The H.P. Beckel House at 748 8th Street

The H.P. Beckel House at 748 8th Street is the dwelling where Henry Beckel was living when he passed away in September 1958. Beckel was one of many German Russians who lived in the Berthoud community but unlike the most of his fellow immigrants he did not find his way to the United States until 1913.

Henry Beckel was born in Messner, Russia, in 1881. At the age of 22 he married Miss Anna Laufer. At the time of their marriage Beckel was enlisted in a cavalry division that was called into service during the Russo-Japanese War.

The Russo-Japanese War in which Beckel participated was fought between Russia and Japan in 1904 and 1905. The empires came into conflict when Russia was seeking a warm-water port on the Pacific Ocean and Japan was protecting their sphere of influence in Manchuria and Korea. Japan won a complete victory to mark the first major military victory of an Asian power over a European one.

The role of Beckel’s cavalry unit in the conflict is unknown, but after his military service he immigrated with his family to Lincoln, Nebraska. After moving to Loveland, Colorado, in 1918, he received his draft notice to serve in the army and fight in World War I. Peace was achieved before he was inducted.In 1928, the Beckel family (four sons and one daughter) moved from Loveland to Berthoud. For more than a decade they worked as tenant farmers southwest of Berthoud.  The 1947 Berthoud telephone directory indicates that in 1947 H.P. Beckel was living in the house at 748 8th Street. The property remained in the Beckel family until at least 1973.