Irick Ritzendollar (January 1, 1898-September 14, 1992)

By Cassidy Bass and Rachel Street

Early Life

Irick Ritzendollar was born on January 1, 1898, in Chatsworth, New Jersey, to parents George Ritzendollar and Carrie Lemunyon.¹ He was one of six children living with their family in Burlington County.² Irick’s grandfather, Joseph Ritzendollar, born in France, settled in the Burlington area some time before 1860 and worked in the farming industry.³ The Burlington County area experienced much growth during Irick Ritzendollar’s childhood. In 1900, the population reached 58,241 before rising to 66,565 in 1910.⁴ During this time period, the farming industry that Joseph Ritzendollar belonged to was declining. In 1900, farming families made up just over nineteen percent of the population, but by 1910 this representation dropped to around fifteen percent.⁵ By 1915, Irick’s father, George, worked as a laborer while supporting his large family of six.⁶

Military Service

On September 5, 1918, at twenty years old, Ritzendollar enlisted in the US Army, only two months before the armistice that ceased fighting on November 11, 1918.⁷ He was in the Army for little over three months before being discharged on December 14, 1918.⁸ This was just before the Treaty of Versailles was signed in June 1919, which officially ended the war. It required Germany to demilitarize and decrease its manpower, in addition to taking full responsibility for starting the war and requiring the payment of reparations for the damage caused.⁹

Post-Service

While we do not know much about Ritzendollar’s time in the service, we do know more about his life following his discharge and the activities of his family, who were prominent figures in their area. His younger brother, Merrill Ritzendollar, served as a Monmouth County constable for fifty years and aided New Jersey citizens in many dangerous situations while in the position.¹⁰ On one occasion, Merrill Ritzendollar, near the state highway early in the morning, heard what sounded like a car striking something.¹¹ After realizing that the car struck pedestrians later identified as Willie Benjamin and Samuel Johnson, Ritzendollar chased the hit-and-run driver down the road for two miles before capturing him.¹² Ralph Ritzendollar, another younger brother of Irick Ritzendollar, owned and operated an Amoco service station in the Asbury Park community.¹³ His position likely offered a unique perspective on members of the community who frequented his station. He claimed that in the forty-two years he worked in the service station business, he pumped ten million gallons of gas.¹⁴ Newspapers in the New Jersey area often published stories on the two siblings and their wives and children.

Unlike his siblings, Irick Ritzendollar stayed out of the spotlight. He married Ella S. Ritzendollar sometime between 1922 and 1923.¹⁵ Between 1912 and 1913, the Ritzendollars welcomed a son, Howard, into their large family.¹⁶ We do know that by 1930, Ritzendollar lived in Camden, New Jersey with his wife Ella and their teenage son.¹⁷ Ritzendollar listed his occupation as “machinist” for “Victor Co” in the 1930 federal census.¹⁸ Ritzendollar likely worked for RCA Victor Co., formally the Victor Talking Machine Company, which first manufactured phonographs and records, then radio and television technologies like radio receivers and the black and white television.¹⁹ Later in 1940, Ritzendollar listed his occupation as “pump man” for “WPA Road Construction.”²⁰ WPA is the abbreviation for Works Progress Administration (WPA), which President Franklin D. Roosevelt created to provide government jobs at a time where unemployment rates reached twenty percent.²¹ By the time the WPA ended in 1943, the unemployment rate in the US dropped to two percent, and the program employed over 8.5 million Americans.²²

Ritzendollar was a member of the Chatsworth Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 2140. Founded in 1899, the VFW is non-profit organization that provides services and support for veterans and serves as an influential voice for veteran interests.²³ The post to which Ritzendollar belonged is still active and is currently located in Long Branch, New Jersey. At some point, Irick Ritzendollar moved to Wauchula, Florida and later relocated to Lakeland, Florida.²⁴ Along with being a member of the Chatsworth Veterans of Foreign Wars, he was also a member of the American Red Cross.²⁵ Irick Ritzendollar passed away on September 14, 1992, at the age of ninety-three.²⁶ He is buried at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida.²⁷

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