LEUTEKE - Family - Putnam

A family of bakers, whose history extended from the shores of the Baltic Sea in northern Germany to Putnam County and Greencastle came to an end last week with the passing of Albert (Ab) Leuteke in Sunset Manor Nursing Home. First in this line of bakers was Charles Leuteke, a native of Mecklenburg, Germany born March 7, 1844.  At 14, he became a baker’s apprentice and developed and perfected skills which he passed down to his sons.  Albert Leuteke was one of the eight children of this German baker and with his brother, Harry, also deceased, operated a bakery in Greencastle until their retirement in the early 1940s.  Young Charles Leuteke left his birthplace in 1868 for the United States and came to this city where he worked for three years as a baker for Lyon & Weik.  Returning to his homeland for a three-month visit, he married Johanna Voss and brought his bride to America.  This time the destination was Chicago where he established his own baker which was destroyed by the great fire in 1871. This disaster sent him to Indianapolis to work for others at his chosen trade but he was soon back in Greencastle in his own baker on the public square.  But the fire demon had followed him to Putnam County. The inferno of 1874 which destroyed a great portion of the Greencastle business district included the Leuteke bakery in its sweep.  Undaunted by two major losses, the plucky German immigrant reestablished himself by going into partnership with a man named Stephenson and building a baker in south Greencastle. Some time later, he bought out this partner’s interest.  Charles Leuteke successfully met competition and before long, his bread, donuts, cakes and rolls were in most stores and restaurants and on the tables of families living in the Greencastle, Coatesville, Amo, Cloverdale and other areas of Putnam and surrounding counties.  A monument to Charles Leuteke is Lindenhurst, his brick home which still stands at the corner of Locust and Berry streets as one of the show homes of the community.  It is reported that bricks were laid by a mason brought over from Germany and that the mortar contained white sand from Michigan.  Biographers of Charles Leuteke point out that he was more than a baker and successful businessman. He is described as a patriot, a man intensely proud of his adopted country and one with civic concern for his hometown of Greencastle.  He was a progressive member of the city council in 190 and in the words of his biographer, one who “urged movements calculated to better conditions of the city.”  Upon his death in 1902 his son, Charles, described as a proficient baker and outstanding citizen became head of the business which continued to proper as the years went on under management of his brothers, Harry and Albert, probably known to most not by their first names but as the “Leuteke Brothers.”  The brothers carried on with the skills learned from their father and followed the family tradition of hard work and good business sense.  Their south end bakery was a center of productive activity 24 hours a day. Work was provided for many of the community. DePauw students and others found part time jobs during the night baking hours and deliverymen and others found their assignments waiting for them in the mornings.  Leiteke baked goods were on the residence halls tables of DePauw University as well as those of households in this area of the Midwest. During a certain era, bread sold for a nickel a loaf, however, the wholesale price was four cents, a 20 percent reduction.  Oral “Mentor” Sutherlin, a south Greencastle grocer who was a long time employee of the Leuteke Brothers, appraises the bread as a loaf that didn’t make a lot of miracle promises but was “just real good bread.  You could squeeze it and it had a lot more substance than bread on the shelves today,” he said.  Head baker from 1927-1941 was William Lawrence, Sr.  Of Charles Leuteke’s 8 children, Albert was the last surviving member, preceded in death by sisters, Harriet and Nellie and brothers, Charles, Frank and Harry. Two children died in infancy.  Only very distant and unknown relatives remain.  The only reminders of a business which was very much a part of the county for more than 70 years is the old family home, Lindenhurst and abandoned bakery building just north of the Penn Central tracks in south Greencastle.

Source: Greencastle Star-Democrat 17 Jan 1913 p 1

Prizes awarded in several classes of Chickens exhibited at Putnam Fancier’s Association Show

White Langshan – Albert Leuteke – 1st 2nd 3d pullets and 1st 2nd hen and 1st cockerel

Source: Greencastle Herald 15 Jan 1913 p 1

City Council Tuesday night appropriated money from the general fund to be placed in various funds … Charles Leuteke, salary $15.00 (city council probably)

Source: Banner Graphic 27 April 1973

No Slim Promises Made By Local Leuteke Bread

It didn’t promise to make you taller or slimmer, but it was chock-full of hometown goodness that is hard to find today. This is Oral “Mentor” Sutherlin’s appraisal of bread which was once produced in great volume by Greencastle’s Leuteke Bakery, one of the city’s most thriving industries of past years. And Sutherlin, now a south Greencastle grocer, speaks from experience. He not only ate the bread, but he was the firm’s delivery man for a number of years, supplying the needs of DePauw fraternities and sororities as well as local grocery stores and restaurants. His opinion that Leuteke’s baked a superior loaf is confirmed by Bill Lawrence, retired Greencastle fire chief. Bill’s dad, the late Bill Lawrence, Sr., was head baker therefrom 1927 to 1941 and reared his family on Leuteke bread. In earlier days when Mr. Sutherlin was running his routes bread sold for a nickel a loaf. The wholesale price Police Report Citation One traffic citation was issued Thursday by Greencastle police. David L. Greenlee, 19, Route 3, Greencastle, was ticketed for speeding in a posted zone on South Jackson Street.

was four cents, a 20 per cent discount. Founder of the early day bakery was Charles Leuteke, who came to this country from Mecklenburg, Germany. After fire put him out of the bakery business in Chicago, he came to Greencastle and baked from a downtown location. Again fire struck. His next location was in south Greencastle in buildings which are now standing, but unused. In more recent years, Harry and Albert Leuteke and their sister Hattie, were in active management of the business. In addition to bread, the firm produced a wide variety of baked goods which were both sold in Greencastle and in a wide surrounding area.  The brothers are now retired and the sister deceased. Mr. Sutherlin recalls that the Leuteke brothers in cooperation with their employees experimented with various flour combinations and came up with a different donut. Their new creation would rise like a yeast donut, but the inside had the texture of a cake donut. Leuteke bread, which was the mainstay of the business, was unsliced and the loaves were smaller than those ordinarily seen today. “But it had more good things in it,” Sutherlin said. ”Squeeze a modern loaf of bread and you will find that there’s really not much there.”  A monument to Charles Leuteke is the three-story brick home he built at the corner of Berry & Locust Streets.  A German mason was brought over to lay the bricks and a special white sand from Michigan was used in the mortar. This structure designed by Mr. Leuteke is today one of the show place homes of Greencastle.

Source: Star-Democrat 5 Nov 1909 p 5

The ward contests were in no case close except in the 3rd where Chas. Leuteke won over Ves Miller by the small margin of 9 votes. In the 2nd and 4th the Republicans won easily and in the first the Democrats won with equal ease. The Republicans took both the candidates for councilmen at large by good pluralities, Cook, who was the favorite, distancing Bittles by almost a score of votes.

Source: Star-Democrat 20 Jan 1911 p 1

A partly burned envelope, which the robber had used for a light as he was breaking into the Louis Hodshire Store resulted in the arrest and confession Monday morning of Granville Hibbs, age 18 who is now in jail awaiting sentence for his crime. Beside confession to the robbery of the Hodshire Grocery the lad also admitted robbing the Leuteke Baker of money a week ago Saturday night. Louis Hodshire, one of the victims of the boys’ robberies had the satisfaction of arresting Hibbs and he did so in grand style, forcing the lad at the point of a shot gun to throw up his hands. The partly burned envelope lying on the ground at the back of the Hodshire store contained enough of the address on it for Mr. Hodshire to decide that “Mr. Granville Hibbs, Greencastle, Ind,” knew something of the robbery.  Marshal Johns was unable to locate the boy and Hodshire, at his own request was deputized by the marshal to arrest Hibbs. Putting his gun over his shoulder, Hodshire started out Monday morning in search of Hibbs and met him on the road near the cemetery, “Throw Up Your Hands,” he ordered as he leveled the gun at Hibbs.  Hibbs obeyed the command and was placed under arrest and taken to the office of Deputy Prosecutor Sutherlin where he confessed to the crime.  Part of the stolen property was found in his pockets when searched by the officers. The grocery store on Depot Street owned by Lewis Hodshire was broken into Saturday night and a small quantity of tobacco and groceries taken. The robbers effected an entrance to the store by cutting holes in the panels of a back door and then reaching in and unbolting the lock.  A butcher’s skinny knife was one clew left by the burglars.  Mr. Hodshire states that he left the store a few minutes after 9 Saturday night and that he did not know of the robbery until Sunday morning when he went to the store. Officer Stone and Marshal Johns were notified and worked all day Sunday on the case. Although the officers questioned several persons, they found no evidence strong enough to warrant an arrest. This is the second robbery in that neighborhood recently.  A week ago Saturday night, Leuteke’s Bakery was entered and about $20 taken.

Source: Greencastle Evening Democrat 27 Aug 1896

Chas. Leuteke the baker, has invented a new bread machine with many improvements over the old machine. It Is made with exchangeable rollers or cutters. It has one roller with cake design on it for cutting cakes, and one for pretzels, one for bread cutting which can be changed to cut any size desirable. His design is now in the patent office at Washington. Mr. Leuteke is very modest over his invention, but says he thinks it will prove a success. It is undoubtedly a big improvement over the old machine it can be run by either hand power or steam.

Source: Greencastle Herald 7 Oct 1915 p 1

Section Four of the Ladies’ Union of the Christian Church entertained more than 100 guests at a box social at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Grant Scott on Wednesday evening. After the guests had assembled a splendid program was given which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The program of musical numbers, readings and addresses is as follows:

Duet, Piano and Violin – Mr. and Mrs. Charles Leuteke.

Address, Women are Going to Lead – Grant Scott

Reading – The Man Behind the Plow – James Samuel Sweet

Piano Duet – Jean and Glenn Hamilton

Reading – My Folks – Willis Blackwell

Piano Solo – Stanley Young

Reading – lots of Things that Impress You – Marjorie Claude Gibson

Guitar solo – Smiley Irwin

Reading – Miss Restless Crow – Mrs. Jesse Beamer

Vocal solo – A Perfect Day – Mrs.Leuteke

Reading A Full Dinner Pail – Elmo Sweet

Reading – Lindem Long

Vocal Solo – Silver Threads among the Grey – Miss Edith Crose

Piano solo – Miss Florence Irwin

Vocal solo – Swinging in the Old Grave Vine – Rev. AM Hootman

After the program was completed the boxes were sold and a delightful dinner eaten by the guests. The ladies of the section desire to thank all who assisted them in making the even a success for their assistance.

Source: Greencastle Banner 5 Jan 1888 p 5

A handsome cake bearing the legend “A Happy New Year” received from the bakery of Charley Leuteke, is not only a testimonial of his thoughtful kindness but its excellence is also a reminder that Mr. Leuteke is an artist in his line of work, and that his patrons will never die from the want of good bread as long as he serves them.