Biography of Walter J. Mondhank, pages 656/657.  History of 
DeKalb County, Indiana; B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., 
Indianapolis, 1914.



The gentleman whose name forms the caption of this sketch 
belongs to that class of men who win in life’s battles by 
sheer force of personality and determination, coupled with 
soundness of judgment and keen discernment, and in whatever 
he has undertaken he has shown himself to be a man of 
ability and honor, always ready to lend his aid in 
defending principles affecting the public good. Walter J. 
Mondhank, a successful business man at Butler, Indiana, and 
present mayor of that thriving town, is a native of 
Lancaster, Ohio, where he was born on September 23, 1876. 
He is the son of Frederick and Sarah (Kratzer) Mondhank, 
both of whom were also natives of the Buckeye state, where 
the father followed farming pursuits during all his active 
life. They were the parents of three children, Walter J., 
Charles and Ethel.  Walter J. Mondhank obtained his 
education in the public schools of his native community and 
then took up farming, which he followed for a year in Ohio 
and later in Colorado, subsequently engaging in the milling 
business at Platte City, Missouri, which he followed for 
about three years, and at the end of that period came to 
Butler, Indiana, where he bought the mill owned by Dratz & 
Son, which he is operating at the present time. This is one 
of the best equipped  mills in this section of the state 
and here Mr. Mondhank does custom milling of all kinds, 
handling flour, feed and grain, and has met with a success 
commensurate with his efforts.  Mr. Mondhank married Ellen 
Willock, the daughter of James T. and Betty Willock, 
natives of the state of Ohio, of which their forbears were 
early settlers. To Mr. and Mrs. Mondhank have been born two 
children, Elizabeth and Frederick. Politically, Mr. 
Mondhank is an ardent supporter of the Democratic party, 
and in 1910 he was elected mayor of the city of Butler, 
which office he is now filling with ability and to the 
entire satisfaction of his fellow citizens.  Fraternally, 
he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Order 
of Eastern Star and the Knights of Pythias, while his 
religious faith is embodied in the creed of the German 
Lutheran church, of which he is a regular attendant and an 
earnest supporter. Mr. Mondhank is known as a man of 
energy, intellect and will, throwing his entire force of 
body and mind upon his work.  He is frank, bold, honest, 
aggressive, acts and thinks quickly, never evading but 
always meeting a situation squarely. He is a man of broad, 
humanitarian principles, earnest purpose and upright life 
and by all is esteemed for his courteous manner, genial 
disposition and genuine worth.

Submitted by:

Arlene Goodwin

Auburn, Indiana

Agoodwin@ctlnet.com