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the Haben family as a single family residence and was placed on the National Register of
Historical Landmarks.
In 1916, the partnership of Busscher and Paroubek had ceased and the firm had
incorporated. George Busscher was President and Anthony Paroubek was Vice-President
and Treasurer.
By 1924, one could buy genuine Ford auto parts, Columbia graphophones and records.
By 1928, the store had added Whirlpool Washers to its stock. If a change of telephone numbers
is indicative of the growth of the
community, the Niles Center Mercantile
Company was growing as well,
for the telephone numbers during this
period were Niles Center 58, Niles
Center 1 and in 1929 was changed
once again to accomodate two lines—
Niles Center 700 and 701.
George Busscher, Jr.'s activities
were not limited to running the hardware
business. In 1904, he was elected
to the office of Village Clerk, which
he held until 1909, when his partner
and brother-in-law, Anthony
Paroubek succeeded him. In addition,
in 1916, he was Postmaster of the
Village and prior thereto, he had been
elected a Director of the Niles Center
State Bank, the first of eight Section
15 brothers to hold that distinguished
position. In 1927, he was elected the
first President of the Niles Center Businessmen's
Club, the forerunner of the
Chamber of Commerce. In 1934,
George Busscher, Jr. passed away, having
had a significant impact on early
Niles Center.
George Busscher, Jr., circa 1930.
Fred Schoening joined Section 15
on October 1, 1905. He listed his
occupation as blacksmith. In the
1919 Schobermesse Book, he advertised that he was still in the business of horse shoeing,
although by this time he had expanded his business to include the repair of automobile
bodies and water cisterns. General jobbing was done to order. In 1922, he was selling
"Deering Mowers". His shop was located at Lincoln Avenue and Main Street and could be
telephoned at Niles Center 16-W (1919), 48 W (1922) and in 1926, one could reach him
at his residence—48 M. Fred died in 1940.
Peter Blameuser, III joined the Section in 1906 at the age of forty. Although his father,
Peter Blameuser, Jr. had emigrated from the Franco-Prussian border area of Alsace-Lorraine,
Peter, III, and many like him who were not of Luxembourg origin, felt a kinship with
those who were. Some reasons for this affinity are obvious, some are not. For example,
Luxembourg shares a common border with Germany, France and Belgium. The Luxembourg
nation in 1840, was economically and politically linked to Germany and was part of the
Germanic Confederation and Customs Union (Zollverein). Within Luxembourg City, a
Prussian garrison was stationed.
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