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| Phillip Neumiller and Marie Sophie Jacobi Neumiller (Source: Photo courtesy of the children of Lois and Fred Neumiller) |
Philip Neumiller was born in 1883 in the Ukraine city of Odessa, Russia. In his early years, Philip moved to Wilhelstahl, now a municipality of Bavaria, Germany. In 1908 at age 25, he immigrated to Argentina. On the ship he met Marie Sophie Jacobi. They married in Argentina on November 8, 1908 and a few years later, sailed to America landing at the Port of New Orleans July 21, 1910.
Nine children were born of Phillip and Marie: John was born in Argentina; Phillip and Mary in Illinois; William and Esther in Canada; Emma and Fred in Greeley, Colorado; and Ray and Reinhold in Wisconsin.
After living in several areas of the U.S. and Canada, the Neumiller family moved to Wisconsin and settled in Somers Township in a house on Meyer Lane.
As young men, Fred Neumiller and his brother engaged in potato farming which expanded into potato brokerage, trucking, and warehousing. They sold to major companies such as Frito Lay and Campbell's Soup.
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| Fred Neumiller (Source: Photo courtesy of the children of Lois and Fred Neumiller) |
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| Fred Neumiller and Lois Scheckler Neumiller (Source: Photo courtesy of the children of Lois and Fred Neumiller) |
In 1947, Fred Neumiller married Lois Elaine Scheckler. To this marriage, six children were born. Lois Scheckler was the daughter of Emory and Helen Thompson Scheckler, early pioneers and prominent farmers in the Berryville area of Somers Township. Emory and Helen had seven children: Lois Scheckler Neumiller, Hazel Scheckler Gitzlaff, Alice Scheckler Meyer, Verna Scheckler, and Donald, Emory and Richard Scheckler.
Neumiller Farms operated their business in the "heart of the village" of Somers for many years on the former property of Matt Rasmussen, Somers' own "cabbage king". In 1974, Fred Neumiller relocated his potato farming location to Illinois where he discovered abundant available land near the Mississippi River where the sandy soil was ideal for irrigation, a perfect combination for maximizing potato crop production. Today, Neumiller Farms, Inc. operated farms in Savanna, Cordova, Erie, and Bath, Illinois.
(Source: Story written by Jacqueline Klapproth Nelson as told by Tom Neumiller and Carrie Neumiller Henderson)
