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The Victoria GAZETTE |
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by Sue Orsen The Victoria Gazette It was back in 2001 that the City of Victoria aptly chose the name Diethelm Park for a 40-acre tract of land located about a mile southeast of downtown Victoria. The name was not chosen because the Diethelm family once lived on that particular acreage -- they didn’t -- but to recognize the first pioneer settlers in this area that came to be called Victoria. Much of the land between Lions Park and Stieger Lake in Victoria was the original Diethelm farm. According to a remarkable and detailed history written by John A. Diethelm in 1957, the first pioneer settler here was Michael Diethelm who arrived from Switzerland “late in the fall of 1851.” Michael’s brother Carl Diethelm arrived the next spring with his wife and children. John A. Diethelm, the historian who wrote from both personal and researched information, was a grandson of Carl and also the first Mayor of Victoria, from 1916 to 1920. Another grandson of Carl was Eugene Diethelm, who grew up, lived, and worked on the original Diethelm farm. Eugene Diethelm was the father of Bob Diethelm, current active resident of Victoria along with many other Diethelm descendants. In this Centennial Year, and at this time of Thanksgiving, the Victoria Gazette celebrates today the life and times of Bob and Darla Diethelm, who live on the same land claimed by the brothers Michael and Carl nearly 165 years ago. *** They don’t dance around life. They dance to life and in step with each other. They face the music together and are not afraid of an occasional flat note, whether it comes in a polka, a waltz, or other of life’s dances. They hear the same steady beat as they hold hands and gracefully move from one measure to the next. Bob and Darla Diethelm of Victoria were married on October 25th, 1975. The Deutschmeisters played for their wedding dance at the Paradise Ballroom in Waconia. As they celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary this fall, their new favorite dance is “The Anniversary Waltz,” and it will be played by their all time favorite band, Chuck Theil and the Jolly Ramblers. This time they’ll be on the dance floor at the Cologne Community Center. “He taught me to dance at the Lakeside,” said Darla, the quiet but confident lady of the house. But it was called the Paradise Ballroom back in 1975. Why did Bob know how to dance? Because his oldest sister Carol had told him, “You can’t be in my wedding unless you know how to dance.” He then went to dances practically every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, mostly to the Paradise but also to the Riverside Ballroom in Car-ver in its early days. For decades, the spirit of a community was found on the dance floor, where people heard the same music and moved together. *** Bob was born at the St. Francis Hospital in Shakopee on August 26th, 1946, the fourth of Eugene and Lorene Diethelm’s six children. The siblings were, in order of birth, Jerry, Carol [Wickenhauser], Mary [Farrell], Bob, Dennis, and Joyce [Heiland]. Where did he grow up? “Right here,” replied Bob. “I never left the farm.” For that matter, neither did Jerry, Mary, and Joyce, all of whom reside today on that part of the original Diethelm farm property, near Lions Park, that was developed into single family homes. Approximately 100 of those homes are in the adjacent Katy Hills neighborhood which was platted in the late 1980’s. Bob explained that his and Darla’s home today on Orchid Street is indeed located on the acreage that was part of the original Diethelm farm, which came to be owned by his grandparents, Joseph (son of Carl) and Elizabeth Diethelm.
It’s quite a story. You can finish it in the paper edition of the Gazette. |
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November 2015 |
