website watertownhistory.org
ebook History of Watertown, Wisconsin
Otto Schott
1871 - 1952
One of
Watertown's most widely known men, Otto G. Schott,
He had
been at St. Mary's Hospital for a short time and then returned to his
home. Mr. Schott was for many years a
cafe and restaurant owner here and retired some years ago. As a host he became one of the most widely
known men in this part of the state and his restaurant attracted tourists from
nearly every state in the Union. His
last establishment was located at
He was
a familiar figure in the community and enjoyed his daily walks about the
city. At one time he covered mile upon
mile in his walks every day. No matter
how pressing his work at the cafe was he managed to get in his daily walk. He always said it was one of the things that
helped maintain his health.
Mr.
Schott had a likeable personality and was a "greeter" in every sense
of the word. He knew more men in all
parts of the country by name than almost any person here. And he remembered their names and could greet
them by, name long after their previous visits.
He had a keen sense of humor and was an entertaining
conversationalist. He knew the late John
L. Sullivan who used to visit Madison when Schott operated a business
there. He also saw the late Carrie Nation
in action during one of her Madison visits and used to tell about both these
colorful personalities (Watertown Daily
Times, 05 21 1952).
Throughout
his life Mr. Schott maintained an interest in sports, notably boxing and
wrestling and attended many such sports in other cities. He saw the Dempsey-Tunney
fight.
Mr.
Schott was born in Highland, Wis., and before coming to Watertown lived in
Madison. He was a resident of Watertown
for the 60 years before his death. In
1900 he married Miss Mildred Steinberg in St. Bernard's Church. She survived. There also are a number of
nieces and nephews. Mr. Schott was the last member of his immediate family.
He was
a member of St. Henry's Church. He also
held membership in the Plattdeutscher Verein.
The
funeral took place from the Boyle Funeral Home with services in St. Henry's
Church. The Rev. A. J. Herrmann officiated.
Interment was in Oak
Hill Cemetery (Schott, Otto G., b.
Apr 5, 1871, d. May 20, 1952, Sec 20).
The
rosary was recited at the funeral home the evening prior to the funeral.
Members of the Plattdeutscher Verein
met at their club the same evening to go from there to the funeral home to pay
their respects.
Remember
Sauerkraut?
c1971
What
has happened to all the families, at least one in each neighborhood,
that owned a cabbage cutter? It
was a device that was used for cutting cabbages for sauerkraut and it was
passed along throughout the neighborhood until the sauerkraut making season was
over when it went back to the owners to be stored until the next season.
In
those days the cabbage was salted and put in huge jars, with a huge place on
top on which a heavy stone was placed so that it could properly ferment and
turn into sauerkraut.
These
days sauerkraut is still relished by many people and the late Otto G. Schott,
of Scott’s Café here, used to tell us that whenever he featured sauerkraut and
pork hocks or frankfurters on the menu he would sell out, so popular was it
with his regular clients as well as traveling salesmen who could not get the
dish at most hotels they used to stop at those days.
Today,
housewives hardly ever make their own sauerkraut but rely on the canned variety
which is good too, but not quite as good as the old home-made kind.
