By Ann Sawin & Betty O'Neill-Roderick
Copyright ©2004 Indian River Graphics

Christina Peterman was the first child born in Zoar after the German Separatists established the village. She grew up as a Separatist in the village, married a doctor and they had two daughters. Their home still stands on the main street of Zoar across from the Number One house.

One of her granddaughters, Christina Kappel, married Lorenz Fritz and they had three little children, two boys and a girl. Their home was right next door to the Peterman home, where it still stands today.

Now Lorenz Fritz was an enigma to the other Separatists because he drank, quite a bit, as a matter of fact. Even though the Separatists enjoyed their German beer, and beer breaks were part of their workday, excessive drinking was not tolerated in the community. But Lorenz was a nice young man, evidently a hail-fellow, one of those people who is known and loved by all who knew him.

As the Christmas season drew near in 1888, Lorenz decided to take the train in to Massillon to buy Christmas candy for their three young children. He rode the train into town, as he often did, purchased the candy and Christmas surprises and made the return trip by train. Everyone on the train knew him, including the conductor and engineer, and he imbibed quite a bit of 'Christmas spirits" along the way.

But Lorenz did not come home that night. Evidently this was not an unusual occurrence for Lorenz to stay out all night drinking with his buddies. Christine put the children to bed and she retired for the night. She was awakened later by the sound of a child sobbing. Her middle child, Eugene, had awakened in the middle of night and was crying hysterically in his room.Christina went into his room to comfort him. "What's wrong?" she asked the hysterical child. "Daddy won't talk to me. Why won't my Daddy talk to me?" Eugene asked.

"Daddy's not here, he didn't come home tonight, now go back to steep," Christina said. 'Yes he is,' Eugene insisted, 'He's standing right over there in the corner. Can't you see him, he's all wet'

 'Why won't my Daddy talk to me?' the hysterical child kept repeating. Christina went over and looked, but she couldn't see anyone in Eugene's bedroom. In fact, she never saw her husband again.

In the spring of 1889, after the ice melted, they found his body in the river. They surmised when the train stopped on a trestle over the river, Lorenz jumped off, thinking they had arrived at the train station that stood just South of Zoar. However, in his confusion, he lost his footing, struck his head on the train trestle, and fell into the river and drowned.

No one an the train realized what had happened, and the train continued on to the Zoar Station. But on his way to the hereafter, Lorenz Fritz stopped to say goodbye to his young son, Eugene, in the second floor bedroom of their home on Main Street.