In April 1991, Louis, Joan, Dale and I (along with baby Kyle) traveled to Nebraska to see some relatives and we decided to stop in Crete to see what we could find out about the Rademacher family. There are no Rademachers living in Crete anymore, so we had a list of places to visit to find out what we could.
First stop was Sacred Heart Catholic Church. I can’t remember the name of the priest, but he was very welcoming and immediately recognized the ‘Rademacher’ name. He gave us his last remaining copy of the church history book that had been printed in 1973. I call it the “Red Book”. What a treasure trove this has been!
The book describes the early history of the pioneer families who founded the Catholic community in Crete. The Rademacher family was a key part of it!
The first Rademacher to arrive in Crete was Frank Rademacher, who actually the younger brother of Joseph. From page 25 of the Red Book:
As early as September 26, 1871 Father Lechleitner and a few cooperative parishioners were making plans to build a church. A meeting of Catholics in and near Crete was held in C. W. Cooper’s office to make arrangements to purchase Lots 8 and 9 in Block 139, from the South Platte Land Company. Officers chosen for this church committee were P.W. O’Connor, president; Joseph Blake, secretary; Frank J. Rademacher, (who walked to Lincoln many times to attend Mass and take care of other business affairs), and Joseph Jelinek, trustees. The lots were purchased but the church was not built at this time. In the meantime the priest stayed in private homes, many times with the Rademachers. Services were held in the homes and in various store buildings which were available at the time, but most often in the Nave-Rademacher Furniture Store, which is now the Crete State Bank parking lot. There are no direct descendents of these two families in the parish. Sr. Elizabeth, in retirement here until recently, is a niece of Frank J. Rademacher. Family members four or five generations back are buried in the Crete Riverside Cemetery. Younger family members have moved away.
Walked from Crete to Lincoln to go to Mass? Yikes!
More info from the Red Book coming in the next few days…
