Opinion
Family moves from soap to junk
The Heppe family lived in Prussia, Germany. William was born Sept. 8, 1836, to Henry and Catherine Pfeil Heppe. Henry died when William was 6 years old. In 1854, after receiving his education and working for a while in Germany, William decided to leave Germany and travel with his uncle, Henrich Kraut. They left Germany and sailed on the SS Helene and arrived in America on May 3, 1854, after a three-month trip. Henrich became a well known tailor in Logansport. Heinrich’s son, Henry, operated Kraut’s Grocery at 215 E. Market St.
The new Americans first stopped in Buffalo, N.Y., and then moved on to Columbus, Ohio, where William went to work in a broom factory. Uncle Henry moved on to Logansport, and William came with the Kraut family. He immediately found work in a sawmill in Walton but soon became ill with malaria. He went back to Columbus to recuperate. After William was well, he returned to Logansport and began to study the cooper’s trade for seven years.
The Civil War began and William tried to enlist, but the doctors wouldn’t accept him because of his size and the illness that he had suffered. He married Amelia Boltz of Indianapolis in 1861, stayed in Indianapolis and went to work for his brother-in-law, Mr. Bergmann, who owned a soap factory.
After learning the soap-manufacturing business, William moved his growing family back to Logansport, where he opened a small factory on Linden Avenue in 1864 and built the large eight-room brick family home at 901 Cliff Drive.
Six years later, he bought the site of the Chamberlain house, the first cabin in the Logansport vicinity. In 1874, he tore the house down and built his factory there. His new factory burned down in 1890, and that is when he built the brick factory. At the same time, he built his office and sales room at 553 Erie Ave. and formed the William Heppe and Sons Corporation with sons William H. and Andrew.
The factory produced “Royal Soap” for laundry that became a national success. His motto for advertisement was “We Clean the Country.” He sold eight bars of soap for 25 cents. The company also manufactured lye “potash” made from ashes and water poured through the ashes. Many housewives used the lye to make their own soap from meat scraps and fats. Later the company dealt in hides, pelts, furs, scrap-iron and all kinds of metals. From 1900 to 1922, the company had a secondary plant that worked in metal processing. Then, from 1928 to 1967, the company was known as Heppe Junk Dealers. The business closed for good in 1967.
William Heppe Sr. died June 3, 1895. Amelia died Feb. 5, 1915.
• Richard B. Copeland is a Cass County historian and may be reached at ptnews@pharostribune.com. The material for this article came from The Pharos, This Changing World and Biographical and Genealogical History of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton Counties.
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