Emil Paul Schreier (1891-1941), Architect
Emil Paul Schreier was born June 26 1891 in Verdigre, son of Emil and Mary Novacek Schreier.[1][2][e] His father, Emil Schreier, Builder-Architect was one of the original Czech settlers in Knox County, locating in the Pischelville community in 1870 along with his father, Jan Srajer, Cabinet Maker, and brothers Vincent and Raimond.[5][6] Schreier was heir to a line of carpenter-builders that extended back at least two generations to his grandfather, Jan, who, in addition to farming built the family houses along Steel Creek in the Pischelville community.[d] Emil’s father was primarily a builder and lumberman in Verdigre, having moved there from the farm in December of 1890 to work in Horton’s lumberyard. The elder Emil built the Nebraska State Bank Building in Verdigre in 1911, and started the family’s own lumber business in 1919.[4:387-88]
Schreier married Alice Sandoz on June 18, 1919, in Verdigre, Nebraska.[4:388] “For many years Mr. Schreier was actively engaged in architectural and contract work, not only in Verdigre, but at Bonesteel, S. D. and Norfolk. … In 1935 Mr. Schreier went to western Nebraska and Omaha where he served as engineer for the PWA.”[2][4:386-388] Schreier died in October 1941.[3]
This page is a contribution to the publication, Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. See the format and contents page for more information on the compilation and page organization.
Contents
Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings
Verdigre, Nebraska, 1917, 1939, 1940-1941; Grant, Nebraska, 1938
Educational & Professional Associations
1903-1908: student, Verdigre Public Schools, Verdigre, Nebraska.[1]
1908-1910: student, Peru State Normal, Peru, Nebraska.[1][c]
1910: lumber dealer, Verdigre Township, Nebraska.[7]
1910-1914: Bachelor of Science, Architecture, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois.[1][2]
1914-1915: draftsman, Thomas Rogers Kimball, Architect, Omaha, Nebraska.[1]
1915: Degree from University of Illinois, college of architecture.[2]
1915: architect and contractor in private practice.[1]
1916-1917: draftsman, Albert H. Dyer, Architect, Fremont, Nebraska.[#References|[1]]]
1916-1917: draftsman, Jesse Boaz Miller, Architect, Lincoln, Nebraska.[1]
1917-1919: U.S. Army, World War I, Camp Funston, Kansas.[2][4:388]
1919-1921: architect and contractor, Verdigre, Nebraska.[#References|[4:388]]]
1921-1922: superintendent of construction, Verdigre Public Schools, Verdigre, Nebraska.[1]
1922-1934: architect and contractor, Verdigre, Nebraska and Bonesteel, South Dakota.[#References|[1][4:388]]]
1934: superintendent of construction, Knox County Court House, Center, Nebraska.[1][b]
1935-1936: assistant resident engineer inspector, Public Works Administration, irrigation construction projects, western Nebraska.[1][4:388]
1936-1938: material and assistant building inspector, for H. H. Haaker, Omaha, Nebraska.[1]
1938: listed as an architect in the Grant, Nebraska city directory.
1938: Registered Professional Architect, Nebraska.[1]
1939-1941: architect and contractor, Verdigre, Nebraska.[4:388]
1941: last registered.[1]
Buildings & Projects
Dated
St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church (1915-1916), Verdigre, Nebraska, For Reverend Z.C.Petlach, Clarkson, Nebraska.[1][2][4:388]
Sandoz Garage Building (1920s), Verdigre, Nebraska, for E.C. Sandoz, Santa Anna, California.[1][2][4:388]
Verdigre Motor Company Garage (1920s), Verdigre, Nebraska.[2][4:388]
Emil P. Schreier House (ca. 1920), Verdigre, Nebraska.[4:388]
Verdigre Public School (1920-1922), Verdigre, Nebraska.[1][2][4:388][a]
Pavlick’s Service Station (ca. 1930), Verdigre, Nebraska.[2][4:388]
Knox County Courthouse (1934), Center, Nebraska.[1][2][4:388[b]
Bloomfield WPA projects (ca. 1940), Bloomfield, Nebraska.[4:388]
Undated
Store Building for Joseph A. Veceral (n.d.), Verdigre, Nebraska.[1]
E. E. Sandoz House (n.d.), Verdigre, Nebraska.[1]
Creamery for J. J. Chalupnik (n.d.), Norfolk, Nebraska.[1]
Filling Station for J. J. Chalupnik (n.d.), Verdigre, Nebraska.[1]
Store Building for John Sullivan (n.d.), Bonesteel, South Dakota.[1]
Store Building for Ben Roubicek (n.d.), Verdigre, Nebraska.[1]
Notes
a. Superintendent of construction, for E. B. Watson, Architect, Norfolk, Nebraska.[1]
b. Superintendent of construction, for John D. Forsythe, Niobrara.[1]
c. Reference [4:388] states Wayne Normal College.
d. See the superb carpentry in the traditional horizontal timber house attributed to Jan Srajer in the 1870s: the Srajer-Dryak House, Pischelville, Knox County, Nebraska (KX00-022).
e. Source [1] has Schreier's birthday as June 28, but source [2] has it as June 26.
References
1. Application for Registration to Practice Professional Engineering and Architecture, Nebraska State Board of Examiners for Professional Engineers and Architects, August 9, 1938. Nebraska State Historical Society RG081 SG2.
2. “Emil Paul Schreier Obituary,” Verdigre Eagle (October 23, 1941), 1:1.
3. “Verdigre Contractor Died Suddenly While on Hunting Trip: Rites Held Sunday,” Verdigre Eagle (October 23, 1941), 1: 1.
4. Ron Dobry, comp., Verdigre, 1887-1987 [Norfolk, Neb.: Norfolk Printing Company in cooperation with the Verdigre Eagle, 1987], 386-389.
5. Margie Sobotka, comp., Nebraska, Kansas Czech Settlers, 1891-1895 (Evansville, Indiana: Unigraphic, 1980), 41a-47.
6. Rose Rosicky, A History of Czechs (Bohemians) in Nebraska (Omaha: Czech Historical Society of Nebraska, 1929), 186.
7. 1910 United States Census, s.v. “Emil Schreier,” Verdigre Township, Knox County, Nebraska, accessed through HeritageQuestOnline.com.
Page Citation
D. Murphy, “Emil Paul Schreier (1891-1941), Architect,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, April 10, 2019. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, November 22, 2024.
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