1984 History of Clayton County, IA, Page 247

Alfred and Julitta Schulte Frommelt

Alfred B. Frommelt was born in Guttenberg, Ia., Clayton County Nov. 19, 1892, son of Louis and Elizabeth Roth Frommelt. He was the second oldest of ten boys and three girls. He attended St. Mary's Catholic School and often told about having their morning classes in German and then have the same classes in the afternoon in English. He often joked about going to confession in German and in later years the younger priests didn't understand German, and how upset and flustered they would get when he would talk German.

Alfred spent most of his life in and around Guttenberg and never lived outside Clayton County. He was affiliated with the Standard Oil Company and for many years ran an oil and gas tank wagon. When the Lock and Dam No. 10 was built in Guttenberg, he supplied all the gas and oil they used for all the machinery and vehicles.

The underground treasures of the earth was a big fascination for him and his wife. Many a long and hard day was spent mining for lead and drilling for oil. Although he never hit it big he never quit dreaming of the day when it might happen. His biggest joy was sitting down and talking to all the old timers about the big veins of lead ore or the big pools of oil the earth had hidden. In the early 1940's he became a custodian at the Central State Bank and the U.S. Post Office in Elkader, and worked at that job until his retirement. In his leisure time he loved to go out and drill water wells for the farmers in the area. He died July 1, 1970 in Strawberry Point, Ia.

On May 29, 1917, he and Julitta Schulte, daughter of Herman and Catherine Kann Schulte of Garnavillo, Ia., were married om(sic/at) St. Mary's Church, Guttenberg. To this union there were three children: Catherine Mae, Loren Francis, and Merlin Edward. Julitta was born Oct. 9, 1887, on a farm near Elkport, and died at Memorial Hospital, Delaware County, Manchester, on April 11, 1971.