The Dick family had a long and well-documented presence in the brewing and bottling industry in La Porte County, spanning several decades in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Clemens Dick, sometimes spelled Clement, was born on February 24, 1838, in Baden, Germany. He immigrated to the United States in May 1854. He married Catherine Josephine Kalen, and according to U.S. Census records and genealogy records, the couple had eight children.
In 1870, Clemens Dick and Adolph Kamm came from Toledo, Ohio, and entered into the brewery business together in Mishawaka, Indiana. They purchased an existing brewery from John Wagner, which had been established around 1853. The firm operated under the name Dick & Kamm. In 1880, Clemens sold his interest to Kamm, who later admitted his brother-in-law, Nicholas Schellinger, into the business. The firm became known as Kamm & Schellinger Brewing Company and was officially incorporated in 1887.
In the 1880 U.S. Census, Clemens Dick is listed as a brewery proprietor in La Porte, with Frank recorded as his son and noted as working in the brewery.
Tragedy struck the family on April 18, 1881, when Clemens’s son Anthony Dick, born in 1864, was killed at the “Dick & Klaiber” brewery in La Porte after becoming caught in a revolving shaft. No additional information has been located regarding the Dick & Klaiber Brewery.
Census records and genealogy records indicate that Clemens was also the father of Michigan City bottlers August C. Dick and Albert J. Dick.
Sadly, Clemens outlived seven of his eight children, with only Frank Dick surviving him. He lost his son August C. on December 29, 1908, due to heart disease, and Albert J. was killed by a train on March 1, 1909, as reported in the article below.
Clemens Dick died on June 23, 1910, and is buried in Patton Cemetery in La Porte.
The word “son” embossed on the bottle refers to Frank Dick, one of Clemens Dick’s sons. Frank was born on August 29, 1861, in Ohio.
After Clemens ended his partnership with Adolph Kamm in Mishawaka, he entered into a new partnership with Frank in 1884. This partnership was short-lived, as the brewery was sold to John W. Russert in 1887. According to the 1887 La Porte County Directory, Frank owned a saloon on the north side of Main Street, now Lincolnway, between Indiana Avenue and Madison Street.
Frank did not leave the brewing business after Russert purchased the plant. In 1889, he purchased the Donnenwirth Brothers plant in Bucyrus, Ohio, and established his own brewery. He operated the business as proprietor until selling it to the Dostal Brothers in September 1902. Frank produced bottles embossed “The Dick Brewery / Bucyrus Ohio”.
By 1904, Frank was again living with his father, as listed in the La Porte city directory for that year. In the 1910 U.S. Census, Frank is shown living in Los Angeles, California, with his wife Bertha.
Frank Dick died on April 24, 1934, and is buried in Pine Lake Cemetery in La Porte.
According to One Hundred Years of Brewing (1903), Nicholas Bader began brewing lager beer in a small building in La Porte, Indiana, in 1856. John B. Puissant and Clemens Dick succeeded him prior to 1887. John W. Russert operated the brewery from 1887 to 1896, after which it came into the possession of Guenther Brothers in 1896.
No additional information has been located regarding John B. Puissant.
The brewery was located at the corner of Lake and Tyler Streets, as shown on the 1886 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map below.
Main Sources
— Pictorial and Biographical Memoirs of Elkhart and St. Joseph Counties, Indiana. (1893).
— South Bend and the Men Who Have Made It: Historical, Descriptive, Biographical. (1901). United States: Tribune Printing Company.
— A Centennial Biographical History of Crawford County, Ohio. (1902). United States: Lewis Publishing Company.
— One Hundred Years of Brewing: A Complete History of the Progress Made in the Art, Science and Industry of Brewing in the World, Particularly During the Nineteenth Century. (1903). United States: H.S. Rich & Company.
— Howard, T. E. (1907). A History of St. Joseph County, Indiana. United States: Lewis Publishing Company.
1) Anthony Dick, a 16 year old son of Clemens Dick, of the firm of Dick & Klaiber, brewers, of LaPorte, was caught in a revolving shaft in the brewery Monday evening, and died in half an hour. He was terribly crushed and bruised. Lafayette Weekly Courier, April 19, 1881.
2) TWO KILLED AT CROSSING – AUTO STRUCK BY FAST TRAIN –ACCIDENT NEAR CINCINNATI CAUSES DEATH OF LAPORTE (IND.) MAN AND COMPANION AS THEY WERE RETURNING FROM FUNERAL.
CINCINNATI, O., March 1.—Edward Hebenstreit, head of the Hebenstreit Fire Works Company of Lockland, O., and a cousin, Albert Dick of Laporte, Ind., were instantly killed when their automobile was struck by a train at the Big Four crossing in Lockland this afternoon. Hebenstreit and his cousin had just returned from Reading, where they had attended the funeral of Albert Hebenstreit, a brother of Edward. Mr. Dick came here from Laporte Sunday to attend the funeral.
Hebenstreit and Dick stopped at the factory to make an inspection shortly after the noon hour and were starting to Hebenstreit’s home at Worthington and Harriet avenues, Lockland.
DID NOT SEE TRAIN COMING
As they started across the tracks they did not notice inbound passenger train No. 19 speeding along and dashed directly in front of it. The auto was hit squarely in the center. Both men were caught on the pilot of the engine and carried 200 feet or more before the train was brought to a stop. The bodies were crushed and mangled. The auto was thrown high in the air and demolished.
LAST OF THREE SONS KILLED.
DEATH OF YOUNG LAPORTE MAN LEAVES PARALYTIC FATHER CHILDLESS
LAPORTE, Ind., March 1.—The death of Albert J. Dick of this city in an automobile accident in Cincinnati this afternoon caused intense sorrow in this city. The young man’s father, Clemens Dick, one of the wealthiest residents of Laporte, was stricken with paralysis the other day and it is feared his son’s tragic end will hasten his death. Two sons of Mr. Dick died suddenly within the last few years, and his wife recently passed away, leaving the one son. The boy’s body will be brought to this city for burial. The Indianapolis Star, March 2, 1909.
3) CLEMENS DICK DEAD. Former Resident of Mishawaka Passes Away at Laporte.
LAPORTE, Ind., June 23.—Clemens Dick, aged 72 years, a native of Baden, Germany, formerly a resident of Mishawaka, where he owned a brewery, died this morning. He leaves a fortune and is survived by one son, Frank, of Los Angeles, Cal., and a number of grandchildren. The South Bend Tribune, June 23, 1910.
4) Frank Dick, of Laporte, formerly of Los Angles, Calif., died suddenly at 3:30 o’clock Tuesday morning at his home, 1002 1/2 Lincolnway. Mr. Dick was born at Hamilton, O., and came with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Clemens Dick, to Mishawaka and LaPorte. He later was established in business in Bucyrus, O., and then went to Los Angeles, where he lived until two years ago. Services will be at the Cutler funeral chapel at 2 o’clock Thursday afternoon at LaPorte. Burial will be at the Pine Lake cemetery. Surviving Mr. Dick is his widow, Mrs. Bertha Dick. The South Bend Tribune, April 25, 1934.
La Porte Directories
1887 – Dick Clemens, brewery, residence at 29 W Jefferson.
– Dick Frank X, saloon north side of Main St. between Indiana Ave and Madison.
1893-94 – Dick Clement, home at 1002 Jefferson. The house was razed many decades ago.
1899 & 1902 – Dick Clemens (Josephine C), retired brewer, home at 1002 Jefferson.
1904 – Dick Clemens, (Josephine C.), retired, home at 1002 Jefferson Ave.
– Dick, Frank J. (Bertha), home at 1002 Jefferson Ave.
1907 & 1910– Dick, Clemens, (Josephine), retired, home at 1002 Jefferson Ave., phone 178.
Bottle Type: Quart, applied blob top.
Embossing: C. DICK & SON / La Porte, IND.
Glass Maker: SB&G Co (embossed on base), Streator Bottle & Glass Co., Streator, Illinois. Streator was in business from 1881-1905.
Other Marks: THIS BOTTLE NOT TO BE SOLD (embossed on back).
Notes: A rare beer bottle manufactured in cobalt blue, an uncommon glass color for beer bottlers.
Photo Credit: Indiana Bottle Collectors
