Trent & Helon Viertel Knudson Visit Robert & Joyce Rachuig at Elephant Butte, NM

Some of you may know that Robert & Joyce Rachuig established a church at Elephant Butte, New Mexico before retiring and moving back to Clifton, where they now reside.  (It's funny how many connections the Rachuig family has with the Land of Enchantment.) 

Elephant Butte is the location of a picturesque lakeside resort.  Back in 2003 the Knudson's paid a visit to cousins Robert & Joyce and took in the sights.

  

Julius & Selma Schulz Rachuig Home on Niels Creek in Bosque County

This following photo shows the Julius & Selma Schulz homestead on Niels Creek sometime around 1906.  I estimate that date using Edgar Rachuig as the benchmark.  He's the baby on the ground.  Walter Rachuig, Sr. and Hilda Rachuig Krueger are the other children.  Selma Schulz Rachuig is sitting in the chair; Julius Rachuig is the adult man standing behind Uncle Walter.  I will need to look up the identities of the two young women and young man.  I vaguely recall they are in-laws and hired hands.

I had a chance to visit the location with Charles Rachuig, Sr. about 10 years ago.  The house was long gone, but my aunt, Mayme Rachuig Haus, took the following picture sometime before it was demolished.  Apparently, owners remodeled it over the years.

Here is the general location.  I recall Richard Rachuig, younger brother of Julius, saying in his memoirs that the Rachuigs helped construct the railroad as it passed through the Niels Creek area.  Here's a map showing the location.

 
The Rachuig family moved to their home on Hackberry Street in Clifton around 1920.  I recall that one of Susan Read's relatives owned the land in the past, or maybe still owns it.  I hope someone can update me.

 

Evelyn Rachuig Belcher in the 1920s

Evelyn Rachuig Belcher (1915-2004) was the youngest child of Julius & Selma Schulz Rachuig, which makes her the granddaughter of August & Henrietta Bernhardt Rachuig and Tobias & Wilhelmina Hunger Schulz.  I don't have an exact date for the photo, but my best guess is the late 1920s.

Link to find a grave Web site.
 

Dorothy Krueger Mansur, 1921-2013

Many of you may know that Dorothy Krueger Mansur died earlier this year.  She was the daughter of Will & Hilda Krueger, grand-daughter of Julius & Selma Rachuig, and great-grand-daughter of Tobias & Wilhelmina Schulz.

Here is a picture of Dorothy with her mother and brother, Will Krueger, Jr. in the early 1920s.  They are standing in front of her grandparent's home on Hackberry Street in Clifton.

She is happy now, but we will certainly miss her.

Dorothy attended last year's reunion.  Here are some direct links to scenes of her in the reunion video.

Direct link to 1st scene.

Direct link to 2nd scene.

Direct link to 3rd scene.

 

The Robert & Joyce Rachuig Family in the 1960s

Here's a blast from the past.  Robert and Joyce with their children on a Sunday morning in the 1960s!  We need to get a modern version of this photo.  

(I think Robert looks a little like George Goebel.)

It's That Time of Year

 

Our Savior's Luther Church in Norse, Texas

July is around the corner, so the Schulz-Rachuig-Rachui-Rachuy family reunion is near.  The date is Saturday, July 20th at Our Savior's Church in Norse.  I will be try to post items to this blog each week till the reunion, so look for more information and mark your calendars.

Family Photos from Robert Rachuig

My thanks go to Robert Rachuig, son of A. W. Rachuig and grandson of Rudolph 'Rube' Rachuig, for sending me these photos of his branch of the Rachuig family.

The following photo shows Robert's uncle Edwin Bewe ('E. B.') and his wife Winnie.  E. B. was younger brother to Robert's father, A. W. Rachuig.

  
The next photo shows their family in the mid-1950s.  I'm not sure if they lived in Clifton or not.

  
This last photo shows E. B.'s and A. W.'s parents, Rudolph ('Rube') and Huldina Ickert Rachuig, who lived all their lives in Clifton.

 

Trip to Matamoros, Mexico in 1940

Here is a photo of the H. A. Rachuig family on a vacation in Matamoros, Mexico (across the border from Brownsville).  They were visiting Herbert Rachuig's uncle, Richard Rachuig, and his wife Anna.  They are on the left.  

 

The woman in the middle is Bonnie Bess Adams Morton, niece of Herbert's wife Mamie Adams Rachuig, who must have taken the picture.  My mother and aunt are the young girls next to Bonnie Bess.  Herbert Rachuig is on the right.  

I have no idea if the car belonged to Richard and Anna.  I'm certain it was not my grandparents' car.

 

Herbert A. Rachuig, 1906 - 1951

Here are two photos of my grandfather, Herbert Albert Rachuig, while visiting Galveston in 1941.  As you can see is wading in the surf with the family pet, Lu-Li.  She is a Pekingese, which he got from a family in Clifton who bred dogs and lived on Hackberry Street.  I believe their name was Rasmussen.
 

 

My grandfather died in an industrial accident in Warta, Texas just south of Giddings.  He worked for Humble Oil, as did his older brother Walter A. Rachuig, Sr.

Here is an article about the accident.