Remembering our roots ~ Odo and Sharon Melcher

John Godsman
Times Contributor

 

Odo is a German name, and is really spelt ‘Udo’ but when he was baptized it changed to ‘Odo’! His father Joseph Melcher was a farmer in Germany, and came to the Rockyford area in 1928, where he purchased farmland from Bill Rudd in 1929.
To this day, members of his family still live and farm this land located north and west of town. Joseph returned to Germany in 1936, where he met and married Marie Summerhausen, and brought her with him to Rockyford. This marriage produced two children – a sister Ellenmie born in 1938, and Odo born on Dec. 31, 1940 – the last baby of that year born in Calgary.
Joseph and Marie transformed their land into a large mixed farm with cattle, chickens, pigs, and grain fields. In 1960, Joseph was instrumental in building St Rita’s School on the north end of town. They retired to Calgary in 1963, but two years later returned to Rockyford where they built the house in town.
Odo has lived all his life at the family farm, attended school at St Rita’s and sang in the church choir, where he met, then married Sharon Koester. They took over the farm from his parents, and moved to the farm. Today, the farm is mainly cattle and grain.
Sharon’s father Ralph Koester was born in 1920, and moved from Iowa to Rockyford in 1929. Sharon’s mother Rose was born in Shuler northeast of Medicine Hat in 1915, and moved to Rockyford. She married Ralph Koester in 1943. Sharon was born in Calgary in 1944, and attended St Rita’s School for 12 years, and as a member of St Rita’s Church sang in the choir, where she met Odo. They were married at St Rita’s Church in 1963, and have three sons – Randal born in 1964, Brent (Pamela) born in 1965, and Colin born in 1969. They also have four grandchildren – Gavin, Carly, Paeton and Reagan. Randal now farms the home place, and he also bought 800 acres from his grandfather Ralph, after graduating from high school. Brent farms the former Ace Explosives land on Hwy 21, as well as a section that his father purchased from Morgan’s in 1965. Colin works for Flowmax in Drumheller.
Odo has been a member of the Knights of Columbus for 42 years, on the St. Rita’s Cemetery Board for 30 years, a member of the Rockyford Lions Club for 40 years, a member of the Curling Club, and is a sales rep for Remeo Memorials of Regina, Sask. for 30 years. One of his biggest challenges as a Lion was to convert St Rita’s School into the Rockyford Community Centre and Library in 1979. This was the same building his father built in 1960!
Sharon is a member of CWL – the Catholic Women’s League, and as a grandmother is always available for baby-sitting! And, she loves to knit and crochet.
The main changes they have seen are that all the elevators are gone, there’s no farm implement dealer in town, and they’ve heard the public school will close for good, next year.