The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1897-10-29
NEIGHBORs CALLED HIM KING.
Personality of the Sausage Maker Much
Trouble In the Family.

Personality of the Sausage Malxer-Much
Trouble In the Family.
Luetgert, king of the sausage-making
industry, has been the object. of talk
and speculation for the last five years.
His unique personality, his queer hab-
Its, his half wild dogs, his giant stat
ure, and the millions Of pounds Of saus-
age that were carted away from his
great factory at Diversey and Hermit
tage avenues made the Germans and
Poles Of his neighborhood call him q
king.
During the twenty years since Luet-
CERT and Louise Bickenese were married
in st. Johns Lutheran church, La Sale
avenue and Ohio street, where her gold
wedding ring was first worn, Mrs. Luet-
CERT had toiled with her husband and
had planned with him. Luetgert was
a prosperous saloon keeper when they
were welded, and Louise Bickenese was
a pretty German domestic, who knew
scarcely a word of English.
At last Luetgert and his wife had
saved enough money to buy out meat
route, and Luetgert gave up his saloon.
The family went to live over the mar
ket, and this prospered better than the
saloon had done.
Luetgert began by peddling meat at
the back doors of his friends homes.
He saw possibilities in sausage-mak-
ing, and gradually he went into the
business of making summer sausages.
At first this was carried on in a back
room Of the market. After a while II
outstripped the regular meat business,
and Luetgert saw business and profits
come in almost faster than he could
take care Of them. The factory was To-
Gated then in Sheffield avenue, near
Diversey.
Differ on Business Plans.
Luetgert and his wife had widely DIFF
ferent notions as to how large a saus-
age plant ought to be built. Luetgert
had visions Of a six-story building.
with railroad tracks running to it and
loaded cars at the doors. Mrs. Luetgert
wished her husband to invest $4,000 in
the new plant and the balance of their
savings in some other investment.
Luetgert had his own way.
During the year of the Worlds fair
Luetgert cleared $4,000 from his saus-
age business. At that time he was
reputed to be worth about 100000. Mrs.
Luetgert, 1t Is said, never ceased to
chide her husband for putting all his
savings in the plant, even when profits
piled UP with dazzling swiftness.
Mrs. Luetgert with the most comfort
able house for a mile around, was not
envied, however. When she saw the
change in her husbands habits she
fretted and chided. till Luetgert finally
went to live among his dogs in the fac
tory. He fitted UP a sleeping room In
his office, and his bulky frame never
was seen in the house except at meal
times.
Luetgert had invested practically ev-
cry penny he and his wife saved in his |
plant. He borrowed almost as |
much more to complete It, and as most |
of his business was done on credit, when |
the hard times came he had no capital |
with which to go on. When he was |
obliged to borrow right and left, Mrs. |
I.uetgert lost no chance to remind him |
that IL he had followed her advice lie |
would have been all right.
Family Jars Increased.
Last February Luetgerts factory
closed down. When profits ceased to !
pile up Mrs. Luetgert's seedlings and |
the family jars increased. Mary Siem-
sring had in the meantime come to live
with the Luetgerts, and Luetgert's fond
ness for her, 1t is said, increased the
bitterness between him and his wife.
Financial ruin stared Luetgert in the
face by the middle of April The saus-
and his wife saw that the
factory was almost certain to pass into
he hands OF the sheriff, for notes were
alling due, there was no income to pay
hem from, and butchers and market
men who were In Luetgert's debt were
Unable to help him out OF difficulty in
he hard times. Mrs. Luetgert, who
lad seen her advice thrown to the winds,
ind her dire predictions all come true
ost no opportunity to scold her hus-
'and for his folly. The reports Of the
luetgert family disturbances increased
throughout the neighborhood and were
he object Of many conferences among
IRIS Luetgert's relatives.