In 1862, August Gottlieb Obenland was born in Germany to Johanna Obenland. No father was listed on his birth certificate. (It’s believed he was a soldier who was passing through town.) He immigrated to Belgium and boarded a boat to the U.S., arriving in 1885. He spent a short time in Leonardville before landing in Clay Center. 

Three years later he married Dorthea “Dora,” who also immigrated from Germany in 1885. The pair had five children, four of who lived to adulthood, three sons, Oscar, George, and Walter, and one daughter, Johanna Dorothea, who also went by Dora. By 1893 August and Dora were listed as naturalized citizens. Their home address was listed in the 800 block of Huntress, which no longer stands. 

In 1901, Johanna came to the U.S. to live with the family. 

August owned and operated his own business, where he worked as a tinner and plumber. This included Obenland Plumbing Co and A. Obenland Tinner Shop. 

He likely opened the business in 1897 then moved into the Bonham Building in 1903 where he rented one small storefront room on the main floor and a room in the basement. He expanded into a larger storefront room in 1911 in the same building. 

In 1904 his bond as a sewer plumber was accepted by Clay Center City Council. In 1911 he was approved to place a heating plant at the new Miltonvale Schoolhouse for $1,500. (Around $52,000 today.) 

He traveled to attend plumbers’ conventions, including those in Topeka and Kansas City throughout the early 1900s. In 1906 he was sent as the Clay Center plumbing delegate. 

August volunteered with the Clay Center Fire Department. In 1907 he was elected as assistant foreman of hose cart No. 1; he was also president of the firemen’s relief association, as well as a trustee. In 1910 he was elected captain, when the department traveled to Eureka on a freight train to attend an event and compete against other fire departments. 

In 1911 he helped another tinner build the electric sign at the Rex Theater. 

In 1912, the Obenlands hosted a surprise party for their reverend, which included 100 guests. The party was moved to the Reverend’s home where ice cream, coffee, lemonade, and cake were served; he was gifted $20. (Just over $668 today.)

He also camped with friends; in 1908 a local paper stated he and three other men had been building tents to camp in that summer. In 1911 he made the paper for his “fancy cherries.” 

Both George and Oscar worked for their father. Oscar married Goldie Musselman in 1912 in the German Lutheran Church in an 8 pm ceremony. George married Ada Carlson in 1917; he also served as the Fire Chief for Clay Center. In 1918, he was elected president of the Kansas Firemen’s Association; he was the youngest man to be selected as president at that time at 26 years old. 

August died in 1922; two of his sons, George and Oscar, purchased the business and continued its operation. In 1923 George received a high-quality heating plant from a providing company after selling more than 800 of their units to customers. 

Oscar’s son later became the third-generation owner of Obenland Plumbing and Heating, retiring in the mid 1980s.  

Johanna died two years after her son and was buried alongside him. The elder Dora died in 1958 and was buried alongside the pair.  

Research by Susan Hammond

Pictures: Top: August Gottlieb in 1890; Below: from left to right: George, August, Dora, Walter (front), Dorthea, Oscar, and Johanna