Meat Market Story


Sent by B. Don Zesch

13 September 2006

The following is to the best of my knowledge and memory. Hopefully you can verify it with other people.

I do not know who built the building. It may have been Henry McDougall; born 22 March 1868; he is the first person that I know that occupied the building. He is the one that had the bar or saloon there. When he died 01 June 1905; his wife, Martha S. Zesch McDougall, sold it to William Adolph (Will) Zesch, her brother. He was my grandfather. You may check with June Ellen McDougall Brandenberger, Mrs. Horace R. Brandenberger. She is Henry McDougall's granddaughter. She bought an item, from the saloon, at a Mason County Historical Society auction a couple of years ago.

Be sure and read the Mason County Historical Book of 1976 page 185.

I was born in the front room upstairs on 27 February 1930 to A. W. (Bert) Zesch and Jewell Naomi Capps Zesch. I was delivered by Dr. . We lived there for several months until there new home was completed.

Meat Market

My grandfather, William Adolph (Will) Zesch had just bought the Champion at the Stock Show.
He is holding the calf. My Uncle Butch, William Harold Zesch, is the one of the right of the three
men in white. I do not know anyone else in the photo.

My first memories of the place were of the walls lined with mounted deer heads. There was also a Jack Rabbit head mounted with some deer antlers in it's head. There are picture post cards of it. There was also a live owl that roosted in the antlers all day. We always referred to it as "The Butcher Shop." But they had groceries and a bakery. The groceries were in the front then a large glass front meat counter across. Behind it were the two large meat blocks on legs for cutting the meat on. I have a "steel," made in Germany, used to sharpen the knives and a meat hand saw that they used. Behind this was a large walk-in meat cooler. It was like a small room. I think the refrigerant was ammonia. It had thick cork walls for insulation. In deer season people brought in their deer for processing and cold storage. Behind this was a large open area to the left against the west wall was a place to grind meat and stuff sausage. They were operated by a gasoline engine with a fly wheel that had a large belt that ran them. The engine would only fire when the governor slowed down to a certain speed. You just knew it was going to stop and then it would fire again. I do not remember where the exhaust went. Behind this area on the east side was the bakery. There was a large mixer on the floor, tables and ovens. Toward the back on the west side was the large Bar-B-Que pit. It had a large steel cover that would stay open by a rope, pulley and counter weight. Bar-B-Que was available at noon six days a week. The well that supplied water to the whole block is back there too.

At the top of the stairs was an open area. In the front was our room. It the back was an apartment that my grandfather lived in after my grandmother, Pearl Naomi King Zesch, died 29 July1935. There was a room with his single bed and then a large room across the back with windows all across the back. There was a door so you could walk out on the roof in the back. He lived there until he married his brother's widow, Lina Sophie Gross Zesch, on 16 September 1946. Leo Burcheardt Zesch, Will's brother, and Lina's husband had a meat market in Mason earlier. Leo's first wife, Agnes Elizabeth von Meusebach was John Otfried von Meusebach's daughter. They had three daughters. I have a photo of Uncle Leo's meat market.

Off the central hall on the west side was the bathroom. There was a toilet, lavatory, and bath tub. The toilet was built up on a platform so as to have room for the sewer pipe underneath. The tub was the most interesting. It was make of tin. It was probably made at the Lang's Tin Shop. I remember how rough it was on my bottom.

We lived there again in the early spring of 1940 for a few weeks. My dad was going to work with my Uncle Butch at an abattoir in San Antonio. It was called The City Abattoir. They leased it from the Kothmann family. They employed many Mexicans and one black fellow. They rented our home so we lived up there until we moved to San Antonio in mid April.

They had closed the Market sometime before this. During the Great Depression people charged their groceries and could not pay their bill. It finally got too much for my Dad and Grandfather. They had to close. My Dad kept the book of names and how much people owed them for several years and finally burned it. Uncle Butch had moved the bakery to Menard and tried to make a go of it there. You can ask Jordan how long they lived in Menard.

In his earlier days Will Zesch operated the first ice plant, electric generating plant and first bottling plant in Mason. I do not know if it is still there or not but I remember the foundation of the power plant was out back of hour home. I have a piece of one of the bottles with his name molded in it. Jordan has a whole bottle.

Over the years there have been several businesses in the building. According the Uncle Butch the Mason School Board office was there at one time. I remember an electric company at one time occupying the building.. I do not remember anyone living upstairs except my grandfather and when we live there; while my grandfather owned the building.

When they put up the big columns on the first and second level, I was so disappointed. I want it to remain the same as I remember it in the 1930's.

One Christmas, when I was about six years old, they gave me some money to decorate the front of the store. I went to Willmann's 10 cent store and bought some things. I did my best but it did not look as good as Emma Jo Jordan's window next door. Her father Pete Jordan along with his brothers, Elie and Ben operated the grocery, to the west, next door.

Sometimes my Daddy would give me a little ball of ground meat. Jack King, my Dad's cousin, had a café two doors down. I would take it over there and he would make me a hamburger.

I hope you will find this helpful. If you have any questions please let me know.

My cousin, Jordan M. Zesch, should be of help to you. I am sure he has memories to share also. Jane Hoerster, with the Mason Historical Society and Wilburn (Wibby) Shearer may have something to contribute.



Return to Mason County