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| Ernest Frederick Bader |
Big thanks to my intrepid cousins, Philip Bader and John Bader, who just returned from a fact-finding mission to Fremont, NE, in search of more Bader info! Among other things, they plundered a goldmine of info from the Fremont High School yearbooks, including these senior class photos and bits of doggerel for five of the six children of J. R. Bader.
The dispatch Philip sent to me also includes yearbook pics of the
daughters of Frederick Bader (J.R.'s brother), family homes in Fremont,
and headstones. I will post these soon, but this is plenty of material
for one post! I'll let Philip describe it all in his own words!
John and I returned last night from a road trip that took us, among
other places, to Fremont, Nebraska. As Hugsweier in Germany is the
European birthplace of the Bader family (so far as we know right now),
Fremont might be called the American birthplace, or at least where the
Bader brothers Jacob and Fred first put down solid roots.
At the Keene
Memorial Library, we found yearbooks from Fremont High School and
managed to salvage photos of most of JR Bader's children and all of
Fred's children. The only one missing is the Reverend Carl Bader. The
library did not have yearbooks going back to his senior year.
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| Captain of the baseball team |
ERNEST FREDERICK BADER
Ernest graduated from Fremont High School in 1907. According to his yearbook entry, Ernest's nickname was "Pater". He was junior and senior class president, president of the athletic association, vice-president of the literary society, a 1st Lt. and then captain of cadets (perhaps ROTC, though not sure). He also captained the baseball and basketball teams, ran track and was a member of the men's glee club.
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| Captain of the basketball team (front row, right) |
Here is his brief bio that appears next to his picture:
"'Pater' is a jolly good fellow and all-round athlete. He is not bothered by the girls; it is the girl that bothers him. Bader has tried, with considerable success, to get a corner on offices."
The entry is accompanied by this quote from Tennyson:
"I am part of all that I have met."
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| Member of the Track team (front row, middle) |
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| Eleanor Olga Bader |
ELEANOR OLGA BADER
Eleanor graduated from Fremont High School in 1909. Her entry lists the nickname of "Ella". She participated in women's glee club. Her entry in the yearbook is accompanied by this poem:
"To school she does come,
Good marks she gets some
In her studies all of the while;
Is quite fond "Art",
They say lost her heart,
Not Gibson, but "Baldwin" her style."
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| Alma Christina Bader |
ALMA CHRISTINA BADER
Alma graduated from Fremont High School in 1912. Her nickname was "Snip". Her yearbook entry includes this poem:
"Alma, sweet Alma, whence
came your fame? From
studiousness, talent or simply
from name? No matter
the answer, for whate'er it
be, your virtues are many,
that we can see."
In her short freshman year biography, Alma's occupation was described as a "great Botanist", her disposition was "bashful", and the reason she was liked was her "long hair".
CLARA BARTON BADER
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| Clara Barton Bader |
Clara graduated from Fremont High School in 1916. She was a member of the women's glee club, the Zetalithian literary society, the yearbook staff, and something called Emanon. I think this was some sort of social club, though I'm not certain.
The poem accompanying her yearbook photo is as follows:
"Clara has a fuzzy head,
and her "future", it is said
shall be spent in work of Art,
for she's surely got her start."
Clara's junior year biography reads as follows:
"Our fussy, persnickety member always has the latest style in hair dressing. Is also very witty and whenever she hears a new joke she'll always Springer. Intends at some future time to go to Berlin and study art."
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| Jean Bader |
JEAN RICHARD BADER
Jean graduated from Fremont High School in 1922. He played on the football team and the track team. He was a member of the Hi-Y club ( a precursor to the YMCA), president of the dramatic club, a member of the men's glee club and the F club, served on the yearbook staff and the student newspaper, for which he served as editor in chief as a senior. He also served two years on student council.
According to the text accompanying his senior yearbook photo, Jean had the following characteristics:
"Occupation: falling in love with a new one."
"Means of identification: Will you write this up—"
"Destination: a minister"
Jean was apparently a gifted offensive lineman for the football team. His team biography reads as follows:
"One of our few fairly heavy men. Held down his guard position like a million dollars. Those who got behind him had to get help and climb over, and a few there were who did it. And the way he ambled into the opponents line on offense always reminded us of a gay young Percheron at play. And those Jean didn't hurt, he scared to death. We hate to see Jean graduate."
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| Jean Bader: Member of the football team |
Note from Lisa: it's funny to think this beefy "young Percheron" was the same little tyke seen riding on the moon with J. R. and Emma in this early post!
Also: click here to see a great family portrait of these Bader siblings as small children!
