purchased the building when he moved from the present Dr. Hunt Dental office site. On to the east we now find the Battle Creek Post Office. This site was originally occupied by the Reif family where Mrs. Reif had a millinery and dress shop with the usual living quarters to the rear. When the Farmer's State Bank was organized in 1919 they bought the Reif building and erected the present brick building which now houses the post office. As these lines are being written (in 1966) a new post office building is being built on the site near the Zimmerman Implement Shop in the 1880's. The present post office building has been purchased by the Battle Creek Mutual Insurance Company. The adjoining building now the home office of the Battle Creek Mutual Insurance Company and the Zimmerman Insurance Agency was first erected by the Reif family for a barber shop operated by their son Henry, Jr. The building has been remodeled and added to three times.

Perhaps it would be appropriate to here relate the organization of the Battle Creek Mutual Insurance Company. In the late 1880's the old Populist Party sponsored and had the legislature enact the Mutual Assessment Insurance Law. Stock Insurance agencies were operating without rate regulations and farmers were paying as much as 6% per year for fire and wind storm insurance on their insurable buildings and other property. Upon the enactment of the Mutual Insurance Law, assessment insurance companies were being formed and this led to a group of German farmers in the Battle Creek community to meet in the St. John's Lutheran Parochial School on March 26, 1892, to organize the Battle Creek Mutual Insurance Company. It's first constitution and by-laws were written in the German language by Henry Rieckenburg, who at that time owned and lived on the farm now occupied by the Ernest Kleider family, having purchased it from W. A. Barnes. In the formation of the company George Heuerman was elected President; Charles Fenske, Vice President; M. G. Doering (the parochial school teacher) was elected Secretary and Henry Massman (Alvin Massman's grandfather), Treasurer. The following were some of the organizers: Carl Praeuner, John Prauner, George Seckel, Fred Scheerger, George Heuerman.

Chas. C. Zimmerman was elected Secretary-Treasurer of the company in 1917 when Mr. Doering wished to resign as he had been appointed post master. Mr. Zimmerman continued in this capacity until 1951 when he was elected President and his son, F. H. Zimmerman was elected Secretary. At this time Chas. C. Zimmerman is Chairman of the Board; F. H. Zimmerman, President; Danny E. Smith, Vice President, and George Edwards, Secretary-Treasurer.

The company is now licensed state wide and has expended its coverage from farm fire and wind coverage to town residential and commercial risks as well as farm, comprehensive, personal liability insurance, and auto.

Next to the Battle Creek Insurance Office to the east is a

73