In generations past, large families were the norm rather than the exception. This was often the case for those of the Catholic faith, like the Ruppert family of Black Diamond. In Seattle, Archbishop Thomas Connolly established the custom of baptizing the 12th child born to families in the Archdiocese.
Pictured in this Nov. 29, 1958 photo taken on the steps of St. Barbara church in Black Diamond, Front row: Father John Horan, Charles, Frank, Harold, Mary Ellen, Barbara, and Betsy Ruppert. Second row: parents Shirly and Emma Jean Ruppert; Archbishop Connolly, Mrs. Anne Steiert, proxy godmother, holding Margaret Louise, and Jerry Steiert, proxy godfather. Back row: David, Patricia, John, and Rhoda Ruppert. Another child, Jean Marie, died shortly after birth. The godparents of the new baby were Frank and Angela Butorac. This photo comes courtesy of John Ruppert of Black Diamond, with special thanks to JoAnne Matsumura who found the original article published in The Progress, a Catholic Church publication on Dec. 5, 1958.
Shirly Ruppert grew up in Roslyn, a coal mining town where his father, Fred Ruppert was a mason who helped rebuild the famous Brick Tavern. Emma Jean (Butorac) grew up in nearby Cle Elum, where her father was a coal miner. The Ruppert family first moved to Black Diamond in the early 1940s, then relocated to Renton and Hobart before returning permanently in the late 1940s. Shirly was a carpenter for Pacific Car & Foundry and used his skills to build the family home at the terminus of Botts Driver, near the site of the old Lawson coal mine. Mr. Ruppert built the house on a two-acre lot he purchased for $400.
Their oldest son, John, third in birth order now inhabits the house his father completed in 1958. But his road back to Black Diamond is as interesting as the career he adopted after returning to the family estate. Following graduation from Enumclaw in 1960, John joined the Air Force where he repaired radar systems on jet fighters. This was a natural extension of his interest in electronics which he pursued after discharge with Bell Telephone in Seattle. He was next hired by RCA and dispatched to Greenland where his electronics background was further advanced.
In 1967, John enrolled in the recently opened Green River Community College, studying a variety of subjects including chemistry which he took to heart at Washington State University earning a Bachelor of Science in 1972. A five-year stint at Oregon State produced a Doctor of Chemistry, followed by two years at the Institute of Paper Chemistry where he focused on pulp mills and paper technology. Though offered a large salary with attendant benefits to work in Hamilton, Ohio, John declined and moved back home to Black Diamond.
In 1979, Dr. John Ruppert, who knows the chemistry and physiology of trees inside out, took a job with a logger named Jim Barr, who soon lost his contract and business due to trespass issues and questionable business practices. Out of a job, John approached Palmer Coking Coal who owned the timber, and proposed a firewood sales yard across from their Black Diamond mine office to capitalize on the early 1980s boom in wood stoves. John Ruppert has been cutting, splitting, and delivering firewood for the past 44 years. And he still lives in the home his carpenter-father built.
