JOHN MARTIN DRESSEL
Born: September 25, 1886
Died: May 30,1988
The writings below were assembled by Joy Dressel and permission for use by SCHS on web was given by Ollie Dressel.
To ask for permission from the Dressel family to reprint these materials for other purposes, contact schs.webmanager@gmail.com.
Short Bio of John M Dressel
By Oliver D. (Ollie) Dressel
John M. Dressel was born the second son of Henry and Lissette Dressel, in a small house on Baptist Church Road in south St Louis County, Missouri. In June 1887, Henry Dressel and family moved to a two story log home located about one mile to the west, at what was later known as Gravois Road in the community of Sappington. The house was originally built by Zephaniah Sappington in about 1808.
The Dressel family operated a farm at the location and John stayed on the farm with his parents into adulthood. On June 11, 1916, at the age of 29, John married Selma Amalia Kruse, the daughter of the Rev. Samuel and Amalia (Mueller) Kruse. At the time of this wedding, Henry and Lissette Dressel moved into a smaller house just 700 feet to the southwest of the home place. John and his bride continued to live and raise a family on this farm. John M. Dressel had the unique experience of living in the same house for slightly more than 100 years.
Farming was his primary occupation with a combination of truck gardening and fruit growing. Various vegetables were raised, typically including as many as 8,000 tomato plants. Fruit included mostly peaches and apples, with a peak orchard size of some 3,500 peach trees and several hundred apple trees. Nearly all of the produce from the farm was sold at a roadside market in front of the Dressel house. The entire operation was “family run.”
John M. Dressel became a highly respected member of the Sappington community. He spent more than thirty years involved with school systems of the Sappington area, beginning in 1927 as a member of the Sappington School Board. In the late 1940’s, at Mr. Dressel’s invitation, directors from five separate but adjoining school districts met in the Dressel home to discuss possible consolidation of the several districts into a single district with its own high school. This was the first meeting of many, which ultimately resulted in the formation of the “Consolidated District R-8.” The district was later named the Lindbergh School District. Mr. Dressel was the first board chairman of the consolidated district, and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1958.
Mr. Dressel was also known for his service on the Board of Directors of Gravois Bank, located at the intersection of Gravois and Heege roads in Affton, Missouri. He was one of the original founders of the bank in 1913, and became the Chairman of the Board in 1958, serving in that capacity until retirement in 1975.
Mr. John Dressel was a member of St. Lucas Church, the Concord Farmers’ Club, and the Sappington Improvement Association. Through the years he gained a reputation for his conscientious dedication to community service and for being a man of highest integrity. One member of the community referred to him as the “Abraham Lincoln of the Sappington community”.
Photo below from the SunCrest Call newspaper Facebook page, August 10, 2017 shows ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Dressel School on August 2.
Reminiscences of John M. Dressel
Shared with his children in 1963 and 1988 as noted below
Forward by Oliver D. Dressel
John M. Dressel was my father. Born in 1886, he lived more than 100 years in the same house on Gravois Road in Sappington, Missouri. During his “senior years”, and before age diminished his memory, his son, Armin, his daughter, Selma Harris, and I, each took time to talk with him about the past and to record his comments about the history of the Sappington area, as he recalled them. Brother Armin did most of the recording by hand written note and transcribed them as “first person” comments. Selma and I used tape recorders and subsequently put his word to paper just as he told the stories. Thus you will see two different styles as you read this document. Italicized words are my additions to help clarify our dad’s comments.
Special thanks go to Mr. Ross Wagner, the local “walking encyclopedia,” regarding things historical in the Sappington community. Mr. Wagner reviewed an early draft of this manuscript and provided numerous comments which helped to clarify or correct comments made by Mr. John Dressel. Although Mr. Dressel was still quite lucid at the time these interviews were held, some of his “memories” were slightly inconsistent with the “facts” as reported elsewhere. Mr. Wagner exposed these inconsistencies and they have been highlighted by footnotes where appropriate throughout the document.
Oliver D. Dressel
March, 2005
SAPPINGTON SCHOOL
Recorded in January 1963
In 1892, I started school in a new frame building that was built to take the place of the old “Rock School.” Here again we have a change of names. The stone building was soon wrecked, and by common usage the new school became the Sappington School, however no mention of changing the name appeared in the school records. (See Note 1)
Enrollment during the 90’s was always close to 100, and we had just one teacher with an eight month school year. Just how the same teacher could teach the six year old scholars their ABC’s then go through with the “one to five reader” students, plus teaching spelling, penmanship, geography, arithmetic, history, and health is a wonder. This was done in a six-hour day, and the teacher always found time to have a spelling match, or recitations every Friday afternoon.
On February 22, big entertainment would take place in Seim’s Hall over the 12-Mile House. This upstairs hall also served as the Justice of Peace Court for the many law suits that were encouraged for a better living for the judge.
Recorded in 1988
The first Sappington School was on Baptist Church Road at the Grateke place. Julia Dent attended this log school. She rode a horse to school, followed by a Negro slave boy. He would ride the horse home, and then come back for Julie at the end of the school day. The slave boy would follow home on foot.
The old log school was replaced by a rock school built near the location of the present Sappington School. The building faced northeast and was hard to heat. The cold rock walls would sweat too much. The rock school served until it was replaced by a frame building about 1891 or 1892. (See Note 2) The new school had a painted sign which said “District 69, Township 44, Range 6”. The new school also had new desks. Henry Dressel purchased the old two seated benches for 25 cents each. He later donated them to the Lutheran Church at Kirkwood. The old rock school was left standing for a few years.
When I was studying the First Reader at Sappington School, we obtained drinking water from Squire Sappington’s well. (See Note 3) His house was across Gravois and down a lane. The older boys were sent after water, but they tended to use the opportunity to stay out of class too long. The teacher got tired of that, and the next time she sent me and another first grader. We had a stick with a notch in the middle, and a pail was hung in the notch between us. We were too small to pull water from the well, and Mrs. Sappington asked Squire to help us. He did, but he gave us a message to take back to the teacher. “If she can’t send boys big enough to pull water, she can get her water some place else”. Our school had 90 to 100 students, and only one teacher. Drinking water for everyone came from one dipper and pail.
We had school bells, the sound of which became dear to us, even after we stopped going to school. The school bell would also ring the first Tuesday in April for the Annual Meeting. In the old meetings, 15 or 20 men would gather for about thirty minutes to hear the clerks report, to elect one director and to vote on the length of the school term. Quite different from the lengthy complex board meetings today.
The year 1901 was the driest year in my memory. The Sappington School Board had a well drilled to provide water for the children. The drilling rig was powered by a steam engine. Many other home owners had to have wells drilled that year.
A spring storm in 1905 moved the school house eight or nine feet off it’s foundation. The school was rebuilt into a two-room structure, but on a different spot.
Mom (Selma Kruse) taught at Rott School eight or nine years. She said she was “sick and tired of raising other peoples kids, and I want to raise a family of my own”. We got married in 1916, and eventually had a family of five boys and one girl.
In 1926, Harley Garber wanted to retire as Sappington School Cleric. I was appointed to take his place on the Board. In 1927 a brick four-room school was built. This building is now a part of the present Sappington School. The foundation stones from the old school building were utilized in a retaining wall between the school house and Eddie & Park Road.
In Roosevelt days, the basement of Sappington School needed plaster. Federal programs would pay for 90% of the cost. We got a bid according to government specifications, and it would cost $3,800. The board felt that was unreasonable, so we employed a local contractor to do the job for $320.
The state of Missouri encouraged consolidation, resulting in the formation of the Lindbergh School District. (See Note 4) This included Sappington, Concord, Rott, Fenton, and Grant schools. Loyalty to the old communities remained strong, and the Lindbergh Board tried to be fair to all the communities. At a meeting at the Grant School PTA, as Chairman of the Lindbergh Board, I listened patiently to all the complaints. Then I got up and said, “There is no Grant School District” and paused as they gasped, and went on to say “There is no Sappington, Concord, or Rott School District. The board has the responsibility of educating all the children in the entire Lindbergh District.” With this awareness, the Grant School parents assisted in making Lindbergh a strong school system
NOTES
Note 1.
The first three paragraphs of this report were recorded in January 1963. The latter paragraphs were recorded in 1988.
Note 2.
The new frame school was constructed in 1891, replacing the rock school built in 1868. St. Louis, County officially listed that school as “School District 69, Township 44, Range 6”. Locals called the schools by their locality names such as Sappington, Concord and Rott.
Note 3.
Wm. Sappington, at what is now Gravois and Briarstone, was the Sappington family living nearest the school.
Note 4.
On October 29, 1949, the new district was first known as “R-8 Consolidated School District”. In April 1952, the High School took the name Lindbergh High School. On August 13, 1957, the district name was changed to “Lindbergh School District, R-8”.
