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The first Recording Secretary of Section 15 was John Kalmes. He was born in Niles Center
and farmed the area upon which the Skokie Valley Hospital is presently situated. Given the
proximity of his homestead to the Hohs property, it is not surprising that he married Barbara
Hohs, Peter A.'s daughter. They had 12 children, three of whom, Nicholas, Jacob and Peter,
would join Section 15 in later years. In addition to his duties as Recording Secretary, John Kalmes
served as an elected Park Commissioner for thirteen years (1928-41) and also worked for the Park
District. On May 25, 1949, John Kalmes was killed in a car accident at the age of sixty-five.
The Hermes family played a prominant role in the formative years of the Section. Johann
Hermes (married to Catherine Weber) immigrated to the United States from Eschdorf, Luxembourg
circa 1897. Shortly thereafter, Johann opened up his greenhouses in the Sharp Corner area
adjacent to the Kalmes property between Gross Point Road and Keeler, north of Grant Street.
All five of his sons, Henry, Joseph, Michael (married to Ernestene Scharres), Nick (married to
Josephine Doetsch), and Paul (married to Anna Flam) became members of Section 15, with
Henry, Nick and Michael being charter members. Mike would become President of the Section
in 1913. Paul would join Section 21 in 1907, be its first Recording Secretary, transfer to Section 15 in
1912 and would serve as its Recording Secretary from 1913 to 1962, when he retired from the post.
All five Hermes boys were active in the burgeoning greenhouse business of Niles Center.
Michael, Paul and Nick had their greenhouses side by side on a triangular parcel of property at
Gross Point Road and Keeler Avenue. Henry and Joseph, neither of whom married, worked
for their brothers in the greenhouses.
Although the minutes for the meetings held between 1905 and November, 1932 have been
lost, the minute book commencing December 10,1932 shows the minutes to have been recorded
by Paul Hermes in German. This was probably a convenience for him, as Brother Pat Seul
remembers the meetings to have been conducted in English. With the Section meeting commencing
on August 9, 1935, the minutes were recorded in English.
Anton Krier, Sr., immigrated to this country from Luxembourg in 1876. He first settled a
farm located at Clark and Bryn Mawr Avenues in Chicago. By 1892 he had purchased 10 acres of
land at the northeast corner of Gross Point Road and Niles Center Road, in the Sharp Corner
area that was home to the Hohs and Kalmes families. Anton farmed the land and sold his produce
at the Randolph Street market in Chicago. In 1890, Anton's oldest child, Martin "Scotty" Krier,
was born to be followed by Valentine, Anton, Jr. and Peter, all of whom would eventually become
members of Section 15. Scotty Krier would become President of the Section in 1935.
At the initial installation of officers, Anton Krier, Sr., the oldest of the charter members,
was elected to the post of Trustee. By 1913, he was Vice-President and became President upon
the death of Michael Hermes, in 1927.
As an aside, the position of Trustee was created by the Constitution of the Brotherhood to
oversee the financial assets of each section. The initial Trustees of Section 15 besides Anton Krier,
Sr. were Michael Hermes and Frank Hoveley.
As previously noted, there were 21 charter members of Section 15. Before the year was
ended, six additional men joined the Section. They were, in order of joining: Anton "Tony" Seul,
George Busscher, Jr. Charles Fremgen, Frank Morette, Fred Schoening and Joseph Haupt.
Anton "Tony" Seul (married to Seraphine Freres) was born in Northfield, Illinois in either
1876 or 1877. Circa 1900, he began working for the Niles Center Bakery, owned by his brother
John, as a bakery wagon driver. John's store was then located immediately south of St. Peter's
Catholic Cemetery, which is presently the parking lot for Haben's Funeral Home. While driving
the bakery wagon, he would regularly stop in Tessville (n/k/a Lincolnwood, IL) and call
on the Freres family. In 1906 or 1907, he married Seraphine Freres. Three of their sons,
Francis Pat Seul, Rudolph and Erwin would join the Section in the coming years.
After getting married, the Seuls lived adjacent to John's Bakery. In 1907, Tony entered
the tavern business which was located in the building owned by Peter Blameuser, III at the
northwest corner of Lincoln and Oakton Avenues, presently the site of Desiree Restaurant.
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