The next meeting of the Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society will be the TCGHS Member’s Christmas Party on Tuesday, December 9th at 6 PM. 

All history is local until it is woven together with other stories to become part of the National fabric and there is no aspect of National history that doesn’t touch Tazewell County.

There were many Swiss immigrants to Tazewell county and one of the better-known was Gottfried “Fritz” Luthy.

Gottfried (Fritz) Luthy was born 8 October 1872 in Weinachten, Switzerland to G. G. and Bobbette Schegg Luthy. There he attended school and worked in wagon shops. He was married 21 August 1893 to Bertha Saxer and their only child, Bertha, was born there on 23 November 1894.

The family immigrated to the U.S.A about 1896 and as soon as he could, Fritz became a naturalized citizen. He was living in Peoria in the 1900 and 1910 census where he first worked as a baker but soon had a produce business.

Before 1920 Fritz bought 10 acres of ground along Fondulac Drive in East Peoria. He eventually built a beautiful Swiss Chalet style home and had the yard landscaped with a big fish pond in the front yard.

There was also a two-room cabin with a big front porch and large fireplace. There was one cave dug on the property to keep food and beverages cool and another dug to store coal.

The barn on the property housed the sheep that he relied on to mow the steep lawn. The garage housed a little Mustard factory and his grapes were made into wine. He had everything at Luthy Alps to make it feel like his homeland, including St. Bernards.

Fritz was not only a successful business man but a wonderful host such that every club in the area held picnics at Luthy’s little piece of Switzerland. He was a generous neighbor to area families suffering during the depression and was said to have disbursed fresh fruits and vegetables around town.

Among the clubs and organizations that met at Luthy’s Alps were the VFW, Schiller Lodge, Knights of Pythias and most importantly, the Swiss Society.

The 1920, 1930, and 1940 census records all list the Luthy family, including his daughter, son-in-law and grandsons, living at the beautiful brick home in East Peoria.

And for many children, especially during the Depression years, it was a joyous place to picnic in the summer and to sled in the winter.

Fritz died 24 September 1944 at Proctor Hospital in Peoria and his funeral took place at the Scottish Rites Cathedral with interment at Fondulac Cemetery.

Bertha Luthy Hoerdeman (1894-1980) died in Morton 11 October 1980 and was also buried in Fondulac. She left three sons: Ewald (1930-1985) who lived at Lincoln, Frederic (1931- ??) who was last known living in Denver and Ernie (1932-1979) who passed away at Iowa City.

Fritz was half of the firm Luthy & Locher. Brother-in-law Emil Locher was the other half. The firm had fresh produce markets in both Peoria and Pekin at one time. The Peoria store was at 127 S Washington and the Pekin store was at 102 Court St.

 Ad from the 1921 Pekin City Directory

A big part of the park-like yard and the outbuildings were lost to bulldozers in the 1950s when the road was cut for I-74. The vacant homes were demolished about twenty years ago to make way for an office building.

There are still many local residents that can trace at least one ancestral line to Switzerland including this columnist. Since there is no longer a Swiss Society in the area, most gather with the German-American Central Society at their many festivals around the area.

A last little tidbit about the place was a story found in a 1941 newspaper about the many Woodland culture sites in the area that had been catalogued with a few being excavated. The story refers to an ancient burial site that had been at Luthy’s Alps so the hill was a truly historic place for more than one culture.

The Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society is an award-winning 501c3, all volunteer organization that has been in continuous service to our members and the public for 47 years. TCGHS operates an archive, library and research facility at 719 N. 11th St., Pekin. Visit our website at www.tcghs.org to learn more about us. If you have any point of interest that you would like to know more about, stop in at TCGHS or drop us a line.