Carl Richard Krieser and Esther Edna Ruth

Married on June 5th, 1920 at Menominee, Michigan

Esther’s father, Gustav Ruth, had died shortly before their wedding and they didn’t think it was appropriate to go forward with a large wedding celebration so soon after his death.  They decided to opt for a private wedding ceremony in Menominee, Michigan rather than to put off their wedding date.  You can almost see a bit of reserved sadness mixed with the happiness of the day in her eyes.  Esther made a charming bride in her soft, flowered voile dress.  The string of pearls that created a long “V” effect ending in a knot was the height of style for women in the 1920s.  Her wavy hairstyle was also typical of the twenties.  They made a handsome couple on their wedding day.

Carl had started working as a flunky, doing odd jobs around the Chicago NorthWestern railroad depot in Marion when he was seventeen years old, but he later learned the Morse code.  After he and Esther began going together, her father wanted Carl to go into the store with him.  He was no doubt ailing by that time and thought this was a good way to secure his daughter’s financial future, but Carl liked railroading and he visualized a good future in it so he stayed with the C&W.  Their early marriage years were far from easy.  As Carl bucked the extra board, they moved to several localities up and down the Ashland line.  For each move, they crated their furniture up and moved it by boxcar to the next location.  One time it never got off the train before his orders were changed.  Their first child, Ruth, was born in Kaukauna, Wisconsin.  Esther and the baby stayed with her recently widowed mother when they couldn’t keep up with Carl and the family ended up in Watersmeet, Michigan when Ruth was still a small baby.  They rented an upper flat that was so dilapidated that the cold winter winds blew the snow right through the window cracks where Ruth’s crib was located.  They had to bundle her up good every night that winter, because she’d wake up in the morning with a blanket  of snow covering her baby quilts.  Watersmeet is a cold, cold place and Michigan’s winters are very severe.  We’ve been there when the temperature dropped to 39 degrees below zero. 

Early Krieser-Ruth Photos

The large portrait shots are enlargements from their wedding photo.  Below, Carl R. Krieser stands by what looks to be a Model T Ford.  It, and the small portrait of Esther on the lower left side of the page, were probably taken before their marriage.

Marriage License

Carl R. Krieser & Esther Edna Ruth

Marriage Certificate

Carl R. Krieser & Esther Edna Ruth