went to live in Homewood about three years later where Ruth’s mother (recently divorced), had been accepted as a housekeeper at the family home of Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn, owners of the original Vaughn Seed Company. Here, Ruth’s mother, Amanda met Herman Klemm, a farmer by trade at the Vaughn residence. Herman had immigrated from Dresden, Germany in 1884 where he had once been in the cavalry and groomed horses for Kaiser Wilhelm. In 1920 Herman and Amanda married with the ceremony taking place at the Vaughn’s home.
After the wedding, the new family moved to an area in Chicago then known as “Colornial Gardens” which is still in existence today near the Jefferson Park area. Here, Mr. Klemm took the job of caretaker for a new housing development One of his tasks was to cut weeds with a sickle bar. His new employers, Mr. William Zelosky and Mr. Nixon - backed by Samuel Insull of England - gave the Klemms a small frame house to live in as part of his salary. Then, in 1924, after completing work at Colonial Gardens, the developers expanded and began building west of Chicago in the village of Hillside, Illinois. (Incorporated in 1905). Once again, Zelosky and Nixon settled the Klemm family in a new home (the old Boeger farmhouse on Wolf Road in Hillside still standing across from Queen of Heaven Cemetery). Here, Mr. Klemm would continue the difficult job of clearing brush and weeds and the planting of many trees along Westchester Boulevard. So, in December of 1924, the Klemm family moved again.
By this time, Amanda and Herman had two more children; Dorothy, nine years younger than Ruth, and Carl, eleven years younger. Soon school was to begin for all four children at Immanuel Lutheran down the street and within a short time Ruth says, “ I became known as the “farmer’s daughter.” Ruth and her siblings had never actually learned to speak German but soon found it necessary. In 1924 all the classes at the one-room Immanuel Lutheran School on 22nd and Wolf, were taught in German and all children were expected to know the language. All students attended class at one time and were required to clean erasers outdoors “taking turns”. Grades one through seven were taught together. After Immanuel Lutheran School, Ruth attended Hillside Public School for one year, where she became valedictorian of her class. Then it was on to High School, but after only one year she left, honoring her mother’s request to “take up something more practical at The Chicago Business College for Comptometer Courses.
In 1933 Ruth met American-born, Reinhold F. Lommatzsch, son of Reinhold Oscar Lommatzsch Sr. who had immigrated from Dresden, Germany in 1899. In 1936, Hanz (Reinhold Jr.) and Ruth were married and eventually settled down to live in the home that Ruth still lives in today, on Oak Ridge Avenue in Hillside .At the time Ruth married Hans Lommatzsch, (9/19/1908 - 4/1997), he was working for his father in the family business and in spite of the Depression era, they managed to purchase and hold on to his father’s house and raise their one child, Richard. During her married years, Ruth never put her artistic or writing interests aside. She worked as an editor for Benefic Press. During her spare time, she concocted a wonderful plant stimulant, which she made from herbs and began selling in the late 1970’s. She called it “Flourish - a truly organic formula”. Her early exposure to the nursery trade through her husband’s family allowed her to understand and create this product and she and her family are still selling the plant preservative to this day. Many residents know of Ruth through her historical writing and the contribution to the understanding of local history - both of the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Hillside, of which she is still a member, and of the Hillside/Westchester area. Of special interest is her help in discovering (or uncovering) the true identity of the now “Franzosenbusch Prairie House” on Wolf Road Prairie in Westchester.
THE LOMMATZSCH FAMILY
Reinhold Lommatzsch Jr., (Hans) worked as a part-time policeman with Chief Adam Stang and Officer Eugene Schmaizreid. He married Ruth (Klemm) in 1936 in the Boeger farmhouse where the Klemm family (Herman, Amanda, and their children, Ruth, Bernard, Carl and Dorothy) had lived for seventeen years. A son, Richard, was born in 1937 in the home at 229 Oakridge Avenue, where the Lommatzsch family resided for more than forty years. Hans also worked on the old Aurora and Elgin line. He worked as a motorman for 14 years and recalls speeds of up to 90 miles per hour through open country.
Ruth Lommatzsch became active as a historian. She co-authored (with Ann Hoogstra) the book, ”Progress, Pride, Growth, 1905 - 1980, 75th Anniversary —Village of Hillside”, C.1981 published by Village of Hillside, Hillside, IL. This book serves as one of many primary sources for information on this website.
Ruth Lommatzsch and Ann Hoogstra ALSO co-authored the book (we call the “blue sky” book) “Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hillside, Illinois, “God With Us” -125 Years 1858 - 1983 c. 1983 published by the Immanuel Lutheran Church.
Ruth and Ann discovered the first to comment on the HAND HEWN TIMBERS they found in the basement of an old farmhouse off of Wolf Road and 22nd Street. Further investigation revealed the building to be the old Lutheran schoolhouse that we now know as Franzosenbusch Prairie House.
Last Modified: 01/20/2006