Bertha (Birdie or Bertie) Richter

Birth:  

Family Information: Daughter of Elsie and Adolph Richter.

Sister of Elsie, Sophie, Billie, Fred (Bud), Juanita and Bobby. The three eldest children were not colonists.  

Description: Described as attractive.  

Pre-Colony History: Arrived on the bus from Chicago with mother Elsie and younger siblings Juanita and Bobby in November of 1933. Their father arrived with huge furniture van two hours later.  

Home in Colony:  

Job in Colony: Bertha was a student, but also helped out with mailing the "Colonist" on Tuesdays. Also, helped other places as needed -- in the hotel kitchen and dining room, bakery, the ice plant and more.

In July 1934 the regular crew at the print shop included: Lloyd Potter, Harold and Mary Emery, Ben Low, Roy MacDonald, Anna Loutrel, George Leevey, Afton Lewis, Howard Stansbury, Mr. Ranft and Irene Hewitt.

Esther Allen, Mrs. Weatherwax and Bertha Richter helped out on the days when the "Colonist" and "Democrat" were mailed out, plus both DeForest and Marvin Sanford could be seen there a good share of the time.

Other Info: She had a bicycle which she'd obtained from Richards (who had ridden it all the way from Akron) and she could often be seen riding back and forth in her orange jersey.  

Post-Colony History: She left the colony to return to Chicago in February, 1935. She would stay with relatives there while her family remained to dispose of their household goods. Apparently very excited at the thought of big city lights, street cars and all that goes with a big city, Bertha walked around with "a smile playing on her lips and her head full of airy dreams."  

Death:  

Sources: Handwritten Memoirs of Elsie Richter; "Llano Colonist": November 4, 1933, December 2, 1933, April 7, 1934, June 23, 1934, July 7, 1934, January 5, 1935, February 2, 1935, February 23, 1935, March 2, 1935