 Of all the
'Gang of Four', Gustave Henry Loehr (far left), usually described as a
'mining engineer', is in some ways the least well remembered since like
Hiram Shorey, he only remained in
Rotary for a very short time.
 Like
Silvester Schiele, Gus Loehr was
from a German background. Unlike Schiele, he was a first generation
American, born in Carlinville, Macoupin County, Illinois, not too far
from Chicago on 18 October 1864, the son of Johann Christian Loehr, a dry goods
merchant, and his wife Frederika Knabner. Johann Christian was born in
Brunswick, Germany ±1827, as the 1880 census describes him as being aged
53.
His wife is also recorded in the census as born in Saxony and aged
49. The Loehrs landed from Europe in New Orleans, Louisiana on June 13,
1852.
They made their way North in the next few years. Of the seven
children from the union of Johann Loehr and Frederika Knabner listed in
the 1880 Census, Gus was the fourth. The oldest is Pauline aged 22 in
1880, and shown as "born in Illinois" as were all the other children.
This suggests that the Loehrs arrived in Illinois before 1858 and
settled there.
In Carlinville, the Loehrs set up a general store, while the children
went to local schools. Gus's two older brothers, Adolph and Theodore
both worked locally as clerks. In Masonic records, Gustave
 Loehr
is shown as a 'jeweler' on one document and as a 'promoter' and
also as a 'mining engineer in some of Paul Harris' writing. In 1886 at
the age of 22, he became a freemason, but only ten years later in 1896,
he was suspended for non-payment of dues. However, after a further seven
years he was reinstated and remained a mason until his death on May 23,
1918.
| |
Gus Loehr Bio from "The Book of Chicagoans, a Biographical
Dictionary of Leading Living Men of the City of Chicago" published
in 1905 by A. N. Marquis & Company (the publisher of "Who's Who in
America) |
|
|
 It
was at Gus's office in the Unity Building on Dearborn Street, Chicago,
that on the night of February 23, 1905, the meeting took place which led
to the formation of the first Rotary club. Silvester
 Schiele
and Paul had dined together at an Italian restaurant on Chicago's near
north side. Gus, by prearrangement, had invited a personal friend of
his, Hiram Shorey, a merchant tailor in the Loop.
Paul Harris wrote about him that
 "Gustave's
personality challenged attention. His was a rare combination, the good
in him easily outweighing the bad. He was a stormy petrel, vehement,
impetuous, imperative, domineering, in one breath; then calm, docile,
and lovable in the next. He was always thought compelling; his words
were spoken with lightning like rapidity, and with such force that men
frequently stopped in the street to look at him. His educational
advantages had been limited, but his English was classical. Where he
found the vocabulary with which to give his furious thoughts expression,
was a quandary. Gus' membership was of brief duration.
The feverish ups and downs of business resulted first in his
resignation from membership, and a few years later in his death.
Requiescat in pace. Dear Gus, you rested little while here."
Gus Loehr died suddenly in Chicago on May 23 1918 at the age of 53
when running to catch a train. He was buried in the family home of
Carlinville.
Basil Lewis,
History Fellow, 7 July 2003
Obit by Paul Harris in the August 1918 Rotarian Magazine
 The
fourth man was a mining engineer named Gustave Loehr. He was the
host of that first meeting, as his three friends met in his small
downtown office on that cold night. Like Shorey, Loehr spent
little time with the club; he is known to have attended only the first
three meetings before resigning due to his business interests.
Only a few years later, as Rotary was enjoying explosive growth, Loehr
suffered a sudden death. more... |
