Schaefer, Hattie Kaiser, d. 1980

Born in Siegen, Westphalia, Germany, Martin Schaefer (1895-1966) worked as a baker’s apprentice before immigrating to San Antonio, Texas, in 1912, where he lived with his brother August. Shortly thereafter, he was hired as a baker in Carl Wolfmueller’s City Bakery in Kenedy. In April 1917, Schaefer married Wolfmueller’s niece, Hattie Kaiser (d. 1980), the daughter of John August Kaiser of Clifton and Karnes City. The couple had two daughters, Margaret and Lucile, and purchased the City Bakery in 1919. Martin baked while Hattie ran the front of the store, and in the 1930s, they changed the shop’s name to Schaefer’s Bakery. Frequent travelers, the Schaefers toured across the United States and Germany and Martin took hunting trips to Canada. Also owners of the Black Diamond Ranch in Karnes County, the couple sold the bakery in 1940 to concentrate on raising Hereford cattle.

From the guide to the Schaefer, Martin and Hattie Kaiser, Papers 81-154., 1907-1980, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)