Bernhard Claves

Bernhard Claves

Bernhard Claves (born January 4, 1882 in Ostbevern ; † July 29, 1963 in Harsewinkel ) was a German entrepreneur and master craftsman .

Life

Bernhard Claves settled in Greffen as a master shoemaker in 1907 . The main focus of his activity was the manufacture of custom-made orthopedic shoes . A workshop in his father-in-law's house was the nucleus of the shoe factory founded by Bernhard Claves. Together with his brother-in-law, Bernhard Meinersmann (* July 23, 1899; † November 12, 1944), Bernhard Claves initially developed the company under the “Griffenia” brand, which later became known as C&M (Claves and Meinersmann). At the height of its artisanal manufacturing activity, C&M produced 1,200 pairs of women's shoes every working day with around 150 employees. As a result of the development in the shoe industry - especially the strong increase in (also international) competition - production and operation at Claves & Meinersmann were discontinued at the end of the 1960s.

Throughout his life, Bernhard Claves was strongly committed to social, local political and church issues in his home region. Out of deep religious conviction and according to social principles, he ran his business in the spirit of a Christian economic order. He was strongly guided by the thoughts of the Catholic “journeyman father” Adolph Kolping . Bernhard Claves was one of the founders of the Greffen Kolping Family (March 1931).

From his marriage to his wife Anna, geb. Meinersmann (born May 26, 1885; † March 18, 1936) had six children: Bernhard Claves junior, Änne (later Riesenbeck), Tine (later Menebröcker), Heinz, Maria (later Wippenhohn) and Toni (later Fußner). When Bernhard Claves sen. died on July 29, 1963 in St. Lucia Hospital in Harsewinkel , he had 33 grandchildren.

Services

From 1946 to 1961, Bernhard Claves was mayor of the city of Greffen . In cooperation with higher-level agencies in the Warendorf district , the Münster administrative district and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia , he was able to achieve a great deal for the development of the communal area and for the citizens of his home region. Among other things, he served as an arbitrator in Greffen from December 1947 to February 1961. Claves campaigned for the village community and club life; He was temporarily chairman of the journeyman's association ( Kolping ), the shooting club and the FC Greffen. Not least because of his public commitment and his charitable attitude, Bernhard Claves was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on January 4, 1962 .

As a long-standing member of the church council of the Catholic parish of St. Johannes in Greffen, Bernhard Claves was committed to the interests of his home parish and beyond. In the chronicle “From Greffen's old days” one can read in this regard: “Bernhard Claves helped everywhere”. Thanks to his efforts, in 1947 a large number of the church bells withdrawn from the Münsterland during the Second World War 1939–1945 were rediscovered in Hamburg ; including a bell from the church in Greffen . Bernhard Claves arranged for the return transport, so that the Greffener bell from 1785 came back to Greffen in August 1947.

Out of Christian responsibility and deep solidarity with his home parish, Claves donated the funds for a church bell awarded to St. Joseph. It bears the dedication: “Religion and work are the soil of the people. Bernhard Claves sen. 1946 ".

Honors

• January 2, 1953: Honorary citizenship in Greffen
• Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon (December 16, 1961)
• Bernhard-Claves-Weg in Greffen

literature

• Walter Werland: From Greffen's old days. Aschendorff, Münster (Westphalia) 1976, ISBN 3-402-05249-0 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Walter Werland: From Greffen's old days. , 1976, pp. 567-572.
2. ↑ Walter Werland: From Greffen's old days. , 1976, p. 569.
3. ↑ Information from the Office of the Federal President