Encyclopedia Dubuque
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RUETE, Theodore
RUETE, Theodore. (Germany, February 19, 1842 - 1913) Educated in apothecary, Ruete received his license as a pharmacist in the Prussian Kingdom. He then emigrated to the United States in 1861 and worked at a drug store in New York City. During the CIVIL WAR, he served in the medical department of the Army of the Potomac.
In 1873, Ruete moved to Dubuque and set his business in the PIONEER DRUG STORE (aka “Good Samaritan Drug Store”), which had been vacated by the previous owners. His business was so successful that he needed to relocate to a store between 5th and 6th Streets. His store was one of the most extensive of its kind in Dubuque, offering everything from drugs, chemicals, toilet articles, paints, oils, brushes, instruments, to bandages. In 1886-1887 he was involved in a pharmacy called RUETE AND MICHEL. By 1894 his business was called the Drug Emporium.
In 1894 Ruete assumed the position of head of the local weather bureau. As a young man he had worked several years with the New York state weather bureau and had continued his study of meteorological science. The weather office was moved into the building in which he operated his drug store. (1) He held the position until February 1896 when the demands of the position affected his ability to operate his business. (2)
Ruete was very active in the community serving as president of the State Pharmaceutical Association. On April 14, 1880 at the American Pharmaceutic Association meeting in Indianapolis, Ruete was chosen the state representative from Iowa. In this capacity, he was to promote the interest of the Association, receive and forward applications for membership, collect dues, and distribute the proceedings of the Association. (3) He was also a United States weather observer, president of FINLEY HOSPITAL (THE), officer and commander (1889) of the GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC (G. A. R.), and a member of the National Geographic Society. Ruete was one of the promoters and first president of the organization that successfully erected the monument to Julien DUBUQUE.
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Source:
1. "Emery's Great Wind Fall," Dubuque Daily Herald, May 23, 1894, p. 4
2. "Observer Ruete," Dubuque Daily Herald, February 5, 1896, p. 8
3. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, April 15, 1880, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18800415&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, History of Dubuque County, Iowa. Chicago: Goodspeed Historical Association, 1911, p. 656
"Theodore W. Ruete," Linwood Legacies. Online: http://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php?title=RUETE,_Theodore&action=edit&redlink=1