Fritz Schilo

On Friday September 6, 1935 a large funeral cortège proceeded south along S St. Mary’s Street and stopped for one full minute in front of the Hermann Sons Home Association building before continuing along the final miles to the San Jose Burial Park. It was the last time Fritz Schilo Sr would pass by his beloved Hermann Sons.

Three days earlier Fritz Schilo had died suddenly and unexpectedly while serving as the tenth grand president of Hermann Sons, eight years into his tenure, age 61.

Today many locals know of “Papa Fritz” as the namesake of Schilo’s Delicatessen on Commerce Street, San Antonio’s oldest continuously operated restaurant whose homemade root beer famously kept the business afloat during prohibition years. Yet Fritz Schilo’s reach in this city was far greater than purveyor of German fare. In the 1920s and early 1930s Fritz Schilo was a well known man about town who had a wide range of pursuits.

Fritz was born in Biebrich, Germany in 1874 and “got to Texas as fast as he could” as they say, arriving in Seguin in 1898. Soon after he moved to Floresville where he married his first wife Augusta “Clara” Donnerberg who died at age 27 leaving him with three young children, including Fritz Jr. A year after Clara’s death he moved to Beeville where he married Laura Krueger who has been deemed the secret to Schilo’s Delicatessen’s success and lastingness.

Fritz Schilo was introduced to San Antonians years before he ever moved to town. In 1911 the San Antonio Light published a full-page feature story about nearby Beeville describing it as “One of the Best and Most Prosperous Cities of Texas.” Among “Big Beeville Business” accolades was “Fritz Schilo’s place” where he was described as the “genial proprietor of the Silver King Saloon” and furthermore “pleasant to see and he is a pleasant man to meet” and “a man well liked in this community… ever thinking of the welfare of his neighbor.” In 1916 Fritz moved his family to San Antonio and opened the first Schilo’s Deli in 1917 at 220/222 Alamo Street at the intersection of long-gone North Street in a corner usurped by the HemisFair grounds. In 1927 the deli moved to 104 Commerce Street before settling in its present location in 1942.

Fritz’s involvement with Hermann Sons began soon after he arrived in San Antonio. He was a member of the Harmonia lodge and served as financial secretary and vice president of that lodge for nine years. Fritz’s musical fancies complemented his business affairs. He was not just the originator and sponsor, but referred to as the “daddy” of the Hermann Sons 35-piece military band that regularly performed at events around town wearing crisp white uniforms. He also served many years as entertainment chair of the Hermann Sons annual carnival during its earliest heydays.

In fact, Fritz has an equally enduring legacy at the Beethoven Maennerchor, having served as präsident of the singing brotherhood from 1928 until his death. His photo can still be seen on the east wall around the corner from the bar where the 1930-1931 choir member portraits are displayed. Fritz’s photo is in the center and titled President. Fritz was a tenor.

Throughout his time in San Antonio Fritz Schilo was regularly called upon to serve as a local German ambassador, often part of the welcome wagon when esteemed German guests came to town, sometimes even alongside the mayor.

In 1932 several ads for Schilo’s Delicatessen were oddly combined with a greeting to a bank, hinting at a fascinating story of San Antonio’s most notable 1931 bank run at City-Central Bank. This was an anxious and difficult chapter of this city’s history; among the failed bank’s depositors was the City of San Antonio itself. Urgently, but not as rapidly as hoped, the South Texas Bank & Trust Company was formed to replace the closed bank. Throughout those intervening months the city’s eyes were on the new bank, and all hope depended on persuading citizens to trust this new bank to hold their money. At one high-profile luncheon at the Gunter Hotel, a funeral march was performed following a toast by Mr. Porter Loring (mortuary owner) as a “token” for the closing of the former bank, a surprisingly irreverent and amusing spectacle that was even broadcast live on WOAI radio. Fritz Schilo Sr was present of course, as he was a founder and the vice president of South Texas Bank & Trust.

In 1933 Fritz became the first vice president of the newly formed San Antonio Malt Dealers Association, an organization initiated to “advise beer dealers in methods of selling and working toward a better understanding of cooperation” which grew quickly and ultimately merged into the Texas Beverage Dealers Association. In March 1935, six months before his death, Fritz was appointed as a director of the San Antonio Public Service Company (present day CPS Energy). His abilities and name were valued by many, it seems.

Although Fritz had biological brothers who were likely present at his funeral, it was his Hermann Sons brothers who carried his coffin to its final resting place. Members of the Beethoven Maennerchor sang two songs.

Twenty three years later Fritz Schilo Jr would follow in his father’s footsteps and serve as the 14th grand president of Hermann Sons in 1958, becoming the longest serving Hermann Sons president at that time. He also died in office.

In 1971 soon after the death of Fritz Schilo Jr, a memorial fountain was dedicated at Hermann Sons Altenheim (Home for the Aged) in Comfort, Texas bearing both of their names, honoring the Schilo name and legacy.

If you’re wondering whose spirits might still be roaming the Hermann Sons Home Association corridors, still presiding over affairs, visiting lodge meetings and raising a glass now and then, Fritz Schilo might come to mind, but a more tangible vestige is also present nowadays – Fritz Schilo Sr’s great-great granddaughter has been seen tending bar in the Hermann Sons Rathskeller on Saturday nights.

(By the way, it’s pronounced “SHEE-LO.”)

Photos L-R: Fritz Schilo Sr, date unknown; ad from September 9, 1932; and Silver King Saloon in Beeville, Texas, circa 1909.