It was widely assumed when Miss Katie Reinfort died at the age of 74 on Aug. 1, 1932, at Yocom Hospital in Chariton after suffering a stroke and breaking a hip, that her situation was one of extreme poverty. She had no family, had received assistance in the past from the county as a pauper and many of her expenses, including property taxes and telephone bills, were being paid by three friends.
A simple funeral service was held at Beardsley Funeral Home two days later with her pastor, the Rev. Frederick Nichol of First Presbyterian Church, officiating. Burial followed next to the unmarked graves in the Chariton Cemetery of her mother, also Katherine, and stepfather, William Eberling, both of whom had died many years earlier. The county would be billed for burial expenses and, because there was no will, the county's supervisor of the poor assumed responsibility for dealing with whatever she had left behind.
As it turned out, she left more than anyone expected. Neatly packed away under beds and elsewhere was a substantial hoard of canned goods, coffee, sugar and other supplies as well as a collection of never-used personal items --- 56 pairs of new hose, for example, 56 aprons and 126 pieces of fabric ranging in size from two to 10 yards. In addition, it was determined that she had more than $1,000 on deposit in Chariton banks and in savings bonds, and that she owned free and clear her modest home on Court Avenue three doors west of Columbus School.
While by no means a large estate, it was a surprise --- and enough to result in a front-page story in The Chariton Leader of Sept. 20, 1932, after the court-appointed administrator brought in a sale bill for publication.
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Katie's parents were Adam and Katherine Reinfort, immigrants from Germany, and she was born in Virginia on Aug. 11, 1858. Her father reportedly died when she was 2 --- friends thought in Kentucky, but the death actually may have occurred in Chariton soon after he had brought wife and daughter farther west. Whatever the case, the widowed Katherine was working as a washerwoman in Chariton when the 1860 federal census was taken. During 1868, she married another German immigrant, William Eberling, a well-digger and cleaner by profession.
Katie's mother died during 1886 and Eberling continued to make his home with his stepdaughter until his own death during 1902. Katie's friends were under the impression that he was an abusive man, which may or may not have been the case. His 1902 obituary concludes with the usual pleasantries --- "He was highly esteemed by all who knew him and his death is mourned by a large circle of friends."
After that, Katie continued to live in what apparently had been her mother's home on West Court, working as a cook and domestic while living frugally. During 1922, however, she fell and broke a hip. Today broken hips are not considered catastrophic; in 1922, they still were. It took more than a year for Katie to regain her ability to walk, a process that involved several weeks of treatment at University Hospitals in Iowa City and long recuperation at the Lucas County Home as well as her own home with assistance from a nurse.
Her savings were depleted and she no longer could work as hard and as long as she had previously. Her friends suspected that she began to hoard soon after 1922.
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Here's the Chariton Leader story about Katie's hoard, published on Sept. 22, 1932, under the headline, "Death of Katie Reinfort Discloses Large Quantity of Merchandise Which Had Been Saved Against 'A Rainy Day' " ---
Miss Reinfort died in Chariton on August 1, 1932, at the age of about 80 years. When her estate was invoiced the following articles, in addition to the ordinary household furnishings and equipment, were found: 75 handkerchiefs, 56 pairs of new hose, 21 pairs of new gloves, 10 new table cloths, 6 wool scarfs, 35 new towels, 15 pairs of pillowslips, 3 sheets, 5 new gowns, 2 suits of new wool underwear, 56 new aprons, 126 pieces of new materials with from 2 to 10 yards in each piece, 310 cans of fruit and vegetables, 115 pounds of sugar, 15 pounds of coffee, 135 bars of laundry soap, and 30 boxes of matches.
On deposit in a Chariton bank and in postal savings she had more than $1,000.
Many of these articles had been given to Miss Reinfort, but receipted bills found in her home show that a large share of them had been purchased.
The friend of Miss Reinfort, who asked that her name not be mentioned, said that Katie had fought an uphill fight throughout her entire life. She came to Iowa with her mother at an early age after the death of her father in Kentucky. She was of German descent. Her mother married again, and the stepfather was brutal to both mother and child. After the death of her mother, she had no known relatives in America. As long as she was able to work she was employed in Chariton homes as a cook and maid. She saved her money and bought a little home on west Court avenue, where she resided until her death.
About ten years ago she fell and broke her hip and at that time saw much of her savings melt away as she was unable to work and was forced to pay for care. She spent some time in the county home, and it was at that period that she told her friends that since she had no relatives and her earning powers were decreasing, the future seems to her to be very dark.
It is not known how long Miss Reinfort had continued her hoarding. Although her home is small, visitors at no time saw any evidence of the articles found. Many of them were piled neatly under the bed, and it was necessary to lift the slats of the bed in order to get them out. Groceries were found in the back of a cupboard and in an old style stove. The articles of wearing apparel showed no signs of use, and were neatly wrapped in newspapers.
Three Chariton women assisted her in the conduction of her affairs, one paying the taxes on her property, another paying her telephone bill, while another took charge of her incidental expenses. None of them knew exactly what she possessed, and all were of the opinion that she was in poor circumstances. Although she accepted help from the county several times, it was stated that Miss Reinfort thought that her possessions would become the property of Lucas county at the time of her death as she had no will.
The property will go to the state, however, when the funeral expenses and other items have been deducted. The household goods, groceries, and other articles will be sold at public auction.
"Many Chariton people feel that Katie should not have accepted gifts and help when she had the means of taking care of herself," the friend of Miss Reinfort stated, "and when all of those things were found in her house I, too, felt for a time that she was at fault. But perhaps under those conditions, with no relatives, with the fear that sickness would soon deplete the savings and with the spectre of the poor house, perhaps many of us would have done the same."
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Once all claims against Katie's estate had been settled, sufficient funds remained to allow the administrator to purchase a very nice tombstone to mark the family graves and it was duly erected at the center of the family lot just north of the cemetery's main drive, several rows in from the front gate. And so in death and after a frugal life, Katie ensured somewhat indirectly that neither she nor her family would be forgotten entirely.
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