rosenkoetter

                Rosenkoetter is a German name that was brought over with my great grandfather. He owned a saloon in a quarry town in Quincy, Ill. He would cash the workers’ pay checks and only allow them to buy do much liquor and their wives would have to come pick up the rest of the check so he knew it got to their families.   If this was not done the minders would of drank more than a fish. They could outdrink any fish out there.

He son was a skilled carpenter who joined the United States Army during WWII. He fought from the beach head of Normandy, France all the way to Belgium. My grandfather ended up spending 9 months in the infirmary for frost bite and nearly lost both his feet. As far as my father and I know he was sent back into the war when he was cleared for active duty. He then had the privilege of playing trumpet for the Glen Miller Band on a USO tour. He was then returned to the US and given his honorable discharge papers.  He would go back to carpentry and bear 4 children 2 of his children were mentally handicapped. One child died at age 12 and his other would die at a much later age.         

I like to believe I have contributed a lot of positive things to my family’s name in the short 14 years I have been around. I have been one of the youngest umpires on record to umpire a CVBA baseball game. I have had coaches come from all parts of town asking me to not only umpire there younger teams but play for their older teams.  I have been the first high school football player and the first voted team captain for baseball in my family. I have been an A, B student since kindergarten.  I am also the first to go to  college because I was accepted into the early college program.