Ruth and Fred Kammeyer honored at their 40th anniversary party.
Friend of the Chamber is an award introduced by the Antwerp Chamber of Commerce and this year the award was given to Fred Kammeyer. The award is was given posthumously as Mr. Kammeyer passed away in 2002.
Fred was born near Woodburn in 1921 on State Road 101 next to the Maumee River. Fred was the oldest of six siblings of which two sisters are still living. He graduated from Woodburn High School in 1940.
During World War II Fred served as a Master Sergeant in S4 Supplies while stationed in France. He was fluent in German, so he also served as translator. He didn’t talk much about the war, except for Bed Check Charlie. The German airmen would spray the ground with gunfire around the soldiers’ tents.
Fred graduated from International Business College in Fort Wayne. Following that he worked for the Nickel Plate Railroad.
He married Ruth Curts in 1948 who lived from 1919-1997. Together they had two children, Bob and Sue.
Fred was very much a German Lutheran and loved church. “Dad would talk with me after church while we were sitting in our car in the driveway. He would talk about church, religion and philosophy. He wanted to make sure we understood what we were taught!” said Sue Fowler.
He didn’t just believe in Jesus, he lived out what he learned. At his funeral a lady delivered a letter who said there was a time she couldn’t afford groceries and Fred would give her, on credit, the food she needed for her family.
There was a strong respect for Fred’s community mindedness. He designated his life for public service.
Mt. Calvary Church was built by the founding members, which included Fred. Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church originally was built where the library in Antwerp stands today. He was instrumental in getting support for the new building as it was built one mile west of Antwerp on US 24 (now CR 424).
In 1948 Fred worked at the grocery store in Woodburn. Then in 1950, Bob moved to Antwerp and bought a store on the northeast corner of Daggett and Main near H2O water store.
Quickly the 2 aisle store with a meat counter grew too large for the existing structure, and in 1954 he purchased the present location from Jim Panico moved “Kammeyer’s” to a newly built structure on East River St. where the store is now River Street Market, serving its many customers.
Fred, along with Randy Derck, created the Community Improvement Corporation. He, and Dr. William Bricker started the Rotary Chapter and worked to bring newly transferred GM factory workers to live in the Antwerp community after their move from Wisconsin when the plant was relocated to Fort Wayne. Together they spoke to the workers and it was very successful on bringing new residents in the community. Along with George Rhonehouse, Fred and CIC was successful in bringing Spec Temp to Antwerp, now known as Paragon.
“Community is Commitment” is the motto of the Antwerp Chamber of Commerce and this perfectly describes Fred and his pleasant demeanor. Through the years, Fred would donate food and the location to help nearly any sort of community fundraiser or the school. A good business mind, like Fred’s, created jobs for many years.
Fred loved his grandchildren: Joel, Jodi, Alison and Mitchell. He was especially proud when Joel became a doctor.
He was always helping with Antwerp Days, school funding and activities, boy and girl scouts, anything that the community was involved with he wanted to help out.
Fred passed away in 2002 leaving behind a legacy that would be hard to match by anyone anywhere. He knew what hard was and helped reward those who worked hard for their families and communities. He would make sure food was delivered to people, even at his expense.
There is much more that could be printed of Fred, but in this short space, this is why Fred was named “Friend of the Chamber.”
