ABOUT HARRY W. DIETERT…

Born October 30, 1896, to Henry F. and Paula Schulze Dietert, Harry was the middle child of five children – two older brothers and two younger sisters.

His father was one of 4 brothers who came with their father, a millwright, from their native Germany. In 1857, Christian Dietert, Harry’s grandfather, moved his family from Fredericksburg to Kerrville seeking a protected mill site on the headwaters of the Guadalupe River. Having experienced flooding disasters with mill operations in several other sites in the Hill Country, Christian Dietert built his saw and gristmill on a bluff safe above the flood waters. The Dietert Grist Mill was the first such mill in Kerrville, and was a popular place in the community. Next to the mill was the post office where Mrs. Rosalie Dietert served as Kerrville Postmistress for over twenty years. Although successful in the mill operation, the mill house was damaged several times by fire and was eventually sold to Captain Charles Schreiner. Harry’s family home still stands near Lime Creek (also known as Dietert Creek) on Homestead Road, between Goat Creek Road and Junction Highway.

In a 1995 conversation with Flora Dietert Gaines (Harry’s younger sister), she recalled her brother vividly and with affection: “He was a hard working person – he gave a lot and expected a lot.” Flora recalled Harry’s mechanical abilities, how he had set up an irrigation system at the river’s edge with a pump to water his vegetable garden, and how he worked hard to make funds to go to school. As a senior in high school and anxious for mobility, Harry designed and built a motorized car/cycle in 1914, which he used to get to school and “to give the girls a ride.” This vehicle, named the Harry Dietert Motor Cycle Car (or the Harry Mobile) was often seen around town and in later years took its place in local parades.

Professional & Business Achievements…
Harry received his early technical training at Iowa State College in Ames, graduating in 1920 with a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering. After graduation, he spent 2 years at the Philadelphia Works of the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, where he was a technical apprentice in the foundry. He then served as an instructor at the Rice Institute for two years, and in 1923 went to the University of Illinois, where he received his Master’s Degree. Because of his experience with Westinghouse, he obtained permission to devote his Master’s thesis to a phase of foundry research – foundry sand testing. During this year, he wrote his first paper for an American Foundrymen’s Society (AFS) Convention entitled, “Applied Photomicrography of Foundry Sand,” and presented it at the 1923 Cleveland Convention.

After completing his graduate work, Harry became connected with US Radiator Corporation in Detroit as chief research foundry engineer. He continued his work in sand control with the AFS Joint Molding Sand Research Committee and became interested in the development of foundry sand testing control equipment. As a result of his continuing research, he started the Harry Dietert Company in Detroit in 1923, one of the first businesses devoted to manufacturing quality control instruments and automation equipment for foundry sand testing.

Among Mr. Dietert’s many achievements was the McFadden Gold Medal for Scientific Achievement in 1940. In 1942 he made one of his most outstanding contributions to the industry through his book, “Modern Core Practices & Theories,” which was published by the AFS. As chairman of the board of the Harry W. Dietert Company, he was recognized as a world authority on molding material.

A long-term member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Harry Dietert held patent rights to some 98 technical and engineering inventions. Instruments designed by his company are still in use today in the foundry industry.

At the time of his death in 1978, the AFS stated, “Harry Dietert’s outstanding achievements in promoting interest in foundry sand research and control shall forever be remembered by foundrymen around the world and will stand as an eternal tribute to his genius.”

Return to Kerrville….
In 1954, at the age of 58, Mr. Dietert and his wife, Alma, returned to his hometown of Kerrville to “retire,” but found it didn’t work! He continued to serve as Chairman of his company, and his active mind could not be content with ‘leisure pursuits.”

He established a small sand testing laboratory in nearby Ingram to support his continued scientific curiosity. Later, as he found it more difficult to get to that location, he moved this operation into Kerrville at the old train depot on Schreiner Street, within walking distance of his home at 328 Sidney Baker Street. He continued this activity until declining health no longer permitted.

Even his scientific work wasn’t enough to keep him occupied. It wasn’t long before he also became involved in a variety of community interests. These included serving as President of the Friends of the Library, President of the Kerrville Perpetual Care Cemetery Association, Director of First National Bank, and Trustee of Schreiner College. He also was a member of the Volunteer Service Council of Kerrville State Hospital, and Kerrville Rotary Club. In 1967 he was named as Kerr County’s Outstanding Citizen by the Kerrville Daily Times.

As philanthropists, Mr. and Mrs. Dietert are probably best remembered locally for their significant gifts to Schreiner College, and for establishing the Dietert Claim Senior Citizen’s Center. They donated property as well as funding for the renovation and expansion for the Dietert Claim Senior Center and established the Dietert Endowment Trust to assure its continued operation.

Harry W. Dietert died on June 24, 1978, at the age of 81. His survivors included his widow, Alma Davidson Dietert, one brother, Albert Real Dietert; two sisters, Etta Dietert Oswalt and Flora Dietert Gaines; and a half sister, Ida Rose Moore. Alma Dietert died in 1990 in San Antonio, Texas. Harry and Alma are buried in Glen Rest Cemetery in Kerrville. They had no children.

The legacy of Harry and Alma Dietert continues in the community of Kerrville, and those who are served and touched by the Dietert Senior Center are their heirs.

Special Recognition for Harry W. Dietert….
1967 - Kerr County’s Outstanding Citizen by the Kerrville Daily Times
1971 - Outstanding Texas Senior Citizen by the Chairman of the Texas Governor’s Committee on Aging for generously donating his time, talents and funds in creating a senior citizen’s center in Kerrville.
1973 - Commissioner’s Award, Texas Department of Mental Health & Mental Retardation In announcing the award, Dr. Wade stated, “Mr. Dietert’s concern for his fellow citizens, his pride in his community and dedication to service have brought light to many of his fellow citizens whose lives have been darkened by loneliness and despair.”

[Biographical information was compiled from an article written by Margaret Van Landingham in October, 1995. She credits assistance and research provided by Marie Hurt, Public Relations Coordinator for the Dietert Claim Senior Center; Reference Desk staff at the Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library in Kerrville; information found in the volume, “Built in Texas,” edited by Abernethy with contributions by Glen Lich and Lera Tyler; and the assistance of the American Foundrymen’s Society of Des Plaines, Illinois.]