Friedrich Golbeck

Friedrich Golbeck > Ronald Golbeck > Mary Golbeck

Friedrich Golbeck was born on 17 September 1899 in or around Alexandersfeld, Russia to Eduard Golbeck and Amelia (Emelie) Leipe (Lypie) Wachter. Three years later, his family left the Michailowka area for the German Empire's West-Prussia. When Friedrich was five-years-old, his mother fell ill and soon after died of her illness.

In 1915, when Friedrich was 16-years-old, he was drafted by the German army to serve in the First World War. The soldiers came by his father's farm and told him, to get in the jeep, leaving him with no time to gather belongings or say good-bye to his family. He served as a scout and was eventually captured by Allied troops and held as a prisoner of war. He managed to escape with a fellow prisoner and subsequently split up. He survived by hiding in the tall grass during the day, travelling by night and receiving sustenance at farms along the way.

In 1924, Friedrich Golbeck immigrated to Ontario, Canada to work on a farm. When the farmer did not pay him, Friedrich moved to Regina where he enrolled in a barber school. Because it was uncomfortable to stand for long periods of time, he left his job as a barber and became employed with Raleigh Products for whom he pedalled such items as ointments, spices, flavour extracts, and cough syrups. He remained one of their top salespersons throughout the Great Depression.

Friedrich met Mary Daneliuk on a farm near Limerick, Saskatchewan, and they were married on Valentines Day, 1933. They had two daughters (June and Shirley) and two sons (Ronald and Ralph).

He went back to barbering for two years beginning in 1947. Following that, he left for the oilfields in northern Alberta, and later for a dairy company in Okotoks and one in nearby Calgary.

Friedrich Golbeck died 15 May 1992 in Calgary, Alberta.

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