The Chapter Story – Chapter 3: “Daddy’s Daughter” – Miriam Debereiner
By Sherrie Benes
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
Acknowledgement: “I would dedicate my story to my mama and daddy, who spoiled me with many great pleasures while growing up!”
Introduction: I hope you can feel the vibrant, humorous personality this lady shared with me, while you read her story! The stage was her calling, if only she hadn’t listened to her heart…enjoy!
Ten years after the birth of their first daughter Arlene, Frank and Irma Richter were blessed with another beautiful daughter on August 16, 1931, whom they named Miriam.
… “I didn’t notice if we were considered well off. I just knew daddy had a good meat market business, that was very well known! It was called WH McNitt & Company, Central Market-Frank Richter. Do you know where the large fish that hangs on Main Street in Fort Atkinson is?” she asked. “That was the building where my daddy’s meat market used to be!”
“I never went without, and I admit I was a spoiled child! But I think I was spoiled because I was the one known to have ‘the talent’” she said.
When Miriam was 5 years old, she attended dance lessons, along with tap, toe and ballet. One day, the teacher heard her humming to the song and asked her to come over to sing. “Well, I couldn’t read the words yet, so they’d tell me the words and I just started singing!”
This was soon to be, just the beginning of her recognized talent!
At around seven years old, young Miriam started singing with the Fort Atkinson City Band, with concerts being held at Barry Park. “I can remember one time, which was very exciting, when everyone wanted my autograph!” Laughing she added, “I signed a lot of ice cream sticks that day!”
During the war (WWll), she found herself helping out more at the meat market, due to the men who had left to serve our country. She fondly recalled how after school she would go to the market and how she got to use the “big old cash register.”
“Daddy had to put a box up to it, just so I could reach it! All it did was add up the items, it didn’t tell you how much change to make. You had to know your math!” She also recalled her favorite job while helping her mama and daddy during this time, “I loved raking the sawdust on the floor!” she said excitedly! “Some people would drop money and they couldn’t find it in all that sawdust. So, if I found any while raking, I got to keep it for myself!”
When she got older, she then got the important job of helping to ‘scrape the block.’ “That’s where daddy would cut up the big slabs of meat,” she explained.
She talked about how these slabs of meat would come in, and they would have to weigh them on a big meat scale. “Did I tell you my daddy’s nickname? He was called Fat Frank! He was a big man! He was probably 5’9″ and weighed 350 pounds. He used to use that old meat scale to weigh himself!” Reminiscing she added softly, “but boy could he polka…”
When it came time for Miriam to get her driver’s license, most of the police officers might have thought she already had one, because you would often find her driving her daddy’s big boat (Oldsmobile) around town! But when it came time to take her actual driver’s test, she said, “I think my daddy’s car confused the officer who was giving me the test! My daddy’s car was a ‘Hydra-Matic’ and it was the first one in the state of Wisconsin, so he didn’t know much about those kinds of vehicles!” (Needless to say, Miriam only had to drive down the street and back, before the officer told her she had passed!)
When cheerleading tryouts began, she was excited to participate! “But when the music teacher found out,” she said, “that teacher came right down to the tryouts, and took me out! She said I wasn’t going to wreck my voice that way, and that was the end of that!”
After graduating high school, Miriam’s daddy wanted her to go on to school, so she enrolled in Milton College. By this time, she had fallen in love with her high school sweetheart who had gone into the Army. She planned on going for a music major, but after one year, she decided to take temporary leave, to work and save for her wedding. During this leave, the Milton College came to her and offered her a full music scholarship. She was honored to think that this was the first ever music scholarship being offered, but she turned it down…
“Why did you turn it down Miriam?” I had to ask. “Besides being terribly in love,” she said with drama, “I would’ve had to have been a music teacher or a performer. To be a performer, you gotta have PASSION!!”
“But you do!!” I exclaimed. She replied laughing, “Oh, not that way!!”
Her life went on to see many more “adjustments” as she would call it. She traveled to Germany to meet up with her husband in the Army, where she lived with a German family for 1 ½ years. She also found herself moving around a lot when returning to the states. “When we lived in Green Bay for a while, we had some great times that I can recall! I’m a huge Packers fan, and we attended quite a few games! But back then, at the old stadium, you got dressed up for the football games! You wore dresses, nylons, and heels, the whole outfit!”
She also told of the after-game parties they and their friends would host. “A few Packer players would even show up! I remember Paul Horning, he was always called the ‘Party Boy,’ but we never asked for autographs. It would have been demeaning!”
She then recalled the Ice Bowl, “Yep, I was there! But we of course didn’t know it would be referenced as the Ice Bowl!” She told of how bad the weather was, and coming from Fort Atkinson, they had to ‘drive like maniacs’ to make the game! “We only missed the kickoff! We wore as many layers as we could, but we didn’t have the fancy clothing or heat warmers like they have today! I sat with my boots on Styrofoam throughout the game, but when it was time to leave, I couldn’t get up! I couldn’t feel my feet! They had to help me out because I couldn’t walk!” Astonished, I asked, “did you stay until the end?”
With a swing of her fist in the air, she set me straight! “Well of course!! I’m a Packer backer to this day!” (…along with calling her ‘vibrant’ in my introduction, I should’ve added ‘spunky’!)
For approximately 20 years of her life, Miriam lived in Whitewater and worked part of these years at the Sentry Foods store. She was a checker at this time, which she thoroughly enjoyed! But after the owner sold and a new person took over, she explained it as being a ‘mellofahess’! Ignorantly I asked her, “is that German?”
Laughing, she whispered, “no, that means hell of a mess! I was never allowed to swear or use naughty words when I was younger, although I do my fair share now!”
After working 10 years at Sentry, she moved on to work in the accounting department at the UW Whitewater. Here, she worked for another 10 years before retiring to spend time with her late husband John, building their home.
After her husband’s passing, Miriam decided to sell their home that they lovingly built together and move back to Whitewater. At 90 years old, she has settled back in the Whitewater community and even has thoughts of joining the Aquatic Center, because of her love of swimming!
In closing out our wonderful conversation that morning, Miriam said something that I thought summed up her life very well….
“My life has been full of adjustments, constant adjustments. You just have to make the best of everything….”
Our thanks to Miriam Debereiner for sharing her story in our feature “Chapter Story.” Also, for the use of the picture of “Little Oscar” with her young self, at her father’s meat market! (This picture can also be seen at Pick n Save in Fort Atkinson, she stated.)
If you know of anyone that would like to share their story, or your own, please contact me at sherbenes@gmail.com.
I would love to meet you!
Sherrie
Our thanks also, to the sponsor of this Chapter Story!
